The Lions’ leading scorer from last year, Brian Edwards, returns along with three of the other top five scorers from the 2013-2014 campaign. Edwards and the Lions were picked to finish 9th in the league in the USA South preseason poll released Wednesday.
Possible link between robberies
The ongoing investigation into the Oct. 8 armed robbery at the Gulf gas station in Baldwin may be connected to a recent armed robbery in a neighboring county.
“They are still following leads (on the Baldwin robbery),” Habersham County Sheriff Joey Terrell says of Habersham County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) investigators. “There was an armed robbery in Franklin County and a possible description match down there, so they are in conversation with Franklin County and are waiting for photos from the place that got robbed down there.”
Lottery tickets and an undisclosed amount of money were stolen from the Gulf gas station at the intersection of the 441 Bypass and Industrial Boulevard in Baldwin in the early morning hours of Oct. 8. Surveillance photos taken at a burglary the same night at a liquor store in neighboring Mount Airy lead investigators to believe the same individuals may be involved in both crimes, Terrell says.
The Lottery Commission informed the HCSO that an attempt was made at a Gainesville store to cash in some of the lottery tickets taken during the Gulf robbery.
“It was a female (that tried to cash in the tickets) and they’re not being real cooperative,” Terrell told Now Habersham Thursday afternoon.
Terrell said investigators are continuing to work the case, and anyone with information on the robbery should contact the HSCO at (706) 839-1724.
The HCSO is also continuing an investigation into a September 18 armed robbery at Citizens Finance of Cornelia off the 441 Bypass. A female employee of the bank reported the robbery, saying a man armed with a revolver took approximately $2,000 and fled on foot. The employee described the suspect as a white male around six-feet tall with long hair pulled back into a ponytail. He was wearing a black shirt, had light colored eyes and sported a dragon tattoo on his left forearm with a smaller tattoo below that. Police say the suspect may possibly have tattoos on his neck as well.
Kilby denied reduced sentence
Lowanda “Peanut” Kilby is back behind bars at Pulaski State Prison, and will remain there for the full term of her original sentence following the denial of her sentencing appeal.
Kilby, who is serving a 25-year sentence on theft and racketeering charges – 15 of them to be spent incarcerated at a state prison, with another 10 on probation – filed an appeal, calling the sentence unfair and claiming undue media influence.
The case, originally brought to light by an undercover investigation by an Atlanta television news station, involved the Lucky Dog program at the Boggs Mountain Animal Shelter in Rabun County where Kilby was director. The no-kill shelter – which has since closed – served people throughout the region, including Habersham County.
Jurors, on May 22, found Kilby guilty on one Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Orgainzaitons Act (RICO) violation as well as 30 counts of theft by deception and 29 counts of computer theft. Evidence during the two-week trail showed that Kilby had diverted more than $10,000 in donations to the shelter into her personal account and used the money to fund personal gambling trips to the Cherokee Casino. The donations were part of the Lucky Dog program, which claimed to ensure the safety and adoption of sponsored animals. More than 25 animals were euthanized despite donations of at least $100 being made to sponsor them under the Lucky Dog/Cat program.
Kilby’s sentencing appeal, filed by attorney Tim Healy, who served as Kilby’s attorney during the initial trail, claimed Mountain Judicial Circuit Judge Russell “Rusty” Smith was influenced by “unrelenting, unprecedented media coverage” when he determined Kilby’s sentence. The appeal also claimed that Kilby’s sentence was considerably higher than sentences imposed for similar charges in other cases.
According to Georgia Department of Records statistics, the average sentence for racketeering is 5.6 years confinement, while 3.5 years is the average incarceration time for a theft by taking conviction and 3.2 years for a theft by deception conviction, Healy claims.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Healy placed responsibility for the community’s outrage squarely on the shoulders of the media.
“The entire community was affected by this because of Channel 5 News,” Healy said, adding that more than 500 residents had signed a petition supporting a reduction in Kilby’s sentence. Members of Kilby’s family, as well as several friends, also attended the appeal hearing to express their support of Killby.
“All of that would be much more important and persuasive if she (Kilby) had taken responsibility,” Smith said before denying the sentence reduction request, “but it does make this situation all the more tragic,” he added.
“They (Kilby’s defense) claims it was because the media followed this case that it generated all the publicity and pressure – our argument was that that is not true,” Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Brian Rickman says. “If this was just a regular case, the media would have run a story on it, and if the public wasn’t interested, they wouldn’t have covered it any more. Media doesn’t cause public attention, media follows public attention.”
Kilby’s request for a reduction in her sentence came just days after Healy, on Kilby’s behalf, filed an amended request for new trial.
“The trial court erred in denying defendant’s motion to suppress defendant’s bank records and records of her transactions at Harrah’s Casino that were obtained by the state pursuant to subpoena without notice to the defendant,” states the motion, filed by Healy on Oct. 6.
The motion also asserts that “the state failed to produce any evidence to establish that defendant obtained $1,500 or more in funds as alleged in count 1,” and that “the state failed to establish that Rabun County was the proper venue for the offenses contained in counts 2-60.”
The original motion for retrial, filed June 25, identified three grounds for the appeal:
* The verdict is contrary to evidence and without evidence to support it.
* The verdict is decidedly and strongly against the weight of the evidence.
* The verdict is contrary to law and the principles of justice and equity.
Smith, as of Thursday afternoon, Oct. 16, had made no ruling on the request for a new trial.
