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Gilmer County Commissioner Randy Bell, 54, died Tuesday, 9-3-2013 of a gunshot wound to the head. Law enforcement does not suspect foul play.Last November, Randy Bell prepared to start an exciting new chapter in his life.
He long had been active in Gilmer County, Ga., serving on the board of assessors and often holding officials accountable for how they spent taxpayers’ money. And now he would become one of the county’s two commissioners. He had just been elected.
“It wasn’t a real tight race,” said JC Sanford, chairman of the county’s board of commissioners.
But just as he assumed his new role, Bell, 54, suffered a setback. A stroke hospitalized him at the beginning of the year. His vision faded. His finances crumbled. On Tuesday, he wrote in a Facebook post, a bank was going to sell his house.