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Stephens officials talk issues at State Capitol

By
Staff Report
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(Stephens County Sheriff's Office/Facebook)

Stephens County Sheriff Rusty Fulbright recently traveled to the State Capitol alongside other county officials, engaging in key legislative discussions with state representatives.

On Thursday, March 13, Fulbright joined representatives from the Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce, the Stephens County Development Authority, the Stephens County School System and Toccoa Police Chief Bruce Carlisle for the visit. 

The delegation met with Georgia Sen. Bo Hatchett, R-Cornelia and Rep. Chris Erwin, R-Homer, to gain insight into legislative priorities and pending bills that could impact the local community.

Among the legislation under discussion were House Bills 430, 577 and 225, as well as Senate Bill 254. The bills focus on tightening regulations regarding sex offenders, vaping products, school zone speed cameras and hemp, – issues that could significantly affect families and youth in Stephens County.

Fulbright emphasized the importance of these measures, particularly in safeguarding children. 

“I wanted to learn where our state senator and state representative stand on these bills which all affect the children in Stephens County and their accessibility to these products,” Fulbright said. “It’s important that they pass because these issues usually impact our youth, our school-aged children.”

Fulbright’s office said the visit provided local leaders with a clearer understanding of legislative efforts and reinforced their commitment to advocating for policies that benefit the Stephens County community.

Coffee & Connections with Clarkesville Main Street

By
Nora Almazan
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(Jerry Neace/NowHabersham.com)

If you are a business owner, employee, or resident of Clarkesville, Georgia, you will want to attend Coffee & Connections. On the 4th Tuesday of each month at 8:30 a.m. at Clarkesville City Hall, the Clarkesville Main Street hosts this event to share the calendar and upcoming events.

This event gives you a chance to meet your neighbors and local business owners.

Coffee is provided or you can bring your own. This month it will be held from March 25 at 8:30 a.m. at the Clarkesville City Hall.

Kemp’s big lawsuit award limit bill on the move as 2025 Georgia Legislature winds down

By
Maya Homan
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FILE - Senate President Pro Tem John F. Kennedy, a Macon Republican who sponsored the bill, reiterated his claim that the legislation is aimed at restoring balance between plaintiffs and defendants in Georgia’s civil courtrooms. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)

(Georgia Recorder) — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s top priority in the 2025 Legislature got a little closer to the finish line Tuesday after a state House panel signed off on a bill intended to limit lawsuit damage awards.

The House Subcommittee of Rules on Lawsuit Reform passed Senate Bill 68 in a contentious vote Tuesday afternoon, clearing a path for the omnibus bill dedicated to overhauling Georgia’s civil litigation landscape to advance to the House after weeks of debate over the Kemp-backed legislation.

The tort legislation is now moving quickly, with a full state House vote on track as soon as Thursday. The 2025 legislative session ends April 4.

Senate President Pro Tem John F. Kennedy, a Macon Republican who is sponsoring the bill, reiterated his claim that the legislation is aimed at restoring balance between plaintiffs and defendants in Georgia’s civil courtrooms during the committee’s fifth and final planned hearing on the bill.

Though Kennedy repeatedly resisted proposed amendments to the bill as it passed through the Senate committee, the version that passed the House Rules Committee did contain a few minor changes, including one that marginally increased protections for sex trafficking survivors.

“I believe that the bill you have before you is a carefully crafted compromise,” he said.

Survivors of human trafficking have been some of the most prominent voices against Kemp’s civil litigation overhaul, holding multiple protests at the capitol to sound the alarm about aspects of the bill they say could shield businesses from accountability and prevent nearly all victims from receiving justice through the courts.

Kennedy tried to assuage some of the concerns that the damage limits will hold businesses like extended-stay hotels less accountable if a jury finds property managers and owners enabled human trafficking, claiming that “the intention of SB 68 is not to harbor, enable or turn a blind eye in any regard to such grotesque activity and conduct.”

Another amendment to the bill speeds up the timeline for trials split to consider culpability separately from monetary damages. The aim is to ensure that separate phases of a trial can happen “immediately” using the same judge and jury, rather than being spread out over weeks or months. It also exempts survivors of sexual violence and plaintiffs in lawsuits that are less than $150,000 from having to testify multiple times.

