Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 140, No. 13 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830
Established in 1882
Wednesday, May 13, 2020 - $1.00
State Rep. Gloria Frazier held a press conference Tuesday in the cemetery where Ahmaud Arbery
is buried. His grandmother, Ella Cooper, sat next to the podium during Frazier’s speech.
Rep. Frazier pushes for hate crime bill
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
He was born on Mother’s Day
in 1994, the baby of the family.
This year, instead of celebrating
the holiday and her son’s 26th
birthday together, Wanda Cooper-
Jones stood by his graveside as
state and local officials pushed to
have a hate crime bill passed and
named for the young man who
was shot and killed in February.
Murdered because he was
running. Running because it was
his hobby.
With a “birthday king” balloon
rustling in the breeze behind her,
State Rep. Gloria Frazier (District
126) said, “I stand here in this
graveyard today to remember
the life of Burke County native
Ahmaud Arbery, [a man who
was] killed in the street because of
the color of his skin.” The crowd
gathered at Springfield Baptist
Church listened as Frazier called
on Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and
Senate Judiciary Chairman Jesse
Stone to allow the hate crime bill
to come to the floor of the senate
for a vote when the Georgia
General Assembly reconvenes on
June 11.
HB 426 calls for defendants to
be subject to enhanced penalties
if they choose a victim of crime
based on race, color, national origin,
sexual orientation, gender, mental
disability or physical disability,
Frazier explained. “The passage of
this bill will allow citizens to feel
safe knowing that the state of Georgia
will not tolerate or accept behavior
mudded in hate.” She went on to say
that the sense killings of black men
need to stop, urging constituents to
call their representatives in support
of the bill.
Authorities have said Arbery was
running through a neighborhood in
Brunswick when he was gunned
down on Feb. 23. For two months, no
arrests were made, but after a leaked
video of the shooting caught national
attention, a father and son duo found
themselves behind bars.
Gregory McMichael, 64, and his
son, Travis McMichael, 34, were
arrested hours after the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation was asked to
investigate the case. The men claim
Arbery, a former football player
with a joy for jogging, matched
the description of a burglary
suspect who had previously been
recorded in the area. They have
both been charged with murder
and aggravated assault.
“To know Ahmaud is to love
Ahmaud,” his mother told the
press Tuesday afternoon following
the conference. “He was humble.
He was a good boy ... He didn’t
deserve to go the way he did.”
Cooper-Jones also said she
believes his case was in the early
stages of being covered up and if
not for national attention, it would
have been a closed case.
On Friday, May 8, Ahmaud’s
birthday, citizens of Sardis and
community leaders from across
the county held a walk in his
honor. This Saturday, May
16, Waynesboro Mayor Greg
Carswell and B.R.I.D.G.E. will
hold a walk/run beginning at
10 a.m. at the Huddle House in
Waynesboro and ending at the
old courthouse steps. A special
presentation will be made at
that time. Participants are asked
to wear masks and continue
practicing social distancing in
light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Early voting for state
primary begins Monday
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
After a three-week postponement
due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
Georgia’s primary election is
slated for June 9 with early voting
beginning this Monday, May 18.
This also marks the second delay
in the state’s presidential primary
after an original March 24 date.
While voters are encouraged to
utilize the mail-in ballot, which can
be requested by calling the Burke
County Board of Elections Office
at 706.554.7457, they may still vote
in person at the elections office for
the next three weeks
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
or on Election Day
at their designated
precinct.
The state primary
in June will
determine two races:
the county sheriff and
the District 5 county
commissioner.
Incumbent Sheriff
Alfonzo Williams is
joined on the democratic ballot by
challengers Wayne Scott and Xavier
Wimberly. Since voters participating
in the primary must choose either
a democratic or republican ballot,
Republicans living
in District 5 will SEE
have to decide if EARLY VOTING,
they want to vote 3^
Juvenile court Judge
Douglas Flanagan dies
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
A well respected and much loved
judge who dedicated part of his
career to Burke County’s children
has died.
