One man and two juveniles have been arrested in connection with an Athens fire that occurred in late March.
Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King announced today that Raekwon Lackey, 23, and two minors were arrested in connection with the Clarke County fire. The fire occurred at the Athens Holiday Inn Express on East Broad Street around 6 p.m. on Sunday, March 27.
Lackey was arrested on charges of first-degree arson, criminal damage, vandalism and contributing to delinquency. The two juveniles have been charged with first-degree arson.
“The suspects broke into the hotel and set five different fires,” Commissioner King says. “Thankfully, the Athens-Clarke County Fire Department and the hotel’s sprinkler system were able to extinguish the fires.”
Commissioner King’s Fire Investigations Unit is assisting the Athens-Clarke County Police Department and Fire Department, and the University of Georgia Police Department with the investigation.
Election Day is quickly approaching for the primaries that will select which candidates will run against each other in the November 2022 elections for Georgia governor, US senator, Secretary of State and more.
While the Republican gubernatorial primaries and state senator election have headlined the approaching vote, in Habersham County, the ESPLOST, two county commission seats, three board of education seats, a City of Clarkesville council seat and Mt. Airy’s Sunday sales liquor referendum will also be on the ballot. Those ballots, as of Tuesday, have been released.
Voting locations, as well as sample ballots, are listed below:
*Habersham North Precinct (City of Clarkesville Precinct)
Ruby Fulbright Aquatic Center
120 Paul Franklin Road, Toccoa Hwy
Clarkesville, Ga 30523
706-839-0234 Democratic Ballot | Non-Partisan Ballot | Republican Ballot
The deadline to register to vote in the election is Monday, April 25. The last day to request an absentee ballot is May 13. To request an absentee ballot, click here.
Early Voting will begin on Monday, May 2 and continue until May 13 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Saturday Voting will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on May 7, and May 14.
Advance Voting Week will be May 16 – 20, from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
All early voting will take place at the Ruby Fulbright Aquatic Center in Clarkesville. Election day will be May 24, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the county’s voting precincts.
Dianne Odum Gunn, 65 of Demorest, went to her Heavenly Home on Friday, April 8, 2022.
Born October 5, 1956, she was the daughter of the late Rev. Howard Odum and Delores Odum. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her loving husband of 39 years, Harold Gunn; and brother John Michael Odum.
Mrs. Gunn retired from the Habersham County School System in 2017 with 30 years as a Paraprofessional Educator. She loved serving the children of Habersham County. Most of all she loved serving the Lord. Her love for God, and her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, was evident in her faithfulness and passion for Him. Dianne and Harold were instrumental in spreading the Gospel and witnessing through their many years of dedication to church ministry. Dianne led countless Bible Schools, Sunday Schools, various children’s programs, ladies’ programs, prayer groups, and bible studies. Most recently, she enjoyed her time at Clarkesville United Methodist Church where she attended worship services, Sunday school, The OWLS, Ladies Lunch Bunch; and her volunteer work at the Clarkesville CommUnity Thrift Store and the church office. She also enjoyed her activities with the Habersham Senior Center, in addition to leading a Widows group and participating in the Habersham Community Bible Study group. Even with her busy schedule, she always had time for her daily devotions, her twice a day walks, and baking a cake for family and friends for various occasions.
Dianne left a Godly legacy for her family and friends, and it was her hope that this legacy will continue to win souls to Christ, and that she will see us all in Heaven. Until then, we will miss her, but we will always celebrate her life.
Mrs. Gunn is survived by her brother, Eddie Odum; sister & brother-in-law, Teresa & Lamar Dean, sister & brother-in-law, Deborah & Lee Trotman; and many nieces and nephews.
Services will be held at a later date with interment at Oakey Mountain Baptist Church cemetery.
Monday night, the City of Baldwin unanimously approved the annexation and zoning requests needed for a 10,000 square foot daycare facility to come to the area.
The daycare is owned by the Cumming-based independent daycare group, Aspire Learning. The facility will be built on GA-365, just down the road from where the city recently approved the plans to build a liquor superstore, separated by Hayes Chevrolet.