“What we have done is an attempt to codify a body of law and introduce a workable framework to provide stability to businesses and consumers while ensuring fair compensation to those that have been wronged,” Kennedy said.

However, the amendments fell short of the sweeping exemptions for all children, elderly victims, and survivors of sexual assault that trial lawyers and victims’ advocates had requested, and an omnibus amendment offered by Atlanta Democratic Rep. Stacey Evans, which would have extended the bill’s protections beyond human trafficking survivors was voted down.

Before the panel amended the bill, it failed to make allowances for victims who want to bring property liability claims that go beyond just the physical condition of a property and also pertain to issues like negligent behavior by employees or management. Under the amended version of the bill, plaintiffs who were injured at a business would have to prove that someone had exploited the physical condition of the property to harm them, even if the business owner had knowledge of similar wrongful conduct occurring in the past and failed to act to keep customers safe.

“We’re trying to put additional parameters and guardrails on when someone is responsible or legally liable for negligent security,” Kennedy said. “And if it’s foreseeability alone, that’s not enough. It requires these additional provisions.”

Trial lawyers, who warn about the unintended consequences SB 68 could create for Georgians seeking justice through the civil court system, condemned the bill’s passage out of committee. Andy Rogers, a personal injury lawyer at the Atlanta firm Deitch & Rogers who has been following the bill, said he wasn’t surprised that SB 68 passed the committee, but added that he was “frustrated with the lack of intellectual honesty” in discussions lawmakers were having about the bill’s impact.

“The fact that there’s a carve-out for sex trafficking victims is great and makes perfect sense, but that’s only been done because of the recognition by the drafters that sex trafficking victims would be harmed by the current language in SB 68,” he said. “Which, by necessity, means that all of the other potential plaintiffs are going to be harmed by SB 68. There’s just no other way to think about it.”

If this bill becomes law, Rogers added, he will most likely be having two types of conversations with clients who come to his office.

“If they were victimized by crime other than sex trafficking, it’s going to be very, very difficult to prove their case,” Rogers said. “And if their attack was the result of something unrelated to the physical condition on the property, they probably have no case.”

Meanwhile, House Republicans applauded the committee’s passage of SB 68, with Speaker Jon Burns, a Newington Republican, reiterating his support for Kemp’s legislation.

“Each provision included in Senate Bill 68 has been meticulously crafted to ensure fairness for Georgia’s businesses and citizens alike,” Burns said in a statement shortly after the bill passed through the committee. “We’re looking forward to its passage out of the House later this week.”

Man apprehended near Maysville after fleeing on foot

By
Brian Wellmeier
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Pruitt is pictured with Peggy Sue and her Handler Deputy Cochran (Maysville Police Department)

A man with outstanding warrants was taken into custody after attempting to evade law enforcement by fleeing into the woods near Maysville Sunday evening, according to authorities.

According to the Maysville Police Department, authorities received a call regarding a suspicious individual knocking on multiple doors near West Freeman Street on Sunday, March 16.

Officers responded to the area and located the suspect, identified as Joshua Pruitt, on Deadwyler Road. Police say a routine warrant check revealed that Pruitt had outstanding warrants, including a felony probation violation for aggravated assault from Barrow County.

As officers attempted to place him in handcuffs, Pruitt managed to escape and fled into a wooded area. Backup was requested, and officers from the Commerce Police Department and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office established a perimeter with assistance from Jackson County dispatchers.

A K9 unit from Franklin County was deployed to track the suspect. After a half-mile pursuit through dense woods, authorities say Pruitt was located near a creek. He surrendered without further resistance and was taken into custody.

Man accused of kidnapping Hall County girl sentenced for sexual assault

By
Staff Report
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The man accused of abducting and assaulting a 12-year-old Hall County girl will spend at least the next 15 years in prison.

Antonio Agustin-Ailon appeared in court in Ohio last week. According to the Tuscarawas County District Attorney’s Office, he accepted a negotiated plea and admitted to two counts of statutory rape, two counts of pandering involving a minor, and one count of gross sexual imposition.

Accepting the recommended sentence from prosecutors and the defense, the judge sentenced Agustin-Ailon to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 15 years. He will serve his sentence in the Ohio prison system.

