The U.S. Defense Department's Naming Commission is recommending renaming 9 U.S. military installations whose names currently have ties to the Confederacy. Fort Benning in Columbus, Georgia, is one of them. Under the plan, Fort Benning would be renamed Fort Moore and Fort Gordon in Augusta would be renamed Fort Eisenhower after former President and Army General Dwight D. Eisenhower. (photo by John D. Helms/Fort Benning)
Georgia’s Fort Benning will officially become Fort Moore during a ceremony at Doughboy Stadium on post on May 11. The military base in Columbus is being renamed in honor of the late retired Lt. Gen. Harold “Hal” and his wife, Julia Moore.
The name change was set in motion by the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, which established a commission to rename military bases and assets named for Confederate leaders. The Secretary of Defense approved the Naming Commission’s recommendation to rename Fort Benning to Fort Moore to highlight the critical role of the military family in supporting combat readiness.
A website about the renaming says that while this is a “wonderful personal honor” for the Moore family, they recognize the base is being renamed for the values Hal and Julia Moore represent.
“The Naming Commission selected names that represent and honor the heroism, sacrifices, and values of the Army’s men and women. This is the next chapter in the Army’s story,” a press release from Fort Benning’s Office of Public Affairs states.
Honoring soldiers and families
Fort Moore recognizes Hal Moore’s life as a decorated and highly regarded commander of the Vietnam War. The movie We Were Soldiers was based on his 1992 book recounting the Battle of la Drang.
Julia Moore was a distinguished leader of Army family programs who changed how the military notifies and cares for soldiers’ widows (and widowers).
“There can be no better way to inspire the men and women who will train to defend our nation, and particularly to provide recognition to the widows of our nation’s fallen, than to name our installation for a couple who exemplifies America’s highest standards of courage, character, and compassion — Hal and Julia Moore,” says Fort Benning’s commanding general, Maj. Gen. Curtis Buzzard.
Founded in 1918 as the home of the United States Army Infantry School, Fort Benning was named after Henry L. Benning. He served as a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War.
Fort Benning is one of nine U.S. Army installations being renamed. The other Georgia base is Fort Gordon in Augusta which is being renamed Fort Eisenhower after the late General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Other name changes include:
Fort Bragg, N.C. – renamed Fort Liberty after the value of liberty.
Fort A.P. Hill, Va. – renamed Fort Walker after Dr. Mary Walker.
Fort Hood, Texas – renamed Fort Cavazos after Gen. Richard Cavazos.
Fort Lee, Va. – renamed Fort Gregg-Adams after Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams.
Fort Pickett, Va. – renamed Fort Barfoot after Tech. Sgt. Van T. Barfoot.
Fort Polk, La. – renamed Fort Johnson after Sgt. William Henry Johnson.
Fort Rucker, Ala. – renamed Fort Novosel after Chief Warrant Officer 4 Michael J. Novosel, Sr.
Joel Paez, father of Manuel Esteban Paez Terán, speaks during a press conference, Monday, March 13, 2023, in Decatur, Ga. A press conference was held to give additional autopsy findings in Terán's death.
(Credit: AP Photo/Alex Slitz)
Attorneys for the family of Manuel Paez Terán, who was shot and killed by police Jan. 18 while protesting Atlanta’s proposed Public Safety Training Center, released the full results of a private autopsy Monday.
The announcement came during a press conference this morning outside the Dekalb County Courthouse. Results from the first autopsy done by the Dekalb County Medical Examiner are pending, but the private autopsy shows Terán was shot 14 times by law enforcement.
The autopsy was conducted by Former GBI Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Kris L. Sperry. His examination also reveals Terán’s hands were up and they were likely sitting cross legged. The report doesn’t mention findings of any gunpowder on the body which would come from close range firing, but it said:
“…if the decedent was within a tent or other similar shelter when he was shot, the intervening material would have prevented any soot and stippling particles from reaching his body surfaces.”
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is leading the multi-agency investigation into Terán’s death. The GBI reported on Jan. 25 that it received confirmation from a firearms transaction record that said in September 2020, Terán legally purchased the firearm that was used in the shooting of a Georgia State Patrol officer during the incident on Jan. 18. They claim Terán also fired the gun but said in a statement they have yet to release information in order to “preserve the integrity of the investigation.”
Family attorney Brian Spears said at the press conference they are asking for that evidence.
