Newspaper Page Text
This airplane was destroyed when it crashed near Saxon Road.
Plane crash still a puzzler
By Elizabeth Billlips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
The details will have to wait.
Federal agents arc chest-deep
in the investigation of a plane
crash in northern Burke County
and say it will probably be an
other week before a preliminary
report is released.
Meanwhile, the big questions
remain ... what was ailing the
single-engine Rockwell Com
mander that went down near
Saxon Road and why did the 31 -
year-old pilot Barrington Carl
Slack decide to parachute?
According to Burke County
EMA Chief Rusty Sanders, the
first panicked call came in at
7:08 p.m. Thursday, and seven
more calls would follow over
the next 30 minutes. The call
ers couldn’t pinpoint the loca
tion, but told the dispatcher
they’d seen the four-seater crash
in the area of Highway 56 North
and 23. EMA technicians feared
the pilot dead or injured until
another caller reported seeing
the parachute.
“He said the pilot had bailed
out,” Chief Sanders said.
Slack’s emergency locator
system allowed aviation officials
to pinpoint his location and pro
vide a cell phone number to the
dispatcher at the sheriff’s office.
"The pilot answered and told
the dispatcher he was walking
through the woods, trying to
make his way toward a light,”
Sgt. Dan Lowe of the Burke
County Sheriff’s Office said.
“He had no idea where he was.”
Within minutes, Slack came
out on a road and was picked
up by a passing motorist who
alerted officials and dropped the
pilot off with EMA workers near
the wreckage.
The plane, which was regis
tered to Kalunji Aviation Group
LLC out of Atlanta, was com
pletely destroyed.
"He refused treatment,” Chief
Sanders said, noting the
Lithonia pilot, who is CEO of
the aviation company, had no
visible injuries.
Slack talked to deputies on
the scene and told them he ’ d been
in route from Lithonia to Co
lumbia. He attempted to land at
Augusta Regional Airport but
had trouble with his landing
gear.
“He’d been circling Bush field
but said he got to the point that
he couldn’t circle anymore,”
Sgt. Lowe said, noting that the
pilot had purposely emptied his
fuel tank to avoid an explosion
when it came down.
Kathleen Bergen of the Fed
eral Aviation Administration’s
(FAA) regional office in Atlanta
confirmed that Slack commu
nicated with an FAA traffic con
troller at Bush Field prior to the
crash, but would not release the
details.
“The nature of the communi
cation is part of the investiga
tion,” she said, explaining that
the National Transportation
Safety Board will probably re
lease its preliminary findings in
a week to 10 days.
She also confirmed that a cen
tral part of the investigation will
be to determine why Slack de
cided to parachute rather than
make an emergency landing.
- See Airplane, page 7
Football coach murdered
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
A recreation department
coach and former Bears quar
terback was killed after a gun
man opened fire at Club Para
dise.
Verdre Lamont Scott, 38, died
after suffering gunshot wounds
to the bicep and head.
“We believe he was an inno
cent bystander,” said Sgt. Dan
Lowe, an investigator for the
Burke County Sheriff’s Office.
"He was not the target.”
It happened around 2:50 a.m.
Saturday after a fight broke out
inside the Bates Road club and
the crowd was dispersed into the
parking lot.
Witnesses told deputies the
argument started back up, and
several people began shooting,
including John Oliver Jenkins
Jr., 27, who was seen firing shots
in Scott’s direction.
When deputies arrived, Scott
was unconscious and two by
standers were giving him CPR.
He was transported to MCG
Remembering
Verdre
The Burke County
Bears will play in
memory of Verdre
“Stick” Scott this Friday
night when they take on
Butler High School at
home. Scott, who wore
the number 9, was an
all-star quarterback who
set the record for touch
down passes in 1989.
“He lived and breathed
football,” family mem
bers said. Fans are
asked to wear the num
ber 9 in remembrance.
Health Medical Center and died
around 5 p.m. that afternoon. A
second man, 23-year-old Nibrent
Carter was treated at Burke Medi
cal Center after three bullets were
fired at his car, including one that
grazed his arm. Three other cars
in the parking lot were also hit.
