LOCATSOUTHEAST
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
Saturday, December 29, 2018 7A
Shutdown may block aid to farmers hit by trade war
CHARLIE NEIBERGALLI Associated Press
Justin Roth holds a handful of soybeans at the Brooklyn Elevator in
Brooklyn, Iowa, Nov. 21.
BY JULIET LINDERMAN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — The end of
2018 seemed to signal good things
to come for America’s farmers.
Fresh off the passage of the farm
bill, which reauthorized agricul
ture, conservation and safety
net programs, the USDA last
week announced a second round
of direct payments to growers
hardest hit by President Donald
Trump’s trade war with China.
Then the government shut down.
The USDA in a statement issued
last week assured farmers that
checks would continue to go out
during the first week of the shut
down. But direct payments for
farmers who haven’t certified
production, as well as farm loans
and disaster assistance programs,
will be put on hold beginning next
week, and won’t start up again until
the government reopens.
There is little chance of the gov
ernment shutdown ending soon.
Trump and Congress are no closer
to reaching a deal over his demand
for border wall funding, and both
sides say the impasse could drag
well into January.
Although certain vital USDA pro
grams will remain operational in
the short term, that could change if
the shutdown lasts for more than a
few weeks.
The Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program, or food
stamps, helps feed roughly 40 mil
lion Americans. According to the
USDA, eligible recipients are guar
anteed benefits through January.
Other feeding programs, including
WIC, which provides food aid and
nutrition counseling for pregnant
women, new mothers and chil
dren, and food distribution pro
grams on Indian reservations, will
continue on a local level, but addi
tional federal funding won’t be pro
vided. School lunch programs will
continue through February.
USDA has earmarked about
$9.5 billion in direct payments for
growers of soybeans, corn, wheat,
sorghum and other commodities
most affected by tariffs. The first
round of payments went out in Sep
tember. The deadline to sign up for
the second round of payments is
January 15.
The impact of the shutdown,
which began shortly before most
federal workers were scheduled
for a holiday break, started coming
into focus by midweek.
About 420,000 employees
are working without pay, while
another 380,000 are being forced
to stay home.
In the past, federal employees
have been paid retroactively. But
government contractors won’t get
paid for hours they’ll lose staying
home, causing problems for those
who rely on hourly wages.
In anticipation of the financial
bind many federal workers and
contractors may soon find them
selves in, the Office of Personnel
Management offered some advice:
haggle with landlords, creditors
and mortgage companies for lower
payments until the shutdown is
over.
The shutdown also is affecting
national parks, although unevenly:
Some remain accessible with bare-
bones staffing levels, some are
operating with money from states
or charitable groups, while others
are locked off.
Prosecutor sues Justice Department over man shot 59 times
Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard discusses his attempts to obtain information
about the killing of Jamarion Robinson, who was shot 59 times by law enforcement officers,
on Friday, Dec. 28.
BY JEFF MARTIN
Associated Press
ATLANTA —A Georgia
prosecutor is suing the U.S.
Department of Justice over
its refusal to provide infor
mation about how officers
shot 59 bullets into a schizo
phrenic college student.
Fulton County District
Attorney Paul Howard said
Friday that federal authori
ties have blocked his prose
cutors from interviewing the
officers who killed Jamarion
Robinson, 26.
Howard said the federal
agency has also stymied
his investigation of the 2016
killing by refusing to turn
over any documents, despite
numerous requests during
the past two years under the
federal Freedom of Infor
mation Act.
“We’ve never done any
thing like this,” he said of
the lawsuit. “Our hope was
that the federal authorities
would cooperate and pro
vide this office and this fam
ily with all the information
about this incident. I cannot
understand why they have
not done it.”
Robinson’s mother, Mon-
teria Robinson, accom
panied Howard when he
announced the lawsuit.
“My son deserves the
truth,” she said.
Atlanta criminal defense
lawyer Page Pate, who isn’t
involved in the case but has
handled numerous others
involving the federal gov
ernment, said the standoff
between local and federal
law enforcers “is extraordi
narily unusual.”
