MAYOR SAVES MOTHER AND CHILDREN FROM TRAIN CRASH

Not all heroes wear capes. Some are mayors and public servants in Georgia’s cities.

Vienna Mayor Eddie Daniels Saves Woman and 3 Kids Moments Before a Train Crashes into Their SUV

VIENNA MAYOR EDDIE DANIELS HAS BEEN hailed as a hero after he pulled a mother and her three young children out of their SUV, which became stuck on the railroad tracks, moments before a train crashed into their vehicle. Daniels never worked on Saturdays, but this particular morning he agreed to take a special early morning shift beginning at 4 a.m. He never made it to that shift because there was other work for him to handle. When Daniels crossed the tracks on his short commute to the Goldens’ Foundry and Machine Company in Cordele, he thought it was strange that a newer SUV would be sitting on the tracks. Thinking it was a railroad worker in a personal vehicle, he kept going until he heard the horn repeatedly blowing.

“Something inside told me that this wasn’t right. Someone was in that vehicle,” Daniels said. “I asked her what happened. She yelled

back, ‘We’re stuck on the track, and I need to get off.’”

As he approached the vehicle, he saw that it was a young woman inside, 26-year-old Rodreka Morgan. She rolled down her windows and said she could not move the vehicle and she needed to get her baby out. When Daniels looked in the backseat, he saw that it wasn’t just one baby. It was three children, ages one, three, and six.

While at the vehicle, Daniels said he heard the train’s horn blowing. He knew that the train would be coming on fast and they had to get out immediately.

He jumped into action pulling the mother out first, then pulled the two toddlers out from their car seats and tossed them to the mother. As he reached in to pull the six-year-old out, he could hear the train horns and see the arms coming down.

“I knew then that the train was going to hit that truck,” Daniels said. “When it hit, it was like an atomic bomb. It was an explosion, and everything went dark.”

Daniels said he held onto the oldest child while the truck was being knocked off the track. He felt the open door of the SUV smack his head. All he could do was fall back with the child in his arms.

“There was blood coming from my head. I laid back on the rocks and I could feel that something was wrong with my leg, and I couldn’t stand up,” Daniels said. “While laying on the ground, the lady came over and thanked me for saving their lives.”

Vienna police ended up arresting Morgan and charged her with driving under the influence and multiple counts of child endangerment.

Someone called 911 and bystanders helped Daniels get to safety. Shortly, several people recognized him, and he could hear people yelling, “It’s the mayor of Vienna.” Paramedics rushed Daniels to Macon to be treated for the gash in his forehead and a crushed ankle. A Dooly County state trooper heard about the situation on the police scanner and felt compelled to go to Macon and check on the mayor himself. Daniels said the trooper told him, “Mayor, you know you are a hero. It was God’s calling because he shielded you. No one ever lives when they are caught in the close proximity of a train and a big SUV. You are a hero. You’re my hero.”

Daniels said, “I don’t feel like a hero. I guess I’m a living miracle.”

Although his ankle will take months to heal, Daniels said he is at peace knowing that everyone survived, and he believes all will be well.

“I believe if you just keep doing what is right in God’s eyesight, it will come back to you.”

Vienna Mayor Eddie Daniels

WHO CAN SUE CITIES: Standing in Cases to Enforce Laws

The Supreme Court of Georgia recently issued an opinion clarifying who has a right to sue local governments in state court for the purpose of ensuring they follow laws.

THE OPINION, SONS OF CONFEDERATE Veterans et al. v. Henry County Board of Commissioners and Sons of Confederate Veterans et al. v. Newton County Board of Commissioners (October 25, 2022) addressed separate cases involving the removal of Confederate monuments from county-owned property. The Sons of Confederate Veterans had sued Henry County and Newton County separately for their decisions to remove Confederate monuments from county-owned property. Additionally, a private citizen of Newton County had sued to stop the Newton County Board of Commissioners from voting to remove a Confederate monument from a public space and place it in storage. The Court concluded that the private citizen, being a community stakeholder, had a right to sue her county government to ensure it followed the

law. However, because the Sons of Confederate Veterans had not demonstrated they were members of the communities whose county governments they were suing, and because they had not asserted any other “cognizable injury”, the Court held they did not have standing to sue over the counties’ removal of Confederate monuments.

