A north Cherokee County elementary school principal is on voluntary paid leave after being arrested on drunk driving charges.
Clayton Elementary School Principal John Hultquist, 53, was arrested just after 9:30 p.m. Oct. 23, after a pursuit involving Holly Springs Police, Canton Police and the Cherokee Sheriff ’s Office.
He was booked into the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center on charges of driving under the influence, attempting to elude and weaving over the roadway, jail records show.
Hultquist was released Oct. 24 on a $3,000 bond, according to the Cherokee Sheriff ’s Office.
School district spokeswoman Barbara Jacoby confirmed last week that Hultquist immediately complied with school board policy and reported the incident to authorities.
Former school district assistant superintendent Letitia Cline now is serving as interim principal for Clayton Elementary School.
“She is a longtime educator who lives in the Clayton Community and cares deeply about the community and its children,” Superintendent Frank Petruzielo penned in a letter to parents Oct. 26.
Also in the letter, the superintendent advises parents that the incident occurred off campus and was not related to Hultquist’s school district duties or students.
According to an arrest report, Hultquist is accused of driving drunk on Interstate 575 and failing to yield to blue lights. The incident began moments after Cherokee County dispatchers issued a lookout for a possible impaired driver traveling northbound in a Ford Expedition.
A Holly Springs Police officer spotted a vehicle matching the description given in the lookout and attempted to pull the driver over after observing the passenger-side tires cross over the center line, the report said.
In the arrest report, it states the driver, later identified as Hultquist, continued to travel northbound, passing exits 14, 16 and 19.
The report said a Canton Police officer joined the pursuit at about Exit 16, and near Exit 19, a Cherokee Sheriff ’s Office deputy deployed stop sticks.
Hultquist hit the stop sticks, got off the interstate at Exit 20 and came to stop at the top of the ramp at Riverstone Parkway, the report said.
Hultquist, according to the report, told officers that he did not stop because he was unaware that they were attempting to pull him over. The report said that he refused a field sobriety evaluation.
# posted by
Brian Vanderhoff @ 9:51 AM
Waleska is searching for a new city manager and city clerk, following the resignation of Aimee Abernathy who says she is moving on to the city of Euharlee.
Abernathy turned in her resignation at a closed door session with mayor and council Oct. 23.
The Waleska City Council voted to accept the resignation following the called executive session to discuss personnel.
Abernathy’s resignation was one day after the Euharlee City Council in bordering Bartow County named her the sole candidate for the job of city manager.
Mike Jackson, Euharlee interim city manager, said the city council voted Oct. 22 to name Abernathy for the job. Finalists must be made public 14 days before the position is filled, by state law, so the council could vote in a called meeting as early as Nov. 5 to offer her the job.
Abernathy said last week that she expects her first day at her new position to be Nov. 9.
Jackson said he was pleased with the council’s choice.
“She was a strong candidate and I think the council made a good decision,” Jackson said. “I think she is going to do a good job for the city of Euharlee.”
Waleska Mayor Doris Jones said the council accepted Abernathy’s resignation, but decided to make it immediate instead of allowing her to work the two-week notice she offered the city.
“We decided that since she was moving on, that we would accept it right then. She did indicate two weeks, but we thought it was OK for her to move forward now,” Jones said. “Aimee had been there almost five years, and she did a wonderful job for us.”
Abernathy said she was surprised that the council chose not to accept her notice.
In her letter, she said it was gratifying to have worked for the city, but that she had accepted another job that would allow her to better use her skills.
“I have accepted a position that will allow me to use my better skills of management and creativity while removing me from the finances that are a stumbling block,” the letter reads. “I will have someone that takes care of me as I take care of the city.”
She said she was pleased with what had been accomplished in the five years she worked for Waleska.
“I feel we have made some great strides even though some mistakes have been made, the good very much outweighs the bad,” Abernathy said in the letter.
When asked what she was referring to, she said everyone always makes some mistakes that it is just human, and that was what she was referencing.
Jones said the council is starting the hiring process. An advertisement for the job has been placed in the county’s legal organ. Qualifications include a knowledge of general management, accounting practices, personnel management and public relations. The salary, the ad said, would be determined based on qualifications and experience.
Meantime, water clerk Robin Smith is filling in as interim manager.
# posted by
Brian Vanderhoff @ 9:45 AM
