Local attorney weighs
in on judge’s arrest
Albany criminal defense attorney Pete Donaldson says it’s unclear thus far whether any of the court decisions made by a federal judge from Newnan, Ga., faces drug and gun charges will be revisited.
Prosecutors say that 67-year-old Senior Judge Jack T. Camp’s fall from grace started with a stripper’s lap dance and escalated into prostitution and drug deals for cocaine and prescription pills.
“If you could establish that a judge was under the influence of some substance at the time he presided or ruled, then you could conceive of a basis for a challenge,” told the Associated Press. “You can envision all manner of circumstances where that might come into play.”
Camp, a Vietnam War veteran who was appointed by Ronald Reagan, built a reputation for handing out stiff sentences, including for drug convictions. He could face years behind bars on drug and gun charges. The stripper, who previously had a felony drug trafficking conviction, had been secretly working with the FBI since the spring to build a case against the judge.
Camp has taken a leave of absence from the bench. The entire Northern District of Georgia bench has recused itself, and Camp made his first appearance before a visiting U.S. magistrate judge from the Middle District of Alabama in Montgomery. His attorney says he plans to plead not guilty.
Gang awareness
event set for Nov. 2
The Albany Recreation and Parks Department will host a Neighborhood Watch seminar gang awareness seminar at Lockett Station Community Center, 324 Lockett Station Road, on Tuesday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.
Youth, church groups, civic groups and individuals are invited. The Albany Police Department Gang Task Force’s Lt. Tony Moore will be the presenter.
For information, call Tee Taylor at 430-5219.
Artist to speak at
Civil Rights Institute
On Thursday, Nov. 4, the Albany Civil Rights Institute (ACRI) will hold its tenth Monthly Community Night with artist Winfred Rembert discussing his work that will be exhibited the first week of November at the Albany Area Arts Council (Carnegie Library).
A native of Cuthbert, Rembert worked in the fields as a youth in the Jim Crow South. Rembert’s paintings tell stories from his years growing up in segregated Georgia. Despite the grim working conditions and the near-lynching he experienced, as well as the years he spent on a prison chain gang, Rembert’s art focuses more on the joyous aspects of African American life in the mid-twentieth-century Deep South.
In his work one finds the strong family and community bonds, the cultural vibrancy, and the many colorful characters that lifted the spirits of those who had little choice but to eke out a living in the region’s cotton and peanut fields. Rembert, who is self-taught, lives and works in New Haven, Conn.
The Monthly Community Night will be at 7:30 p.m. at ACRI, 326 Whitney Ave. Albany. This collaborative event (with the Albany Area Arts Council and Albany State University) is free and open to the public.
Members and friends of ACRI are cordially invited to attend a reception and a preview with the artist of his exhibition, “Reflections of Home,” on Saturday, October 30, 2010, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Carnegie Library, 215 N. Jackson Street, Albany. RSVP by calling 439-2787.
Upcoming ACRI Monthly Community Nights include Joan Browning and Lenora Taitt-Magubane, “Riding to Freedom: The December 1961 Albany Freedom Ride,” part of a special two-day celebration of the new PBS film Freedom Riders, sponsored by the Georgia Humanities Council, Albany State University, Thronateeska Heritage Center, and ACRI (Nov. 18); and Donald T. Hata, “Japanese American Civil Rights and American Concentration Camps” (Dec. 16).
Hilton Garden Inn Albany and Sam’s Club are the sponsors of ACRI Monthly Community Nights. For more information, contact ACRI Executive Director Lee W. Formwalt at 432-1698 or lee@acrmm.org.
RiverFront Run
more than fun
What kind of medicine is inexpensive, highly effective, and leaves no taste in your mouth?
Exercise, and you can get a prescription at the RiverFront Run, which begins at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 30 on Front Street near the Flint River in downtown Albany.
The RiverFront Run is the Dougherty County Medical Society’s way of encouraging their patients to exercise, but it’s also a fundraiser for the Darton College Allied Health Division.
Studies show that exercise can not only prevent diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, but it can also lower health care costs.