This case is meaningful beyond the issue of Confederate monuments because it identifies – and limits – who can sue local governments for the purpose of ensuring they follow through on their public duties. The case also reiterates the responsibility local governments and local officials owe to their communities, as well as the expectation that governments and public officials follow the law.

From the outset, the opinion stresses that to sue a local government in Georgia courts, a plaintiff must have a “cognizable injury”. This injury can be specific to the plaintiff or can be shared generally with some or all members of the community, such as when a local government fails to do its public duty by following the law. The Court reasoned that “members of a community, whether as citizens, residents, taxpayers, or voters, may be injured when their local government fails to follow the law.” The Court noted that all levels of government have “a legal duty to follow the law; a local government owes that legal duty to its citizens, residents, taxpayers, or voters (i.e., community stakeholders)”. To hold local governments accountable, Georgia courts have historically granted standing to community stakeholders to sue over violations of a local government’s public duty.

In contrast, the Court noted that a local government does not owe a duty to follow the law to people or groups that are not community stakeholders. Since people and groups that are not community stakeholders aren’t “injured” simply because a local government fails to follow a law, absent an actual injury, a non-community stakeholder does not have standing to sue the local government. Put simply, a government owes a public duty to community stakeholders but does not owe a public duty to people who are not community stakeholders.

In determining the categories of people who are considered “community stakeholders”, the Court explained that it first recognized property owners and taxpayers as having the right to sue local governments to enforce laws. The idea was that it was important for taxpayers to ensure that local governments and local officials didn’t violate their legal obligations in ways that would harm taxpayers, particularly relating to local government finances. The harm didn’t have to be specific to an individual taxpayer but could include governmental acts creating illegal debt or illegal spending, or resulting in higher taxes or misuse of public funds. The Court later recognized residents’ and citizens’ interest in ensuring their local governments followed the law in cases that did not involve money, noting the general injury to community members that results from local governments not following the law.

From there, the Court recognized that voters, too, are community stakeholders. The Court noted that voters could be injured when elections are not lawfully administered. For this reason, voters may have standing to “vindicate public rights”. Ultimately, it developed over time that citizens, residents, taxpayers and voters, as community stakeholders, may sue their local governments over failure to comply with the law, even when those community stakeholders have not been personally injured by the failure. Membership in a community is sufficient for standing to sue to ensure a local government follows the law.

Absent community membership, however, a plaintiff must show a cognizable injury to have standing to sue a local government for failure to comply with a law. Importantly, the Court specified that the requirement for a plaintiff to demonstrate a cognizable injury to have standing is derived from the Georgia Constitution. Since it is a constitutional requirement, the state legislature cannot by statute grant standing to non-injured parties to enforce laws.

Funding a Farmer’s Market in Fort O

In spring of 2021, with funding from the Lyndhurst Foundation, the city of Fort Oglethorpe - “Fort O” for short - began working on a Renaissance Strategic Vision Plan (RSVP), which was unveiled to the public in October.

IN OUTLINING ITS VISIONARY PLAN TO REVITALIZE the city’s downtown district, Historic Fort Oglethorpe, the city invited input from nearly 1,000 residents on critical issues in the community that were in the way of the vibrant downtown they envisioned. Born out of the RSVP process were plans to establish a community farmer’s market. On May 22, the city held its inaugural Stable 41 Farmer’s Market that was also recently awarded a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The idea that a farmer’s market could serve as a community anchor was responsive to feedback from residents who said they loved living in Fort O but lacked activities to do.

