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VOL. 132 NO. 23 48 PAGES 5 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 50« COPY — Inside — Area news: •Veterans honored at JHS program page 6A Op/Ed: •'Drought leads to political posturing' page 4A Sports: •Jefferson to host Class A state playoff game vs. Bowdon on Friday... .page 7 B Features: •The Pottery closes; Craven says it's just the beginning page 1C Other News: •School News pages 8-11C •Public Safety pages 8-9A •Legals pages 12-18C •Church News pages 10-11A •Obituaries page 12 A City agrees to financial settlement in departure BY ALLEN LUTON AFTER SEVERAL weeks of specula tion and behind-the-scenes maneuvering, Dennis Bell’s lengthy tenure as Arcade’s police chief has come to an unceremonious end. After more than 11 years on the job. Bell recently submitted a let ter of resignation and then reached a $25,701 settlement agreement with the city. He had been on unpaid leave following allegations of misconduct made in an anonymous letter to the city last month. Monday night, the Arcade City Council unanimously approved a resolution autho rizing Arcade mayor Doug Haynie to exe cute a separation agreement with Bell. The reaction of citizens in attendance was mixed. One woman called Bell the best police chief the town has ever had. Another man expressed his approval of the city council’s vote and said police depart ment officials should be held to a higher moral standard. In his resignation letter addressed to the mayor. Bell stated that “it is with regret that I make this proposal, because it has been an honor and privilege to serve this commis sion and this community for the past eleven years.’’ There was no mention made to any of the allegations leveled against him. Also in his resignation letter, Bell asked the city for some $32,118 in payments for accumulated vacation and sick pay he said he was entitled to receive. The eventual settlement amount agreed upon by the two parties was $6,417 below that figure. ANONYMOUS LETTER A letter dated Oct. 6, addressed to city administrator Barbara Kesler accused Bell of “corruption’’ and “fixing tickets.” The anonymous author threatened to send cop ies to the state Attorney General’s office, the local media, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation if Bell was not removed from his position as chief. On Oct. 31, Arcade city attorney Richard Wingate abruptly resigned, reportedly over the way the Bell investigation was being handled by the city. The next day, the Arcade City Council met privately for two hours behind closed doors, but took no action after reconvening. Prior to his resignation, Wingate wrote on Oct. 19 that the allegations against Bell were “vague accusations and innuendo,” while calling for the Attorney General to investigate. Thurbert Baker’s office responded by saying it had no jurisdiction to investigate and instead referred the mat ter to the Piedmont Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s office. In recent weeks, Haynie has said that Bell was placed on leave so that the now former police chief could spend more time with his family. However, it appears that at the time an internal investigation look ing into the allegations of criminal activity against Bell was being conducted. In a letter to Bell last week dated Nov. 7, the mayor informed the chief that he was being placed on unpaid leave, but that the internal review was “unrelated to the inves tigation previously conducted regarding an anonymous letter and claims of improper and illegal activities.” If there are currently any findings from an investigation into Bell’s activities or those of the police department as a whole, they have not yet been made public. Some on the city council said Monday that “it will all come out.” Major Randy Williams remains as acting chief of police in Arcade for the time being. Haynie said that a search for a permanent replacement for Bell will take place soon. Timeline of events: • Oct. 12: an anonymous letter dated Oct. 6 from someone who later claims to be a former police department employee is received by the City of Arcade. The letter accuses police chief Dennis Bell of “corruption” and “fixing” tickets. A second anonymous letter addressed to Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker, apparently by the same author, also accuses Bell of “further criminal actions” such as “citation quota orders, gambling and other criminal actions.” • Oct. 19: Arcade city attorney Richard Wingate writes Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker notifying him of the letters and request ing that he investigate. Wingate states that the city “can find no evidence of any wrongdoing by chief Bell” after interviewing city personnel. • Oct. 23 the Attorney General’s office notifies Wingate and the City of Arcade that “nothing outlined in your letter involves subject matter over which this office has jurisdiction to investigate.” The matter is then referred to the Piedmont Judicial Circuit District Attorney. • Oct. 29: Bell submits a letter of resignation