Del Rio tells the Baldwin council that the daycare will provide childcare for up to 200 children, a dramatic increase from the number initially pitched. (Hadley Cottingham/Now Habersham)
Baldwin’s city council was previously informed the daycare would care for 60-70 children, but according to new information presented to the council, the daycare will have the facilities to care for up to 200 children. The daycare would also create more than 20 full-time and 2-3 part-time jobs in the region.
“We appreciate them [Aspire Learning] coming into our community, investing in our community, opening up job opportunities for our citizens,” Mayor Joe Elam told the developer’s engineer, Juan Del Rio, Monday night. “The service [they] will be providing is very much so needed.”
The developer is currently in contact with the Georgia Department of Transportation to address what safety infrastructure needs to be added to GA-365 to make the traffic flow in and out of the daycare as safe as possible.
Now that the council has approved the annexation and zoning requests, Del Rio says the developer will begin working on design plans later this week.
Search and rescue teams acted quickly Monday evening to rescue a family lost on Panther Creek Trail. The call came in to Habersham County E-911 about an hour and a half before sunset. The woman caller told dispatchers she hiked to the falls and couldn’t find her way out.
Units from Habersham County Emergency Services, Lee Arrendale and Tallulah Falls Fire Departments, along with Habersham’s Search and Rescue Team (HabSAR) responded to the scene within minutes.
“While responding, Habersham County E-911 advised units that the caller and five children were lost in the area of the falls,” says HCES Capt. Matt Ruark. “After being advised, crews determined that they would have quicker access from a different access point and responded to that location.”
The children ranged in age from 4 to 16 years, Ruark says.
At 7:05 p.m., rescuers entered the trail on ATVs and, fifteen minutes later, found the missing family approximately 3.5 miles in to the trail.
“None of the subjects were having any medical issues and were assisted out of the trail and returned to their vehicles,” Ruark says.
Panther Creek Trail still closed for repairs
Panther Creek near Turnerville is one of Habersham’s most popular hiking trails, but it currently officially remains closed to the public. The U.S. Forest Service shut down the trail for repairs in October 2020 after high water events from tropical storms washed out sections of the path and bridges.
“In addition, high winds and saturated soils led to a higher number of downed trees impacting hiker safety,” the USFS says on its website.
Ruark says current trail conditions “make it difficult for hikers as well as rescuers when searching for lost or injured subjects.”
The picnic area in the Panther Creek Recreation Area near the trailhead is open. The Forest Service has not announced when it plans to reopen the trail.
The Sautee Nacoochee Cultural Center's children's theater will present Once Upon a Time JR in May.. (Photo SNCC Facebook page)
The Sautee Nacoochee Center’s Sautee Stars, a children’s theatre after-school class, will present the musical, Once on This Island JR, this May!
Sautee Stars, a children’s theatre and after-school program, will provide the entertainment. (Photo supplied by SNCA)
Through almost non-stop song and dance, this full-hearted musical tells the story of Ti Moune, a peasant girl who rescues and falls in love with Daniel, a wealthy boy from the other side of her island. When Daniel is returned to his people, the fantastical gods who rule the island guide Ti Moune on a quest that will test the strength of her love against the powerful forces of prejudice, hatred and even death.
Performance dates are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, May 5 – 7 at 7 p.m. and May 8 at 2 pm. in the Center Theatre. Admission prices: $8 for Students, $10 for SNCA Members, and $10 for Adults.
Tickets can be purchased online at snca.org or by calling 706-878-3300.
Fairmeadow Elementary School third grade students Ellery Carlson, left, and Tatiana Aboytes, right, pick chocolate milk during a school lunch program. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Some Georgia families will lose access to free and reduced school lunch programs if Congress does not renew childhood school nutrition waivers issued during the pandemic.
The waivers that provide schools and childcare centers with flexibility are about to expire at the end of the school year.
Public health advocates argue if the waivers expire prematurely, children will lose out on a consistent source of nutrition, families will have a harder time affording food and schools will face increased financial difficulties.
“We’re calling on Congress to extend this provision through the school year of 2022-23 and to seriously consider making this permanent,” said Jamie Bussel, a senior program officer with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “This should be a national priority.”
