An American fleet of nine ships under the command of Captain Oliver Hazard Perry routed a British fleet in the Battle of Lake Erie on September 10, 1813.
After the battle, Perry sent a famous dispatch to U.S. General William Henry Harrison that read, “We have met the enemy, and they are ours.” The Battle of Lake Erie forced the British to abandon Detroit, ensuring U.S. control over Lake Erie and the territorial northwest.
Years later, Pogo, Georgia’s Official State Possum, would paraphrase Perry’s dispatch.
And eventually, Pogo’s statement that, “We have met the enemy and he is us” would become the official slogan of the Georgia Republican Party.
On September 10, 1991, Senate confirmation hearings began for Georgia-born Clarence Thomas, who was appointed by President George H.W. Bush (41) to the United States Supreme Court.
Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit was released as a single on September 10, 1991. Today, it smells more like Bengay.
On September 10, 2002, the Atlanta Braves clinched an eleventh straight division title without playing, as a loss by the Philadelphia Phillies assured the Braves the title.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
McIntosh County voters are going to the polls in early voting for the October 1, 2024 referendum to undo zoning changes by the County Commission, according to WTOC.
McIntosh County voters will get to decide on a Sapelo Island zoning ordinance passed last fall, and early voting is underway.
Early voting began Monday, September 9th and runs until September 27th. The special election is set for October 1st.
Early in-person voting is at the McIntosh County Board of Elections at 103 Jefferson Street in Darien. Hours for each day can be found here.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot is September 20th.
Last September, McIntosh County commissioners passed a zoning ordinance that allowed larger homes to be built on Sapelo Island in the Hog Hammock community, one of Coastal Georgia’s last in-tact Gullah Geechee communities.
Island descendants have long feared the impact larger homes would have on their taxes and the culture of the island. This July, descendants and activists collected enough petition signatures to trigger a ballot referendum.
The Augusta Board of Elections is considering security issues ahead of the November 5, 2024 General Elections, according to WJBF.
One of the big concerns is safety for voters and poll workers.
The board looked at four security options at their monthly meeting Monday night.
They decided to turn down one that would require a RCSO deputy to be at all 43 polling locations from 5:30 AM to 9:30 PM—an estimated cost of $30,000.
“We had a couple of issues there, one would be money. But I’m sure if it was a heightened sense of need, I’m sure we would have been able to find the money, and I’m sure that the Sheriff’s department would be able to work with us on that. But we’re also dealing with the Sheriff’s department having staffing issues as well,” Doss said.
The other two options would divide each polling location into zones, and having frequent patrols by deputies at no extra cost–this is what they currently practice.
The third option would be the same as the second, but would give each poll manager a number they can call to speak to a supervisor or deputy in an emergency situation, rather than calling 9-1-1.
Instead, the board moving forward with the option that would have a Marshal or Deputy at each polling location starting at 7 PM, staying until poll workers leave.
“This is going to further ensure the safety of our poll workers,” said Doss. “The poll workers are the lifeblood of an election–without the poll workers, we wouldn’t be able to do the election,” We don’t want a situation where the poll workers are trying to get their work done, and you may have threats from the outside that are trying to prevent them from getting that work done.”
Just three weeks ago, Doss says the State Election Board proposed a rule change that would require poll workers to stay after the polls close and hand-count all ballots. He says they are still opposed.
“We’re really working hard to explain to the state elections board how difficult of a task that is–to expect poll workers to hand-count those ballots–when there are other ways we can do it,” said Doss.
Given the obscenely high number of threats against schools (more below), it’s not hard to suggest that county boards of elections might want to consider contingency plans in case similar threats are lodged against voting locations.
Georgia’s Secretary of State said he expects smooth elections in November, according to the Capitol Beat News Service.
Raffensperger told members of the Atlanta Rotary Club reforms his office and the General Assembly have made since the last presidential election in 2020 should give voters confidence that the voting process is fair and honest.
Raffensperger’s office has conducted a statewide audit to ensure only U.S. citizens are registered to vote in Georgia, a check that turned up 1,600 people who could not verify their citizenship. The secretary of state’s office also is working with sister agencies in other states and the Georgia Department of Driver Services to identify voters who may have moved out of state, he said.
Raffensperger expects about 65% of Georgia voters will cast their ballots before Election Day, either through early voting or by absentee ballot. Those who choose to vote on Nov. 5 shouldn’t have to wait more than an hour, he said.
