Newspaper Page Text
VOLUME CIX — NUMBER IX
Parris To Face Retrial On Three Charges
ETHRGS e R *“’éiw
: oo s e e iy
2 B B
o e '
. S R 2@{ e
, : e D
. sl R
L Tk
i B kiss e
1 o r *'W%}‘?z’vfi
3 e RE R s e
: . e
i ? R e R \
% o | "
3 o
- : .
DISTRICT ATTORNEY RALPH VAN PELT
Cross-Examines Councilman Parris
CE: %7. ,M"' T ) /:’;‘ 782 ,
T BN i X B N
e }:V\ ’ % Vx*fl AR 1. . 3
:g, : N %A" f”: 5 ,"L . a: @
B % g7~ £ 4 k%
Mo AR .ST Gati b . % ilew LA
5,“%% bV 2 *,* : o 7
y,,; N,« ’;fl} 5 . i?/ A LBT
B o % ST ; B o g P i ;
.-g'“-f. S : . g pod s y v A( 5
L. ‘A% s ,4},?;‘;,1”5 o 5 ’fi L L ¢ % 5 4 1 3
’w i‘ oLS ’7’@’3‘; e PR 3 4
TR ”%‘*‘2@“ oby £ £ Gk 1
4 LU SRN R Bk P d - Ve N 4 4 f
eeA o ’ o
o e sR 5 T ?sxi e LA fi’ WL Y «* i
TR W h¥Mo i TR rie . ST PAT P\
k' e, fi.‘{ %?( b T L ik sR L et WO
G e e e o O P
f'."'é'% poe : : L F ‘»g, L TR | W VR
%iios. 3 _ 4 ¥ G
% il y _:. i i w)‘ :
i SR f’%{%@? i b C ke T
Staff File Photo
FALLEN TREES, LINES, SNOW, COVER HIGHWAY 48
Disastrous Record Blizzard Hit County One Year Ago
One Year Later
Blizzard Remembered Here
The approaching weekend
has had Chattooga County
residents dredging up
memories of the worst winter
storm in modern history. And
many have asked a question.
Isit lioing to happen again?
It will be one year ago this
Saturday and gunday that
Chattooga County and the rest
of North Georgia were paralyz
ed by a devastating blizzard
that damaged property,
stranded residents for days
without utility services, and
left at least three people dead.
The storm, which dumped
between nine and 24 inches of
snow on the county, caused an
estimated $2.1 million in
damages locally. Clean-up ef
forts continued into last April,
and some signs of the blizzard
still remain in outlying areas of
the county.
But the National Weather
Service in Atlanta has advised
local residents to rest easy this
weekend, as the weather
forecast indicates that another
blizzard or even a small
snowstorm is highly unlikely.
Saturday is exgected to be
artly cloudy, with a daytime
fiigh in the 60s and morning
low in the 30s. Sunday is
predicted to be more cloudy
with scattered afternoon rain.
The high is expected to be in
the 60s again, with alow in the
40s.
The unusually severe
Brady Gun Bill Unpopular
© Copyright 1994 By Espy Publishing Co. Inc. — All Rights Reserved
weather took most county
residents by surprise when it
moved into the area on Friday
night, March 12. The weather
had been warm during the
previous d?iys, and a high of 74
degrees had been reported here
on March 10.
With the cold front came
thunder, lightning, and winds
of up to 40 miles per hour. The
precil;l)itation started as rain,
which froze as the temperature
dropped below 32 degrees. The
freezing rain then mixed with
snow and began accumulating.
The snow-covered trees
snapped beneath the weight
combined w..h the strong
winds. Utility lines were down
ed all over the county, and
many poles snapped, leaving
tangled messes of lines
resembling spaghetti in many
places.
By the morning following,
between 6,000 and 7,000 of
Georgia Power Co.’s customers
in the county were without
electricity. All of North
Georgia Electric Membership
Co?or‘ation’s customers were
wit out&)ower, and as many as
5,500 GTE customers were
without phone services.
Local cable TV service was
wiped out throughout much of
the county.
NO WATER
When the electricity was
knocked out, Summerville's
SUMMERVILLE, CHATTOOGA COUNTY, GEORGIA — THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 1994
g : . "
;;:.;.‘;:‘ w 0 4 ;
STy ]
COUNCILMAN PARRIS SEEKS TO EXPLAIN RECEIPTS
DA Says Parris Contradicts Earlier Grand Jury Testimony
water treatment plant and
pumping system stopped
working, leaving thousands
without water.
