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TOMORROW
Gwinnett Daily Post FRIDAY, MARCH 9, 2018
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Vol. 48, No. 76
LAWRENCEVILLE
HEALTH FAIR Rhodes Jordan Park 10am-2pm
FREE GIFT BAG (first 200 families)
535100-1
Duluth Invitational one of Georgian’s final events with PBR
. Community Gwinnett Co
Wallis gets named city’s police chief BY ISABEL HUGHES isabel.hughes@gwinnettdailypost.com
The Lawrenceville Police Department has a new leader at its helm, city officials announced Tuesday. Current Lawrenceville Police Capt. Tim Wallis was recently named the new chief of police following an “extensive” nationwide search to replace current Chief Randy Johnson, who announced in early January that he would be retiring this month. Tim Wallis Receiving more than 60 resumes from 15 states and five federal agencies, the city considered both internal and external candidates, though ultimately chose to promote from within the department, city officials said. Randy Johnson “Tim Wallis was chosen for his leadership in the department and in the community,” said Lawrenceville city Manager Chuck Warbington. “The unique combination of education, diplomacy, relationships and respect from his peers made him the most qualified and abled candidate to lead our public safety operations moving forward. I am excited for Lawrenceville and for our police department and look forward to what Chief Wallis’s leadership will enable our community to accomplish together.” Wallis, who has worked for the Lawrenceville Police Department for more than 20 years, has spent nearly 30 years in the law enforcement field. He holds a master’s degree in public safety administration from Columbus State University and a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Georgia Southern University. As captain, Wallis led the uniform division for the department, managing five lieutenants, six sergeants and all uniformed personnel under their charge. With 72 sworn officers in the department, Wallis’ new duties as police chief will focus on crime prevention, criminal investigation, officer training, special operations, civilian personnel and emergency response. “I am grateful for this leadership opportunity,” Wallis said. “This department is filled with strong, respectable men and women who put their lives on the line every day, and I am humbled to have the privilege of leading them and serving them in that right. I look forward to working closely with the city to support its vision for growth while
Above, Chef Gordon Ramsey, right, talks with Lawrenceville’s Quani Fields during the first episode of “Masterchef Junior” on March 2. (Photo: Fox Broadcasting) Below, Quani, 11, is one of 24 children competing for the title of Masterchef Junior. (Special Photo)
Bake boss BY TREVOR MCNABOE
Lawrenceville boy, 11, shows off cooking skills on ‘MasterChef Junior’
trevor.mcnaboe@gwinnettdailypost.com
Though he’s just 11, Quani Fields is very comfortable in the kitchen, so much so that he’s started his own business venture selling baked goods. Thanks to those culinary skills, the Lawrenceville resident has added another line to his resume — TV star. You can see Fields in action tonight, cooking in front of world-renowned chef Gordon Ramsey on the Fox show “MasterChef Junior.” It’s a dream come true for the Creekland Middle School student, who last week was one of 12 boys, and 24 contestants overall, to make the cut. “It was really cool when I found out that I made it,” Fields said. “I was really excited to make it to the next round. I want to keep making better things.” “MasterChef Junior” is a cooking show hosted by Ramsey that begins with 40 constestants between the ages of 8 and 13. Each week the field is pared down as the young chefs compete against each other. One episode into the competition, Fields has already drawn the attention
See POLICE, Page 9A
IF YOU WATCH What: Lawrenceville’s Quani Fields competes on “MasterChef Junior” When: 8 p.m. today Channel: Fox
MORE ONLINE Visit gwinnettdailypost.com for a photo gallery.
of Ramsey, who is known for his rants and for challenging the chefs. During that episode, Ramsey made a comment about Fields deciding to make cupakes for an elimiantion round. “... I just told (judges) Joe (Bastianich) and Christina (Tosi) that nobody would dare make cupcakes,” Ramsey said. “Quani, are you crazy?” Fields replied with a simple “yes,” then got the last laugh when the judges enjoyed his cupcakes and he passed the challenge. He said cupcakes are his favorite thing to make, but his passion for cooking started long before his television debut. About two years ago, he got started after watching his grandmother and mother make delicious dishes. “When I was younger, my mom and grandma liked to cook, and I wanted to cook with them,” Fields said. “It really became something that was fun for me that I just couldn’t stop doing.” Fields’ interest in cooking was further developed at classes taught by the Atlanta Midtown Young Chefs Academy. At age 9, See CHEF, Page 9A
Mustangs’ Kelly shows resilience after mother’s murder Senior a key contributor in historic run to state title game BY WILL HAMMOCK
will.hammock@gwinnettdailypost.com
Before the sun rose Tuesday, May 9, Amari Kelly’s life forever changed. The teenager awoke to a volley of gunshots just across the hall of his Bridge Walk Drive home in unincorporated Lawrenceville. Startled from deep sleep, it took him a moment to register what the noises were. Someone ran down the hall past his door and headed downstairs. He assumed, correctly, it was the shooter. He instinctively ran across the hall to his mother, Melissa’s, bedroom — his father, Alton Kelly, slept in another bedroom deeper down the hallway — and found her on the floor with multiple wounds. Fearing the shooter was still in the house, he locked and barricaded her door, grabbed towels in an attempt to stop
“
Anybody could use (the tragedy) as an excuse to fail, to go the wrong way, to turn left. But (Amari Kelly) used it as a motivation to get better and get stronger. It says volumes about the kid. ” — Curtis Gilleylen, Meadowcreek boys basketball coach
the bleeding and called 911. “She wasn’t really communicating,” the Meadowcreek High senior said this week during a break in preparations for Saturday’s Class AAAAAAA state basketball championship game at Georgia Tech. “I could tell her breathing slowed down. I said, ‘Mom, stay strong, stay strong.’ I could see by the look on her face she was pushing to breathe, pushing to stay strong.” Kelly didn’t know at the time that
the shooter was his father, according to police. After leaving his wife’s room, Alton Kelly allegedly headed downstairs to a bedroom occupied by his brother-in-law, sister-in-law and their child, and fired multiple shots into the room before attempting to kill himself. Police found him suffering from gunshot wounds, but he survived. “(My father) had to walk past my room when he was finished (shooting my mother),” Amari Kelly said. “It’s a blessing I’m still here. He could have easily came and got me as well. I’m the only one in my house that wasn’t shot at.” Though the scary morning was tough to overcome, Meadowcreek teachers and faculty have been amazed at how the star basketball See KELLY, Page 9A
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Meadowcreek senior Amari Kelly, right, is shown in a photo with his late mother, Melissa. (Special photo)