from Liberty County High School

Liberty’s JoJo Durden winds up for the pitch.

The 2012 Liberty County Bulldogs ended their season with a loss to the Bozeman Bucks last Friday night in the Elite Eight.

Liberty’s David Black reaches for the ball hoping to tag the runner out at 3rd base.

The Bucks beat the Dawgs by a score of 8 – 1. The Dawgs reached the Elite Eight by defeating the Wewa Gators at home the previous Tuesday night by the score of 5 – 3.

“The game against Bozeman was disappointing because we did not play our best,” said Coach Donny Coxwell.

Friday night’s match-up was the fourth time that the Bucks and Bulldogs have squared off against each other this season. Coxwell said, “They are a quality team and when you play them it is usually the team with the least amount of mistakes that wins the game and that is what happened Friday.”

Bulldog Brenton Bailey sliding into home.

The loss, though disappointing, does not take away from the great year the Dawgs have enjoyed.

They ended their season with an 18 – 10 record and they won the District Championship for the first time in six years.

“We had a great year with a great group of guys. They have worked extremely hard and are much deserving of the success they have had this year,” the coach said.

Pictured from left: Pat Summerlin, Renee Silcox, Shelia Sirmons, Sandy White, Freida and John Ritter.

The National Association of Letter Carriers held their “Stamp Out Hunger” annual food drive on Saturday, May 12. Local postal employees collected nonperishable food items from almost every customer on their routes. Together, the donations filled more than three of the large sorting hampers used at the Bristol Post Office. Postmaster Ricky Brown said it was a successful event and thanks the community for their participation. The food collected will be donated to the Liberty County Senior Citizens, The Calhoun Liberty Ministry Center and The River of Life Assembly of God Food Pantry, to help support the needs of the community.

Curtis Garrett

Two Blountstown men were taken into custody Thursday after warrants were served for their arrests following crack cocaine buys made by the Calhoun-Liberty Drug Task Force a few weeks earlier.

Curtis Garrett, 52, and Dominique Cargile, 25, were both charged with conspiracy to sell crack form of cocaine and sale of cocaine/crack.

Dominique Cargile

According to the arrest report, Garrett was caught handing over some crack to an informant working with the Task Force on March 12.

Garrett was again met by an informant making a buy on April 2. Cargile was driving the vehicle used in the transaction, according to the arrest report. Garrett was in the back seat when he handed the cocaine to an informant who was under surveillance.

On April 4, Cargile was recorded selling the drug to an informant.

During some of the transactions, the men were accompanied by a third person, who has not yet been charged.

Joseph Gortt

A domestic dispute between a married couple who had both been drinking led to their arrests this past weekend, according to a report from the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies were called to the Kinard residence of Susan Gortt, 46, and her husband, Joseph Gortt, 45, on CR 392 Saturday.

The two said they were arguing because he had been with another woman.

The husband said his wife slapped him on his head and neck and then threw something at him, hitting his knee.

Susan Gortt

His wife had a red mark on the side of her neck but would not say that she had been hit or touched.

The deputy’s report noted that since there was evidence of a physical altercation and the primary aggressor could not be determined, both were arrested for domestic battery.

Both were given a conditional release following their arrests.

by Teresa Eubanks, Journal Editor

Drivers will no longer be able to make a left turn onto Hwy. 71 from South Main Street near the old City Liquors site and motorists will have to be a little more patient now that two turn lanes have been merged into one at Charlie Johns Street and SR 20 in front of Burger King in Blountstown.

The work was under way on the roads Monday, following a decision by the Blountstown City Council to institute the changes for safety reasons.

Blountstown Police Chief Rodney Smith the changes at the S. Main and 71 should prevent any future problems. “They added a No Left Turn sign off South Main so you can’t turn back left (south) on Hwy. 71, because you’re doing a 180-degree turn on a curve,” he explained.

Motorists previously had both a right and left turn lane where Charlie Johns meets SR 20. “When we got a new sidewalk there, that left only a 10-foot wide lane to turn onto Charlie Johns,” Smith said. “If both lanes are occupied, a truck or bus turning onto Charlie Johns Street has to make a direct 90-degree turn onto a 10-foot lane. That’s nearly impossible so we’re going to take that left lane out.”

Another problem at that spot was that drivers had trouble seeing past one another when vehicles were in both turn lanes at the same time. “They had to keep inching out into the highway to see around each other,” Smith said.

To correct the problems, “We’re taking out the eastbound turn lane to make a striped island and will widen Charlie Johns Street.”

by Teresa Eubanks, Journal Editor

SFC Richard Murphy has a collection of between 35 and 40 Challenge Coins which chart the activities and accomplishments of his career. Each student in his son’s class at Tolar School now has one of their own.

