Movie Review

'Side Effects' Defines Film Noir

There's a thriller on the loose and a chilling indictment of the nation's pharmaceutical industry.

Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh is behind this thriller that shows you what can happen when prescription medications like antidepressants go haywire in "Side Effects." Rooney Mara plays a woman with a lot going on in her life. Her husband, Channing Tatum, is getting out of prison. She's in a financial crisis and in deep depression. Her psychiatrist, Jude Law, subscribes an experimental new drug at the request of another medical colleague played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. While on the drug, Mara's character sleepwalks her way into a murder, and from there we go on a thriller roller-coaster ride. There is a surprise ending to this film so I will not give away too much information. I will say that the film is not quite what it seems …

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Slain Business Owner's Funeral Set for Saturday

The funeral for Nelson Garner, the Cumming man who was found murdered in his deer processing business, is scheduled for Saturday.

A funeral service will be held Saturday at 2 p.m. for the slain Cumming man whose body was found in Hancock County, Ga. over the weekend. The family of Nelson Garner, 60, will receive friends at Ingram Funeral Home in Cumming on Thursday from 1 p.m. until 9 p.m., Friday, 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. until hour of the service. The funeral will also be held there. Garner's body was discovered by his brother in the deer processing business they both operated called Garner’s Grinder Sunday night around 9:30. The business is located in Sparta, Ga. (about 137 miles from Cumming, between Atlanta and Augusta). Garner who operated and stayed at the business during hunting season, but was a resident of Cumming, was last seen alive on…

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From The Editor's Desk

Letter to the Editor: Mom of Murdered Son Speaks Out

Heather Cramer, mother of murdered son Michael Smith, speaks out in this letter to the editor.

  Letter to the editor:  As the immediate family of Michael Smith, we would like to express our deepest gratitude to all of the good people of Forsyth County who investigated the tragic events of his death and brought it to closure for us with a guilty verdict and life sentence for Jill Smith. We are grateful to the firefighters and police who rushed to the scene that night in an attempt to save Michael's life. Lt. Debbie Lindstrom's (Arson Investigator) diligence and commitment to this case was professional and thorough. We want to thank her for becoming Michael's voice and his champion. Sgt. Sebastian Strano and his team spent countless hours interviewing everyone relating to that night and events surrounding it. Our thanks to them for …

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UPDATE: Guilty Verdict in Jill Smith Arson-Murder Trial

Peter Delaney who was also charged with felony-murder and first-degree arson was found not guilty on all charges.

Update: 2-28-12, 3:45 p.m. (details of verdict and sentencing) A Forsyth County jury has found 35-year old Jill Smith guilty of killing her husband in a fire that started in the master bedroom of the couple's home located in a south Forsyth County subdivision in 2010. The medical examiner confirmed Mr. Smith’s death was due to a combination of smoke inhalation and thermal burns. After a day and a half of jury deliberations a verdict was reached and read by the jury foreman Tuesday morning (see video above) in the packed courtroom of Forsyth County Superior Court Judge David L. Dickinson. Trial testimony centered on Forsyth County fire investigators, firefighters, and witnesses. The state argued that the fire was intentionally set, while …

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Amanda Knox Verdict: Murder Conviction Overturned

Amanda Knox, the 24-year-old American, has been found not guilty of killing her British roommate, 21-year-old Meredith Kercher, in 2007. Knox will be freed from jail.

Hearing for Suspect in Fatal Custody Swap Postponed

Cumming man suspected in shooting death of his children's mother remains in Fulton County Jail.

Today’s first court appearance of a 25-year-old Cumming man charged in connection with the shooting death of his children’s mother was postponed until next Wednesday, according to Fulton County prosecutors. The hearing in Fulton County Superior Court will be the first in a series of pretrial hearings for Christopher Erdman, who allegedly shot Shannon Lawrence of Canton four times in the face and neck on June 5 as the two met in a bank parking lot across from the Birmingham Crossroads shopping center in Milton where they usually met, police said. Erdman and Lawrence, 25, who never married, used the shopping center as the drop-off point when exchanging their two children. Lawrence was laid to rest in Cherokee Memorial Park in Canton on June …

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Cumming Man Suspected in Milton Shooting Had June 15 Court Date

Three Fridays ago, Shannon Lawrence told the Cherokee County Superior Court that she feared for her safety.

Three Fridays ago, Shannon Lawrence told the Cherokee County Superior Court that she feared for her safety. Christopher Erdman, the father of her two children, refused to comply with a March 2 protective order that prevented him from harassing and abusing her, according to her attorney. He "continually" fired off "threatening" and "intimidating" e-mails and texts to the Canton woman, her attorney alleged in a May 13 motion for contempt. "This conduct has caused great concern and fear for the Defendant," the attorney, Michael McLaughlin, wrote. Erdman, 25, was ordered to appear before Cherokee County Superior Court Judge Anthony Baker on June 15 to respond to the allegations and others. Now the Cumming man will appear before a Fulton County…

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