Judge Douglas Flanagan, who
served as the juvenile court judge
for the Augusta Judicial Circuit, died
Thursday morning at his home.
Long before entering a courtroom,
Flanagan served his country on the
battlefield in Vietnam. A student at
New York University, he was drafted
into the U.S. Army in 1966. Attorney
Bill Fleming, who serves as public
defender in both state and juve
nile court in Burke County, recalls
hearing Flanagan’s stories about
undercover missions with the Green
Berets and how Flanagan eventually
made his way to Georgia as Provost
Marshal for Fort Gordon.
“He had multiple careers he could
have retired from, but he just didn’t
stop,” Fleming says, recalling that
Flanagan attended night school while
at Fort Gordon and went on to create
one of the most successful domestic
relations law firms in the area during
its time. In 2000, Fleming’s father,
the late Superior Court Judge Wil
liam Fleming,
appointed Fla
nagan as a ju
venile judge on
the circuit; he
became the ex
clusive juvenile
court judge for
Burke County
in 2012.
“He was re
ally a fixture
that is hard to quantify,” Fleming
says. “He was the expert, the leader
of the bunch. Nobody else can com
pare to him.”
It was his intuition that helped him
not only move cases in numerous
counties but that led to the inclusion
of parents, grandparents and extend
ed family in order to get a solution.
“He had a lot of insight into cases
and kids,” Fleming says. “In court,
the charges don’t really reflect what’s
going on. A child may be up for a
delinquent act, and Doug could see
the real problem was the family; his
intuition picked up on that, and then
he’d structure what he had to do to
get to the bottom of
the case. It wasn’t al
ways necessarily a kid
being bad, but maybe
Judge Douglas
Flanagan
SEE
JUDGE,
10A
Kelley is candidate
for Chief Magistrate
Burke County Magistrate Judge
Cynthia Kelley announced her
candidacy this week for the office of
Chief Magistrate.
The Burke County native has
served in the magistrate’s office since
1991. After completing more than
150 hours of continuing judicial legal
education credits at the University of
Georgia, she earned her appointment
as a full-time magistrate judge in
2013.
A native of the county and a
1981 graduate of Burke County
High School, she studied Criminal
Justice at Augusta Technical College,
receiving her Associate’s degree.
She later earned her Bachelor of
Science degree with highest honors
from Voorhees College and was class
valedictorian.
She has served under four chief
magistrates and was instrumental in
modernizing the court’s processes,
including improved accuracy of
record keeping and accounting.
She has created jobs for Burke
County
students and
senior citizens
at no cost to
the county by
partnering with
Legacy Links,
Rural Justice
Fellowships
and Experience
Works
programs. She also serves as Vice-
President of the Magistrate Clerk’s
Council of Georgia.
Recently, she helped create
and test the court’s remote access
program to allow judges to assist law
enforcement during emergencies,
like the COVID-19 pandemic.
She is currently responsible for
the office management of an eleven-
member team and six criminal and
civil courts for Burke County.
She is a member of Blount Hill
Baptist Church and is married with
two daughters, three stepdaughters
and nine grandchildren.
COVID Corner
Graduation ceremonies have been announced for both Burke
County High School and Edmund Burke Academy. EBA will hold
commencement on May 23, at 10 a.m. on the school’s football field,
and BCHS seniors will walk on July 25, at 9 a.m. The location has not
been determined yet. Faith Christian Academy’s plans are still underway.
According to Georgia Power, there are currently 39 active confirmed
positive cases of COVID-19 at Vogtle 3&4. A total of 174 employees
who tested positive have recovered and are available to return to work.
There have been 213 positive cases and 617 negative. Results for 10
employees are pending.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the Georgia Department of Health was
reporting a total of 34,635 positive cases for the state, with 1,443 ICU
admissions, 6,130 hospitalizations and 1,461 deaths. Burke County
reportedly had a total of 110 positives with 20 hospitalizations and four
deaths at press time.