County Manager answers questions about property and failed lease agreement

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October 19, 2023

4336 Toccoa Hwy.1 — This is the house Habersham County Manager Alicia Vaughn proposed renting to the county parks and recreation director for $600 a month. Commissioners rejected that plan on a 3-2 vote. (Joy Purcell/Now Habersham.com)

When Habersham County commissioners rejected an agreement to rent a county-owned house to Parks and Recreation Department Director Brooke Whitmire, it raised many questions. The agreement would have gone unnoticed if Commissioner Jimmy Tench had not called for it to be publicly discussed during the October 16 county commission meeting.

Since that meeting, Now Habersham has learned more about the property at 4336 Toccoa Highway and the since rejected agreement.

Lease terms

The county purchased the property in March for a cash price of $140,000. The 2 bed, 1 bath house is 1,200-square-feet. It was built in the 1950s. The house sits on slightly less than an acre of land and has a detached two-story, two-car garage.

The property sits in front of the Ruby Fulbright Aquatic Center and another parcel of county-owned land to its east.

“The property was purchased because it is adjacent to property the county owns, and it will be held for future expansion,” explains Habersham County Manager Alicia Vaughn.

The Ruby Fulbright Aquatic Center is visible from the backyard. In the foreground sits the two-story, two-car garage. (Jerry Neace/NowHabersham.com)

A view of the back of the house where the deck has recently been replaced. (Joy NowHabersham.com)

The two-year rental agreement proposed for Whitmire placed the monthly rent at $600. During the two-year period, Whitmire was to contribute a minimum of $3,000 in property improvements, equating to an additional $125 per month spread over 24 months.

According to rent.com, fair market rent for the property would be in the range of $1,000 to $1,900 per month. The median rent in the area is $1,250.

The county never publicly advertised that the property was for rent.

A ‘fixer-upper’

Habersham County Manager Alicia Vaughn says she was acting at the request of the board of commissioners when she tried to rent the property.

“The BOC instructed me to lease the property. I worked first with the Soque Watershed Association and drafted a lease, but the association found a different location to lease that better fit their needs,” Vaughn tells Now Habersham.

She adds, “I met with a second group to get feedback on possible renovations and ideas for commercial use, but county maintenance staff advised renovations to make the space suitable for commercial use would be too costly. Our Parks and Rec Director was interested in the space because it is located next to our facilities, and I felt this would be a good rental solution.”

The property that was discussed for a lease agreement with the Parks and Rec Director Brooke Whitmire sits on Toccoa Highway in front of the Aquatic Center. The roof line to the Aquatic Center is visible in the background. (Jerry Neace/NowHabersham.com)

Though Whitmire would have only paid $600 a month for the property, Habersham County Commission Chair Ty Akins says the preliminary agreement with SRWA included no rent payment at all. In exchange for the free space, the agency would have made upgrades to the property.

Akins felt no rent was unfair, even for a non-profit.

While the property is not falling down, it does need some work. Akins refers to it as a “fixer-upper.” He indicates that was the reasoning behind offering Whitmire a well below market rate.

“It needed some work,” he says.

Consent agenda

Not only did the county not post the property for rent, but commissioners did not discuss the matter ahead of last Monday night’s meeting.

“The Chairman did not feel this was necessary and asked it be placed on the consent agenda,” explains Vaughn.

Consent agendas are used to streamline meetings by collecting routine, non-controversial items into a group and passing them with a single motion and vote. Akins says he placed the item on the consent agenda because he felt it would not be controversial and says he had no “ill intent.”

That’s not how it was perceived.

“I didn’t know anything about it,” says Commissioner Tench, “and when I saw it, I said there’s something wrong here. Why would you give the Rec. Dept. a house for somebody? I don’t understand that.”

At the meeting, Tench asked for the lease proposal to be removed from the consent agenda and placed under new business so it could be discussed. Commissioner Dustin Mealor made the motion to do that.

During the discussion, Vaughn defended the agreement, saying it was “completely appropriate” for the county to provide housing for an employee.

She pointed out that Whitmire lives in Banks County, and there are a lot of “after-hours events” at the county recreation department. She also acknowledged the lack of affordable housing in Habersham.

“I think it is absolutely beneficial for us to have Brooke right there next to the aquatic center,” said Vaughn.

Her arguments did not sway the board. After some back and forth, commissioners Tench, Mealor, and Bruce Harkness voted against the lease proposal. Akins and Commissioner Bruce Palmer voted for it.

Now what?

Since the lease was not approved, Vaughn says she is now waiting for instructions from the commissioners as to what the intended use for the property will be. She also says she does not know if the lease option will be revisited.

