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LOCA^OP HEADLINES
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com
Thursday, December 22, 2022 3A
‘No compromises’ in path to
peace, Zelenskyy tells Biden
Ukrainian president pays wartime visit to Washington
PATRICK SEMANSKY I Associated Press
President Joe Biden speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
as they meet in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Dec. 21, in
Washington.
BY ZEKE MILLER,
LISA MASCARO
AND E. EDUARDO CASTILLO
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Ukrainian Presi
dent Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid a
defiant wartime visit to Washington
on Wednesday to thank U.S. leaders
and “ordinary Americans” for their
support in fighting off Russia’s inva
sion and pledged there would be “no
compromises” in trying to bring an
end to the war. President Joe Biden
and Congress responded with billions
in new assistance and a pledge to help
Ukraine pursue a “just peace.”
Biden welcomed Zelenskyy to
the Oval Office, saying the U.S. and
Ukraine would continue to project a
“united defense” as Russia wages a
“brutal assault on Ukraine’s right to
exist as a nation.” Zelenskyy, on his
first known trip outside his country
since Russia invaded in February, said
he wanted to visit earlier and his visit
now showed the “situation is under
control, because of your support.”
Pressed on how Ukraine would try
to bring an end to the conflict, Zelen
skyy rejected Biden’s framing of a “just
peace,” saying, “For me as a president,
‘just peace’ is no compromises.” He
said the war would end once Ukraine’s
sovereignty, freedom and territorial
integrity were restored, as well as the
“payback for all the damages inflicted
by Russian aggression.”
“There can’t be any ‘just peace’ in
the war that was imposed on us,” he
added.
The highly sensitive trip was taking
place after 10 months of a brutal war
that has seen tens of thousands of casu
alties on both sides and devastation for
Ukrainian civilians. Zelenskyy’s visit
was meant to reinvigorate support for
his country in the U.S. and around the
world, amid concerns that allies are
growing weary of the costly war and
its disruption to global food and energy
supplies.
Just before his arrival, the U.S.
announced a $1.8 billion military aid
package for Ukraine, including for the
first time Patriot surface-to-air mis
siles, and Congress planned to vote on
a spending package that includes about
$45 billion in emergency assistance to
Ukraine.
Russia, Biden said, is “trying to use
winter as a weapon, but Ukrainian
people continue to inspire the world.”
Later, in a joint news conference, he
said Russian President Vladimir Putin
has “no intention of stopping this cruel
war.”
The two leaders appeared to share
a warm rapport, laughing at each oth
ers’ comments and patting each other
on the back throughout the visit, though
Zelenskyy made clear he will continue
to press Biden and other Western lead
ers for ever more support.
He said that after the Patriot sys
tem was up and running, “we will send
another signal to President Biden that
we would like to get more Patriots.”
“We are in the war,” Zelenskyy
added with a smile, as Biden chuckled
at the direct request. “I’m sorry. I’m
really sorry.”
Biden said it is “important for the
American people, and for the world, to
hear directly from you, Mr. President,
about Ukraine’s fight, and the need
to continue to stand together through
2023.”
After the White House meeting, the
Ukrainian president was scheduled
to give an address to Congress, which
Vice President Kamala Harris was
attending.
Zelenskyy headed abroad after
making a daring and dangerous trip
Tuesday to what he called the hottest
spot on the 800-mile front line of the
war, the city of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s
contested Donetsk province. He
praised Ukrainian troops for their
“courage, resilience and strength” as
artillery boomed in the background.
Poland’s private broadcaster,
TVN24, said Zelenskyy crossed into
Poland early Wednesday on his way to
Washington. The station showed foot
age of what appeared to be Zelenskyy
arriving at a train station and being
escorted to a motorcade of American
SUVs. TVN24 said the video, partially
blurred for security reasons, was shot
in Przemysl, a Polish border town that
has been the arrival point for many
refugees fleeing the war.
Officials, citing security concerns,
were cagey about Zelenskyy’s travel
plans, but a U.S. official confirmed
that Zelenskyy arrived on a U.S. Air
Force jet that landed at Joint Base
Andrews, just outside the capital, from
the Polish city of Rzeszow.
Biden told Zelenskyy, who wore a
combat-green sweatshirt and boots
during their Oval Office meeting, that
“it’s an honor to be by your side.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in her
invitation to Zelenskyy to speak to law
makers, said “the fight for Ukraine is
the fight for democracy itself” and
that they were looking forward to
“hearing your inspiring message of
unity, resilience and determination.”
U.S. and Ukrainian officials have
made clear they do not envision an
imminent resolution to the war and
are preparing for fighting to continue
for some time. The latest infusion
of U.S. money would be the biggest
yet — and exceed Biden’s $37 billion
request.
Biden has repeated that while
the U.S. will arm and train Ukraine,
American forces will not be directly
engaged in the war.
