Newspaper Page Text
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ERALD
www.JacksonHeraldTODAY.com
VOL. 136 NO. 22 52 PACES 4 SECTIONS PLUS INSERTS A PUBLICATION OF MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. JEFFERSON, JACKSON COUNTY GEORGIA 30549 75« COPY
— Inside —
Area news:
•High school gradua
tion test on its way out
page 2A
Op/Ed:
•'We're all Jackson
Countians'
page 4A
Sports:
•JCCHS, JHS win sea
son finales
page 1B
Features:
•Jefferson, C.W. Long
included in Civil War
book, on Web site
page 1C
•Heritage farm gets
grant page 1C
Other News:
•Public Safety
pages 6-7A
•Legals
pages 7-28C
•Church News
page 11B
•Obituaries
page 10A
•School News
. . . pages 9, 10 & 12A,
10&12B
o -S
Suspects charged with armed robbery
A MAN AND a woman have been
arrested for an armed robbery in which
a Jefferson convenience store clerk was
tied up with duct tape, according to the
Jackson County Sheriff’s Office,
Shaun Joseph Fortson. 25. of Elberton
and Keri Ann Mullins, 32, of Hull, were
caught soon after the armed robbery at
Deep’s Store, located on Commerce Road
(Ga. Hwy. 15), on Thursday.
A lone clerk in the store located next
to the Harrisburg Fire Department said
a white male dressed in all black and
a cap, and a woman with a ski mask
covering her face came into the business
and demanded money, according to an
incident report.
The man grabbed the female clerk’s hair
and put a small gun to her head, accord
ing to the sheriff’s office. He demanded
money and threatened to shoot the clerk.
He pulled the clerk to a cash register
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MULLINS
and made her open it. The male suspect
then emptied the money — an estimated
$500-600 — into his pockets.
Both suspects further put duct tape
around the clerk’s mouth, feet and hands,
according to an incident report.
The clerk was forced to the floor
and the female suspect grabbed about
five packs of cigarettes. The suspects
fled the store and the clerk was later
able to call 911 with her hands still
tied together with duct tape.
A deputy responding to the incident saw
a vehicle with a white male and female
staring at him as he drove on Brockton
Road. Believing the passengers in the
speeding car may have been involved
in the armed robbery, the deputy turned
around and tried to follow the vehicle.
He initially couldn’t find the car, but
later saw it parked at another gas station
in Nicholson, according to an incident
report.
The deputy said the man and the
woman in the car — later identified as
Fortson and Mullins — were cooperative,
but nervous, when they spoke to him. The
deputy said he saw Mullins put some
thing in the trash can and start pumping
gas at Dan’s Food Mart when he arrived
at the store.
Mullins said Fortson was on metha
done and they were returning home after
visiting relatives in Watkinsville.
Fortson allowed the deputy to search
his vehicle, where deputies found a roll of
duct tape, a ski mask, a stainless steel BB
gun, and several new packs of cigarettes.
An investigator also found $350 in the
waistband of Fortson’s pants.
Fortson and Mullins were then arrest
ed for armed robbery and taken to the
Jackson County Jail.
While there, a female deputy found a
one dollar bill in Mullins’ front pocket that
had “Good Luck’’ written on it. according
to an incident report. Another one dollar,
also with “Good Luck” scribbled on it,
was found in the crease of Mullins’ belly.
She had a total of $46 in one dollar bills.
Mullins also had two plastic wraps
with a green leafy substance in her vagi
na, according to an incident report. She
was further charged with bringing drugs
across the jail guard line.
Wish comes true
SPONGEBOB CAKE
Five-year-old Francisco Amaya received a new bedroom from Broyhill Furniture
and the Make-A-Wish Foundation on Friday. The room is completely decked out
in Spongebob Squarepants and will be a comfortable area for him to spend his
time. He is pictured with his mother, Bianca Amaya, who is showing him his
Spongebob cake.
Five-year-old gets new bedroom
from Make-A-Wish Foundation
BY KATIE HUSTON
FTVE-YEAR-OLD Francisco
Amaya had no idea what await
ed him when he stepped off his
school bus Friday afternoon and
entered his Gillsville home.
The North Jackson Elementary
School student suffers from a
chronic respiratory illness and
was selected as one of only 50
children in the country to ben
efit from the national Broyhill
Furniture sponsorship of the
Make-A-Wish Foundation.
As a result. Francisco received
a new bedroom completely
decked out with his favorite
cartoon character, Spongebob
Squarepants.
The bedspread is Spongebob;
Spongebob stickers are on the
walls; and stuffed animals of the
yellow ocean-dwelling character
are placed throughout his new
room.
The room - which previously
served as a guest room - will be
Francisco’s first “big boy” room.