outlining his terms for a settlement agreement with the city, including a total payment of $32,118. • Oct. 31: Arcade city attorney Richard Wingate abruptly resigns, reportedly over the way the city is handling the investigation into the allega tions. • Nov. 1: the Arcade City Council meets privately with new acting city attorney, Jody Campbell, for over two hours behind closed doors to discuss the investigation. After reconvening, no action is taken by the council. • Nov. 7: Arcade mayor Doug Haynie officially notifies Bell that he has been placed on unpaid administrative leave while “the city conducts an internal review of the City of Arcade Police Department.” According to Haynie, “the review is unrelated to the investigation previously conducted regarding an anonymous letter and claims of improper and illegal activi ties.” • Nov. 12: the Arcade City Council approves a resolution authoriz ing Haynie to execute a separation agreement with Bell, who receives a $25,701 settlement from the city and resigns. FALL FOLIAGE Colorful trees lined the banks of the Middle Oconee River on Monday afternoon near the Jackson and Athens-Clarke county lines. Photo by Allen Luton Jefferson side of bypass to close Mon. for work Hampton named county manager DARRELL HAMPTON was named the new county manager in a unanimous vote of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners Wednesday. Hampton will start work on Thursday and his annual salary will be $105,000. He has a two-year contract. “I appreciate the opportunity to come here and the trust you have placed in me,” Hampton said at the brief called BOC meet ing Wednesday morn ing. “I look forward to the opportunity to work with you.. .and to move Jackson County in the direction you, as a commission, want.” Hampton served as the Stephens County admin istrator from 2002 until August 2007. Hampton and his wife, Bonnie, plan to move to Jackson County early next year. TFIE FIRST phase of the traffic light installation project on the bypass in Jefferson was completed this week. Plans are to shut down the other side of the bypass next week as work continues. “Our contractor completed paving up to the inter mediate wearing surface last night for phase 1 on the Kroger side,” Don Clerici, Jackson County’s capital projects manager, said Wednesday. “It is our intent to re-open the Kroger side on Friday. We are sched uled to close the Jefferson side on Monday.” The intersection is being upgraded with turning lanes off Old Pendergrass Road at the bypass and a traffic signal is slated to be installed. Last year, after numerous accidents and sev eral fatalities, citizens complained to the City of Jefferson about the dangerous intersection. Earlier this year, the DOT agreed to a traffic signal at the site, provide that Jefferson pay for it. BY ANGELA GARY JACKSON COUNTY leaders and city offi cials continue to urge citizens to cut down on water use while they search for alternative water sources during the worst drought in the county on record. Leaders from the Jackson County Water and Sewerage Authority, as well as the munic ipal water departments, held a joint meeting Monday morning in Jefferson to provide a look at the current water situation and their plan for other water sources. Leaders from each group gave an update on how they are handling the drought. The governor has issued an order that water use be cut by 10 percent which has left pro viders scrambling to educate the public on ways to conserve water. While the counties and cities don’t know exactly what the pen alty will be if they don’t comply, leaders do know that it will be a monetary fine. Eric Klerk of the county water authority reported that water usage for the county is down 45 percent from this time last year. He said the system is now getting water from Bear Creek and the City of Commerce. He said that, without rain, the Bear Creek reservoir would run out of water by mid- February. Klerk said the authority is looking at several alternate sources of water, including NO FISHING AT BEAR CREEK Public access fishing is closed at Bear Creek Reservoir due to the dropping water levels as drought conditions worsen. Photo by Allen Luton i. I ■ C l PLRLIC ACCESS FlSh CLOSED DIE TO IOW WATER LEVEL : County, city leaders working together on drought an old connection on the Waterworks Road, where up to 500,000 gallons of water a day could be available. Another possible source of water would be a connection with the City of Gainesville and purchasing water from Braselton. “Everything depends on whether Bear Creek goes dry,” he said. continued on page 3A Early deadlines set THE JACKSON HERALD will have early news and ad deadlines for the next issue due to the Thanksgiving holiday. The deadline for classified and display adver tising will be at noon on Friday. The news dead line will also be at noon on Friday. The Jackson Herald will be available on the newsstands on Tuesday night and will be deliv ered in the mail on Wednesday. The Herald office will be closed on Thursday in observation of the Thanksgiving holiday.