With these waivers, or flexibilities, schools have been permitted to serve meals to all students free of charge.
“And that has been an incredibly powerful and impactful response in the midst of so many challenges, financially, that families have faced throughout the last two years,” she said.
Even with declining COVID-19 cases, these programs have only become more needed as the pandemic continues, said Dr. Evelyn Johnson, a pediatrician with Southeast Georgia Health System-Brunswick Campus.
Childhood hunger is nothing new, she said, and we know how hunger hurts kids.
“It’s an invisible problem, but research shows that children who live in households that lack access to food are very likely to be sick more often,” Johnson said. “They recover from illness more slowly, and they’re hospitalized more frequently.”
Federal programs such as Women and Children (WIC) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) have been around for decades.
“One of our jobs as pediatricians is to remind (patients), if they were not aware, that these programs exist: WIC, SNAP, the pandemic EBT, the school lunch programs, the after school lunch programs, the full breakfast programs,” Johnson said. “They’re there and we want our families to access this.”
This article appears on Now Habersham in partnership with GPB News
Conrad Wayburn Lively, age 91, of Cornelia, Georgia passed away on Tuesday, April 5, 2022.
Mr. Lively was born on October 25, 1930, in Long Branch, West Virginia to the late Sidney Benton Lively and Ruth Mae Williams. In addition to her parents, he was preceded in death by his loving wife, Helen J. Lively; son, David Lee Livey; and several brothers and sisters. Mr. Lively was a United States Navy Veteran, having served during the Korean Conflict. He was the retired owner of Advanced Insulation and Coatings with 19 years of service. Mr. Lively was a member of Camp Creek Baptist Church.
Survivors include his daughter, Debra Clark, of San Diego, CA; son, Conrad Dale Lively, of Brandon, FL; daughter-in-law, Susan Lively, of Lithia, FL; eight grandchildren, and fourteen great-grandchildren.
Funeral Services will be held at 2:00 p.m., Monday, April 18, 2022, at the Whitfield Funeral Home, South Chapel with Rev. Issac McDuffie officiating. Interment will follow in the Yonah Memorial Gardens with full military honors provided by the United States Navy and the Grant Reeves Honor Guard.
The family will receive friends from 1:00 p.m. to 1:45 p.m., Monday, April 18, 2022, at the funeral home prior to the service.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Whitfield Funeral Homes & Crematory, South Chapel at 1370 Industrial Boulevard, Baldwin, Georgia 30511. Telephone: 706-778-7123.
It took extra baseball, but the Indians dropped a 10-8 extra inning thriller against region foes Athens Academy on Monday night. The loss snapped a 3-game win streak for TFS.
The Indians led 2-1 after the first inning but saw the visitors take a 6-3 lead in the fourth before a 4-run outburst gave the home team a lead. Athens Academy took a one-run lead in the sixth, but TFS tied it in the home half. A pair of ninth inning runs gave the Spartans the win.
Frankey Moree had a bases-loaded walk, and Danny Grant drove in a run on a fielder’s choice in the first. Norman Bastian singled in a run in the second and another in the fourth. Grant and Tyler Popham had RBI singles in the fourth as well, while Kylar Clouatre doubled in the tying run. Popham’s single was the go-ahead 7-6 run prior to the Spartans coming back. Malique Charlton scored on a wild pitch in the sixth to tie the game at 8-8.
The Indians had the bases loaded in the eighth with one out, but Athens Academy danced out of trouble. They promptly scored two in the ninth to earn the win. TFS recorded 13 hits in the game. Popham led with three hits, while Charlton, Bastian, and Clouatre had two apiece. Bastian earned the loss on the mound, going the final 3.2 innings.
The Indians are now 10-9 overall and 4-6 in region play, with crucial games this week against Athens Academy on Tuesday on the road and Thursday at home.
In the aftermath of the 2019 Golden Ray shipwreck, Glynn County is seeking compensation for damages caused to marshes, shorelines, water, and the local tourism economy. Altamaha Riverkeeper executive director, Fletcher Sams, checks for oil discharge from the massive car carrier. (Photo by Scott Owens)
(GA Recorder) — Five months after crews removed the final section of the Golden Ray car carrier from St. Simons Sound, the owner of a fishing charter company that operates off Georgia’s coast says he is concerned about the long-term fallout following a “nightmare” two years.
