The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, December 20, 2018, Image 5

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The times., December 20, 2018, Image 5

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Newspaper Page TextNATION/WORLD The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com ★Thursday, December 20, 2018 5A WAVERLY, OHIO Inmate in hot water: Police find escapee in hot tub An escaped inmate is back in custody after being found soaking in a hot tub at an Ohio senior living community, still wearing her yellow jail outfit. The Pike County Sheriffs Office says the 34-year-old woman fled while being booked on drug-possession charges Tuesday. She was captured by the sheriff and the local police chief several hours later when a 911 caller reported the woman sitting in the hot tub at a senior com munity’s activity center in Waverly, roughly 60 miles south of Columbus. Authorities haven’t explained how or why the woman ended up there. A message seeking further comment was left Wednes day for the sheriff. ST. LOUIS Police recover stolen tiny home Police say they’ve tracked down a tiny home that was stolen in St. Louis. Jefferson County Sher iff Dave Marshak said detectives found the home Wednesday morning about 30 miles from St. Louis in the unincorporated community of House Springs. An anony mous tip led police to the 12-foot-tall house. KANSAS CrTY, MO. Kansas to pay $1.1 M in wrongful conviction look-alike case Kansas has agreed to pay $1.1 million to a man who spent 17 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of a robbery that he says was committed by someone who looks just like him. Kansas Attorney Gen eral Derek Schmidt said Tuesday that a settlement was reached Monday with 42-year-old Richard Anthony Jones of Kansas City, Missouri. Schmidt said Jones is the first person to agree to a set tlement payout under a new state law that provides com pensation to people who are wrongly imprisoned. “We are committed to faithfully administering the new mistaken-convic tion statute the legislature enacted,” Schmidt said in a news release. “In this case, it was possible on the existing record to resolve all issues quickly, satisfy all of the statute’s requirements, and agree to this outcome so Mr. Jones can receive the bene fits to which he is entitled by law because he was mistak enly convicted.” Eyewitness testimony sent Jones to prison for an attack and robbery in the parking lot of a Walmart in Roeland Park, Kansas. No physical evidence linked Jones to the crime, and he always main tained his innocence. He was freed after supporters found evidence that another man who looked just like him lived near the Walmart. “We are absolutely very happy by the result,” said Tricia Bushnell, the execu tive director of the Mid west Innocence Project, which helped represent Jones. “This is why we’ve all worked so hard to get compensation in the state of Kansas. This will allow Rich ard to start to rebuild his life after the years that were taken, and that means a lot.” His lawyers with the Mid west Innocence Project and the Paul E. Wilson Defender Project at the University of Kansas presented the other man at a June 2017 hearing. After the victim and wit nesses withdrew their iden tification of Jones, Johnson County District Judge Kevin Moriarty ordered Jones’ release. While not saying the other man committed the crime, Moriarty found that based on the new evi dence, no reasonable juror would have convicted Jones. The other man, known as “Ricky,” testified at the hearing that he did not com mit the robbery. Investigators focused on Jones after his picture was picked out of a police data base three months after the crime by a man who admitted he was on drugs during his only encounter with Jones, according to court documents filed by the defense. Jones’ lawyers AFGHANISTAN Taliban say talks focused