“We do not stand here today telling you that we know what happened,” he said. “This second autopsy is a snapshot of what happened, but it is not the whole story. What we want is simple: GBI, meet with the family and release the investigative report.”
The family attorneys filed a lawsuit March 10 asking courts to force law enforcement to comply with the Open Records Act and release the information. The complaint includes a letter sent to Atlanta Chief of Police Darin Schierbaum from the GBI’s Legal Division on Feb. 13 requesting APD withhold the records.
The GBI has said its investigation could take between 60 and 90 days. In Monday’s press conference, family attorney Jeff Filipovits said, “But once you release what the official narrative is, the investigation is tainted already.”
“The larger context of this unprecedented crackdown is the domestic terrorism charges and the use of the state’s force to quell dissent,” he said.
Last week, 23 protesters were arrested at a music festival in the South River Forest near the site of the future Public Safety Training Center, charged with domestic terrorism, and denied bond. Filipovits said no evidence has been shared to justify their charges.
“None of the people in the jail right now have an allegation that they threw a Molotov cocktail, that they lit construction equipment on fire, that they shot off fireworks,” Filipovits said. “None of the allegations we heard were specific to any person.”
The City of Atlanta has 30 days to respond to the lawsuit from the date it was filed.
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This article appears on Now Habersham through a news partnership with GPB News
Sue Frady, age 93, of Mt. Airy, Georgia, went to be with the Lord on Sunday, March 12, 2023.
Mrs. Frady was born on July 9, 1929, in Macon County, North Carolina, to the late Grady and Vonnee Macmahan Jones. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her loving husband, James Thomas Frady; brother, Paul Jones; sisters, Betty Addis and Frances Howard. Mrs. Frady was the last surviving member of her immediate family.
Mrs. Frady will be remembered as a loving wife, mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother. She was a member of Antioch Baptist Church, where she was very active with the WMU and the Monday Morning Bible Study Group. Mrs. Frady had retired from Piedmont Automotive Products with 26 years of loyal service. Sue was a longtime volunteer with the local soup kitchen. Her hobbies included quilting, sewing, gardening, and cooking.
Survivors include her sons and daughters-in-law, Jim and Carolyn Frady, of Mt. Airy; John and Cynthia Frady, of Dawsonville; grandchildren and spouses, Clint and Emily Frady; Nick and Jaylen Frady; Audra and Wiley Helm; great-grandchildren, Spencer Frady, Reese Frady, Jett Frady, and soon to be Baby Helm; several sisters-in-law and numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral Services will be held at 3:00 p.m., Tuesday, March 14, 2023, at the Whitfield Funeral Home, North Chapel, with Rev. Chris Webb officiating. Interment will follow in the Antioch Baptist Church Cemetery.
The family will receive friends from 1:00 p.m. to 2:45 p.m., Tuesday, March 14, 2023, at the funeral home prior to the service.
Arrangements have been entrusted to the Whitfield Funeral Homes & Crematory, North Chapel, at 245 Central Avenue, Demorest, Georgia 30535. Telephone: 706-778-1700.
(GA Recorder) — Georgia’s legislators head into the final stretch of the 2023 session with a number of tough-on-crime bills. If passed, the bills will escalate criminal penalties for unruly protesters, misdemeanor offenses, and street gangs and shift the balance of power of prosecutors and judges.
Several Republican-backed law-and-order bills cleared the March 6 deadline for legislation to advance to the opposite chamber. As the session concludes on March 29, Republican lawmakers are following through on their campaign promises of setting stiffer minimum sentences, requiring cash or property bail to get out of jail for a greater number of misdemeanor offenses, and creating ways to punish county prosecutors who have been accused of being soft on crime.
Those who oppose the idea of locking up more people for longer periods of time criticize these strategies as running counter to numerous studies and the findings of the former GOP Gov. Nathan Deal’s Georgia Council on Criminal Justice Reform. Rehabilitation services, not jail time, are the best method of reducing recidivism and giving people convicted of crimes a better chance of living a productive life, according to the recommendations of Deal’s signature policy initiative.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, and the Senate Majority Caucus have so far succeeded in advancing priority legislation that increases penalties for street gang offenses and gives state law enforcement more latitude to pursue domestic terrorism cases.
Kemp’s signature crime bill increases the mandatory jail time for gang recruitment to five years and doubles that minimum sentence if a person recruits a minor or someone with a disability.