Scott Owens, co-owner of The Georgia Fishing Company, said the most expensive shipwreck in U.S. history continues to impact the types of fish swimming in the channel. That has meant fewer booked trips from longtime customers and higher fuel costs to move charter boats away from the site of the September 2019 shipwreck, where oil spilled into the waterway on multiple occasions.
For more than two years, the Golden Ray sat partially submerged in the water, evolving into a monstrosity that Owens says at times resembled a loud, exhaust-blowing diesel truck as salvage crews slowly cut the massive ship into sections. Even though the final piece was removed in October, Owens says he still sees the lingering effects: It has become tough to haul in a redfish or trout in the bay around the wreckage site.
“It’s one of these things where guys who would come fish with me for the last 15, 20 years don’t want to keep fishing because the water is polluted,” he said.
“The whole thing was way worse and the state downplayed it,” Owens added. “There were people who thought it was cool to look at (the ship) but not for someone who makes their living off tourism on the water as well as for people who care about the ecosystem.”
Owens is among the people applauding a recent Glynn County Commission lawsuit seeking damages from the Golden Ray’s owner-operator and salvage company for cleanup costs, lost tourism dollars, damage to natural resources, and diminished property values resulting from the wreck and lengthy recovery.
The defendants in the lawsuit are Golden Ray owner GL NV24 Shipping, manager Hyundai Glovis, the operator and technical superintendent that managed the crew and ship, G-Marine Services, salvage contractor T&T Salvage and other parties.
Glynn County and its county seat Brunswick as well as Jekyll, Cumberland, Little Cumberland and St. Simons islands are popular tourist destinations with sun-kissed beaches and the Atlantic Ocean as the backdrop.
After the Golden Ray capsized in 2019, the removal process was hampered by an oil spill, a fire, hurricanes, a pandemic and a change in contractors. The final section of the Golden Ray was removed in October, despite initial plans to have it done by spring of 2021.
The lawsuit cites negligence as the main cause of the shipwreck, citing the findings of a Coast Guard investigation and later confirmed by the National Transportation Safety Board that while carrying more than 4,000 automobiles and over 300,000 gallons of fuel through the Port of Brunswick, unstable loading, poor calculations and other errors likely led to the ship’s tipping over.
The removal of the wreckage and environmental response plans were guided by the Unified Command, a partnership between salvage company Gallagher Marine Systems, the U.S. Coast Guard and the state Department of Natural Resources.
The now-disbanded Unified Command and state officials have reported that their environmental assessments, which include water samples, have not revealed any long-term ecological impacts on the area’s marshes, beaches and water.
But the Altamaha Riverkeeper’s executive director, Fletcher Sams, says the county lawsuit supports concerns from environmentalists and many others living in the area that the damage could have long-term effects.
Sams said that without a full damage assessment, it will be difficult to determine how much wildlife has been harmed.
The lawsuit also accuses T&T Salvage of negligence while cutting up the partially submerged vessel, resulting in more oil spills and fires. As a result of switching contractors to cut up larger pieces, critics of that process say the job took much longer and was more problematic.
“Because of the way that they dismantled the ship and the way that they went about mitigating the contamination, they’ve left a big mess,” Sams said. “We’re very thankful that the county stepped in and took appropriate action to protect these resources.”
Tyler Jones, DNR spokesman for its Coastal Resources Division, said no significant abnormalities in the types of fish species have been found during ecological monitoring around the sound where the Golden Ray wrecked.
The next step, now that the salvage operation is completed, will be to finish the natural resource damage assessments. Whether future remediation is needed would be decided by the board trustees who are appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp.
A spokesman representing Hyundai Glovis said the company is aware of the lawsuit but would not comment on pending litigation.
Golden Ray is the largest cargo shipwreck in U.S. coastal waters since the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, which led to Congress enacting the 1990 Oil Pollution Act that expanded federal control and penalties for large oil spills.
