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The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
Friday, December 21,2018 9A
ENGINE
■ Continued from 1A
The health system may not ultimately
occupy the Engine 209 site after all, though —
Knight Commercial Realty has the first option
for the land. Developer Tim Knight told The
Times earlier in December that three mixed-
use plans were being considered. When plans
were announced in 2017, the project was said
to include 30,000 square feet of retail and res
taurant space with 150 apartments above.
Sean Couch, a spokesman for the health
system, said the health system would use its
90-day due diligence period to evaluate the
site and see if it would work for a new facility
or offices. If the health system decides not to
purchase the land, the redevelopment author
ity would retain ownership.
Negotiations will now be between the health
system and Knight Commercial Realty, City
Manager Bryan Lackey said after Thursday’s
redevelopment authority meeting.
“(Knight) is still in what I’d call first posi
tion on that. The hospital has to negotiate with
them to alter that agreement to allow them to
enter first position,” Lackey said.
Engine 209 would be relocated to other city-
owned property, possibly to be incorporated
into a larger park. The city had already been
considering moving the train to make it more
accessible, city officials said Thursday.
“That train really needs to be in a place
that is convenient and can be better utilized
by the public, and also a cover put over it so
we don’t have to paint it every two or three
years,” Mayor Danny Dunagan said. “Also, it
can be used with maybe a park around it so it
would be a nice amenity.”
Abb Hayes, Gainesville’s city attorney, said
the city often seeks to sell excess property so
it can become tax-producing and contribute to
economic development.
If the health system builds on the property,
any health system building would be required
to have at least two stories, according to the
contract. If anyone other than the health sys
tem builds there, that developer would be
required to construct a multi-use building with
at least three stories. Before any construction
on the site could start, plans would have to be
approved by Gainesville’s city manager.
The contract with the health system would
require NGHS to grant the city an easement
to build an electronic sign to promote com
munity events. Also, 40 parking spaces would
need to be set aside 12 times a year for events
at the Smithgall Arts Center.
Source: Travis Scott to
perform at Super Bowl
BY MESFIN FEKADU
Associated Press
Rapper Travis Scott is in talks to per
form at the Super Bowl halftime
in Atlanta, The Associated Press
has learned.
A person familiar with the situ
ation, who spoke on the condition
of anonymity because they were
not allowed to speak about the
topic publicly, told The AP that
Scott is close to signing on to per
form at Super Bowl 53 on Feb. 3 at
the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The person confirmed that Scott will
headline Pepsi’s pre-Super Bowl concert
on Feb. 1 in Atlanta, two days before the
Super Bowl.
Controversy has surrounded the half
time show since NFL player Colin Kae-
pernick said he would not stand for the
national anthem in protest of racial
discrimination against blacks in the
United States two years ago. Some musi
cians have reconsidered performing at
the Super Bowl as a result, and
Rihanna and Jay-Z were among
the stars who reportedly said no
to performing at halftime show.
The person said Pepsi, which
sponsors the halftime show,
brought Scott to the NFL, which
is in talks with the rapper. Scott,
26, has had an uber-successful
year with his latest album “Astro-
world,” one of the year’s top
releases. It features the No. 1 hit, “Sicko
Mode,” and recently earned Scott three
Grammy nominations.
Maroon 5 has been rumored to headline
the halftime show, though their represen
tatives or the NFL have not officially con
firmed the news.
Scott
ATU\NTA
3 passengers killed in business plane crash
BY JEFF MARTIN
Associated Press
JOHN AMIS I Associated Press
A person investigates the scene of a small plane crash in a city park which killed all on board, Thursday, Dec. 20,
in northwest Atlanta.
DEATH
NOTICES
Carol Asbridge
Died Dec. 20, 2018
Carol Asbridge, 74, of
Flowery Branch died Thurs
day. Memorial Park South
Funeral Home, Flowery
Branch.
Betty Jean Cantrell
Died Dec. 20, 2018
Betty Jean Cantrell, 71,
of Cleveland died Thurs
day, Barrett Funeral Home,
Cleveland.
Gussie Cleare
Died Dec. 19, 2018
Gussie Cleare, 86, of
Gainesville died Wednes
day. Funeral service, 11 a.m.
Saturday, Dec. 22, Antioch
Baptist Church. Wimberly
Funeral Home, Gainesville.
Max Lee Crocker
Dec. 16, 1949
-Dec. 18, 2018
Max Lee Crocker, 69, of
Alto died Tuesday. Funeral
service, 11 a.m. Friday, Dec.
21, funeral home chapel.
Whitfield Funeral Home,
Baldwin.
Claudia Mae Davis Daniels
Dec. 5, 1955
-Dec. 18, 2018
Claudia Mae Davis Dan
iels, 63, of Cornelia died
Tuesday. Funeral ser
vice, 2 p.m. Satuday, Dec.
