Parent trap!

Walker answers abuse charge

In an exclusive interview with the Americus Sumter Observer, Craig Walker and his twin sister Caroline Jordan recently sat down and explained the circumstances surrounding the incident that led up to his arrest on felony child cruelty charges in the 1st degree for spanking his 15 year old niece.

Note: Due to his niece being a minor, the Observer decided to not print her name, picture, or interview her.

ASO: What is your relationship like with your brother?

Ms. Jordan: He has been a good brother. He helps me with repairs at my home, finances, and the raising of my children since they were born.

ASO: What is your relationship like with your sister and her children?

Mr. Walker: I have tried to be a good brother and a good support for her family since there is no father in the home.

ASO: What led up to the spanking that occurred on September 24, 2006?

Ms. Jordan: I called my brother to move a bedroom suit in one of my daughter’s room. He also was repairing a shelf in the bathroom. My 15-year-old, who was spanked, was asked to clean up her room. She did not obey after her uncle and I told her more than once to clean the room. My brother got a small switch (shrubbery bush limb) and spanked her on the buttocks and the legs; a couple of times she put her arm up and was spanked leaving a few welts.

My brother told my daughter that he was going to call Commander Nelson Brown to speak with my child to see if he can convince her to obey. My daughter ran next door and used one of her friend’s cell phone and called the police. She was trying to get to the police before my brother did.

Mr. Walker: That’s exactly what happened.

ASO: Do you feel like your brother was excessive in spanking your daughter?

Ms. Jordan: No

ASO: Was your daughter injured enough to require medical treatment from the spanking?

Ms. Jordan: No

ASO: What happened when the police arrived?

Ms. Jordan: When the police arrived, my daughter came back to the house with them from our neighbors. My brother Craig tried to explain to the police what happened. They read him his rights and handcuffed him. There were two arresting officers, Alphonso Ross (Black) and Scott Nelson (White).

Officer Nelson asked if the spanking was all right by me and I said yes. Then he said he didn’t see a problem.

Officer Ross spoke with his superior, Maj. Richard McCorkle, at the police station and everything changed; they proceeded to put my brother in jail with maximum charges.

Mr. Walker: I greeted the officers and introduced myself. I explained the situation to them that led to the spanking. I told them that my niece was disobedient and wouldn’t follow instructions. She has been like this since her father left their home. She became unruly after becoming a teenager. My sister has been in poor health and has been unable to stand on her legs very long. She still tries to work to care for her children as a single parent.

It just breaks my heart to see her struggle as she does and then have to come home and beg her daughter to do what she tells her to do.

ASO: Because of your brother’s arrest and the charges, are you afraid to discipline your child.

Ms. Jordan: No

ASO: Because of your activism, do you feel like your arrest was politically motivated?

Mr. Walker: The White officer did not see a problem. The Black officer, Alphonso Ross, made the political move. I was a part of the removal of former police chief Michael Yates who promoted officer Ross. Yates was very close to Maj. McCorkle.

Ross claimed that the spanking was excessive. It couldn’t have been that serious because she didn’t have to see a doctor or go to the emergency room. Once he and McCorkle talked, the maximum charges were given to me.

ASO: How would you like to see this case resolved?

Ms. Jordan: Dropped.

ASO: Do you have a closing statement?

Mr. Walker: I explained to Mr. Ross that these are my twin sister’s girls. They live in an area where gangs and drugs exist. With no father, I have tried to fill in for him. I have gone to the school whenever my sister could not be there for her daughters. I have no problem helping financially or anyway I can for them survive. It appears that it is perfectly all right to meet their needs but it is a crime to discipline them.

---

Mail spying at Americus post office

A U. S. postal worker is being investigated by the Office of Consumer Affairs in Macon for privacy rights violations stemming from a complaint filed by James L. Bryant Jr., former candidate for mayor of Americus. 

