Newspaper Page Text
The True Citizen, Wednesday, August 9, 2023 — Page 3
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■ TODAY 1
I THURSDAY 1
1 FRIDAY 1
| SATURDAY |
| SUNDAY
BURKE
COUNTY'S
FIVE-DAY
Mostly Sunny
Partly Cloudy
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Sunny
40% chance of Showers
50% chance of Showers
40% chance of Showers
30% chance of Showers
FORECAST
92° 172°
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BCSO violates First Amendment
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
Officials cannot choose
which comments they sup
press or promote based on their
own preference or dislike of
the viewpoint being expressed.
The University Of Georgia
School Of Law’s First Amend
ment Clinic insisted earlier this
year that the Burke County
Sheriff’s Office stop violating
the U.S. Constitution after
Traci Flollingsworth filed a
complaint.
Flollingsworth’s husband,
Jay Hollingsworth, is a former
BCSO sergeant who was shot
in the line of duty in 2013, and
later diagnosed with lead poi
soning. The BCSO terminated
his employment in late 2020
after he requested professional
lead testing at the Sheriff’s Of
fice building.
In late 2020, Mrs. Holling
sworth made several com
ments on the BCSO’s official
Facebook page, criticizing
their lead testing and em
ployment practices. She was
subsequently blocked from ac
cessing the page for two years.
“Government officials can
not exclude speakers from a
public forum based on dis
agreement with the speaker’s
viewpoint,” the students wrote
in a letter addressed to Sheriff
Alfonzo Williams. “Courts
have held that a government
official or agency’s interactive
social media account that is
used to communicate with the
public about official govern
ment business constitutes a
designated or limited public
forum under the First Amend
ment.”
Courts have further held that
once a government agency
creates a public forum by
operating an official social
media account where mem
bers of the public can interact
with the content, the agency
engages in unlawful viewpoint
discrimination if it then pre
vents members of the public
from viewing the account or
expressing themselves on the
account because of their criti
cal perspective, the students
stated.
“In conclusion, we urge the
Burke County Sheriff’s Office
to cure its continuing viola
tion of the First Amendment
and limit its current liability
by immediately restoring Mrs.
Hollingsworth’s access to the
Sheriff’s Facebook Page and
restoring all comments on the
Page that have been deleted,
hidden, or filtered based on
their critical viewpoint,” the
UGA letter stated. “To avoid
repeating these constitutional
violations, we strongly en
courage the Sheriff’s Office
to adopt and follow a policy
that it will not hide or delete
critical-viewpoint comments
on its page or block the users
who post them.”
In January 2023, Holling
sworth’s access to the Burke
County Sheriff’s page was
restored.
BCSO offers Citizens Police Academy Class
The Burke County Sheriff’s
Office is now accepting appli
cations for their 5th annual Cit
izens Police Academy Class.
Classes will begin Tuesday,
September 5,2023. Applicants
must be at least 18 years of age
and pass a background check.
To obtain an application for the
class, applicants should go to
the front lobby of the Sheriff’s
Office and pick one up. Ap
plication deadline is Friday,
August 25, 2023. The class
offers an opportunity to learn
more about what deputies and
the agency does on a day-to-
day basis in each division.
District Attorney joins lawsuit
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
The Augusta Judicial Circuit
District Attorney, Jared Wil
liams, joined three Georgia
prosecutors in filing a lawsuit
in Fulton County Superior
Court August 2 challenging the
constitutionality of Senate Bill
92 (SB 92).
SB 92, enacted during the
2023 legislative session, cre
ates the Prosecuting Attorneys
Qualifications Commission
(PAQC) and gives it the author
ity to investigate and remove
local prosecutors.
Led by DeKalb County Dis
trict Attorney Sherry Boston,
the group of plaintiffs also
includes Towaliga District
Attorney Jonathan Adams and
Cobb District Attorney Flynn
Broady. The prosecutors in
Boston v. State of Georgia are
represented by Public Rights
Project, a national nonprofit
that works with local govern
ments to protect civil rights,
and by Washington, Dreyer
and Associates and Bruce P.
Brown Law.
The lawsuit argues that SB
92 undermines the fundamen
tal structure of Georgia's con
stitution, which entrusts local
communities to choose their
own district attorneys.
“I am suing to protect the
voices of voters in our circuit,”
Williams said in an August
2 press release. “I am suing
to ensure prosecutors can do
their jobs without fear of re
prisal from those with political
agendas.”
LIBRARY CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Story Time will be every Friday starting August 4th from
10:30- 11:30 a.m. for pre-schoolers. We will read books, sing
songs, flannel board stories and end with a craft.
Thursday, August 10
The Burke County Sheriffs Office is partnering with Shepeard
Blood Community Center to host a blood drive. The blood drive
will be from noon to 5 p.m. in front of the sheriffs office.
Saturday, August 12th,
The Burke County Sheriffs Office in partnership with Burke
County Middle School will host the 2nd annual "Back 2 School
Bash" from 9 a.m.- 1 p.m.
