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4C Sunday, December 16, 2018
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
LOCAUSOUTHEAST
Rape charges reduced
in Alto man’s plea deal
BY NICK WATSON
nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com
The rape and aggravated
sodomy charges for an Alto
man were reduced to felony
criminal attempt in
a negotiated plea,
according to court
documents.
Mark Aaron Gib
son, 32, was given
a 30-year sentence,
with the first 15
years in confine
ment, in a negoti
ated plea. The rest
may be served on
probation, and he will get
credit for time served since
Oct. 31, 2017.
Gibson was accused of a
sexual assault on a woman
in Alto.
Gibson was also charged
in the indictment with
false imprisonment, misde
meanor battery and misde
meanor obstruction of an
officer.
“Gibson physically
restrained the victim, leav
ing visible marks on her
neck,” Hall County Sheriffs
Office Lt. Scott Ware said
in a previous news
release. “Gibson
disabled a vehicle
in an attempt to
prevent her from
escaping.”
The victim later
escaped and called
911, Ware said at
the time of Gibson’s
arrest.
Gibson and
the alleged victim were
acquainted, Ware said.
Defense attorney Brett
Willis declined to comment.
Gibson was given 15
years to serve plus five
years on probation for the
amended charges, and 10
years on probation for false
imprisonment, according to
court documents.
Gibson
Historically black schools in
p • ...
Georgia see surge in giving
Associated Press
Historically black colleges and uni
versities are seeing an upsurge in sup
port and donations.
Last fiscal year, Spelman College in
Atlanta raised a record $48 million in
donations, The Atlanta Journal-Con
stitution reported . That’s more than
triple the prior year’s total of $14.5
million.
Spelman recently announced that
it received its largest single gift from
living donors, trustee Ronda Stryker
and her husband, William Johnston:
$30 million
Other schools, such as Morehouse
College, have seen similar upticks in
giving.
Morehouse reported that it raised
about $3 million at its annual gala this
year, surpassing the $1 million raised
last year.
At Morehouse School of Medicine,
the number of million-dollar dona
tions rose from one, between fiscal
years 2011-14, to nine, between 2015-
18, the Atlanta newspaper reported.
Clark Atlanta University and Paine
College each received its first million-
dollar check this year.
The nation’s historically black col
leges and universities have seen a
rise in giving, from individual con
tributions by alumnae to celebrities
like Beyonce giving scholarships to
students and signing big checks.
Private giving to the nation’s 101
accredited historically black colleges
and universities increased about 21
percent in the two most recent years
of available information, from $265.2
million to $320.6 million, according to
federal data.
The total, though, is a fraction of
giving to all American colleges and
universities, which totaled $43.6 bil
lion in 2017, according to an annual
study by the Council for Advancement
and Support of Education. Histori
cally black colleges and universities
received an average of about $1,100
per student in 2016. By contrast,
Emory University, Georgia’s largest
private university, received an aver
age of about $42,000 per student in
gifts in 2017.
School leaders, graduates and stu
dents say the increased philanthropic
interest stems from a variety of fac
tors. More donors are interested in
supporting HBCUs amid national
conversations about racially-charged
issues such as deadly police encoun
ters with African-Americans.
Also, the schools are becoming
more adept at fundraising, with many
using social media and other methods
to engage potential donors. Also, the
troubles faced by some of the schools
have prompted responses by alumni
and supporters to give, said Michael
Thurmond, Paine College’s board
chairman-elect.
“It’s stimulated a response to sup
porters to engage and becoming more
active,” said Thurmond, DeKalb
County’s chief executive officer.
Officers chase driver who
fled traffic stop on foot
A person was on the run
near Holly Springs Road
and Skitts Mountain Road
in Clermont on Saturday
afternoon.
After a driver ran a stop
sign at 3:17 p.m., a dep
uty attempted to pull the
subject over. The driver
“ditched the car shortly
after,” which caused an
“ongoing K-9 track near
the Little 5 Points area,”
according to Hall County
Sheriff’s Office 1st Lt. Chris
Dale.
Georgia State Patrol
assisted with troopers on
the ground and a unit in the
air.
About 6 p.m., the ground
units called off the search,
according to Dale, who
said the investigation was
continuing.
Layne Saliba
Dementia patient missing
An 89-year-old
Gainesville man
was reported miss
ing Saturday.
The Gainesville
Police Depart
ment said Alfred
Wheeler Ringer,
89, of Gaines
ville, was last seen
around 10 a.m.
Saturday morning,
has dementia, the
Ringer
Ringer asked
police
department said.
He was last seen
driving a gray
2002 Buick Park
Avenue, wearing
blue jeans, a tan
coat and black
shoes, according to
authorities.
Anyone with
information is
to call 911.
Layne Saliba
MISSISSIPPI
Some university students want
library renamed, citing segregation
Associated Press
HATTIESBURG — Some students
at the University of Southern Mis
sissippi want to consider renaming
the school’s main library, citing the
namesake’s history of supporting
segregration.
Student Government Association
Senator Jarrod Colley told a November
meeting that he was concerned that
the library was named for longtime
President William McCain, who led
the school when Clyde Kennard was
denied admission.
Kennard was a black U.S. Army
veteran, farmer and civil rights activ
ist who was denied admission multiple
times by then-Mississippi Southern
College in the 1950s. In 1960, Kennard
was falsely convicted of helping steal
chicken feed. While imprisoned, he
was diagnosed with cancer but denied
proper treatment until he was criti
cally ill. Kennard died in 1963 at 36.
The Student Government Associa
tion has formed a committee to study
how buildings were named.
“This committee will be looking at
specific spaces like McCain Library
and other historic spaces that may
have some controversy surrounding
them,” said student government Presi
dent McKenna Stone.
Any decision to rename the library
would ultimately be made by College
Board trustees who oversee Mississip
pi’s eight public universities, The Hat
tiesburg American reported.
The University of Mississippi said
last year it would rename Vardaman
Hall, which was named for white
supremacist governor James K. Varda
man. The university also said it would
“contextualize” some other sites by
adding plaques.
McCain was president of USM from
1955 to 1975, a period in which enroll
ment increased, the athletic program
expanded and a number of new build
ings were added.
Kennard’s attempts to enroll
attracted extensive publicity and the
attention of leaders far beyond the
university. Then-Gov. J.P. Coleman
and McCain met with Kennard at one
point, attempting to dissuade or delay
his attempts.
Colley is absent from campus for an
internship, but another student senator,
Andrew King, said he was concerned
by McCain’s involvement.
“He definitely was not a fan of inte
gration at the university and he was not
a fan of Clyde Kennard at the univer
sity,” he said. “I think that needs to be
considered.”
Stone said the committee could con
tinue into the next school year. She said
it’s possible questions could arise about
the names on other historic buildings
on campus. She said any student gov
ernment request to have the library
renamed “is way down the road.”
USM says that when it names a
building, it considers monetary dona
tions, the historical significance of an
individual or group contribution to the
university and whether those contribu
tions have historical staying power.
USM spokesman Jim Coll said each
of the first eight presidents of the uni
versity has had a building named after
them.
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