Maria Gomez disappearance

The Hall County Sheriff’s Office said Gomez-Perez met Agustin-Ailon online and began chatting with him and other adult men through Facebook Messenger. She told them she was unhappy and wanted to leave home.

On May 29, Agustin-Ailon, a Guatemalan native, drove from Ohio to Gainesville, picked up Gomez-Perez, and took her back to northeast Ohio. She remained there with him until his arrest in late July.

While this guilty plea addresses the crimes committed in Ohio, it does not impact the charges Agustin-Ailon faces in Hall County, including kidnapping.

Hall County District Attorney Lee Darragh told WSB-TV he intends to discuss with the Gomez-Perez family whether and when to pursue these charges. Darragh expressed gratitude for the “significant sentence” Agustin-Ailon received in Ohio.

Family, pets escape Baldwin apartment fire

By
Jerry Neace
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Firefighters responded to a residential fire in Baldwin Tuesday, March 18. (Jerry Neace/NowHabersham.com)

A family escaped from their burning apartment Tuesday evening in Baldwin. The fire broke out at a residence at 108 King Street shortly before 6:30 p.m. on March 18.

According to Baldwin Fire Chief Joe Roy, the three occupants of the apartment and the family pets escaped the fire. He said that there were no injuries reported at the scene.

Firefighters from Cornelia, Habersham Emergency Services, and Lee Arrendale State Prison also responded to the fire to assist Baldwin.

Emergency vehicles block the southbound lane of Willingham Avenue while fire crews battle a residential fire in Baldwin. (Jerry Neace/NowHabersham.com)

Roy said that the fire started outside at the back of the house from a stump being burned. Assistant Fire Chief Shawn Benfield added that the fire spread by catching outdoor furniture and other items at the rear of the structure on fire that accelerated the spread to the house.

According to Benfield, the affected unit is a total loss. Fortunately, the brick wall that divided the duplex stopped the fire from spreading to the second unit.

The Red Cross has been contacted to assist the residents affected by the fire.

Benfield said that the fire is under investigation and that the State Fire Marshal was en route to assist in the investigation. He added that a fire crew will remain on scene late into the evening to assist the Fire Marshal if needed.

Fired fed workers won their jobs back, but many linger in ‘administrative leave’ limbo

By
Ashley Murray
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Democratic U.S. Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland speaks at a rally in support of federal workers outside the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON (States Newsroom) — The Trump administration has begun the process of reinstating tens of thousands of fired federal workers, though most are just being placed on administrative leave as the government cites the “burdens” of rehiring, court filings reviewed by States Newsroom show.

The documents also show agency by agency, the wide swath of firings that swept across the federal government in February and early March.

Last week, a federal judge in Maryland ruled that the recent terminations of probationary employees were illegal and ordered the administration to reinstate the workers across 18 federal agencies by 1 p.m. Eastern Monday. Nineteen Democratic attorneys general and the District of Columbia sued the administration over the firings.

The mass firings began in early February as part of President Donald Trump’s U.S. DOGE Service cost-cutting agenda. Elon Musk, a White House adviser and top donor to Trump’s reelection is the face of the temporary DOGE project, though the administration maintains he has no decision-making power.

According to the court filings late Monday, the agencies have returned almost 19,000 employees to administrative leave out of the 24,418 fired. The filings provided the most comprehensive list to date of the federal workforce downsizing that spanned February into March.

Judge James Bredar of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland ordered the agencies on Tuesday to provide a progress update by early next week. Bredar was appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2010 and confirmed by a Senate voice vote.

The lawsuit was filed March 6 by Democratic attorneys general in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.

Workers on leave, some ‘until further notice’

Some agencies, like the Departments of Commerce and Transportation, indicated that employees would only be on paid administrative leave temporarily until paperwork and other procedures were finished.

Others, including the U.S. Agency for International Development, have given employees paid administrative leave status “until further notice.”

The government argued that reinstating the terminated employees to full duty status “would impose substantial burdens” on the agencies and cause “turmoil for the terminated employees.”

“[T]hey would have to be onboarded again, including going through any applicable training, filling out human resources paperwork, obtaining new security badges, reinstituting applicable security clearance actions, receiving government furnished equipment, and other requisite administrative actions,” according to the filings from several department representatives.