Town of Girard
Election Qualifying & Fees
Qualifying dates are August 22-24 from 10 a.m. un
til 4 p.m. Fees are $25.00 for Council and $35.00
for Mayor.
PUBLIC NOTICE
The Housing Authority of the City of Louisville will
conduct a Public Hearing to discuss the Agency An
nual Plan as established by the Quality Housing and
Work Responsibility Act of 1998. The purpose and
goals will be explained and the Housing Authority
will receive comments from all interested parties.
This public hearing will be conducted on Wednes
day, September 27, 2023 at 12:00 PM at the Housing
Authority Office located on Nelms Street in Louis
ville, Georgia. All interested parties are invited and
encouraged to attend this meeting.
Sheriff announces reelection plans
■ ■ ■ ■ CROSSWORD ■ ■ ■ ■
SHELLIE SMITLEY
thetruecitizen.shellie@gmail.com
In a letter submitted to mul
tiple media outlets Tuesday,
Sheriff Alfonzo Williams
asked for support for his can
didacy reelection to the office
of Sheriff.
Williams announced his
intentions to run for the office,
despite looming allegations of
sexual harassment.
He said he has made monu
mental strides over the past
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two terms in office, pointing
to decreased fear of crime and
reduced incidents.
Williams stated this despite
what he said in a letter to the
Board of Commissioners two
days earlier when he stated,
““angst” is beginning to per
meate through the rank and
file of deputies and spilling
over into citizens and a fear of
crime was being created where
there has not been any for some
time now.
Williams said if he is re
elected, he intends to con
tinue to provide resources for
families struggling with opioid
addiction, focus on gang affili
ation, negative effects of social
media, cyber security threats,
mental health vulnerabilities,
recruitment and training.
Despite a budget that is near
ly $1 million over in FY 2023,
Williams vowed to contribute
to a vibrant and sustained
economy.
Qualifying Fees
City of Sardis
In compliance with GAElections code 21-2-131 (a) (1), Quali
fying fee for the office of City Council will be $45.00.
In accordance with the Charter of the City of Sardis, Georgia, a
General Election will be held on Tuesday, November 7th, 2023,
between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. for the purpose of elect
ing three (3) council member to fill the vacancy of the follow
ing names whose term will expire on December 31st, 2023.
Leroy Lane - Council
Rolene Oliver - Council
Terry Winston - Council
The qualification period for these posts will open beginning
August 21st, 2023 and ending Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023
between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday, Tues
day and Wednesday at close of business. Persons desiring to
run for this office shall qualify at City Hall, 713 Charles Perry
Avenue, Sardis, Ga.
Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day,
November 7th, 2023.
Voter registration may take place at any time at Burke County
Board of Elections between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30
p.m. Monday through Friday until October 10th, 2023 at which
time registration for this election will be closed.
ty t tom Cttistn
FreeDailyCrosswords.com
ACROSS
i a
1) Smelting byproducts
6) Bawling sound
9) Emulated a crow
14) Part of the zodiac
15) mode
16) Cronelike
17) Commonplace
IS) Potok's "My Name is Asher
tl
19) Championship fight prize
20) It can part
23) Do a seamstress's job
24) "At Seventeen" singer Janis
25) Alligator kin
27) Bone-connecting tissue
32) What an actor holds
33) Be mistaken
34) Overpamper
36) Gabbana's partner in
fashion
39) Early boat builder
41) Deuce toppers
43) James Brown had it
44) Chronological record
46) Mystical emanations
48) What your wife may be
called
49) "...of I sing"
51) Easily perceived
53) Call a spade a club?
56) Actor Mineo
57) Key on a keyboard
58) Weapon of mass destruction
64) Near
66) California airport,
informally
67) Noted peninsula
68) Brer Rabbit Uncle
69) Santa follower
70) Make immune, as to
violence (var.)
71) Circle in space?
72) Scottish hat
73) Four-time All Star A1
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9th August
DOWN
1) Speak indistinctly
2) "Mona "
3) Adjoin
4) "Ars artis"
5) Islamic salutations
6) New York street
7) "Smart" guy
8) Bad thing to wreak
9) Type of seat
10) "The Phantom Menace" boy
11) How the capable do things?
12) Burstyn or Barkin
13) Judges to be
21) Liable to bungle
22) "You are here" posting
26) Bellows like Bessie
27) Legendary Home
28) Get the wrinkles out
29) Memorial in New York's Riverside
Park
30) "You've Got Mail" director Ephron
31) Hog, as a phone
35) Vega's constellation
37) Hair ringlet
38) "... or !"
40) German nuclear physicist Otto
42) Condiment for tacos
45) Having the least fat
47) Less dense
50) Down Under bird
52) Deficiency in pigmentation
53) Prefix meaning "large"
54) More sickly
55) Acclaim
59) Turner of "Peyton Place"
60) Course concluder, often
61) Heavy burden
62) Barnyard mama
63) "Tres !"
65) generis (unique)
ANSWERS ON 6