A military dad who visited his son’s class at Tolar School late last year recently surprised the fifth-graders with a special gift when he sent them all Challenge Coins featuring the name and motto of his unit, the U.S. Army Transportation Agency.

He also gave the teacher, Laurie Brandon, a plaque to share with her class. In the inscription on the plaque, Sgt. First Class Richard Murphy wrote that the gift was to recognize “All your hard work and fighting spirit towards education. We thank you and your families for all your support.”

SFC Murphy, 42, said he was impressed when he spent a couple of days this past December visiting with the classmates of his 10-year-old son, Dakota.

“I saw good things from all the teachers and the kids. They seemed very motivated,” he said. “I wish I could have been there to present it to them,” he said of the gifts he sent last month.

‘ON YOUR WAY’

SFC Murphy is stationed in the Washington, D.C. area, where his unit’s responsibilities include accompanying officials and transporting supplies. He declined to go into detail about his job, but did acknowledge that he had sometimes “escorted some prominent people” in Washington.

His unit’s nickname is “Carpet” due to the fact that in early 1900s, the unit drivers drove the executive cars that had carpet in the floor while the regular government vehicles had none.  Both the nickname and their motto – “On Your Way” – are featured on the U.S. Army Transportation Agency Challenge Coin, one of which was given to each child in his son’s class.

While he won’t say it, the coin does. The U.S. Army Transportation Agency supports the White House.

Challenge Coins carry a lot of tradition in the military, Murphy said. They’re usually given out in recognition of those who go above and beyond what is required in their job. Other coins are mementos like one he received following a joint mission between his unit and the Navy.

Some are even more special, like the two he received from former Army Chief of Staff General David Petraeus, who is now the director of the CIA. Those coins were presented to him personally by the four-star General in recognition of missions in Iraq.

“You’re supposed to carry one coin with you until you get the next one,” he said. For the past 18 years, “I’ve carried one in my pocket every day.” He has a collection of between 35 and 40 coins which chart the activities and accomplishments of his career.

‘I GREW UP PATRIOTIC’

A native of Perry, Murphy joined the Army when he was just 19. This June will mark his 21st year of service.

“I was a military brat,” he said. “I grew up patriotic … my father bred it in me.”

He said early on in life he learned, “Nothing we have today was given to us without blood being shed and sacrifices being made.” He hopes to instill those values in Dakota and his younger son, four-year-old Kaden.

Before being based in Washington, D.C., Murphy was deployed to combat zones in Iraq four times for a total of four and a half years. There, he gave one-on-one combat training to Iraqi soldiers.

“I’ve seen a lot and done a lot,” he said, adding, “I don’t wish anything that I saw on anybody.” He realizes what our servicemen and women do is critical and said he hopes others understand the sacrifices that have been made.

He is quick to admit the experience took a toll on his family. His wife, Jeri-Lyn Horton-Murphy, is a Greensboro native now living in Bristol with their two boys. He admires how she’s handled things. “She’s had to be mother and father by herself. I commend her for that,” he said. “I couldn’t have done what I have without her.”

He’s looking forward to retiring in a few years and hopes to move back home to Perry where he can resume his favorite activities, including hunting, fishing and playing softball.

Tolar teacher Laurie Brandon is pictured with her class as they display plaques and their coins.

BLOUNTSTOWN – Forty-seven runners have already registered and many more are expected to take part in Saturday’s first-ever Catfish Crawl 5K in Blountstown, according to the event’s organizer, Ben Hall.

Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m. CT. The fee is $20. The run will start at 8:30 a.m. CT. Registered runners will get a shirt (while supplies last) and a backpack full of goodies.

“We’re expecting 75 or more runners,” he said. “Young and old, runners and walkers, everybody is welcome.”

Money raised through entry fees will be used to establish a scholarship fund to send a local young person to Firefighter Basic Standards Academy, according to Hall, who serves as Blountstown Fire Chief.

Participants can “run, walk or crawl” along the 3.1-mile Blountstown Greenway Trail. The race will start at the Depot and travel down the Greenway Bike Path and turn around just before reaching River Street.

Spectators are welcome. “If you’re not a runner but would like to cheer on some of these awesome folks out there on the trail, there are several places you can sit or stand and cheer, wave signs and encourage these athletes,” he said.

Access points for those wishing to cheer are at the Depot, trail access point behind KFC/Southern Express, Ridge Avenue, Mayhaw Street, and River Street at Midway Avenue.

Awards will be given for the Overall Male and Female winners, as well as the top three finishers in each age group.

Call 674-4988 for more information.

Two people are being held on $50,000 bond following their arrest last week on methamphetamine-related charges.

Melodie Baker

Investigators with the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office arranged for an informant to approach James Timothy Sapp, 49, and offer to trade pseudoephedrine pills in exchange for the finished drug that the pills were to be used to make, according to the arrest report.