But “nonetheless,” the agency representatives said they began complying with Bredar’s order even as the cancellation of terminations was a “very time and labor-intensive process,” wrote Mark D. Green, deputy assistant secretary for human capital, learning and safety at the Department of the Interior.

“The tremendous uncertainty associated with this confusion and these administrative burdens impede supervisors from appropriately managing their workforce. Work schedules and assignments are effectively being tied to hearing and briefing schedules set by the courts. It will be extremely difficult to assign new work to reinstated individuals in light of the uncertainty over their future status,” Green continued in his legal declaration required by Judge Bredar.

The agency representatives also wrote, “employees could be subjected to multiple changes in their employment status in a matter of weeks” if an appellate ruling reverses the lower court order.

The Trump administration appealed the district court ruling Friday to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

California judge issues warning

The March 13 temporary restraining order out of Maryland was the second on that date mandating agencies rehire terminated workers. A federal judge in California separately ordered the government to reinstate thousands of employees at six federal agencies.

District Judge William Alsup in the Northern District of California warned in a court filing late Monday that the agencies must comply by fully returning employees to their jobs.

“The Court has read news reports that, in at least one agency, probationary employees are being rehired but then placed on administrative leave en masse. This is not allowed by the preliminary injunction, for it would not restore the services the preliminary injunction intends to restore,” Alsup wrote, requesting a status report Tuesday. Alsup was appointed by former President Bill Clinton in 1999 and confirmed by a Senate voice vote.

The Trump administration quickly appealed the California ruling last week to the U.S. Appeals Court for the 9th Circuit.

A three-panel judge for the 9th Circuit Monday ruled 2-1 to deny the Trump administration’s emergency request to block the workers’ reinstatement.

Employees new on the job

Probationary employees were targeted by the Office of Personnel Management on the first day of Trump’s second presidency, according to court documents.

The employees, who are within one or two years of being hired or beginning a new position, have “extremely limited protections against termination,” agency representatives wrote.

The Office of Personnel and Management sent emails Jan. 20 to department heads stating that “agencies should identify all employees on probationary periods” and “should promptly determine whether those employees should be retained at the agency,” according to the court filing.

Agency by agency list

Department and agency representatives detailed the following termination numbers in the Monday filings (not all agencies provided total numbers of probationary employees):

  • Health and Human Services: 3,248 of its 8,466 probationary workers were placed on administrative leave between Feb. 15 and March 13 (and remain on extended leave); 88 were subsequently fired and placed back on leave as of Monday.

  • Environmental Protection Agency: 419 probationary employees were terminated between Feb. 14 and Feb. 21. “Most” were returned to paid administrative leave Monday. Some who were in “unpaid leave status” were returned to that status.

  • Energy: 555 were terminated “on or around” Feb. 13 and Feb 14. All 555 were returned Monday to retroactive administrative leave status “that will continue until their badging and IT access are restored, at which time they will be converted to an Active Duty status.”

  • Commerce: 791 of the agency’s roughly 9,000 probationary employees were terminated up until March 3. Twenty-seven were reinstated soon after, and 764 were placed back on paid administrative leave Monday. The agency plans to move them to full duty status within a week, according to the filing.

  • Homeland Security: 313 employees were terminated through March 14. With a few exceptions of employees who resigned or declined to return, DHS placed 310 back on paid administrative leave.

  • Transportation: 788 employees were terminated between Feb. 14 and Feb. 24. DOT informed 775 that they’ve been placed on paid administrative leave until Wednesday. “The Department of Transportation will coordinate the specifics of their return, including the restoration of their government equipment and Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card,” according to the filing.

  • Education: Without providing specific dates, the department terminated 65 of its 108 probationary employees before Judge Bredar’s March 13 order. All have now been placed on paid administrative leave.

  • Housing and Urban Development: The agency terminated 312 of its 549 probationary employees on Feb. 14. About 299 are being brought back “temporarily” on administrative leave.

  • Interior: As of Monday night, Interior had reinstated roughly 1,540 of the 1,710 workers fired on Feb. 14.

  • Labor: 170 were terminated but reinstated before March 7.

  • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: 117 employees were terminated between Feb. 11 and Feb. 13. All were notified Sunday that they “will be immediately placed on administrative leave status while the CFPB continues to act to comply with the TRO and/or employees are to be assigned work by management/supervisors,” according to the filing.

  • Small Business Administration: 304 of the SBA’s 700 probationary employees were terminated between Feb. 11 and Feb. 25. The agency was unable to notify seven employees about reinstatement. Roughly 164 were returned to non-pay intermittent status, while the rest were returned to paid administrative leave.

  • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: 156 of its 261 probationary employees were terminated between Feb. 18 and 19; 151 were placed on paid administrative leave as of Monday.

  • USAID: 270 of the agency’s 295 probationary employees were fired March 7. All have been reinstated to paid administrative leave.

  • General Services Administration: 366 of its 812 probationary employees were terminated between Feb. 13 and March 7. While two declined reinstatement, 364 were placed Monday on paid administrative leave.

  • Treasury: 7,605 of Treasury’s 16,663 probationary employees were fired between Feb. 19 and March 7. All have been reinstated to paid administrative leave status.

  • Agriculture: 5,714 probationary employees were terminated between Feb. 13 and 17. The department is “working diligently” to restore employees to active duty status, according to the filing. The employees have been returned to paid or unpaid leave as of March 12.

  • Veterans Affairs: 1,683 of the VA’s roughly 46,000 probationary employees were terminated between Feb. 13 to 24. All were placed on paid administrative leave.

USAID ruling

In a separate case against Trump and DOGE’s workforce-slashing agenda, a federal judge in Maryland on Tuesday ruled Musk likely violated the Constitution when orchestrating the shutdown of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID.

Judge Theodore David Chuang for the U.S. District Court in the District of Maryland demanded Musk and any personnel working for DOGE refrain from any further action related to dismantling USAID.

Chuang also ordered Musk and DOGE to reinstate computer and email access for all current USAID employees and contractors within seven days. Additionally, he ordered Musk and DOGE to strike an agreement within 14 days that would reopen the former USAID headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Musk’s DOGE personnel forced their way into the humanitarian agency’s headquarters in early February ahead of the mass firings.

The shuttering of U.S. humanitarian missions around the world sparked protests in the nation’s capital.

Chuang, an Obama appointee, was approved by the Senate in 2014 in a 53-42 vote.

The White House slammed the court order Tuesday, alleging that “rogue judges are subverting the will of the American people in their attempts to stop President Trump from carrying out his agenda.”

“If these Judges want to force their partisan ideologies across the government, they should run for office themselves. The Trump Administration will appeal this miscarriage of justice and fight back against all activist judges intruding on the separation of powers,” said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly in an emailed statement.

Earlier Tuesday, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare statement following Trump’s morning social media attack on federal judges, calling for their impeachment.

“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”

Developer blames ‘stagnant’ market for business park delay

By
Brian Wellmeier
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The Habersham County Airport Business Park (Daniel Purcell/Now Habersham)

A developer who purchased two lots in the Airport Business Park has responded to the Habersham County Development Authority after the board gave the company a month to begin the first phases of construction of a spec building or face a potential buyback of the land.

The parcels, located in a prime section of the park, have remained undeveloped for over two years despite initial development plans.

The Hutchinson organization acquired lots five and seven for $45,000 per usable acre – totaling 12 acres. Now, after more than 28 months without visible progress, the development authority is considering reclaiming the land. If the board proceeds with the buyback, it could repurchase the property for $500,000 – an outcome board members hope to avoid.

Grant Schmeelk, a representative of the Hutchinson organization, attributed the delay to ongoing market stagnation.

“We’ve been advocates for that (business) park since inception,” Schmeelk said. “We’ve worked with multiple folks. We’ve had a full set of plans, but it didn’t work out at the last minute. There’s been movement, but the market is stagnant. We’re definitely advocates of the area and looking forward to the partnership.”

Habersham County Development Authority Chairman Jim Butterworth said during a meeting on Thursday, March 13, that he’d heard the developer had possibly offered the properties for a higher price to a potential buyer – a likely violation of the agreement made with the authority in the covenants. 

Schmeelk claimed he wasn’t aware of any such offer.

According to county documents, the covenants between the authority and the Hutchinson organization required construction of a spec building to begin within a year of purchase. 