“They stonewall plaintiffs
all the time, but it is unusual
for them to stonewall a dis
trict attorney who is inves
tigating a possible crime. ..
They generally cooperate
when it comes to investigat
ing serious crimes,” Pate
said.
Robinson died in a hail of
gunfire after a fugitive task
force armed with weapons
that included submachine
guns broke down the door
in the Atlanta suburb of East
Point, Georgia, in August
2016, and fired more than 90
rounds “into or inside” the
apartment, according to the
lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that
the Department of Justice
has “steadfastly blocked”
Howard’s office from inves
tigating and that federal offi
cials failed to return many
calls from his office.
“It has now been 875 days
since the officers killed
Mr. Robinson, and the DOJ
has yet to provide any of
the documents or evidence
requested and has failed to
provide any investigative
reports relating to Mr. Rob
inson’s death,” the lawsuit
states.
Witnesses and videos
have indicated that officers
gave numerous verbal com
mands for Robinson to put
down a weapon, the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation said
JEFF MARTIN I Associated Press
in a statement the day after
the shooting. The GBI inves
tigates many shootings by
police across the state, as it
did Robinson’s death.
A handgun found at the
scene was “believed to be
associated with Robinson,”
the GBI said at the time.
The lawsuit also alleges
that while officers claimed
Mr. Robinson fired at them
three times with a gun found
later in his apartment,
“when the firearm was
recovered, it was damaged
and inoperable.”
East Point police have
said Robinson was suspected
of shooting at Atlanta offi
cers earlier that summer,
and members of the task
force had gone to the apart
ment to arrest him.
The Department of Jus
tice did not immediately
return a request for com
ment Friday. Its Office of
Public Affairs said in an
email that due to the partial
government shutdown, mes
sages “may not be returned
until funding is restored.”
Robinson, who studied
biology, had played football
at Clark Atlanta University
and had been transferring
to Tuskegee University in
Alabama shortly before he
was killed.
He’d recently been diag
nosed as a schizophrenic,
the prosecutor’s lawsuit
states. Except for a traffic
violation, he had no criminal
convictions, according to the
lawsuit.
ROME
Officer fired
after hit-and-run
involving child
A police officer in Georgia has
been fired after he was charged in
a hit-and-run incident that injured a
3-year-old child.
News outlets reported that
51-year-old Rome Lt. Richard Pen-
son has been arrested and charged
with reckless driving, hit-and-
run and second-degree cruelty to
children.
The police department said in a
news release that Penson was off-
duty and driving his own vehicle
Dec. 17 when the accident occurred
at a daycare pickup line and a
child’s foot was hit.
It wasn’t known if Penson has an
attorney.
Rome police asked the Geor
gia State Patrol to conduct the
investigation.
MCDONOUGH
Officer dies from
gunshot wound suffered
earlier this month
A police officer has died from a
gunshot wound he suffered earlier
this month when he responded to a
disturbance at a dentist’s office.
News outlets reported the Henry
County Police Department said
officer Michael Smith died early
Friday in an Atlanta hospital from
complications of a gunshot wound
he suffered Dec. 6 at a dentist’s
office in McDonough.
The dentist’s office had called
police about a man who was acting
erratically.
Investigators say Smith went
into the office and struggled with
53-year-old Dimaggio McNelly.
Smith tried to stun the man, but a
scuffle developed over the officer’s
gun. A single shot was fired that
killed McNelly and fatally injured
Smith.
Smith had been with the police
department for seven years.
GUYTON
Dead children never
reported missing were
homeschooled
Two children found dead and
buried in their father’s backyard
had been missing for months, but
their disappearances were never
reported.
News outlets report 14-year-old
Mary Crocker disappeared in Octo
ber and her brother Elwyn Crocker
Jr. disappeared in 2016 when he was
14. The Effingham County School
System says Mary and Elwyn were
removed from school and trans
ferred to a homeschool program.
The children were found last
week, and their father, step
mother, stepgrandmother and the
stepgrandmother’s boyfriend are
charged in their deaths. A living
11-year-old child with cerebral
palsy was taken from the home
and placed this week in the care of
his mother, Rebecca Self, of South
Carolina.