“We’re trying to beat Chick-fil-A for the shortest lines,” he quipped.
However, Raffensperger warned that rules changes three supporters of former President Donald Trump who sit on the five-member State Election Board have approved in recent weeks could hold up the tabulation of results. He said the changes are being made too close to Election Day.
“The counties have already done poll worker training,” he said. “We’ve already built ballots. … It really is difficult to start changing the process.”
Raffensperger said he’s especially concerned with a rule change that will let election officials at the precinct level delay certifying the results if they believe fraud may have occurred. Such delays could prevent counties from turning in their results before the early morning hours after Election Day, he said.
By law, counties must certify election results or face being taken to court, Raffensperger said.
“Then, your choice is you’ll do it or you’ll be in jail,” he said.
While he disagrees with the rules changes, Raffensperger said he has no legal authority to rescind them. The General Assembly removed the secretary of state as the board’s chairman in 2021.
“It’s really their problem to fix,” he said.
Raffensperger urged Rotarians to volunteer to serve as poll workers. The secretary of state’s office is partnering with Vet the Vote, a new nationwide organization that recruits veterans and members of their families to serve as volunteer poll workers.
The Cobb County Board of Elections ended their meeting after an audience member said, “Heil Hitler,” according to the AJC.
The Cobb County Board of Elections abruptly canceled its meeting Monday afternoon after an unidentified attendee shouted “heil Hitler” during the public comment period.
The board had met to consider a resolution urging the State Election Board to pause rule making so close to November’s presidential race.
Chair Tori Silas stopped the meeting, saying she would not resume until the attendee left. But no one admitted to shouting the offending slogan.
“If you’re proud enough to say it out loud, stand behind whatever you said and remove yourself from the room now, please,” Silas said.
The Cobb election board voted 4-0 to adjourn the meeting, with Republican Debbie Fisher abstaining from the vote.
Governor Brian Kemp issued Executive Order #09.09.24.02, appointing a review commission to consider the indictment of Thomson Mayor Benjamin Cary Cranford and recommend whether he should be suspended.
From 13WMAZ on the Mayor’s indictment:
Thomson Mayor Benjamin Cary Cranford, 52, was arrested on Wednesday [August 14, 2024] after the GBI said he gave alcohol to an inmate work detail back in June.
Thomson, which is located roughly 30 miles outside of Augusta, has a population of just under 7,000 people.
The GBI says the inmate detail was working within the city limits of Thomson.
Cranford was elected as mayor in November 2023, and according to the city website, his term lasts until 2025.
He was indicted by a grand jury on Wednesday. He was charged with giving inmates alcohol and criminal attempt to commit a felony.
According to the jail website, Cranford was released on a $5,000 bond.
Lincoln County Commissioner Cooper Cliatt is being investigated by the GBI, according to WRDW.
Cliatt was elected to the Board of Commissioners in 2008 to represent District 3, according to the county’s website.
The agency told us Monday that they have an active investigation involving Cliatt.
As of Monday, GBI says no arrests have been made.
The Chair of the Lincoln County Commission, Norman Walker, released the following statement,
“I am only hearing the same thing everyone else is hearing about the investigation of Commissioner Cliatt. My prayers are that he is innocent of the allegations made against him. Commissioner Cliatt has served Lincoln County as a district commissioner for 16-years and has been a dedicated and effective member of this board.”
Brunswick Judicial Circuit District Attorney Keith Higgins removed his prosecutors from juvenile cases, according to The Brunswick News.
Higgins said the county’s demands to reimburse payroll overruns in monthly scheduled payments prohibits him from maintaining enough lawyers to continue representing the state in Juvenile Court.
Juvenile Court judges said Monday that they are disappointed by the move, but that they will work with the county under the rules set forth in state law to ensure the state is represented in all cases before the court.
In the letter, dated Sept. 4, Higgins said that by the end of September, there will be only “four full-time prosecuting attorneys in Glynn County who are available to handle the workload” associated with 2,628 pending cases in Glynn County.
He added that there are more cases continuing to come the office’s way.
“This will result in an average caseload of approximately 657 criminal cases for each of those prosecutors,” Higgins said in the letter. “…As a result of this overwhelming workload and the lack of staff, I have determined that the District Attorney’s Office cannot provide representation for the state in Glynn County Juvenile Court, other than for an appeal, after Sept. 30, 2024.”