With two years now passed, the authority has the right to reclaim the land unless the developer requests an extension or moves to begin construction.

Schmeelk said his organization remains committed to economic development in Habersham’s Airport Business Park.

“We’ve got building plans,” he said. “It’s not like we haven’t done anything…that’s the market. The market is what it is. We’re doing the best we can. If they’ve got an issue, they can call us.”

While officials say a letter had been sent to the developer as notification of the potential buyback, Schmeelk claimed the organization hasn’t heard from the authority. 

“We’re definitely big fans of the area,” Schmeelk said. “We’d love to have more activity out of the development authority. That was the intent. We’d love to build them some buildings, but we just haven’t had the activity.”

Piedmont to hold mass casualty drill on March 19

By
Brian Wellmeier
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Drills like this one held in March 2021 help Piedmont students, staff, and emergency personnel practice their response in the event of an emergency. (Hadley Cottingham/NowHabersham.com)

Piedmont University will hold its annual mass casualty training exercise on Wednesday, March 19.

A large presence of first responder vehicles and sounds of emergency sirens in the Demorest area is expected as part of the exercise, which aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of Piedmont University’s emergency plans and the strength of its partnerships with local response teams.

The exercise, which involves over 150 students, faculty and staff will feature participation from a wide range of first responders, including representatives from at least a dozen agencies and two local hospitals. 

The event also serves as a drill to ensure the university and first responders are prepared in the event of a mass casualty event or crisis.

Following the drill, a full-scale press conference will be held with speakers from Piedmont University and various partner organizations.

HabCo Commission approves first reading of Derelict Vehicle Ordinance

By
Jerry Neace
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Habersham County Planning and Development Director Mike Beecham explains the new derelict vehicle ordinance to the commissioners during Monday's meeting. He is accompanied with Code Enforcement Officer Justin Williams. (Jerry Neace/NowHabersham.com)

The Habersham County Commission approved the first reading of a Derelict Vehicle Ordinance during Monday’s commission meeting.

Planning and Development Director Mike Beecham presented the new ordinance to the commission. The ordinance that was proposed would prohibit junked or derelict vehicles on public and private property.

Beecham explained that his department, along with working with code enforcement, had drafted the new ordinance to address derelict vehicles. He added that the comprehensive land development ordinance (CLDO) only had a “blurb” addressing the issue and was bland. However, during one of the amendments to the CLDO, the portion that addressed junk vehicles on private property was inadvertently deleted.

RELATED Protect property rights: Reject overreaching Derelict Vehicles Ordinance

Overview

He gave the commission an overview of what the ordinance defined as a derelict vehicle. “Essentially, it defines a derelict vehicle as any unregistered, junked, dismantled, inoperative, or abandoned vehicle which is on private property for more than 30 days except those within a building is prohibited,” Beecham explained to the commission.

Click here to read the new Derelict Vehicle Ordinance in its entirety.

The ordinance will also prohibit storing any vehicle on public property, primarily the county’s right-of-ways.

Beecham also explained the process the county would proceed with enforcing the ordinance. “The property owner containing a derelict vehicle will be cited to remove it and if not removed in 14 days, the owner shall appear in Magistrate Court,” Depending what the judge determines during the hearing, he assumes that the owner will be given time to remove the vehicle.

However, once that determination is made, if the vehicle is not removed, the ordinance provides for the county to remove the vehicle at the county’s expense and a lien could be placed on the property for that expense.

The reason

The ordinance was brought forward due to the number of derelict vehicles around the county that have become a nuisance to neighboring properties.

He added that the ordinance is not intended to affect those properties that have old vehicles in their yard that are considered “yard art”.

Beecham told the commission that staff recommended the ordinance and it will only affect individual junk vehicles and not junk yards. Junk yards are licensed through the county and have to follow a different ordinance.

After the presentation, the commission opened a public hearing to receive public input on the ordinance. No citizens came forward to speak in favor or opposition of the ordinance.

After closing the public hearing, the commission approved the first reading of the derelict vehicle ordinance unanimously.

The second reading of the derelict vehicle ordinance is scheduled to be heard during the April 21 commission meeting. Prior to the second reading, staff and commissioners can make changes to the ordinance. After the second reading, the commission can take action on the ordinance.

