Omar King Macon Telegraph Thursday 20240118

A man in Macon has been found guilty of raping a 14-year-old girl and giving her HIV. He was sentenced to life in prison. The jury only took 20 minutes to convict him. The trial lasted a week and also revealed that he had assaulted another woman. In another article, Georgia lawmakers are recommending smaller class sizes, higher teacher pay, and more funding for pre-kindergarten education. The goal is to improve educational outcomes and allow more parents to reenter the workforce. The recommendations would cost around $100 million per year. Lastly, the state of Georgia has hired a literacy coach from the Marietta School System to lead a statewide literacy initiative. The coach will work on creating a coaching plan and providing training to educators. The state is committed to improving literacy instruction in recent years. This program is intended for a print and paired 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. Today is Thursday, January 18, 2024. Our first article comes to us from the Macon Telegraph. Trigger warning. The title of the article is, Jury Convicts Macon Man of Raping 14-Year-Old Girl. She Contracted HIV from Him, by Micah Johnston, updated January 16, 2024. A Macon man has been found guilty of 10 crimes, including rape and child molestation, after he repeatedly sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in 2016 and 2017, according to the Macon Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office. Torrance Fateh Thornton, 49, was sentenced Friday to three consecutive life sentences and an additional 90 years in prison. The jury needed just 20 minutes to convict him in a case that had been pending for more than seven years. The trial, which began Monday, January 8, lasted one week. Thornton raped and molested the girl repeatedly for almost a year, according to witnesses who testified during the trial, and he also sexually assaulted a second woman during that span. The rape of the second woman, who was 21 at the time, was discovered during the investigation, the DA's office said. My heart is truly saddened by the horrific events these two young girls were forced to endure at the hands of this predator, said DA Anita Howard in a written statement. His actions, in effect, sentenced them both to a lifetime of nightmares, guilt, and shame, including a lifetime of HIV infection for one young victim. I am so proud of these young ladies for their commitment to seeing this case through in its rightful culmination. In addition to the sexual assaults, the jury convicted Thornton of reckless conduct by a person with HIV after he raped a girl while knowing he was HIV positive. The 14-year-old girl, who was violated repeatedly over the course of a year, later tested positive for HIV, which sparked the investigation that led authorities to Thornton. Prosecutors during the trial said Thornton was like an uncle to the girl. Thornton made the fateful statement to the girl, one that he would repeat often during the course of the next year, if you do for me, I'll do for you. Lead Prosecuting Attorney Dawn Baskin said during her opening statement, evidence will show that she was 14 at the time in 2016 and she did not know what the scope of that meant. Thornton and his attorneys claimed in the trial that the girl, who lived on the same property as him but in a separate house at the time, falsified the assault claims to try and escape the custody of her legal guardian at the time, who they say was very strict. Defense attorneys also argued that Thornton has a condition that prevents him from having sex. A key wrinkle in the case surfaced when prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed under an order from Judge Jeffrey Monroe before the trial began to bar witnesses from discussing whether the 14-year-old victim had tested positive for HIV. The trial took an early turn during opening statements when the defense attorney claimed there was no physical evidence against Thornton proving the sex assaults. Prosecuting Attorney Baskin pounced, objecting to the statement and lobbying for Judge Monroe to let witnesses speak about the victim's HIV test. She claimed that the girl's status as HIV positive counted as physical evidence. The defense attorney specifically said no physical evidence of an assault. That your honor opens the door. This young lady is HIV positive. That is evidence of an assault, Baskin said. She was 15. Somebody had to give it to her. I have an expert who's treated her who is prepared to say that she has HIV. Monroe agreed and allowed the testimony. You danced too close to a bear trap and struck your foot in it and now it's closed, Monroe sternly told one defense attorney as he vacated the old ruling. The first testimony after the ruling came from the doctors and nurses who confirmed that the young victim tested positive for HIV in 2017. Next came testimony from family members and the victims. One witness, a woman who became the victim's legal guardian after the alleged child molestation, recounted how the victim shed many tears when she was told she had HIV. The victim and witnesses claimed on the stand that Thornton told her he had cancer, a lie to apparently cover up that he was HIV positive. This concludes the reading of Jury Convicts Makin' Man of Raping 14-Year-Old Girl She Contracted HIV From Him from the Makin' Telegraph by Micah Johnson, updated