About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (June 6, 2020)
LOCAL The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com Weekend Edition - June 6-7, 2020 5B Judge: Buford schools racial bias case should proceed BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com A federal jury trial should go forward over a racial discrimination suit against Buford City Schools and for mer superinten dent Geye Hamby, a U.S. magistrate has recommended. Judge Wal ter Johnson also recommended audio recordings at the heart of the suit should be admissible. “Should the presid ing district court judge (Eleanor Ross) neverthe less have doubts about the admissibility of these recordings, (the judge) may conduct a ... hearing before they are played to the jury,” Johnson says in the 131-page report filed May 12. In a suit filed in 2018 in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, paraprofessional Mary Hamby alleges racial bias by the school system in her June 2017 firing. To bolster her claims, she submitted recordings in which Hamby is alleged to have gone on a racial rant. “In these recordings, a voice attributed to Dr. Hamby angrily exclaims that black temporary work ers are not working on a construction site,” Johnson’s report says. “The recordings include two sepa rate conversations in which a voice attributed to Dr. Hamby uses (a racial slur) a total of eight times.” Hamby has “testified that, given the media attention focused on the recordings, he elected to resign,” the judge’s report says. “Although Dr. Hamby asserts that it is not his voice heard on the audio recordings, he admits that it ‘sounds like him.’” Johnson’s report also notes that the Buford Board of Education issued a statement in August 2018 to parents, students and staff that says: “We would like to apologize for the actions of our former superintendent. His lan guage in no way reflects the sentiments of the Board of Education or School District. “We recognize the hurt, anger and frustration the events of last week caused our students, parents and community. Racism is not condoned or acceptable in any manner.” The relationship between Ingram and Hamby began to deterio rate, according to the law suit, when in 2014 Ingram noticed that the color gold was excluded from the school district’s white and green emblem and school apparel. Ingram started a petition asking for gold trim to be included in the school dis trict’s colors, as it had been since the city’s schools were integrated in 1969 to reflect the colors of the Hamby Authorities: Flowery Branch man tried ax to open ATM BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes. com A Flowery Branch man out on bond for previous alleged smash-and-grab burglaries is now accused of try ing to use an ax to break open a convenience store ATM, according to authorities. Hai Quoc Ben nett, 33, has a new charge of smash- and-grab burglary and second-degree crimi nal damage to property. Hall County Sheriff’s Office deputies took a bur glary call around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, June 3, at the Athens Highway Marathon gas station. The deputies reviewed the surveillance video and collected evidence from the business, where inves tigators believe the suspect used an ax to break in the front glass door. “Once inside, he attempted to use the axe to break into an ATM machine. Failing to open the machine, he attached a chain to it and attempted (to) pull it out with a car but was unsuccessful,” Sheriff’s Office spokesman Derreck Booth wrote in a news release. The suspect then drove away. The department’s active criminal enforcement unit identified Bennett as the suspect and found him within 12 hours at a resi dence on Misty Oak Drive in Flowery Branch. Bennett also had a war rant for second-degree criminal damage to prop erty from a May 6 inci dent, where he allegedly scratched the side of a car. The damage was more than $500. Bennett was booked into the Hall County Jail, where he remains. Bennett was previously charged with breaking the glass and stealing mer chandise at businesses across Oakwood and Gainesville in May. He was indicted on mul tiple charges of smash-and- grab burglary in August by a Hall County grand jury. Defense attorney Brett Willis declined to comment. Bennett former all-black schools, the lawsuit states. Ingram graduated from the integrated high school in 1970. According to the lawsuit, Ingram presented the peti tion to the board of educa tion and was encouraged to attend board meetings, as well as city commis sion meetings, to address concerns from the black community. However, Ingram alleges that Hamby and other school leaders asked her to reveal what infor mation she might say at these meetings prior to her attendance, which she refused to do. Between 2014 and 2017, Ingram began receiving several critiques in her performance reviews. For example, a 2015 review asked Ingram to “please adhere to procedures for representing Buford Academy outside of school.” Following another performance review in April 2017, according to the lawsuit, Ingram responded that she felt she was being retaliated against. In June 2017, Ingram was terminated for being “perceived as being dis respectful, argumentative and unfriendly and not a good fit in a school envi ronment,” according to the lawsuit. Johnson’s report states that in June 2018, the Buford school system told the U.S. Equal Employ ment Opportunity Com mission that Ingram “was fired for cause.” In response to the law suit, attorneys for the school system have said “all actions taken with respect to the plaintiff were for legitimate, non- discriminatory and non- retaliatory reasons.” In response to Johnson’s report, Buford school sys tem spokeswoman Kerri Leland said Wednesday, June 3, that the district “does not have an official comment due to this being ongoing litigation.” Lawyers for the school system, Hamby and Pulley also couldn’t be reached for comment. Also, Hamby’s lead attor ney, Edward Buckley, couldn’t be reached for comment. Lbalcn 5 BODY & PAINT FEELING THE SUMMER HEAT? YOUR CAR BATTERY IS TOO To get the most life out of a battery, follow these simple steps: 1. Be sure the electrical system is charging at the correct rate; overcharging can damage a battery as quickly as undercharging. 2. 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