Summary

Documents provided to the commission summarized the ordinance as follows:

  • The proposed ordinance defines and prohibits any derelict vehicle in Habersham County. Derelict vehicles are defined as any unregistered, junked, dismantled, inoperative, or abandoned vehicle.
  • The ordinance will prohibit any derelict vehicle on private property for more than 30 days except those within a building or those at a legal automobile repair or salvage facility.
  • The ordinance also prohibits the storing of derelict vehicles on public property, such as roads, for longer than three days as required by state law.
  • The property owner containing a derelict vehicle shall be cited to remove the vehicle. If not removed within 14 days, the owner shall appear in Magistrate Court. If not removed within ten working days of adjudication, the County will be authorized to remove the derelict vehicle and charged to the property owner. A lien may be placed on the property if not paid.
  • The ordinance also prohibits the storing of derelict vehicles on public property, such as roads, for longer than three days as required by state law.
  • Once removed from public property, the County must appraise the vehicle within ten days. If valued at $500 or less, the County may dispose of the vehicle. If valued at more than $500, the County may hold a public sale.

Definitions

A copy of the ordinance was also provided to the commission. The definition of a derelict vehicle is any vehicle that either does not have lawfully affixed on it an unexpired license plate or tax stamp, or which vehicle is wrecked, junked, dismantled, partially dismantled, inoperative, abandoned, or discarded.

The ordinance also defines a vehicle as any means of conveyance, whether self-propelled or not, that is designed to travel on the ground or on water or in the air, including, but not limited to, automobiles, buses, motorbikes, motorcycles, motor scooters, trucks, tractors, go-carts, golf carts, campers, recreational vehicles, boats, airplanes, train cars and any means of conveyance which are designed to be pulled by motorized vehicles upon the roadway such as boat trailers, wagons, balers, motorcycle trailers, auto transport trailers, and any other trailer designed to haul specific items attached to motor vehicles on the roadway.

Clarkesville man charged in fatal I-985 wreck

By
Joy Purcell
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fatal accident

The Hall County Sheriff’s Office has charged a Clarkesville man with first-degree vehicular homicide in the death of a Cornelia woman. 46-year-old George Lovell Boggs was booked into the Hall County Jail Monday morning, March 17. He’s charged in the death of Julie Anna Griffith, who was fatally injured in a wreck on Interstate 985 at Lanier Parkway.

The wreck happened at approximately 2 p.m. on March 5 in Flowery Branch. According to the sheriff’s office, traffic was congested, and Boggs, driving alone in a 2002 Ford Excursion, “failed to brake for the slowing vehicles.” The Excursion hit the back of a car and SUV, causing a chain reaction that involved two other vehicles.

Hall County Fire Rescue transported five victims to Northeast Georgia Medical Center. Griffith was a passenger in one of the vehicles initially struck by Boggs and was among those taken to the hospital. She died of her injuries at the hospital eight days later, on Thursday, March 13. The other four victims have since been treated at the hospital and released.

Julie Anna Griffith passed away on March 13, 2025, eight days after she was injured in a wreck on I-985 in Hall County, Georgia. (EvansFuneral HomeInc.com)

In addition to vehicular homicide, authorities charged Boggs with misdemeanor reckless driving, distracted driving, two counts of following too closely, and defective equipment.

Boggs, who was not injured in the crash, remained in jail without bond on Tuesday afternoon, March 18.

Griffith lovingly remembered

Griffith, originally from Athens, was employed at Morris-Wrigley in Flowery Branch. In her obituary, her loved ones remember her as “a huge advocate of giving all she could to help any of God’s creatures that were in need.”

She will be buried Thursday, March 20, in Conyers. Instead of flowers, her family asks that memorials be made to the Cornerstone Animal Hospital in Alto in Griffith’s memory.

Trump DOJ refuses to answer judge’s questions about deportation flight details

By
Ariana Figueroa
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WASHINGTON (States Newsroom) — The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday refused to provide further details about deportation flights that were in flight when a federal judge issued an order blocking the invocation of the wartime law used to authorize the removals.

In new court filings, the Department of Justice said two deportation flights to El Salvador and Honduras were not subject to a restraining order from U.S. District Court Judge James Emanuel Boasberg because they were no longer in U.S. territory or airspace when the order was issued.