Higgins told the Glynn County Commission in July that his office was over budget by more than $880,000, mostly because of staffing.
“Basically, we hired people faster than we should have and at higher, competitive salaries to get them hired so we could do the best possible job we could for the citizens in the circuit — to prosecute criminal cases, hold criminals accountable and to reduce the backlog as quickly as possible,” Higgins said on Monday.He said the county’s “demands” to payback the nearly $900,000 through scheduled, monthly installments keeps him from hiring more staff and has prompted staff contractions.
Payroll is the only place where Higgins said he can cut enough from the budget to make the payments.
“When they are demanding monthly payments on a schedule, this is the only way I can do it,” Higgins said on Monday. “If I don’t have the staff to prosecute felony cases, I certainly don’t have the staff to handle delinquency cases in Juvenile Court.”
State law allows district attorneys to stop providing representation for the state in Juvenile Court if workload or lack of staff dictates it.
The law also says that the county then “may appoint one or more attorneys to represent the state in prosecuting delinquency and child-in-need-of-services cases” in Juvenile Court.
Chatham County District Attorney Shalena Cook Jones is being criticized by local politicians, according to the AJC.
The 2020 Chatham County district attorney’s election pitted the tough-on-crime incumbent against a liberal champion of restorative justice.
The challenger won, in part due to record Democratic turnout fueled by the presidential race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. But Shalena Cook Jones, a Black Democrat, also benefited from influential Black political leaders either backing her campaign or withholding their support for her opponent.
Three Black elected officials, including Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, have publicly chastised Jones in recent weeks. Several other current and former officeholders have held their criticism but say they won’t endorse her in the November election. One high-profile leader, state Sen. Derek Mallow, has spoken out on her behalf.
The concerns center on Jones’ prosecutorial record, a long-standing issue that has drawn renewed attention in recent weeks since she dismissed five murder cases she said were “compromised” because they were investigated by fired Savannah police officers accused of lying. In June, she dropped charges in another murder case involving the detectives and reached plea deals in three more.
The DA’s perceived poor performance prompted city government leaders to partner with the U.S. attorney in 2022 to hire their own prosecutor to pursue gun crimes that could be charged at the federal level. In two years on the job, the special assistant U.S. attorney has issued 32 indictments, handled 28 plea agreements and is currently managing 44 active criminal cases.
Critics point to her ongoing staffing issues as proof of poor leadership. Jones has struggled to retain assistant district attorneys throughout her tenure, and she currently employs about half the number of her predecessor, Meg Heap. Heap, who now sits on the state Board of Pardons and Paroles, had 26 prosecutors assigned to felony cases when she left office.
Jones has also been sanctioned by a federal judge for evading a deposition in a lawsuit against her and disciplined by a state ethics board for improper handling of campaign finance disclosures.
“We send the Police Department out to do a job, gather information, and it’s up to the DA’s office to finish the job and make sure that we bring people to justice,” said Alderman Detric Leggett, who got into politics in 2019 after multiple family members were killed in gun crimes. “My confidence in the ability of the DA’s office at this point isn’t there. I know we can do better.”
Another Savannah City Council member is more blunt. Alderwoman Linda Wilder Bryan is actively campaigning for Jones’ opponent in the November general election, Republican Andre Pretorius.
“If Mickey Mouse was running, I’d vote for him instead of her,” said Bryan, whose son was shot and killed in 2015. “At least he can make people laugh without people dying. She’s a joke now.”
Leggett and Bryan hear complaints that the district attorney’s approach has made their communities less safe. In her 2020 campaign against Heap, Jones emphasized her belief in restorative justice, such as diversion programs and sentencing alternatives. She was backed by national criminal justice organizations, including those funded by restorative justice champion George Soros.
The messaging resonated within Savannah’s Black communities. Heap was well-respected as a victims advocate, as well as for her hard-charging style — she’s often still described as a “pit bull in a skirt and heels.” But she’s also a white Republican, and in an election with Trump as the top Republican on the ballot, Jones and the political action committees supporting her painted Heap as a candidate who was out of touch with minorities.
Former Brunswick city employee William Harold Richards must repay more than $400,000 for allegedly fraudulent purchasing card transactions, according to The Brunswick News.