Tench and Harkness have both indicated they will not change their votes on the Whitmire lease, and Mealor tells Now Habersham, “I’m a no.”

Akins says he is reaching out to the commissioners to get a better idea of the direction they want to go with the property. Renting it is still a possibility, but he prefers to go with a non-profit until the commission moves forward with other opportunities in the future.

Asked if the county will advertise the property for rent in the future, Vaughn says, “It depends on the direction of the BOC and if it is legally required.”

U.S. House gripped by paralysis again after GOP punts proposal for speaker pro tem

By

Jennifer Shutt and Ariana Figueroa

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October 19, 2023

House Lawmakers Work Towards Electing New Speaker On Capitol Hill — U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks to members of the press at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 19, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (GA Recorder) — A resolution meant to temporarily allow U.S. House Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry of North Carolina to move critical legislation won’t be acted on, House Republicans said following a tense, closed-door meeting on Thursday.

But it appeared that the House will vote a third time on whether Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan will serve as speaker. On Thursday night, House Democrats said in their whip notice that a floor vote on a speaker was expected as soon as 10 a.m. Eastern on Friday, after Jordan spent hours meeting with holdout members of his party.

Jordan, a founder of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus who has sustained two failed attempts at election on the floor as speaker, said he is still in the running for the gavel, even though 22 Republicans voted against him for speaker on the most recent ballot.

“Particularly, I want to talk with the 20 individuals who voted against me, so that we can move forward and begin to work,” he said after the closed-door meeting with the GOP conference.

Several Republicans who voted against Jordan, including Iowa’s Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Georgia’s Drew Ferguson and Nebraska’s Don Bacon, have received death threats and other threatening messages, hardening their resolve not to let him become speaker.

Virginia Rep. Jen Kiggans, who voted against Jordan on the second ballot, told reporters that empowering McHenry for a few months is the “right thing to do.”

“We have real work that all Americans want us to do,” Kiggans said. “That’s what I want to do. That’s why I ran for Congress. So I support that resolution.”

Kiggans told reporters that Jordan plans to talk with all of the Republicans who oppose him to try to find a way to earn their votes. But she said it’s unlikely he sways the number he needs to his side.

“I don’t think he’s going to get there,” Kiggans said.

McHenry told reporters before the meeting that he would listen to what House Republicans want.

“I have not asked for additional powers. It’s my duty to get the next speaker elected, that’s my focus,” McHenry said.

The speaker pro tem option

Florida Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, who opposed Jordan on both ballots, praised McHenry’s abilities to lead.

“McHenry is an amazing legislator. He is a principled, tough, smart legislator and he has shown that for years and years and years of being in the fight,” Díaz-Balart said. “And so I have full confidence in McHenry for so many reasons to do so many different things.”

But other House Republicans opposed the idea of giving McHenry the ability to run the floor, saying the party needs to unite around an actual speaker.

Florida Rep. Kat Cammack told reporters that Republicans’ meeting became “heated” at times.

“You have the people who started the fire, now demanding that other people put out the fire,” Cammack said. “And so I think people are just really trying to figure out how they can unite around a body that has really done the self-inflicting wound that is causing all this consternation.”

Cammack said she didn’t believe empowering McHenry to run the House floor through early January was a good idea, noting he has also expressed concerns about the idea.

“I’m deeply appreciative of Patrick McHenry and his willingness to be that constitutional conservative in this moment where he’s saying ‘No, I’m not going to assume any additional authorities that haven’t been expressly granted to me,’” Cammack said.

House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry of Pennsylvania told reporters he’s “not a fan” of giving McHenry any official authority.

“I think it’s very dangerous,” Perry said. “We should elect a speaker, not have one crowned by some kind of rule that’s meant, I think, for if the speaker is unfortunately incapacitated by some terrorist attack. That’s not the case here.”

Perry said he would be open to “any election whoever the candidates are” for speaker, but noted that Jordan has gotten about 200 votes on the floor and that McHenry holds the role of speaker pro tem because former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted by the GOP conference, put his name on a list.

“It doesn’t seem to necessarily reflect the majority, but if we have a vote and it reflects the majority then that’s what it does,” Perry said.

Electing McHenry as speaker pro tem, Perry said, is one of the “alternative proposals” but he said he didn’t think anyone had “coalesced around” that idea.

Constitutional implications

Texas Rep. Chip Roy told reporters Republicans had a debate on Thursday within their meeting about the “constitutional implications” of electing McHenry as speaker pro tem.