In a notice signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, the Justice Department would not answer further questions about those flights, contradicting Boasberg’s order late Monday calling for the administration to answer four specific questions about details of the operation.

“The Government maintains that there is no justification to order the provision of additional information, and that doing so would be inappropriate, because even accepting Plaintiffs’ account of the facts, there was no violation of the Court’s written order (since the relevant flights left U.S. airspace, and so their occupants were ‘removed,’ before the order issued), and the Court’s earlier oral statements were not independently enforceable as injunctions,” according to the notice.

“The Government stands on those arguments.”

In response to the filing, Boasberg issued a new order, giving the administration until noon Eastern on Wednesday to give those details under seal.

Specifically, he is asking what times the flights took off from the United States, when they left U.S. airspace, when they landed in their designated countries, when those immigrants being deported were subject to the Alien Enemies Act and the number of people on the flights who were subject to the Alien Enemies Act.

The Department of Justice has also argued that an oral order given by Boasberg was “not enforceable” because it was not a written order.

Fighting the judicial order

In a temporary restraining order barring President Donald Trump from invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to detain and deport any Venezuelan nationals 14 and older who are suspected members of the Tren de Aragua gang, Boasberg also ordered those flights carrying Venezuelan men to return to the U.S. Those men instead were taken to a maximum security prison in El Salvador.

Boasberg on Monday demanded sworn statements from the Department of Justice to determine if the Trump administration relied on the Alien Enemies Act to deport any of the Venezuelan men flown to El Salvador, which would have violated his Saturday temporary restraining order.

In the Tuesday notice signed by Bondi, the Department of Justice also argued that “the Government should not be required to disclose sensitive information bearing on national security and foreign relations.”

Another hearing before Boasberg is set for Friday afternoon.

Authority for deportations

Robert Cerna, the acting field office director for enforcement and removal operations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in a signed statement to the court that the immigrants on a third deportation flight after the Saturday restraining order were not removed under the Alien Enemies Act, but under a separate final removal authority known as Title 8.

“To avoid any doubt, no one on any flight departing the United States after 7:25 PM EDT on March 15, 2025, was removed solely on the basis of the Proclamation at issue,” he said.

Boasberg issued his temporary restraining order Saturday around 6:48 p.m. Eastern, according to court filings. One of the flights landed in Honduras at 7:36 p.m. Eastern and the other flight landed in El Salvador at 8:02 p.m. Eastern.

Cerna also clarified that the president signed the proclamation invoking the wartime law on Friday, but that ICE understood the proclamation went into effect after the White House published it Saturday afternoon.

Cerna said there are roughly 258 additional immigrants who would be subject to the proclamation. Of those people, Cerna said that 54 were already detained.

18th-century law

The Alien Enemies Act has only been invoked three times, all when the U.S. was at war with other countries. The most recent was during World War II, when it led to the rapid detention and internment camps of nationals from Japan, Italy and Germany.

The U.S. is not at war with another country, and Congress has not approved a declaration of war. The Trump administration has argued that by designating the Tren de Aragua gang as a terrorist group, the act can be invoked.

The White House has defended the deportation flights and has argued that it has not violated the court’s order.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said during a Monday press briefing that the Trump administration is confident it will be successful in court.

She added that the U.S. paid El Salvador $6 million to detain the 261 men who were deported to the country.

Appeals

The president has lashed out against the temporary restraining order, even calling for the impeachment of Boasberg, along with other federal judges who have ruled against his administration.

“This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!! WE DON’T WANT VICIOUS, VIOLENT, AND DEMENTED CRIMINALS, MANY OF THEM DERANGED MURDERERS, IN OUR COUNTRY. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!,” Trump wrote on social media.

It prompted a rare statement of rebuke from U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts.

“For more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision,” Roberts said. “The normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.”

The Trump administration has already appealed the temporary restraining order to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In that appeal, the Justice Department asked the appellate court to remove the case from Boasberg, taking issue with his decision to agree to a class action lawsuit, rather than apply the restraining order to the original five men in the suit.

The American Civil Liberties Union originally brought the suit with five men who are Venezuelan and were threatened “with imminent removal under” the Alien Enemies Act.

The case is likely to head to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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