Omar King Macon Telegraph Thursday 20230104

A Georgia mother, Allison Jones, who believed her husband was a serial killer, pleaded guilty but mentally ill to the murder of her seven-year-old son. She was sentenced to life without parole. Jones had a history of mental health issues and had falsely reported her husband as a serial killer. The plea agreement was reached after reviewing medical reports. In another article, a lawsuit aimed at stopping the construction of a $5 billion electric vehicle plant in Georgia was dismissed. The judge ruled that local zoning laws do not apply to state-owned property. The plant is expected to create 7,500 jobs. Lastly, Georgia gun owners can now carry a concealed handgun without a permit under the Georgia Constitutional Carry Act passed in 2022. However, there are still requirements to obtain a weapons carry license if desired. This program is intended for a print-impaired audience and is brought to you by the Georgia Radio Reading Service, GARS. Welcome to our reading of the Macon Telegraph. I'm Omar King for the Georgia Radio Reading Service. Our first article today comes, again, from the Macon Telegraph. Woman who murdered son, seven, believed her husband was a serial killer, Georgia prosecutor says, by Joe Kovach, Jr., January 3, 2024. The article opens with a daytime picture of a Morgan County jail, pictured are ten cells, all gray and dark inside. A Georgia mother who, in 2021, shot and killed her seven-year-old son, in part because she was under the delusion that her husband, the boy's father, was a serial killer, on Wednesday pled guilty but mentally ill to a murder charge. The woman, Allison Jones, wept and was extremely emotional as she made a statement at a hearing in a Morgan County Superior Court. District Attorney T. Wright Barksdale III told the Telegraph, Jones, 39, was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the March 1, 2021, shooting death of her son, Maddox Jones. The boy, a first grader, was in his pajamas the morning he suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head while in his parents' bed at the family's home between Athens and Madison, about an hour's drive east of Atlanta. Details of what prompted the boy's death emerged for the first time publicly in court Wednesday. Within the article is a picture of Allison Jones when she showed up to a plea hearing in Morgan County, she's dressed in yellow prison garb, with her hair wrapped in a ponytail. Barksdale, the Okmulgee Judicial Circuit DA, said the boy's father, Doug Jones, a pharmacist, heard a gunshot in the house the morning of the shooting and rushed to see what had happened. Doug Jones was shot at by his wife. The bullet missed and he wrested the gun, a 9mm pistol, from her. Barksdale said Allison Jones had been deemed competent to stand trial, that she knew right from wrong, and that she understood the proceedings at her plea hearing. She had a documented history of mental health issues, going back to when she was 15, Barksdale said, adding that Allison Jones had twice over the years attempted suicide. The DA said a state psychiatrist and Allison Jones' own doctor had diagnosed her with major depressive disorder and major anxiety disorder. Her doctor also diagnosed her with unspecified delusional disorder of a severe type, Barksdale said. In fall of 2020, about six months before the killing, Jones showed up at the Morgan County Sheriff's Office to report falsely, as it were, that her husband was a serial killer. For half an hour, as Barksdale described it, she outlined her sincere belief that her husband, Doug Jones, was a serial killer from Indiana. She is in a frantic, panicked state talking about this, how he is responsible for multiple deaths. Nothing can be further from the truth, Barksdale said. Barksdale said Allison Jones' compulsion to shoot and kill her son some six months later was at least in part attributable to her continued false belief that Doug Jones was a danger to them. A video recording of Jones making the false report showed her claim to be so far-fetched and her beliefs so fantastical, Barksdale said, that no rational person would have given her any credibility. Barksdale, after Wednesday morning's hearings, said, in her mind, she felt like the only way she and her son could escape this dangerous person that is, in her mind, her husband, was for her and Maddox to essentially be dead. So in her mind, she was killing her son to protect him. That's absolutely crazy to say, but that's pretty much what emerged. The DA said the plea agreement came about in the wake of a thorough review of medical reports and Allison Jones' medical history. He said she had also been diagnosed with a dependence disorder to opioids. We came to the conclusion that it would be best to resolve the case with the recommendation of life, with the possibility of parole, and she would plead guilty but mentally ill, Barksdale said. Her plea to felony murder means she must serve at least 30 years in prison before she can become eligible to be considered for release. She may or may not ever be paroled, Barksdale said. Barksdale further mentioned that investigators in this case, along with Doug Jones and family members were included in discussions about resolving the matter without a