U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood sentenced a former supervisor in the Glynn County Department of Public Works to 30 months in federal prison Monday and ordered him to pay the county over $400,000 in restitution for funds stolen via misuse of county purchasing cards.
William Harold Richards, 51, of Brunswick, was arrested in September 2023 by the Glynn County Police Department on charges of theft by conversion for allegedly using his and other county employees’ credit cards to build up more than $290,000 in unauthorized charges that detectives said he used for his own benefit, federal investigators said.
His arrest came as the result of a joint investigation by the GCPD and the FBI, which was initiated after an employee noticed suspicious charges on his county purchasing card, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia said.
The attorney’s office charged Richards with one count of wire fraud in May, accusing him of transmitting electronic payments from county purchase cards to an account he owned in Texas. Richards then withdrew the money while living in Georgia, the attorney’s office said.
Musician John Legend campaigned for the Harris-Walz campaign in Atlanta, according to the AJC.
Ahead of his upcoming concert Monday evening in Atlanta, musician John Legend made a stop downtown to speak with voters about the importance of casting a ballot in this presidential election.
“It’s hard sometimes to see the path between my single vote and what’s going to happen in my life and the life of people in my community,” he said. “But all these things affect all of us, and so we’ve got to be wise with our vote and know that our vote means something, and that we are powerful, especially here in Georgia.”
Legend, a 12-time Grammy Award-winning artist, will be performing in Alpharetta as part of “A Night of Songs and Stories” with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
This isn’t Legend’s first appearance with Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign. Last month, he sang several songs as part of a tribute to the late musician Prince at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. That same month, he endorsed Harris for president.
Speaking to an audience of about 75 people at The Gathering Spot, Legend said this election is particularly important to him because of his daughters, Luna and Esti. He said he wants to make sure they grow up in a world with access to reproductive care, including abortion.
“When we elect Kamala Harris to be the president of the United States, she could be in a position to — with a Democratic Congress and a Democratic Senate — to protect reproductive rights … for everybody’s daughters out there,” he said.
Polling for congressional candidates is equally divided, although Republicans may have some advantages in states such as Montana and West Virginia to win the Senate.
Glynn County Democratic candidates met voters, according to The Brunswick News.
Among those in attendance were Patti Hewitt, running to represent the First Congressional District of Georgia in the federal House of Representatives, Defonsio Daniels, candidates for state House District 180, Rebekah Moore, running for the state House District 167 seat, Heath Holdsworth, seeking election to the Satilla River Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor role, and Bob McKenzie, campaigning for the District 3 seat on the Glynn County School Board.
Hewitt, Daniels, Moore and McKenzie will be facing Republican incumbents in the general election this year. Rep. Buddy Carter is the current U.S. representative for the coastal area, while Reps. Steven Sainz and Buddy DeLoach hold the District 180 and 167 seats in the Georgia General Assembly, respectively. John Madala the elected District 3 representative on the Glynn County School Board.
Holdsworth faces no opposition for the conservation district supervisor position. It is a nonpartisan position.
Chatham County Sheriff John Wilcher returned to office after a hospitalization, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Chatham County Sheriff John Wilcher had his first day back in his office on September 5 since he was hospitalized for a cardiac arrest on June 16 that left him in critical condition.
Wilcher issued his first public comments in an interview in his office with multiple news outlets, including the Savannah Morning News. Prior to the interview, his family issued multiple public statements from mid-June to late June, thanking the community for its support, confirming Wilcher’s health status, and asking for continued prayers. While Wilcher was hospitalized, CCSO Chief Deputy Gary Taylor was responsible for the day-to-day operations, as he outlined in a press conference held on June 18.
Wilcher started his career with the sheriff’s office in 1974 at the old Chatham County Jail on Habersham Street in downtown Savannah. In 2014, he retired at the rank of colonel and in April 2016, won a special election to replace the late Sheriff Al St. Lawrence.
Wilcher was re-elected in 2016 and 2020, when he ran unopposed. Wilcher faces Democrat Richard Coleman in the November general election.
“I’m just about fully recovered,” said Wilcher, who confirmed that he left St. Joseph’s Candler Hospital last Thursday. Wilcher said he has to return to the hospital for physical therapy and needs to finish rehabilitation activities which include work on his hand-eye coordination. When he returns full-time to the office, Wilcher said he will speak to the command staff to see “where we’re at with the office.”
