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±zr Region Roundup
No Foul Play
Suspected In
Deaths Of Two
DANIELSVILLE - Autopsies of
two people found dead off Hwy.
106 in Madison County Sunday
revealed no evidence that they
were murdered.
'There was nothing to indicate
foul play,” said Georgia Bureau of
Investigation Agent Jim Fullington
Tuesday afternoon.
Now, authorities will wait for the
completion of toxicology reports,
a process that may take two to
three weeks, as they try to piece
together how an Ila man and a
south Georgia woman died along
Hwy. 106 about a mile north of
Hull-Sanford Elementary School.
The deceased man has been
identified as Timothy Lee Sorrow,
31, Pine Street, Ila. The woman
was identified as Tammy Marie
Denmark, 39, of Lyons in Toombs
County.
The two deceased were found
in a pine thicket between 30 and
50 yards off Hwy. 106 Sunday af
ternoon between 15 and 20 yards
apart, Fullington said.
A prescription bottle from a
home that was burglarized in
Clarke County was found with
the deceased. Fullington would
not say what kind of medication
was in the bottle.
The GBI agent said law officers
have talked with someone who
saw the two walking along Hwy.
106. The agents are also speak
ing with family members trying
to piece together the last hours of
the lives of the deceased.
The dead man and woman were
discovered by a motorist on Hwy.
106 Sunday.
According to Captain Mike
Benner of the Madison County
Sheriff’s Office, a man in a Roto
Rooter pickup truck traveling
along Hwy. 106 just after 2 p.m.
Sunday afternoon spotted what he
thought was an orange construc
tion cone in the edge of a planted
pine thicket near the road.
He reportedly told law enforce
ment he collects the cones, so he
turned around and went back.
When he approached the orange
object he allegedly discovered
the bodies of a white male and a
white female. The “orange object”
he had spotted from the road was
the male’s shirt.
Project Completed,
Hwy. 15 To
Reopen Monday
The busy road that most motor
ists traveling from Commerce to
Jefferson use is expected to be
opened again to traffic Monday.
Georgia Department of Trans
portation crews were on the
road this week putting the finish
ing touches on an almost three-
month realignment project. Don
Clerici, Jackson County’s capital
projects consultant, said the proj
ect was completed in just under
the three-months that had been
projected.
Clerici said plans are for it to be
in use for a few days before school
buses roll Aug. 7 for the first day
of classes for the county school
system. The road is used by buses
and motorists going to the East
Jackson schools on Hoods Mill
Road.
The realignment was in the works
for several years and is a joint ef
fort of Jackson County and the
DOT. County leaders pushed for
the project because of the number
of accidents as motorists crossing
Apple Valley Road pulled in front
of others approaching the inter
section from Jefferson. The vis
ibility was obstructed by elevation
and a curve.
BOC Candidate
Has Leins For
Debt Non-Payment
A candidate for chairman of the
Jackson County Board of Com
missioners has a lien against his
house for nonpayment of a debt
and was involved in two other fi
nancial transactions that left firms
attempting to collect money from
him.
Candidate Ron Johnson said
the situations stem from disputes
and that release of the informa
tion was an effort to hurt his cam
paign. Johnson is in a runoff next
week with Hunter Bicknell for the
chairman’s seat.
“This appears to be an attempt
to discredit me at any cost,” John
son said in response to questions
about the debts.
Owners of two different waste
disposal firms paint a different
picture, saying Johnson failed to
pay bills he owes them.
211 Waste Disposal of Winder
placed a $600 lien against John
son’s West Jackson home in June
2007 for nonpayment of a load
of mulch in January 2007, and a
load of topsoil in April that year.
Johnson’s Jackson County home
is under his wife’s name, but the
lien lists Ron Johnson as the per
son who placed the order for the
materials.
The firm’s owner, Tommy Led
better, said the company had
made repeated efforts to collect
the debt, but Johnson never paid.
Ledbetter also said the compa
ny has been embroiled in another
debt dispute with Johnson over
two damaged waste containers
Johnson used in 2007 on a demo
lition job in Sugar Hill.
According to Ledbetter, John
son had contracted with the own
ers of some commercial property
to clean up condemned houses.
The property owners paid for the
rental of the disposal contain
ers, but two were damaged in
the cleanup. 211 Waste Disposal
charged Johnson $1,200 for the
damages since Johnson was in
charge of the project.
Johnson subsequently withheld
$1,200 from payment to the dozi-
er operator at the site — the opera
tor who allegedly caused the dam
age — but never turned the money
over to 211 Waste Disposal.