trial. Everybody agreed that this was a just resolution, the DA said. Everybody was in support of it. He said that when a sobbing Allison Jones addressed Judge Stephen A. Bradley on Wednesday, she apologized to her husband, her family, to the community, and to her son. Barksdale described Allison Jones as very tearful and that she appeared to me to be broken. He said that the case has struck him particularly hard because he has young children of his own. This is a case I went to the scene. I'll never forget the horror that I found at this house, Barksdale said. It just highlights again the mental health issues that we're facing as a state and a nation. It's just heartbreaking. This story again comes from the Macon Telegraph, Woman Who Murdered Son, 7, Believed Her Husband Was A Serial Killer, Georgia Prosecutor Says, by Joe Kovach, Jr., January 3, 2024. Second article comes from the Macon Telegraph, Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Aimed at Stopping Construction of Rivinian EV Plant in Georgia, by Dave Williams, via the Capitol Beat News Service, January 3, 2024. The article opens with a 2021 photo of a dark blue Rivian pickup truck parked in the middle of Times Square. From the right side of the Rivian truck is a side compartment that extends out and has a leg that operates as a table. On top of it, the driver of the Rivian truck has placed three coffee cups, a coffee mug, and some coffee beans, set to appeal to the more outdoorsy people who may be set to buy these Rivian trucks. A Morgan County judge has dismissed a lawsuit aimed at stopping the construction of a $5 billion electric vehicle manufacturing plant east of Atlanta. When Rivian Automotives first announced its plans in 2021, the plant was the largest economic development project in Georgia history, but it was superseded in 2022 when Hyundai Motor Group broke ground on a $5.5 billion EV plant west of Savannah. The lawsuit, filed by a group of nearby property owners along Interstate 20, charged the state with acquiring the property and then leasing it to Rivian to avoid local zoning laws. Morgan County Superior Court Judge Stephen Bradley ruled Tuesday that local zoning regulations do not apply to state-owned property. The plant's opponents cited the impacts of increased traffic, litter, water, contamination, and damage to local wetlands. The Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Joint Development Authority of Jasper, Morgan, Newton, and Walton Counties, JDA, closed on the bonds financing the project in November and executed a rental agreement giving Rivian long-term rights to the site. The state, JDA, and more importantly, taxpaying Georgians, have again prevailed in overcoming the latest attempt by a few individuals who are committed to opposing this generational project that will benefit countless Georgians, the state and local agencies wrote in a prepared statement. It is in a new year and this ruling is a defining new chapter as we look forward toward a bright future of success with Rivian. Construction is due to begin soon on the project, but it's expected to create 7,500 jobs. That was the end of our second article, Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Aimed at Stopping Construction of Rivian EV Plant in Georgia, by Dave Williams, January 3, 2024. Our third article comes from the Macon Telegraph, Want to Carry a Concealed Handgun in Georgia? Here's What the Law Allows, by Tanasia Kinney, January 3, 2024. In Georgia, gun owners can carry a concealed handgun without a permit. The Georgia Constitutional Carry Act, passed in 2022, allows lawful gun owners to carry a concealed weapon in most public spaces without getting a weapons carry license from the state. Governor Brian Kemp championed the measure, known as Permitless Carry, as a way to build a safer, stronger Georgia. Senate Bill 319 makes sure that law-abiding Georgians can protect themselves without having to ask permission from state government, Kemp said, before signing the bill into law. The Constitution of the United States gives us that right, not the government. State law previously required owners to apply for a weapons permit and pass a federal background check before they were authorized to carry a firearm, concealed or otherwise, according to Georgia Code 1611-129. Applicants might receive a pamphlet or literature with gun safety advice, however, that law states that no person shall be required to take such classes or courses related to firearm safety. Still looking to become a licensed gun owner? Here's how to get a carry permit in Georgia. To be eligible for a weapons carry license, a person must be at least 21 years old, 18 if you have military experience, pay a $30 application fee, be fingerprinted by a law enforcement agency or approved vendor, pass a criminal background check from the Georgia Crime Investigation Center and the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System, not be a convicted felon or have pending felony charges, not be a fugitive, not have a drug conviction, not have had their weapons license revoked within three years of the application date, not have been treated in a mental health institution or drug rehab program within five years of the application date. If approved, the permit is valid for five years, so