Your Hometown Newspaper Devoted To The Progress Of Gilmer County

VOL. 138 • NO. 30 • U.S.P.S. NO. 630-280 July 25, 2013 EST. 1875 • CONSOLIDATED 1916 • 75 CENTS

Stone quintsto turn 14See Gilmer Living 1B

Performing artsseries returnsthis fallSee Around Town 1D

Perry settles for silverSee Sports 1C

The Times-Courier The Times-Courier will feature helpful will feature helpful articles and articles and advertisements advertisements throughout the month. throughout the month.

July is Health & July is Health & July is Health & Medical month! Medical month! Medical month!

Contributed photo

SWAT team members from Gilmer and Cherokeecounties compare notes while standing near a tactical vehicle Monday in Coosawattee RiverResort. Authorities responded to what they initiallybelieved was an armed individual making threats inthe camper section of the complex.

by Mark Millicanmarkmillican@timescourier.com

When Michael Hub-bard and his wife, Cyn-thia, met a backpackerwho asked them if theyowned a Honda back atthe trailhead, they fearedthe worst.“As we were coming out

we passed some folks anda fellow said, ‘Hey, is thaty’all’s Honda out there(at the parking area)?’And I said, ‘Yeah,’ and Iknow when somebodyasks me that, it’s notgood,” said Michael. “Hetold us what happenedand said he parked rightnext to us, but that ourwindow was broken.”The Hubbards, of

Sandy Springs, had spentthe night of the July 13-14 weekend on theConasauga River Trail inthe Cohutta WildernessArea, a daunting hikethat crosses the tributary18 times on the way toJacks River Falls and thepopular Beech Bottomsarea.“We didn’t go as far as

Beech Bottoms, we justwent about three milesand found a nice spot to

camp by the river,” saidHubbard. “Our main pur-pose was to test out someof our equipment to see ifit was still OK sincewe’ve got a big trip com-ing up. It was wet and

buggy, but we enjoyedour time there. It’s such abeautiful place.”The Gilmer County

Sheriff’s Office workedtwo break-ins on Sundayat the Betty Gap parking

area that accesses theriver trail, and the Fan-nin County Sheriff’sOffice worked another

Cars vandalized in Cohuttas

Contributed photo

Michael Hubbard and his German shepherd Emma navigate one of the cross-ings on the Conasauga River Trail during the same July 13-14 weekend whenthree cars were broken into at trailheads in the Cohutta Wilderness Area.

by Whitney Crouchwcrouch@timescourier.com

Classes resume Thurs-day, Aug. 8, for studentsin the Gilmer CountySchool System. Teachers return for

pre-planning Thursday,Aug. 1, to make finalpreparations for the2013-2014 school year. Each area public school

will hold an open housein the days prior to thefirst day of classes. Gilmer Pre-K’s open

house will take placeMonday, Aug. 5, from 6 to8 p.m.Ellijay Primary School,

Ellijay ElementarySchool and MountainView Elementary Schoolwill be holding openhouses Tuesday, Aug. 6,

from 4 to 6 p.m.Gilmer Middle School

students and their par-ents are invited to dropin to meet their home-room teacher betweennoon and 6 p.m., Wednes-day, Aug. 7. Clear Creek Middle

School and Gilmer HighSchool will also host

their open houses the daybefore school starts —Wednesday, Aug. 7 —from 4 to 6 p.m. and 5 to7 p.m., respectively. As school buses return

to the roads at the end of

Schools to host open houses starting Aug. 1

Photo by Whitney Crouch

Ellijay Primary School teachers wave farewell to students on the last day of the2012-2013 school year. After two months of summer vacation, they soon will bewelcoming area children back to school when classes resume the morning ofThursday, Aug. 8.

In this issue...

@TimesCourier facebook.com/timescourier

National/State Roundup.......2AEditorial..........................4AChurch News/People .......6–7AObituaries .......................8AExtension News.................9ALions Recognized.............10AGilmer Living....................1BEllijay Every Day ...............2BLegals .........................3–7BCar Couple ......................7BThe Upside ......................8B

Sports .........................1–2CFocus on Education ...........3CHealth & Fitness ............4–7CTV Guide .........................8CArrest Report ...................9CBaptist Center Honored .....10CAround Town ....................1DCalendar/Puzzles/Movies .....2DClassifieds ...................4–7DDixie Divas ......................8D

Golf course decision faces July 31 deadlineby Ryan R Reesrrees@timescourier.com

The clock is ticking ona decision about thefuture operation ofWhitepath Golf Course.Marc Reece, who cur-

rently leases the facility,has told Board of Com-missioner Chairman JCSanford and Commis-sioner Danny Hall hewill be terminating hislease and operation ofthe golf course, effective

July 31.Reece said he decided

to terminate after receiv-ing notice a month agothat the county wasenforcing a provision ofthe current lease callingfor a 10 percent increase

in the annual lease pay-ment, based on the CostPrice Index (CPI).“I can’t afford to pay

any more,” he said.The current lease calls

Assessors to amend trust/homesteadexemption policyby Michael Andrewsandrews@timescourier.com

It will soon be easierfor the Gilmer CountyTax Assessors Office toidentify some propertyowners whose land isunder the ownership ofa trust after an officepolicy relating to home-stead exemptions isamended. Along with a new

application form, thepolicy amendment willalso make it easier fortrust-designated parcelowners to receive home-stead exemption taxbreaks as long as a

trustee’s name isincluded on the applica-tion, said chief apprais-er Richard Lamb.“We have designed a

homestead (exemption)application form for atrust,” said Lamb. “Thiswill allow us to tracethe individual(s) alongwith the trust.”Lamb said local

financial planner JeffRiblet recently broughtto his attention a spe-cial application formused in Cobb Countythat asks for individualtrustees to be identified

The Chatsworth Times

A bus crash on FortMountain in Murray Coun-ty injured 17 on Thursdaynight, July 18. A church youth group

from Missouri was attend-ing an event at GlobalYouth Ministries located atthe Fort Mountain Retreatand Conference Center,

according to reports fromthe Georgia State Patrol.The crash happened

around 11:30 p.m. whenthe bus went off the road-way and down a hill insidethe compound. The trooper’s report said

the road was wet, and thedriver did not make a curve

Ministry bus crashes on Fort Mountain

See Cohuttas page 5A

See Golf page 3A

See Assessors page 5A

See Bus page 3A

See Schools page 3A

by Mark Millicanmarkmillican@timescourier.com

An Ellijay man hasbeen charged with drugpossession and maystill be charged withfalse report of a crimefollowing statements hemade in a 911 call —and to authoritiesresponding to the scene— about allegedly beingassaulted by an armedman.Mark Andrew Brock,

47, of 5 34th St., wascharged by the GilmerCounty Sheriff’s OfficeTuesday, July 23, withpossession of metham-phetamine after asearch warrant was

conducted at hiscamper in CoosawatteeRiver Resort, and methwas found in a bloodsample. Brock admit-tedly smoked methSunday night before hereported the assaultMonday, authoritiessaid.Law enforcement

authorities, working offinformation given themby Brock, spent asteamy Monday tryingto determine if anarmed assailant hadhidden inside Brock’scamper after he said aman came inside andthreatened him with a

SWAT teams stand down following possible hoax

See Hoax page 5A