Car debris from the shipwrecked Golden Ray washed upon a St. Simons mud flat. Photo contributed by Altamaha Riverkeeper (file photo)
The Golden Ray’s estimated removal costs have exceeded $840 million, much greater than the Exxon Valdez’s inflation-adjusted $597 million tied to the 1989 shipwreck where pockets of oil remained 30 years after the disaster.
Exxon Valdez was the subject of a class action lawsuit that ended with $1.5 billion awarded in damages, with the ruling citing that Exxon was negligent.
Other recent cases of oil spills in waterways have resulted in settlements of a much smaller amount. The U.S. Justice Department announced in December that Houston, Texas-based Kirby Inland Marine LP will pay $15.3 million in damages and assessment costs for discharging 168,000 gallons of oil into the Texas coast.
Glynn County pointed to public warnings issued in July 2021 cautioning swimmers and fishermen of potential environmental damage. A massive fire a few weeks later led to more oil leaking.
“As a result of the oil spills, the County has not been able to use natural resources, such as the marshes, rivers, beaches, estuaries, parks, fish, shrimp, crab, water and potentially other areas and spaces, that have become contaminated by the spilled oil,” the lawsuit says.
Charles Edwin Pritchett, age 86 of Mount Airy, Georgia, went home to be with the Lord on Monday, April 11, 2022.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia on December 23, 1935, he was the son of the late Major Lewis & Laura Reese Pritchett. Charles was a graduate of Campbell High School in Smyrna, Class of 1954. He served his country proudly in the United States Marine Corps beginning in 1955 as a jet mechanic based in Tustin, California. Charles joined the Georgia Air National Guard in 1975 where he transferred to services for over 18 years. He was activated during Operation Desert Storm for approximately 1 year and retired as a Senior Master Sergeant in 1994 with a total of 27 years and 8 months of dedicated service. Charles was in sales for many years in the Atlanta area before retiring to the Georgia Mountains in 2007. He was an avid sports enthusiast who loved the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Falcons, and also enjoyed listening to 1950’s music. Charles was a member of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Clarkesville.
In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his sisters, Rosa Lee Partin, Carolyn Holcomb, & Louise Grishkat.
Survivors include his loving wife of 45 years, Kristina Tomlin Pritchett of Mount Airy, GA; son, Paul Pritchett of Dallas, GA; daughters, Robin Pritchett Jones of Warner Robins, GA; Randi Pritchett Benton of Cartersville, GA; grandchildren, Wesley, Matthew, Tabatha, & Jonathan; 3 great-grandchildren; numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives, & friends.
Funeral services are scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Thursday, April 14, 2022, at Hillside Memorial Chapel with Rev. Tommy Stowe officiating. Interment will follow in the Hillside Gardens Cemetery.
The family will receive friends at the funeral from 12:00 p.m. until the service hour on Thursday.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to Samaritan’s Purse, P.O. Box 3000, Boone, NC. 28607 or to the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, www.billygraham.org/give/give-online.
A now-former Lee Arrendale State Prison guard is out of jail on bond after being arrested and charged with violating her oath of office.
Sergeant Venmekya Mills, 25, of Athens, is accused of engaging in an unlawful sexual relationship with an inmate at the Lee Arrendale Transitional Center. Prison officials also charged her with carrying marijuana into the women’s prison which is located in Alto.
Habersham County deputies arrested Mills on warrants from the Georgia Department of Corrections on Friday, April 8. She was released from the Habersham County Detention Center Sunday on a $6,900 bond.
Mills was hired by the GDC in September 2018. The state agency terminated her employment the day after her arrest.
“The GDC maintains a zero-tolerance policy for individuals who choose to ignore their oath and jeopardize our non-negotiable mission of public safety,” the agency’s director of public affairs Joan Heath tells Now Habersham. “The actions of this individual do not reflect the hundreds of officers who are committed each and every day to ensuring the safety of the public and the safe operations of our facilities.”
In 2020, at least four Lee Arrendale State Prison employees were arrested on similar charges of sexual misconduct and taking contraband into the prison.
Heath says the state’s prison system “uses all resources available in stopping contraband from entering our prisons, to include both front line and technological efforts.” She declined to comment on specific measures taken, citing “security reasons.”