The city’s RSVP process involved reimagining and redeveloping a two-and-a-half-block vacant warehouse complex. Renovation of one of those warehouses has taken place and is now called “Stable 41” – a nod to its former life as a one of the stables at the cavalry post. The buildings had previously been zoned for industrial uses and at risk of demolition, but members from around the community managed to see in the expansive historic warehouse a prime spot for a farmer’s market.

A BRIEF HISTORY: The area that is now the incorporated city of Fort Oglethorpe was formerly a cavalry post established after the Civil War. The post named “Fort Oglethorpe” shapeshifted to meet different needs throughout the 20th century world wars – from housing German prisoners of war, to inducting and training new recruits after Pearl Harbor and later helping discharge servicemen to civilian life. When assets at the post were deemed surplus property in 1946, the area was relieved of its military functions, the facilities were converted to new uses and in 1949 Fort Oglethorpe became the first to incorporate in Georgia in 25 years. Read more history on the Catoosa Chamber of Commerce website.

For its first year, the city invested more than $200,000 to upgrade Stable 41 with new lighting, overhead fans, perimeter fencing, roof repairs and general clean-up. In addition, the city signed a $25,000 contract to engage a market manager to operate and manage the weekly market. The market manager is also a local farmer. The city spent very little the first year on radio and billboard advertising, but plans increased marketing in the next three years with the help from the USDA grant. The RSVP process required extensive research and input underpinned by clear goals, objectives and outcomes. Through this extensive research and strategic brainstorming, the city crafted a narrative around what the market would do for the community, such as increase foot traffic and attract businesses to the historic downtown area. All this helped inform the competitive and ultimately successful application to USDA for additional funding to keep the farmer’s market alive into the future. Additional funding is being sought for streetscaping and parking improvements.

In a span of just four months, with the dedication and support of the mayor, council and city staff, the idea of a farmer’s market came to fruition with amazing speed. The May event brought together 20 vendors and roughly 650 residents, kicking off an energizing market season that lasted through early October. The nearly 100 vendors on file to date come from within a 75-mile radius of the city, underscoring an intentional effort to recognize and support local farmers in the community. Surrounding business owners have been supportive, and local media helped put a spotlight on the market. The business of getting the market up and running has brought fresh energy to the city, which had mainly prioritized big-box development in the last 50 years. After the RSVP process, the city expects to leverage its downtown development authority in new ways to restore Historic Fort Oglethorpe. Fort O is thinking outside the box to create a shared sense of place and belonging through the farmer’s market. To increase access to fresh produce at lower cost, the city applied to become a Wholesome Wave “Georgia Fresh for Less” partner. Through this designation, the farmer’s market can incentivize residents relying on food stamps (i.e. SNAP and EBT) to “double their dollars” by spending their benefits at the market. Not only would lower-income residents benefit but also the vendors selling their goods. Fort O is also working to award scholarships to high school and college students to foster an interest in local farming.

Despite early wins and endless ideas of how the market could rally the community, the city is working methodically to avoid unfilled promises, knowing that the payoffs will come in good time. Envisioned as the epicenter of the city’s historic district, Stable 41 has multilayered potential for bringing people together – from holding the farmer’s market, seasonal festivals, regular family-friendly events, to an Ag Show and recreational space. Getting there will require methodical and strategic planning, but Fort Oglethorpe recognizes that financial sustainability of a project is tied to its ability to attract and maintain community interest and involvement. As the city forges ahead with the implementation of its RSVP, collaboration, public engagement and creativity remain vital to the lasting success of community anchors such as the newfound farmer’s market.

MARKET MISSION STATEMENT: Stable 41 Farmers Market will provide the community with direct access to high quality, local food and goods, as well as a place for the community to gather together and enjoy a variety of local entertainment.

For more details about the Stable 41 Farmer’s Market, contact Taylor Hutwagner, Market Manager, at stable41market@gmail.com.