long as an individual is a resident of the county where they applied according to Georgia Code 1611-129. Permit holders may carry any weapon in any of Georgia's 159 counties. In 2022, the Georgia House also passed a bill allowing anyone licensed to carry a handgun in another state to have the same permission in the Peach State record show. Reciprocally, more than two dozen states, including Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee recognize a Georgia weapons carry license according to the Georgia Attorney General's Office. Where can you carry a concealed handgun in Georgia? Under Georgia law, gun owners can carry a concealed weapon at home or on private property, in a motor vehicle, in public buildings or businesses, in public parks, in recreational areas, in historical sites, while hunting, fishing, or sports shooting. Select school personnel can also volunteer to conceal carry on school grounds, but only after completing firearms training that includes judgment pistol shooting, marksmanship, and a review of current laws relating to the use of force for the defense of self and others, according to Georgia Code 1611-130. Weapons must be carried on the person and not in a purse, backpack, or other accessory where a student might find it, the law says. Concealed handguns cannot be carried in places where they are federally prohibited, however, including airports, courthouses, prisons, and jails, according to the Giffords Law Center. That was our third article, Want to Carry a Concealed Handgun in Georgia? Here's What the Law Allows, by Tanasia Kinney, January 3rd, 2024. Our fourth article comes from the Macon Telegraph, Judge Rejects Voter Intimidation Charges Against Texas Conservative Group in Georgia, by Dave Williams, January 3rd, 2024. A federal judge has ruled in favor of a Texas-based conservative group in a lawsuit over its effort to lodge more than 364,000 challenges to Georgia voters' eligibility. U.S. District Judge Steve Jones, the same jurist who upheld state's new congressional and legislative district maps last week, declared Tuesday that True the Vote's actions did not constitute illegal voter intimidation, as alleged by Fair Fight Action, the voting rights group founded by Democrat Stacey Abrams. True the Vote filed challenges in December 2020 ahead of two runoff elections that bolted Democrats John Ossoff and Raphael Warnock into U.S. Senate, claiming that affected voters appeared to be ineligible to vote because of changes in residency. Local elections officers rejected most of the challenges. Jones found that the group's actions did not rise to the level of violating the Voting Rights Act. This decision is monumental, said Jake Evans, lead attorney for the True the Vote in the case. It vindicates True the Vote in totality and establishes that eligibility challenges under Section 230 of the federal law are a proper method to ensure voter rolls are accurate. But other portions of Jones' ruling criticized the organization's process for challenging voters. As the federal court weighed the evidence presented by True the Vote's tactics in the 2021 runoff election, it did not hold back its criticism of the Texas group's methods, said Ciante Stewart-Reed, Fairfax Executive Director. To the contrary, the 145 opinion expressly states the court in no way is condoning True the Vote's action in facilitating a mass number of seemingly frivolous challenges. A sweeping overhaul of state election law the General Assembly passed in 2021 after the Senate runoffs and after the lawsuit was filed allows individuals to file an unlimited number of voter eligibility challenges. That concludes the fourth article of our program from the Macon Telegraph, Judge Rejects Voter Intimidating Charges Against Texas Conservative Group in Georgia by Dave Williams, January 3, 2024. The fifth article comes from the Macon Telegraph, Macon's Washington Memorial Library Takes Aim at a Deeply Rooted Problem Here by Megan Jackson, Center for Collaborative Journalism, updated January 2, 2024. The article opens with a photo of the Washington Memorial Library. On the outside are pristine trees and well-cut grass, and the sun is beaming well off the white marble exterior of the building. Macon's Washington Memorial Library offers many different free services to the public, including services with the goal of increasing literacy rates and creating programming for adults. I have a core mission, and that is to increase the literacy rate in the county and to increase circulation in library card signups and to do adult programming around books, says Rebecca Scarborough, Washington Memorial Library's Adult Literacy Librarian. Washington Memorial Library celebrated its 100th birthday in November, according to Scarborough. It is difficult to statistically measure the impact of the adult literacy position because it was created within the last 16 months. However, she has seen signs of literacy improvement in Macon-Bibb County. The dropout rate is decreasing, which is a really good indicator, says Scarborough. According to a press release from the Bibb County School District, Bibb County schools have a graduation rate of 87.07% as of 2023, a 6.09% increase from 2022. Scarborough also says increases in book circulation within the library