By the next Wednesday,
see ONE YEAR, page 8-A
BT s e
' ; T -l L 43 1 " ;
ol %‘ : % ; ;. : A
TRINA DURHAM, MARTHA GILMER ACCEPT CHATTOOGA STAR HONORS
Mr. And Mrs. Larry Durham, Trina, Rotarian Will Hair, Mrs. Gilmer
Jury Acquits Hill
Pleads Guilty Two Years Ago
By JULIE GRIFFIS
Staff Writer
A Pennville man who pled
guilty to sexual battery
charges fewer than two years
ago was acquitted of child
molestation last Thursday.
It took the Chattooga
County Superior Court jury 10
minutes to decide that Billy
Hill, 21, was not gl.ulti' of
touching a 7-year-old girl im
properly through her clothes.
Hill had pled guilty to sex
ual battery in 1992 in a plea
barlg{ain agreement.
e had been indicted on
two counts of child molestation
and two counts of enticing a
child for indecent purposes on
Aug. 27, 1992, as well as
obstruction of a police officer.
Hill was sentenced to 12
months probation on the sex
ual batterf' charfie and pled
guilty to a lesser charge of sim
ple battery in the police alter
cation. He was also sentenced
to 12 months for simple
battery.
The charges stemmed from
an incident occurring on or
before Feb. 8, 1992, according
to the Chattooga County
district attorney’s office.
Last Thursday Joy Sawyer,
defense attorney, contended in
her closing arguments that Hill
did not touch the girl in an in
decent manner in the most re
cent case. She also said that if
he did touch her and didn’t
Ralph ‘Country’ Brown Highway
--See Page 7-A
i E o e e, A fig‘»*;i«
3 o L b
& F R e
4e3R R R e
4 b R ":V‘t" s o
s ::L"':\,»:,\':? : \‘& :_, o
Mw&g T «.‘m&»,a& é}( g
‘ : e
; %
: : . L
LG SRR e
hY, LR R
# ) o b
f & -
e ! ;
.‘ ® .)_ : :
R Y
£t y
{ s W 1
~ :
P :
¥ 5
3 Staff Photos By Buddy Roberts & Tommy Toles
DEFENSE ATTORNEY BOBBY HANNAH IN TRIAL
Represents Councilman Earl Parris
realize it, then it was merely an
accident.
Hill could have received up
to a 20-year sentence had he
been convicted.
The incident was alleged to
have happened on May 15,
1993. The family of the girl, ac
cording to testimony, didn’t
report the incident, and said
they wanted to deal with it in
side the family.
Charies were filed about
two weeks later.
He was accused of taking
the girl in the bushes and
touching her once while she
was fully clothed. Other
Rotarians Praise STARS
Miss Durham, Hunt Win Annual Honors
Local STAR students and
teachers were recognized Mon
day by the Summerville-Trion
Rotary Club. They will par
ticipate in the district STAR
pr(;Fram on April 18 at Berry
College. S
Trina Durham received
Chattooga High School’s
Student-Teacher Achievement
Recognition (STAR) honor this
year. Her STAR teacher is
Martha Gilmer. Miss Durham
children were outside playing
at the time, while the girl’s
family visited Hill's family.
The most colorful
testimony in the trial was
perhaps given by the girl's
mother’s common law hus
band, who said the police were
called by a woman, who was
not arelative, but who ‘“‘sticks
her nose in everybody’s
business.”’ :
The man said he called the
girl to go home that day and
when she got to the car she was
upset and crying, saying that
Billy had “messed with her.”
see JURY ACQUITS, page 13-A
is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Larry Durham.
Chad Hunt is Trion High
School’'s STAR student. His
STAR teacher is John Dennis.
Hunt is the son of Mr. and
Mrs. Chester Hunt.
Rotarian Will Hair, Chat
tooga High's vocational super
visor, presided over Mong:fi’s
gl:gram. The Summerville
ion club has sponsored the
local STAR program since
e S Bl F o ifi- ¥ »
ey - 0 3 _§ . ga4 ‘.; i ; |
i ‘.,..;jfi’ & L oJg Aéi i ig’# » : —
s'& . ¥ -
WP N . A . Yy ]
K . - 1@
‘ti"# A "g 5 3 - S
gg" ) e oy e
E’ . ‘Q‘,} 3 . : ; 3 . : s> ; p
‘:3‘4l:” ;,g ; . - . , ; " Nro #
‘"’%y 3 fift = : v \’*& ; .
