Community Corner

Regional Roundup: Sheriff's KKK Costume, Deadly Accident and an Abandoned Toddler

A look at top Patch stories from around Georgia.

– Woodstock Patch

Cherokee Sheriff Roger Garrison said he donned a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood at a Halloween party nearly 30 years ago. 

He was 21 years old at the time. He and his friend decided to dress up as characters from Blazing Saddles, a film from the 1970s, he said. 

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Garrison is in a , a commander with the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office. Their primary race will be settled on July 31.

"It’s just the lowest of the low to try to imply something of that nature from a costume makeup party (that happened) 30 years ago," Garrison told the Cherokee Tribune on Saturday regarding the leaked photos. "(Waters) has much greater character issues he needs to explain with his five marriages and lack of commitment."

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– Cumming Patch

A 33-year-old man died Sunday evening in a one-vehicle wreck in north Forsyth County.

James Ryan Symmes, of Woodruff Trace in Cumming, was approaching the intersection of Hubert Martin Road and Poplar Woods Drive around 6:05 p.m. in his 2007 Chevrolet Trail Blazer when the accident happened, according to the .

Symmes crossed over into the southbound lane, went off the roadway and struck a large pine tree head-on in front of 4925 Hubert Martin Road.

Sgt. Chris Shelton said Symmes was not wearing his seatbelt and was pronounced dead at the scene by EMS personnel.

For additional details, visit .

 

– Roswell Patch

A 21-year-old woman is being charged with cruelty to children after she left her two-year-old son alone, trapped inside of his room, with no food or drink, in a home filled with garbage, according to a press release from the .

Stephanie Davis, who lives on Boxer Lane in Cumming, is being charged with cruelty to children in the second degree and reckless conduct.

A call from concerned family member prompted deputies to go to Davis’ house where they found her son trapped in his room.

"The child was dressed in a dirty white t-shirt. He had removed his diaper himself and it was on the floor, filled to overflowing with feces. The child had feces on his hands, feet and leg," said Sheriff Ted Paxton in the press release. 

“Deputies on the scene began to clean the feces off of the child and put a clean diaper on him," said Paxton. "Because of the disarray of the home, deputies could not tell if the clothes on the floor were clean or dirty. One deputy got clothes and food from his home and gave it to the child, while another went to a local store to get the child something to drink. Deputies said it was clear that the child was very hungry.”

It is unknown how long the child had been alone prior to the phone call from the mother to the relative.

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