About The Coastal courier. (Hinesville, Ga.) 1980-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 29, 2018)
CALL 912-876-2566 TO SUBSCRIBE COASTAL COURIER (Hinesville, Ga.) -SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2018- 3 BOND Continued from page 1 indicated that representa tives of Morris Newspaper Corporation, the Courier’s parent company, hired a company which conducted an external forensic audit going back an additional four years. Based on that audit it is alleged that Fox embezzled approximately $210,000 from the company since 2014. She is currently charged with theft by con version - felony. Fox started her career with the Coastal Courier in 1999. She was promoted to General Manager in 2014. TIDE Continued from page 1 Turtle Hospital to Sea- World, and we’re hoping the next trip is Discovery Cove. This past trip how ever, was limited to the team’s leadership board. We offered it to six mem bers who all jumped on the opportunity.” The students were able to get up close and per sonal in the whale sharks’ environments, making it a memorable experience, Austin said. The students got that up-close view of the whale sharks, and it hopefully changed the students’ perspectives on them. Hopefully they’ll work to help whale shark preservation now, Austin added. “This experience is go ing to become an annual thing now, and the aquar ium is excited to allow stu dents to come back,” Austin said. “It’ll pave the way for others to go and have those same experiences. Who knows what may come out of this? There may be a fu ture conservationist, veter inarian, or something else among those students.” The team sells T-shirts as their way to fundraise major trips, Austin con tinued, and the majority of the funds raised went to paying for the students to attend. Each student con tributed a small amount out-of-pocket for the trip, but it was minor compared to the actual cost, Austin said. “These Tide Research Team T-shirts really helped us out to be able to go, but most small trips the students fund them selves,” he said. “I had the opportunity to work for National Geographic in college as an intern, and it changed the direction of my life. I just hope one of these trips impacts a stu dent just as much. These trips and experiences are something you can’t get in a classroom.” YEAR Continued from page 1 city’s department heads to get approval before al lowing overtime months before she fired Quarter- man. Quarterman said he was fired because he ques tioned city finances and accounting deficiencies noted in an annual audit for the 2015 fiscal year. However, Walthourville attorney Jeff Arnold told the Courier that Quarter man’s claims were, “total ly inaccurate, unfounded and without basis in law and fact.” Quarterman was fired during a council meeting Jan. 11, 2018. Jones, Osteen and Jones of Hinesville, the law firm that had previously repre sented the Liberty County School System, was list ed in court documents as representing the family of 5-year-old Cambria Shu man, the child killed in a school bus accident on Dec. 5, 2017, near Gum Branch. The firm had sub mitted a letter to LCSS on Dec. 7, 2017, informing the district its attorneys would no longer represent the district. Jan. 20: A man accused of animal cruelty turned himself in to the Ludowi ci Police Department. The Hinesville resident had a warrant issued against him after one of his dogs was found abused and ne glected by animal rescue groups in Ludowici. The late Ludowici Police Chief Frank McClelland investi gated the allegations of an imal cruelty after a Face- book post had gone viral on Jan. 6. Former Long County Dstrict 3 Commissioner Willie Frank Thompson resigned, claiming health issues had prompted his resignation. Thompson had been arrested in No vember 2017, and charged with disorderly conduct and cruelty to animals for allegedly neglecting his horses. Jan. 27: Luyinga Isabel Koutangni-Henriques of Hinesville was charged with felony murder and cruelty to children in the death of a 3-year-old girl. A woman and her four children were left home less after a fire destroyed their rural Liberty County home. Fire units from Lib erty County Fire Services, Walthourville Fire De partment, Hinesville Fire Department and Long County Inmate Fire Team helped fight the fire. Jan. 31: Law enforce ment investigated the death of a Midway man whose body was found in Fleming beside a pickup outside a Freedman Grove Road residence. The vic tim, James Caswell Jones, 62, of Midway, had been shot, according to author ities. Feb. 7: Eptwarnd Saun ders, 31 of Midway was ar rested in connection with the slaying of James Cas well Jones, 62, according to Liberty County Sheriff Steve Sikes. Saunders, 31, of Midway was arrested in front of Angie’s diner, where he was then em ployed. The Midway man was charged with murder and aggravated assault. Jones’ body was found out side an unoccupied resi dence beside his parked truck on Freedman Grove Road in the Fleming com munity on Jan. 29, 2018. He had reportedly been shot. Feb. 10: The string of criminal and civil legal cases that began in De cember 2011 with the dis covery of two murder vic tims in Long County and resulted in the exposure of a militia group among sol diers on Fort Stewart came to an end with a $4 million settlement paid by the gov ernment to the parents of the two victims. The fami lies of former Pvt. Michael Roark and his 17-year-old girlfriend, Tiffany York, received $1.7 million and $2.3 million, respectively. The two were executed by an anti-government para military group founded by former Pvt. Isaac Aguigui, who is serving a life sen tence for ordering the kill ing, as well as the murder of his pregnant wife earlier that year. The parents’ civil suit alleged negligence by the Army and asked for $30 million for the wrong ful deaths. Feb. 17: Former Hines ville Police Chief George Stagmeier announced he would be retiring, effective March 1, 2018. Stagmeier graduated from Georgia Southern College in 1977 with a degree in criminal justice. He interned with the Jacksonville Police Department and later that same year he took a job with the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office. He start ed as a deputy and worked his way up to the investi gation’s unit. He remained