“I think a speaker pro tem has historically only been there in the context of already having a duly elected speaker,” Roy said. “And I think that’s what we are called to do by the Constitution. So we should go do it.”

Florida Rep. Byron Donalds told reporters that there needs to be “unanimous support” among Republicans before a resolution to empower McHenry as a temporary speaker could go to the floor for a vote.

Donalds said the No. 1 issue for the House GOP should be electing a speaker.

“To my colleagues who wanted to support it, I don’t understand why they wanted to support it. Because time is of the essence,” Donalds said. “There’s a lot of things that we have to do.”

North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson told reporters he believes empowering McHenry as speaker pro tem could still be an option.

Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr told reporters that Jordan needs to be the one to decide if he withdraws from the speaker’s race.

Questions abound

Republicans would likely need to define what roles Jordan would play as a speaker nominee and what responsibilities would fall under McHenry as an elected speaker pro tem, if the party moves forward with the proposal.

The role of a designated speaker pro tempore was established in House rules following 9/11 as a way to ensure the chamber could keep functioning in the event of a catastrophic event.

After McCarthy was elected speaker in January, he gave a list of designated speakers pro tem to the clerk of the House. McHenry was the first name on that list and took on the role after McCarthy was removed from office.

There has been debate since that happened about how much authority McHenry actually has as the designated speaker pro tem.

Some experts have argued that because the role was created as a way to ensure continuity of government, it’s likely that McHenry has more power than he’s been exercising. That could, but might not, include bringing up resolutions and bills for floor debate.

Others, including an expert in House procedure, have said that the role is extremely limited and purely exists to facilitate the election of the next speaker.

Electing a speaker pro tem on the floor, however, is very different and would definitively give McHenry the authority to run the chamber much like an actual speaker could.

But Republicans would need to determine who acts as their representative outside of the House chamber, including in negotiations with the Democratic-controlled Senate and Biden administration on must-pass legislation.

House Republicans’ ongoing stalemate over who should lead their party has delayed legislative work on several important issues, including funding the government ahead of a Nov. 17 deadline and reconciling differences between the two chambers on the annual defense policy bill.

The Biden administration is also expected to send Congress a supplemental spending request for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and the U.S. southwest border as soon as Friday.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, has said that chamber will move first to approve an emergency spending bill, but the House will be needed to send it to President Joe Biden for his signature.

Sixteen days without a speaker

The U.S. House has been without a speaker for 16 days after eight Republicans and Democrats voted to remove California’s McCarthy from the post.

House GOP lawmakers have had heated internal deliberations since then about the best path forward for the party amid divided government.

Louisiana’s Steve Scalise won House Republicans’ first nomination vote for speaker, but he never brought his bid for the gavel to the House floor amid opposition from far-right conservative lawmakers.

Scalise, instead, withdrew from consideration after just one day as his party’s nominee.

Jordan then reentered the race, backed by many of his especially conservative allies, who refused to support Scalise when he was the nominee. Georgia’s Austin Scott entered as well, but mostly to force a debate within the conference.

After Jordan won the House Republican Conference nomination on Friday, more than 50 House Republicans said in a secret ballot that they wouldn’t back him for speaker during a floor vote.

Jordan and his allies have had some success winning holdouts to their side, but he lost the first ballot for speaker on the floor on Tuesday with 20 GOP lawmakers voting against him and then lost the second ballot vote on Wednesday with 22 Republicans opposing his bid.

Ashley Murray contributed to this article

Sidney Powell pleads guilty in Georgia election interference case

By

Stanley Dunlap

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October 19, 2023

Texas attorney Sidney Powell embarked on a public campaign in Georgia and other states, unleashing accusations that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from then-President Donald Trump. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)

ATLANTA (GA Recorder) — Texas attorney Sidney Powell pleaded guilty to racketeering election interference charges in Fulton County Superior Court on Thursday, one day before jury selection was scheduled to begin for her trial.

As part of the plea deal, Powell was sentenced to six years of probation for conspiring to interfere with the performance of election duties for orchestrating a Coffee County elections system breach following the 2020 presidential election,

On Thursday, Powell became the second defendant to have the terms of a plea agreement accepted by Fulton Judge Scott McAfee in a sweeping case that alleges Donald Trump and 18 of his allies illegally colluded to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Washington, D.C.

Powell’s plea now means that her co-defendant Kenneth Chesebro is set to stand trial alone, with plans to convene a 450-person jury pool on Friday to fill out a lengthy jury questionnaire.

