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VOLUME CIX — NUMBER VII
Councilman’s Trial
Planned Wednesday
Jurors To Hear Fraud, Theft Case
The trial of a suspended
Summerville city councilman is
expected to begin this coming
One Killed
In Accident
Near Tidings
A motorist was fatally
injured in a pickup truck ac
cident on U.S. Highway 27
just south of Tidings late
Wednesday afternoon.
Details were sketchy at
6 p.m. and the victim was
not identified. Driver of the
truck was also injured in the
one-vehicle accident.
~ The death marked the
first accident-related fatali
ty in the county this year.
Trion Settlement Due?
Town Works To Resolve Sewerage Problems
By JULIE GRIFFIS
Staff Writer
The Town of Trion is in the
process of ‘“‘basically resolv
ing” a federal lawsuit filed by
an Atlanta organization this
past December.
According to Albert
Palmour, town attorney, there
are really two questions to be
determined in the settlement of
the suit:
First, does the prior en
forcement action set forth by
the Environmental Protection
Division (EPD) preclude the
asking of fines for violations by
the town’s wastewater treat
ment plant and penalties ask
ed for in the suit?
Second, is the town
violating the Clean Water Act,
which Palmour calls “vague.”
“The Clean Water Act is
very subjective,” Palmour ex
plained. “It says a color will
not be put into the stream, but
further down it says no color
that interferes with the
legitimate water use will be put
into the stream.”
Palmour said he does
believe the town is in a good
position in res(fect to color.
“Color and fines are the
issue,” he said.
STUDIES
Palmour further explained
that the town is in the midst of
a bio-solids study, a basic col
or study, and sludge disposal.
The town will run a pilot
plan in a couple of months to
see what needs to be done to
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BED COVERING CHECKED FOR EVIDENCE AT MENLO HOUSE
Chief Inv. Hill (L), Inv. Elsberry, GBI Agent Bari Sabo
Summerville To Fight Fine
--See Page 8-4
Che nunmeruille News
Wednesday in Chattooga
Count; St‘l)perior Court.
Rafi)h an Pelt, district at
torney, said he hoKes to begin
the trial of Earl ‘“‘Red’’ Parris,
East Washington Avenue,
Summerville, on five felony
counts at that time.
Parris was elected to the
Summerville Citgr Council in
the fall, 1991 and assumed of
fice on Jan. 1, 1992. He was
sulsPended from office by Gov.
Zell Miller effective May 5,
1993 after being indicted on
the charées by a Chattooga
County Grand Jury.
Parris did not choose to
step .down himself pending
resolution of the charges.
The panel had handed down
the five counts on Feb. 4, 1993
after hearing from Agent
Robert Mandtil of the Georgia
Bureau of Investigation (GBI)
and Parris himself. Under
Georgia law, an elected official
being considered for indict
ment by a grand jury has the
remove the color from the
river, he said. Work on a
remedial plan was to have
begun this week.
The towllxl has spent a lo%i)f
money on the project, roughly
between five and 10 mifiion
doliars.
“We want to cure all pro
blems, upgrade the plant and
make sure we have no future
fines,” he said.
Once a plant equalization
basin is cleaned out, there will
be fewer problems, he said. The
basin hasn’t been cleaned out
in years.
The suit, filed in U.S.
District Court in Rome by the
Georgia Center for Law in the
Public Interest Inc. seeks
$25,000 for each Trion
wastewater treatment plant
violation since 1989. It was fil
ed on behalf of the Georgia En
vironmental Organization Inc.,
Atlanta.
The money would be paid to
the EPD, according to
Palmour, who said he’d rather
see the money go into the plant
than to the government.
The violations concern fecal
coliform bacteria, suspended
solids and the change of color
to the river “that is not in keep
ing with the river’s natural col
or.”
AWARENESS
The suit also seeks a river
monitoring study, according to
Palmour, which would include
public awareness of en
vironmental issues concerning
~vanuRVILLE, CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GEORGIA — THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1994
right to apfilear before the jury
to explain his side of the issue.
Ordinarly; citizens don’t have
that right.
FELONIES
Parris was indicted on one
char¥e of theft by deception
and four charges of makmvlg a
false statement in writing. The
amount involved was S4BO.
Since he is a public official, the
charges were considered
felonies, Van Pelt explained
earlier.
The charges relating to
false statements indicated that
Parris had submitted
fraudulent receipts to the City
of Summerville for supposedly
lost commissions wh.ifia involv
ed in city business.
Four counts stated that
Parris falsely claimed in
writing that he had sold water
pipe and other supplies to the
Valley Head, Ala. Water
Department, Guy Stansell
Construction of Jasper, Alla-
the Chattooga River.
The h'ltl;)ifiation is one of
several similar suits threaten
ed against towns or cities in
Georgia recently by the same
group.