Saturday afternoon, Jenkins was
taken into custody and charged
with Scott’s murder.
In the late 1980s, Scott was a
star quarterback for the Burke
County Bears and set a touchdown
passing record that held from 1989
to 2008. The father of five was
also a volunteer coach for the rec
reation department in the early
2000s. Recreation department of
ficials said that just last week,
Scott got re-certified to coach
again and was going to have his
first football game with his team
of 9-and 10-year-olds this week.
“It’s going to be so hard to tell
the boys their coach is no longer
here,” athletic manager Corey
Dent said.
- See Murder, page 8
General Election decided Tuesday
By Roy F. Chalker Jr.
Publisher
Candidates for federal and state offices, along
with three local school board posts will be on
the ballot in next Tuesday’s General Election.
Races of local interest include the race for
State Senate District 23. Former Waynesboro
Mayor Jesse Stone is the only candidate whose
name will be on the ballot, but he is being chal
lenged by write-in candidate Diane Evans of
Jefferson County.
Three Burke County Board of Education
posts are being contested, including that of
long-time chairman Johnny Jenkins who faces
political newcomer Ashley Moore Jr. for Dis
trict 5.
Retired educator Ruby Saxon-Myles is chal
lenging incumbent Willie Jordan for the Dis
trict 1 post and veteran board vice-chairman
Willie Latimore faces Larry Preston Sr. in Dis
trict 2.
(See page 24 for Q & A with BOE candi
dates.)
U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson is being op
posed by veteran state labor commissioner Mike
Thurmond, and three-term congressman John
Barrow faces GOP challenger Ray McKinney
for the 12 th District post.
The statewide race drawing the most inter
est is the contest between Democrat Roy Barnes,
who is trying to regain the governor’s office
after being defeated eight years ago by Sonny
Perdue, and Republican Congressman Nathan
Deal of Gainesville.
Newspaper executive Carol Porter of Dublin
is challenging two-term lieutenant governor
Casey Cagle, also of Gainesville. A number of
other state constitutional offices are up for
grabs, in addition to several proposed amend
ments to the state constitution.
Early voting will continue through Friday,
Oct. 29, which is also the last day to request an
absentee ballot sent by mail. Regular voting
will take place 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. at all polling
locations for Burke County’s 15 precincts.
Georgia Power plans route for new transmission lines
By Anne Marie Kyzer
annemariek@thetruecitizen.com
A major electrical artery is
being planned to carry power
from Plant Vogtle’s proposed
units 3 and 4.
The 500KV transmission
lines will run 55 miles from
Plant Vogtle through Burke,
Jefferson, Warren and
McDuffie counties to a pri
mary substation southeast of
Thomson, according to Geor
gia Power spokesperson
Konswello Monroe. The lines
must be completed by 2016,
when the first of the two new
units is scheduled to come on
line.
"The infrastructure already
in place won’t support the ad
ditional power,” Monroe said,
noting that the lines and tow
ers will be somewhat different
from those already routed
through Burke County from
Plant Vogtle. units 1 and 2.
Georgia Power representa
tives have spent the past three
weeks contacting property
owners of the 150 parcels along
the route, which will require
150-foot wide easements. Some
78 of those parcels are in Burke
County. Though some farm
structures, such as irrigation
pivots may be affected, Mon
roe said no residents in Burke
County are facing relocation
due to the route.
“In the transmission line
routing process, Georgia
Power does its best to avoid
houses and buildings,” she
said. “We do not expect any
structures in Burke County to
need to be relocated. A few
may be affected in other coun-
- See Lines, page 7
18122
'04420
New
transmis
sion lines
will run 55
miles
along a
route from
Plant
Vogtle’s
units 3
and 4 to a
primary
substation
near
Thomson.
Waynesboro-Burke Concert Series Presents
Thursday, 7 p.m. - Burke Office Park - 706-437-0070
706-554-2114
www.mizellford.com