Newspaper Page Text
Sports: IB
Leopards continue
subregion play
March 19,2008
The Banks County News
504^ Homer, Banks County, Georgia 30547 • A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. • mainstreetnews.com • 26 Pages, 3 Sections Plus Supplements • Vol. 39 No. 32
DA theft case
hearings set
for Tuesday
Hearings will be held Tuesday
in Banks County Superior Court
on charges filed against former
Piedmont Judicial Circuit Assistant
District Attorney
4
&
i a
JONES
WILLIAMS
Brett Williams
and former DA
employee Linn
Jones. The hear
ings are set for
10 a.m. Tuesday
in Banks County
Superior Court.
Jones is the
wife of for
mer DA Tim
Madison, who
pled guilty to
theft charges and
was sentenced
two weeks ago
to six years in
prison and to
pay restitution
of $40,000.
Williams is
charged with
theft by tak
ing, theft by receiving and viola
tion of oath of office for having
allegedly received a double salary,
one from the state and one from
Banks County, then kicking part of
the Banks County salary back to
Madison.
Jones is charged with four counts
of false statements and one count
of conspiracy to defraud the state
for having allegedly received pay
for hours she didn’t actually work.
Madison had put his wife on the
payroll in both Jackson and Banks
Counties in 2005 and 2006.
All three were indicted last
August and entered not guilty pleas
in December. Two weeks ago,
Madison changed his plea to guilty
and received his sentence.
The cases began in March 2007
after a series of investigative news
paper articles in The Jackson Herald
outlined financial abuse in the DA’s
office. Georgia Attorney General
Thurbert Baker subsequently asked
the GBI to formally investigate the
matter.
Madison and Jones both resigned
their positions in May. Williams
had already left the DA’s office and
was working for the U.S. Justice
Department in Atlanta. He subse
quently resigned from that posi
tion.
News - 2-3A
•Maysville to see tax
rate changes — page 3A
•Counseling program
topic for health dept.
— page 3A
Op/Ed
• ‘Expect the unexpect
ed with Georgia weather*
— page 4A
Other news
•Social News — pages 6-8B
•School News— pages 11-12A
•Public Safety — page 6A
•Legals — pages 9-10A
•Church — page 8A
• Obituaries — page 7A
66 We lost six or eight good firefighters. Some of those who resigned have not answered a fire call
in four years or more. 9 9
— Banks County Board of Commissioners chairman Gene Hart
Hart: volunteers resigning 'has not caused problems'
BY ANGELA GARY
The majority of Banks County’s volunteer fire
fighters resigned last week, but board of commis
sion chairman Gene Hart said this has not caused
any problems.
Hart said the paid EMA/firefighters are in place
and have handled all calls since the volunteers
stepped down. He added that surrounding coun
ties and cities have agreed to assist Banks County,
if needed.
“No, it has not caused any problems,” Hart said.
“We are fully staffed with paid EMA/frefight-
ers...We still have fire protection. The ambu
lances are ready.”
Hart said that 33 firefighters turned in a letter of
resignation at last Tuesday’s BOC meeting.
“Five on that list weren’t even volunteers,” he
added. “.We lost six or eight good firefighters.
Some of those who resigned have not answered
a fire call in four years or more.. .We did not lose
the first paid person.”
As of last week’s BOC meeting, only eight
of the firefighters had turned in their gear. As of
press time, 18 had turned in their gear. When sev-
eral firemen attempted to turn in their gear Friday
night, a deputy was called to the scene. According
to the incident report filed at the Banks County
Sheriff’s Office, a dispute arose when a county
employee told those present that they could not
turn in gear for firefighters who were not present.
Since the firefighters resigned, Hart said seven
or eight people have called the county offering
to serve as volunteer firemen. He added that the
county is also advertising to hire additional paid
continued on page 2A
Allegations against fire
chief Gary Pollard, who
is shown at right, are not
true, according to Board
of Commissioners chair
man Gene Hart.
POLLARD
On the lookout for Easter eggs
GOING ON AN EGG HUNT
Children collected over 7,500 eggs at the annual Maysville United Methodist Church Easter egg hunt
Saturday. Photo by April Reese Sorrow
Lawsuit filed against
county, paramedics
Follows woman's jump from ambulance
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
The family of a Jefferson woman
who died as a result of jumping from
a moving Banks County ambulance
has filed suit against Banks County
as well as the two paramedics who
were transporting her.
According to documents obtained
from the Banks County Superior
Court, Stephanie Harleigh, Jamie
Johnson and Christopher Johnson
have filed the suit on behalf of
Shannon Chandler, who died in the
incident last April.