Senate Bill 44 calls for anyone convicted of street-gang offenses to serve the full sentence locked behind bars. Meanwhile, leniency can only be granted if the defendant assists in convicting the gang members.
Critics of the legislation counter that Georgia law is vague in determining what constitutes a street gang, and it would disproportionately harm teens and minors who have older siblings involved in street gangs.
Georgia State Capitol (Stephen Fowler/GPB News)
Cataula Republican Sen. Randy Robertson’s Senate Bill 63, which cleared the Senate on Feb. 23, would add a laundry list of misdemeanor charges, such as trespassing, fighting, and theft, to offenses that require a person to pay cash bail or put up property as collateral. A judge can now release people charged with a misdemeanor from jail on a signature promising they will appear in court.
Supporters of the longer mandatory sentences and cash-bail policies argue that they will cut down on a revolving door of people with a criminal record from committing more crimes because lax sentencing guidelines set them free.
Republicans also aim to rein in some of the power that prosecutors hold in the judicial system.
Senate Bill 31 passed 35-20 on Crossover Day and allows the attorney general’s office to be reimbursed for legal expenses by local prosecutors who decline to prosecute cases the state’s top prosecutor pursues.
Among the concerns raised by Democratic lawmakers and prosecutors’ associations is that the oversight committee and extending the attorney general’s authority could become politically-motivated tools. The law could also be used to target county district attorneys who do not arrest doctors and pregnant women for abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.
Fulton County’s Democratic District Attorney Fani Willis, who is conducting a special investigation into possible illegal interference by former President Donald Trump and his allies who tried to overturn the 2020 election, has criticized the legislation as an overreaction.
Another Senate bill would allow the attorney general or state law enforcement agencies to pursue domestic terrorism cases without the district attorney’s permission.
It would allow Georgia GOP Attorney General Chris Carr to pursue charges against demonstrators who sometimes become violent and destructive, like during the “Stop Cop City” protests over a planned Atlanta police training complex.
Another proposed protest crackdown that would make it a felony to riot was approved by House legislators with a 98-to-73 vote.
And a second House bill would carve out a new arson offense for setting a police car ablaze and allow a judge to fine someone up to $100,000 for the damage or send them to prison for a minimum of five years – or both.
Criminal justice reform measures gain traction
Lawmakers also have several criminal justice reform proposals that have received strong bipartisan support in their respective chambers.
Going through the juvenile system would grant eligible 17-year-old defendants more privacy than in state superior court – where records are usually available for public inspection – and place them in a more rehabilitation-focused setting. (Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice photo)
One of those bills that has been several years in the making is Raise the Age HB 462 sponsored by Republican Rep. Mandi Ballinger, which could allow 17-year-olds who are first-time offenders and have not been charged with serious violent offenses to proceed in juvenile court. Georgia now treats 17-year-olds charged with a crime as adults.
A 12-member committee must determine it’s feasible, and state funding must be allocated if the so-called Raise the Age law is approved. The shift to juvenile status for 17-year-olds wouldn’t take effect until 2025.
Ballinger has cited data during House committee meetings showing that keeping teenagers out of jails and prisons where adults are incarcerated gives younger offenders a significantly better chance of rehabilitation and provides them with privacy in not having their criminal records become public, which could hinder their career opportunities.
Republicans are not backing Democratic proposals to reduce gun violence by requiring firearm background checks and making it a misdemeanor to leave a loaded firearm where minors can get to it.
My granddaughter will graduate from high school this year. I am unsure how this is happening because I thought she was born a few months ago! In case you haven’t heard, life flies by with lightning speed as you careen toward the end of it.
I contemplated the perfect graduation gift for her that would be meaningful and helpful when her days begin rushing by. I decided to write a small book of precautions and instructions on tips to avoid those potholes that trip us on life’s journey.
With complete self-reflection, I never missed any holes in the road, hitting every one of them and crashing more times than I can count. Talk about someone learning from the school of hard knocks; I indeed did! If I draw a map in words of how to navigate a better journey, then her path may be more uncomplicated and joyful.
It is all a work in progress, but I wrote a few lessons I believe to be valid and necessary. The first instruction I penned: To avoid damaging boulders being hurled on your path, keep your life in proper order.
THE ORDER: GOD FIRST, SPOUSE SECOND, CHILDREN THIRD, then PARENTS, EXTENDED FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND THE REST OF THE WORLD.
Folks arrive in heaven without cars, money, fame, golf clubs, or concert tickets. They reach heaven’s gates carrying only their souls.