According to the plea agreement, Powell agreed to testify in other election interference trials about the hacking of voting machines and software that occurred in rural south Georgia shortly after the incumbent Republican president lost the state of Georgia by less than 12,000 votes to Democratic President Joe Biden.

In the weeks following Trump’s 2020 presidential election loss in Georgia, Powell peppered the courts with filings claiming election fraud, she dubbed the “Kraken” legal challenge at the time.

Powell has written an apology to the secretary of state’s office and Georgia residents. She will also pay a $6,000 fine as well as $2,700 in restitution to the state. On Aug. 14, a grand jury formally charged Powell with seven felony charges in which the 19 defendants were each charged with violating Georgia’s RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act).

By successfully completing all terms of her probation, Powell’s conviction of six counts of misdemeanor conspiracy to commit intentional interference with election duties will be sealed from her criminal record.

On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that Chesebro acknowledged Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election were based on a political agenda, a revelation that could undercut Chesebro’s claims in the Fulton case that Trump lawyers were only focused on legal advice.

I think if you’re Kenneth Chesebro, you take a handful of misdemeanor pleas under the First Offender Act, withhold adjudication, and hope for the best in the event the Special Counsel’s Office comes to you next.

— Anthony Michael Kreis (@AnthonyMKreis) October 19, 2023

Voting breach takes front stage

Powell admitted Thursday that she hired forensic computer experts to compromise voting software and other confidential voter information from the Coffee County elections office in early 2021. She also agreed that prosecutors would have proven during trial that Powell, along with several co-conspirators, plotted with Coffee elections director Misty Hampton to illegally access election machines by tampering with electronic ballot markers, voting software and other equipment.

In the weeks before Powell pleaded guilty, her attorney Bill Raffferty repeatedly argued that she had no direct involvement in setting up the visits to the Coffee elections office.

One of Powell’s co-defendants, Scott Hall, a bail bondsman from Atlanta, entered a plea of guilty on Sept. 29 and received five years probation and $5,000 fine for misdemeanor charges related to illegally accessing voting equipment in Coffee.

Powell is also being investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for her role in hacking into Coffee’s election system.

The breach was uncovered last year by the plaintiffs in a longstanding lawsuit challenging the security of the state’s electronic voting system. Earlier this month, the GBI discovered more than 15,000 emails and documents from Hampton’s desktop computer that the attorneys for the Coffee County Board of Elections had claimed were lost.

Hampton has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges in the Fulton racketeering case.

Police impersonator sought after stopping teens on GA 365

By

Joy Purcell

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October 19, 2023

impersonating officer suspect sketches — The man in these GBI sketches is believed to be impersonating a police officer. If you know him or have information that can help locate him, please contact the Hall County Sheriff's Office at 770-536-8812. (Images by sketch artist Kelly Lawson)

Hall County sheriff’s investigators are searching for a man believed to be impersonating an officer.

The suspect stopped two teenage victims as they were traveling on Cornelia Highway/SR 365 on the night of September 30, 2023. The man was driving a black sedan with a blue light bar on the top of the vehicle.

During the traffic stop, the man approached the victims in their vehicle and told them he was going to write them a ticket for reckless driving. The driver gave the suspect her license and he took a photo of it. He left the scene without giving any documentation to the victims.

The sheriff’s office determined there were no legitimate traffic stops performed in that area at the time the incident occurred.

The teens identified the suspect as a white man between 40 and 50 years old. He was either bald or had very short, light-colored hair, a scruffy beard, and crooked yellow teeth.

Each victim met separately with GBI sketch artist Kelly Lawson and provided descriptions of the suspect. Law enforcement points out the images are strikingly similar with only minor differences.

Anyone who recognizes this man is asked to contact Hall County Dispatch at 770-536-8812 to make a report.

Your rights as a motorist during a traffic stop

Getting pulled over at night or in a deserted area can be scary, especially for women, teens, and those driving alone. If you see blue lights in your rearview mirror and don’t feel safe pulling over where you are, you do have the right to proceed to a safe location.

“A motorist is absolutely within his or her legal rights to proceed to a well-lit area off the road if the motorist feels unsafe,” says Lt. Todd Casper with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division.”In fact, an officer/deputy prefers a motorist pull to an area where traffic is not speeding by; it’s safer for the motorist and the deputy.”

While moving to a safe area there are several steps you should follow:

Slow down below the posted speed limit. If you are speeding and continue at a high rate of speed, an officer may think you’re trying to elude them.
Turn on your vehicle’s emergency flashers to signal to the officer that you are aware you’re being pulled over.
If you suspect the vehicle attempting to make the stop is not a legitimate law enforcement vehicle, call 911. Ask if a deputy/officer/trooper is attempting a traffic stop in your location. Keep in mind, law enforcement jurisdictions sometimes overlap and a local 911 operator may not be able to immediately determine what officer is working in that area at that time.