The informant invited Sapp, and Melodie Baker, 49, both of Bristol to a residence, where they were expected to manufacture methamphetamine.

When the pair arrived, they were given the pseudoephedrine pills. Baker then pulled out a recipe for making meth, the report stated.

Sgt. William T. Wheetley and two deputies were waiting in a nearby room for the informant to let them know when the cooking process had started.

When they were alerted, the deputies emerged and arrested Sapp and Baker. The pair were found with items essential to the meth-making process, including lye, lithium batteries, a cold compress, acid, charcoal lighter fluid and the pseudoephedrine pills.

James Sapp

The two were placed under arrest.

A set of digital scales and a small pouch that held suspected methamphetamine – along with a glass pipe with white residue, cut straws and a tin foil strip – were discovered in Baker’s purse. Also found was a notebook in which Baker had written about methamphetamine use, according to the arrest report.

Following his arrest, Sapp admitted that he had contacted Baker to cook the drug and said he bought some of the other ingredients for that purpose.

Baker later told deputies that she was only there to help Sapp make the drug. She said she brought the instructions and the lighter fluid and had expected to get some of the finished methamphetamine in return for her help.

Baker was charged with attempted manufacture of methamphetamine, possession of listed chemicals, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Sapp was charged with attempted manufacture of methamphetamine and possession of listed chemicals.

by Teresa Eubanks, Journal Editor

A man who called 911 and said he found a severely injured woman propped up against a tree in the woods not far from his home in Liberty County was convicted last week of kidnapping and ordered to serve life in prison.

Wayne Davis

Wayne Davis, 43, of Bristol, was given a life sentence (25 years) for the kidnapping, received 20 years to run concurrently for the aggravated assault and was ordered to serve a 30-year sentence to run consecutively for failing to register as a sex offender, according to Joe Mulholland, District Attorney for the South Georgia circuit.

“She was beaten within an inch of her life,” according to Investigator Brian Donalson of the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office. He said she could not stand up or walk on her own when she was discharged after three days in the hospital.

Davis went to trial May 9, one year and seven days after deputies found the victim, covered in blood and gasoline, in an isolated area of the Sweetwater Community. She had been beaten with an aluminum bat at her home in Bainbridge, GA before she was bound and gagged, thrown in a car trunk and driven to Liberty County, according to a report from the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office.

The case went before a jury in Bainbridge, GA last Wednesday, one day after a judge ruled that a recorded confession by Davis taken by Liberty County Investigator Brian Bateman could be used in the trial.

Davis originally denied having anything to do with injuring the woman when deputies responded to his 911 call. The next morning, he admitted to Bateman that he beat, bound and drove the victim to Liberty County. He said they stopped and “talked” before he called 911.

 A DRIVE TO QUINCY

The 44-year-old victim and her kidnapper had been seeing each other for the past seven years, but when she showed up at the Quincy, FL home of another woman Davis was involved with, things escalated.

After that visit, the victim returned to her home. She gathered the clothes and possessions Davis kept there and burned them.

Two days later, Davis – driving his new girlfriend’s car – went to the victim’s home.

The victim told investigators her two youngest children left the house and walked to the bus stop at 5:55 a.m.

“At 6 a.m., Wayne Davis walked into my bedroom carrying a baseball bat and a shotgun,” she stated.

They struggled; she grabbed the bat from him but he got it back and then started beating her. Her grown daughter, sleeping in another room, did not hear her mother call out to her.

She said Davis tied her up, gagged her, put her in the trunk of the car and then poured gas and bleach on her. He told her he was going back in the house to kill her daughter. Then he closed the trunk on her.

It was quiet for a few minutes. Then he returned and started the car.

As he drove off, his cell phone rang and he answered it by hitting the speaker phone button. Although she was in the trunk and the vehicle was moving, the victim said she heard his new girlfriend ask Davis when he would return her car. She told him she needed it to get to work later that morning.

COMING TO LIBERTY COUNTY

When Davis got to the Sweetwater Community of Liberty County, he took the injured woman out of the trunk and led her into the woods.

“He basically gave her a choice of how he would kill her,” according to Donalson.

He told her he had already dug her grave.

She pulled the gag from her mouth and begged him to spare her life. He responded by repeatedly peppering her with questions about why she went to his new girlfriend’s home to start trouble.

The victim, wearing only a nightshirt and panties, had two gashes on her head and was covered in blood, but she managed to keep talking to Davis.

“I watched him start a burn pile and I thought he was going to put me in it,” the victim told investigators. She said he burned several items she had bled on, including the cloth he had gagged her with and the strap he had tied her up with.

She told him she would not tell anyone what he had done to her. She convinced him that he would look like a hero if he would call 911 and say he found her in the woods.

He left her on the ground and went to his auto repair shop nearby, where he left the car and returned in his truck.