According to the letter of complaint, Jim Goodman, a clerk with the Americus Post Office, "discussed and released" information in a mail Bryant sent to the election supervisor during his (Bryant) candidacy for Mayor in October 2005. "Mr. Goodman then signed an affidavit with Steve McBreyer of the Georgia Secretary of State's Office about me mailing absentee ballots in the Post Office," Bryant said.

In the affidavit, Goodman, a Sales & Service Associate at the Americus Post Office, claimed that during the two weeks prior to the November 8, 2005 municipal election, he saw Bryant come into the Post Office on several occasions with yellow absentee ballot envelopes to mail. "I saw him mail approximately 50 envelopes during this time," Goodman said in the affidavit.

Bryant said the affidavit, which was used as evidence by Clifford Tatum, Assistant Director of Legal Affairs in the Secretary of State's Office in a September hearing, was illegal. "Jim Goodman violated my privacy rights by illegally placing me under surveillance. No one gave him permission to sort through my mail and tell Sherry Ratliff, election supervisor, what he thought I might be doing. Goodman is a clerk, not a postal inspector," Bryant said. “He is not authorized to spy on citizens' mail. He overstepped his bounds for political purposes. I have no confidence in the Americus Post Office and it really makes me wonder who else they might be spying on and what else they might be doing illegally."

Key aspects of the United States Postal Service Privacy Policy states: "We protect your information under the Privacy Act. We only share your information in the following limited situations: to a congressional office on your behalf; to financial entities regarding financial transaction issues; to a USPS auditor; to entities, including law enforcement, as required by law or in legal proceedings; to customs agencies relating to outgoing international mail; to contractors and other entities to fulfill your product or service; or with your consent."  

"Goodman's alleged spying on Bryant at the Post Office shows that he has no respect for the privacy laws in this country" said Dr. John D. Marshall, President of the Americus Sumter County Branch of the NAACP." Whether there is a connection between Goodman who was hired by former Americus Postmaster and current Election Board Chairman Herschel Morris and Election Supervisor Sherry Ratliff remains to be seen, but we will get to the bottom of it, that's for sure." 

"I was really shocked to learn that it was Jim Goodman who was spying on me. Bryant said. His wife, Barbara Goodman, was one of my favorite teachers at Americus High School. They always smiled and spoke to me whenever I would see them together in public, but I guess everyone who smiles and speaks to you isn't your friend." said Bryant.

The Americus Postmaster referred all comments to Donna Ricks, Manager of the Macon Consumer Affairs Office, who was out of town and unavailable for comments on this story.

---

Wright responds to father’s attackers

Two years after graduating from West Point, a Sumter County native is ready to put his skills to the test. Twenty-five year-old 2nd Lt. Mathis F. Wright III will be shipping off to Iraq in the upcoming weeks with his field artillery unit.

Wright is stationed with the 1st Calvary Division at Fort Hood, Texas and came home to Americus in October to visit his family before he leaves for Iraq.

"I have some mixed emotions about leaving my family behind, part of me does not want to go," said Wright, a 1999 graduate of Sumter County Comprehensive High School.  "But I received so much training for this, and I'm ready to see how I will perform."

Wright is the son of Mathis Wright II and Linda Wright of Americus.

The elder Wright made an unsuccessful attempt for Sumter County Commissioner against Randy Howard in a runoff earlier this year. Local NAACP officials and some residents blame the loss on the Americus Times Recorder, which published an article highlighting Matt Wright’s taxes, just days before the runoff.

“After disgracing my father, the Times Recorder had the audacity to run a story on me and did not mention my parents' name. I am very proud to be their son,” Wright said.

The younger Wright helped his father with the campaign.  "It was ludicrous, unfair and unjust," he said of the article in the Americus Times Recorder.

The younger Wright served in JROTC at Sumter High before going to the West Point Military Academy in N.Y. and excelled as a cadet leader. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in social science and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army in 2004.

He was then stationed with the 1st Calvary Division, before being deployed with components of ICD to New Orleans in September of last year, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Wright III said Iraq will be a "totally new" experience and deployment.

With his attendance and graduation from West Point, Wright will remain on active duty for five years and three years in the reserve. He added he's not sure how long he will remain in the military.