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Vol. 96, No. 183
Woman indicted on molestation charge
Accused of sex with resident
By Stephen Gurr
Staff Writer
A 42-year-old woman was indicted
this week on charges of having sex with
a 14-year-old boy.
Lori Denise Brabham, 42, of 4250
Morning Mist Lane, was indicted by a
Forsyth County grand jury on one
Tam asks
ethics panel
to look into
use of truck
Official wants board
to decide if law broken
ByToddTruefove
Staff Writer
County Commissioner Brian Tam has asked
the local Board of Ethics to investigate whether
he has violated any law or governmental policy
regarding the use of his county-appointed truck.
His request comes in response to accusations
which include photographs of personal equip¬
ment in the back of the vehicle and sur¬
i
Tam
the only way we’ll get it.”
The allegations came from David Milum, a
local political activist who maintains a forum on
’ the Internet where people can post on virtually
any subject. Many of the topics address alleged
inappropriate behavior by public officials — such
as Tam’s use of his county vehicle.
But the forum has not come without its diffi¬
culties; Milum faces two libel lawsuits from indi¬
viduals — one an attorney, the other a former
county employee — challenging the accuracy of
posts about them on the Web site.
Because of those lawsuits, Tam said he has
hired his own personal legal counsel. Tam has not
filed a similar lawsuit.
“My accuser has two libel suits currently
pending against him,” said Tam. “Therefore I felt
it prudent to hire outside legal counsel at my own
See ETHICS, Page 2A
all smiles after
dentures
ByToddTruetove
Staff Writer
The night before Hurricane Katrina
slammed into cities on the Gulf Coast
in late August, Ron and Vicki Madej of
Slidell, La., packed their bags and left
their home of more than 22 years —
fleeing one of the worst storms in
decades.
“Our home was pretty well
destroyed by Katrina,” said 69-year-old
Ron Madej who now lives in Cumming.
“We had to leave in a rush because it
was coming the next evening.”
However, in the hurry to avoid the
oncoming storm, Madej said one
Missed paper policy:
For a replacement paper, call
8:30 Thursday, am -1:00 Friday, p.m. and Wednesday,
(770) Sunday
887-3126.
Copyright 0 2005 Forsyth County Newt
■“"“■"“■’I
FRIDAY November 18,2005
count of child molestation and two
counts of statutory rape. Court docu¬
ments allege that Brabham persuaded
the boy to perform a sex act and had
sex with him on two occasions at her
home between Dec. 1 and Jan. 15.
Brabham was arrested in early May
of this year and was released from the
Forsyth County jail on a bond of
rounding a request from Tam
to have a trailer hitch installed
on it.
Tam, who represents a
south Forsyth district, said that
at times the Ford F-250 truck
isn’t worth the headaches asso¬
ciated with it.
“It depends on the day,” he
responded in an interview
Wednesday. “This issue . -eeds
some closure, and [having an
ethics board is
66
In the hustle-bustle,, I
lost my teeth. Some
gator is wearing them.
- hurricane victim Ron Madej on
the dentures he left behind
99
important item was left behind — his
teeth.
We only came with a couple of
INDEX
Abby. Church 15B
events. 4B
Classifieds
Deaths 2A
Food. 10A
Horoscope 15B
Opinion 11A
Sports ~ IB
$45,000 May 12, according to jail
records.
Forsyth County Sheriff’s
Investigator Thomas Moore said
Brabham and the boy had been
acquainted and that the boy had “access
to her residence,” which Brabham
shared at the time with her husband.
The mother of the boy learned of the
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Photo/Ron Logan
Joyce Caine, office administrator, helps decorate for the First Christmas in
Central Park to be held at the recreation center Saturday. For the story, see
Page 3A.
change of clothes,” he said. “In the hus¬
tle-bustle, I lost my teeth. Some gator is
wearing them.”
Madej said local community mem¬
bers have been extremely supportive
since his arrival and have helped in the
acquisition of various items to get the
couple back on their feet.
And, thanks in part to the members
of North Lanier Baptist Church, he’s
gotten a brand new set of pearly-whites,
he said, courtesy of local dentist Dr.
Kevin Short of Cumming Dental
Associates.
See SMILES, Page 2A
Food
Thanksgiving Day recipes
to make your
holiday a success.
PagelOA
encounters and contacted the sheriff’s
office, Moore said.
There have been two arrests this
year in Forsyth County involving
women charged with molesting boys.
Aimee Josey, 42, was charged in July
with child molestation and statutory
rape for allegedly having sex with a 14
year-old Forsyth County boy whom she
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Photo/Ron Logan
Hurricane evacuee Ron Madej recently shows off his new den¬
tures that were donated to him. In a rush to escape the storm,
Madej accidentally left his old dentures behind in Lousiana.
Religion
See what’s
happening in
local churches.
Page4B
50 Cents
met online in an
Internet chat room.
Josey, who was also
married at the time
of her arrest, is free
on $50,000 bond.
Brabham’s was
one of 36 indict¬
ments returned by the grand jury this
week.
See INDICTED, Page 2A
Competency
trial continues
for murder
defendant
. By Stephen Gurr
3 Staff Writer
Prosecutors should know by today whether a
woman charged with killing her sister with a lamp
will be tried for murder or institutionalized in a
mental hospital.
A Forsyth County Superior Court jury was
expected to begin deliberations Thursday after¬
noon in the competency trial of Edna Hester, 41.
Hester is with murder and
assault in the Aug. 7, 2003,
death of 43-year-old Donna
Lynn Harris.
Jurors must decide whether
Hester is mentally capable of
understanding the object and
nature of the legal proceedings
against her, whether she under¬
stands her role in those pro¬
ceedings and whether she can
assist her attorneys in her
defense.
Hester’s maintains
that she suffers from psychosis and is incompetent
for trial, though that opinion is not shared by his
client, Cumming attorney Jim Hardy told jurors in
his opening statement earlier this week.
“Miss Hester is not happy that we’re holding a
competency trial,” Hardy said. “Edna believes
there’s nothing whatsoever wrong with her - she
feels that she’s totally competent.”
Throughout the trial, Hester followed testimo¬
ny attentively with an impassive expression. She
was not called to testify.
As the trial of the case wound down, jurors
heard Wednesday from a mental health expert who
initially declared Hester incompetent before
changing his diagnosis less than two months later.
Kevin Richards, a psychologist appointed by
Judge Jeffrey Bagley to evaluate Hester after her
indictment, “originally thought (Hester) was psy¬
chotic,” he testified Wednesday. Hester was subse¬
quently admitted to Northwest Georgia Regional
Hospital in Rome, where she stayed for 55 days.
Richards said after treatment team members at
the hospital told him that Hester showed no abnor¬
mal behavioral, “I came to understand Miss
Hester’s condition in a different way.”
Richards said Hester, who had been prone to
See TRIAL, Page 2A
Sunny
LAKE LANIER LEVELS
Date Level
Nov, 13 1069.20 ft
Nov. 14 1069.16 ft
Nov. 15 1069.14 ft
Nov. 16 1069.14 ft
Full 1071.00 ft
High in the mid-50s. ®£a*fL:
Low in the mid-30s. 0^
,
Mr is,
£)
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Inside Today
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Brabham
Hester