3 o : A RA/ B
S —
CHAD HUNT, JOHN DENNIS RECEIVE STAR AWARDS FROM ROTARIANS
May Hunt, Mr. And Mrs. Chester Hunt, Chad, Will Hair, Dennis
Convicted On One
Charge By Jurors
By BUDDY ROBERTS
Associate News Editor
A suspended Summerville
city councilman has been con
victed on one count of making
a false statement and may be
tried next week on two similar
charges and on a theft by
deception count.
Earl ‘“Red’”’ Parris was
found guilty Friday of writing
a false receipt to the City of
Summerville for reimburse
ment, after more than eight
hours of deliberation by an
eight-man four-woman jury.
He was acquitted on a
related charge, and the jury
deadlocked on two other
counts of making a false state
ment and the theft by decep
tion charge.
Superior Court Judge Jon
Wood declared a mistrial on
the three charges and put them
on next week’s court calendar.
Court is not in session this
week.
Parris, a former water supp
ly salesman who is now
employed at a local game room,
was found guilty of submitting
a false receipt to the city in
September, 1992, which in
dicated he had sold supplies to
the City of White Water
Desart.ment. He was found not
guilty of submitting a faise
receipt for a sale to Stancil's
Underground Trenching Inc.,
Jasper, the jury found.
RECEIPTS
The remaininfi charges
a(sa.inst Parris involve alleged
false receipts of sales to the
Valley Head, Ala., Water
Department and Allatoona
Landing, Cartersville. The
theft by deception count charg
ed that Parris submitted the
false receipts to illegally take
S4BO from the city.
The case centered around a
Summerville city resolution
that allows council members to
be reimhursed for their ex
pensec and lost wa%es while
out of town on city business.
Parris submitted the receipts
1959. ;
STAR REQUIREMENTS
To be named a STAR stu
dent, a senior must have
academic grades among the
top ten percent of his or her
class, and post the highest
Scholastic Aptitude Test
(SAT) score in the school
system.
The STAR teacher is nam
ed by the student as the
STILL
ONLY
25¢
to the city prior to attending a
municipal meeting in Warner
Robins in September, 1992.
The S4BO represented wages he
would have lost while atten
ding the meeting, according to
Parris’ receipts.
The trial began on Wednes
day, March 2, and District At
torney Ralph Van Pelt rested
the state’s case that afternoon.
Defense attorney Bobby Han
nah opened his case at 9 a.m.
last Thursday, and rested at
11:10 a.m. Judge Wood charg
ed the jury at 11:45, after clos
ing arguments, and the jury
began deliberating at 1 p.m.
Deliberations continued in
to Friday, and the ]iury remain
ed deadlocked until it delivered
its two verdicts at 2:40 p.m.
The court has imposed a gag
order about the remaining
three charges pending Parris’
re-trial.
Witnesses for the R;‘osecu
tion who testified on March 2
were Keitha Shamblin, Sum
merville’'s city Mpayroll clerk;
Agent Robert Mandell, of the
Georgia Bureau of Investiga
tion; and Tommy Toles, editor
of The Summerville News, who
published an article on Oct. 1,
1992, in which the agencies
named on Parris’ receipts had
denied buying supplies from
him. That story resulted in the
Summerville lgity Council, in
cluding Parris, cal.l.ini for a
GBI investigation of the case
that same day.
MINISTER
Hannah’s defense opened
with testimony from Dr.
Donald Howe, pastor of the
First Presbyterian Church,
Summerville. Howe said that
Parris is a member of his
church, and that he would
believe Parris’ word under
oath.
The minister told Van Pelt
on cross-examination that he is
unfamiliar with Parris’ finan
cial situation.
“What would lw:ou think
about someone who told a
see PARRIS TO FACE, page 13-A
teacher who had the most in
fluence on his or her education.
Miss Durham told
Rotarians that she plans to at
tend Berry College as a pre-law
student, then enroll in a law
school. Her aspiration is to be
a practici:\f attorney with the
Rutherford Institute. She is
currently ranked second in her
class of 155.
The student spoke highly of
see ROTARIANS, page 12-A