2 injured in multi-vehicle rear-end wreck in Clarkesville

By

Joy Purcell

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October 19, 2023

Hwy. 441 wreck1 — The driver of this construction truck faces multiple traffic violations following a wreck on Hwy. 441 in Clarkesville on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (Rob Moore/Habersham County)

A four-vehicle wreck shut down Highway 441 in Clarkesville for about an hour Thursday afternoon. The lunchtime crash sent two people to the hospital.

Just before 12:30 p.m., emergency personnel responded to the wreck in front of the Dairy Queen. According to the Georgia State Patrol crash report, three vehicles were stopped in the southbound lane as one attempted to turn into the restaurant.

Enrique Ramirez Bautista, 33, of Cornelia, was driving a Chevrolet Silverado construction truck south on Hwy. 441. He rear-ended a Ford F-150 pickup driven by Dylan Bryce Shook, 21, of Baldwin. The impact set off a chain reaction, causing the Ford F-150 to strike the Honda Pilot stopped in front of it. The Pilot then hit the Ford Crown Victoria that was attempting to turn.

The driver of this Ford F-150 was not injured in the wreck. (Rob Moore/Habersham County)

The wreck did not injure Bautista or Shook. The driver of the Honda, Courtney Shay Sisum, 32, of Mt. Airy, also was unhurt. A 1-year-old boy in her vehicle was treated at the scene for cuts to his gums caused by glass.

The Crown Vic driver, Matthew Everett Ramey, 52, of Mt. Airy, and his passenger, Deborah Renae Ramey, 50, also of Mt. Airy, both sustained possible minor injuries. Habersham EMS transported them by ambulance to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Demorest for treatment.

A trooper with GSP Post 7 in Toccoa investigated the wreck. The trooper charged Bautista with multiple offenses, including following too closely, no driver’s license, no insurance, and distracted driving.

Deputies re-routed traffic onto Double Bridge Road while the trooper investigated and tow trucks cleared the wreckage. The highway reopened around 1:20 p.m.

Blind students inspire awareness during elementary school parade

By

Jerry Neace

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October 19, 2023

Monroe and Phoebe at Fairview Elementary School — Monroe Bogue and Phoebe Groves use their white canes to navigate the school hallways in a parade on October 16, 2023.

Fairview Elementary School students got a lesson in acceptance just outside their classroom doors. They lined the halls Monday to cheer on blind schoolmates in a hallway parade.

Phoebe Groves and Monroe Bogue are among five Habersham County students currently learning how to use canes to gain independence. They demonstrated their skills as they navigated the halls with other students who were being recognized for perfect attendance.

Since the parade coincided with White Cane Awareness Day, teacher Robin Skelton saw a perfect opportunity to build awareness and empathy. It also gave Phoebe and Monroe a chance to be recognized for their achievements, mastering a skill some students referred to as “cane power.”

With each “tap, tap” on the asphalt tile floor, the students heard what advocates for the blind call “the sound of independence.”

Two different students with one primary goal

Now Habersham first introduced you to Phoebe last year. She has a degenerative eye condition that, in time, will leave her completely blind. But I don’t think that has slowed her down any. She remains an independent and outgoing now- third-grader who seeks out ways to compensate for her vision impairment. Her classes at Fairview have helped tremendously.

Phoebe got her white cane a few years ago. Since then, she’s learned to safely walk the school halls with confidence. She’s now in advanced training, learning to do things many people take for granted, such as taking trips in public, walking down sidewalks, and shopping at Walmart.

Doctors diagnosed Monroe with a benign brain tumor last year. Unable to remove it all during surgery, the tumor significantly affected his vision.

Unlike Phoebe, whom Dr. Skelton has described as a “little fireball,” Monroe is a shy second-grader just beginning his journey to greater independence. He received his white cane last month and is learning the techniques that will help him become less reliant on others.

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A supportive school system

Skelton says both students are “brilliant and are overcoming the challenges they face” due to a supportive family and the knowledgeable and caring staff throughout the school system.

Dr. Robin Skelton with students Monroe Bogue and Phoebe Groves.

“I cannot imagine working in a school system that is more supportive of all students than Habersham County,” says Skelton, who teaches the visually impaired and serves as the school system’s assistive technology liaison.

Currently, there are 14 students enrolled in Habersham County schools who have some degree of visual impairment. Five are now training on white canes.