January 16, 2024. The second article from our January 18, 2024 reading of the Makin' Telegraph comes from the education section. Georgia Lawmakers Want Smaller Pre-K Classes, More Teacher Pay to Boost Early Education by Dave Williams, January 17, 2024. An ad hoc committee of Georgia House lawmakers is recommending smaller class sizes, higher teacher pay, and more money for operating and capital costs to beef up the state's pre-kindergarten program. With few changes in state support to the lottery-funded program since its inception 30 years ago, pre-kindergarten enrollment in Georgia has fallen from a high of 82,868 students in 2012 to 73,462. A report released by the House Working Group on Early Childhood Education Tuesday blames the decline on an inability to find teachers willing to work at state-funded salaries and inadequate state funding for opening and operating classrooms. We know when our children start fast in school, educational outcomes are improved dramatically, said House Speaker John Burns, Republican of Newington, who formed the ad hoc committee last spring. One of the best predictors of educational success is having a strong pre-kindergarten program. This is very much a workforce development issue, added Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones, Republican of Milton, who chaired the committee. The more children have access to pre-k, the more parents can reenter the workforce. The committee is recommending reducing the average pre-kindergarten class sizes from 22, a move the state made during the budget crunch during the Great Recession brought on more than a decade ago, to 20. The report also proposed raising the salaries of assistant teachers in the pre-k program from $20,190 per year to $25,700 per year, which would align their pay with the K-12 paraprofessionals and increasing pay for lead pre-k teachers to the state's salary schedule for K-12 public school teachers. There's no substitute for equalizing salaries to recognize the great important work these folks are doing, Burns said. The committee also is recommending updating the pre-k formula for operations from the current $8,000 per pre-k classroom per year, which has not been changed since 2004 to $30,000. Both public schools and private pre-k providers, for the first time, would get state funding for construction of pre-k classrooms. The various recommendations in the report would cost just more than $100 million per year, funds that would come from the Georgia Lottery Corporation's healthy budget reserves. Burns said that the goal is to put the state in a position to offer pre-k to every parent in Georgia who wants to enroll their four-year-olds in either a public or private pre-k program. The percentage of children enrolled in pre-k varies widely across the state. Some counties have waiting lists as high as 339, with 2,714 youngsters statewide on a waiting list. Statewide, only 53% of eligible children are enrolled in pre-k. I'm hopeful we will see more robust offering of public pre-k, Jones said. I'm confident we can change what has been happening over the last few years. This concludes the reading of Georgia lawmakers want smaller pre-k classes, more teacher pay to boost early education from the Macon Telegraph by Dave Williams, updated January 17, 2024. The third article from our January 18, 2024 reading of the Macon Telegraph comes from the state section, Georgia Hires Literacy Coach in Marietta School System to Lead Statewide Initiative by Dave Williams, published January 17, 2024. The article opens with a photo of a classroom with about 20 brown student desks, all facing an empty white dry erase board. State School Superintendent Richard Woods has appointed a literacy coach expert in the Marietta City School System to develop and lead a statewide literacy coaching model in Georgia. As structured, Literacy Coaching Coordinator Jay Nicholas Philman will retain his position with the Marietta District while contracting with the state agency to build the capacity of schools and districts to deliver proven nationally recognized training in structured literacy and the science of reading. Developing a tiered statewide coaching model with buy-in from local districts and schools in a common proven framework is key to continued success of Georgia's early literacy initiatives, Woods said Wednesday. Marietta City Schools have been a leader in the shift to structured literacy and the science of reading. I'm thrilled we'll have Dr. Philman on board to support our statewide efforts to ensure all students learn to read and read to learn. In his new role, Philman will work with a design team of experts to create a detailed coaching plan, direct the hiring process for regional library support coaches, and provide training to regional coaches and educators throughout the state. His work will complement and directly support the State Department of Education's partnership with the Roland-Sillins for Language and Literacy to provide literacy courses for K-5 teachers and leaders. The state has made a major commitment to improving literacy in Georgia in the last couple of years. The General Assembly passed two bills last year introducing two related approaches to literacy instruction, the science of reading, and structured literacy. The science of reading bundles together instruction on phonics with reading comprehension and vocabulary. Structured literacy, as