Five Sought in Connection with Murder
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Presenting our 2021-22 GHS baseball wraps up Information Please magazine season ႷTUCKED INSIDE THIS ISSUE! ႷSEE SPORTS 1B Your hometown newspaper devoted to the progress of Gilmer County V OL. 146 Ⴗ NO. 17 Ⴗ 2 SECTIONS, 16 PAGES WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021 EST. 1875 Ⴗ CONSOLIDATED 1916 Ⴗ $1.00 Five sought in connection with murder BY ANDY ASHURST The investigation began, PUBLISHER Tuesday, April 20, when the Gilmer County Sher- Authorities are looking iff’s Offi ce conducted a wel- for fi ve people in connection fare check at a residence with the murder of a wom- in Cherry Log. GBI agents an which occurred in Gilm- were called in to assist. er County. Rossana Delgado, 37, of Murder warrants have Bethlehem, was identifi ed been issued for Megan Al- as the victim at the scene. yssa Colone, 30, of Stone She was reported missing Mountain; Juan Ayala-Ro- Friday, April 16 and was driguez, 35, of Gainesville; last seen in DeKalb County. Oscar Manuel Garcia, 26, Autopsy results are of Austell; and Mario Al- pending, according to the berto Barbosa-Juarez, 29, GBI release. of Oklahoma City, Okla., “At this point in the in- according to a Georgia Bu- vestigation, there are ab- reau of Investigation press solutely no ties with any release. Authorities are of the suspects or the vic- seeking help in identifying tim to this area,” Nicholson a fi fth suspect. said. “We can’t comment on Both the sheriff and the why or how, but we feel real GBI said this is a “very ac- comfortable these people tive investigation.” are not in the area,” said Anyone with informa- Gilmer County Sheriff Sta- tion about the whereabouts cy Nicholson. of Colone, Ayala-Rodriguez, A GBI press release Garcia or Barbosa-Juarez echoed the sheriff, saying or the identity of the fi fth the suspects may no longer suspect are asked to call be in the state. Colone is be- the GBI Tipline at 1-800- Law enforcement offi cials are looking for Megan Alyssa Colone, 30, of Stone Mountain (top left); Juan Ayala-Rodriguez, 35, lieved to be traveling with 597-TIPS(8477) or report of Gainesville (top right); Oscar Manuel Garcia, 26, of Austell (bottom right); Mario Alberto Barbosa-Juarez, 29, of Oklahoma her minor children, possi- the information online at City, Okla. (bottom left); and a fi fth unidentifi ed man (center) in connection with the murder of Rossana Delgado, 37, of bly using the alias Grace https://gbi.georgia.gov/sub- Bethlehem. Anyone with information are asked to call the GBI Tipline at 1-800-597-TIPS(8477) or report the information Beda. mit-tips-online. online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online. Multiple subdivisions taking shape across county Around 1,000 lots expected to be on market this year BY MICHAEL ANDREWS 282, to smaller, under 50-lot permits in the fi rst phase. MOUNTAIN LIFE EDITOR subdivisions, such as High- Watersong is off Gates land Pointe just off Stone Chapel and there are 43 or A number of new subdi- and Eller Road. 44 lots in it. All three phases visions are contributing to “The only one in that 11 of Watersong has been fi - a time of heavy home con- that’s pretty well built out nal plat approved and I struction in Gilmer County. is Highland Pointe,” Hen- think they’ve had some lot According to Planning son said. “The rest of them sales in there. High Riv- and Zoning Director Kar- are ongoing, and quite a er has several houses in it en Henson, 11 subdivisions few lots are left to build on.” and they’ve just submitted are currently underway in Henson noted that cus- the preliminary for the fi - the county area overseen by tom homes are mainly be- nal phase,” she added. the planning and zoning of- ing built in the emerging Developments still in the MICHAEL ANDREWS/MOUNTAIN LIFE EDITOR fi ce. developments after the lots very early stages include Gilmer Rotary Club member Charlie Pults, right, and Ryan Smiley, a member of the Gilm- They range from large- are sold. Jakes Landing Overlook er High School Interact Club, work their way through a stack of Farmers to Families food scale developments, such as “The Hammock, off with 124 lots off Hap Holt boxes during a distribution day at the Amicalola EMC warehouse last week. the 306-lot, 9-phase High Roundtop, has 88 small lots Road, Creekside Cross- River development under and it’s two phases. There’s Food boxes provide 75,000 meals construction off Highway probably 15-20 building SUBDIVISIONS CONTINUED ON 7A CARES Act-funded program will continue through May Toys for Tots donation box stolen BY MICHAEL ANDREWS The prepackaged food boxes arrive by BY MICHAEL