Skelton credits school system administrators, as well as school-level faculty and staff, for their tireless efforts in providing students with what they need to succeed.

“My students and I are very blessed to be surrounded by everyone in our system,” Skelton says. And judging from the support Phoebe and Monroe got as they happily paraded through the halls Monday, it certainly seems that they are.

Two hurt, several vehicles damaged in GA 365 wreck near Lula

By

Staff Report

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October 19, 2023

A rear-end wreck on GA 365 in Lula temporarily shut down the northbound lanes and sent two people to the hospital. The Wednesday afternoon crash occurred in the area of Lula Road/State Route 52.

According to the Georgia Department of Public Safety, Jesse Barlow of Clayton was driving a Chevrolet Equinox north in the lefthand lane when he rear-ended a BMW 328i that was stopped in traffic. The impact of the crash caused the BMW to strike the rear of a Volkswagen Golf Alltrack. The Volkswagen veered into the right lane and grazed a fourth vehicle.

Troopers from Georgia State Patrol Post 6 in Gainesville investigated the wreck. They say Barlow told them he had his cell phone on his lap playing music. The phone began slipping, and he looked down to catch it when the accident occurred.

After the collision, the Equinox ended up in the median. The fourth vehicle left the scene. Diana Percy of Walhalla, South Carolina, was driving the car that ran into it. She said she did not notice the grazing on her car until after the accident and suggested to troopers the other driver may not have known they were grazed.

The wreck did not injure Percy or her passenger, Michael Percy, also of Walhalla.

Ambulances transported Barlow and the BMW driver, Reagan Carter of Eastanollee, to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville for treatment.

“The investigation is still active,” says GDPS spokesperson Courtney Floyd. She would not say whether any charges are pending.

Over 8,000 expected at tonight’s Habersham County E-911 Children’s Fun Fest

By

Staff Report

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October 19, 2023

For 16 years, Lynn Smith and her team of E-911 dispatchers have tried to get Oscar Mayer to bring its famed Wienermobile to their children’s fun fest. This year, they succeeded.

The company has six branded mobiles that tour the U.S., and tonight, one of them will be at the Habersham County Fairgrounds.

The Wienermobile is just one of the many spectacles kids will enjoy throughout this evening of activities.

Gates opened at 5. The event continues until 8 p.m.

The free event also features trunk or treat, interactive exhibits, a hayride, wrestling exhibitions, public safety personnel and vehicles, and helicopters.

Dozens of booths are set up inside the fairground pavilion where children can visit with over 100 public safety officials who are participating. Their ranks include 9-1-1 dispatchers, firefighters, law enforcement, paramedics, animal control staff, and forest rangers, among others.

Smith and her team have spent the better part of the week getting the fairgrounds ready for the event. For set up on Thursday, they recruited outside volunteers.

“This is the first year that we’ve had volunteers from somewhere else. We’ve got Piedmont College nursing students. They’re coming to help us this year, so we’ll have about 40 volunteers,” says Smith.

Habersham County E-911 will host its 15th annual Children’s Fun Festival on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, at the Habersham County Fairgrounds. (file photo/nowhabersham.com)

Parking is on the baseball side of the fairgrounds complex. The Habersham County Fairgrounds complex is located at 4235 Toccoa Highway, Clarkesville.

Members of U.S. House GOP describe threats sparked by votes against Jim Jordan for speaker

By

Jennifer Shutt and Ashley Murray

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October 19, 2023

WASHINGTON (GA Recorder) — Nebraska GOP Rep. Don Bacon said his wife slept with a gun for protection after she received threatening phone calls demanding that her husband support Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan’s bid for U.S. House speaker.

Bacon was among a handful of members who reported threats and the targeting of family members after opposing the conservative hardliner’s bid for the speaker’s gavel.

“I didn’t sleep well last night. I called her and I go, ‘How you doing?’ and she said, ‘I slept really good, I had a loaded gun,’” he said Thursday after leaving a Republican conference meeting.

“It was ugly phone calls,” said Bacon, a member of the House Armed Services Committee who served in the U.S. Air Force for nearly 30 years, retiring as a Brigadier General.

Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, failed twice to garner enough floor votes to reach the gavel. Twenty opposed him Tuesday. By Wednesday, that gap grew to 22.

Jordan and his allies employed an aggressive campaign over recent days that included Fox News personality Sean Hannity and conservative talk radio host Glenn Beck stumping for him on air and ridiculing critics.

Threats disclosed by members

As Republicans met Thursday behind closed doors in an attempt to recalibrate after 16 days without a speaker, several aired grievances about the Jordan camp’s tactics.

