Habersham County Coroner Kasey C
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A1 The Northeast Georgian 75 cents NOVEMBER 6, 2013 Midweek COLBY MOORE/Special An idle Amtrak passenger train sits on the tracks just south of Lee Arrendale State Prison in Alto late Monday after it struck an Alto pedestrian. David Christopher Eberhart, 41, was identifi ed by Habersham County Coroner Kasey C. McEntire early Tuesday as the single pedestrian killed. Alto man hit, killed by passenger train Monday By CHRISTINA SANTEE oner Kasey C. McEntire sham County Sheriff Joey personnel, Eberhart was south of the male. The male before Habersham County early Tuesday as the single Terrell, Eberhart was located “lying in the brush did not have any shoes on, authorities were request- An Alto man was hit pedestrian killed. “walking on the tracks” just off the train tracks,” [but] there were a pair of ed. and killed by an Amtrak McEntire confi rmed the just south of Lee Arrendale according to an incident gray New Balance shoes ly- “Banks County respond- passenger train in Alto victim died from “blunt State Prison when he was report fi led by the Haber- ing north of the male in the ed fi rst, [then] they called late Monday. force injuries [received] struck sometime before sham County Sheriff’s Of- brush,” it states. for us,” he said. “I guess David Christopher Eb- from being hit by the 9:45 p.m., Nov. 4. fi c e . Terrell said public safe- he was walking around on erhart, 41, was identifi ed train.” Upon the arrival of “There was a hat laying ty personnel with Banks by Habersham County Cor- According to Haber- multi-county public safety on the side of the tracks County were fi rst on scene See Train, Page 9A Demorest auditor nds accounting de cient for 2012 Missing funds due in part to lax procedures By DONALD FRASER Auditing terms “material weaknesses” and “signifi cant defi ciency” are the markers for mu- nicipal accounting shortcomings leading to a loss of $212,667 from the city of Demorest’s water and sewer services fund in 2012. The terminology about the loss of funds came during a called meeting Nov. 1 to hear a Fiscal Year 2012 audit presentation, which had been delayed for months. About 25 people crowded into the meeting room to hear the report, which falls on the heels of fo- rensic audits and an on-going investigation by the See Demorest, Page 2A KIMBERLY BROWN/Staff The Rev. Ernest Burns, pastor of Shady Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Cornelia, and Glenn Jones, chairman of the cem- etery committee at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Clarkesville, unveil a memorial to mark the place of many unmarked graves of slaves and their descendants. A ceremony was held Sunday, Nov. 3, to dedicate the memorial at the BBC cemetery. Bethlehem Baptist memorializes slave graves By KIMBERLY BROWN bert Lovell, who served for In his opening prayer, sions, and the total raised 50 years. Jones said church Lewis said, “We know our was $7.73 3/4 cents, which What looks like an emp- history recorded what the forefathers, in their tra- is almost $100 in today’s ty fi eld in an old section of area was used for, but not ditional life, oftentimes dollars. the cemetery at Bethlehem specifi cally who was bur- took for granted what they “A portion of this mon- Baptist Church in Clarkes- ied there, nor how many. had stolen from the people ey was raised by slaves,” ville now has a marker, me- “That’s the problem,” that they owned. But we’re Jones said. “It was tradi- morializing the unnamed Jones said. “There’s no grateful we’ve come to a tion in this area, in many people buried there. The [specifi c] records for this day of freedom and op- churches, that slaves marker was unveiled dur- section of the cemetery. portunity like our nation and slave owners attend- ing a ceremony held Sun- But we know everything in and the world has never ed church together. So day, Nov. 3. this area is fi lled up.” known.” [slaves] got involved. One Though there are many Jones said he has spent Jones said BBC was of the great ironies to me graves in the fi eld, any his “entire life” studying founded in 1818, fi ve years is [slaves] were helping wooden crosses which once and teaching history, “so before the city of Clarkes- raise money to send a mis- marked the gravesites are to preserve history is excit- ville was chartered. sionary from a group of long gone. These are the ing for me.” “The church has people who actually owned graves of slaves and the de- The project to memori- been strong in missions them, to use that money to scendants of slaves, buried alize the graves has been throughout the years, state help send missionaries to in the cemetery