Newspaper Page Text
He’s (Bilder) Back!
Voters OK Sunday sales; Romney carries Monroe Co., awaits U.S. verdict
BY RICHARD DUMAS
AND WILL DAVIS
Monroe County voters replaced
county commission chairman
James Vaughn on Tuesday with
former commissioner Mike
Bilderback, according to unofficial
results.
Bilderback’s stunning victory
over Vaughn’s well-funded cam
paign came by a 5,902 to 5,719
margin.
Vaughn, a Democratic farmer
and lawyer, was first elected chair
man in 2008. A Republican,
Bilderback previously served two
terms as District 3 commissioner
before being defeated in 2010 by
Patsy Miller.
Chairman-elect Mike Bilderback. (File photo) „ T x ^ riV r.-. 1VT _ *
' M ' see ELECTION page 5A
Unofficial election results
President
Sundav Alcohol Sales
Mitt Romney - R 8,352
Yes -
7,491
Barack Obama - D 3,779
No-
4,345
Countv Chairman
Charter School Amendment
James Vaughn - D 5,719 49.1%
County Ga.
Mike Bilderback - R 5,902 50.7%
Yes -
6,434 57%
No-
5,200 43%
District 1
Larry Evans-D 1,708 60.6%
Donald Smith - R 1,112 39.4%
Inside
Bowden
setting
records at
Wingate
See SPORTS
on page 1B
Mayor’s
daughter
battles
cancer
See page 2A
Deaths
Eva Martin
Johnston
See PAGE 6A
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Walmart, Dollar General
3
3 DfiflOS
fl
Kroger, Barnes & Noble, CVS
Bulldogs secure
playoff game
Next Week; Reporter
marks 40th birthday
See page B1
Serving the Public Safety Capital of Georgia
the Monroe Count\
2 sections, 26 pages ■ Forsyth, GA • Wednesday, November 7, 2012 • $1
Remembering our heroes
Sunday is Veterans Day, a special time to remember all the soldiers and sailors who have de
fended America’s freedoms. The solemn tribute is held annually at the 11th hour on the 11th
day of the 11th month. See page 12Afor a listing of programs locally to honor our veterans.
The annual tribute at the Monroe County courthouse will be at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Remember
to tell a veteran “Thank you” this week. Above, last year’s Veterans Day celebration included
the dedication of the markers around the new memorial on the square. (File photo)
Reporter’s Lowery
story talk of the U.S.
BY WILL DAVIS
It’s not every week that the Fox News
Channel, Atlanta's biggest TV stations and
the 800-pound gorilla of the internet, the
Drudge Report, are all quoting the Monroe
County Reporter.
But that's exactly what happened last
week because of reporter Diane Glidewell's
story about the Rev. Joseph Lowery's
speech at St. James Baptist Church in
Forsyth.
The story was on page lAof the last
week's edition and carried the headline:
"Civil rights icons pump Obama at
Forsyth church."
The sub-headline, though, is what
caught the nation's attention: "Lowery:
Don't think white people are going to
heaven." Lowery, who gave the benediction
at President Obama's inauguration in
2009, was in Forsyth to rally support for
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BEFORE YOU VOTE, SEE A SAMPLE BALLOT Bead
POLITICS
Report: Obama Inauguration Preacher
Says 'America Is Going To Hell In A
Hand Basket’
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The CBS station in Atlanta was one of dozens of
websites to publish stories about the Reporter’s
see LOWERY page 7A story on the Rev. Joseph Lowery.
Neighbors
divided on
plans to sue
Plant Scherer
Attorneys use meetings to find plaintiffs
BY RICHARD DUMAS
About 40 Juliette resi
dents attended an informa
tional meeting at the Rum
Creek Banquet Hall
Thursday night about a pos
sible lawsuit against Plant
Scherer.
Macon law firm
Gautreaux and Adams and
New York firm Napoli Bern
Ripka Shkolnik and
Associates have teamed up
in a quest to identify poten
tial clients if the firms sue
Plant Scherer.
The firms allege that coal
ash from Plant Scherer may
have caused property dam
age and/or
personal
injury for
nearby
residents.
Macon
attorney
Brian
Adams of
Gautreaux
and
Adams
said citizens are taught to
love and respect their neigh
bors.
"We think that same rule
applies to corporations as
well," Adams said.
Adams explained to the
attendees that coal ash
refers to residue left over
after coal is burned.
According to the
Environmental Protection
Agency's (EPA) Toxics
Release Inventory, Plant
Scherer generated more
than five million pounds of
coal combustion waste in
2010 alone. The lawyers
said the vast majority of it
is disposed of in the Plant's
750-acre unlined, on-site
coal ash pond.
Adams said coal ash con
tains heavy metals, such as
arsenic, barium, lead and
uranium, which are harm
ful for property and for the
human body. He said the
ash given off by Plant
Scherer is contaminating
nearby air and water. In
fact, Adams said an envi
ronmental expert told him
that heavy metals in the
coal ash are "leeching into
the groimdwater." He said
the unnamed expert told
him he had evaluated more
than 24 ash ponds, and that
in every instance there was
evidence of contaminants
leeching into groundwater.
Adams
then
intro
duced
New
York
attorney
Marc J.
Bern, of
Napoli
Bern
Ripka
Shkolnik and Associates,
who came to Juliette for the
meeting despite travel
obstacles caused by
Hurricane Sandy. Bern told
attendees he has practiced
law for 37 years and his
firm "represents people that
have been harmed in some
way."
Bern said he is most
proud of representing
10,000 persons injured by
poisonous toxins at Ground
Zero in the aftermath of the
2001 terrorist attack on
New York's World Trade
Center towers. Bern said
his firm has achieved a
nearly $1 billion combined
settlement in the cases, and
see SCHERER page 6A
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