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WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2011
BARROW JOURNAL
PAGE 11A
EMS AWARD
Barrow County firefighter/EMT Dany Menard (center) was presented an award for
being an EMT/Paramedic of the Year. Menard volunteered to assist with disaster
relief efforts in Haiti following last year’s earthquake. Also pictured are deputy
chief John Skinner (left) and Jim Dove, executive director of the Northeast Georgia
Regional Commission.
Photo courtesy of Barrow County Emergency Services
Statham to sell or trade submachine gun
Last week, the Statham City
Council voted to approve the
Statham Police Department to
sell or trade a unique weapon
it has kept since the early
1970’s.
It is possible the Smith &
Wesson Model 76 submachine
gun the department acquired
decades ago could be worth
$6,000 to $11,000.
Statham Police Chief Steve
Martin sent the following
email on Thursday:
The Statham Police
Department recently requested
that the City Council consider
allowing the chief to dispose
of a Smith & Wesson Model 76
Submachine gun.
The weapon was obtained in
the early 1970’s and has been
stored in secure storage since
then. It was designed for spe
cial use by the Navy SEALS
in the Vietnam War, but not
all of the weapons that were
made were delivered to the
military. Some of the surplus
weapons were provided to law
enforcement agencies around
the country for their use.
Since the weapon is not use
ful to the department, the chief
requested that he be allowed
to properly dispose of the
weapon to a firearms dealer
who is properly licensed by the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
and Firearms. The city council
voted in favor of the weapons
disposal. The press release
stated that the gun could pos
sibly be a collectible piece
worth a significant amount
of money depending on its
condition and type of docu
mentation.
For security purposes the
gun has been secured in an
undisclosed location pending
its disposal.
Martin told the Barrow
Journal that the weapon is
in immaculate condition. He
said he has also has had sev
eral requests to sell it.
“We're having to wait
until we get documents out
of Washington,” said Martin
on Tuesday. “I have no idea
how fast they will move with
that.”
Man flees police on foot, arrested for DUI
A Winder man was reported to be driving
drunk through a mobile home park while look
ing for his pit bull. This led police on a chase
where the man was pursued on foot, tasered
and eventually arrested on several charges,
including a hit and run.
A Barrow County Sheriffs Officer reported
that on Wednesday, May 17, at around 4 p.m.,
he was dispatched to the County Line Mobile
Home Park on Hwy. 211 after a resident com
plained that another resident was driving intox
icated through neighbors' yards trying to chase
down his pit bull that was running loose.
When the officer saw the pit bull approach
his car, then run away, the complaining resi
dent said the dog tried to bite her several days
ago. The officer then reported seeing a white
male driving a 1985 tan GMC Jimmy toward
him at a high rate of speed.
The officer reported that he got in his car to
follow the man on Hwy. 211 NW with his light
on, and a pursuit ensued with the man swerv
ing into oncoming traffic.
At one point, the man's vehicle nearly struck
the guardrail at Barrow Park Drive, the offi
cer reported. As the chase entered down
town Winder, the man was reportedly “driving
erratically and passing other motorists, forcing
them off the roadway.”
As he approached the entrance of the El
Centinela Mexican Restaurant on Athens
Street in Winder, the man reportedly locked
his brakes and struck the back of a black Ford
Mustang in front of him.
Winder Police reportedly attempted to set up
deploy spike strips but were unable to due to
another motorist.
The BCSO reported following Timothy
Shane Bray onto Athens Street and turning left
onto North Broad Street in downtown Winder.
Bray was driving in the center of the turn lane
to avoid striking other motorists and eventually
drove through a red light intersection.
Bray drove his vehicle onto Gainesville
Highway, slowed down near a residence and
began running toward it. Two officers chased
him on foot, wrestled him to the ground and
tased him so they could secure his handcuffs.
Asked why he was running, Bray said he did
not know. Then, he told police. “I was running,
because I am a fool.” Asked how much he had
to drink, the man said “a lot.” When Bray was
told he was under arrest, the officer reported
that he could not maintain his balance or walk
straight, and he had to lean on the officer
several times to prevent himself from falling.
While the officer was reading his rights to him,
Bray reportedly said, “blah, blah, blah, I'm not
listening to you.” A field sobriety test was not
completed.
The officer further reported that while he
was transporting him to the Barrow County
Detention Center. Bray told him that he was
just released from the detention center, was on
felony probation and had a drinking problem.
Bray, 29, has been charged with failure to
stop at the scene of an accident, failure to
maintain lane, fleeing/attempting to elude an
officer, speeding, DUI ( alcohol,) obstruction of
officers, passing in a no-passing zone, failure
to obey a traffic control device and reckless
driving.
The pit bull was turned over to Barrow
County Animal Control.
Auburn council looks at approving Taser purchase
The Auburn Police Department may soon be
sporting Tasers.
At a meeting Thursday night, the Auburn
City Council heard Police Chief Paul Nadeau
present information on the purchase of Tasers
to be funded out of the department’s narcotic/
seizure fund.
The council will vote to approve the pur
chase on July 7,
In April. Cartson Krough, a representative
from DGG Taser out of Jacksonville, Fla.,
conducted a demonstration of the X26 Taser
in front of council. Nadeau provided the coun
cil quotes on the purchase of 8. 19 and 15
Taser packages. Eight Tasers would cover the
personnel on a 2 to 3 day rotation and have
two Tasers for the patrol commander and the
narcotics commander. Nineteen Tasers would
cover all sworn personnel with fully staffed
shifts with one backup.
