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Midweek Edition-December 14-15,2022
2A | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | ForsythNews.com
FORSYTH FORECAST
The four-day outlook
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
46/45
A.M. Showers
Partly Cloudy
54/33
48/30
SATURDAY
Mostly Sunny
46/30
Lake Lanier level
1067.92 feet (as of 10 a.m. Dec. 13)
Full pool is 1,071 feet
Dec. 10:1067.95 feet
Dec. 11:1067.96 feet
Dec. 12:1067.94 feet
Soldier fatally shot at Georgia
Army base; suspect arrested
Associated Press
FORT STEWART — A soldier was
fatally shot Monday at an Army tank
brigade’s building complex at Fort
Stewart in southeast Georgia, where
authorities arrested a suspected gun
man, officials said.
The shooting happened shortly
before 10 a.m. at the Army post’s
headquarters complex for its 2nd
Armored Brigade Combat Team, Fort
Stewart spokesman Kevin Larson said.
One soldier was shot and died despite
being treated by emergency responders
at the scene, he said.
Larson said the victim’s name was
being withheld pending notification of
the slain soldier’s family.
A suspect was taken into custody by
police at the scene, Larson said, but he
declined to name that person or to say
if the suspect was a soldier or civilian.
Larson said no other information
about the shooting was being released,
citing the ongoing criminal investiga
tion by Army authorities.
Fort Stewart is the largest Army post
east of the Mississippi River and is
home to the Army’s 3rd Infantry
Division. It is about 40 miles south
west of Savannah.
Bankman-Fried to face off with
lawmakers over collapse of FTX
By KEN SWEET
AP Business Writer
CHARLOTTE — The former CEO
of the failed cryptocurrency firm FTX
will testify before a congressional com
mittee Tuesday, his first appearance
under oath since FTX filed for bank
ruptcy roughly a month ago.
Sam Bankman-Fried is scheduled to
testify in front of the House Financial
Services Committee, along with the
company’s current CEO, John Ray III.
Bankman-Fried has done several media
interviews since his firm collapsed but
has not publicly testified about what
happened. He is expected to appear
remotely from the Bahamas.
FTX filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 11,
when the firm ran out of money after the
cryptocurrency equivalent of a bank run.
The collapse of crypto’s second-largest
exchange has garnered worldwide atten
tion, and Bankman-Fried is under crimi
nal investigation by U.S. and Bahamian
authorities.
The atmosphere Tuesday should be
markedly different from Bankman-
Fried’s previous trips to Congress, when
he testified in favor of certain bills that
would regulate the crypto industry in
ways that favored FTX. He became
prominent in Washington and donated
millions of dollars toward mostly left
leaning political causes and Democrat
political campaigns, and was hailed as
the new face of the crypto industry.
A handful of members of the
Financial Services Committee have pre
viously taken political donations from
FTX or Bankman-Fried, including Rep.
Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J. and Rep.
Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y.
It wasn’t clear at first whether
Bankman-Fried would voluntarily agree
to testify, or whether the committee
would have to subpoena him. He has,
more or less, remained in his Bahamian
luxury compound in Nassau, and tem
porarily out of reach of U.S. authorities.
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif. and
chairwoman of the committee, said she
planned to go forward with the hearing
regardless of whether Bankman-Fried
agreed to testify.
This will be the first public appear
ance by Ray since FTX’s collapse as
well. Before FTX, the restructuring
expert was best known for having to
clean up the mess at Enron roughly 20
years ago. Ray has said in court filings
that the financial conditions at FTX
were worse than at Enron, and that he
has no confidence in FTX’s bookkeep
ing before he took over the firm.
“FTX Group’s collapse appears to
stem from the absolute concentration of
control in the hands of a very small
group of grossly inexperienced and
unsophisticated individuals who failed
to implement virtually any of the sys
tems or controls that are necessary for a
company that is entrusted with other
people’s money or assets,” Ray said in
his prepared remarks for Tuesday’s
hearing.
"ABOUT US AND OUR VALUES
The public has a right to know, and
the Forsyth County News is dedicat
ed to that principle and the “contin
ued enlightenment and freedom of
the people of North Georgia,” as
engraved outside our building.
The pursuit of truth is a fundamen
tal principle of journalism. But the
truth is not always apparent or
known immediately.
A professional journalist’s role is
to report as completely and impar
tially as possible verifiable facts so
readers can, based on their own
knowledge and experience, deter
mine what they believe to be the
truth. That is often an ongoing pur
suit as journalists work to uncover
stories and follow those stories
wherever they lead, regardless of
preconceived ideas.
The news they report is separate
from the opinions shared in the
pages of the FCN, which include
those by its columnists, political car
toonists and readers who submit let
ters to the editor.
The presentation of both news and
opinions is designed to educate,
entertain and foster community con
versation. Readers are encouraged to
challenge and sharpen their percep
tions based on that presentation.
And we encourage readers to do
the same for us, offering news tips,
criticisms and questions.
As your honestly local news
source, we serve our readers first.
Find us on these platforms or
reach out to our newsroom at news-
tips@forysthnews.com or 770-887-
3126.
forsythcountynews Q @ForsythNews [01 @ForsythNews
OBITS
Death Notices
James R. Massey
December 10, 2022
James R. Massey, 64, of Dawsonville died Saturday, December 10. Funeral service,
Thursday, December 15, 2 o’clock, Bearden Funeral Home Chapel. Bearden Funeral
Home, Dawsonville, GA.