Ledbetter said the company
had tried repeatedly to collect the
funds, but Johnson refused to pay.
By law, Ledbetter said any lien
placed from the dispute would
have to go against the property
owners of the cleanup site, not
Johnson. He said he would likely
pursue other legal proceedings
against Johnson and not the prop
erty owners.
Owners of the Sugar Hill proper
ty confirmed Ledbetter’s version
of events and said their dealings
with Johnson had left “a sour taste
in our mouth.” The owners said
they had repeatedly tried to get in
touch with Johnson to have him
resolve the dispute so their prop
erty wouldn’t get a lien, but that
they never been able to contact
him.
Johnson said he has contacted
some state agencies about the dis
pute with 211 Waste Disposal and
contends the liens are invalid.
“There were also some proce
dures that were not followed by
211 Waste Disposal that could nul
lify their entire claim, but I want
to do what is right and settle this
equably,” he said.
Johnson said the money in
dispute is in an escrow account
pending resolution of the matter.
He said he is “confident that these
things will be resolved satisfacto
rily in the near future.”
Another waste disposal firm,
Roadrunner Disposal of Atlanta,
placed a $604 lien in January
2008 against a Johnson family
member, but listed Ron Johnson
as the “debtor.”
A spokesperson for Roadrunner
said the firm had delivered a waste
disposal container to an Atlanta
address as ordered by Johnson.
The bill for the container was sent
to Johnson at his Jackson County
address. The spokesperson said
repeated efforts were made to col
lect the debt, but Johnson hadn’t
returned phone calls.
The firm filed its lien against the
family member’s property since
the container was delivered to the
Atlanta address, but it listed John
son as the debtor since he ordered
the container.
Johnson said the lien “actually
involved a family member and
didn’t have anything to do with me
or any property owned by me.”
Johnson also said liens don’t
carry much legal weight.
“As I’m sure you are aware, any
one can file a lien against another
person’s property simply by filling
out a piece of paper, no proof is
necessary,” said Johnson. “Many
property owners do not even
know that a lien has been filed
against them until they apply for
credit or sell their property.”
Johnson insists the effort is po
litically motivated.
“I would like to know who went
to so much trouble to dig into my
personal affairs and who would
give you this partial information
without telling you the whole
story,” he said. “This appears to
be an attempt to discredit me at
any cost.
“I don’t think this has anything
to do with my campaign, the is
sues or Jackson County and
would really prefer to stay clear
of personal innuendo and stick to
the facts.”
Gallery Seeks
Work From Local
Artists' Dark Sides
Blue Bell Gallery, Comer, is seek
ing artists for its second annual
“Hauntings” exhibition, “Dark
Works by Local Georgia Artists.”
The exhibit will show the dark
side explorations during October
with a reception Saturday, Oct. 18,
at 7 p.m.
Artists should submit their work
and ideas by Sept. 5. Artists may
e-mail .jpeg files to bluebellgal-
lery@windstream.net or mail pho
tos to Blue Bell Gallery, RO. Box
246, Comer, GA, 30629. Artists
should include a statement,
dimensions, medium and prices.
'Turtle Trek' Set
Aug. 9 At Crow's
Lake, Jefferson
The third annual Tree
House Turbo Turtle Trek will
be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Saturday, Aug. 9, at Crow’s Lake,
Jefferson.
The Turtle Trek and festival ben
efit the Tree House, which is the
advocacy center for children in
the Piedmont Judicial Circuit.
To adopt a turtle for the
race across the lake, contact
Investigator Janis Mangum,
Jackson County Sheriff’s Office,
for more details.
For more information on the
family fun festival, contact Donna
Butler at 706-559-4841 or via email
at storyteller826@bellsouth.net.
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Who do you want protecting
your family from criminals?
11 Years Experience as Assistant DA
• Numerous trials successfully prosecuting rapists,
murderers, child molesters and drug traffickers
• Assisted on every death penalty case in past 12 years
• Presented thousands of cases before grand jury
• Endorsed by District Attorneys
• Endorsed by Police Benevolent Association of GA
Donna Sikes
NO Experience in DA's Office
• NO experience prosecuting criminals
• ZERO criminal jury trials in past 10 years
• NEVER presented a case before the grand jury
• Not endorsed by ANY District Attorney
Brad Smith Is the ONLY Candidate
With a Proven Record of Protecting
Our Community from Criminals.
Brad Smith
The Obvious Choice for District Attorney
www.BradSmithforDA.com
VOTE AUGUST 5 IN THE RUN-OFF
Paid for by The Committee to Elect Brad Smith District Attorney