THE MUSIC KIDS Pettit Environmental Preserve Saturday
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THURSDAY October 10, 2019 BARTOW COUNTY’S ONLY DAILY NEWSPAPER 75 cents 3 former City of White offi cials indicted on RICO violations spired together, with a common plan warrants out on them for not paying the color of the law, individuals who Former City of White police chief, and purpose, to engage in an interre- the fi nes to the municipality, as well as refused to pay fi nes through the City of lated pattern of criminal activity … the “negotiating” the fi ne amounts “so that White municipal court in an effort to en- sergeant and city manager accused motive and effect of which was pecuni- more serious charges would not appear courage future victims of this scheme of ary gain.” on an individual’s criminal or driver his- intimidation and threats to pay the de- of false imprisonment, extortion and Continuing, the indictment alleges tory.” manded fi nes to the City of White,” the theft of funds, among other offenses that the three “illegally profi ted fi nan- Richards, who is King’s spouse and indictment states. cially through their positions through Scheff’s mother-in-law, is also accused The three are additionally accused the use of the police department and the of illegally profi ting by using an on-duty of attempting to cover up their illegal BY JAMES SWIFT (RICO) Act on Wednesday. clerk of municipal court to raise funds City employee for work on her private activities by destroying records and de- [email protected] David Johnny King, Jane Lanette by a citation scheme that involved issu- property, billing her own commercial leting the City of White’s water depart- Richards and Blake Douglas Scheff are ing city citations and demanding high property at residential water rates and ment software; the bill of indictment A Bartow County grand jury indicted accused of committing a string of RICO fi nes and fees regardless of the actions using points obtained on municipal also alleges that King underreported his the City of White’s former police chief, violations dating from Aug. 21, 2009, to of the individuals being cited.” credit cards to acquire gift cards. State income to hide the illegally ob- city manager and police sergeant on Dec. 31, 2017. Furthermore, the indictment accus- “In an effort to continue to illegally tained revenue. three counts of violating the Racketeer According to the bill of indictment, es the three of attempting to extort in- profi t fi nancially, the accused took State Infl uenced and Corrupt Organizations the three “knowingly and willfully con- dividuals by threatening to take State warrants and falsely imprisoned, under SEE INDICTMENTS, PAGE 5A Amphibians take center stage at THE MUSIC KIDS Pettit Environmental Preserve Saturday BY MARIE NESMITH [email protected] Striving to break down misconceptions surrounding the “last-loved” animals, Angela Ferguson will highlight amphib- ians and their plight to survive during the Pettit Environmen- tal Preserve’s Explore Nature Saturdays program Oct. 12. A Cartersville resident, she is the Atlanta-based Amphibian Foundation’s volunteer education outreach instructor. “When I ran across [the Amphibian Foundation] and saw the work that they were doing, I just really wanted to be a part [of the organization] and help out,” Ferguson said. “At the time, I was looking to start an education outreach program for some of the last-loved animals. So when I saw they already had an established program, I joined in with them and am try- ing to help expand their program up into north Georgia. “I’ve always loved reptiles and amphibians. I’ve always thought they were beautiful and interesting creatures. … I re- member having people come to our school with reptiles and teaching us about them. I think that really helped spark an interest. So I’m going to pass that along and help spark an interest in others the way it was sparked in me.” Ongoing from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Amphibian Adventure Program & Hike will feature presentations by Ferguson at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. “We’ll talk about basically the decline of animals worldwide,” she said. “Amphibians particularly are declining quicker than most. So we’ll talk about why these animals are in decline. “Then we’ll talk a little bit about small things that people can do to make a difference. We try to encourage people that we don’t have to just sit by and watch the animals disappear — that we can do something about it.” To help amphibians thrive in their environment, Ferguson urges area residents to avoid planting invasive vegetation, properly dispose of chemicals and be “mindful” about what they pour down the sink. “One of the main reasons [amphibians are declining] is they breath through their skin,” she said. “So they’re real susceptible RANDY PARKER/THE DAILY TRIBUNE NEWS to chemicals, pollution, things like that. So what we’re seeing Cast members rehearse a scene from “The Music Man Jr.” for their upcoming performances at The Grand Theatre. happen is we’ve got animals disappearing from places where humans are cutting down environments and there’s pollution. “But with amphibians in particular, we’re seeing them dis- Grand Youth Theatre to perform ‘The Music Man Jr.’ Oct. 11, 12 appear from pristine environments, because the rain is car- rying the water that contains contaminants and it’s basical- BY MARIE NESMITH boys’ band,” said Kristy Mont- led by Kevin Barnhart as Harold For 17-year-old Barnhart, por- ly killing off the animals — the frogs and the salamanders. [email protected] gomery, The Grand’s program Hill and Jordan Shaffer as Mar- traying Hill in “The Music Man Because they are absorbing that water so much through their director. “While this con has ian Paroo. Jr.” is an “enjoyable” challenge. skin, they’re just very sensitive to anything that’s in the water.” Continuing to foster the talents worked in many previous towns “This time around, we have A junior at Cartersville High Along with frogs, Ferguson will bring various animals to of Bartow’s youngest thespians, before, allowing Harold to make more students involved than ever School, he is no stranger to the Pettit Preserve, such as an axolotl salamander and a tortoise. The Grand Youth Theatre is off like a bandit with all of the before,” Montgomery said. “… local arts scene. gearing up to present “The Mu- money before the townspeople Some of our performers have “I’ve been involved in theater SEE PETTIT, PAGE 5A sic Man Jr.” The production will realize they’ve been had, some- been onstage since they were since I was 4 years old,” Barn- be performed two nights — Fri- thing catches Harold by surprise very young, while others are cel- hart said. “Both of my older day and Saturday at 7 — at The in River City and makes it so ebrating their very fi rst show. brothers participated in a variety Grand Theatre, 7 N. Wall St. in his foot gets caught in the door. “We hope the cast enjoys the of programs, including ACT I Cartersville. This classic show has a variety of experience and wants to partici- and the drama program at Car- “‘The Music Man Jr.’ tells the parts available, which makes it a pate in future activities, like our tersville High. I’ve also been in- story of con artist Harold Hill good choice for a large cast.” summer theater camps or acting volved with camps at The Grand and his attempts to convince the Comprised of 40 members, classes. We also hope they take for many, many years. small town of River City, Iowa, ranging in age from 7 to 18, the away a new set of friends and that they desperately need a cast of “The Music Man Jr.” is found family.” SEE GRAND, PAGE 6A History, Halloween activities planned for next week at libraries BY DONNA HARRIS converters from a special retro tech loaner require registration, will enable participants [email protected] kit borrowed from Georgia Public Library to learn the ins and outs of converting tapes Service. Also on loan and available to pa- and records before actually trying it, ac- Two of Bartow County’s libraries are of- trons are cleaners for records, VHS heads cording to Stipe. fering programs next week that focus on two and cassette players. “I think it provides a great opportunity very different topics: history and Halloween. “The program will be structured as a Q&A for patrons to ‘try before they buy’ and ask At the Cartersville Public Library, pa- session to help patrons who are interested in questions during the info session as well as trons can celebrate October as Family His- using the equipment while we have it here at giving them a chance to digitize old records tory Month by learning how to turn media the library,” adult services librarian Meghan or family videos with the equipment that we from the past into digital fi les at a Retro Stipe said. “I plan on a very informal gath- are borrowing from GPLS without having Tech Workshop Tuesday from 6 to 8 p.m. ering where we can walk through and talk to purchase it themselves,” she said. “It hap- SPECIAL in the library classroom at 429 W. Main St. about the items, possibly see or hear exam- pens to be Family History Month, as well, Angela Ferguson, shown here at The Gingerbread House Staff members will show participants ples of the converted fi les and work through so the timing worked well.” in Cartersville, will deliver presentations on amphibians how to convert VHS tapes, vinyl records any uncertainties together.” at Pettit Environmental Preserve’s Explore Nature Satur- and cassette tapes into digital fi les using The information session, which doesn’t SEE LIBRARY, PAGE 6A days program Oct.