on US withdrawal BY KATHY GANNON Associated Press PAKISTAN MILITARY I Associated Press In this photo released by Pakistan’s military, U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, left, talks with Pakistani Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa during a meeting in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Wednesday, Dec. 19. argued the lineup of photos shown to the vic tim and other witnesses was “highly suggestive,” with Jones’ picture the only one of six photo graphs that resembled the description of the rob bery suspect. Under the settlement, Jones was granted a cer tificate of innocence and will receive counseling and health care through the state. ST. LOUIS Deputies rescue man on fire from burning vehicle Two sheriffs deputies saved a man from a burn ing vehicle in southeast Texas during a dramatic rescue captured on video. Chambers County Sher iff Brian Hawthorne says the driver was critically hurt when his vehicle overturned and caught fire last week near Win nie, a community about 50 miles east of Houston. Bodycam video shows the deputies pulling the unconscious man from the burning vehicle while his abdomen and legs are on fire. The deputies then place the victim in a nearby puddle to douse the flames with water. The deputies involved were Braedon Boznango and Carlton Carrington. Neither was injured. Associated Press ISLAMABAD — The lat est talks between the Tali ban and a U.S. peace envoy on the war in Afghanistan focused on the withdrawal of NATO troops, the release of prisoners and halting attacks on civilians by pro-government forces, a Taliban spokesman said Wednesday. U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalil zad, who tweeted that talks held this week in the United Arab Emirates were “pro ductive,” was in Pakistan on Wednesday to meet with the chief of the country’s army before heading to the Afghan capital Kabul later in the day. The UAE talks also involved Saudi, Pakistani and Emirati representatives. The Taliban have refused to meet directly with the Afghan government, view ing it as a puppet of the U.S. The insurgent group con trols nearly half of Afghani stan, and are more powerful than at any time since a 2001 U.S.-led invasion. They carry out near-daily attacks, mainly targeting security forces and government officials. In a significant develop ment, three representatives of the Haqqani network — Hafiz Yahya, Saadullah Hamas and Dr. Faqeer, who goes only by a single name — were also present at the talks, according to a Taliban official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the talks. This would be the first time a U.S. envoy has met with rep resentatives of the Haqqani network, declared a terror ist group by Washington and considered one of the most lethal fighting forces in Afghanistan. Although part of the Taliban, the Haqqani net work has its own military committee. Its leader, Sira- juddin Haqqani, is deputy head of the Taliban. Their prowess on the battlefield makes their presence at the meeting particularly signifi cant because it’s unlikely any agreement could be enforced without their support. At the meeting, Khalil zad pressed for the release of two professors from the American University of Afghanistan — American Kevin King, 61, and Aus tralian Timothy Weeks — who were kidnapped from Kabul in August 2016, the Taliban official said. A 2017 video message from King revealed he was in poor health. It is widely believed the two Westerners are being held by the Haqqani group, which has close ties to Pakistan’s premier intelli gence agency known as the ISI. Haqqanis have been demanding the release of Anas Haqqani, a brother of Sirajuddin captured by Afghan intelligence agents in 2014. Apparently, Taliban leader Haibaitullah Akhun- dzada ordered the three to attend the UAE meetings, the official said. “We called for an end to the invasion