20-year church abuse prohe ends
with monsignor’s quiet plea deal
Monsignor William Lynn, the longtime secretary for clergy,
was accused of sending a known predator, named on
a list of problem priests he had prepared for Cardinal
Bevilacqua, to an accuser’s northeast Philadelphia parish.
Lynn served nearly three years in state prison before
appeals courts threw out his felony child endangerment
conviction, and he pleaded no contest in November 2022
to a misdemeanor charge of failing to turn over records to
the 2002 grand jury.
BY MARYCLAIRE DALE
Associated Press
Twenty years after city
prosecutors convened a
grand jury to investigate
the handling of priest-
abuse complaints within
the Roman Catholic Arch
diocese of Philadelphia, the
tortuous legal case came to
an end with a cleric’s mis
demeanor no contest plea
in a near-empty City Hall
courtroom.
Monsignor William Lynn,
71, had served nearly three
years in state prison as
appeals courts reviewed
the fiery three-month trial
that led to his felony child
endangerment conviction
in 2012. The verdict was
twice overturned, leav
ing prosecutors pursuing
the thinning case in recent
years with a single alleged
victim whose appearance
in court was i n doubt.
In the end, they said
Lynn could end the two-
decade ordeal by pleading
no contest to a charge of
failing to turn over records
to the 2002 grand jury. A
judge took the plea dur
ing a short break from her
civil caseload last month,
and imposed no further
punishment.
“He lost 10 years of his
life, 10 years of his priestly
life,” said defense lawyer
Thomas Bergstrom, speak
ing of the decade since
Lynn’s conviction. “It’s a
travesty. It’s an absolute
travesty.”
“You’re fighting an uphill
battle because the public at
large misunderstood what
he was convicted of. They
thought he was an abuser,”
Bergstrom said.
Lynn was the first
U.S. church official ever
charged, convicted or
imprisoned over their
MATT ROURKE I Associated Press
handling of priest-abuse
complaints.
His trial attracted a
packed courtroom full of
press, priest-abuse victims
and outraged Catholics,
along with a few church
loyalists. Lynn, the long
time secretary for clergy,
was accused of sending a
known predator — named
on a list of problem priests
he had prepared for Car
dinal Anthony Bevilacqua
— to an accuser’s northeast
Philadelphia parish.
The trial judge allowed
nearly two dozen other
priest-abuse victims to tes
tify about abuse they had
suffered in the archdiocese
over a half century. An
appeals court later said
their weeks of testimony
over uncharged acts were
unfair to Lynn — who some
saw as a scapegoat for the
church, given that the bish
ops and cardinals above
him were never charged.
“This is one defendant,
one count of endangering
the welfare of children,
with one group of children,”
Judge Gwendolyn Bright
said before his retrial was
set to start in March 2020.
“We’re not bringing in the
so-called or alleged ‘sins of
the Catholic Church.’”
The pandemic closed the
courthouse, and the case
against Lynn stalled yet
again until the recent plea
offer.
A spokesperson for Dis
trict Attorney Larry Kras-
ner, who inherited the case
from his predecessors,
called Lynn’s unannounced
Nov. 2 plea “the appro
priate path for bringing
finality and closure to the
victims, who have endured
retraumatization through
out the legal process for
years” and said they did not
want to face another trial.
ROADS
■ Continued from 1A
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said that
officials most fear power outages
caused by wind, which could cut off
heating to homes and some health care
facilities. Officials warn wind could
also delay reconnecting power.
“It may be very hard to get the crews
to fix a downed power outage until it’s
safe to do so,” Kemp said.
Officials said north Georgia moun
tains could see snow on Thursday and
that rain farther south could freeze on
roads. Temperatures are forecast to
fall below freezing on Thursday and
not rise above freezing until Monday in
much of Georgia’s northern half.
“If you see a roadway that looks wet
on Friday, assume that it’s frozen,”
Georgia Transportation Commissioner
Russell McMurry said in a news con
ference Wednesday with Kemp.
Workers began salting and brining
21,000 miles of state highways and
interstates on Wednesday. Local roads
may not be treated, though.
Kemp said he would declare a state
of emergency, waiving daily limits on
how long propane truck drivers can
work. Propane heats both homes and
chicken houses for Georgia’s nation
leading poultry industry.
State officials will open warming
centers at 18 state parks. Many local
governments are also opening warm
ing centers.
James Stallings, director of the
Georgia Emergency Management
and Homeland Security Agency, urged
people to make preparations to survive
for 72 hours without power. He urged
people to wrap outdoor pipes, leave
indoor faucets dripping and open cabi
nets under sinks to warm pipes. He also
warned people not to use grills, camp
stoves or generators indoors, to avoid
carbon monoxide poisoning.
Stallings asked people traveling
away from home during Christmas
to make sure neighbors could access
their homes in case pipes burst.
The Associated Press contributed
to this article.
BRASELTON
Water project
hopes to finish
in couple of years
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
Braselton is seeking resi
dents’ input on a major water
improvement project.
