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TODAYS TOP HEADLINES
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
Thursday, November 29, 2018 3A
Administration defends
Saudis, senators weigh
Yemen war sanctions
EVAN VUCCII Associated Press
President Donald Trump meets with Saudi Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office of the White
House in Washington, March 20.
Russia derides Ukraine’s
martial law as political trick
MYKOLA LAZARENKO I Associated Press
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, second from right,
speaks with soldiers during a military training at a military
base in Chernihiv region, Ukraine, Wednesday, Nov, 28.
BY MARY CLARE JALONICK
AND SUSANNAH GEORGE
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Top
administration officials
urged senators Wednesday to
keep supporting U.S. involve
ment in the Saudi-led war in
Yemen, but it was unclear
whether their message would
dissuade lawmakers who
want to punish the kingdom
for its role in the murder of
journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
The Senate was to take
a procedural vote later
Wednesday on whether to
consider a resolution that
would end U.S. assistance
for the conflict that human
rights advocates say is
wreaking havoc on the coun
try and subjecting civilians
to indiscriminate bombing.
After a closed-door brief
ing with Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo and Defense
Secretary James Mattis, sev
eral senators said they were
unsatisfied and likely to back
the resolution to halt U.S. sup
port for the war.
The White House issued
a veto threat for that resolu
tion, even as Pompeo and
Mattis spoke with the sena
tors. Emerging from the
briefing, Pompeo said the
vote would be “poorly timed”
as diplomatic efforts to end
the conflict were underway.
Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell said Tues
day that “some kind of
response” was needed from
the United States for the
Saudis’ role in Khashoggi’s
gruesome death. While U.S.
intelligence officials have
concluded the Saudi crown
prince, Mohammed bin
Salman, must have at least
known of the plot, the CIA’s
findings have not been made
public and President Donald
Trump has equivocated over
who was to blame.
Pompeo said after the
briefing that there was “no
direct reporting” connect
ing the crown prince to the
murder, and Mattis said
there was “no smoking gun”
making the connection. In
the briefing, Pompeo argued
that the war in Yemen would
be “a hell of a lot worse” if
the United States were not
involved.
A similar resolution fell six
votes short of passage earlier
this year, but some senators
apparently were ready to
switch. Foreign Relations
Committee Chairman Bob
Corker, R-Tenn., said he
would prefer an appropriate
response from the adminis
tration, but barring that, “It’s
very likely I will support get
ting on it.”
Corker said in the past
he has “laid in the railroad
tracks to keep us from doing
things that I believe are
against our national interest
as it relates to Saudi Ara
bia.” But he said he believes
the Senate should “figure
out some way for us to send
the appropriate message to
Saudi Arabia that appropri
ately displays American val
ues and American national
interests.”
He said the crown prince
“owns this death. He owns
it.”
McConnell made similar
remarks Tuesday, saying
that “what obviously hap
pened, as basically certified
by the CIA, is completely
abhorrent to everything the
United States holds dear and
stands for in the world.”
The unsuccessful March
vote on the resolution, spon
sored by Republican Sen.
Mike Lee of Utah and Inde
pendent Sen. Bernie Sand
ers of Vermont, drew a mix
of Democrats and Republi
cans who had grown uneasy
with U.S. involvement in the
Saudi-led campaign against
Houthi rebels in Yemen.
BY YURAS KARMANAU
AND NATALIYA VASILYEVA
Associated Press
KIEV, Ukraine —
Ukraine’s president donned
combat fatigues to imple
ment martial law in much of
the country on Wednesday,
a move Russia denounced
as a cynical political trick as
both sides ratcheted up ten
sions after a weekend stand
off in the Black Sea.
Each side blamed the
other for the bellicose turn
of events, with Ukraine
saying Russia is preparing
for a full-scale invasion and
Moscow calling it a political
stunt by an unpopular presi
dent facing tough elections.
In Sunday’s confronta
tion, three Ukrainian naval
vessels were heading from
the Black Sea into the Sea
of Azov when they were
blocked by the Russian coast
guard near the Kerch Strait
between Russia’s mainland
and the Crimean Peninsula
it annexed from Ukraine.
After many tense hours of
maneuvering, the Russians
opened fire and seized the
Ukrainian vessels and crew.
Ukrainian Presi
dent Petro Poroshenko
responded by ordering mar
tial law in much of the coun
try, a move that went into
effect with parliamentary
approval.
Poroshenko toured a mili
tary training center Wednes
day in the Chernihiv region
bordering Russia, one of the
areas where martial law was
imposed. Speaking to report
ers as smoke billowed from
a nearby shooting range, the
camouflage-clad president
pledged “not to allow the
enemy to attack Ukraine”
and announced a hike in
salaries for servicemen.
Poroshenko initially
sought to impose martial
law for two months, a move
that would have meant pres
idential elections scheduled
for March would have to
be scrapped due to election
rules. Facing criticism in
parliament, he halved the
martial law time frame to a
month, which would allow
the election to go ahead as
planned.
In Moscow, Russian
President Vladimir Putin
bluntly accused his Ukrai
nian counterpart of provok
ing the naval incident in
order to shore up his sagging
popularity and sideline com
petitors ahead of the March
election.
