TAKING TOP MARKS, 8A
GCPS names ’17 Teacher of the Year honorees
UP AND RUNNING Gwinnett County Fair returns for another year • Page 3A
Gwinnett Daily Post FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2017
www.gwinnettdailypost.com
75 cents ©2017 SCNI
Vol. 48, No. 1
Witts out on bond in scandal
Despite indictment of mayor, business as usual in Snellville BY CAILIN O’BRIEN cailin.obrien@gwinnettdailypost.com
Hurricane Irma evacuees Emmalee Jones and Bradley Jones snuggle with their son, Dawson Glenn Jones, who was born at Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton on Tuesday, just days after the couple evacuated from St. Petersburg, Fla. (Staff Photos: Cailin O’Brien)
Calm in the storm
A week after he was indicted on 66 charges, Snellville Mayor Tom Witts turned himself into the Gwinnett County jail. Witts was booked into the jail at 12:36 p.m. and was released on $20,000 bond less than an hour later. The indictment against Witts was handed down from a grand jury on Sept. 7 and contained 65 feloTom Witts nies. It included charges that the mayor profited off the city, evaded taxes and stole campaign funds. “I’ve never seen a case like this where there was more or less an array of cases,”
See WITTS, Page 9A
First brewery in Gwinnett Irma evacuees welcome their son at NGMC Braselton set to open this weekend
BY CAILIN O’BRIEN
cailin.obrien @gwinnettdailypost.com
Hurricane Irma evacuee Emmalee Jones laid in a hospital bed more than 500 miles away from the Florida hospital where she’d planned to give birth, her new “storm baby” tucked in the crook of her arm, and wondered about the path that got them to that moment. “It’s been crazy, but the outcome was amazing,” said her husband, Bradley Jones. The journey included a cramped, eight-hour car ride, a frantic search for a doctor, days of contractions and a C-section. The outcome was Dawson Glenn Jones, a healthy 8-pound, 3 ounce addition to the Jones family born at Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton on Tuesday night. “It was awesome,” Emmalee said. “I cried for sure.” Hurricane Irma made getting to that awe-inspiring moment a hectic endeavor. Back at their home in St. Petersburg, the Joneses had a plan all laid out for the birth of their first son. They wanted a natural birth at a local hospital with a doctor who knew the couple well. But as they watched news coverage of Hurricane Irma headed their way, the couple started to get nervous. “I didn’t want to be stuck down there,” Emmalee said. “I was due Sept. 11. I didn’t want to be stuck in the storm in labor.”
FROM STAFF REPORTS Gwinnett County’s first brewery is ready for its big debut. Slow Pour Brewing Company will open to the public from 5 to 10 p.m. today and again from 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday. “It’s been a long time coming, but the day is finally here,” they announced on
See BREWERY, Page 7A
Hurricane Irma evacuee Emmalee Jones holds her son, Dawson Glenn Jones, in their Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton hospital room on Thursday. He was born Tuesday, days after his parents evacuated St. Petersburg, Fla.
parents in Braselton, 523 miles away from the birth plan they’d Visit gwinnettdailypost.com for worked months to construct. more photos from the hospital. They talked about waiting a few days before heading out. But To compound the situation, Bradley’s work gave him a few the doctor she’d picked out for extra days off, so they packed the birth was an active member up the car and took off at about of the U.S. Coast Guard who 1 p.m. on Sept. 6. Bradley said could be called to service in an they’re now thankful they made emergency. That could have left that decision. the couple without a doctor dur“We were only delayed about ing the storm. 30 minutes. It took us about The night of Sept. 5, the Jone- eight and a half hours to get ses started talking about riding here instead of eight,” Bradley out the storm with Emmalee’s said. “But my cousin, they live MORE ONLINE
in West Palm Beach, they left a day later than we did, and it took them 19 hours to get here.” Even eight hours in a full car was too much for 39-weekspregnant Emmalee. There wasn’t room for her to move around or recline her seat. On top of that, she was nervous she’d go into labor during the trip. “Being so close to your due date, it’s kind of scary being in a car that long,” Emmalee said. See BIRTH, Page 9A
Slow Pour Brewing Company co-founder John Reynolds talks in front of the tanks that will be used to make beer in the Lawrenceville-based brewery’s brewhouse. (Staff Photo: Curt Yeomans)
IF YOU GO • What: Opening of Slow Pour Brewing Company • When: 5 to 10 p.m. today; 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday • Where: 407 N. Clayton St., Lawrenceville • More info: www.slowpourbrewing. com
Coolray Field becomes staging area for Ga. Power crews on its Twitter account of about 50 trailers lined up in curt.yeomans the parking lot at Coolray @gwinnettdailypost.com Field in unincorporated The Gwinnett Braves Lawrenceville for crews opened their doors on from Georgia Power and Wednesday to Georgia Pow- partner agencies from er crews who are working to around the country who sent restore power in Gwinnett teams to Georgia to help County and the surrounding the company with storm recovery. About 50 Georgia Power trailers are set up at Coolray Field in unincorporated Law- area, offering them a place “The relationship goes renceville on Wednesday to support crews who are working to restore power in the to rest between shifts. The team posted a photo back to the big ice storm area. (Special Photo) BY CURT YEOMANS
we had a few years ago,” Gwinnett Braves General Manager North Johnson said. “They reached out to us back then and said they needed a place to set up, and every time we’ve had an ice storm, or in this case a hurricane, since then, we’ve reached out to them and said ‘Whatever you need, we’re
See COOLRAY, Page 7A
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