Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

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 Sr.* ■ j I''-.' , . 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 Missed paper policy: Fora replacement Wednesday, paper, call 8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 9 a.m. -1 p.m. on Sunday - (770) M7-3126. Copyright i; 2004 f omyih County Htm o 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