Newspaper Page Text
Vandals burn books at Josey
by Porcen Durand
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
e AUGUSTA
Late Saturday evening, an un
known number of people broke
into T. W. Josey High School,
trashed an office by the gym, and
vandalized a number of the por
table classrooms. In four of the
classrooms, graffiti was left on
thechalkboards, desks were over
turned, supplies were ruined, and
in one classroom, a pile of books
was left smoldering in the middle
of the floor. Another portable
class had been sprayed down with
afire extinguisher, which was left
lying on the ground outside..
The Richmond County Sheriff's
Department is investigating the
vandalism, while arson investi
gators for the Fire Department
look into the blazing-books. The
Richmond County Board of Edu
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ACCESS e WJI}OR‘I‘ & COMMUNICATION £ COORDINATION g L\[ZS)J%}/ED/JENl‘J‘g‘_," Lly & REspECT SuprpoOr
" It’s about making it easy for you to get what you need - when you need it; where you [Tt LM (A 01) A 0 e
| about working the system. It’s about having a system that works for you. TRE R aaE RYT
so that you never feel locked out. [t’s about unlocking doors that lead to a healthier community -- and
a healthier you. It’s about access -the key to your oood health. We believe that when it comes to your :
health care, vou have a right to expect these things and more. Insist on Access.
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cation Public Safety division, hav
ing had no one on duty at the time
the break-in occurred, has left it
in the hands of the sheriff's de
partment. At this time, there are
no suspects, with results not yet
returned on the various tests and
evidence taken at the scene.
With 59 schools in Richmond
County school system, and more
than twice that many portable
buildings in use, incidents like
this are bound to occur. Accord
ing to Major Michael Farrell of
the public safety division, most of
the portable buildings in use are
placed out-of-sight behind the
main school buildings, to keep
them from being a visible eye sore.
Unfortunately, the less visible
they are, the more vulnerable they
become.
Vandalism and graffiti in the
schools are, unfortunately, not as
uncommon as one might hope.
ACCESS
Though they might see at most
one or two incidents of arson in
the school system in a year, Major
Farrell admitted that his division
sees about 50 break-ins per year.
With 100 or more incidents of
graffiti every year, Major Farrell
continued, “we're at constant war
with graffiti. As soon as it goes
up, we take it down.”
When asked why vandalism was
so prevalent in the system, Major
Farrell was quick to point out
thatit’s not as bad as it may seem.
Though they have 150 or more
incidents per year, of various
types, they also have 150 or more
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buildings to keep secure, with a
public safety staff that does not
work a twenty four/seven sched
ule. To check that all of the exte
rior doors were locked on all of the
buildings at all of the schools just
once would take two officers 24
hours to complete, or 6 officers
working a full duty shift. Says
Farrell, “We try very hard, it's
just a monumental task. There
just aren’t enough bodies to give
100 percent coverage... If we up
graded the burglar alarms and
hired enough people (to give 100
percent coverage), we wouldn’t be
able to pay the teachers.”
CRIME, ...
Resisting Amrest...
On Saturday evening, around 8:25
p.m., an R.C.B.D. officer approached
a man at the Hornes Motor Lodge,
1520 Gordon Highway. When the
man saw the officer, he took off run
ning, getting a third of a mile away
before the officer caught up to him.
When questioned, the man gave his
name as Leon Jones. When the
officer ran the subject through
Records, his ID came back as Daryle
Jerome Robinson. Mr. Robinson was
arrested and charged with obstruc
tion of a law enforcement officer, and
with giving false name/birthdatetoa
law enforcement officer.
On Sunday, at around 2:15a.m.,a
maninvolvedinafightfled thescene,
was returned to the scene by a law
enforcement officer, and, when an
officer issued him a citation in refer
ence to the fight, he fled the scene
AUGUSTA FOCUS AUGUST 27, 1998
Compiled Richmond County
Sheriff's department reports by
Doreen Durand.
At around ten minutes of six,
Saturday evening, Sabrina
Jamison of Summer Street told
sheriffs deputies that Freddy
Scurry, a neighbor on Summer
Street, had come into her room and
pointed an unknown type of hand
gun in her face, then struck her in
the back of the head with the
weapon. A second victim, Phillip
Edwards (of the same address as
Ms. Jamison), told the officer that
Mr. Scurry also had pointed the
gunin his face and then struck him
across the face with his hand.
According to Mr. Edwards, prior
to the attack, Mr. Scurry had told
him that he did not pay any rent
and he should get out. Sheriff's
Department officers searched the
area, locating Mr. Scurry nearby,
but failing to find the handgun. No
arrest was made.
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