Forstyh County, GA

[Julio]

Tuesday, January 20, 2009, 08:10 AM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A Forsyth County woman who went to Washington D.C. to attend the inauguration of President Barack Obama will come home to find her house burned.

Authorities have declared the fire in Cumming to be suspicious and spoke of “terroristic threats and acts.” There’s no sign that anyone has talked to the homeowner, Pamela Graf, so the story remains incomplete.

Jon Flack, a Democratic activist who lives in Forsyth County and operates the blog Tondee’s Tavern, said Graf is on her way home. Flack said she had been active with Democratic women in the county.

This was posted late last night by the Gainesville Times:

No one was home when the house on Lanier Drive in northeastern Forsyth County burned to the ground about 4:30 a.m. Sunday. Someone spray-painted graffiti that included the phrase “your black boy will die” on a fence along the property….

Attempts to reach Graf for comment Monday were not successful. But her father, William Morrow, said he thinks she was targeted because of her political views.

Morrow said Graf had two Obama campaign signs in her yard before the fire. He wasn’t sure what happened to one sign, but said he asked her to remove the other after she received a negative letter about a week before the fire.

Morrow said the letter addressed her political views, though he couldn’t remember any specifics from it that his daughter had shared with him. He said she had taken the sign out of her yard before she left Friday.

Anderson said if fire investigators determine that the graffiti is a possible threat against Obama, they will involve the Secret Service. The department’s Atlanta field office was closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

“Once I sit down and talk with her and we can discuss this a little bit more in depth, if we feel that’s what it is we’ll call them and give them the information and see what they want to do,” he said.

Last night, Marie Anderson, chairman of the Forsyth County Democratic Party, put out this statement:

”In response to the recent house fire which occurred in Forsyth County and is suspected to have been racially motivated, the Forsyth County Democratic Party condemns hate crimes of any nature.

“Should the allegations prove to be true, we as residents of Forsyth County, whether Republican or Democrat, Obama supporter or not, should be shocked and appalled that this type of incident would happen here in our County.”

Updated: This morning, as inauguration ceremonies in D.C. got underway, the Southeastern office of the Anti-Defamation League condemned the fire as “a terrible reminder that even on this day of history, racism remains a virulent threat in America.”

[§treet_§peed]

now if a black person did that to some ones house. it would be funny.

[SuperChicken]

now if a black person did that to some ones house. it would be funny.

That, sir, is just fucked up.

[alpine_aw11]

now if a black person did that to some ones house. it would be funny.

Wow. I thought I made the most retarded posts on here. Learn something new every day.

[§treet_§peed]

would it sound better if i said a messican?

[Brick]

http://www.forsythnews.com/news/article/1587/



RELATED CONTENT
Father of homeowner defends county.

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By Julie Arrington
Staff Writer
[email protected]
POSTED Jan. 20, 2009 5:01 p.m.
1 Image

Authorities are investigating a suspicious weekend house fire they say occurred while the homeowner, a single mother of three, was in Washington, D.C., for the presidential inauguration.

They also are trying to determine if she may have been targeted because of her support for President Barack Obama.

No one was home when the house on Lanier Drive in northeastern Forsyth County burned to the ground about 4:30 a.m. Sunday. Someone spray-painted graffiti that included a racial slur and the phrase "your black boy will die" on a fence along the property.

Forsyth County Fire Marshal Steve Anderson said the fire is considered "suspicious," but would not say it was racially motivated.

"What we're doing right now is we're investigating a suspicious house fire," he said. "There are indications that there may have been some type of terroristic threat.

"We cannot verify that at this time, not knowing how [the graffiti] got there, who it was for, several things. But right now we're just looking at it as a suspicious fire with suspicious circumstances."

Anderson said he spoke briefly on the phone with homeowner Pam Graf, who returned to Georgia from the nation's capital late Monday night. He planned to meet with her Tuesday.

Attempts to reach Graf for comment were not successful. But her father, William Morrow, said he thinks she was targeted because of her political views.

Morrow said Graf had two Obama campaign signs in her yard before the fire. He wasn't sure what happened to one sign, but said he asked her to remove the other after she received a negative letter about a week before the fire.

Morrow said the letter addressed her political views, though he couldn't remember any specifics from it that his daughter had shared with him.

