Newspaper Page Text
THE
ACKSON
m
H Wednesday, December 30, 2009
ERALD
www.JacksonHeraldTODAY.com
VOL. 135 NO. 28 40 PACES 3 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 75« COPY
— Inside —
Newsmaker of the Year
Area news:
•2009 in review
pages 2&8A
•Church expansion
plans on hold
page 3 A
•Top crime, educa
tion and environmen
tal stories of the year
page 3 A
Op/Ed:
•'Goals for 2010'
page 4A
Sports:
•Top sports stories of
the year
page 13 A
Features:
•Thyatira Olney Pres
byterian Church dates
back to county's earli
est days
page 1B
Other News:
Whistleblowers blow lid off Pendergrass finances
WHISTLEBLOWERS
Former Pendergrass city clerk Katherine Rintoul (front L), officer Bill
Gamer (back L), officer Scott Rogers (back R) and attorney Nancy Val
Preda alleged in 2009 that Pendergrass leaders had been involved in
widespread wrong-doing. In the summer, they released documents and
tape recordings to support their claim. Rogers and Rintoul were fired
by the Pendergrass council. They say that was in retaliation for their
having gone to Mayor Monk Tolbert in June with their complaints.
THREE PENDERGRASS employees
came forward in mid-2009 alleging wide
spread corruption and abuse of funds in
the town’s government. They said they
took their concerns to the mayor, but that
instead of taking it seriously, he fired two
of them.
The three whistleblowers then went to
the media and a firestorm of controversy
ensued as city officials scrambled to fight
allegations of city corruption.
At the end of 2009, city leaders had
fought off a recall effort from a group
of citizens, but a GBI investigation was
ongoing in the city over how public funds
had been handled and spent and the three
whistleblowers had filed lawsuits against
the town and its officials.
While the initial complaint was against
Pendergrass officials, the issue was larger
than just one town in Jackson County as
it exposed some questionable practices
by local government officials. Of special
importance was the fact that SPLOST
funds were being abused by the city for
items other than what was voted on by
citizens and the hint that other local towns
were also abusing their SPLOST money.
Whatever the ultimate outcome of the
GBI probe into Pendergrass, the expos
ing of Pendergrass officials by the three
whistleblowers gave the public an inside
look at some ugly and questionable prac
tices by the town’s government. For that,
the three whistleblowers — former city
clerk Katherine Rintoul, policemen Scott
Rogers and policeman Bill Gamer —
were Newsmakers of the Year.
CONCERNSABOUT
CORRUPTION
The events that led three Pendergrass
employees to blow the whistle on what
they say is corruption in the town began
over a year ago. Gamer said he had
become increasingly uncomfortable with
some of what city administrator and police
chief Rob Russell was doing in the city.
Rintoul said she had also become increas
ingly aware last year that not everything in
the city was being done correctly and that
she became afraid that she would be held
liable should some of the town’s dealings
become public.
After a lawsuit was filed by another for
mer police officer, Gamer said the work
situation became worse in Pendergrass
and he began comparing notes about what
was going on with Rogers.
“You never knew who you could bust,”
Gamer said. “He (Russell) tried to pit us
against each other. He didn’t want us to
be friends and compare notes. If we did,
we would see there were inconsistencies
and problems.. .He tries to play everyone
against each other.”
Although suspicious of each other, the
three eventually began to compare notes
and discovered that they shared similar
concerns about how Russell was handling
the city government.
In June, the two police officers began
making secret recordings of Russell. In
the recordings, Russell admits to fix
ing tickets, misusing SPLOST money
and to other questionable actions. And
Rintoul began making copies of credit
card bills and other documents that indi
cated Russell was abusing city funds.
By this time, Russell had picked up
on the fact that Gamer, Rogers and
Rintoul were watching him and he
berated Rogers and Gamer saying that
he would not stand for disloyalty and
would put down any “coup” by the
three.
It was one of those hour-long tirades
against Gamer in late June that pushed
the three to go public with their concerns.
The three, along with attorney Nancy Val
Preda, took copies of their recordings
and documents to Mayor Monk Tolbert,
thinking he would deal with Russell and
clean up the mess that had been created.
“We were under the impression that
Monk was going to do the right thing,”
Gamer said.
