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Forsyth "Hometown Count J Paper" Your Since 1908 ^News
306
Vol. 95 , No. 71
Prosecution begins Turner case
Defense claims she is a victim
By Nicole Green
Staff Writer
PERRY — Cobb County prose¬
cutors opened trial Friday in
Houston County by painting Julia
Lynn Turner as a cold-hear,ted mur¬
deress bent on living above her
means — no matter the cost.
The defense countered that
Turner is the victim of rumors and
innuendo that conjured up a nation¬
ally recognized murder trial. The
state’s case is a collection of cir¬
Fire destroys mobile home
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Photo/David McGregor
Firefighters work to douse flames which destroyed a double-wide mobile home at
6540 Betty Lane in north Forsyth Thursday. A passerby reportedly helped drag a
resident of the structure to safety. See story, page 4A.
Soldier visits with local school
home
By Nancy Smallwood
Associate Editor
Pfc. Travis Elmore of the U.S. Army is
spending his first few days back home doing
one of his favorite things during his stay in Iraq
— talking to children.
Elmore, 22, returned to his former primary
school, Sawnee Elementary, last week and
spoke to third- and fourth-graders about the
eight months he completed with the 82nd
Airborne in the mortar division.
Elmore is from Forsyth County and a gradu¬
ate of Forsyth Central High School. After com¬
pleting training at Fort Benning, he was
assigned to an Army unit in April 2(X)3 and by
August was deployed to Iraq.
Students were amazed when Elmore told
them he spent 18 hours on a plane Hying from
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SUNDAY May 2 , 2004
cumstances that do not prove who
poisoned the victim, when or how,
defense attorneys argued.
Turner, 35, of Cumming, is stand¬
ing trial in the 1995 poisoning mur¬
der of her Cobb police officer hus¬
band, Maurice Glenn Turner. While
Turner has not been charged in the
2001 poisoning death of Forsyth
County firefighter Randy Thompson,
who fathered her two children, she is
the prime suspect in a state investiga¬
tion.
Cobb Superior Court Judge James
n
Elmore
always together. There arc some friendly Iraqis
who arc encouraged by the work the armed
forces is completing there and some arc not
very nice about it, said Elmore.
See SOLDIER, Page 10A
INDEX
Abby..... . ........................... ...IOC
Births ,4B
Classifieds ...3C
Deaths .............................. 2A
Forsyth Life ■IHMMHNNutllnl IB
Horoscope 10C
Opinion ...............•••a...,..... 12A
Sports 1C
G. Bodiford seated a jury Thursday
afternoon. Opening arguments and
testimony began Friday morning
under the scrutiny of a courtroom
full of reporters and the alleged vic¬
tims’ family and friends. Some fami¬
ly members of the victims and the
accused were not allowed in the
courtroom because they may testify
later in the trial. ^
“This case is about lust, greed and
murder. It’s about one" woman and
two men,” Cobb District Attorney
Patrick Head told a wide-eyed panel
Georgia to the country. Many
wanted to know about the liv¬
ing conditions of the soldiers.
“It was really, really hot,”
said Elmore. “Some days the
temperature got up to 123
degrees and at night it
dropped to 60.”
After living there for eight
months, he said members of
the unit became very close
friends since were
Local
Georgia Supreme Court
to hear group’s challenge
to discharge into lake.
Page 4A
of 12 jurors and three alternates.
“There is one link, one thread,
one common denominator, and it’s
this woman — Julia Lynn Womack
Turner,” Head told the jury. For
emphasis, Head walked over to and
pointed at the defendant who donned
a periwinkle linen suit her first day in
front of a jury.
Head illustrated a timeline of the
alleged crime beginning prior to the
1993 marriage of Glenn and Lynn
Turner in Cobb County. In
September 1992, Glenn Turner
reportedly told a close friend who
may testify later in court, “If any¬
thing ever happens to me, make sure
you look at her [Lynn Turner].”
Kreager, Pritchett
commi s sion
ByToddTruelove
Staff Writer
The Forsyth County Board of
Commissioners will have at least two new faces
next year.
At noon Friday — the deadline for candi¬
dates to qualify to participate in 2004 elections
— commissioners Marcie Kreager, of the more
rural north Forsyth, and A.J. Pritchett, of the
more urbanized southern part of the county, had
not filed to participate in the elections.
Only Commissioner Eddie Taylor, whose
district encompasses portions of east and central
Forsyth County, qualified, and he did so at the
11th hour.