22, funeral home chapel.
McGahee-Griffin & Stewart
Funeral Home, Cornelia.
Lisbeth Giles Gaddy
Died Dec. 19, 2018
Lisbeth Giles Gaddy, 60,
of Gainesville died Wednes
day. Memorial Park South
Funeral Home, Flowery
Branch.
Harris Cleveland
Haughton
Died Dec. 18,2018
Harris Cleveland Haugh
ton, 90, of Gainesville died
Tuesday. Funeral service,
12 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 22,
St. Paul United Methodist
Church. Dexter T. Sims Mor
tuary, Gainesville.
Margie Nell Hicks
Died Dec. 20, 2018
Margie Nell Hicks, 87, of
Cleveland died Thursday.
Funeral service, 2 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 22, funeral
home chapel. Memo
rial Park Funeral Home,
Gainesville.
Jose Salomon Parras
Died Dec. 16,2018
Jose Salomon Parras, 47,
of Gainesville died Sunday.
Graveside service, 3 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 23, Memorial
Park Cemetery. Memo
rial Park Funeral Home,
Gainesville.
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ATLANTA — Three people
aboard a Tennessee-bound business
jet were killed when the aircraft
plunged into a football field at an
Atlanta park, igniting its fuel and
sending thick smoke over a nearby
neighborhood Thursday.
A home behind the sports field
was damaged, but no injuries on the
ground were reported, Atlanta Fire
Rescue Sgt. Cortez Stafford said.
The plane’s wreckage was spread
out on the field over about a 100-yard
area, he said.
The aircraft was “shooting out of
the sky,” witness Reggie Dumas told
reporters at the scene.
“As it was going down, you could
see the wings shifting back and
forth,” said Dumas, who saw the
aircraft plunge as he drove along a
nearby road. He jumped out of his
car to see if he could help anyone,
but saw no survivors — only smoke.
The plane was a Cessna Citation V
jet, Federal Aviation Administration
spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen told
The Associated Press.
It was headed to the Millington-
Memphis Airport when it went
down, airport Executive Director
Roy Remington said. He said a fire
official at the Millington airport was
working with authorities in Atlanta
to determine the identities of those
killed in the crash. Remington says
ATLANTA — Catholic church
officials suppressed reports of
abuse by a priest in northwest
Georgia and failed to inform
the community of the danger he
posed, according to a lawsuit filed
Thursday.
The lawsuit, filed by a man
identified under a
pseudonym, Phillip
Doe, says he was an
altar boy at Saint
Joseph’s Catholic
Church in Dalton
from age 12 to 15
and that he was
sexually molested
by priest John
Douglas Edwards
from 1976 to 1978.
The lawsuit filed
in Cobb County
Superior Court
says the failure by
the Archdiocese of
Atlanta to report
the alleged sexual
abuse is a public
nuisance because
it endangered the
public. It was filed against the arch
diocese, Saint Joseph’s and Arch
bishop of Atlanta Wilton Gregory,
who has presided over the archdio
cese since 2005.
The archdiocese had not
received the lawsuit Thursday
the victims were believed to be from
the Memphis area.
“This is a tragedy,” he said.
The jet had departed from a
runway at nearby Fulton County
Airport-Brown Field and went down
about 1.5 miles east of the airport
and, therefore, could not comment,
spokeswoman Paula Grant said
in an email. She added that the
archdiocese abhors every instance
of abuse and offers support to
survivors.
“Archbishop Gregory remains
committed to being engaged with
the laity, the presbyterate, and his
brother bishops as we as a Catholic
Church work through this tremen
dously difficult
time,” she wrote.
Edwards died in
1997.
“The Archdio
cese and Arch
bishop of Atlanta
owed a duty of
reasonable care
to protect minor
parishioners who
were altar boys
at St. Joseph’s
church,” Darren
Penn, one of Doe’s
lawyers, said in a
press release. “The
Archdiocese and
Archbishop failed
to investigate, sus
pend or remove
Edwards from all
religious ceremonies and other
events.”
Penn, who’s representing Doe
along with California-base lawyer
Paul Mones, urged Georgia Attor
ney General Chris Carr to investi
gate the archdiocese “to get to the
shortly after noon, Bergen said. The
airport itself is about 10 miles west of
downtown Atlanta.
The plane’s wreckage is not far
from a small set of metal bleachers
and the yellow goal post in the end
zone of the football field, video from
truth about all of the clergy cred
ibly accused of sexual misconduct
in Georgia and ensure the public is
properly informed.”
The attorney general had no
comment, spokeswoman Katie
Byrd said. But Carr released a
statement in August saying he was
concerned about continued reports
of abuse in the Catholic Church. He
said the crimes involved generally
fall under the jurisdiction of local
prosecutors but said he’s willing
to commit any appropriate atten
tion and resources from his office
to hold accountable those who
have committed or concealed such
crimes.