Says Val Preda: “We took it to the
mayor. If the mayor had done what he
1990-2008:
Newsmakers
of the Year
2008 - Shaun Whitehead, soldier
killed in Iraq
2007 — Darren Glenn, Jefferson
police chief
2006 - Kathy Wilbanks, county
BOE chairman
2005 — Pat Graham, Braselton
mayor
2004 — Stan Evans, sheriff
2003 — Concerned Citizens of
Jackson County
2002 — Scott Martin, chairman of
the IDA
2001 — Emil Beshara, BOC
2000 — Jerry Waddell, chairman
of the BOC
1999 — Rep. Scott Tolbert
1998 — Richard Cathey, chamber
of commerce
1997 — Pat Bell, commissioner
1996 — Citizens United for a Better
Jackson County
1995 — Ronnie Hopkins, Jefferson
BOE chairman, and Andy Byers,
Jackson County superintendent
1994 — Jerry Waddell, chairman of
the BOC
1993 — Charles Segars, Arcade
mayor
1992 - Bill Mahaffey, chairman of
the BOC
1991 - Sandy Beem, concerned
citizen
1990 — Henry Robinson, chairman
of the BOC
was supposed to do, it never would have
gone any further.”
But instead of dealing with Russell,
Tolbert fired Rintoul and Rogers under
the guise of city cost cutting. Gamer
later quit.
•Public Safety
page 6A
•Legals
pages 8-24B
•Church News
page 1OA
•Obituaries
page
•School News
pages 7&9A
Top 10 Stories
of the Decade
Courthouse tops the list
BYANGELA GARY
•A new courthouse built in
Jefferson amid public outcry
about the location and cost.
A citizens’ group sued the
county over the financing of
the project. The Supreme Court
eventually mled in favor of the
board of commission over how
it handled the financing for the project.
•The Bear Creek Reservoir opened in Jackson County and pro
vided water for four counties. The reservoir was planned by the
Upper Oconee Basin Authority.
•War in Iraq. Hundreds of countians served and some reservists,
including including State Rep. Chris Lindsay and Arcade police
chief Randy Williams, were called to active duty. Pro troop rallies
were held and people lined the roads when the body of the county’s
first casualty from the war came home.
•Jackson County was named one of the fastest growing counties
in the nation by the U.S. Census Bureau.
•The firing of Jefferson police chief Darren Glenn dominated
headlines for years with a lawsuit filed against the town by Glenn
still pending at the end of 2009.
•District attorney Tim Madison resigned, was arrested and sen
tenced to serve six years in jail over financial misconduct.
•New schools open across the county, including the $70 million
East Jackson Comprehensive High School.
•Hoschton scarecrow effort brought national attention to the West
Jackson town and led to it being featured in publications across the
country. Thousands of people visited the town to see the scarecrows
and the effort broke a world record.
•Three Town of Pendergrass employees alleged widespread cor
ruption by town leaders.
•The economy suffered with two area banks closing, develop
ment at a standstill, unemployment up and foreclosures at an all-
time high.
News Story of the Year
Declining economy leads to banks
and businesses closing across area
BYANGELA GARY
TWO JACKSON County area
banks were shut down by the
FDIC in 2009 with several oth
ers being watched closely by
officials and given warnings.
A key Jefferson business shut
down and layoffs were reported
by companies across the county.
Foreclosures increased by
more than 30 percent and the
unemployment rate was higher
than it has been in recent his
tory.
New development came to a
standstill with new subdivisions
filled with empty lots.
Not since the Great Depression
had Jackson County seen such
economic turmoil as it did in
2009. At year’s end, unemploy
ment and foreclosures remain
high and many don’t expect
much change even in 2010.
While not just local in nature,
the economic downturn slammed
Jackson County in a number
of ways in 2009, making it the
News Story of the Year.
FA n un BANKS
Commerce-based Freedom
Bank was taken over in early
March by the FDIC after having
snuggled for months with bad
loans. It also had branches in
Jefferson and Winder.
A report from the FDIC about
the failure says Freedom had
concentrated too much of its
loans into real estate even as
far back as 10 months after it
first opened in 2004. The report
also said the bank had deviated
from its business plan and it
was critical of lax management
oversight.
The FDIC audit also said
Freedom had fueled its growth
through expensive wholesale
deposits and borrowing from
the Federal Home Loan Bank
and that by mid-2008, half of
the bank’s deposits came from
those non-core sources. But the
report was also critical of bank
regulators who they said were
slow in responding to the bank’s
problems.
After Freedom was taken
over, its deposits were acquired
by Northeast Georgia Bank out
continued on page 3A
County’s New Year’s Day program planned
THE 83RD ANNUAL Jackson County New
Year’s Day Program will be held at 9 a.m. on
Friday, January 1, in the auditorium of the
Jackson County Administrative Building.
The first such New Year’s Day Program
was held in 1927, with Judge W.W. Dickson
presiding.
Pastor Luis Ortiz of the Hoschton United
Methodist Church will be the featured
speaker. Mary Burley will sing “God Bless
America.” Magistrate Court Judge Billy
Chandler will introduce county officials and
guests. Tax Commissioner Don Elrod will
introduce the speaker. TeenPact, a Jackson
County organization dedicated to preparing
students for business and political leadership,
will again host the event and provide coffee
and doughnuts.
The location of the program has been
changed from the historic county courthouse,
which is currently being renovated. All are
invited to attend the program.