Then he called the sheriff’s office and reported finding a white female with head injuries in the woods.

When Deputy Caryl Marotta arrived at the scene on Sydney Fletcher Road, she found the pair about 50 yards off a dirt road. Davis was kneeling behind the injured woman as if to support her sitting up. Investigator Brian Bateman drove up and heard Davis telling the deputy, “I have no idea who she is. I was just driving my truck down this road and heard a woman screaming. I stopped, got out of my truck, followed the screams and found her.”

The two law enforcement officers realized something wasn’t right with the scene.

Bateman believed the way Davis was holding the injured woman indicated that they were much more than strangers. The woman was covered in blood but there was little blood on the ground. The officers found it telling that Davis’ shirt was also covered in so much blood.

The victim was taken from the scene by ambulance. Paramedics were overwhelmed by the stench of gasoline on the victim, whose hair was still damp with it, according to a deputy’s report.

DAVIS HAS PAST CONVICTION INVOLVING VICTIM’S RELATIVE

Bateman found an aluminum baseball bat in the 2002 Dodge Neon Davis had driven from Bainbridge that morning. A 12 gauge shotgun was discovered in the trunk of another car parked at his repair shop, along with 37 rounds of ammunition.

The victim told a deputy that Davis had never hit her before. When asked if he had ever threatened to kill her, she replied, “He said that a bunch of times.”

Although his residence is listed as being on NW Martin Luther King Road in the Sweetwater Community, the victim said Davis spent “about 80 percent of his time” in Bainbridge.

Davis sat through the one-day trial without emotion as several law enforcement officers and crime scene investigators testified. The victim also took the stand. “His demenor never changed,” said Donalson.

He said the 12-member jury deliberated between 30 and 45 minutes before returning with their verdict.

Davis was charged by the Decatur County Sheriff’s Office with kidnapping, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and failing to register as a sex offender in Georgia.

He had previously served a little over six years in prison for lewd assault and sexual battery of a 13-year-old girl that he impregnated. The girl, who later gave birth, is the niece of the woman he abducted and drove to Liberty County.

Davis’ brother, Norman Davis, is currently in the Georgia Department of Corrections following his 1999 conviction involving a child molestation and kidnapping case, according to a Decatur County investigator.

‘A GOOD SENTENCE’

“It was a good sentence. He got life plus 30 years,” said Decatur County Sheriff Wiley Griffin.

“The jury saw that the victim came close to losing her life. She was smart enough to turn the tables on him and talk him out of killing her,” he said. “I think she was convinced she was fixing to die and she pulled all the tricks out of the bag.” He added, “I don’t think begging for her life would have worked.”

“We had two crime scenes. We investigated from our end (in Bainbridge) and the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office did a great job there.”

He credited Liberty County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Brian Bateman and Deputy Caryl Marotta’s efforts in the case, pointing out that both Davis and the victim tried to mislead them. “They tried to pull off a hoax but they saw through it and were able to arrest him, resulting in the charges,” he said.

To the editor:

The National Day of Prayer finds me in front of the Liberty County Court House waiting for other believers to arrive. Standing under a shade tree in front of their memorial under the bright colors of ‘Old Glory’ wondering why am I not standing in Magnolia Square in Blountstown with my Calhoun County brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus praying corporately for our declining nation? Are we not commanded to pray? Has there ever been a time when our country, our churches and our families needed divine intervention more than now? Will we be the first generation to leave the next a country in worse condition than we received it?

The empty Magnolia Square speaks volumes of the spiritual condition of our churches and of our personal commitment to prayer. Doesn’t the Bible, which is the indisputable word of God, tell us that the single most important thing we can do is pray? (1 John 3:22, 5:14; John 14:13, 15:7). Our pastors preach of the power that prayer unleashes (Matt. 18:18) and true believers know that every move of God can be traced back to a saint on his or her knees. So where was Blountstown’s public worship in faith and prayer?

How will the non-believer see us, when given an opportunity to show our obedience in faith to glorify God, we the so-called children of God stayed home, went to work and lived another carnal day as usual? Does the word hypocrite ring in your ears?

Brothers! Sisters! The light on the hill is dimming. The once mighty army of God is weak, believers living carnal lives with hardened hearts that are deaf to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. God is still calling. We need to choose now! One way is good, the other evil. One way leads to life and the other death. Will you come or will you turn and run away?

Thank you Reverend John Jackson, President of the Liberty County Ministerial Association and those who decided to step out in faith and answered the calling of God that they have on their lives.

I am living proof that there are no strangers in doing the will of God. This group of 43 warriors of the cross welcomed me, “the least of these,” into their midst.

In the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, “…sleepest thou? Couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. (Mark 14:37b-38).

John Crocker, Poplar Head Baptist Church