A three-judge panel of the Georgia Court of Appeals found against Macon-Bibb County, according to 13WMAZ.
When Macon-Bibb County announced its intention to get new management at west Macon’s Green Meadows townhomes in August 2023, they said the efforts were aimed at addressing criminal activity plaguing the townhomes on Log Cabin Drive.
However, a panel of three Georgia Court of Appeals judges ruled that the installation of a receiver – or court-appointed manager – was itself unlawful, and the trial court failed to honor the apartment complex’s owners’ due process rights.
“Put in more stark terms, the County took away a business’s private property with absolutely no due process,” Georgia Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Dillard wrote in the decision.
Back in Aug. 4, 2023, a Bibb County Superior Court Judge found the Green Meadows Townhomes were a public nuisance. Georgia’s nuisance law gives governments the power to step in when an entity “causes hurt, inconvenience or damage to another” with a judge’s approval.
However, the judges unanimously rejected Macon-Bibb County’s effort to install a receivership.
The county argued that the decision to install a receiver was based on criminal law – not civil law – and they didn’t have to provide Green Meadows an opportunity to be heard as required under the state’s Civil Practice Act.
Dillard and the judges say that the argument falls flat too.
Of another Bibb County Superior Court judge’s analysis, Dillard wrote, “The court’s skepticism was entirely justified. As our Supreme Court has explicitly held, a proceeding to abate a common nuisance is indeed civil.”
Because of that, Green Meadows should have been given notice for the hearing beforehand. Keeping them out of the room, they ruled, was a violation of the Georgia and U.S. constitutions, Dillard wrote.
The judges argue that just because a crime is occurring on a property, that does not mean the property is a nuisance.
Instead, the judges cited Georgia laws showing that the property owner must 1. know the nuisance behavior is occurring and 2. “consent to the activity or fails to exercise reasonable care to prevent the nuisance.”During the oral arguments, the attorney for Green Meadows, former Georgia Supreme Court Justice Harrold Melton, argued that was anything but the case.
“If you are unable to effectively resolve third-party criminal activity on your property – despite your best effort – the government can come in and commandeer that property,” Melton argued. “That is Macon-Bibb County’s position; that is flat wrong.”
Because of that missed step, the judges sent the case back to Bibb Superior Court to reevaluate with the new guidance from the Court of Appeals.
Evans County public schools requested additional law enforcement on campuses after online threats, according to WTOC.
The Evans County Charter School System has requested additional law enforcement on all school campuses after an alleged threat made on social media over the weekend.
ECCSS contacted Claxton Police Department about a threatening social media post. The school district says this appears to be related to ongoing threats online following the Sept. 4 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Ga.
Dr. Marty Waters, Superintendent of Evans County Charter School System says this also appears to be related to similar threats reported last week that led to the arrest of a fourth grade student. The threat was made after school Friday, Sept. 6 at approximately 3:55 p.m. are schools were placed on lockdown. The Claxton Police Department secured the schools and determined no threat existed.
“We commend our Claxton Police Department and school officials for their actions,” Dr. Waters said. “Threats to the safety of our students and families are taken very seriously and will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law. I ask for and appreciate families having conversations with our children about the importance and seriousness of school safety.”
In Liberty County, a thirteen-year old student was arrested for alleged threats, according to WTOC.
According to the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, a 13-year-old juvenile was arrested and charged with Terroristic Threats and Acts, a felony.
Deputies said they were alerted of a threat made to a local school on Friday.
The 13-year-old admitted to threatening to bring a gun to school and was arrested and charged. Officials say that his admission was supported by a video found during the investigation.
The juvenile was taken to a youth detention center until a hearing is schedule. At this time, the Liberty County Sheriff’s office has not released the name of the juvenile.
Appling County public schools removed a student for alleged threats, according to WTOC.
Tattnall County public schools increased security, according to WSAV.
According to the Tattnall County Board of Education (BOE), the threat circulating in Tattnall County is the same one that has impacted several surrounding counties in recent days.
The Tattnall County Board of Education says local authorities are actively investigating its origins within the community, and out of an abundance of caution, they provided a strong police presence on campus.
The BOE said the Snapchat message circulating warned of a potential threat to North Tattnall Middle School.
On Monday, Soft lockdowns at several schools in South Georgia had parents on edge. The precautions came after a slew of social media threats, which have been happening since last week after the tragic Apalachee High School mass shooting.