How many of us get ourselves out of order? And how many times do we strive to get back in line? When we start putting ourselves, our pleasure, and our wishes above others, we lose our way. When we take our eyes off the road, we will hit a pothole, burst a tire, damage the car, and need help to get where we were heading in the first place.
If we study the proper order of importance according to God’s word, it doesn’t appear as if the term “you” is in the line-up, does it? But you are. When God says to put Him first, it means you will lead a safer, happier pilgrimage to his arms. We are all sinners, but by God’s grace, we can get back on the right path with His guiding light.
Also, in the ranking, there is no mention of politics, fun, excitement, sports, money, etc. The prioritized order is about people. All people come before all things. Folks arrive in heaven without cars, money, fame, golf clubs, or concert tickets. They reach heaven’s gates carrying only their souls.
Many have watched the riveting and revolting story of the Murdaugh family tragedy on the news. We witnessed the downfall of a Southern dynasty that didn’t believe it could topple. More incredible things have fallen, including civilizations, because of not following the order of life. When a lifestyle is consumed with power and money, and decadence replaces people, it burns to the ground leaving only ashes of shame.
“Dear Children, keep away from anything that might take away God’s place in your hearts. Amen.” 1 John 5:21.
When we crash into a ditch filled with sin and woe, we are given an opportunity to learn a tremendous lesson. If we are wise, we call “The Lord’s Wrecker Service,” ask for forgiveness, and begin the repairs needed. However, if we blame the other driver for pushing us off life’s path instead of ourselves, we will keep crashing into culverts. Humility is the cure for arrogance, and we should all reach a point where we humble ourselves below the cross in the road.
The best advice I can give anyone is from someone other than me. John wrote these cautionary instructions: “Dear Children, keep away from anything that might take away God’s place in your hearts. Amen.” These are the last words he wrote in 1 John 5:21.
Being a driver in the old heap carrying me on the last miles of my life’s travels, I look in the review mirror and see the pain, heartache, and guilt I left on the road behind me. My car would have been totaled long ago if faith and forgiveness had not accompanied me through my many errors and sins.
I keep “The Lord’s Wrecker Service” number on speed dial daily. I am sure I will hit another pothole, but I also know who to call to get back on the road.
“Hi Lynn, what did you do to yourself this time?” He asks.
“Well, sir, I got out of order, and the old jalopy and I slammed into a ditch again. I am so sorry.”
State Sen. Matt Brass is the lead sponsor of Senate Bill 215, which proposes to shield identifying information of public employees. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)
Well intentioned, but not thought through. That’s Georgia Senate Bill 215, the Harry Potter invisibility cloak for Georgia’s government employees.
The legislation is well intentioned because it is aimed at providing a little sense of security to public officials like judges and prosecutors who may have made some enemies along the way. It might also help other government employees threatened for doing their jobs. It would redact their home addresses and phone numbers from state and local property databases.
Unfortunately, the unintended consequences of this invisibility cloak are potentially disastrous for open government in Georgia.
A very similar law enacted in New Jersey created administrative chaos, cutting off access to scores of public databases, as officials tried to figure out how to comply with the new law. The New Jersey State House had to fix the legislation a year later and create a whole new government agency to oversee redactions and keep a master registry of officials who feel they need protection.
Georgia is about to fall into the same trap.
Already, personal information about government officials may be redacted from public records if those records identify a person as a public employee. But the proposed law in Georgia would remove a line in the current Open Records Act that restricts redactions of records that “do not specifically identify public employees or their jobs, titles or offices.”
There is a good reason for this line. There are more than half a million public employees in Georgia and there’s no list of who they are. If public employee addresses can no longer be shared, then county, state, and city officials may shut down access to all online databases or redact all addresses for fear of accidently sharing a government official’s address.
Arrest records, property tax records, and voter rolls could suddenly be off-limits to the public or over-redacted. What happens when a public official is asking for a zoning variance in his or her private capacity? Does that mean that the neighbors can’t be notified?
The second part of the bill allows public employees to specifically petition each county to redact property records so they will be untraceable. Again, well intended: Who wants to have a police officer threatened at home?
This part of the bill could stand without the first part, but lawmakers should focus on how to better balance transparency with privacy.
For example, there’s no criteria for removal. If the county prosecutor is worried about the guy getting out of jail next week, it sounds reasonable. But if a county employee wants to conceal the sweetheart deal he got on his property tax valuations, he would now be able to use his invisibility cloak to do it.