“While there are numerous reasons for soaring health care costs, one undeniable explanation is the poor physical health of so many Americans,” said Dr. Michael Daugherty, president of the Dougherty County Medical Society and an avid runner. “Exercise is something every person can do to control the rising cost of health care and improve their lives.”
Participants may choose a 5K run or a one mile walk. The run will be timed professionally by the ChronoTrack Timing System, provided by Event-Tech, which will provide an accurate time. The one-mile walk will not be timed.
The entry fee for either event is $23 through Oct. 29 or $25 on the day of the race. For children, the fees are $18 and $20. Race day registration will be held from 7-8:15 a.m. at the Albany Welcome Center at 112 N. Front St.
The events start and finish on Front Street between the Albany Welcome Center and the Hilton Garden Inn. Parking will be available behind the Flint RiverQuarium and behind the buildings between Front and Washington streets. There will be no parking on Washington Street on race day.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the Darton College Foundation, and in particular the school’s Allied Health Division scholarship fund. The division offers several degree and certificate programs, including cardiovascular technology, respiratory care, polysomnography, emergency health services, diagnostic medical sonography, and cancer registry management.
Everyone who registers for this year’s run will receive a t-shirt and goody bag, but you must pre-register in order to get an accurate t-shirt size.
For more information or to register, contact Paula H. Bacon, executive director of the Dougherty County Medical Society by email at Paula@dc-ms.org or by phone at 344-8989. You may also register online by visiting www.riverfrontrun.com.
Shriners to raise money,
Awareness for diabetes
The second annual Prince Hall Shriners Diabetes Classic golf tournament and health fair will be held on Friday, Oct. 29 and Saturday Oct. 30 at Flint River Golf Course and Albany State University. The Classic is hosted by the Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order Nobles Mystic Shrine (Prince Hall Shriners) and the Prince Hall Shriners Foundation.
In 2009 the Prince Hall Shriners organization and the American
Diabetes Association (ADA) entered into a collaborative agreement for the PHS to
raise and donate to the ADA $1 million over a 10 year period. Funds are used for
diabetes education and awareness programs, and, moreover, to help research in
finding a cure for diabetes. For information, call Lawrence Cole. Jr. at (334) 567-9233.
Civil War book author
to be at Welcome Center
Barry L. Brown, co-author of a new guide to Civil War sites in Georgia, will be at the Albany Welcome Center at 112 N. Front St. in to sign copies of his book on Thursday, Oct. 28 from 10 a.m. to noon. The event is free and open to the public.
Based on a comprehensive survey of sites identified by the Georgia Civil War Commission, Crossroads of Conflict covers 350 historic sites in detail, bringing the experience of the war to life.
Written by Georgia Civil War Commission staff members Barry L. Brown and Gordon R. Elwell and published by the University of Georgia Press in association with the Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Georgia Humanities Council, the book is arranged geographically, separating the state into nine distinct regions.
For each site, the guide provides a detailed history, driving directions, online resources, and GPS coordinates. The war experiences of all Georgians, not just soldiers, are addressed within the guide’s text, and both color photographs and period images document locations such as battlefields, POW camps, hospitals, houses, buildings, bridges, cemeteries, and monuments.
The guide is part of Georgia’s commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, which began in 1861 and will be marked by many activities throughout 2011.
ASU to honor
Freedom Riders
On Wednesday, Nov. 17, Albany State University will host the first event of a two-day celebration of the Civil Rights Freedom Riders. The kick-off event, a sneak preview of the bold new PBS film, Freedom Riders, will be held in the ACAD Auditorium at 7:00 p.m. Audience members will get to see the two-hour film six months before its national TV debut on PBS in May 2011.
On Thursday, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m., the Albany Civil Rights Institute will feature a presentation entitled, “Riding to Freedom: The December 1961 Albany Freedom Ride,” at its Community Night program in the Chautauqua Room at Thronateeska Heritage Center, located in the old Union Railroad Station, 100 Roosevelt Ave., Albany, Ga., where the Albany Freedom Riders were arrested in December 1961.
The film, winner of the Heartland Film Festival Crystal Heart Award for Best Documentary in 2010, highlights the heroes of the Freedom Rides and the important role played by the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE).