Virginia Rep. Jen Kiggans, who voted against Jordan on the second ballot after supporting him during the first floor vote, told reporters following the closed-door meeting that many lawmakers brought up the threats and intimidation.

“We all share the same conservative values and principles,” Kiggans said. “So to get those threats and to be intimidated by members of our own party was really frustrating, especially for people like me.”

Iowa Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who voted for Jordan on the first ballot but opposed him on the second ballot, said Wednesday in a written statement that she’d received “credible death threats and a barrage of threatening calls.”

“One thing I cannot stomach, or support, is a bully,” Miller-Meeks said.

“Someone who threatens another with bodily harm or tries to suppress differing opinions undermines opportunity for unity and regard for freedom of speech,” Miller-Meeks said. “I did not stand for bullies before I voted for Chairwoman Granger and when I voted for Speaker designee Jordan, and I will not bend to bullies now.” Rep. Kay Granger is the chair of the House Appropriations Committee.

Georgia Rep. Drew Ferguson, who supported Jordan on the first floor vote but not the second, said in a written statement that he had “genuine concerns about the threatening tactics and pressure campaigns Jordan and his allies were using to leverage members for their votes.”

“I discussed this directly with Jim, and planned to support him on the second ballot,” Ferguson wrote. “When the pressure campaigns and attacks on fellow members ramped up, it became clear to me that the House Republican Conference does not need a bully as the Speaker.”

After voting against Jordan on the floor on Wednesday, Ferguson wrote that he and his family “started receiving death threats.”

“That is simply unacceptable, unforgivable and will never be tolerated,” Ferguson added.

Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson, who opposed Jordan on both floor votes, wrote on X on Wednesday that “intimidation and threatening tactics do not — and will not — work.”

“Steve Scalise earned my vote for Speaker in the last two rounds,” Simpson wrote. “He has repeatedly proven his leadership as our conference’s Majority Leader, and I am honored to support him.”

Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart of Florida said the “nanosecond” that outside pressure tactics begin “it’s over” for him.

“If you look at the folks that are getting these threats: Don Bacon, retired general of the United States Armed Forces, you know, I don’t know how anybody can think that folks like that can be pressured,” Díaz-Balart said.

Jordan stays in the race

Uncertainty loomed over the Republican conference Thursday.

GOP House members met privately for several hours to try to find a path forward from an essentially frozen lower chamber.

A short-lived proposal to temporarily expand the powers of Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry of North Carolina fizzled out by day’s end.

Jordan remained in the race, but when a next vote would occur remained unclear late Thursday.

Some members, including Jordan supporter Rep. Kat Cammack of Florida, said they think the next step for the conference is to “hash this out.”

“There has been encouragement from all sides of conference, every walk of life, every faction that is represented in there, that at the end of the day, if we can’t agree on anything, we can agree on one thing and that’s the 22 (who oppose Jordan) have to get in a room and talk to Jim,” she said.

Georgia Congressman Ferguson flipped support for House speaker, citing threats from Jordan allies

By

Jill Nolin

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October 19, 2023

(GA Recorder) — A Georgia GOP congressman who backed Ohio U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan for speaker in the first round of voting but not Wednesday has cited the pro-Jordan crowd’s bullying tactics and pressure campaign as the reason for flipping his vote – a vote he says was followed by death threats.

U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, a Republican from The Rock in Upson County, issued the statement Thursday as news spread that Jordan would not seek a third vote for speaker at this time after losing support on the second ballot Wednesday.

Ferguson said that he had “genuine concerns about the threatening tactics and pressure campaigns Jordan and his allies were using to leverage members for their votes.” His comments mirror concerns expressed by others about the pressure campaign deployed to put the gavel in Jordan’s hand.

Ferguson, who represents a district southwest of Atlanta, said he spoke to Jordan directly about his concerns and had planned to back the far-right Freedom Caucus co-founder again. But that changed.

“When the pressure campaigns and attacks on fellow members ramped up, it became clear to me that the House Republican Conference does not need a bully as the Speaker,” Ferguson said.

The former West Point mayor ultimately voted for Louisiana Republican and U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who was nominated earlier for speaker but withdrew from the race last Thursday. The Georgia Republican, who has been in office since 2017, pointedly called Scalise “a principled conservative and unifying leader.”

“Shortly after casting that vote, my family and I started receiving death threats. That is simply unacceptable, unforgivable, and will never be tolerated,” Ferguson said.