Two wrecks snarl traffic on historic 441
Lunch traffic is generally a congested time on Historic 441 between Cornelia and Clarkesville. Today, two wrecks within minutes of each other made the traffic a congested snarl. The first wreck occurred just south of the hospital, a single vehicle went off the road as they were attempting to avoid hitting the car in front of them that had come to a stop. Only minor damage was sustained by the car and no injuries to the driver. There were no other occupants in the car. Within less than 5 minutes, further south down 441, another vehicle, a Kia Sportage, driven by Samuel Stovall, 64, also tried to avoid hitting Autumn Wright, 17, who had come to a stop in traffic as well. Wright’s Nissan Altima received minor damage, while Stovall’s Sportage suffered more extensive damage and had to be pulled from the ditch on the shoulder. Neither driver reported injuries and both were alone in their cars.
While both wrecks were minor and only caused traffic backups for about an hour, they serve as a reminder to us all to keep our attention up during congested times on Historic 441 as sudden stops are all to common.
Subpoena of Sermons
My eyebrows raised a bit higher than normal as I read the article for a third time – subpoena of “all speeches, presentations, or sermons related to [the equal rights ordinance], the Petition, Mayor Annise Parker, homosexuality, or gender identity prepared by, delivered by, revised by, or approved by you or in your possession.”
It appears we have a battle on our hands. Is it about our First Amendment rights or does it go deeper?
Lawyers for the city of Houston have subpoenaed sermons delivered by several local pastors. A lawsuit against the city has been filed over its rejection of citizen petitions filed to repeal an equal rights ordinance approved by Houston’s City Council in May.
Five pastors and religious leaders who have spoken out against the ordinance, which bans racial and sexual orientation discrimination in city employment and contracting, housing and public accommodations, is the basis for the subpoena.
My thoughts drifted to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Lutheran pastor, theologian, anti-Nazi dissident, and key founding member of the Confessing Church. In his journals he wrote of Nazi soldiers entering his church, standing in the back, listening to his sermon. One wrong word and he would be arrested on the spot – and he was.
The Mayor states she was unaware of the subpoenas and along with the City Attorney David Feldman agree the original documents were overly broad. Then, under whose direction did these “pro bono” attorneys file the subpoena?
UCLA law professor, Eugene Volokh, writes “a demand for records of sermons and other pastoral communications doesn’t necessarily raise First Amendment red flags.” His opinion? “There’s no reason why the Free Exercise Clause would provide a greater protection against subpoenas of the sermon than the Free Speech/Press Clause provides against subpoenas of participants in the newspaper editorial meeting.”
Is the idea of separation of church and state only applicable when it meets the agenda of the person shouting it or is it for all purposes? The very ploy atheists use to attempt to remove God from public facilities, here, it is used to include Him.
People of ALL faiths should do more than raise their eyebrows.
The best way to boil a frog? You put him in warm, comfortable water, and slowly increase the temperature. The frog is totally unaware until suddenly he is boiling, and there is no way to jump out.
I’m jumping out of this pot. My rights as a woman of faith; a Christian; a believer in my Lord and Savior; as a worshiper are being questioned and challenged. Do I believe the request for subpoenaed documents will go through? No, not today and not in the near future; but neither did the frog believe the water was getting a bit warm.
It’s time for us to do more than raise our eyebrows. It’s time to raise our banners high against the threats to our freedom of religious expression; against our God; against our Savior.
I have a friend living in a country where being a Christian is grounds for imprisonment; going to church is a risk to life; worshiping in one’s home could lead to death. I talk with her in codes about memberships and leaders, all the while referring to God. She seems so far away. I feel so removed from her plight, nestled in the comfort of my Georgia home.
Or am I just enjoying a warm, bubbling bath?
Fischer to present Piedmont violin concert
Demorest, GA – Violinist Dr. Rachael Fischer will present a concert of classical music at 4 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 26, in the Piedmont College Center for Worship and Music in Demorest.
Raiders gear up for homecoming
The Habersham Central Raiders are getting ready for their big Homecoming game this week against the Centennial Knights. The Raiders’ last home game was Sept. 19 against West Forsyth.
HCHS goes into Friday night’s game with an 0-6 season record, 0-5 in Region 6AAAAAA.
Game time is 7:30pm at Raider Stadium in Mt. Airy.
Aquatic Center reopens
A Grand (Re)Opening celebration will be held tonight at Habersham County’s newly-renovated aquatic center. The center was closed in August for renovations to the pool deck, liners, and locker rooms.
Tonight’s event is scheduled from 5-8pm. Plan to make it a family affair. There will be free hotdogs, chips and drinks as well as pool games for kids. Admission is $1.
The pools are located inside the Ruby C. Fulbright Aquatic Center at 120 Paul Franklin Road/Hwy. 17 in Clarkesville.
Carrie Jane Allen Adair
Funeral services for CARRIE JANE ALLEN ADAIR, age 75, of Lula, will be held at 11:00 AM on Thursday, October 16, 2014 Hillside Memorial Chapel. Rev. Don Samples will officiate with interment to follow the service in Hollywood Baptist Church Cemetery.
William Daniel
Funeral services for WILLIAM DANIEL III, age 41, a Northeast Georgia native and resident of Scotland, will be held on Saturday, October 18, 2014, at 11:00 AM at Grace-Calvary Episcopal Church. Interment will follow the service in Chapel of the Holy Cross Cemetery.
Leota King Greathouse
Memorial services for LEOTA KING GREATHOUSE, age 75, of Alto will be held at 3:00 PM on Sunday, October 19, 2014 from the Bible Landmark Church in Cornelia. Mrs. Greathouse died October 7, 2014.