Using federal pandemic
relief money funneled
through the state, the town in
Hall, Gwinnett, Barrow and
Jackson counties is looking
to add two municipal water
supply wells and 3,100 feet
of water transmission main
lines on public property next
to Charlie Smith Road.
Charlie Smith Road is off
Thompson Mill Road, which
becomes Liberty Church
Road at Old Winder High-
way/Ga. 211, just south of
the Hall County line.
“Municipal water wells
typically take about five
years to get online,” Town
Manager Jennifer Scott said.
“We’ve already started the
process, so we hope to be
able to get it on the system in
the next couple years.”
The overall project is esti
mated to cost $1 million, with
$416,500 from federal relief
and $618,500 from the town.
A public meeting to dis
cuss the project is set for 4
p.m. Jan. 5 at the Braselton
Police & Municipal Court
Building, 5040 Highway 53.
During the meeting, offi-
Water
improvements
What: Braselton is
holding a public meeting
on a$1 million project
When: 4 p.m. Jan. 5
Where: Braselton Police &
Municipal Court Building,
5040 Highway 53
dais plan “to identify public
preferences for alternative
methods of improving the
town’s water facilities,”
according to a press release.
“These alternatives will
be evaluated and included
in the town’s Environmental
Information Document, the
major planning document
covering the water system
improvements.”
Public participation “is
encouraged and considered
essential to the selection
and development of the
final plan” to be adopted
before its approval by the
state Department of Natu
ral Resources, the release
states.
“We are trying to become
more self-sustaining in
regards to our water needs,”
Scott said.
She said the town buys
water from Gwinnett and
Jackson, “and we are nego
tiating a new contract with
Barrow.”
OAKWOOD
40 townhomes
removed from
development plan
BY JEFF GILL
jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
A plan for 40 townhomes at a busy Oakwood intersection
has been removed in favor of a strictly commercial develop
ment — one that includes a couple of potential restaurants.
“The city was more interested in seeing a 100% com
mercial development,” said Ethan Underwood, a Cumming
lawyer representing the developer, Eden Rock Real Estate
Partners LLC.
A two-story, 89,600-square-foot self-storage has replaced
the residential part of the development at Winder and Atlanta
highways, across from a Chick-fil-A restaurant and a Wal
greens pharmacy.
“That storage facility will have a lot less traffic going in
and out adjacent to those existing homes,” Underwood said.
The development would be surrounded by houses and
border Poplar Springs Fork and Bolding roads, which lead
to the busy intersection of Poplar Springs Road and Atlanta
Highway/Ga. 13.
A revised map of the development shows two “quick-
serve” restaurant sites, with one possibly being a cof
fee shop. Also planned are a 1,500-square-foot oil change
business and a two-story 8,400-square-foot medical office
building.
No tenants have been signed, but discussions are under
way with several prospects, Underwood said.
The hope is construction could start in mid-2023, he said.
Another commercial development is being planned off
Winder Highway/Ga. 53 across from Chick-fil-A and the
Publix-anchored Robson Crossing shopping center. It also
could include restaurants.
That developer, Halpern Enterprises Inc., was seeking
to waive a requirement for interparcel access with Eden
Rock’s development on its property. Oakwood City Council
denied the request in October.
LAWYER
■ Continued from 1A
According to the lawsuit, the Johnsons originally hired
Michael Weaver Jr. and the Weaver Law Firm to represent
them and signed a contract.
The lawsuit claimed that someone at the law firm
attended a site inspection of the incident scene and took
photos and videos of the baler machine.
After the inspection, the Johnsons retained other counsel.
The Johnsons’ new counsel reached out to Weaver to
withdraw from the case and return their files, assuring that
they would be compensated for their brief representation,
according to the lawsuit.
“Without responding to the Dec. 12 correspondence,
defendant Weaver directly contacted plaintiff Jennifer
Johnson via text to discuss his prior representation of (the)
plaintiffs, but he did not offer a copy of (the) plaintiffs’
file,” according to the lawsuit.
Weaver said in an email that he had seen a copy of the
complaint.
“We deny the allegations contained within it, but cannot
comment further at this time due to the pending litigation,”
Weaver wrote in an email.
The lawsuit claimed the Johnsons’ lawyers reached out
again on Dec. 14 and 16 to get the files ahead of a Dec. 20
site inspection of the baler machine.
The lawsuit stated that the photos and videos “are essen
tial to plaintiffs and to their experts so that they can review
those photographs and inspect the subject machine prior to
attending any inspection.”
“The ethical rules are clear,” Cook said. “The law is
clear. The client owns the file.”
Cook said Judge Michelle Hall ruled Tuesday after a
hearing that Weaver has to provide the file and any com
munications related to this case.
The lawsuit claimed the defendants were liable for
breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and intentional
withholding of plaintiffs’ property. The case is seeking
“compensatory, nominal and punitive damages.”
Cook said he is still “pursuing all remedies.”