ATLANTA – A Middle Georgia man with a history of arson and sending death threats pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to mailing threatening communications to government officials.
Travis Leroy Ball, 56, of Barnesville pleaded guilty to one count of mailing threatening communications, a charge carrying a maximum sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
According to court documents, the FBI obtained a letter in March of last year addressed to U.S. District Judge Marc T. Treadwell in which the writer claimed to be a U.S. Secret Service agent who had investigated one of the defendant’s prior cases.
In the letter – later revealed to have been written by Ball – he demanded that the charge in Ball’s most recent federal cases be dismissed and that he be released from federal custody.
Using the name of a former cellmate, Ball also wrote letters to the federal court in Valdosta and to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C., threatening to kill employees and their families, as well as burn down property.
“Death threats against public officials are taken extremely seriously by our office and will result in prison time,” said Peter D. Leary, U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. “Keeping people safe is the highest priority of our office and our law enforcement partners. These types of threats cannot and will not be tolerated.”
Ball also wrote a letter to the Upson County Sheriff’s Office last July, claiming to be an FBI agent working on a top-secret case. The letter demanded that Ball’s photos and personal information be removed and deleted from jail records.
The FBI compared the various letters, handwriting, letterhead, postage stamps, the language of the letters, and the “INMATE MAIL” stamp on each letter and determined Ball wrote them while in custody. Officers also found writing material and stamps in Ball’s cell.
ATLANTA – Two provisions aimed at helping military families with housing championed by U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., have become law with President Joe Biden’s recent signing of the annual National Defense Authorization Act.
Ossoff’s Military Facilities Upgrade Act, folded into the defense authorization bill, calls for upgrading old and failing barracks by giving the military the flexibility to use operations and maintenance funding to replace barracks deemed to be in substandard condition.
The second Ossoff-sponsored military housing provision will change the way the Defense Department calculates housing allowances for junior enlisted service members with dependents to more accurately assess their housing costs.
Ossoff led an eight-month investigation two years ago that called attention to the poor condition of privatized housing at the Army’s Fort Gordon near Augusta. During that time, he said he heard from many military families about the challenges of finding affordable housing in their communities.
“When service members and their families can’t afford to live near the installation where they train and where they’re stationed, that has an impact on readiness,” Ossoff said. “I brought Republicans and Democrats together to pass the Junior Enlisted Housing Affordability Act into law to help junior-enlisted personnel and military families afford housing.”
Last year, Ossoff helped secure resources through the fiscal 2023 defense authorization bill to upgrade barracks, daycare centers, and other facilities for military families in Georgia and across the nation.
ATLANTA – A nonprofit formed to help administer a new state tax credit to support foster children aging out of the system raised nearly $10 million during its first year.
Legislation the General Assembly passed unanimously last year authorized $20 million for the tax credit.
The state Department of Revenue approved $9.7 million in contributions to Fostering Success Act Inc. (FSA), donations that came from more than 180 businesses and individuals. As a result, the nonprofit issued funds to help more than 100 young people enroll at 37 universities and technical colleges across Georgia.
“These funds will go a long way to make sure many of these kids who have left foster care can have food to eat, afford to get to work – and most importantly – be able to enroll in college or a technical school so they can find a good-paying job,” FSA Chairman Richard L. Jackson said Thursday. “This tax credit will change the trajectory of their lives.”
About 700 young Georgians age out of the foster care system each year, most with no family to return to after they leave the system. Data from numerous studies shows most who leave foster care end up homeless, in chronic poverty, in jail, or become victims of human trafficking.
Under the legislation, individual taxpayers can receive dollar-for-dollar state income tax credits for up to $2,500 per year contributed to the program, while married couples filing jointly can receive up to $5,000. Corporate donations are limited to 10% of the company’s annual tax liability.
“We believe as more people learn about our mission and this important tax credit, more companies and individuals will see how they can make a difference in reducing poverty, addiction, homelessness, and incarceration by donating to the beneficial income tax credit,” said Heidi Carr, FSA’s executive director.
For more information on the tax credit, go to https://fosteringsuccessact.org/
ATLANTA – Georgia’s unemployment rate held steady at 3.4% in December for the fourth month in a row, the state Department of Labor reported Thursday.
The Peach State continued to outperform the nation, with the national jobless rate at 3.7%.
The December report capped a “blockbuster” year that saw the state continue to set employment records. The outlook for this year continues to be strong, Georgia Commissioner of Labor Bruce Thompson said.
“With existing companies continuing to expand and a stream of new companies calling Georgia home, 2024 appears to be headed for all-time highs again,” he said.
Georgia’s labor force rose by 2,864 last month to a record high of more than 5.36 million, while the labor force participation rate held at 61.6% for the third consecutive month.
The number of employed Georgians also rose by 4,804 in December to nearly 5.18 million, also an all-time high.
The number of jobs declined slightly last month – by 0.1% – but posted a 2% increase over the course of 2023.
First-time unemployment claims rose 11% in December to 24,802. But first-time jobless claims were down for the year, also by 11%.
Job sectors posting the biggest gains during the year were health care and social assistance, gaining 29,300 jobs; followed by accommodation and food services jobs, which increased by 28,600.
ATLANTA – A nonprofit health-care organization announced plans Wednesday to help financially struggling rural hospitals in Georgia in danger of closing.
Ohio-based CareSource will contribute $5 million in emergency funding to hospitals and hospital-owned nursing homes in rural communities suffering critical cash deficits. Working in partnership with Cumming-based HomeTown Health, which represents rural hospitals across Georgia, the CareSource Rural Access Advancement Program will provide bridge loans to be repaid and reinvested into the program once the recipient has stabilized.
Since 2010, nine rural hospitals have closed in Georgia, third-most in the nation.
“These closures have devastating effects on the communities they serve,” CareSource President Jason Bearden said during a news conference at the state Capitol. “Residents are left without access to emergency services or preventive care.”
HomeTown Health CEO Jimmy Lewis said closed hospitals also hurt the economies in rural communities that rely on them for employment and as a magnet to help attract jobs. He said the program aims to get help to struggling rural hospitals before it’s too late to save them.
“The whole intent is to identify problem hospitals enough in advance that we don’t have to make quick decisions,” Lewis said.
“This is another step toward stabilizing health care in rural Georgia,” added Jonathon Greene, CEO of Taylor Regional Hospital in Hawkinsville.
CareSource serves more than 450,000 Georgians and has members in eight states in the South and Midwest.
