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THURSDAY, MARCH 21
5-7:30 P.H. CCHS CAFETERIA
Thursday, March 21,2013
2 Sections, 14 Pages
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What Happens Next?
Judge’s Arrest Going To Cost County
By Abigail Adams
The Georgia Post
When Magistrate Judge
Andrea Peterman was ar
rested for fiduciary theft the
entire county was in shock.
Peterman had just taken the
office of Magistrate Judge
in October of 2012 after
running unopposed to fill the
position vacated by previ
ous Magistrate Judge Donna
Johnson, who died just one
day after the qualifying
period for the 2012 elections
ended.
On March 4th, after a tip
was sent to District Attorney
David Cooke, GBI arrested
Peterman on the charge of
theft and violation of oath
of office by a public offi
cer. She was released from
jail on a $5,000 bond on
Wednesday, March 6th and
on Friday, March 15th Peter
man signed a consent order
with the Judicial Qualifica
tions Commission to be sus
pended from the office while
the investigation continues.
The Georgia Judicial
Qualification Commission
(JQC) is the state body that
investigates, disciplines,
and in cases such as this,
removes judges from office.
Though Peterman signed the
consent order to be suspend
ed this is not an admission
of guilt and the JQC will not
make a final decision on her
position until a conviction
has been made.
“What happens next?”
seems to be the question on
most residents’ minds now
that the shock has worn off.
Deputy Magistrate Judge
Robin Dunaway, who served
as interim judge after John
son’s death last year and was
appointed by Peterman as
deputy, has taken over duties
for the time being.
To begin with, the in
vestigation will continue
to either prove Peterman’s
guilt or her innocence as the
office undergoes a forensic
audit to find out if money
has gone missing and if so,
how much. During this time
Peterman will be suspended
from the office but she will
continue to receive com
pensation. Her full pay and
medical benefits will con
tinue until she is convicted
or acquitted.
What is usual process for
a case such as this is for an
indictment to be sent to JQC
and then the commission
will issue a suspension, but
with a consent order already
signed by Peterman this step
could very well be skipped.
To the knowledge of county
attorney David Mincey III,
an indictment has not been
sent to JQC for review.
Mincey, who is represent
ing the county, went on to
explain how the process
continues from there. If
Peterman is convicted she
will be removed from the
office and the office will be
declared vacant. The vacant
office will then be filled
by someone chosen by the
judges of the superior court
to serve for the remainder of
Peterman’s term (which will
end the last day of 2016).
If Peterman is acquitted
she will be reinstated as
Magistrate Judge. During
the time period that the case
is under investigation, a new
Chief Magistrate Judge will
be appointed by the Gover
nor of Georgia. Represen
tative Robert Dickey has
informed the Governor’s
office of the situation and
the county is waiting on a
decision to be made by the
office as to who will fill the
position during the duration
of Peterman’s suspension.
Dunaway will continue to
serve a deputy judge until
the end of the current term
(2016) but only in the ab
sence of a Chief Magistrate
Judge.
The qualifications to
become a Magistrate Judge
are; must be a citizen of the
county for at least one year
prior to taking office, must
be 25 years of age or older,
and must have a high school
diploma or GED. The week
before her arrest Peterman
had completed a week of
training in Athens, GA for
her position.
Mincey is unsure of a time
frame for the case and states
the process could take up to
120 days according to where
the JQC is in the process.
Most JQC proceedings
are kept confidential, but
Mincey is working to get an
answer from the commission
about the length of time the
case may take.
“This is a really difficult
situation,” Mincey said.
“This case is very involved
and it will take a significant
amount of time.”
Therein lies the county’s
problem though. During the
time period of the investiga
tion, the county will essen
tially be paying double the
amount they usually do for a
Magistrate Judge. Peterman
will continue to receive her
salary plus benefits, and the
county will be paying for the
temporary judge that will be
appointed by the Governor,
the same compensation.
“This could end up being
almost a $63,000 problem,”
stated county manager Pat
Kelly when asked about the
financial impact this case
will have on the county.
In the meantime, it is a
waiting game for everyone.
Diane and Mike Stafford
of MiDi Blueberry Farm
in Crawford County,
won first place in the
2013 Flavor of Georgia
Food Product Contest
with their Spiced Blue
berry Peach Jam. They
received the award
from Georgia Gover
nor Nathan Deal and
Georgia Agriculture
Commissioner Gary
Black. The farm has
about 1000 blueberry
plants and last year was
their first big harvest.
The Staffords said they
were proud to represent
Crawford County and
excited about winning.
The weather was
perfect for the
annual 4-H Club
Rabies Clinic
this past Satur
day. Dr. Felix
Smith provided
the vaccinations.
At left Hope gets
her rabies shot.
At right Fred is
waiting patiently
but his human
said they were
being silly while
waiting.
Leanne Gainey and Agnes Hollingshed - STAR stu
dent and teacher at CCHS.
STAR Student Has Chosen
Nursing For Her Career
By Abigail Adams
The Georgia Post
Leann Gainey is described
by her favorite teacher,
Agnes Hollingshed as a stu
dent with a quiet calmness
about her. Gainey is a senior
at Crawford County High
School and after scoring the
highest score in the school
on her SAT’s (an 1810)
she now has the honor of
being named STAR (Stu
dent/Teacher Achievement
Recognition) Student of the
2012-13 school year.
Gainey plans to attend
Mercer University in the Fall
for nursing and Hollingshed
believes that she is very well
suited for her chosen career
path. Gainey chose Hol
lingshed as Star Teacher and
though her favorite subject
is math, her health care class
with Hollingshed has helped
to shape her plans for the
future.
“She has all the qualities
and abilities to succeed in
the healthcare field,” Hol
lingshed said when asked
about how she felt about
Gainey going to college to
become a nurse.
Gainey gives all the credit
for her love of the health
care field to her Health Care
Science teacher. She says
that Hollingshed helped
her to discover a passion in
nursing. Hollingshed has
been teaching at Crawford
County for twelve years. She
is currently the Health Care
Science and Anatomy and
Physiology teacher in the
high school.
When asked how she felt
about becoming Star Student
Gainey says that she was
surprised but had expected
to at least be in the top of
her class after all the hard
work she had put into study
ing for the SAT’s. She is
very glad she made the top
score and is looking forward
to what the future brings
after graduation.
Hollingshed shares in the
honor and says that she feels
great pride in being chosen
as Star Teacher by Gainey.
She is full of praise for the
polite young lady, who also
helps in the high school
front office every afternoon.
“She has all the qualities
you see in a Star Student,”
Hollingshed said. “I think
that her plans for the future
are great and I have no doubt
that she will go far and do
great things. I know we will
be reading about her accom
plishments in the future.”
#13 Gregory McSwin on the mound against Schley
County. The Eagles lost 3-0.
PHOTO BY CAREY LEE
