About The Islander. (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (April 8, 2019)
THE ^ISLANDER Published by Permar Publications www.theislanderonline.com ssislander@bellsouth.net April 8, 2019 — Hearings continue in tangled GBNET case By Pamela Permar Shierling The third and fourth hear ings for defendant Gary Whittle were held in Superior Court last Wednesday (April 3) and Friday (April 5) before Judge Roger Lane. Whittle and his attorney have asked that his guilty plea be set aside due to alleged misconduct by former Glynn County Police officer James Cassada who served on the GBNET (Glynn-Brunswick Narcotics Enforcement Team) squad. The allegations against Cassada are that he slept with one, possibly two confidential informants (CIs), and was do ing drugs with the one he was sleeping with. Exhibits presented showed another GBNET officer, John Dustin Simpson, was “run ning with” a convicted drug felon named Brian Highsmith (May 2018). There was also testimony about an undercover operation at the Wee Pub bar / restau rant (in November 2017) that had to be shut down due to in terference by the confidential informant Cassada was sleep ing with and her girlfriend. Another exhibit showed that Cassada had asked that a warrant not be served on a particular confidential infor mant because “it would cause problems in his marriage.” This Cl was also a target in the Deja Vu police investiga tion that, according to testi mony, GBNET officer Dustin Davis purchased metham- phetamine from during the multi-agency roundup of 40 plus individuals who were ar rested. The warrant was re moved by Davis at Cassada’s request and the Cl had not been arrested as of Feb. 2019. Glynn County Police Chief Turn to Page 5 GBNET Established in 1972 And... Done!!! Above: During the ribbon cutting ceremony Friday, April 5 officially reopening the renovated Brunswick Glynn Library, Marshes of Glynn Libraries (MOGL) Director Geri Lynn Mullis got a laugh when she shushed the crowd reminding them it was “still a library.” Taking part in the ceremony were: (left to right) Library Manager Lori Hull, Ben Carter and Nate Rail (both of the Ga. Public Library Service), project architect David Moore, Senator William Ligon, County Commissioner Bill Brunson, former County Commissioners Clyde Taylor and Richard Strickland, MOGL Board of Trustees chairman Mike Martin, Board member Joan Campbell, MOGL Director Geri Lynn Mullis, Board member Matthew Permar, architect Amanda Gascon, Board member Gloria Burns, Board member Whitney Bailey, Board member Tashania Garner, County Commissioners David O’Quinn, Allen Booker and Chairman Mike Browning and MOGL Assistant Director Ben Bryson. Bottom: Representative Jeff Jones takes a moment with Mullis to address the large crowd that showed up for the grand opening. Islander Staff Photos - Shierling JWSC signs contract for Gloucester St. property sale The Brunswick Glynn Joint Water and Sewer Commission (JWSC) has signed a purchase and sale agreement with Nu- Rock Acquisitions of Florida, LLC, to sell the JWSC prop erty located at 2307 Glouces ter St. The JWSC purchased the property in 2010 to build a new facility. In 2014 the By Pamela Permar Shierling utility purchased another property from United Com munity Bank and renovated the building now used as the JWSC offices. The terms of the agreement state the closing shall occur on or before March 31, 2020. Contingencies include that NuRock receives $950,000 in annual tax credits from the Georgia Department of Com munity Affairs and zoning ap proval to build not less than 90 apartments on the property. According to the Glynn County GIS the property is zoned C-3 Commercial and also falls within the City’s Tax Turn to Page 12 JWSC property County-Wide News - Read County-Wide Page 2 - Mallery park to be named Page 10 - EDA looks at CCGA grant for "Lefty" Butler Page 13 - Sports with Dave Jordan Page 4 - Letters Page 14 - Pew News Page 8 - Junior Lifeguard Program Page 15- Nashville coming to Ritz Vol 47 Issue 14 JWSC contracts for odor control study at ACWTP By Matthew J. Permar The Brunswick Glynn Joint Water and Sewer Commission (JWSC) approved a $51,499 contract last week with Stan- tec engineering of Macon to perform an odor control study for the Academy Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (ACWTP). The study will determine if it is better and more cost ef fective to treat the odor at the treatment plant or before it gets to the plant at the eight upstream lift stations that feed into it. The JWSC Facilities Com mittee met last week (Wed. April 3) and discussed the issue before sending their recommendation to the full JWSC on Thursday where the contract was approved. Turn to Page 6 JWSC facilities GEC receives federal grants By Pamela Permar- Shierling The Glynn Environmental Coalition (GEC) has received two Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) technical assis tance grants. According to Rachael Thompson, GEC Project Man ager, the grants will help keep the public involved through out the remediation process on the Terry Creek and LCP Superfund sites. The grants will go toward hiring an independent tech nical advisor who will review and explain to the public docu ments and findings related to both sites. The new advisor is Frank Anastasi of SCA Associates in Rockville, Md. Dr. Peter deFur, the former advisor, re tired last year. Turn to Page 12 GEC 0 9492229970 3