On Monday alone, eight South Georgia schools were targets of social media hoaxes that either threatened a school shooting or claimed that there was an active bomb threat. Local and state law enforcement said these hoaxes are no laughing matter as they are determined to hold whoever is responsible accountable.
“This will not be tolerated. We’re not going to allow people to threaten the school, the teachers, the students. So, we can hold them accountable,” said Marko Jones, assistant special Georgia Bureau of Investigations agent in charge.
Crisp County deputies arrested two 12-year-old middle school students, who they say are responsible for a bomb threat targeting the school. Social media posts also had school officials like Decatur County school police on high alert.
“You can never prepare for something; we just have to have our stuff in order,” said Maurice Gaines, Decatur County Schools police chief.
GBI agents want students to know what may seem like a simple social media post can lead to serious consequences. Investigators have been able to use technology to track down the origins of these posts. Anyone responsible for these posts can face felony charges.
As the influx of school social media threats comes on the heels of the Apalachee High School mass shootings, Albany Police Chief Michael Persley said now more than ever is the time to say something if you know something.
“The fact that it becomes a norm to some people, that’s disturbing and I pray we haven’t reached that level as a society,” he said.
School officials in Macon are urging community-wide efforts to maintain school safety in the wake of a wave of internet threats across Georgia following a school shooting in Barrow County which killed four people and injured numerous others.
The Bibb County School District is investigating online rumors that circulated over the weekend, targeting specifically Northeast High School and Appling Middle School, officials said on Monday. They’re not the only school district who has dealt with threats in the week since the Apalachee High School shooting.
According to social media posts, Bibb County students mentioned bringing weapons on campus in order to protect themselves against the rumored threat.
A White County student was arrested yesterday for alleged threats, according to AccessWDUN.
White County Sheriff Rick Kelley’s office announced on Monday evening that they were alerted to a threat made toward White County Middle School that day, less than one week following the tragic results at Barrow County’s Apalachee High School.
Sheriff Kelley said in a press release that their investigators were alerted to the threat made against White County Middle School, and as a result of their probe they apprehended a 13-year old, 8th grade student with the school. That student has been arrested on two counts of Disrupting Operation of a Public School, and has been turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
No further details on the threat, or leads behind the case have been released. Classes are scheduled to continue with all White County schools on Tuesday.
A Jackson County student was arrested yesterday for alleged threats, according to AccessWDUN.
A 12-year-old student was arrested Monday after they allegedly made a threat at Legacy Knoll Middle School.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said on Facebook that the student was removed from the class and school resource officers were notified of the threat.
The student was removed from the school and arrested after an investigation. The student was then taken to juvenile court and detained by the Judge.
Sheriff Mangum also emphasized parents talking to their children about the importance of their words and actions.
“There are severe consequences for any student making these threats. We will continue to investigate all of these threats and proceed with whatever can be done,” Mangum said on Facebook.
A Gwinnett County student was arrested for alleged threats, according to AccessWDUN.
Gwinnett County Police arrested a juvenile suspect for making terroristic threats about shooting people at school.
The Gwinnett County Police Department was alerted about a potentially threatening social media post by Gwinnett County School Resource Officers on Sept. 6.
The social media post reportedly outlined a potential threat aimed at a Gwinnett County school. GCPD Intelligence Analysts, alongside detectives and members of Situational Awareness and Crime Response Center, were able to obtain account holder information to identify the suspect.
Authorities conducted an interview with the account holder. Despite the threat being deemed a “hoax,” the suspect was taken into custody for felony terroristic threats and transported to a metro Atlanta Youth Detention Center.
Late Monday, the LaGrange Police Department said a 15-year-old boy was arrested and charged with 11 felony counts of terroristic threats: One charge for every local school he allegedly threatened to “shoot up” earlier Monday. The teen, whose name was not released, was taken into custody and a search was conducted at his home, but no weapons were located, police said.
Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman made his position on school threats clear in a Facebook post, saying the suspects will be arrested.
“The juvenile court judge will make the decision on what happens next,” Chapman said. “No if, and’s, or but’s. I don’t care how good or bad their grades are. Don’t care if they’re a good or bad student. They will take that ride! Now is the time to have that talk with your child. If you don’t, I will.”