“The Black Sea incident
certainly was a provoca
tion organized by the sitting
government, including the
incumbent president ahead
of the presidential vote in
March,” Putin said, alleging
that Poroshenko wanted to
“exacerbate the situation
and create obstacles for his
rivals.”
Ukraine has insisted that
its vessels were operating
in line with international
maritime rules, while Rus
sia claimed they had failed
to get permission to pass
through a Russia-controlled
area. A 2003 treaty between
the two countries designated
the Kerch Strait and the Sea
of Azov as shared territorial
waters, but Russia claimed
the strait in its entirety after
annexing Crimea in 2014
and has sought to assert
greater control over the
passage.
On Wednesday, Ukraine
released what it said was
the exact location where
its ships were fired on by
Russia, saying they were in
international waters west
of the Kerch Strait. Putin,
meanwhile, insisted the
Ukrainian vessels were in
Russia’s territorial waters
and refused to communi
cate with the Russian coast
guard or accept a Russian
pilot to guide them through
the narrow strait.
“What were the border
guards supposed to do?”
the Russian leader said
Wednesday. “They fulfilled
their duty to protect the ter
ritorial integrity of the Rus
sian Federation. If they had
done something differently,
they should have been put
on trial for that.”
HALL COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
SCHEDULE OF APPROVED LOCAL OPTION SALES TAX PROJECTS
YEAR ENDED JUNE 30. 2018
AMOUNT AMOUNT
ORIGINAL
CURRENT
EXPENDED
EXPENDED
TOTAL
EXCESS
ESTIMATED
ESTIMATED
IN CURRENT
IN PRIOR
COMPLETION
PROCEEDS NOT
PROJECT
COST (1)
COSTS (2)
YEAR (3)
YEARS (3)
COST
EXPENDED
SPLOST IV
Payment of a portion of the payments, including
principal and interest, due on the Hall County
School District's Series 2007B Bonds, with a
maximum payment amount of $9,604,500; $ 9,604,500.00 $ 6,422,776.63 $ $ 6,442,776.63 $ 6,442,776.63 $
Acquiring, constructing and equipping new
schools, fine arts facilities, physical education
facilities, student activity facilities and other
school system facilities, acquiring and conducting
site preparation of real estate for school district
purposes, constructing and equipping additional
classrooms and instructional and support space,
remodeling, renovating and equipping classrooms,
instructional and support space, and other school
district facilities at existing school system facilities,
and acquiring furnishings, equipment and fixtures
for new and existing facilities system-wide, including
technology equipment, textbooks, library books
and school buses, with the estimated cost of such
projects to be financed from funds raised by the
Sales Tax being $152,983,000; $ 151,983,000.00 $ 151,983,000.00 $ 12,343,996.90 $ 96.650,256.24 $
Payment of any general obligation debt of the Hall
County School District issued in conjunction with
the imposition of the Sales Tax. $ 1,000,000.00 $ 1,453,363.23 $ 51,423.23 $ 1,401,940.00 $
SPLOST V
Acquiring, constructing and equipping new
schools, fince arts facilities, physical education
facilities, sports facilities, other student activity
facilities, acquiring and conducting site preparation of
real estate for current and future school district
purposes, constructing and equipping additional
classrooms, instructional and support space, and
other school district facilities at existing school system
facilities, including but not limited to roofing. HVAC,
security and emergency alarm systems, flooring,
plumbing and electrical capacity, and acquiring
furnishings, equipment and fixtures for new and
existing facilities system-wide, including technology
equipment, textbooks, library books and school buses. $ 147,030,000.00 $ 147,030,000.00 $ 35,192,026.27 $ 4,448.921.31 $
Payment of a portion of the purchase price payments
due on that certain Contract between the School
District and the Gainesville and Hall County
Development Authority, dated as of November 1,
2007, with a maximum payment of $875,975. $ 875,975.40 $ 875,975.40 $ 145,995.90 $ - $
Payment of a portion of the purchase price payments
due on that certain Installment Sales Agreement
between the Hall County School District and the
Gainesville and Hall County Development Authority,
dated as of September 1,2010, with a maximum
payment amount of $1,045,000. $ 1,045,000.00 $ 1,044,992.76 $ $ $
Payment of any general obligation debt of the Hall
County School District issued in conjunction with
the imposition of the Sales Tax. $ 4,325,407.50 $ 4,325,407.50 $ 527,446.25 $ 109,281.25 $
$
$
$
$
$
$
ESTIMATED
COMPLETION
DATE
Completed
6/30/2019
Completed
6/30/2023
11/30/2022
2/1/2028
11/1/2022
$ 315,863,882.90 $ 313,135,515.52 $ 48,260.888.55 $ 109,053.175.43 $ 6,442,776.63 $
(1) The School District's original cost estimate as specified in the resolution calling for the imposition of the Local Option Sales Tax.
(2) The School District's current estimate of total cost for the projects. Includes all cost from project inception to completion.
(3) The voters of Hall County approved the imposition of a 1% sales tax to fund the above projects and retire associated debt. Amounts expended for these projects may include
sales tax proceeds, state, local property taxes and/or other funds over the life of the projects.
