Newspaper Page Text
AL CRUELTY CASE
EPA HEARS SHELL
BLUFF CONCERNS
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Vol. 137, No. 26 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830 Established in 1882 Wednesday, August 17, 2016 - $1.00
Two killed in
Hwy. 24 wreck
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
A Swainsboro teenager
and Waynesboro man were
killed in a violent collision
on Highway 24 near Thomp
son Bridge Road.
According to Georgia
State Patrol troopers, the ac
cident happened around 10
p.m. Saturday when 17-year-
old Anna Leigh Wells was
attempting a U-turn and
pulled into the path of an
oncoming pick-up driven
by Michael Holder, 25. of
Waynesboro.
The driver’s uncle. Joseph
Reese Holder, 52, and Wells
both died from the impact.
Michael Holder survived
the accident and was rushed
to Augusta University Medi
cal Center.
As of Monday, he re
mained in critical condition.
According to the accident
report, both Wells and the
younger Holder had been
wearing their seatbelts.
Friends of the Wells fam
ily said Anna would have
started her senior year at
David Emanuel Academy
on Monday and had come
to Waynesboro Saturday to
visit friends.
She was unfamiliar with
the area and had apparently
lost her way when she was
attempting to turn back.
Friends and family held a
balloon release at DEA on
Tuesday in Wells' memory.
Vice-Mayor takes reins of city
Waynesboro Mayor
on medical leave
Arraignment set for Florida priest murderer
Accused murderer Steven Murray is escorted out of the courthouse after his appearance
Monday.
By Michaela Carter
mcarter.truecitizen @ gmail .com
The wheels have been set
in motion to seek the death
penalty against a Florida man
accused of murdering a Ro
man Catholic priest.
The defendant, Steven
James Murray, appeared in
Burke County Superior Court
Monday for a hearing which
is a formality in death penalty
cases.
He has been in jail since
April when he was spotted
in South Carolina driving the
then-missing priest’s Toyota
Corolla.
Murray later led authori
ties to a wooded area in
northern Burke County
where he had dumped the
body of 71-year-old Father
Rene Robert.
The well-known priest of
the Diocese of St Augus
tine had dedicated his life
to helping ex-cons rebuild
their lives and was believed
to have been counseling the
defendant.
Murray is accused of kid
napping Father Robert, forc
ing him into the trunk of his
own car and later shooting him to death and discarding his body.
Murray's formal arraignment hearing has been set for Sept.
16; however, Monday’s appearance began what will be a long
course of hearings in the case.
In the four months since his arrest, Murray has been moved
from jail to jail and is currently housed in Clayton County.
Originally at Burke County Jail, he was moved to Jefferson
County Jail after an attempted suicide by hanging.
From there, he was transferred to Clayton County after he
destroyed government property.
During Monday’s hearing, Murray thanked everyone in
volved with his case and offered condolences to the victim’s
family.
By Elizabeth Billips
lizbillips@yahoo.com
Waynesboro Mayor Pau
line Jenkins has taken a
leave of absence following
her recent diagnosis of
cancer.
Monday night, city coun
cil granted her request and
set in motion the process
for Vice-Mayor Herman
Brown to assume her duties.
"It is important that all
functions of the City con
tinue until a more definitive
understanding of my health
and prognosis has been
determined,” she wrote in
a letter dated July 27 and
signed Aug. 4.
No details about her ill
ness were disclosed, but
Mayor Jenkins remains at
home and is considering
different treatment options.
Jenkins, who became
Waynesboro’s first female
mayor in 2012, is eight
months into her second
tern, which continues to the
end of 2019.
Mayor Pauline Jenkins
Vice-Mayor
Herman Brown
Resolution declares need
for a Boys and Girls Club
By Michaela Carter
Mcarter.truecitizen@gmail.com
Waynesboro City Coun
cil adopted a resolution to
support the establishment
of a local Boys and Girls
Club, despite high tensions
on the topic.
During the split vote,
council members Richard
Byne, Bill Tinley and Willie
Williams gave the resolu
tion a nod while Alberta
Anderson opposed and
Brenda Lewis abstained.
Although there has been
an effort to bring the Boys and Girls Club to Waynesboro for
almost a decade, conflicts arose within the council over locat
ing the club in a city-owned building.
The facility is currently leased by Jennifer Rackins, owner
of A Child’s World Daycare.
When questioned about the need for a resolution, which are
not typically requested by other nonprofits. City Administrator
Jerry Coalson said, “I don’t think it’s a problem with the Boys
and Girls Club as much as it
is personal conflict between
other people. At this point
as a city manager, if we’re
going to proceed with this, I
need to know we’re traveling
in the path that reaps the best
consequences.”
Anderson expressed her
concern for the city support
ing all of the matters of the
Boys and Girls Club, such as
setting up an account for the
nonprofit.
She asked Coalson, “Have
you done a resolution like this
for any other nonprofit that the council has voted on?”
Coalson further explained that this resolution was proposed
to eliminate the conflict between persons involved.
“Unfortunately, the Boys and Girls Club has been the unwor
thy victim of all of this publicity,” said Coalson.
He, along with the other council members, expressed their
desire for the nonprofit to be established in Waynesboro but
want to maintain its positive focus for the community.
BOYS & GIRLS CLUB
APR FINANCING