Until now, the five-year-old was
sleeping in a crib in his parents’
room.
Overwhelmed at first by
the sight of so many people,
Francisco’s love for Spongebob
quickly took over as he headed
straight for the computer where
an episode of the cartoon was
playing. After that, he headed
straight to the stack of DVDs
piled on his new desk. Next he
was off to his Spongebob cake
that was waiting for him to slice
into it. He was beginning to feel
at home already.
Because of his illness,
Francisco spends much of his
time at home. This makes it
imperative that he has a com
fortable living space to pass the
time.
continued on page 8A
4i vSiV,*._5'
FINISHED PROJECT
The team that worked on the new logo in front of Jackson County Comprehensive
High School is shown standing atop the finished result. Those shown are: (front)
Rachel Glenfield, Megan Carter, Brittany Aikens, Katie Tuten, Crosby Harbin; and
(back) Todd McGhee, Shawn Watson, Laura Caldwell, Dragos Teodor and Derelle
McMenomy. See page 8A for more on the project. Photo by Katie Huston
Glenn loses 4-3 in
Supreme Court ruling
THE GEORGIA Supreme
Court ruled 4-3 against former
Jefferson Police Chief Darren
Glenn in his lawsuit against city
officials.
The state Supreme Court
reversed a Jackson County court
decision. According to briefs
filed in the case, the city man
ager fired Glenn in 2006 follow
ing allegations of wrongdoing,
including that he improperly
used police computers to check
motor vehicle records.
Glenn’s attorney, Mike
Bowers, said he was “disap
pointed” in the outcome.
After his termination, Glenn
requested a hearing to clear his
name. He claimed that Mayor
Jim Joiner and other current and
former city officials had made
false and stigmatizing statements
related to the termination, which
the local newspaper had publi
cized, according to briefs. The
city manager denied his request
for a hearing, and Mayor Joiner
and the other officials approved
the denial.
Glenn then sued them, seek
ing damages for injury to his
reputation, mental anguish, lost
wages and violation of his due
process rights under the Georgia
Constitution. Former Georgia
Attorney General Mike Bowers
has represented Glenn. The
mayor and city officials filed
a motion, asking the court to
issue a judgment in their favor
based solely on the allegations
and information contained in
the pleadings. They argued that
Glenn could not seek damages
when an “adequate state reme
dy” exists under the law. Rathei
than bring due process claims
under the Georgia Constitution,
they argued, he was required
to seek a “writ of mandamus,”
asking the court to compel the
city officials to provide him
with a name-clearing hearing. In
December 2009. the trial court
denied their motion, allowing
Glenn’s lawsuit against them to
go forward.
But in Monday’s major
ity decision, written by Justice
Hugh Thompson, the Court
agrees with the city officials and
has reversed the lower court’s
decision.
“Accordingly, we hold that
a writ of mandamus is a pro
cedural remedy which cures
defendants’ failure to provide
plaintiff with a name-clearing
hearing,” the majority opinion
says. “It follows that the superi
or court erred in denying defen
dants’ motion for judgment on
the pleadings.”
Joining in the majority are
Justices Robert Benham, P.
Harris Hines and David
Nahmias.
In the dissent. Chief Justice
Carol Hunstein wrote that
Glenn was not seeking dam
ages for a due process violation.
He sought damages for official
misconduct, and his complaint
“on its face does not assert a
cause of action for a due pro
cess violation.” Under state law,
“Glenn’s claims are not pre-
continued on page 8A
Caputo, 7 players out
of last EJCHS game
JACKSON COUNTY
School System Superintendent
Shannon Adams declined
to confirm that East Jackson
Comprehensive High School
football coach Frank Caputo
and several players had been
suspended from last week’s
football game following a
vandalism incident Oct. 29 at
Jefferson High School.
Adams said the coach’s sta
tus was a “personnel” issue and
that the students’ status was a
“student discipline” issue. He
declined to say how many stu
dents were involved.
“I’m not going to discuss
that,” Adams said.
However, other sources told
Mainstreet Newspapers that
Caputo was banned from being
on the sidelines last Friday night
and that seven football play
ers, two seniors, were also not
allowed to play in the school’s
final game of the season.
The action comes after a
locker room used by the EJCHS
team was vandalized during
its recent game with Jefferson
High School. Reports also indi
cate that food was thrown from
the team’s bus alter the game
onto vehicles. A sink in the
visitors’ bathroom at JHS was
also tom from the wall during
the game.
An investigation after that
incident reportedly led EJCHS
officials to conclude that prob
lems within the football pro
gram were deeper than just
those actions.
Those close to the situation
say that Caputo’s long-term sta
tus with the program has not yet
been determined.