About Lake Oconee news. (Greensboro, GA) 199?-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 10, 2017)
Friday, November 10,2017 Lake Oconee News Page A13 Shannon Sneed/Staff Members of the Putnam County Fire Rescue team and Emergency Medical Service along with Milledgeville's Air Evac Lifeteam were recognized Nov. 3 by Putnam County EMS Director Nathan Mason for their efforts to save the lives of 11 people involved in a head-on collision. Pictured are, from left. Brad Murphy, Casey Mason, Glenn Hurley, Jeffrey (Buck) Wooten, Garret Anderson, Commissioner Daniel Brown, Angela Franklin, Ronnie Franklin, Renaldo Sanders, Commissioner Kelvin Irvin, John Carnes, EMS Director Nathan Mason, BOC Chairman Dr. Steve Hersey, Volunteer Captain William Knight, Commissioner Alan Foster, Gerald Clemons, Commissioner Trevor Addison, Robert Kneip, Captain Eric Kneip, Battalion Chief Darren Alford, Fire Chief Shane Hill and Air Evac Lifeteam Carolyn Ballard, flight paramedic; Chris Chriswell, flight nurse; Fred Grabenstein, flight paramedic; Jaimie Blackwell, flight nurse; Bill Jones, pilot; and Joseph Phillips, program director. Emergency workers recognized for teamwork Shannon Sneed shannon@lakeoconeenews.us Putnam County EMS Director Nathan Mason is soon to retire, but not before watchinghis staffexperience what he said was the worst call in their career. AtaNov. 3 Putnam County Board of Commissioners meeting, Mason recognized the exceptional response by local and surrounding emergency workers to atwo- car, 11-victim crash on Oct. 28, as well as the charity of local teams and bystanders and the assistance of the Air Evac Lifeteam, whichhelped transport patients from the scene. Jeffrey (Buck) Wooten, who is a member of Putnam County Fire Rescue, was first on scene at the accident that occurred near his home on Joe Wooten Road. Wooten said he heard the crash and, along with his father, Jeff Wooten, ran to see whatthe commotion was. As Wooten got closer to the scene, he said he could see several children lying in the road — six children and five adults were involved in the head-on collision. When asked what his first thought was when he saw the horrific scene, Wooten saidhe didn’treallytaketime to think about how bad the situation was. ‘We get really good train ing in case something like this does happen,” Wooten said. “And that good training took over, and I just stepped up and did what needed to be done.” Mason told the commis sioners that when he arrived on the scene, he could see that there was stress and emotional anguish on the faces of his rescue workers. “We don’t live on 1-20,” said Mason. “So, we don’t see this everyday. Y’all have built an ambulance service you can be proud of.” Recognizingtheteamwork of emergency workers and nearby citizens at the BOC meeting, Mason said Air Evac, which is located in neighboring Milledgeville, senttwo helicopters to trans port two of the patients. “There is always a pilot, nurse and paramedic on the helicopter,” he said. Mason said one of the adults, Marie Williams, went immediately to surgery at Navicent Health in Macon and four of the children were transported to the Children’s Hospital of Atlanta. Mason reported during the commissioner’s meeting that all the patients were doing well and, according to Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, as of press time, Williams was still at Navicent Health but expected to recover. “Therewas a citation issued for the driver of the vehicle at fault (Tiffany Childs),” said Sills, noting she would be allowed to voluntarily accept the citation. “She is scheduled to come up to Macon later next week to have a cast put on her leg, and she will be coming to my office to get the ticket then.” Emergency workers had to be on the scene for sev eral hours, and Mason said an outpouring of assistance from bystanders was a tre mendous help. “We had to be out there for a long time and one lady brought us a bunch of water. It was very taxing for all involved,” he said. Noting the teamwork between local departments, Mason said, “(Putnam County Fire Rescue) Chief Shane Hill set up a landing zone and helped tend to patients.” Mason said he was very thankful for the help from Air Evac and Navicent Health Center and proud of the mutual aid between EMS and the fire department. “But, I am proud of my guys most of all,” saidMason. “They will never forget that day. They did a great j ob with an overwhelming situation.” LAKE COUNTRY 1-20 safety tree removal closing shoulder Startingthis week, Georgia DOT contractor Casey Tree Experts begins a $400,000 contract on 1-20 eastbound from mile 90 to mile 98. Only the shoulder will close while crews and equipment are in the area daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. This project also encom passes Walton, Morgan, Greene, Taliaferro, Warren, McDuffie and Columbia counties with a completion date in February 2018. Tree and vegetation removal safeguards motor ists, providing adequate room to recover if someone leaves the roadway. It also ensures sign visibility and sensitively extracts obstruc tions that may fall onto inter states and state routes during winter or other inclement weather. This and similar ongoing maintenance service con tracts within the 27-county East Central District come from the Transportation Funding Act (TFA) of 2015. Georgia DOT uses the sus tained annual revenue from the TFA to launch much- needed routine maintenance and capital improvements. Citizens will continue noticing TFA-driven con tracted vegetation removal, pavement preservation, mowing and litter pickup, shoulder widening, roadway patching, slab repair and guardrail repairs among other vital maintenance activities at various district locations. Whenever you approach a work zone: slowdown; allow extra distance between vehi cles; read signs; obey road crew flaggers and expect the unexpected. ATHENS ACADEMY Thursday, November 16 8:oo a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Sinkwich Spartan Center (Highway 441 Entrance) Featuring beautiful, unique, and handmc 30 local artists and artisans. Conveniently located on Highway 441 wit www.athensacademy.org / 70o.oh*.^—~ " - Shannon Sneed/Staff EMS Director Nathan Mason sits in the co-pilot seat of Air Evac Lifeteam's transport helicopter, Milly, and is joined by Putnam County Commissioner Kelvin Irvin in checking out the aircraft's control panel. Wrap up your holiday decor nowand save. $100 REBATE* ON QUALIFYING PURCHASES OF HUNTER DOUGLAS WINDOW FASHIONS Make sure your home is holiday ready by ordering beautiful new Hunter Douglas window fashions today. Rebate savings are available on select styles, 9/16/17 through 12/11/17. Ask for details today. HunterDouglas ® WINDOW TREATMENTS Harmony Crossing Shopping Center 105 Harmony Crossing, Suite 3 M-F: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm Sat: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm Sun: Closed 706-923-2929 www.michaelsatthelake.com HunterDouglas 4s Gallery ‘Manufacturer's mail-in rebate offer valid for qualifying purchases made 9/16/17—12/11/17 from participating dealers in the U.S. only. Rebate will be issued in the form of a prepaid reward card and mailed within 6 weeks of rebate claim receipt. Funds do not expire. Subject to applicable law, a $2.00 monthly fee will be assessed against card balance 6 months after card issuance and each month thereafter. Additional limitations may apply. Ask participating dealer for details and rebate form. ©2017 Hunter Douglas. All rights reserved. All trademarks used herein are the property of Hunter Douglas or their respective owners. 17Q4NPPIRC3