Federal court denies request to dismiss challenge to Georgia’s political maps

By

Jill Nolin

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October 19, 2023

These redistricting cases playing out in federal court could affect the balance of power on the national level, where Republicans hold a fragile majority in the U.S. House. (Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder)

(GA Recorder) — Another challenge to Georgia’s political maps is set to go to trial after the state was unable to persuade a three-judge panel that the pair of cases should be tossed out.

The federal court denied the state’s attempts to block a fast-approaching November trial, which will come on the heels of a nearly two-week redistricting trial held last month.

U.S. District Court Judge Steve C. Jones wrote in a two-page order that a full decision is in the works, but the panel wanted to go ahead and announce now that the state’s motions for summary judgment are denied to “allow the parties adequate time to prepare” for the next steps.

Jones, who presided over the September redistricting trial involving three other cases, sits on the panel with Judge Steven D. Grimberg and Judge Elizabeth L. Branch.

The redistricting challenges playing out in Georgia and other states have drawn more national attention since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its surprising ruling in June rejecting Alabama’s congressional map and leaving Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act intact. The nation’s highest court has since stood behind its decision.

These cases could affect the balance of power on the national level, where Republicans hold a fragile majority in the U.S. House.

In Georgia, Black voters and civil rights and religious groups argue that state lawmakers designed congressional and legislative district maps that do not mirror the state’s growing Black population, diminishing Black voters’ ability to elect a candidate of their choice. Black voters in Georgia tend to vote for Democratic candidates at high rates.

Under Georgia’s new congressional map, Republicans now hold nine of Georgia’s 14 congressional seats, up from eight under the old map.

This week’s order represents an incremental development in the legal tests that have followed the special legislative session held in late 2021 to draw maps after the once-a-decade U.S. Census headcount.

But the groups representing one of the two cases celebrated the decision, which allows both sides to hash it all out next month in a downtown Atlanta courtroom.

“We are pleased the court rejected Georgia’s attempt to avoid a trial and accountability,” said Jack Genberg, senior staff attorney for the Southern Poverty Law Center. “At trial, we look forward to presenting the considerable evidence that the General Assembly racially gerrymandered Georgia’s congressional districts.”

The Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center and the Dechert law firm are representing Common Cause Georgia, the League of Women Voters of Georgia and three Black voters who live in congressional District 13, which they argue was “packed” with Black voters.

The lawsuit accuses state lawmakers of manipulating the boundary lines of three congressional districts – the 6th, 13th, and 14th – in a way that makes it more difficult for Black Georgians to have a fair say in who is elected to represent them.

Both of the legal challenges headed to trial next month argue the maps violate the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The other lawsuit, filed on behalf of the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP, the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda, and GALEO Latino Community Development Fund, is a broader lawsuit targeting several congressional and legislative districts. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the Crowell and Moring law firm are representing that group of plaintiffs.

Last month’s trial centered on three cases that claim the state’s congressional and legislative district maps violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which bans discriminatory voting practices.

Attorneys for the state freely acknowledge that politics were a key factor when deciding where to place the new boundary lines, which they are allowed to do. But they deny claims that the new districts were drawn based on race.

And in a March filing, the state’s attorneys argued the plaintiffs had failed to turn up any proof that the GOP-drawn maps were intentionally created to dilute the voting strength of Black voters.

“The resulting map split fewer counties than prior plans and increased Republican political performance,” Bryan Tyson, special assistant attorney general, wrote in his filing requesting summary judgment in the state’s favor. “Plaintiffs dislike this plan, but their evidence does not support their sweeping attacks on the congressional map, nor could Plaintiffs’ evidence support a ruling overturning those districts.”

A spokesman for Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger declined to comment Wednesday on this week’s decision since the litigation is still pending.

No serious injuries in two-vehicle wreck north of Cleveland

By

Dean Dyer, WRWH Radio

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October 18, 2023

No serious injuries were reported following a two-vehicle accident Wednesday north of Cleveland.

Around 12:20 p.m. on October 18, a trooper from the Georgia State Patrol Post in Gainesville responded to the crash at the intersection of Stag Leap Drive and Helen Highway/State Route 75 in White County.

Information from the investigation showed a Dodge Nitro driven by 85-year-old Cleveland resident Genie L. Hixon was traveling east on Stag Leap Drive and failed to yield while entering Helen Hwy. and turned left into the path of an oncoming Acura RL driven by 22-year-old Cassidie Cantrell of Cleveland. The Dodge struck the Acura in the front with its left side. Cantrell was traveling with her 1-year-old child in the vehicle.

All three people were transported to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. Floyd did not say if any charges are pending.