Meanwhile, back at the
wastewater treatment plant,
the Town of Trion must pay a
fine of $4,897.20 for violations
see TRION, page 8-A
DOT Sets Roadwork Here
8.78 Miles In County, Cities Slated For Resurfacing
By BUDDY ROBERTS
Associate News Editor
More than eight miles of
roads and streets in Chattooga
Countl{ewill be resurfaced this
f'ear, p. Tim Perry recently
earned from the Georgia
Degartment of Transportation
(DOT). s
Five county roads, one
street in Menlo, three streets in
Summerville, and two in Trion
are included in the work, accor
ding to a memo that Perry
received from the DOT.
Contracts for the work will
be let on April 22, and tk:fro
jects are to be completed by
Nov. 30. ;
The projects include resur
facing 7.10 miles total on Filter
Plant Road, Smallen Road,
Marble Springs Road,
© Copyright 1994 By Espy Publishing Co.. Inc. — All Rights Reserved
toona Landing, Cartersville,
and to the City of White Water
Department.
None of those specific sales
was ever made, the charges
indicated.
COMMISSIONS
The fifth count charged
that Parris had obtained reim
bursement from the city for his
allegedly lost commissions bas
ed on those fraudulent tickets.
Parris himself and the other
four members of the Summer
ville City Council voted to ask
the GBI to investigate the
issue on Oct. 1, 1992 after The
Summerville News had
published a front fiage in
vestigative story that day
outlining what it had
discovered in city records
through the Georgia Open
Records Act.
He was the first city
connected Summerville official
or employee to be investigated
in alleged wrongdoing.
Myrtis Evans, a long-time
city bookkeeper, has since been
charged but not yet indicted on
charges of stealing a large sum
of money from the town over a
period of years. City officials’
said the latest estimate is that’
some $566,000 is missing from
city coffers as a result of the
suspected thefts.
GBI PROBE
At least one other Summer
ville councilman is the subject
of a GBI probe into documents
reported missing from city hall.
Another city employee is also
being investigated in connec
tion with changes on the city
computer relating to about 14
insurance deductions from her
see COUNCILMAN’S, page 8-A
Haywood Valley Road and
Sturdivant Estates.
Roadwork in local cities in
cludes Poik Street in Menlo,
Conway Drive in Trion, along
with Ramey Street, Cherry
Street, and Third Avenue in
Summerville.
Menlo is also expected to
receive $20,000 for its city
water system in the state’s
budget for fiscal year 1995,
Perry said. The House was ex
gected to have passed the
udfiet Wednesday and sent it
to the Senate.
“We’ll see an amended ver
sion probably on the last
week,” Perry said. ‘
MENLO WATER
He added that the allot
ment for Menlo may allow the
Shooting At Menlo Unresolved
By TOMMY TOLES
Editor
A shooting that left a
Menlo area woman dead early
Monday mongag was still be
ing investigated by local and
state law enforcement
authorities at midweek. They
had not determined whether
the incident was a homicide or
a suicide by Wednesday
morning.
It 1s still under investiga
tion and leaning toward
suicide,” Sheriff R,afph Kellett
The victim was Mary Linda
Hu%g‘ins, 45, McWhorter
Road, Menlo, according to
Chief Inv. P. R. Hill. She suf
fered a gunshot wound to her
ed through mmm
found imbedded in a paneled
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Turf from Atlanta Stadium was installed this past week
and early this week on two baseball fields at the Tillot
son Sports Complex at Menlo. The Menlo Recreation
Department was able to obtain at no cost the turf that
is removed at the stadium each year before the Braves
begin play. New turf is placed at the stadium each year.
Death Knell For NWGS?
DHR Rejects Immediate Funding Of Agency
By TOMMY TOLES
Editor
The Georgia Department of
Human Resources (DHR) does
not plan to provide any more
money to Northwest Georgia
Services Inc. (NWGS) in the
city to complete and upgrade
its water system without rais
ing its water rates. The money
had been requested from the
govemor’s discretionary fund,
ut was included in next year’s
})udget, which takes effect Ju
y 1.
“People talk about pork
barrel politics, and that’s real
ly what this is,” Perry said.
“But it's not pork barrel
;l)‘olitics to the people of Menlo.
hey need clean drinking
water.”
Also in next year’s budget
is money to install an electrical
warning fence around Haxs
Correctional Institution, the
representative added.
Perry was the only House
Democrat to oppose state com
see DOT SETS, page 6-A
ivdall lll{ext to the bedfin v;hifih
s. u#ms was found, he
continued.
Jerome Dozier, 42, same ad
dress as Ms. Hudgins, was
guestioned and released Mon
ay afternoon, Hill said.
The chief investigator said
this is what had been pieced
together by Tuesday morning:
GUNSHOT
Dozier and Ms. Hudgins
had a di t early Mon
day and she went in
to another A short
time later, Dozier said, he
henq a mt and h&called
a mgh ’ alUil'.l en »
who in turn called the sberi?'s
office at 2:58 a.m.
Sgt. Eddie Hili and Dfi
Eddie Colbert arrived at t
house and found it dark. Uncer
tain as to what they’d find, the
Reading Is ‘Magic’
--See Page 1-B
Stadium Turf At Menlo
near future.
