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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS
Weekend Edition-December 16-17,2022 FORSYTHNEWS.COM forsythcountynews Q @ForsythNews (®) @ForsythNews $2.00
Tm here to make you uncomfortable'
Sabrina Kerns Forsyth County News
Alison Hair speaks to the Board of Education for the first time in nearly 10 months at its regular
meeting onTuesday, Dec. 14.
Mama Bears of Forsyth face school board amid legal battle
By Sabrina Kerns
skerns@forsythnews.com
Alison Hair spoke directly to the
Forsyth County Board of Education
at its regular meeting on Tuesday,
Dec. 13, for the first time in nearly
10 months.
The Forsyth parent had been
banned from the board’s meetings
in March after attempting to read a
sexually explicit passage from a
school library book out loud during
a meeting, making a point that the
board should work to remove simi
lar books from the district’s media
centers.
That ban has since been tempo
rarily undone by a preliminary rul
ing made in a federal lawsuit. She
and a group of other parents, named
the Mama Bears of Forsyth, filed
suit against the board and school
system in July alleging its actions
and public participation policy vio
lated citizens’ First Amendment
rights.
Inside
School board honors vice
chair, talks funding, 5A
“You have silenced me and many
other parents,” Hair told the board
as she stepped up to the podium
Tuesday night. “For that, in my
opinion, you should be ashamed.”
She read from U.S. District Judge
Richard W. Story’s preliminary rul
ing in the lawsuit, specifically
pointing out the portion that states
the board’s decision to ban Hair
from its regular meetings - and its
policy against profane language -
was unconstitutional.
“I’m so sorry for our community
that it took this and it took the tax
payers’ money to allow me to be
back to tell you what all I was try
ing to tell you before,” Hair said. “I
hope that this case restores the free
dom of speech that you took away
from me and that you took away
from so many others. I also hope
that this case encourages all parents
to stand up and speak up for their
rights.”
Hair used her remaining three
minutes with the board to continue
reading the book passage that she
had started at a meeting in March
before Chairman Wes McCall
stopped her and asked all communi
ty members to leave the room.
She told the Forsyth County
News it felt freeing to be able to
read the full passage after months
of having to censor explicit words.
For her, it is important for both the
board and other parents to hear the
full intensity of the sexually explicit
material she said is available
through local school libraries.
“I was really glad to not be gav-
eled into silence tonight,” Hair said.
Cindy Martin, a member of the
Mama Bears and another plaintiff in
the lawsuit, also read detailed
explicit material in front of the
See Books 14A
Woman dies in
crash at busy
intersection
By Kelly Whitmire
kwh itm i r e@f o rsythnews.com
The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office is inves
tigating a fatal wreck at a busy south Forsyth
intersection.
On Thursday, Dec. 15, FCSO officials con
firmed Bonnie Hammond, 73, was pronounced
dead at the scene after a crash on Wednesday at
the intersection of Bethelview and Castleberry
roads.
According to the release, the preliminary
investigation revealed that around 3:50 p.m. on
Wednesday, Dec. 14, Hammond’s car, a white
Honda CR-V, was turning left onto Castleberry
Road from Bethelview Road, crossing into the
path of a Honda Accord which was traveling
north on Bethelview Road.
Two passengers in the Honda Accord suffered
minor injuries.
No charges are expected in the wreck.
Bethelview’s eastbound lane was closed at the
intersection before reopening at about 5:20 p.m.
on Wednesday.
The wreck is under investigation by the
FCSO Traffic Specialists Unit.
Construction
on Ga. 400
bridge delayed
By Ashlyn Yule
ayule@forsythnews.com
Some north Forsyth County residents might
have noticed construction on the bridge at
Browns Bridge Road (Hwy. 369) and Ga. 400
has halted.
According to a statement from the county
government sent to Forsyth County News on
Friday, Dec. 9, “work on the bridge has been
temporarily paused to assess the best plan of
action following a routine inspection.”
The inspection indicated that a portion of the
substructure, or supporting structure of the
bridge, did not meet the design criteria, and
collaboration is underway to right the problem.
See Bridge 13A
Man indicted on murder, drug charges in Forsyth teen’s death
By Kelly Whitmire
kwhitmire@forsythnews.com
A 19-year-old from Fulton
County has been indicted on fel
ony murder and drug distribu
tion charges in connection with
the death of a Forsyth County
teenager.
In December, Kai Hudson
Bakarich was indicted by the
Forsyth County Superior Court
on charges of felony murder,
distribution of fentanyl, posses
sion of fentanyl with
intent to distribute and
possession of ANPP, a
Schedule II controlled
substance, in connection
with the death of Kaylee
Boxer, a Forsyth teen
who died of a drug over
dose in November 2021.
According to a
Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office
incident report, Boxer was
found deceased by her father the
morning of Friday, Nov. 5,
2021, after having din
ner with her parents the
night before.
An attempt by her
father to revive Boxer
using naloxone, a medi
cine used to combat the
effects of an overdose of
certain drugs, was
unsuccessful.
The indictment said the
Bakarich “did cause the death”
of Boxer “irrespective of malice,
by distributing a substance con
taining fentanyl.”
He also faces a distribution
charge for allegedly selling the
fentanyl, per the indictment.
Bakarich also faces two other
drug possession charges unrelat
ed to the fentanyl allegedly sold
to Boxer.
He was arrested in September
and has been in the Forsyth
County Jail on no bond since his
arrest.
“On November 4, 2021, the
Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office
Major Crimes Unit began an
investigation into the death of
Kaylee Boxer, an 18-year-old
female that died after ingesting a
lethal amount of fentanyl,”
Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office
officials said in a statement at
the time of his arrest.
“After a lengthy investigation
by the Major Crimes Unit and
the [Johns Creek and Forsyth]
Drug Task Force, Kai Bakarich
was identified as the dealer that
sold the illicit drugs to Kaylee.”
Bakarich
50/34
Forecast! 2A
Volunteer
indicted
in church
fund
theft
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□
7
Volume 113, Number 98
© 2022, Forsyth County News
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