This bill could be vastly improved by adding rules and criteria for the public employees who request their addresses be redacted.
In the last few years, reporters were able to crosscheck records to expose Atlanta City Council members and a relative of a former mayor for not paying water bills on their properties – to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. Under this portion of the proposed law, it would be simple to invoke secrecy and never get caught.
Effectively, this bill could gut Georgia’s Open Records Act by making sharing of public records difficult and expensive. And it would give others, who don’t deserve protection, an invisibility cloak behind which they can hide and get into mischief without getting caught.
Senate Bill 215 is well-intentioned and has already passed the Senate without much scrutiny. But it still needs some work in the Georgia House to avoid creating the kind of chaos that would make Voldemort proud.
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Richard T. Griffiths is a retired journalist and president emeritus of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation.
Members of the Georgia Department of Corrections K-9 Unit from Lee Arrendale State Prison in Alto prepare to load the bloodhound after Saturday’s search. (Rob Moore/Habersham County)
An hour-long search for a missing boy with autism ended happily in Cornelia on Saturday when the child was safely located.
The 11-year-old’s mother called 911 to report her son missing from their Crown Point Drive apartment. The urgency of the situation was heightened because the boy has nonverbal autism. Cornelia Police Chief Jonathan Roberts said there were serious concerns for the boy’s welfare because of the terrain near his home and his love of water.
Habersham County Emergency Services personnel responded to the call at 1:32 p.m. and joined other responding units from multiple local and state agencies.
Officers with the Cornelia, Baldwin, and Alto police departments and the Habersham County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the search. A Georgia Department of Corrections K-9 team and personnel from the Cornelia Fire Department also helped canvass the area.
Emergency personnel and law enforcement confer before beginning the search of the woods near Crown Point Apartments in Cornelia. (Rob Moore/Habersham County)(Rob Moore/Habersham County)
Chief Roberts says units from the Georgia State Patrol (GSP), GSP Aviation, and White County Emergency Management Agency were on their way to assist with the search when the boy was located.
“The staff of the Habersham County Airport also assisted by checking the grounds of that facility and talking with local pilots who were flying,” says Habersham County Public Information Officer Rob Moore.
The Cornelia Police Department posted this photo of Landon Armour to social media, asking for the public’s help to find him. (Facebook)
When residents of a neighboring apartment awoke, they found the child inside their home and notified the law enforcement command post at Crown Point Apartments just after 2:30 p.m.
The child, identified by the Cornelia Police Department as Landon Armour, was safe and returned to his mother.
In all, more than two dozen emergency personnel participated in the search. Chief Roberts expressed his gratitude to the agencies involved and to the residents of Crown Point for their willingness to help.
“Today was a great day when the little guy hugged his mother,” he said.
A Mt. Airy man was severely injured in this wreck on GA 365 near Level Grove Road on March 10, 2023. (Habersham County Sheriff's Office)
Authorities charged a Mt. Airy man with DUI and other traffic violations after he was severely injured in a wreck on GA 365 South. It happened early Friday morning near Level Grove Road in Cornelia.
According to the Georgia State Patrol, 23-year-old Marvin Chaves was driving a Honda Accord at a high rate of speed, attempting to weave through traffic when he lost control of the vehicle. The car left the highway and traveled up an embankment as it rotated.
Approximately 426 feet from the highway, the car struck a tree and vaulted multiple times. It wound up some 648 feet from where it exited the roadway.
Troopers say Chaves was not wearing a seatbelt.
At 7:21 a.m., Habersham County emergency personnel responded to the wreck. Crews extricated Chaves and transported him to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville with multiple injuries.
In addition to DUI, troopers charged Chaves with not wearing a seatbelt, reckless driving, failure to maintain lane, and driving without due regard.
(Habersham County Sheriff’s Office photo)
Two escape injury in separate crash
Five hours later, emergency personnel responded to another rollover wreck about a mile north of where Chavis’ car crashed.
At 12:15 Friday afternoon, Habersham County E-911 dispatched Cornelia Fire Station 22 and an ambulance to a wreck initially reported to be on the 441 Bypass in Cornelia. While on the way to that wreck, fire personnel located the wreck in a ditch on the southbound shoulder of GA 365 just before the Bypass exit.
The state patrol says 39-year-old Michael Bradley of Lakemont was driving southbound in a Ford F150 when the truck ran off the shoulder of the road. The pickup struck a culvert and overturned onto its top.
