Georgia News Roundup

Meeting to focus on aging issues

ALBANY — The Coalition of Advocates for Georgia’s Elderly (CO-AGE) will conduct a forum on senior issues called Putting Aging Issues in the Spotlight at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Kay Hind Senior Life Enrichment Center, 335 W. Society Ave.

CO-AGE was begun by the Georgia Council on Aging. The coalition is meant to be a forum to identify and address concerns of older Georgians. Organizers say it’s a vehicle for bringing broad-based input to aging issues from across the state; uniting a diverse group of organizations, individuals, consumers and providers interested in “aging specific” and inter-generational issues, and a unifying force for communicating the importance of providing supportive communities and adequate services and programs for older Georgians.

This event is free and open to the public. Organizers say anyone with concerns regarding aging issues is encouraged to attend.

English named to state board

ATLANTA — Beth English, executive director of Easter Seals Southern Georgia, has been appointed to the Georgia Historical Records Society by Gov. Nathan Deal.

Her appointment was one of a dozen announced Thursday by Deal’s office.

In addition to working with Easter Seals, an organization that works to ensure that all people living with disabilities or special needs have equal opportunities in the community, English is a member of the Vienna City Council and serves as the mayor pro tem. She is a past president of the Georgia Municipal Association and the state public policy chair of the GWFC Vienna Woman’s Club. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Valdosta State University. English and her husband, Steven, have one child and three grandchildren. They live in Vienna.

President applauds I-85 blaze responses

WASHINGTON (TNS) — President Trump huddled Thursday at the White House with first responders from Atlanta’s I-85 bridge collapse, commending them for preventing any casualties following the March 30 blaze that claimed an elevated portion of the highway near Buckhead. He also repeated previous pledges to greenlight more money for infrastructure spending and law enforcement.

“Georgia state police and Atlanta police took fast action to get motorists away from danger. Then our great firefighters battled 40-foot flames, which was incredible,” Trump said. “Everybody was watching. Your skill and courage saved many lives and represented true strength.”

The president met for about 20 minutes in the White House’s Roosevelt Room with 15 officers from the Atlanta Police Department, the city’s Fire Rescue Department and the Georgia State Patrol before giving the group a tour of the Oval Office.

Trump praised Gov. Nathan Deal’s response in the aftermath of the bridge’s collapse — the Republican almost immediately declared a state of emergency in Fulton County in order to access federal funding and soon after spoke with the president. Trump said his “administration stands with” Georgia and its law enforcement.

“The police, the firefighters, the first responders, you will always have the support of President Trump,” he said.

Trump also saluted his own administration for quickly greenlighting $10 million for repair work.

“I approved it literally the day that it happened. I had a feeling you’d need a little bit of money,” the president said, prompting chuckles from the room.

Two plead guilty to Medicaid fraud

ATLANTA – The Office of the Attorney General today said Friday that Demario Phillips and Pamela Baker pleaded guilty to Medicaid Fraud in Cobb County Superior Court.

“The public relies upon the honesty and integrity of individuals who participate in the Georgia Medicaid program,” said Attorney General Chris Carr. “Those who violate that trust will be prosecuted, and I applaud the efforts of our Medicaid Fraud Control Unit for investigating and prosecuting this case. We believe that their efforts to seek justice on behalf of Georgia citizens are reflected in Judge Flournoy’s sentence.”

Judge Robert E. Flournoy III sentenced Phillips to two years in prison followed by 18 years of probation and Baker to one year in prison followed by 19 years of probation for their roles in a conspiracy that resulted in nearly $300,000 in fraudulent payments for health care services never rendered. As part of their sentences, Phillips and Baker are required to pay combined restitution in the amount of $277,065.87 to the Georgia Medicaid program.

From November 2013-March 2015, Phillips and Baker operated Leap of Faith Community Outreach in Cobb County, which was enrolled with Amerigroup, a Georgia Medicaid contractor, to provide behavioral health services. An investigation by the Georgia Medicaid Fraud Control Unit found none of the services for which Phillips and Baker billed were provided or documented properly. The case was initiated by members of Amerigroup’s Medicaid Special Investigations Unit.