Edwards directly supervised the
altar boys, leading their meetings
and practices, and had a house on
Lake Allatoona in Acworth where
he would take groups of boys from
Saint Joseph’s, the lawsuit says.
Edwards sexually molested Doe
eight to 10 times, fondling Doe’s
penis and performing oral sex on
him, the lawsuit says.
Because of the alleged abuse,
Doe has suffered throughout his
life from emotional and psycho
logical problems and “experienced
a loss of faith and spirituality which
were bedrocks of his life prior to
the abuse,” the lawsuit says.
The archdiocese knew about
sexual molestation of children by
priests across the U.S., and spe
cifically Edwards, the lawsuit says.
Instead of reporting those crimes,
WAGA-TV shows. Most of the plane
is badly burned. Its tail is one of the
only parts that appear to be intact.
Firefighters had to make their
way through jet fuel to put out the
flames on the football field, Stafford
said.
abuse reports
they have “actively concealed the
identities of sexual predators and
allowed them to remain in unsus
pecting communities, exposed to
innocent children, for decades.”
This alleged behavior allowed a
dangerous environment to persist,
“creating a nuisance that continues
to this day,” the lawsuit says.
While Doe never reported the
alleged abuse to church officials,
Penn said, it’s clear from Edwards’
inclusion on a list of priests cred
ibly accused of sexually abusing
children that there were other
victims and that the church knew
about it.
A Pennsylvania grand jury
report released in August alleged
that more than 300 Roman Catholic
priests there had molested more
than 1,000 children since the 1940s
and that senior church officials sys
tematically covered up the abuse.
Following the release of that
report, Catholics demanded more
transparency and accountability,
and cases of alleged abuse have
come under new scrutiny in some
other places. Dioceses and arch
dioceses around the country have
released lists of priests, other
clergy and some lay staff at reli
gious institutions who have been
credibly accused of sexually abus
ing children.
The Archdiocese of Atlanta and
the Diocese of Savannah each
released such a list last month.
Edwards is on the archdiocese list.
COVINGTON
Wounded police officer
back home after rehab
A police officer who was shot in the head
has returned home after months of physical
rehabilitation.
News outlets report Covington police Officer
Matt Cooper finished his inpatient brain injury
rehab program Wednesday and got to go home.
Police say officers responded to a report of
shoplifting at an area Walmart in September and
three suspects fled, shooting at officers.
Authorities say Cooper was shot in the head
by 21-year-old suspect Aaron Demonta Fleming,
who was shot and killed at the scene. Authorities
have said Fleming’s gunshot wound was likely
self-inflicted. The other suspects were taken into
custody.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said then
that Cooper was hospitalized in serious condition.
He underwent several surgeries and was later
transferred to the rehabilitation center.
ATLANTA
GBI workers resign after taking
photo with dismembered man
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says two
of its workers have resigned after taking a photo
with a dismembered man’s head during a medical
examination.
News outlets report GBI spokeswoman Nelly
Miles says Jesse Landen Wilson and James N.
Brown would’ve been fired if they didn’t resign
this week. Miles says Brown took a photo of Wil
son posed with the remains of Robert Page, who
authorities have said was dismembered by his
neighbor.
Authorities have said Page was reported miss
ing in November. Responding authorities followed
a trail of blood leading to the yard of 25-year-old
Christian Ponce-Martinez and discovered Page’s
remains hidden under a tarp and in a cooler.
Ponce-Martinez was arrested on charges
including murder.
Police say it appears the men argued at Page’s
home before the slaying.
SOUTH CAROLINA
African American Museum needs
$10 million to construct project
CHARLESTON — Organizers for the Inter
national African American Museum planned in
South Carolina say they’ll need an additional $10
million for the project.
Organizers in Charleston cited inflation and ris
ing costs of materials in Thursday’s statement that
they need the money before construction starts.
Fundraisers reached their $75 million goal in
August, the estimated amount needed to start. That
prompted Charleston City Council to hire a con
struction manager and begin soliciting bids. That’s
when they realized that the prices were climbing.
Museum organizers say they’ve already raised
about $3 million of the extra $10 million needed.
Then-Charleston Mayor Joe Riley announced
plans for the museum in 2000.
The museum is planned at the former Gadsden
Wharf, where tens of thousands of enslaved Afri
cans first entered America.
Associated Press
Lawsuit: Catholic church suppressed Ga
BY KATE BRUMBACK
Associated Press
‘The Archdiocese
and Archbishop
of Atlanta owed a
duty of reasonable
care to protect
minor parishioners
who were altar
boys at St. Joseph’s
church.’
Darren Penn
Lawyer to Phillip Doe