Trump probe subpoena
served on Raffensperger
By KATE BRUMBACK
Associated Press
ATLANTA — Georgia
Secretary of State Brad
Raffensperger has
received a subpoena
related to special
counsel Jack Smith’s
investigation of for
mer President
Donald Trump, who
focused strongly on
the state as he
sought to overturn
his 2020 election loss.
Smith was appointed last
month to oversee not only
the Justice Department’s
Mar-a-Lago investigation
but also aspects of Trump’s
scramble to stay in power
— including his effort in
Georgia — and the violent
attack on the U.S. Capitol
on Jan. 6, 2021.
In a Jan. 2 phone call,
Trump had suggested that
Raffensperger “find” the
votes needed to give him a
win in Georgia.
The subpoena, which is
dated Friday and was
received by
Raffensperger’s office
Monday, follows others
served last week in several
states and counties. Fike
those other locations,
Georgia was a
target of Trump
and his allies as
they sought to
overturn his loss
in the 2020 elec
tion.
The special
counsel is seek
ing “any and all
communications in any
form” between June 1,
2020, and Jan. 20, 2021,
“to, from or involving”
Trump, his campaign, law
yers and aides, including
former campaign officials
such as Bill Stepien and
Justin Clark and lawyers
John Eastman, Boris
Epshteyn, F. Fin Wood,
Sidney Powell and former
New York Mayor Rudy
Giuliani, according to the
subpoena, which was
obtained by The
Associated Press.
Efforts by Trump and his
associates to reverse his
loss in Georgia are current
ly the subject of a separate
investigation led by Fulton
County District Attorney
Fani Willis in Atlanta. A
special grand jury seated to
aid that investigation has
heard from dozens of wit
nesses, including a number
of high-profile Trump
allies, over the past six
months and is expected to
wrap up its work soon.
Among other things,
Willis is investigating the
Jan. 2, 2021, phone call
between Trump and
Raffensperger.
It was not immediately
clear whether any counties
in Georgia had also
received subpoenas from
the special counsel.
In the weeks following
the 2020 election, Trump
focused in part on Fulton
County, which includes
most of the city of Atlanta,
making unsupported alle
gations of election fraud.
But the county had not
received a subpoena by
Monday morning, a
spokesperson said.
Raffensperger
UPCOMING EVENTS
The Cumming Arts Center has
extended hours for its new Christmas
Marketplace and Festival ofTrees.
Hours for December areThursday-
Saturday, 11am-3pm and Sundays
1-4pm. Unique artisan handmade
items perfect for gift giving are for
sale in the expanded Gallery Gift Shop
as well as artist decorated 1-4 foot
trees and wreaths. A Nativities collec
tion is also on display throughout this
lovely historic house.The Arts Center
is located at 111 Pilgrim Mill Rd in
downtown Cumming. Parking and
Entry are free. Visit sawneeart.org for
more info on all events, activities,
classes and more.
ONGOING
Lord of Life Lutheran Church:
Please join us for worship on Sundays
at 10:30 a.m. You can also view the
service live each Sunday through
Facebook Live (www.facebook.com/
lordoflifealpharetta.org). Lord of Life
Lutheran Church offers a Christ-
centered/fa m i ly-o rie nted m i n i stry. Th e
church is at 5390 McGinnis Ferry
Road, Alpharetta. For more informa
tion, call 770-740-1279 or visit www.
Lord-life.org.
Episcopal Church of the Holy
Spirit will have Sunday service at
8:30 a.m. and 10:45 a.m., (coffee &
conversation held after each service),
and adult education at 9:30 a.m.,
Wednesday service at noon. Each eve
ning Compline is held via Facebook
live at 8 p.m. on www.facebook.com/
ECOHS.net. We also have Bible Study
onTuesday at 6 p.m. andThursday at
10:30 a.m.Thursday. Visit www.ecohs.
net for all available opportunities,
including Vacation Bible School com
ing up. Episcopal Church of the Holy
Spirit is at 724 Pilgrim Mill Rd.,
Cumming.
Treat theTroops Southern Style,
which provides comfort foods for our
deployed soldiers, will have packing
events at 7 p.m. Feb. 1, May 2, Aug. 1
and Nov. 7 at the VFW Post 9143,1045
Dahlonega Hwy., Cumming. Please
bring homemade cookies (six per
twist-tie baggie and labeled if they
contain nuts), candy, individual serv
ings of packable food, travel-size toi
letries and letters or cards of apprecia
tion.Tax-deductible postage donations
are needed. If you know of anyone
who is currently deployed outside the
Continental United States, email Linda
their name, military mailing address
and expected return date. For more
information, email lktjones@ bell-
south.net, or go online at www.treat-
thetroops.org.
Be local. Be informed.
Anywhere you go.
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS
A Metro Market Media Publication
327 Dahlonega St., Suite 903A I GROUP PUBLISHER | Stephanie Woody
Cumming, GA 30040
PHONE (770) 887-3126 SALES MANAGER | Tim Anderson
FAX (770) 889-6017 mniTnrnTTAnlll .
v ’ GROUP EDITOR | Nate McCullough
USPS 205-540 SPORTS EDITOR | Nicholas Sullivan
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