is a good indicator of increasing literacy rate. She said circulation of adult fiction and nonfiction novels has seen an increase in adult programming. My core goal is always to, in any way, make adults kind of re-engage with the library, says Scarborough. Programs such as adult book clubs, reader's advisory, and tutorials on how to navigate online materials and request materials throughout the Pines library system all help to increase library interest. Reader's advisory, also known as book chats, is a service Scarborough offers in order to help people find a book that best serves their needs and interests. It's kind of like being a book apothecary, she says. Book chats offer library patrons the chance to sit down one-on-one with a librarian and discuss the books they have read in the past and expand literary horizons, according to Scarborough. To schedule a book chat, people can visit the Middle Georgia Regional Library's website. About 200 books have been added to the collection that have been directly because I got to know more patrons on a one-to-one basis, Scarborough says. The more I get to do the reader's advisory and the book chats, the more reflective the collection as a whole is what the people of Macon want and need. In addition to book chats and book clubs, Scarborough says the library is developing a nutrition literacy program set to launch in January. Amy Williams, the owner of the Carnivore Nutrition, will be leading the free program with the goal of increasing knowledge about nutrition facts and myths and how to read and understand the elements of nutrition labels. According to Scarborough, the Washington Memorial Library is so much more than just four walls. Just in this one building, we have children's services, we have adult technology services, we have genealogy, we have circulation, and that's just in this one building. Through continued programming and community involvement, Scarborough believes the library is a place for people of Macon-Bibb County to continue to grow and learn. The library offers something that there really is no substitution for, Scarborough says. And that concludes the fifth article from the Macon Telegraph, Macon's Washington Memorial Library Takes Aim at Deeply Rooted Problem Here, by Megan Jackson, from the Center of Collaborative Journalism, updated January 2nd, 2024. Our sixth article comes from the Macon Telegraph, Once People See the Unique Guitar-Shaped Airport, How Could They Not Pick Macon?, by Laura Corley, Liz Fabian, and the Center for Collaborative Journalism, updated January 3rd, 2024. Last week, we brought the next five of 20 things to look forward to in the new year in Macon-Bibb County. Looking ahead to 2024, Bibb County residents can expect airport construction, state decisions on the futures of the academy for classical education and serious academy, loan money to come available for developers to build housing in several neighborhoods, a governmental focus on growing retail and transportation safety, directors to take the helm of the county's efforts to end pedestrian deaths. So here we go, number 11, airport construction projects. The future high-note six-base operation at Middle Georgia Regional Airport will be the only FBO in the world shaped like a guitar, visible from the air, Mayor Lester Miller said. By spring 2024, Macon-Bibb County is expected to launch a search for a contractor to build a one-of-a-kind guitar-shaped building to service private aircraft and charter flight passengers at Middle Georgia Regional Airport. The new $12 million high-note aviation facility will replace the old low-aviation facility that operated for more than three-quarters of a century and will continue its charter service. The county's new building, which will serve as a fuel center, maintenance operation and terminal for private aircraft, is not the only major project getting underway at the county's two airports. The long-awaited $30 million runway expansion project at Middle Georgia's Regional Airport, which Miller called a game-changer, will add 600 feet to lengthen the main runway to 7,100 feet, which will allow larger jets and loaded passenger planes to land on the airstrip in South Bibb County. The extension could not only help the county lure more passenger flights to Macon, but provide greater opportunities for local aerospace companies to do more business. The Federal Aviation Administration also approved construction of a new air traffic control tower for the Middle Georgia Regional Airport. At the Macon Downtown Airport, formerly known as Herbert Smart Airport, construction begins January 8 to reconstruct the runway, which currently does not comply with the FAA's line-of-sight requirements. Macon-Bibb Aviation Director Doug Fowle said it should take about six months to level the runway so that pilots can see both the approach and departure ends and avoid collisions and other mishaps. The county accepted a $5.3 million grant from the Georgia Department of Transportation and agreed to a matching grant of over $1 million for the runway reconstruction. Reeves Construction was awarded the nearly $5.8 million contract, and Goodwin Mills Cowood will bill nearly $565,000 for consulting services on the project. Number 12, State Charter School Contracts Up. Staff