Newspaper Page Text
^defaatincs Q^toh^ oJ^onifi
We would like to take this time to thank our black
leaders in our community and schools for the
positive impact that they provide in Burke County!
Gj/JM ^Z)g/w/
BIRDJOG
WAYNESBORO. GEORGIA
d?
CM
■'3-
o
CM
CM
GO
Vol. 142, No. 1 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830 Established in 1882 Wednesday, February 23, 2022 - $1.00
Former coach sentenced to three years behind bars
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
Judge John Flythe sentenced a
former BCPS employee to a 15-year
sentence, including three years of
confinement, for a sexual escapade
with a 17-year-old female student.
Kenyarda Ketrelle Berrian, who
worked as an administrative secre
tary and assistant volleyball and bas
ketball coach for the school system,
broke down crying as she apologized
to the student’s family. She pled
guilty to the felony offense of sexual
assault by a teacher/principal/assis
tant principal/other administrator,
that carried a maximum allowable
penalty of 25 years of incarceration.
According to testimony, the victim
in the case was four months from
turning 18 and had been the one who
initiated the incident. It was not an
ongoing relationship, but rather a
one-time incident that occurred in
the home of the student’s parents.
Berrian had no previous criminal
convictions and was highly regarded
in the community, said her attorney,
Scott Connell.
However, Georgia code, geared
specifically toward people employed
in schools, makes no allowances for
consent or age.
Flythe pointed out the seriousness
of the offense when he stated that
parents send their children to school
not expecting them to be preyed
upon. He stated that 17 years old is
a “tender age.”
As part of the sentence, Berrian,
a mother of two children,will be
required to register as a sex of
fender, is prohibited from working
in schools that instruct minors and
is not allowed to have contact with
kids, besides her own.
Berrian, 37, resigned from her po
sition with BCPS in Jan. 2021. She
is also a BCHS graduate.
Kenyarda Ketrelle Berrian
McDonald is District STAR student
Burke county High School senior Keegan McDonald received the title of Burke County STAR Student during
the annual banquet presented by the Waynesboro Exchange Club. McDonald, second from left, selected
Justin Russell, first from left, as his STAR teacher, a first time honor for Russell. The pair will move on to
region competition. Runner-up May May Fu and her STAR teacher, Karen Reeves, are pictured third and
fourth from left. The Student Teacher Achievement Recognition (STAR) program honors a senior from each
high school in Burke County who earns the top score on the SAT and is also in the top 10 percent of their
graduating class. Also pictured with the group is Trinetta Skinner, president of the Waynesboro Exchange
Club.
Political columnist Ben Roberts approached the city council with his
frustrations regarding open records requests.
Demanding accountability
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
Political columnist Ben Roberts
blasted city officials Tuesday for
breaking the law concerning open
records requests.
Roberts’ direct and nonsense
approach began as soon as Mayor
Chick Jones announced Roberts had
only three minutes to speak.
“You all receive a salary, tax
payer money, you are here to hear
our concerns,” he said. “So, I will
respectfully say I would like more
than three minutes.”
Roberts supplied the city council
members with information from
the Georgia Municipal Associa
tion’s Open Records Handbook and
pointed out that the laws are narrow
when it comes to exceptions. Roberts
explained that he had requested city
documents pertaining to the accusa
tions of embezzlement and bring of
Officer Gary Jones.
“You turned down those requests,”
Roberts stated. “Or didn’t answer
those requests properly. You didn’t
follow the law. You came up with
some frivolous ideas of why you
didn’t have to provide those docu
ments.”
Roberts accused the panel of bring
Jones without a vote held in public.
He alleged the decision was made
during executive session. A termi
nation letter signed by Waynesboro
Police Chief Willie Burley stated
that the termination was based on an
investigation that determined he was
the sole source of information.
More than
10 days later ®EE
as required ACCOUNTABILITY,
by statute, 8
Leaders discuss
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
Sheriff Alfonzo Williams points to
the need for stakeholder participa
tion, community service, mentoring
and involvement of business and
religious leaders to combating gang
violence.
“We have a major gang problem in
our small county,” Sheriff Williams
said. “We have 60 something neigh
borhood gangs and I can remember
three years ago we had four murders
in Burke County and all of them
were gang and drug related.”
Williams participated in the virtual
CSRA town hall panel discussion
Feb. 17 put on by 100 Black Men of
Augusta, Inc. The discussion, mod
erated by WFXG meteorologist Jay
Jeffries, tackled the topics of social
justice, violence prevention and pub
lic safety. Speakers included District
Attorney Jared Williams, Judge Mo
nique Walker and law enforcement
officials from Richmond County and
North Augusta.
RCSO Lt. Lucas Grant said it is
crucial to reach the younger students
before the “streets take them over.”
Richmond County has also experi
enced an increase in gang activity,
he said.
North Augusta Chief John Thomas
agreed that a big component of com
bating violence is for law enforce
ment to partner with the schools.
“We don’t have the problem that
Richmond County has, but we are
surrounded by a lot of areas that
do have gang violence,” he said of
North Augusta. “If we catch these
children early enough and change
their values and change their minds
then we are all better off.”
Parenting is an element of concern.
It is counter-productive to threaten
unruly children with the police,
Grant pointed out. Law enforcement
crime and gang violence
personnel struggle with letting kids
feel that officers are available to
support them and protect them and
to help them grow as individuals.
Parents call the police when their
children refuse to attend school.
“That is not what we are here for,”
Grant said. “We are not here to scare
kids.”
Judge Walker weighed in on the
court system’s ability to alter the
mentality of people who have com
mitted crimes. She advocated for
G .E .D. requirements, anger manage
ment courses and gun safety courses.
She also pointed to the value of
reaching out to students.
“I think everyone is talking to the
schools so there are a lot of dynamics
at play here,” she said.
The judge also pointed out that
mental health issues can
be resolved by making
sure that sentencing in
cludes the proper treat-
SEE
GANG.
7
100 Black Men of Augusta, Inc. is committed to the intellectual develop
ment of youth and the economic empowerment of the African American
community based on respect for family, spirituality, justice and integrity.