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LOCAL
The Champion, Thursday, May 21 - 27, 2015
Governor appoints new DeKalb
by Carla Parker
carla@dekalbchamp.com
Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-
Brookhaven) is leaving the
state legislature to become a
State Court judge of DeKalb
County.
Gov. Nathan Deal an
nounced May 12 the ap
pointment of Jacobs as State
Court judge of DeKalb,
replacing Eleanor Ross,
who is now a federal judge
for the Northern District of
Georgia.
Deal also appointed
Jean-Paul “JP” Boulee as
Boulee
Bernard Jacobs
Superior Court judge of the
Stone Mountain Judicial
Circuit. Boulee replaces for
mer DeKalb Superior Court
Judge Cynthia Becker, who
resigned in March.
Boulee is a partner with
Jones Day in Atlanta. Bou
lee said he is honored to be
judges
nominated by the Judicial
Nominating Commission
and humbled to be selected.
“The judges in DeKalb
County are exceptional,” he
said. “I am excited to join
them and learn from them.
I will, though, very much
miss my colleagues at Jones
Day. I owe them, especially
Richard H. Deane Jr., the
head of the office, and Li-
zanne Thomas, the head of
the Southern Region.”
Boulee previously served
as a captain in the U.S.
Army Judge Advocate Gen
eral’s Corps. Boulee earned
See Judge on page3A
K-9 memorial
unveiled
by Andrew Cauthen
andrew@dekalbchamp.com
“Hero. Partner. Friend.”
That’s the inscription on a
monument unveiled May 15 to
recognize the importance of po
lice dogs.
“This K-9 memorial al
lows us to recognize, remember
and honor public safety K-9s
that have served the citizens of
DeKalb County,” said interim
DeKalb County Police Chief
James Conroy about the only
permanent statue in Georgia
dedicated to K-9s.
“K-9s have become an in
tegral part of the public safety
operations, are deployed on a
daily basis for various tasks such
as explosives and narcotics de
tection, criminal apprehension,
[and] locating missing children
and elderly persons,” Conroy
said.
The monument, a statue of
a dog named Hero mounted
on a marble block, is located at
DeKalb County Police Head
quarters, 1960 West Exchange
Place, Tucker, on the hill where
the current police headquarters
signage overlooks the proposed
police and firefighter monu
ments location. Leading to the
monument is a walkway of pav
ers with the name of each K-9
and its handler and the years of
the dog’s service.
“We are honoring truly an
important aspect of our law
enforcement agency here in
DeKalb County,” said interim
DeKalb County CEO Lee May.
“It’s something that I don’t
think has been acknowledged by
the general public the way that
it should have been,” May said.
“Our K-9 unit, these K-9 dogs
that have been trained from a
very young age to protect and
preserve life of our citizens here
in DeKalb County, but also to
protect and preserve life with
our officers.
“You don’t think about
things like this until things go
bad,” May said.
DeKalb County Police Of
ficer Mark Taylor, whose K-9
partner passed away last year,
said the “memorial is about
the K-9s. It’s about every dog
that’s ever been working in and
around DeKalb County.
“It’s all for them just so that
we can remember them and say
thanks for what they did. They
spent their whole lives working
for us, and now we have this to
say thanks,” Taylor said.
DeKalb County Police Of
ficer J. D. Huckabey was the
handler for Rysa, who retired in
2010 after working as a K-9 for
five years.
“I think that it is a good rec
ognition for dogs,” said Hucka
bey, who has been a K-9 handler
for almost 10 years and with the
department for 28 years.
“They do a lot of work,”
Huckabey said. “[Rysa] put in a
lot of years and all the dogs do.
It’s a great memorial for them.
They need to be recognized.
“They give 110 percent ev
ery day,” said Huckabey, who
works with another dog, Luca.
“When I don’t want to go to
work, she does.
“Being a police officer is
awesome, but being a K-9 han
dler is incredible,” Huckabey
said. “It’s the best job in the
department. I have definitely
found my calling for that.”
DeKalb County Police officers and their K-9 partners participated in the official unveiling of the
county’s K-9 memorial. Photos by Andrew Cauthen
HERO
partner
frjend
DeKalb Police Officer J. D. Huckabey with Rysa.
Plans for the memorial began the death of
DeKalb Police Officer Mark Taylor’s K-9 partner.
Interim county CEO Lee May said K-9s are an
important part of the police force.