ANDREWS OUNTAIN IFE DITOR tractor trailer stacked on pallets. Rotary M L E MOUNTAIN LIFE EDITOR members distribute them drive-thru style By partnering with a federally-funded at the Amicalola Electric service ware- The coordinator of Gilm- food box program, members of the Gilmer house once a month, usually on a Tuesday er’s annual Toys for Tots County Rotary Club have provided more around the middle of the month. drive recently had a fi rst- than 75,000 meals worth of free food local- Chance said there’s sometimes very time experience he hopes ly since last October. short notice between when the club gets doesn’t repeat itself. The Farmers to Families program, ad- confi rmation that the truck will be coming According to Ret. U.S. ministered by the U.S. Department of Agri- and when the boxes are given out. A notice Marines Sgt. A.J. Le- culture (USDA) and funded by the CARES is usually posted on the Gilmer Rotary and Compte, a box used to col- (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Se- Ellijay Live Facebook pages, he added. lect donations was removed curity) Act, started in 2020 as a temporary Anyone can come by and get a box from the wall of a down- emergency relief effort after the national during the designated distribution time. town shop, TJ and Compa- food market was disrupted by the ensuing There are no other requirements that ny Antiques, and the money pandemic. have to be met to receive food, Chance con- was taken. “We missed a few months because, the fi rmed. “I’ve been doing (Toys way this program works, it depends on “They just drive up and it’s fi rst-come, for Tots) for 11 years, and MICHAEL ANDREWS/MOUNTAIN LIFE EDITOR who the distributor is. It’s coordinated out fi rst-served,” he said. we’ve never had a problem A chained-down Toys for Tots donation box like this one of Covington, and it just depends on if our Tina Fischlin, governor for Georgia Ro- like this. It’s pretty rare was recently taken from downtown shop TJ and Company distributor gets the contract,” said Gilmer Antiques. The pictured box sits on the store’s front counter, Rotarian Marvin Chance. ROTARY CONTINUED ON 7A TOYS FOR TOTS CONTINUED ON 7A while the tampered-with box was in its rest room. ႷInside Opinions – 4A Classifi eds – 3B Obituaries – 6A Legals – 4B Arrests – 2A Faith & Family – 6B Events/Crossword – 2B A View from Normal – 8A Sports – 1B ႷContact us: 706-635-4313 • [email protected] Vaccine clinics continue ႷSEE 6A © 2021 Times-Courier/Community Newspapers Inc. 2A WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2021 LOCAL TIMES-COURIER Ⴗ ELLIJAY, GEORGIA County observes Sexual Assault Awareness Month BY MICHAEL ANDREWS lence and exploitation. month. We were averag- sign them during their MOUNTAIN LIFE EDITOR Kimberly O’Neal, the ing around 225 per month lunch break. We keep it nonprofi t crisis network’s (before the pandemic), so it very age-appropriate and During a time when in- executive director, said has increased,” O’Neal said. talk to them about con- creased sexual and domes- similar proclamations have “We have a detective on our sent,” O’Neal said. tic violence cases contin- also been signed in Pickens board, and he has told me That in-person program ue to be seen, the North and Fannin, the other two to expect to keep seeing an and the 5K fundraiser are Georgia Mountain Crisis Appalachian Judicial Cir- increase.” both on hold this year due Network (NGMCN) wants cuit counties served by NG- O’Neal said there are to the pandemic, but an on- residents of Gilmer, Pick- MCN. multiple ways that the cri- line auction will be con- ens and Fannin counties “Sexual assault can be sis network can become in- ducted. Proceeds will go to to be aware of the services defi ned as conduct of a sex- volved with an assault case. help NGMCN re-establish it offers to victims of these ual nature which is non- It’s often through police, its forensic medical exam crimes. consensual and is accom- she noted. program. April is recognized as plished through threat, “If we have a victim at Through that program, Sexual Assault Awareness coercion, exploitation, de- our hospitals (or) law en- sexual assault victims will Month nationwide. Gilmer ceit, force, physical or men- forcement is called out, they be able to receive an onsite County Commission Chair- tal incapacitation and/or will call us and let us know. forensic medical exam from man Charlie Paris signed power of authority,” O’Ne- They also give the informa- a specially trained sexu- a proclamation last week al said, referencing a re- tion (about us) to victims. al assault nurse examin- that designates the special cent Department of Crimi- We do temporary protective er (or SANE).