and they insisted on the exchange of prisoners, including teach ers of the university,” said the Taliban official, add ing there was no discussion about a cease-fire and “we do not hold any discussions on Afghanistan’s internal issues with the Americans and we do not want any advice from anyone.” Two former inmates at the U.S. prison in Guanta namo Bay, ex-Taliban army chief Mohammed Fazle and former governor of western Herat province, Khairullah Khairkhwa, were also at the meetings. The Afghan govern ment sent a delegation that included the National Security Adviser Hamdul- lah Mohib to the UAE but it did not take part in the talks, instead holding sepa rate talks with Khalilzad, who said he would meet with Afghan leaders later Wednesday in the Afghan capital. 2018 Report on Projects Funded Through Special Local Option Sales Tax as submitted by the Hall County Board of Commissioners SPLOST VI Year Original Revised Expenditures Ending Total Funds Percentage Estimated Approved Budget Budget Fiscal Year 2018 Remaining Complete Completion Road Improvement Projects County Roads, Streets & Bridges 2009 $ 68,000,000 $ 42,650,145 $ 40,764,907 $ 1,885,238 96% 2019+ Project Management 2009 - 2,600,000 2,115,463 484,537 81% 2019+ Parks & Leisure Projects North Hall Community Park (Bond Payments) 2009 5,500,000 8,105,618 8,105,618 - 100% Complete South Hall Community Park 2009 5,500,000 720,394 720,394 - 100% Complete Community Center (District 2 or 3) 2009 5,500,000 4,698,052 4,698,052 - 100% Complete Elachee & Chicopee Woods 2009 1,000,000 125,430 125,430 - 100% Complete Agricultural Center 2009 1,000,000 149,785 149,785 - 100% Complete Multi-Use Trail & Pedestrian Facilities 2009 2,500,000 443,150 443,150 - 100% Complete 21,000,000 14,242,429 14,242,429 0 100% Courthouse & Administration Bldg Projects Courthouse Annex Renovation Relocate Adm Offices 2009 3,060,000 3,495,255 3,122,439 372,816 89% 2019 Relocate Administrative Offices (Bond Payments) 2009 13,940,000 10,479,745 10,479,745 - 100% Complete 17,000,000 13,975,000 13,602,184 372,816 97% Fire & Emergency Medical Projects Ambulance Replacement 2009 $4,000,000 $3,205,000 3,205,000 - 100% Complete Water & Sewer Projects Glades Farm Reservoir (Bond Payments) 2009 6,000,000 7,225,261 7,116,875 108,386 98% 2019+ Sewer Projects 2009 46,425,000 24,009,378 24,009,378 - 100% Complete Belmont Water System 2009 700,000 565,722 565,722 - 100% Complete Spout Springs Plant upgrade 2009 85,000 2,789,210 2,789,210 - 100% Complete Project Management 2009 - 405,000 400,935 4,065 99% Complete 53,210,000 34,994,571 34,882,120 112,451 100% Building Construction Projects Sheriff's Headquarters 2009 10,000,000 6,478,657 6,478,657 - 100% Complete Health Department Expansion 2009 5,000,000 480,450 473,651 6,799 99% 2019 Correctional Institute Replacement 2009 2,500,000 3,674,540 3,674,500 40 100% Complete Animal Control Shelter 2009 2,500,000 2,966,589 2,966,589 - 100% Complete North Hall Technology Center & Clermont Library 2009 3,000,000 2,586,177 2,586,177 - 100% Complete Welcome Center 2009 1,500,000 - - - 0% Complete Airport 2009 500,000 12,500 12,500 - 0% Complete Post Office Relocation 2009 3,000,000 50,000 - 50,000 0% TBD 28,000,000 16,248,913 16,192,074 56,839 100% Landfill Projects Candler Rd Landfill Cell 6/Closure Costs 2009 4,000,000 2,477,089 2,477,089 ■ 100% Complete Municipal Allocations Municipal Allocations 2009 44,790,000 29,804,562 29,804,562 ■ 100% Complete TOTALS $ 240,000,000 $ 160,197,709 $ 157,285,828 $ 2,911,881 98% SPLOST VI Collections Revised Collections through Projected Fiscal Year 2018 Total Collections Revenues (inc. Intr. & Other) Expenditures Allocated not Spent July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2015 Collections received through Fiscal Year 2016 (6-30-2016) $ 157,000,000 $ 160,197,709 $ 157,285,828 $ 2,911,881 The SPLOST VI Budget was revised