Kreager and Pritchett were elected in 2000;
each served one term on the board. Like the
opposite ends of the county they represent, the
two commissioners often found themselves at
odds with one another on a variety of issues —
many of which involved revisions of the coun¬
ty’s development code. However, each commis¬
sioner had a similar reason for their decision
against seeking re-election — family. “Right
now. I’m focusing on taking care of some family
issues,” said Kreager, Forsyth County’s first
female commissioner.
Pritchett said, “It comes down to a need to
look after my family a little bit more right now.
I’m still very interested. The work I’ve done over
the last few years has been good for the county.
I’ll still be involved. I’m not going away.”
Four candidates are competing for Pritchett’s
District 2 seat: Mike Busse, Brian Tam, Ernest
Turner and Joseph Hart. Of everyone who quali¬
fied locally for the elections. Hart was the only
candidate who qualified to run as a Democrat —
Probate Judge Hawkins
to down after 28
By Colby Jones
Staff Writer
Joyce Hawkins grew up with judicial blood
in her veins.
A member of her family has served as the
probate court judge in Forsyth County for the
past 52 years. The streak will officially come to
an end next year. Hawkins, 63, has decided not
to seek re-election to the seat she has held since
August 1976. “She has done a great job. You
couldn’t ask for any better," said Clerk of Court
Doug Sorrells, who will replace Hawkins as the
most veteran elected official in the county with
eight continuous years in office.
A Cumming attorney who specializes in
wills and estates, Lynwood “Woody" Jordan,
was the only person to qualify to run in the July
20 primary, shooing him in as Hawkins’ succes¬
sor. The sitting judge said she thinks very highly
of Jordan and believes he will do a fine job.
Although Hawkins is not an attorney, few prac¬
titioners can claim more on-the-job training.
She began working for her great uncle when
he was a probate court judge, then for her father
when he took over the position. She also
worked a stint as deputy clerk in Superior
Court. When her father passed away while in
Sports
Central grad Westbrook
signs three-year (teal with
NFL’s New York Jets.
Rage 1C
After a reportedly rocky 18
months of marriage, Glenn died of
ethylene glycol poisoning in March
1995. On March 2, Lynn took Glenn
to WellStar Kennestone Hospital in
Marietta for treatment of flu-like
symptoms and nose bleeds. He was
treated and released. The next morn¬
ing around 3 a.m., Lynn reportedly
said that she caught Glenn in their
home acting delusional and trying to
drink gasoline.
Glenn died in his bed the after¬
noon of March 3 of what was first
ruled to be heart failure. Later, a
See TURNER, Page 2A
»
IP fm
Kreager
i m
j
Pritchett
for re-election, faces the most challengers —
ranging from Jim Callison, who chaired the
Impact Fee committee and is actively involved in
the county government, to Terence Sweeney,
who has filed a lawsuit against numerous state
and county officials and departments, including
the State Bar. with charges ranging from false
arrest to obstructing justice. Also running against
Taylor for the District 5 seat are Chris Goldston
and Linda Ledbetter.
The final list includes:
See QUALIFYING, Page 10A
Hawkins
office maintains birth certificates, marriage
licenses and death certificates, plus handles
estates of the deceased and disagreements over
the validity of wills. All of the record keeping is
in a day’s work for Hawkins.
“She can run it without looking at the
books,” Sorrells said.
Hawkins still has eight months on the job,
but she suggested she already has made peace
with her decision to step down. “I’m happy
about this,” she said after the qualifying period
ended on Friday afternoon. She confirmed the
omission of her name from llte qualifying list
was not a mistake.
“Yes,” she said. "There is a lot I'll miss about
it — a lot more good than bad."
Thunderstorms
W %
it,
High in the high 60s.
Low in the low 50s.
LIFE, IB
."mitt lakes the Optimist approach -
meaning the race for
Pritchett's District 2 seat will
not be decided until the gener¬
al election in November.
The races for the other
seats on the county commis¬
sion will be decided before the
end of August — either during
the July 20 general primary
election or, if needed, runoffs
on Aug. 10.
While Kreager did not rule
out future involvement in the
public arena; she said such a
venture is probably years
away. “As far as what I’m
going to do in a year or two
from now, I really don’t
know,” Kreager said.
Candidates who are run¬
ning for Kreager’s seat are:
James Custer. David Richard
and Dennis Whittle.
Taylor, the only incumbent
commissioner who is
office, Hawkins took over the
reins as probate court judge.
That was 28 years ago.
when roughly 25,000 people
called the county home and
before Ga. 400 connected the
largely agricultural community
to the metro area. The popula¬
tion boom has kept Hawkins
busy because her job entails
keeping tabs on residents from
to
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
Date Level
April 26 1070.36 ft
April April 27 1070.41 ft
28 1070.42 ft
April Full 29 1070.41 ft
1071.00 ft