and board members of the State Charter Schools Commission visited Sears Academy on August 23, 2023, to discuss the school's eligibility for renewal of its charter contract. The current two-year probationary charter expires June 2024. The State Charter School Commission will decide in February whether it will renew charter contracts from 10 charter schools, including Sears Academy and the Academy for Classical Education in Macon. Sears Academy is completing its final year of the two-year probationary contract, during which the school has struggled to meet the terms of its charters in areas of governance, academics, finances, and operations. The school was placed on a probationary status in September and is required to submit corrective action plans in addition to more frequent status updates to the state's Charter Schools Commission. In December, the governing board for Sears voted to approve adding two new board members as a part of the corrective action plan to meet the minimum board capacity its bylaws require for a quorum. Sears Academy opened in 2016 in the old Eugenia Hamilton Elementary School near Pionono Avenue in Anthony Rose. It enrolls about 500 students each year. The Academy for Classical Education is in its 10th year of operation. The school, which serves kindergarten through 12th grade, was granted a five-year charter contract with the state Charter Schools Commission in 2019. The school's test scores for high school grades have consistently soared above local state averages. Even so, the school continues struggling with issues including lack of diversity and disproportionate discipline for non-white students. Number 13, Nonprofit to Launch Revolving Loan Fund for Developers. A crew employed by Stafford Construction works on a new home on Ward Street in Macon's Pleasant Hill neighborhood. Pleasant Hill is one of the places carved out for work by a new federally funded affordable housing non-profit group of which Stafford Construction is a member. A newly formed non-profit that received millions from Macon-Bibb County is set to begin accepting applications next year for its revolving loan fund meant to help develop affordable housing in four neighborhoods with high rates of poverty. The Macon-Bibb County Affordable Housing Fund incorporated a private non-profit established by the county late January received $7.5 million of the county's COVID-related federal grant money to establish a revolving loan fund meant to incentivize developers to build affordable housing in Pleasant Hill, along Houston Avenue and pockets of East Macon and at Tyndall Fields. The board includes representatives from Macon-Bibb County Land Bank, the Macon-Bibb Urban Development Authority, the Macon Housing Authority, the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, Synovus Bank, and Stafford Builders and Consultants. Everett Vernor, executive director of the land bank and board chairman for the non-profit, said the non-profit will need to hire an executive director for the non-profit before it begins accepting loan applications. We want to get the new person in before we start making more work for them, Vernor said. I'm telling people who are interested in borrowing that we hope to have RFPs or just an application portal up and going early next year. Since the Macon-Bibb County Affordable Housing Fund incorporated is a non-profit, its meetings and businesses are not open to the public, Laura Corley. Number 14, Macon-Bibb Honing Retail Strategy. Crescent Corners would feature 230 apartments, a commercial gym, and a coffee shop. Urban businesses and development leaders are joining forces in 2024 to identify retail recruitment strategies for the whole community. The Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority, Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce, Visit Macon, New Town Macon, and the Urban Development Authority are hiring a firm based in Birmingham, Alabama to analyze needs and assess trends that will identify opportunities for new business and growth. Retail strategies promotes itself as a national expert in recruiting businesses and strategically planning growth. Our team sees a tremendous opportunity to elevate, diversify, and redevelop retail in the entire county, bringing greater exposure to the vision of leadership and momentum that will serve as an extension of leadership with a focus on retail, Mill Graves, the Senior Director of Community Partnership and Retail Strategies, said in a news release. Mayor Miller said the company will help strengthen the entire community with retail investment that would best serve those neighborhoods. With retail strategies, we will be better placed to bring new options, bring back favorites, fill vacant storefronts, and create new development, all which will better serve that area, our entire county, and the entire region. Retail Strategies has clients in 200 communities with offices in Atlanta, Fort Worth, Texas, and Starkville, Mississippi. The company's connections to retailers, brokers, and developers across the country will extend Macon-Bibb's reach to recruit new businesses according to the release. That concludes our reading of the Macon Telegraph. This has been Omar King for the Georgia Radio Reading Service. Thank you for listening to GARS.