with the LCSO until 1984. That’s when Stagmei er joined HPD already ranked a lieutenant and hired as the control com mander. In March of 1999, Stagmeier was named chief of police replacing former Chief Harlon De Loach who had died from a heart attack. Feb. 21: Around 340 kids were treated to a special screening of the Marvel comic movie, “Black Panther.” Organiz ers thought it was a great way for kids to learn about the first African Ameri can superhero while also emphasizing Black Histo ry Month. Black Panther was created by Marvel Comic’s legendary creator, writer, editor and pub lisher Stan Lee. (Lee died Nov. 12, 2018, at the age of 95.) Black Panther was the first superhero of Af rican-American descent marking his first appear ance in an American com ic book in July 1966 (Fan tastic Four, issue #52). Feb. 24: Hinesville Fire Department Capt. Earnest “Moe” McDuff ie died while performing fire department mandated physical fitness training. McDuffie was running at Bryant Commons and fell unconscious. CPR was then rendered by col leagues until he was taken to Liberty Regional Med ical Center where he was pronounced dead from an apparent natural cause. At a STAR awards banquet, Dayle Lauren McCallar was named Bradwell Institute’s STAR student and Yash Mukesh Patel was named STAR student from Liber ty County High School. Each STAR student se lected a teacher they felt made the biggest impact through their educational journey. McCallar credit ed her success to BI edu cator Marilyn Hampton. Patel said his success was due to his educator Tracy Austin. The Liberty Coun ty Chamber of Commerce is the local sponsor of the STAR program in Liberty County. Feb. 28: Dr. Franklin Perry was named Liberty County School Superin tendent after the Liberty County Board of Educa tion agreed to the terms of his contract during a work session. Perry’s 3-year contract stipulated an an nual salary of $192,000. Perry had served as inter im superintendent since June 2017, when he was appointed as a temporary replacement for Dr. Valya Lee, who parted ways with the school board in March 2017. March 3: About a doz en Bradwell Institute stu dents walked out of classes during a student-led pro test to raise awareness of gun violence. Notifications were sent to the students, staff and parents, ahead of the protest, stating, that the district acknowl edged individuals’ rights to demonstrate, but that it could not allow those demonstrations to disrupt classes. Gilbert would not confirm any punishment, claiming a privacy law ap plied in the case. March 7: Hinesville Police Department officer Maj. Bill Kirkendall was named Hinesville’s inter im police chief on March 1. Kirkendall replaced Chief George Stagmei er, who led the Hinesville Police Department for 20 years. Former Bradwell Insti tute Principal Scott Car rier qualified to run for chairman of the Liberty County Board of Educa tion. Carrier, who spent 34 years in teaching and seven years as BI princi pal before retiring in 2017, was the first to qualify for the seat held by incum bent Lily Baker. March 10: The Georgia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said a five-day suspension giv en to a Bradwell Institute student who participat ed in a March 2 walkout was unconstitutional. In a March 7 letter sent to Bradwell Principal Tori- ano Gilbert and Liberty County School Super intendent Dr. Franklin Perry, the ACLU said it was representing the stu dent and her mother. The ACLU also issued a press release March 7, demand ing Gilbert immediately cancel the student’s sus pension and expunge the disciplinary action from her school records. More than a century af ter her heroic acts, Liberty County legend Susie Bak er King Taylor was induct ed into the Georgia Wom en of Achievement hall of fame. The event was held THE LIBERTY REGIONAL HOMELESS COALITION - A COLLABORATIVE OUTREACH. at Wesleyan College in Macon to honor the 2018 inductees. March 17: The parents of a 5-year-old girl who died in a school bus crash Dec. 5, 2017, in Gum Branch brought a lawsuit against Blue Bird Body Company, the maker ol the school bus the child rode on, and a Liberty County School System bus driver. The parents ol Cambria Shuman were seeking damages for per sonal injury and wrongful death. The suit claimed the 2016 Blue Bird bus was defective and caused Shu man’s death. March 21: A man con victed of a 1996 hatchet at tack on a woman was back in jail after he was indicted by a Long County grand jury on rape and other new charges. Calvin Nel son was arrested March 13, according to a letter from the district attorney’s office and sent to the al leged victim. The grand jury indicted Nelson on rape, aggravated assault, burglary, criminal attempt to commit a felony and public drunkenness. The city of Hinesville announced its computers were hacked in February. In a press release, the city described being the target of a ransomware incident that affected certain serv ers and machines on its computer network. March 24: Bradwell In stitute’s 2018 STAR teach er was asked to resign. The teacher was reportedly asked to resign by Liberty County School System Su perintendent Dr. Franklin Perry. LCSS Director ol Maintenance and Opera tions Jason Rogers said the district wouldn’t comment due to an ongoing investi gation into what is consid ered a personnel matter. The Courier learned ol the suspension through a Bradwell student, who said the teacher was asked to resign after telling her students about a book en titled “The Hate U Give.” According to online re views, “The Hate U Give,” a New York Times youth best-seller written by Ang ie Thomas, is about racism and police violence and was inspired by the Black YEAR continues on 13 ENROLL NOW! Spring Semester Starts Jan. 8 Day, evening and online classes Liberty Campus Off Airport Road 912.408.3024 SAVANNAH • TECHNICAL COLLEGE www.thecollegethatworks.com www.thecollegethatworks.com For graduation rates, the median debt of students who completed the program, etc., visit www.savannahtech.edu/ GainfulEmployment. An equal opportunity institution. This Christmas Make A Difference In The Lives Of Our Homeless Children. Share The Love! Make A Donation Today. www.libertyhomeless.org LRHC / P. O. Box 656 / Hinesville, GA 31310 A 501 (c) 3, Non Profit Charity.
