Here are some of the top stories you may have missed this weekend.
1. Hall County school taxes to increase this year
On Friday, the Hall County Board of Education said it will be raising school taxes by about 11 percent over the rollback rate in 2022.
For the fiscal year of 2022, Hall County is proposing a general operating budget of $301 million. The system also plans to pull $14 million from what Superintendent Will Schofield calls "the rainy--day" fund.
Schofield explained that a large portion of this increase will go to raising salaries for teachers and other district employees during this time of rising inflation: "For our employees, individuals that make as little as $10.86 an hour, I don't know how they're paying for $5 a gallon gasoline," he said.
However, the school district is not immune to the rise in cost for goods and services. As Schofield puts it: " Inflation is real," he said. "Our maintenance costs are going to be up 17 percent next year. Our trasporation costs, highly driven by diesel fuel,gasoline and LP, are going to be up by 21 percent. And we are similar to the average family and that we're just trying to keep our heads above water in these inflationary times."
The school board will vote to approve the budget on July 25. However, because this increase is above the rollback rate, three public hearings must be held. At this time, those are scheduled for July 18, 2022 at 6 p.m; July 25,2022 at 11:30 a.m: and July 25,2022 at 6 p.m. Read More
2. Lawrenceville reaches settlement with former police captian
On Friday, the city of Lawrenceville and a former captian of the Lawrenceville Police Department reached a settlement concerning a sexual harassment scandal and lawsuit within the department.
Tawnya Gilovanni filed the sexual harrassement claims against the city last year. After an investigation conducted by the city, it was determined that former Chief Timothy Wallis and Capt.Christopher Ryan Morgan sexually harrassed Gilovanni, creating a hostile work enviroment. Before Morgan could be questioned, he resigned in December, and Wallis retired shortly after being placed under suspension.
According to the settlement, the City of Lawrenceville will pay Gilovanni $300,000 for a global settlement of her claims. Per the settlement, Gilovanni and her lawyer must withdraw a lawsuit that they were in the process of filling. She must also withdraw an amendment to her U.S employment equal oppertunity commission charge, where she accussed acting police cheif Maj. Myron Walker of retaliating against her. The settlement also states that Gilovanni may not make derogatrory statements about the City of Lawrenceville, Walker, or Lawrenceville City Manager Chuck Warbington so long as both officials are employed by The City of Lawrenceville. Read More
3. Three people detained for questioning in early--morning Banks County fires
After an abandoned home and barn caught fire early Friday morning in Banks County, investigators are not ruling out arson, and are currently questioning three individuals about their possible involvement.
At 12:13 a.m, Banks County Fire and Emergency Services responded to 648 Moss Mill Road on a reported structure fire. Fire Chief Steve Nichols said that upon arrival, they found the home was fully involved with fire. The fire was contained to the building, however, Nichols said the structure was at a total loss. The Banks County Fire Department Arson Investigation Unit along with the Georgia State Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the incident, but only an hour after units returned from the call, they were paged once again to a structure fire in the 300 Block in Spring Road, Baldwin. Arriving units found a pole barn that was full of bales of hay that were also fully involved with fire. No injuries have been reported in either incident, but the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Arson has not been dissmissed as a possible cause of the fire, and three people (two males and one female) have been detained at the Banks County Jail for questioning. Read More
4. Georgia's Abrams raises $22M in 2 months, far outpacing Kemp.
Stacy Abrams' fundraising continues to increase as she continues to raise close to $50 million in seven months, surpassing Republican Gov. Kemp. On Friday, Abrams announced that her direct campaign and its associated One Georgia Committee raised $21.8 million and collectiveley having $18.5 million in cash.
That is comparatively more than the $6.8 million Kemp has raised for his direct campaighn and associated Georgians First committe.
Abrams also said that One Georgia, which is a funding vehicle that is allowing her to collect unlimited contributions for her campaign, raised $6.3 million before May. Due to leagal disputes, the leadership committee had not reported numbers at an earlier time. Both Kemp and abrams have been spending havily, but Abrams has spent $30 million in the general election. Read More
5. Motorcyclist injured after wreck on I--85 in Banks County
On Friday morning, one person was injured in an accident on I--85 around 8:54 a.m.
According to the Georgia State Patrol, 74 year old George S. Johnson was traveling North in the left lane when a tractor--trailer that was driving in front of Johnson changed lanes and a draft on the backside of the vehicle pushed Johnson off the roadway in the process. Johnson quickly lost control of his motorcycle,crashing on the right shoulder. He came off the motorcycle, which continued to slide until hitting the guardrail. No contact was made between the motorcycle and the tractor--trailer, but Johnson was found in critical condition. The motorcycle driver was transported to Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center via ambulance and is now in stable condition. Read More