Bradley and a passenger, 42-year-old Lauren Bradley, also of Lakemont, both escaped injury.
The right southbound lane of GA 365 was shut down until cleanup was completed.
Six recently promoted Cornelia firefighters were recognized for their dedication and hard work during a pinning ceremony at Cornelia City Hall on March 7, 2023. Pictured, left to right are, Cornelia Fire Chief Billy Joe Jenkins, Drake Meister, Dustin Henson, Lee Humphrys, Michael Hall, Mathew Williams, Chris Bruce, Cornelia Fire Division Chief Josh Hazel, and Cornelia Mayor John Borrow. Bruce's son, Liam, seen here in the foreground, was one of the many family members who attended the special recognition service. (Jerry Neace/Now Habersham)
The Cornelia City Commission hosted a firefighter pinning ceremony at its March 7 meeting, during which six firefighters were recognized for their recent promotions. More than 50 people attended, including fire department staff, family, friends, and community members.
A pinning ceremony is a long-standing tradition within fire departments to honor professional achievements.
“It gives me great joy to recognize the members of the fire family for their hard work and accomplishments,” said Cornelia Fire Chief Billy Joe Jenkins.
Chief Jenkins recognized three firefighters who were promoted to Operations Lieutenant in March 2021. A pinning ceremony for those individuals was not conducted at that time due to COVID-19 protocols and social distancing precautions.
Those promoted to Operations Lieutenant are:
Christopher Bruce
Michael Hall
Matthew Williams
Swearing-in of Cornelia Fire Department’s new lieutenants, from left, Chris Bruce, Michael Hall, and Matthew Williams. (Jerry Neace/Now Habersham)
Three members of the department were recently promoted to captain.
“The demand of a growing population requires that the fire department be ever so growing, as well,” Jenkins said. “Considering our growth and our current needs, we saw fit to promote three Operations Captains at this time.”
Jenkins explained to the audience that in February, the fire department conducted tough written and field tests for candidates for those three positions.
Those promoted to Operations Captain were:
Dustin Henson
Drake Meister
Lee Humphrys
Cornelia Fire Division Chief Josh Hazle administers the oath to the new captains in the Cornelia Fire Department, from left, Dustin Henson, Drake Meister, and Lee Humphrys. (Jerry Neace/Now Habersham)
After the pinning ceremony, the Chief congratulated the firefighters for “standing out” and “for being able to lead this department as one family.”
Division Chief Josh Hazle administered the oath of office to the promoted fire officers.
CFD Pinning Ceremony • March 7, 2023
1 of 6
CFD Lt. Chris Bruce with his wife, Ashley, and sons, Liam and Cason. (Jerry Neace/Now Habersham)
CFD Lt. Michael Hall (Jerry Neace/Now Habersham)
CFD Lt. Matthew Williams (Jerry Neace/Now Habersham)
Daylight Saving Time starts Sunday, March 12, at 2 a.m. And, as most states do twice a year, it’s time again for Georgians to change their clocks.
Before going to bed Saturday night, move your clock’s time up one hour so you’ll be on time Sunday. It’s also a good time to check the batteries in your smoke alarms.
Saving time and lives
Fire safety experts advise that smoke alarm batteries should be changed twice a year. Changing them in conjunction with the start and end of Daylight Saving Time makes it easy to remember.
It could be the difference between life and death.
“A smoke alarm’s life-saving capacity ends when it runs out of batteries,” reminds Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John King.
So far in 2023, there have been at least 27 home fire fatalities in Georgia, with several homes having nonfunctioning smoke alarms or no smoke alarms present.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, the death rate in homes without functioning smoke alarms was more than twice as high compared to homes with working smoke alarms between 2014 and 2018.
Remember to test and clean dust from smoke alarms monthly to ensure they work when needed.
Habersham County residents who have questions about their smoke alarms may call Habersham County Emergency Services at (706) 839-0570 during business hours.
Competing in the first official event of the season, the Tallulah Falls track & field teams took part in the Bo James Invitational on Saturday morning at Rabun County.