One killed in MARTA shooting

ATLANTA (TNS) — One person died and three others were injured after a “targeted, but isolated” shooting Thursday on a train at the West Lake MARTA station in northwest Atlanta, the transit agency’s police chief said.

Chief Wanda Dunham identified the victim as 38-year-old Zachariah Hunnicutt. In response to the shooting, MARTA police on Friday had an increased presence “across our entire system,” she said. “The safety of our passengers continues to be our No. 1 priority.”

The suspect, Chauncey Lee Daniels, was arrested after he tripped and fell trying to escape, Channel 2 Action News of Atlanta reported. He waived his first court appearance Friday, according to a Fulton County Sheriff’s Office spokesman.

It was not immediately known if the train was arriving or departing the station at the time of the shooting.

The injured passengers, two men and a woman, were taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, according to officials. Their injuries are non-life-threatening. A fifth person was injured in the panic but was not hit by gunfire.

Teen in court in grandparents’ killings

ATLANTA (TNS) — A teenager faced a Gwinnett County judge Friday for the first time since being accused of beating and killing her grandparents, according to Channel 2 Action News.

Cassandra Bjorge, 17, was wearing a bandage on her arm after stabbing herself just before being apprehended Sunday.

A day earlier, Gwinnett police discovered the bodies of her 63-year-old grandparents, Wendy and Randall Bjorge, in their home in the 1900 block of Furlong Run near Lawrenceville.

Cassandra Bjorge and boyfriend Johnny Rider, 19, allegedly stabbed, punched, kicked and used a tire iron against the couple, according to warrants obtained by the TV station.

Cassandra Bjorge was booked into the county jail Wednesday night on murder and aggravated assault charges.

Rider was booked Monday on murder, aggravated assault and theft charges. He appeared in court Thursday.

Fired Gwinnett officer nearly demoted in ‘14

ATLANTA (TNS) — A Gwinnett police officer fired Thursday after video surfaced of him punching a suspect in a traffic stop was nearly demoted in 2014 following a suspension based on a citizen complaint, according to records reviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The complaint was only one of 12 lodged against Sgt. Michael Bongiovanni that the department’s internal affairs division sustained. It’s unclear what specifically occurred during the incident, in which Bongiovanni was found to have violated department policy regarding his duties as a supervisor and highway interdiction and commercial vehicle enforcement officer. More records on the case were expected to be released Friday afternoon.

Bongiovanni was one of two Gwinnett officers fired Thursday for excessive use of force relating to a traffic stop near Lawrenceville. Earlier in the day, Master Police Officer Robert McDonald was fired after a video posted on social media showed him kicking Demetrius Hollins in the head. Hollins was handcuffed and lying on the ground at the time.

Initially, Bongiovanni was not accused of wrongdoing and was instead praised for reporting McDonald’s actions.

But later in the day, a second video surfaced online showing Bongiovanni punching Hollins. Gwinnett Police Chief Butch Ayers said Bongiovanni had not disclosed the incident in his report or in a subsequent interview.

When confronted with the video, Ayers said Bongiovanni was not apologetic. Instead he replied, “It’s different on the streets.”

Lobbyists spend $400K to woo lawmakers

ATLANTA (TNS) — Lobbyists spent more than $400,000 on group events for Georgia lawmakers over three months during the 2017 legislative session which ended in March.

Those group expenditures ranged from large, open-invitation buffets at the Georgia Railroad Freight Depot across from the Capitol to dinners hosted at some of Atlanta’s best restaurants, where entire committees were feted by special interests.

While individual gifts from lobbyists to lawmakers are capped at $75 per gift, many such group events have no cost ceiling. That loophole was written in the 2013 ethics reform bill lawmakers passed after years of voters’ clamoring for change.

This year, a group of lobbyists hosted a private dining experience for the Senate Regulated Industries Committee at Wisteria, an Inman Park restaurant. The cost for the 14-member committee was reported as $5,315.

While lobbyists consider a private meal with an individual lawmaker the most effective, group meals are efficient. As a result, lobbyists spent $4 on group events for every $1 they spent on an individual lawmaker.