Newspaper Page Text
Cumming Police anticipating
added workload with growth
By Colby Jone»
Staff Writer
**• »
Cumming Police Chief Buck
Jorids said he expects growth in
the city, especially around the
Ciimming Marketplace shopping
center, will keep his 12 officers
busy during the upcoming year.
‘*fhe primary thing right now is
the'traffic accidents. Fortunately,
we didn’t have any fatalities or
serious injuries last year, but the
maximum speed limit in the city
is 45. It is 25 unless otherwise
posted,” Jones said, adding a
number of car dealerships being
planned in the area near the Ga.
400 overpass should only con
tribute to crowding.
However, he said the opening of
a new precinct last July at the
Wiil-Mart Supercenter has taken
some of the burden off the depart
ment downtown.
“We can handle a lot of the mis
demeanor and shoplifting cases
K -
PhotofTom Brooks
; Cumming City policeman David Summers writes a ticket during a road check last May.
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- 1200 Baptist Medical Center Drive
IW Cumming, Georgia 30041
■ Bvtb^^ Center 770-844-3274
there instead of going to City
Hall,” Jones explained. “We get a
lot of activity and calls in that
area, and businesses are going in
over there everyday.”
The city also foot the bill last
year for the necessary software to
put incident reports and traffic
tickets on computer.
Now citations can go directly
into state computers and officers
do not have to waste time typing
in incident reports by hand.
The whole system of filing
paperwork is more efficient now,
Jones said.
To deal with booming growth,
the department added two officers
and patrol cars to its ranks last
year. The patrol cars were pur
chased with seized drug money.
John Coffman, who worked
three years for the Lake Charles
Police Department in Louisiana
before joining the department
here last year, scored highest with
his firearm at the police academy.
HEALTH & SAFETY
Jones welcomed him to his new
position by buying him a “Top
Gun” hat.
The department now has 12
sworn officers, six reserve offi
cers, five dispatchers and one
detective.
But Jones said even the biggest
police force could not fix the traf
fic problems downtown. State
construction crews have been
resurfacing roads around the court
house, forcing road closures and
delays for many motorists.
“I get calls every day, but we
will just have to wait until the
work gets done. And it will look
nice once it finally gets done,”
Jones said.
The police department respond
ed to 2,853 calls for service and
I issued 1,679 traffic citations last
; year, a job he says his 12 officers
i can handle.
t “That is the most this depart
i ment has ever had,” Jones said.
“And we can make it on that.”
Photo/Tom Brooks
Pedestrian safety is critical issue at any time, but with all the
construction in downtown Cumming both pedestrians and vehi
cle drivers need to be cautious and alert at all times. Crosswalks
give pedestrians the right-of-way, but don’t let that give you a
false sense of security when walking downtown.
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FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS Sunday, March 28,1999 I
Walk downtown
with caution
On average, a pedestrian is killed in
a traffic crash every 96 minutes in
the United States. At any crosswalk
- marked or unmarked - drivers
must yield the right-of-way to pedes
trians. Crosswalks are marked to
encourage pedestrians to use a par
ticular crossing. Studies show that
more mishaps occur in marked
crosswalks than unmarked. Suclf
research suggests that marked cross
walks can give pedestrians a false
sense of security. At all crosswalks,
both marked and unmarked, it is the
pedestrians responsibility to be cau
tious and alert while crossing.
Here are some points to remember:
• Watch for pedestrians.
• When turning left or right, look
for pedestrians and continue to look
as you turn. Don’t forget to check
your blind spots.
• Watch for pedestrians when back
ing up.
• In bad weather, there may be
obstacles that block a pedestrians
view of oncoming cars, such as
umbrellas or hats. Be prepared to
stop. »
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