Fifteen Tasers would cover all road officers,
patrol commander and narcotics commander
with one backup. Council member Dorissa
Shackelford was not present at the meeting,
but gave the mayor her recommendation to
approve the purchase of 19 Tasers. Mayor
Linda Blechinger recommended 19 Tasers, as
well.
“I am totally 100 percent behind the Taser
program,” said a resident during citizen com
ments. “I would like to see the option that
provides a Taser for each of the officers. We
need to do whatever we can to make these
officers safe.”
Bomb continued from 1A
After determining the device called. The device was found the Barrow County Sheriff’s
was military related, a bomb to be safe to handle and was Office shooting range where
squad from Dobbins AFB was removed from the yard to it was detonated.
Facebook continued from 1A
The SRO contacted BCSO investigators in girl told a school mentor that a black male was
reference to a report of alleged child molesta- making contact with several Russell Middle
tion. School students and had also made arrange-
During an interview last week, a 13-year-old ments to meet and pick up two of the girls.
BOC Budget continued from 1A
McIntyre said the 3,000 appeals of property
assessments expected this summer could cost the
clerk's office $16,000 to send by certified mail,
return receipt requested, the required notices to
property owners.
Reminded that her office in the current fiscal
year should generate $1.2 million in revenue for
the county’s operating fund, the BOC approved
McIntyre’s request.
The vote was 4-2, with commissioners Larry
Joe Wilburn and Eva Elder voting no. Wilburn
never votes in favor of budget amendments. Elder
did not explain her vote.
McIntyre’s request, however, was not a surprise
to anyone. The FY2011 appropriation for non
payroll costs in her office was half of what it was
the previous fiscal year.
And CFO Rose Kisaalita told the BOC ear
lier this month that Tax Commissioner Melinda
Williams also plans to request more funds, as do
other department managers.
The FY2011 budget was extremely tight, with
most departments having their non-payroll appro
priations severely cut due.
Kisaalita at a budget meeting May 17 estimated
the additional budget amendments at only $60,000
but acknowledged that was only a guess.
“I don’t know what’s coming,” she said.
STILL NO SOLUTION
FOR FY2012
All of the money to cover the 2011 budget
amendments will come from the county’s dwin
dling reserves, setting up a perfect financial storm
for the next fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.
The county currently is projecting a $5.7 mil
lion funding shortfall mostly due to falling prop
erty values that generate the single largest revenue
stream — property taxes — and to long-term debt
obligations incurred during the previous adminis
tration. The BOC has managed to keep the county
afloat during the recession by cutting expenses
and using the back-up reserves to cover remaining
budget shortfalls an unexpected expenses. But as
the board faces a potential $5.7 million revenue
shortfall for FY2012 with what Kisaalita repeat
edly calls "no reserves," the commissioners are
entering uncharted financial territory.
Commissioner Steve Worley, who managed to
salvage the past two fiscal year budgets, said this
week that he and Kisaalita have worked together
to trim $700,000 from the projected shortfall.
But he said he cannot see any easy way out of
the remaining $5 million hole.
“Mm-mmm,” he said when asked if he had
found a solution for FY2012. “Nope, It ain’t look
ing good.”
Though BOC Chairman Danny Yearwood at
last week’s budget meeting said a budget commit
tee would be formed, Worley said no committee
has been assembled.
"What’s the purpose?” he said. "If we are going
to tell the departments how much they are going to
get, why are we putting a committee together?”
Until the 2011 Tax Digest is finalized, the BOC
can’t make any major decisions, he said.
Chief Appraiser Cecil Highfteld has estimated
a 10-percent drop in the digest, which is the com
pilation of all taxable values of property in the
county. Kisaalita said if Highfteld’s estimate is
correct, that would reduce property tax revenues
by $2.1 million. However, Highfteld a couple
of years ago made a similar projection, and the
digest dropped that year by only 6 percent.
The spoiler this year is a state requirement that
foreclosure sales be included in the digest.
Worley said those low-ball sales prices are hav
ing a big impact on other property values.
COUNTY UNABLE TO
TAP SPLOST FUNDS
Worley said he had hoped for relief from new
legislation allowing cities and counties, with voter
approval, to use for debt reduction any SPLOST
proceeds collected for projects such as the cultural
arts center that have not been built.
But he was both surprised and disappointed to
learn that prior to passage the bill was amended
to require that any referendum to drop a SPLOST
project would have to be taken only at the time
of a SPLOST renewal vote. Barrow County's
renewal vote was March 15, which means it will
be six years before the county government would
be able to ask voters for approval to tap the $3
million already collected for the cultural arts cen
ter that likely never will be built.
Since the Barrow Journal reported the snafu,
the county commissioners have been blasted in
local blogs for holding the March 15 SPLOST
renewal vote without knowing about the effect of
its timing on the provisions of HB240.
However, Clint Mueller, the legislative director
for the Association County Commissioners of
Georgia said this week that the bill didn't start
out with such a restriction and the language was
changed at the end of the session. Mueller said
his agency’s legislative notices to counties also
did not mention the change and even in the “plain
language” of the legislation, the connection to a
SPLOST renewal vote is not clear.
Said Woley: “That House bill didn't start out
that way. I was following that bill and even ‘til the
end, I didn't know until I went to an ACCG con
ference in Savannah.. .1 found out you couldn't do
it except when voters passed a SPLOST renewal.
I got up and talked to Clint then and told him the
situation we were in, and he said it can be revis
ited at the next legislative session to change it. If
it is changed, he said you can have an election
and do it then. If not, if you are not going to do a
project, the money will sit in the bank until you do
the next SPLOST vote.”
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