From the Capitol Beat News Service:
Friday, the FBI and GBI reported law enforcement agencies are responding to an increase in reported school threats following Wednesday’s shooting.
“School safety hotlines and law enforcement often see increased reporting following a mass shooting incident, as students and the public are more apt to respond to suspicious activity or concerns,” the joint statement read. “Reposting these threats can cause undue panic and spread false information.
“To date, the majority of investigations into threats posed online since the Apalachee High School shooting have been deemed non-credible.”
The two agencies went on to remind the public that law enforcement will investigate and prosecute anyone found making specific threats on social media.
They also asked Georgians who see or hear a threat to report it to local law enforcement immediately but not to share or forward the threat until authorities have had a chance to investigate.
Some Liberty County public school parents oppose a new cellphone policy after the Barrow County shootings, according to WSAV.
The Yondr Pouch cost the system a little more than $140,000. The phones are locked into these pouches and cannot be unlocked until the end of the school day and students do not have the ability to unlock it themselves.
This is the first year the school system has required this from students. The new policy is receiving more backlash after the recent school shooting in Georgia that claimed the lives of four.
“Very uneasy, very unsettling,” Krystina Langan, a middle school parent said. “That’s a lifeline for a lot of kids it feels like and to take that away… I didn’t like it from the get-go.”
Langan could not bear the thought of not being able to contact her son during an emergency situation.
“I am an only parent,” Langan said. “His father passed away, so I’m his lifeline and taking that away has been much more anxious and much more uneasy and more unfocused than he’s ever been.”
Shortly after Apalachee High School’s shooting, multiple schools recieved threats across the region. The Liberty County Sherriff’s Office (LCSO) said a 13-year-old has been arrested and charged with terroristic threats and felony after threatening to bring a gun to a local school late last week.
Gwinnett County Superior Court Tadia Whitner dismissed a lawsuit seeking to block incorporation of the new City of Mulberry, according to AccessWDUN.
Judge Tadia Whitner ruled that Stephen Hughes did not have standing to challenge the constitutionality of Senate Bill 333, which crafted the city’s charter. Hughes challenged that the charter was unconstitutional since it does not allow for the city to levy property taxes, among other claims.
But the case was dismissed not on those merits or facts of the actual charter, but because of Hughes’ standing as a plaintiff.
“(Hughes) therefore lacks standing for a declaratory judgment and is not entitled to injunctive relief,” Whitner said.
Part of the plaintiff’s argument for Hughes’ standing was that he as a citizen faced uncertainty regarding the new city’s charter including how he would get taxed and where his land would get zoned among other things.
“These are fears Mr. Hughes has of what might happen, but those fears could happen now under Gwinnett County,” Bryan Tyson, the attorney representing Mulberry, said in response.
Hughes’ attorney Allen Lightcap said they intend to appeal Whitner’s decision.
Tyson said that it’s unlikely an appeal could get decided before the elections happen in November.
“The people of Mulberry have the power to adopt these different amendments by their own power,” Tyson said. “The people getting the power to choose I think is what makes America a very special place.”
Dougherty County Commissioner Anthony Jones was reappointed to the National Association of Counties’ national committee, according to the Albany Herald.
“Mostly my work will be recruiting new members for NACo, young county commissioners who are coming into the organization, and giving them the opportunity to have professional growth and direction,” Jones said. “I will be serving as an ambassador, especially to new commissioners who are coming in, to explore what their role is as county commissioners and explain to them all the professional development that is available to them and encourage them to join NACo.”
The City of Savannah will conduct national searches to fill two high-profile jobs, according to the Savannah Morning News.
The city of Savannah has looked in-house for interim appointments to fill top staff jobs opened by the departure of former Assistant City Manager Heath Lloyd and former Chief of Information and Public Affairs Bret Bell, who left for city manager positions with Pooler and Tybee Island.
The city is conducting a national search to fill the positions permanently, according to a city press release.
Melissa Carter, who runs the city’s budget office and has worked with the city for 18 years, will serve as Acting Chief Operating Officer. The Chief of Information and Public Affairs positions will be filled by Joseph Shearouse, a 12-year city employee who has most recently led the city’s major legislative initiatives as Director of Policy and Intergovernmental affairs.
“Melissa and Joe will help fill critical positions in our organization and keep our government moving forward as we plan for the future,” said City Manager Jay Melder in a press release.
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