This week’s top stories from the Ledger-Enquirer | July 8 — July 14
1. Seven surprising things that are illegal in Columbus: Most citizens do their best to stay on the right side of the law. They know not to speed — too much — to drink responsibly, and to report crimes to law enforcement. But how much do you really know about the law in your community? Very broadly, there are federal laws, state laws, and local ordinances. City ordinances are found in municipal codes, and are enacted by local governing bodies — in Columbus’ case, by the city council.
2. Man, woman arrested after being rescued from rocks in Chattahoochee River: A man and a woman who had to be rescued from the Chattahoochee River Saturday have been arrested. According to a police report, Raymond Reese and Kateria Johnson were both charged with not wearing a personal flotation device while on the Chattahoochee. It was about 7 p.m. when a city rescue team had to get Reese and Johnson who were stranded on rocks near the 14th Street Bridge.
3. Woman says Columbus pastor got her pregnant as teen, paid for abortion: A Columbus woman who has filed a civil suit against a local pastor after years of inappropriate sexual abuse said that he twice paid for abortions after getting her pregnant, once when she was 16. Lequita Jackson, who started attending pastor Lewis Clemons’ church when she was 14 and did not leave it until last month, alleges that Clemons led her into “inappropriate sexual contact.” Jackson, now 30, said Clemons used his position of leadership in the church to make her “do what he wanted and to justify his actions.”
4. Taxpayers ‘mad as hell’ over property tax increases, councilor says: Some Muscogee County property tax assessments have jumped as high as 1,000 percent this year due to a reassessment of all taxable parcels in the county. The drastic increase has outraged many taxpayers, some of whom showed up at Columbus Council on Tuesday morning. For the most part, they sat quietly in the audience while city representatives grilled tax assessment officials during a two and a half hour discussion. But at times, the crowd broke into applause.
5. Coroner: Body pulled from trunk of burning car in South Columbus: A body has been pulled from the trunk of a flaming car, said Muscogee County Coroner Buddy Bryan. The coroner confirmed that a male victim was found dead inside a car, which was found early Monday. He said the body was “charred beyond recognition,” and that it is impossible to determine the identity of the victim at this time.
This story was originally published July 15, 2017 at 4:19 PM with the headline "This week’s top stories from the Ledger-Enquirer | July 8 — July 14."