JOINING FORCES, 5A
Saudis announce alliance against terrorism
IN SPORTS Gwinnett ends football season with no state titles • Page 1B
Gwinnett Daily Post WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2015
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Vol. 46, No. 53
Police ID body found in Yellow River By Keith Farner
keith.farner @gwinnettdailypost.com
The body found Saturday by a kayaker on the Yellow River has been identified as missing teen Jaheem McGee. Gwinnett County police spokesman Cpl. Deon Washington said the case was ruled a drowning
after the Gwinnett County Medical Examiner’s office identified the body. The 14-year-old Parkview Jaheem High McGhee School student was reportedly last seen by friends while
crossing the Yellow River on Nov. 19. His friends told officers they decided to cross the river in the woods near Bending River Trail and Riverside Drive. Three made it to the other side, but Jaheem was seen floating down the river, unable to make it across. Family members and loved ones of the late teen couldn’t be reached for
comment Tuesday. But some posted reflections on social media. Carita Boone, who said she was Jaheem’s aunt, expressed thanks for support from the well-wishers who lifted the family up in its time of sorrow. “I know God has him,” Boone wrote. “He will truly be missed.” Others described Jaheem,
a native of Flint, Mich., as “innocent, bright, caring, loving, smart” and a “sweet baby boy.” News that Jaheem was found in the river brought an end to a weeks-long search. The friends reported him missing the day after he was last seen, timing that has upset at least some in the family. Police haven’t revealed to
the Daily Post any theory on the reasoning for the delay. A police report indicates the children were skipping school when he fell in the water. Police searched over the next few days and called in the Hall County Dive Team after a cadaver dog smelled something in the water
See MCGEE, Page 7A
Suspect still missing after SWAT effort By Joshua Sharpe
joshua.sharpe@gwinnettdailypost.com
Twelve-year-old Tommy Aaron signs a copy of his first novel “Magyka: The Fifth Element,” while his father, Rich, signs a copy of his new children’s book “If I Had a Giraf-aroo” during a recent book signing event at Books for Less in Buford. (Staff Photos: Katie Morris)
A family affair By Katie Morris
katie.morris@gwinnettdailypost.com
Writing a novel is an item that’s on many writers’ bucket lists. But as the years pass, the brilliant idea never comes and words just don’t seem to make it to paper. That’s not the case with Tommy Aaron, who at 12 years old can officially check that item off his list. The Suwanee resident has written and published a nearly 300-page sci-fi, fantasy novel, “Magyka: The Fifth Element.” Writing runs in Tommy’s family — his 16-year-old brother, Alex, is working to finish up a novel and his father, Rich, just self-published a children’s book, “If I Had a Giraf-aroo.” In fact, Tommy and Rich were recently able to showcase their finished products together during a father-son book signing at Books for Less in Buford. “Being able to sit next to my son and sign our books,” Rich said, “the grin just goes from ear to ear.” Inspired by his father and brother, Tommy remembers thinking there was no reason why he couldn’t flex his writing muscles, too. But he had to get the ball rolling first. “I thought that I just needed to create the first line of the book and then I’d know the rest of the story immediately,” he said. That first line came to him while he was walking outside on a frigid November day last year.
Twelve-year-old Tommy Aaron has written his first novel, a nearly 300 page sci-fi, fantasy book called “Magyka: The Fifth Element,” pictured at top, with cover art by Leslie Murphy. Rich Aaron wrote a children’s book, “If I Had a Giraf-aroo,” pictured above, illustrated by Mary Wall Parker. The authors recently signed books in tandem.
“I said to myself, ‘Gosh my hands are frozen solid,’” Tommy said. “And that’s the first line of the book.” It was pretty much smooth sailing from there. It took him
nine months to write the novel, with his parents helping to edit. Tommy said he probably would have finished faster but he had to juggle writing with his busy seventh-grade schedule, which
Father-son authors hold book signing
includes high school level Algebra I. He’s always been academically advanced, according to his mom, Stephanie, who said Tommy could read before kindergarten. According to Rich, Tommy has always had an active imagination and began creating stories with dialogue as a toddler while playing with his Lego characters. Tommy has a love of reading, which Stephanie helped foster while homeschooling Tommy when he was in the second grade. “She made us read an hour every day, and I came to think of it not so much as being forced to read but having the time to read,” he said. “It was really great because I got to read so many books.” His favorite reads are fantasy novels with a touch of sci-fi; he’s also a big fan of the British sci-fi television series “Dr. Who.” Tommy crafting “Magyka” using his own interests and experiences is similar to the way Rich came up with “If I Had a Giraf-aroo.” Being a big Dr. Seuss fan, Rich said he was always making up silly rhymes for Tommy and Aaron when they were boys. “I was rhyming one night and I said, ‘Would you laugh at a Kanga …” and I had already said Kanga, so I had to make it rhyme and on the fly, and I See AUTHORS, Page 8A
NORCROSS — A procession of about a dozen Gwinnett County police cruisers streamed out of Sienna Heights Apartments on Monday afternoon after an hours-long SWAT situation ended with no suspect. Police had “reason to believe” Ricardo Dopico, 40, was still inside an apartment where he’d alRicardo legedly raped and held his Dopico girlfriend captive overnight, according to the police department. But the situation, believed for a time to be a standoff, ended with the man still wanted, police spokesman Cpl. Deon Washington said. Officers first responded to the complex at 1355 Graves Road, off South NorcrossTucker Road, at 8 a.m. Monday. They met with the girlfriend. Special Victims Unit detectives began looking into the case. The SWAT team got the call shortly before 1 p.m. “The apartment buildings next to the target apartment were evacuated for safety,” Washington said in a news release. “After several hours, SWAT personnel learned that
See SWAT, Page 8A
BUFORD CITY SCHOOLS
Hamby voices doubts over audit findings By Keith Farner keith.farner@gwinnettdailypost.com
Calling it a difference of opinion in labeling and reporting finances, Buford City Schools Superintendent Geye Hamby maintained on Tuesday that his school district is “frugal and paid attention to finances.” Hamby responded to a 48-page audit recently released from the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts that examined the district’s 2014 finances and found errors or areas that were disorganized or understaffed. Among the issues raised by the audit were misstatements related to special purpose local option sales tax funds that totaled $8.16 million. Because Buford’s SPLOST money comes from Gwinnett and Hall counties, the audit said accounts were “commingled” and there were numerous misclassifications made that required audit adjustments to correct revenues and expenditures of the SPLOST activity. “We recommend the School District utilize the general ledger system to track the activity, rather than a spreadsheet from Microsoft Excel, which lends itself to less control and overview of the accounting entries,” the audit reported. The audit was done by Mauldin and Jenkins, an accounting firm that has six locations around the Southeast including one in Atlanta.
See AUDIT, Page 8A
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