defined by one of the new laws, refers to an evidence-based approach to teaching oral and written language characterized by explicit, systematic, cumulative, and diagnostic instruction. Governor Brian Kemp's proposed fiscal 2025 state budget contains $11.3 million for literacy initiatives including funds for regional literacy coaches and screeners for K-3 grade students. Philman holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Mercer University where his research focused on teacher coaching. This concludes the reading of the article titled, Georgia Hires Literacy Coach and Marietta School System to Lead Statewide Initiative from the Macon Telegraph by Dave Williams, published January 17, 2024. The fourth article from our January 18, 2024 reading of the Macon Telegraph comes from the Georgia section. Georgia Power wants more fossil fuel generation. This contradicts its parent's company's goal. By Gautama Mehta, updated January 17, 2024. The article opens with a photo of Georgia Power's Plant Shura in 2020. Clouds of smoke can be seen billowing from several pillars in the sky coming from the plant. The article opens, hearings began Tuesday on Georgia Power's request for a massive expansion of its electricity generation capacity. If the state's public service commission approves the utility's request, most of the new electricity would come from the burning of fossil fuels. Georgia Power's proposed plan, which it says is necessary because of an unexpected growth in the number of new industrial customers expected to move into Georgia in the coming years, involves building 1,400 megawatts of natural gas generation in Georgia as well as buying 750 megawatts of power from Mississippi Power, enabling that company to delay the scheduled shutdown of a coal plant there. At the hearings, which will continue through Wednesday, the PSC will hear from expert witnesses testifying on behalf of the power company, consumer and industrial advocates, and environmental organizations. A decision is expected in April. But there is one particular subject the commissioners likely won't hear much about from Georgia Power, its parents' company's stated goal of reducing its carbon emission to net zero by 2050, a target it's difficult to square with the additional coal and natural gas involved in Georgia Power's present request. In the eyes of some observers, filings Georgia Power submitted to the PSC earlier this month demonstrated that the utility doesn't hold itself responsible for helping the Southern Company, its corporate owner, meet that target. In response to a question about whether it considered the net zero goal while designing updates to Georgia's transmission system, a crucial component of the transition from renewable energy, the company wrote, specific clean energy targets did not impact the selection of transmission solutions. In addition to Georgia Power, the Southern Company, a Fortune 500 corporation based in Atlanta, owns power companies in Mississippi and Alabama. According to a report for the Energy and Policy Institute, a watchdog nonprofit, those utilities have historically made similar statements disavowing responsibility for helping the Southern Company achieve its company-wide net zero goal. Every subsidiary has said over and over again they are not really considering Southern Company's goal in their state-level planning processes, which means that the goal doesn't mean anything except the paper it's written on, said Daniel Tate. The Alabama-based author of the Energy and Policy Institute report. As Southern Company transitioned to net zero operations, we believe having a diversified energy portfolio is crucial to reducing emissions while maintaining reliability and affordability for customers. Georgia Power spokesperson Jacob Hawkins told The Telegraph in an email, Southern Company's enterprise-wide goals also consider its subsidiary's state-based planning processes and work with respective state public service commissions. According to a report from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the Southern Company is responsible for the second-highest amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. of any company. In Tate's view, the company's current plans make it hard to believe that it will change anytime soon. Hitting net zero targets when committing to add thousands and thousands of megawatts of new gas is impossible. It doesn't matter how much nuclear or solar you add, Tate said. The hearing continues Wednesday and is live-streamed on the PSC's YouTube page. This concludes the reading from the Georgia section, Georgia Power Wants More Fossil Fuel Generation. This contradicts its parent company's goal. From the Macon Telegraph by Kwatama Mehta, updated January 17, 2024. The fifth article from our January 18, 2024 reading of the Macon Telegraph comes from the Georgia section. Despite surplus, Georgia lawmakers must remain cautious on state spending, Kemp says, by Dave Williams on behalf of the Capital Beat News Service, January 16, 2024. The article opens with a photo of Georgia Governor Brian Kemp standing by four lawmakers and the back is the seal of the state of Georgia. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and the General Assembly's budget writers vowed Tuesday to continue a cautious approach toward spending, despite the huge surplus the state has built up during the last several years. Kemp kipped off three days of legislative hearings on the budget proposals he outlined last week by touting $5 billion in tax relief he has steered through the General Assembly and pitching his plan to accelerate additional tax cuts that took effect this month. We chose a smart, fiscally conservative path, Kemp told lawmakers in a remote video hookup from Switzerland, where he is attending the World Economic Forum. We need to stay on that path. There are a lot of needs around our state, but revenues are not as strong as they've been in the past, added Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Blake Tillery, Republican from Valdalia. We need to be sure we're prudent with the state's money. State economist Robert Bob Bushman said the nation is likely to suffer a wide recession during the first half of this year, with the U.S. gross domestic product expenditure to decline by 0.1 percent during the first quarter and 0.7 during the second quarter. While Georgia continues to fare better than the nation as a whole in key economic indicators, including inflation and unemployment, Bushman noted that much of the state's revenue growth of the last few years was fueled by capital gains. He said he expects a significant drop in capital gains this year due to an economic slowdown. In a down cycle, these gains can drop very quickly, he said. Bushman said a mild recession likely would lead to rising unemployment in Georgia, which in turn would affect the state's tax collections. The trend already has started, with the state reporting declining tax revenues during the first half of the current fiscal year. But Bushman said Georgia's unemployment rate is likely to remain below the national rate, which is projected to hit 4.3 percent later this year. Kemp said the pay increases he is recommending for state and university system employees, as well as public school teachers, should help serve as a buffer against recession. With the pay raises and the jobs we're creating that keeps people working, he said, we'll be in good shape. This concludes the reading of Despite Surplus, Georgia Lawmakers Must Remain Cautious on State Spending, Kemp says, by Dave Williams on behalf of the Capitol Beat News Service, January 16, 2024. The sixth article from our January 18, 2024 reading of the Macon Telegraph comes from the Politics and Government section, Macon Bibb Zoning Board Rules on Cluster Homes Proposal, Neighbors Are Not Happy, by Liz Fabian, via the Civic Journalism Senior Fellow, updated January 11, 2024. The Macon Bibb County Planning and Zoning Commission overruled Wesleyan Woods Neighbors objections and approved 30 cluster homes at 4687 Rivoli Drive. The homes will be built very close to each other, hence the name. The opposition spoke for more than 30 minutes about increased traffic, fears of declining property value, and changing the character of the established neighborhood with its sprawling yards. At last Monday's hearing, the owners of the 9.6-acre property, Double Eagle Associates, secured rezoning from Residential 11A to Planned Development Residential to allow for tidal density on the former single-family property. The design, which includes a landscape buffer along the perimeter, will mimic the Edmonton and Maymont neighborhoods a bit farther north on Rivoli. A 110-year-old house on the property will be demolished after developers found it would not be cost-effective to save it. P&Z Commissioner Josh Rogers explained to neighbors living nearby the existing R1 AAA zoning would have allowed 21 homes on the site without P&Z approval. One of the developers, Wayne Johnson, said they are targeting empty nesters and needed the additional homes to keep prices in the $400,000 range and not jump to the $600,000 to $750,000 range. In considering his decision, Rogers said that he had to weigh the public benefits of the project as designed. He estimated the county would have $12 million worth of property to tax under the 30-house proposal versus $8 million for 21 homes. It's a more efficient use of land to have a greater density, Rogers said, which drew grumblings from the neighbors and a stern warning from P&Z Chair Gene Esam, who threatened to clear the room if there were any other outbursts. Rogers scribbled calculations on the copy of the agenda and estimated an additional $200,000 in property taxes from this development. That's a huge boon to a county that needs money and a school district, Rogers said. He reasoned that the new homes would not degrade property values but have the opposite effect due to the price per square foot on the new builds. While he said he sympathized with those in opposition, he recognized that this is a sign of Macon's growing pains. There are a lot more people who want to live here now, and it's hard to adapt to. There are opportunities and challenges to those changes, Rogers said, because the P&Z staff report favored the development along six of its determining criteria, a denial would likely be overturned on appeal, he said. To further protect the neighborhood from the kind of cluster development, Rogers encouraged the disgruntled residents to consider forming a design review district, such as those governing Bills Hill, Vineville, and In-Town. Those districts require more scrutiny over changes that could alter the character of a neighborhood. If in design review, they wouldn't have allowed a developer to demolish that historic