Across the region

Woman claims preacher coerced her to have sex

DECATUR, GA. - A megachurch minister has been accused by one of his former employees of coercing her to have sex with him and others in the church, telling her it was "the will of God" and "her only route to salvation."

Bishop Earl Paulk, of the Chapel Hill Harvester in Decatur, has denied Mona and Bobby Brewer's allegations and is countersuing the couple for libel and slander.

WAGA-TV reported last week that the Brewers filed the lawsuit in DeKalb Superior Court.

City lawmaker makes issue out of surname

ALBANY, GA. - A city commissioner said he wants to make certain that business owners with the Patel surname aren't skirting the process for obtaining an alcohol license by listing relatives as references.

At a meeting Tuesday, Tommie Postell said it is "discriminatory" to let people with the last name Patel use each other as references while other applicants are not allowed to cite their relatives.

After several commissioners told him Patel is a common Indian surname, Mr. Postell maintained his argument. Mr. Postell asked City Attorney Nathan Davis to investigate the "customs of the culture," but instead Mr. Davis volunteered to draft an affidavit requiring references to swear they are not related to the applicant.

Three charged with scamming after storm

DUBLIN, GA. - Three suspects were arrested on charges of scamming local residents by selling $1 raffle tickets under the guise of the American Red Cross.

Danielle Shanz, Shari Holder and James Ervin Dixon are charged with counts of commercial gambling and theft by deception. The three could face additional charges, said Dublin District Attorney Craig Fraser.

Police said the group claimed to be selling the tickets to benefit the Red Cross in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but a background check revealed the two women in question had a list of aliases and that Ms. Dixon had an outstanding warrant for a probation violation.

"We just don't intend to allow individuals to victimize citizens doing good," Mr. Frazier said.

- Edited from wire reports