The Lady Indians came in fourth, and Indians fifth among six teams. Several athletes set personal records throughout the day. The following finished in the top-3 in their respective events:
Tyler Brown – 1st in 300 MH; 2nd in Pole Vault
Meredith Orr – 1st in 3200
Girls 4×400 Relay – 1st
Girls 2×400 Relay – 2nd
Boys 2×400 Relay – 2nd
Girls 4×100 Relay – 2nd
Julianne Shirley – 3rd in High Jump
Nana Amankwah – 3rd in Triple Jump
Kailyn Neal – 3rd in 3200
Sam Ketch – 3rd in Discus; 3rd in Shot Put
Boys 4×100 Relay – 3rd
Of those notable results, Sam Ketch’s discus throw was a big PR, the girls’ 4×100 and 4×200 relays were both top-7 on the TFS Legacy List, Nana Amankwah had a major PR in the triple jump, Timothy Beck a big PR in the 1600, and Molly Mitchell, Sara Bailey, and Serenity Miracle all had significant PRs in the 800.
Wendy Dean (left) with the Georgia Advocacy Office talks to state Sen. Nikki Merritt in the hallway of the Coverdell Legislative Office Building on Wednesday’s day of advocacy. (Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder)
(GA Recorder) — People living with intellectual and developmental disabilities say one solution to Georgia’s workforce shortage is to hire them.
In a 2020-2021 report, National Core Indicators found that 54% of Georgians living with a disability want a paid community job but cannot get one. That’s true even though 30% of them take classes or train to better their chances of gaining employment.
But efforts to form a commission focused on how best to expand resources for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities failed to pass by Monday’s Crossover Day, a deadline for bills to chart a smooth path to the governor’s desk.
Sponsors of the bill remain hopeful these key provisions can be tacked onto House Bill 520, which is designed to improve access to behavioral health services. The state Senate could still pass HB 520 this legislative session.
FILE PHOTO – State Sen. Sally Harrell stood with advocates, family members, and others at a state Capitol press conference in late February, demanding lawmakers step up funding for the 7,000 people who have qualified for services. (Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder)
“I wasn’t able to get Senate Bill 198 through the Senate this year,” said Sen. Sally Harrell, an Atlanta Democrat and lead bill sponsor. “However, my plan is to put substitute language into House Bill 520 that will create a task force underneath the Behavioral Health Innovation Commission that will be dedicated to (intellectual or developmental disability) issues.”
Meanwhile, the state should modernize data management systems used to facilitate the waiting lists for services, she said.
“The waiting list can be managed better and (made) more transparent to the public, to work towards the goals of making Georgia an employment first state,” Harrell said.
“If they’re still on the waiting list, then families are having to take care of their loved ones all alone. There are some family support dollars available,” Harrell said. “But for people who have been on the waiting list a long time, sometimes these are parents who have adult children, and the parents themselves are aging and they’re getting worried. It’s like, what if something happens to me?”
Efforts to clear the 7,000-person waiting list for services through a Medicaid program have been complicated by a workforce shortage among caregivers who assist people with disabilities.
An updated budget proposal for next year unveiled this week in the House includes funding for a total of 375 more people to receive services, up 125 slots from the governor’s proposed spending plan. A Senate study panel last year recommended lawmakers increase funding for another 2,400 people this year to begin to make a dent in the waiting list.
Thousands of Georgians with disabilities are also either left out of Georgia’s workforce, which is facing an ongoing shortage, or in jobs where employers can legally pay them less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
So this week, Employment First advocates took to the Capitol to put a face to the low-wage worker with disabilities and persuade legislators that a better Georgia is one that provides equal opportunities for these underemployed workers.
Advocates said this starts with reforming code 14(c) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, a federal code that dates back to the 1930s and allows employers to pay people with intellectual and developmental disabilities a sub-minimum wage.
“At the time, the thought was that a person with intellectual disabilities or a significant impact of their disabilities would not be able to work in competitive employment,” said D’Arcy Robb, executive director of the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities. “So the idea was to make it legal for companies to pay them under minimum wage.”
According to the NCI report, 70% of Georgians with a disability attend day workshops or participate in sheltered workshops making on average $9.39 an hour.
“If you’re making subminimum wage, you’re bringing in very little money. And in our society, having money is a resource that enables you to live the life you want,” Robb said.
Many advocates for people with disabilities say they hope that more state lawmakers will begin to value the worth of all workers, even those who may need on-the-job support, so people with disabilities can have higher-paying, competitive jobs.
One of the most effective ways to get more people living with a disability in the workforce is to increase entrepreneurial opportunities for them.
And for people who just want to work in their communities, increasing the network of employers and service providers who offer supported employment could help fill Georgia’s labor shortage.