house, Rogers said, there are a tremendous amount of large lots in your neighborhood. If they became available, anyone can do half-acre lots without anybody's approval. For the new Revoli project, developers are targeting people looking to downsize from larger homes, but not leave the nearby amenities in North Macon, they said. P&Z Commissioner Gary Betchel was the only one to vote against the rezoning and conditional use permit of the new homes. Meanwhile, parents working late shifts will have a new option for child care at Higher Excellence Learning Center at 4433 Roundfield Road, which is not far from Log Cabin Drive. Sam Hughley, chairman of the Deacons of New Hope Baptist Church, which runs the daycare, said they are negotiating with Atrium Health Neviscent to provide daycare for hospital employees. Several companies are looking for nightcare, Hughley told P&Z. Sounds great to me, Rogers said. I know it's a huge need. P&Z approved expanding the daycare's hours to be open from 7 a.m. until midnight. Also in West Macon, commissioners denied Ledina Hunt's conditional use application to open a bar with live entertainment at 5040 Brookhaven Road in a shopping center that overlooks the Harrison Road Walmart. Hunt, who did not attend the hearing, intended to operate from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Wednesday to Sunday in the 4,400-square-foot storefront at the end of the Strip shopping center. Hunt planned to regularly have DJs, bands, and karaoke, according to the application. P&Z unanimously denied the request due to the residential zone adjacent to the shopping center. I'm persuaded by the same concerns as staff that it is not an appropriate conditional use for this location, Rogers said. Proximity to single-family dwellings, I can't imagine having a bar next door open to 2 a.m. Last summer, Macon-Bibb County demolished the closest house to the proposed bar because of the blighted condition, but property along Massey Road remains in the single-family residential zone. In other action, 1952 Clinton Road rezoning approved to allow construction of new duplexes in a planned development expected to be built in stages. This item was discussed during a prior hearing but lacked a majority vote due to Commissioner absences. At 1015 Calhoun Street, variance granted to reduce the minimum lot requirement and raise the maximum lot coverage to create a duplex at a 1900 single-family home in the Beale's Hill Historic Preservation District. 1510 Bass Road conditioning use granted for a new Mavis Tire store. 111 O'Neill Drive conditional use approved to allow manufactured homes with decks on the property. At 635 Womack Street, conditional use granted for John Terrell Jackson to run a retail aquaponics farm and bait-and-tackle business. Jackson would like to rent view halls at the same location but needs to secure approval from traffic engineers for required parking, CC, or granted permission by a neighboring landowner to park vehicles on that lot. This concludes the reading of Macon Bid Zoning Board Rules on Cluster Homes Proposal, Neighbors Are Not Happy by Liz Fabian via the Civic Journalism Senior Fellow, updated January 11, 2024. The seventh article from our Thursday, January 18, 2024 reading of the Macon Telegraph comes from the Food and Drink section. How much alcohol did Georgia residents drink last year? What report says amid dry January? By Chelsea Matten, updated January 12, 2024. 99 gallons of beer on the wall, 99 gallons of beer, wait, that's not how it goes. Well, a new report from the Pew Research Center found out just how much alcohol the people of the United States consumed last year, and you're going to want to read it, especially if you're participating in dry January. The report broke it down into gallons of pure alcohol, ethanol, consumed by adults 21 and older in each U.S. state. Scotch, whiskey, wine, or beer, take your pick. Whatever you choose is sure to add up at the end of the year, but how much? The Pew Research Center reported that in 2023, the average Georgia resident consumed between two and 2.49 gallons of alcohol. A standard drink contains about 0.6 ounces of pure alcohol, so that means residents drank between 426 and 531 drinks in 2023. At first glance, that may seem high, but the average American drank 2.83 gallons of alcohol in 2021, which adds up to 603 standard drinks. And in the early 80s, drinking alcohol was at an all-time high. Per capita, alcohol consumption peaked in the early 1980s at 3.28 gallons, or almost 700 drinks. It bottomed out in the late 1990s at 2.45 gallons per person, or about 523 drinks. New Hampshire and Delaware have the highest rates per capita of alcohol consumption, with more than 3.99 gallons consumed. Nevada, Florida, and Washington, D.C. also had high rates of alcohol consumption per person. Pew Research Center attributed this to factors such as tourism, alcohol taxes, and sales for neighboring states. On the other end of the scale, Utah has the lowest rates of alcohol consumption per person, and when you look at each region in the U.S., western states drink more alcohol than any other region. This concludes our reading of How Much Alcohol Did Georgia Residents Drink Last Year by Chelsea Madden, updated January 12, 2024. That concludes our reading of the Macon Telegraph. This has been Omar King from the Georgia Radio Reading Service. Thank you for listening to GARS.