Chandler, who was a 32-year-old
Jefferson resident, apparently com
mitted suicide by jumping from the
ambulance onto Hwy. 441 while she
was being transported to Athens for
medical attention.
A Jackson County Sheriff’s Office
incident report indicated she had
been picked up at the Comfort Inn at
Banks Crossing for a seizure. Banks
County medical unit personnel
reported she had been in a domestic
dispute with her boyfriend when the
Banks County Sheriff’s Office was
also called to the scene in the Banks
Crossing area.
Suicide letters were found at the
scene at which time an ambulance
was called. Copies of the letter were
reportedly in possession of the Banks
continued on page 2A
Little storm damage reported
While heavy storms moved in the Banks County area over the weekend,
there was little damage reported.
Banks County Sheriff Charles Chapman and other emergency personnel
said Monday other than a small building on Hwy. 326 there was little reported
damage.
“We had a lot of rain, hail and a few trees down,” Chapman said. “It was
nothing major. It certainly could have been a lot worse.”
Five-member commission
proposal hits roadblock
Garrison egg hunt reaches year 49
THE SIGN POINTS THE WAY
The Garrison Easter Egg hunt will enter its 49th consecutive
year this Sunday. Organizer Mack Garrison said the event is held
for the kids in Homer and surrounding communities. This year’s
event begins at 2 p.m. off Hwy. 51 South. Photo by Chris Bridges
Two versions of
legislation proposed
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
A proposal to change Banks
County’s form of government is
in limbo after two state legislators
proposed a bill calling for a vote on
the matter.
Both Rep. Jeanette Jamieson and
Sen. Nancy Schaeffer prepared leg
islation calling for a referendum to
change the county’s form of gov
ernment to a five-member board.
Jamieson’s bill calls for the vote to
be binding, while Schaeffer’s calls
for it to be “advisory.”
An advisory vote would mean
that the BOC could go along with
the majority vote or not. A binding
vote would mean they had to take
the action approved by the major
ity of the voters.
Rep. Jamieson said Tuesday that
she is awaiting word from the Banks
County Board of Commissioners
on whether they want her to sign
off on Sen. Schaeffer’s bill or to
introduce the one she proposed.
“I advised the chairman I
wouldn’t’ do anything until I heard
back from them,” she said.
If the legislation is approved, the
question would go before Banks
County voters during the Nov. 4
general election.
Banks County chairman Gene
Hart said the proposal is for four
commissioners to be elected from
districts but to be voted on at large
by all citizens of Banks County.
The chairman would be elected
at-large and also voted on by all
citizens.
Candidates seeking office from
one of the four districts must live in
the district they run for. Candidates
for the chairman’s position can live
anywhere in the county.
The issue of possibly chang
ing from a three-member commis
sion to a five-member commission
has been discussed for almost a
year. First-term commissioner Joe
Barefoot has been pushing to allow
citizens the opportunity to vote on
the issue.
Event has received
worldwide publicity
BY CHRIS BRIDGES
A Homer tradition unlike any
other will resume for the 49th con
secutive year this Easter Sunday.
Garrison’s annual Easter Egg Hunt
will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday with
100,000 individual wrapped candy
eggs. In addition, 175 plastic eggs
will be used as prize eggs. Those
obtaining these eggs can redeem
them for live bunnies, stuffed bun
nies or Easter baskets, organizer
Mack Garrison said this week.
“We do this for the kids in the
community and the surrounding
community,” Garrison said. “I am
seeing as many as three generations
attend now.”
Depending on the weather,
Garrison said crowds have ranged
from 2,000 up to 20,000.
“I’m not a good politician so I
can’t estimate the exact number of
people,” Garrison said, laughing.
“Weather does have a great deal to
do with the turnout.”
Organizers do encourage those
attending to arrive early for parking
reasons. The event is at 323 Hwy.
51 South. The parking at Banks
County Elementary School and
Banks County Primary School will
be open along with spaces at the
Banks County Board of Education
office and by the old Banks County
High School gym.
In the mid-1980s, the Garrison
Easter Egg hunt was recognized
by the Guinness Book of World
Records as the world’s largest. It
was later topped by hunts in Florida
as well as some out of the country.
In recent years an Easter Egg hunt
at Stone Mountain was recognized
as being one of the largest.
Garrison said he isn’t necessarily
interested in trying to set the record
again.
“Records are made to be broken
and that’s not why we have this,”
he said. “I wasn’t upset when our
record was broken.”
continued on page 2A