He said she had taken the sign out of her yard before she left Friday.

Anderson said if fire investigators determine that the graffiti is a possible threat against Obama, they will involve the Secret Service. The department's Atlanta field office was closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

"Once I sit down and talk with her and we can discuss this a little bit more in depth, if we feel that's what it is, we'll call them and give them the information and see what they want to do," he said.

Anderson said the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office has been notified, but is not yet involved in the investigation.

"It's ongoing and we've got investigators out today working on it," Anderson said Monday, adding that the sheriff's office has offered to help.

"If we need it, we're going to take advantage of it," he said. "We're still very early in, we're still trying to collect information dealing with the fire. At this point in time, we can't even say the fire was an intentionally set fire, it's just suspicious."

Graf's three children, ages 11, 14 and 17, did not travel with her over the weekend, but stayed with family. Morrow said they were back at school Tuesday.

Morrow said Graf did not actively campaign for Obama in Forsyth County. A few years ago, however, she lived in Delaware and supported 2004 presidential candidate John Kerry.

He said Graf told him she attended a Democratic party meeting last week, but he was not sure of her involvement in the group.

Despite its strong Republican leanings, Forsyth County is home to many Obama supporters. The president received about 20.4 percent of the county's vote in the Nov. 4 presidential election.

[Brick]

http://www.forsythnews.com/news/article/1594/
William Morrow is still in disbelief, struggling to come to grips with the suspicious fire that destroyed his daughter's house Sunday morning.

Perhaps most troubling was racist graffiti found at the site, hinting that the fire was deliberate and Pam Graf may have been targeted because she supports President Barack Obama.

The incident, Morrow said, "doesn't represent the community."

"It doesn't represent Forsyth County," he said. "And I just can't believe this is what's happening."

Marie Anderson, chairwoman of the Forsyth County Democratic Party, agreed. In a statement released Monday night she said the group "condemns hate crimes of any nature."

"Should the allegations prove to be true, we as residents of Forsyth County, whether Republican or Democrat, Obama supporter or not, should be shocked and appalled that this type of incident would happen here in our county," she said.

"It is our hope that those who committed this crime be brought to justice as quickly as possible. We are very thankful that nobody was physically injured as a result of the fire."

Investigation is ongoing into the fire, which occurred while Graf was in Washington, D.C., for the presidential inauguration.

Lanier Drive winds along a heavily wooded peninsula dotted with homes that juts out into Lake Lanier. Crime scene tape wraps around the charred remains of the house.

A basketball goal, go-kart and some outdoor furniture were just a few of the items belonging to Graf and her three children that were not scorched by the flames.

The foundation and what appears to have been part of the front of the house are all that's left of the structure.

Forsyth Fire Capt. Jason Shivers said the house was "beyond fully involved" in flames when firefighters got there and it "had already experienced some structural collapse."

Stones with Bible verses etched on them line the path to what used to be the front door.

One of the stones quotes the book of Isaiah, "In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength."

[TheGrillMan]

sad

[secondgencamaro]

“Should the allegations prove to be true, we as residents of Forsyth County, whether Republican or Democrat, Obama supporter or not, should be shocked and appalled that this type of incident would happen here in our County.”

Really? They should be surprised? Mind you, there used to be a sign at the county line stating something to the effect of "Don't let the sun set on your black ass in Forsyth".

I also believe it was Forbes that called it the "Laguna Beach of the South".

[LeX]

wow i'm sure you guys would be fucking pissed if someone purposely burned down the place you live, regardless of the reason... it's sad there's still racism like there is grow the fuck up..

[Brick]

Really? They should be surprised? Mind you, there used to be a sign at the county line stating something to the effect of "Don't let the sun set on your black ass in Forsyth".

I also believe it was Forbes that called it the "Laguna Beach of the South".

There used to be a lot of stupid things in a lot of places. Forsyth is NOT what it used to be though. Although, idiots still exist.

[secondgencamaro]

Cumming is NOT what it used to be though.

Fixed. There are two black kids that are bussed into North Forsyth High, and they wouldn't wanna have it any other way. Most 'new' residents of Forsyth are guilty of white flight. It's a sad situation but people will always show their bad side. This is a case of such. They really shouldn't be surprised that something like this would happen. I'm certainly not.