That was the gist of a let
ter sent to Roger Jones, ‘l#'er
ly, chairman of the NWGS
board, by Anne T. Plant,
director of the Department of
Family and Children Services
of the DHR.
Jones said the decision may
have been the death knell for
the beleaguered agency, which
now exists in name only.
The deadline for NWGS or
any other community action
agency to submit letters of in
terest in Head Start for
1994-95 to the federal depart
ment of Health and Human
Services (HHS) in Atlanta was
this past Tuesday.
Jones said he was unaware
of whether anyone connected
with NWGS had written a let
ter to HHS by that deadline.
He had not written one, Jones
indicated.
ILL
Ken York, a board member
and Walker Counti l‘fiovern
mental employee, been
named the uné)aid interim
director of NWGS earlier this
gear. ta?; has ll)een in tlie
ospital during the past couple
of weeks after undergoilr)ng
surgery.
Withcut HHS and DHR
fun#a}, it would be difficult
for NWGS to become financial
ly viable, even if it changed its
two deputies walked down the
hallway and found Ms.
Hudgins’ bedroom door closed.
They g)ened it slowly and shin
ed a ashlig?‘;donto the bed,
;vl_xere they Ms. Hudgins
yu!#hey turned on the room
lights and saw that she had
been shot in the head. A snub
nosed .38 caliber revolver was
found between her right arm
and her hody. .
She was still breathing and
R Nl
mergency
was called to the scene. One of
%he J D venport fm
nv. Jerry Da o
sheriff’s office.
She was taken to.Chattom
Count Ho?ftal. where
diedlgut 5:10 a.m. of massive
head injuries.
Investigators found
J. P. Smith Lumber Co. and Menlo Pallet & Lumber Co.
donated the use of their trucks to pick up the rolls of
sod in Atlanta. Boot camp inmates at Hays Correctional
Institution install the turf on the infield at one of the
fields. See additional photos on Page 6-B. (Staff Photo).
name to Lookout Mountain
Community Action Age:etii'
Inc., which had been proposed,
Jones has said.
The downhill slides of
NWGS began this past fall
when an audit of the agency’s
books for 1991-92 indicated
Food Stamp Anger
Leads To Gunfire
i A Clgudlanltli man has beeg
charged with aggravate
assaifit for allegetfiy firing a
shotfun at a mail carrier for
not delivering food stamps to
his home.
Britten F. Tate, 46, was
charged by Inv. Charles
Elsberry, who also made the ar
rest after Tate had allegedly
fled from ofificers twice earlier.
Janice Tucker, Cloudland,
the mail carrier, was not in-
Eured by the shotgun blasts,
Isberry said.
The investigator reported
that Tate became angry at
Mrs. Tucker on Tuesday, Feb.
15, because his mail didn’t in
clude his food stamps.
- NEXT DAY
When she returned to
another bullet lodged in the
corner of the bedroom ceiling
opposite from the bed’s loca
tion. They are unsure when it
was fired since Dozier reported
hearing one shot, not two.
Ms. Hudgins and Dozier
had been reported as quarrel
ing Saturday.
FOREMAN
the G a'wfh‘”slfndhdp::
entry farm,
g‘ull the body of Betty
u.fi”bum&“‘““- o e
' on
Dec. 29, 1993. The residence
where Ms. Hudgins was shot is
only a few hundred feet from
theGentr{.dreflm
_ Dozier had entered the bur-
Gen:x,n‘dhdpodfifthcw
awi vhuesbs:zxn
ed through by Sid a
STILL
ONLY
25¢
that it had misappropriated
some $133,000 in I-feag Start
funds.
Auditors for HHS in a later
review of the audit said in let
ters that NWGS had either
misappropriated or owed some
see DEATH KNELL, page 6-A
deliver the mail the next day,
Wednesday, Feb. 16, her hus
band, Leon, accompanied her
to_t;.ihe Tate residence, Elsberry
said.
Tate allegedly stepped into
the middle of State Line Road
and fired a shot at her vehicle
from a .12 gauge shotgun, the
investigator t:rorted
When she slammed on the
brakes of the vehicle and Tput
:fie gear in re\;;rsei‘ ate
egedly fired the shotgun
again at her, he said. At least
ox;: be:gl'er sl;::d was fired,
E reported.
Alfred Buffi;gton. Rome, a
driver for United Parcel Ser
vice (UPS), witnessed the inci
dent, he added.
Tate then ran into some
see FOOD STAMP, page 6-A
Menlo fireman, and Gentry
employee Jarvis Hudgins.
Services for Ms. Hudgins
were scheduled at 4 p.m. bofi
in the chapel of J.D.
Funeral Home. :
Assisting with the in
veetisution are Sheriff Kellett,
Inv. Charles Elsberry, Agents
Bari Sabo and Robert Mandell
of the Geor%'n Bureau of In
vestigation (GBI), and Charles
Johnson, agent in dm‘?; of the
GBl's regional office in
A e
ean a
has been charged with ag
gravated assault and tep
roristic threats and acts in -
shooting incident Friday
evening. o
A .T)od behavior warrsant
has also been sworn out
against James D. Rape, 31,