Denise Graham, a manager at The Jessamine Place, waiting, handing off GCDD one-pager at Sen. Carden Summer’s office. (Aaleah McConnell/Georgia Recorder)
At Fitzgerald-based The Jessamine Place, the organization provides day services and employment support so Georgians with disabilities can gain and maintain paid employment.
“There’s no typical day here, but (we) basically keep in contact with individuals, making sure their needs are being met for the ones who are working. And touch base with the ones who are not working,” said Denise Graham, a manager at The Jessamine Place.
Graham’s team takes people to meet with potential employers, help build their resumes and make sure that their work environment is safe once they are hired.
However, because people with disabilities often bring in significantly lower wages, some of them risk losing their supplemental income from Social Security benefits when they work more than the limited amount of hours.
“Many of them only work 15 hours a week. If they work more than that it affects their Social Security check and could interfere with their benefits,” Graham said. “We have several individuals who no longer get a Social Security check because of the hours they’re getting, sometimes they owe money.”
“I’ve been doing advocacy work since the day I was born,” Charlie Miller (far right) said alongside advocates at GCDD Advocacy day at the Capitol on Wednesday, March 8, 2023. (Aaleah McConnell/Georgia Recorder)
This is why it is important that people rally around these issues and help pass measures such as SB 198 and HR 168 which would reinstate Georgia’s Employment First Council, Charlie Miller, legislative advocacy director for GCDD, said on the group’s advocacy day at the Capitol on Wednesday.
“I’ve been doing advocacy work since the day I was born,” Miller said, “There’s going to be a lot of people that are out there that want to help but don’t know exactly how to help, so I want to make sure that I know how to advocate for myself, so I can help teach them how to advocate for me in the future.”
Senate Bill 215: Invisibility cloak for public employees
Well intentioned, but not thought through. That’s Georgia Senate Bill 215, the Harry Potter invisibility cloak for Georgia’s government employees.
The legislation is well intentioned because it is aimed at providing a little sense of security to public officials like judges and prosecutors who may have made some enemies along the way. It might also help other government employees threatened for doing their jobs. It would redact their home addresses and phone numbers from state and local property databases.
Unfortunately, the unintended consequences of this invisibility cloak are potentially disastrous for open government in Georgia.
A very similar law enacted in New Jersey created administrative chaos, cutting off access to scores of public databases, as officials tried to figure out how to comply with the new law. The New Jersey State House had to fix the legislation a year later and create a whole new government agency to oversee redactions and keep a master registry of officials who feel they need protection.
Georgia is about to fall into the same trap.
Already, personal information about government officials may be redacted from public records if those records identify a person as a public employee. But the proposed law in Georgia would remove a line in the current Open Records Act that restricts redactions of records that “do not specifically identify public employees or their jobs, titles or offices.”
There is a good reason for this line. There are more than half a million public employees in Georgia and there’s no list of who they are. If public employee addresses can no longer be shared, then county, state, and city officials may shut down access to all online databases or redact all addresses for fear of accidently sharing a government official’s address.
Arrest records, property tax records, and voter rolls could suddenly be off-limits to the public or over-redacted. What happens when a public official is asking for a zoning variance in his or her private capacity? Does that mean that the neighbors can’t be notified?
The second part of the bill allows public employees to specifically petition each county to redact property records so they will be untraceable. Again, well intended: Who wants to have a police officer threatened at home?
This part of the bill could stand without the first part, but lawmakers should focus on how to better balance transparency with privacy.
For example, there’s no criteria for removal. If the county prosecutor is worried about the guy getting out of jail next week, it sounds reasonable. But if a county employee wants to conceal the sweetheart deal he got on his property tax valuations, he would now be able to use his invisibility cloak to do it.
This bill could be vastly improved by adding rules and criteria for the public employees who request their addresses be redacted.
In the last few years, reporters were able to crosscheck records to expose Atlanta City Council members and a relative of a former mayor for not paying water bills on their properties – to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. Under this portion of the proposed law, it would be simple to invoke secrecy and never get caught.
Effectively, this bill could gut Georgia’s Open Records Act by making sharing of public records difficult and expensive. And it would give others, who don’t deserve protection, an invisibility cloak behind which they can hide and get into mischief without getting caught.
Senate Bill 215 is well-intentioned and has already passed the Senate without much scrutiny. But it still needs some work in the Georgia House to avoid creating the kind of chaos that would make Voldemort proud.
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