downward by 25% in 2011 to $162M and again in 2013 to $152M due to the economic recession that began in 2009, whereby receipts did not meet expectations/projections. SPLOST VI has completed the collection process and any surplus money on hand is being held to complete the projects listed. Budgets were again revised upward to $157M as collections increased in FY2015. SPLOST VII Year Original Expenditures Ending Total Funds Percentage Estimated Approved Budget Fiscal Year 2018 Remaining Complete Completion Tier II Countywide Projects Ambulances (12) & QRV's 2015 $ 4,598,000 $ 3,604,094 $ 993,906 78% 2020 911 System Upgrade 2015 13,000,000 12,698,634 301,366 98% 2019 Cardiac Monitors 2015 522,000 299,626 222,374 57% 2020 Library - Renovate Main Branch and Purchase Collections 2015 2,500,000 305,169 2,194,831 12% 2020 Gainesville - Hall County Senior Center Allocation 2015 1,500,000 1,500,000 - 100% Complete Public Safety Vehicles 2015 790,000 306,968 483,032 39% 2020 22,910,000 18,714,491 4,195,509 82% Road Improvement Projects R-O-W Purchase Spout Springs Rd 2015 20,000,000 2,182,761 17,817,239 11% 2020+ Intersection Improvements 2015 2,350,000 105,320 2,244,680 4% 2020 Culvert/Bridge Replacements Various Culvert Replacements 2015 1,400,000 356,810 1,043,190 25% 2019 Joe Chandler Bridge Replacement @ North Oconee 2015 1,000,000 1,172,583 (172,583) 117% Complete Hubert Stephens Bridge Replacement @ Wahoo Creek 2015 1,000,000 778,605 221,395 78% Complete Base & Paving 2015 2,500,000 977,439 1,522,561 39% 2020 Resurfacing 2015 16,900,000 10,149,111 6,750,889 60% 2020 Traffic Safety Improvements 2015 1,000,000 401,121 598,879 40% 2020 Tumbling Creek Rd Bridge 2016 500,000 401,843 98,157 80% 2020 46,650,000 16,525,592 30,124,408 35% Water Sewer System Projects Mulberry Creek Regional Sewer 2015 10,546,570 6,309,963 4,236,607 60% 2020 Water/Sewer Projects 2015 11,289,225 5,433,628 5,855,597 48% 2020+ 21,835,795 11,743,591 10,092,204 54% Solid Waste/Landfill Phase 2 Cell III Construction 2015 $3,250^000 61,829~ 3,188,171 ~2%" 2019 Building Renovation/Capital Improvements Various Bldg Renovation and Improvements 2015 3,850,000 3,105,195 744,805 81% 2020 IT Infrastructure Technology Enhancements/Voting Machines 2015 2,000,000 887,201 1,112,799 44% 2020 Parks & Leisure Projects Various Park Projects 2015 4,400,000 1,377,999 3,022,001 31% 2020 Shoreline Protection 2015 200,000 114,047 85,953 57% 2019 Elachee 2015 300,000 81,361 218,639 27% 2019 4,900,000 1,573,407 3,326,593 32% Public Safety/Sheriff Capital Equipment Upgrades 2015 2,785,379 2,108,449 676,930 76% 2020 Building Construction Projects Fire Apparatus/Vehicle Replacement 2015 3,770,000 2,160,544 1,609,456 57% 2020 Replacement of Station #1 2015 2,700,000 6,696 2,693,304 0% 2019 New Fires Stations (#17 & #18) Bldgs, Vehicles & Equip 2015 5,700,000 31,172 5,668,828 1% 2020+ Technology Upgrades / Additional Technology 2015 230,000 176,333 53,667 77% 2019 12,400,000 2,374,745 10,025,255 19% Municipal Allocations Municipal Allocations 2015 37,418,826 22,206,228 15,212,598 59% 2020 TOTALS $ 158,000,000 $ 79,300,728 $ 78,699,272 50% SPLOST VII Collections Revised Collections through Projected Fiscal Year 2018 Total Collections Revenues (includes interest) Expenditures Allocated not Spent July 1, 2015 through June 30, 2020 Collections received through Fiscal Year 2018 (6-30-2018) $ 158,000,000 $ 93,867,705 $ 79,300,728 $ 14,566,977 SPLOST VII Collections began July 1, 2015. Collections are exceeding early projections this fiscal year by 4.41%. This was the third year of SPLOST VII so projects are being initiated as revenues are collected. Any surplus money on hand is being held to complete the projects listed. Questions/Need more Information? If you have any questions regarding the above reports please direct them to Tim Sims, SPLOST/Purchasing Manager at 770-531-4939 or tsims@hallcounty.org.