County Sheriff Jimmy McDuffie
says despite noticing signs of pos
sible abuse, neighbors and acquain
tances didn’t report their suspicions
to authorities.
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
Man says $252K in cash
seized from luggage was
for nonprofit
A Michigan man who had about
$252,000 seized from his carry-on
bag at a Charlotte, North Carolina,
airport says the money was for
humanitarian purposes.
The Charlotte Observer reported
Thursday that Robert Shumake has
filed a claim to recover the cash,
which authorities say was pack
aged in a way “consistent with drug
trafficking.” The money was seized
in June when authorities found it
stashed inside a shoe box.
Associated Press
OBITUARIES
DEATH
NOTICES
Barbara Allison
July 29, 1932-Dec. 27,
2018
Barbara Allison, 86, of
Cleveland died Thursday.
Funeral service, 2 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 31, Mossy
Creek United Methodist
Church, Cleveland. Barrett
Funeral Home, Cleveland.
Gary
Leon Black
Died Dec. 27, 2018
Gary Leon Black, 70, of
Cleveland died Thursday.
Barrett Funeral Home,
Cleveland.
Patricia J. Born
Died Dec. 24, 2018
Patricia “Patty” J. Born,
74, of Cumming died Mon
day. Funeral mass, Thurs
day, Jan. 3, St. Brendan
Catholic Church, Cumming.
McDonald and Son Funeral
Home, Cumming.
Joseph
Junior Cummings
Died Dec. 27, 2018
Joseph Junior Cummings,
87, of Commerce died
Thursday. Funeral service,
2 p.m. Saturday, Rogers
Baptist Church, Commerce.
Little-Ward Funeral Home,
Commerce.
Tony Hall
June 15, 1946-Dec. 27,
2018
Tony Hall, 72, of Demor-
est died Thursday. Ser
vice, 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan.
5, funeral home chapel.
McGahee-Griffin & Stewart
Funeral Home, Cornelia.
Bob Meister Jr.
Oct. 23, 1921-Dec. 23,
2018
Bob Meister Jr., 97, of Cor
nelia died Sunday. Whitfield
Funeral Home, Demorest.
Hillard Reed Moon
Died Dec. 25, 2018
Hillard Reed “Bud”
Moon, 85, of Jefferson died
Tuesday. Funeral service, 1
p.m. Monday, Dec. 31, New
Salem Baptist Church, Jef
ferson. Wimberly & White
Funeral Home, Commerce.
Robert
Daylon Moore
Died Dec. 27, 2018
Robert Daylon Moore, 83,
of Maysville died Thursday.
Service, 3 p.m. Sunday, Jan.
6, funeral home chapel. Ivie
Funeral Home, Commerce.
William
Thomas Rabun
Died Dec. 26, 2018
William Thomas Rabun,
78, died Wednesday. View
ing, 5 p.m. Saturday, Dec.
28, funeral home chapel.
Ingram Funeral Home,
Cumming.
JD Raines
Died Dec. 27, 2018
JD Raines, 86, of Gaines
ville died Thursday. Funeral
service, 2 p.m. Saturday,
Dec. 29, funeral home cha
pel. Memorial Park Funeral
Home, Gainesville.
Richard James
Rensing Sr.
Oct. 18, 1944-Dec. 27,
2018
Richard James Rensing
Sr., 74, of Alto died Thurs
day. Memorial service,
2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 26,
funeral home chapel. Haber
sham Crematory, Cornelia.
Honorio
Betancourt Roman
Died Dec. 26, 2018
Honorio Betancourt
Roman, 36, of Cumming
died Wednesday. Visita
tion, 1 p.m. Monday, Dec.
31, funeral home chapel.
McDonald and Son Funeral
Home, Cumming.
Bonita King Swope
Died Dec. 23, 2018
Bonita King Swope, 81,
of Suwanee died Sunday.
Memorial service, 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 20, Grayson
Church of The Nazarene,
Loganville. McDonald
and Son Funeral Home,
Cumming.
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