from about ongoing for about four missions, North American people who may be related 1840 to the early 1900s. months, and Jones said it missions and international to them back in Africa. It’s Glenn Jones recently began when the Rev. Fur- missions,” Jones said. He one of the great ironies in took over as chairman of man Lewis, who was pas- said, in the late 1830s, there history.” CHRISTINA SANTEE/Staff Bethlehem Baptist’s cem- tor of BBC from 1961-74, was a movement to raise April Akridge of Baldwin keeps her eyes peeled for a etery committee from Hu- came to him this summer. money for African mis- See Graves, Page 3A smile from her son, Jack Akridge, 8 months, dressed as a banana during his fi rst trick-or-treating experience in down- town Clarkesville Halloween night. Election results posted online Clarkesville welcomes See complete story in weekend edition, including candidate reaction annual trick-or-treaters County voters cast bal- Clarkesville, Cornelia, week edition. lots for the Special Pur- Demorest and Mt. Airy. However, The North- By CHRISTINA SANTEE pose Local Option Sales Additionally, in east Georgian will update The fl uorescent-colored stashes of bite-sized delica- Tax VI and municipal Clarkesville, fi ve ques- its website and Facebook cies in brightly-colored candy buckets were no trick residents voted for mayor tions related to the con- page after the polls close for costumed trick-or treaters. Instead, the confection- and/or council in fi ve mu- sideration of a freeport and fi nal results are aries were a sweet steal for the thousands who ven- nicipalities on Tuesday. exemption and Sunday confi rmed through the tured out in the city of Clarkesville Halloween night The mayor’s seat was alcohol sales were on the Habersham County Elec- for the 2013 annual Trick-or-Treat on the Clarkesville contested in Baldwin, ballot. tions and Registration Of- Square. Clarkesville and Demor- Results from the Nov. 5 fi c e . As a horde of costumed and candy-hungry witches, est. Council seats were election weren’t available See thenortheastgeor- contested in Baldwin, by press time for the mid- gian.com for details. See Clarkesville, Page 9A Contact us INDEX Volume 122, No. 39 706-778-4215 DEATHS, 8A Fax •Daniel C. Edwards, 63 •Charles R. Metcalf, 84 Classifi eds 8-9B 706-778-4114 •Victor A. Gomez, 21 •Jessie ‘Jim’ Moody, 70 Calendar 13A •Dorothy S. Hopper, 63 •Janet P. Phillips, 44 thenortheastgeorgian.com Opinion 4A •Sara Jane Howard, 73 •Carolyn G. Wood, 68 Sports 1-4B •Leonel A. Madrigal, 23 Two sections, 24 pages TV 7B A2 2A The Northeast Georgian Wednesday, November 6, 2013 Demorest From Page 1A Georgia Bureau of Inves- “not uncommon,” Maney in 2012, according to the ion of compliance, but if fi ed,” it is shown as a loss ley’s termination.” tigation. Shortly after said. Adjustments are audit report. noncompliance is found, in the city’s audit. He ac- Wikle asked for City it was announced this approved by city man- “The water fund is the to note it within an audit. knowledged the loss was Manager/Clerk Juanita summer approximately agement, according to primary source of rev- Demorest had two ma- under investigation by Crumley to be fi red Oct. 1, $5,000 was missing from Maney, otherwise the au- enue for the city,” Maney terial weaknesses cited the GBI. during a contentious city Demorest City Hall, it was diting fi rm could not pro- said. by the auditor. “I don’t have any de- council meeting. revealed Tyler Maney, vide an opinion regarding Maney noted “we did One material weakness tails on the investiga- Wikle listed com- with Demorest’s Baldwin- the audit. have a material audit ad- was utility billings being tion,” Maney told council. plaints about poorly man- based certifi ed public ac- Maney said he has justment of $212,667” in materially understated “That would be beyond aged city business, in- countants Amos, Maney been with his fi rm fi ve the water fund, explained and Demorest not hav- the scope of our audit.” cluding failure to report & Payne LLC enlisted the years and has performed by a note in the notes to fi - ing internal controls “to “I wouldn’t want to the disappearance of city help of Mountain Judicial Demorest annual audits nancial statements. ensure that utility bill- speculate,” Maney told monies in timely man- Circuit District Attorney at least that long. The note stated: “The ing revenue is accurately Wikle, when she asked ner, failure to protect the Brian Rickman and the “I think that would be city reported an adjust- and completely recorded. how the money could have city’s assets and failure to GBI in investigating more a fair statement,” Maney ment to utility billing … The city’s process of disappeared.