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About Jackson herald. (Jefferson, Jackson County, Ga.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 25, 2023)
PAGE 6A THE JACKSON HERALD WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2023 Public Safety JCSO Incidents Student nearly struck getting off school bus in South Jackson A Jackson County student was nearly struck by a vehicle while they were getting off the school bus in South Jackson. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office was called for a dispute on Jefferson Rd. following the incident. The bus driver said that she had stopped in the road to let children off the bus when a Chevrolet Silverado swerved to go around the bus on the shoul der. She said it was by the “grace of God” that the driver hadn’t struck one of the kids getting off the bus. The woman added that it’s common for vehicles to pass the school bus even when the bus lights are flashing and stop sign is activated. The juvenile’s father estimat ed that if the juvenile had taken four more steps, the Silverado would have struck them head-on. The driver of the Silverado said a water bottle had rolled un der his brakes. He was cited for failing to stop for a school bus that was unloading. MAN KICKS, HEAD-BUTTS DEPUTY A man recently head-butted a deputy and kicked the deputy in the thigh while he was being arrested. See Incidents, page 7A Braselton PD Law-Man’s best friend: Braselton PD welcomes first K9 since 2007 Photo by Ben Munro “Hulk,” and one-and-a-half-year-old Belgian Malinois, has joined the Bra selton Police Department as its first police dog since 2007. Hulk is pictured with his handler, officer Holden Helcher. police dog — has no idea.” he By Ben Munro ben@mainstreetnews.com The rookie on Braselton’s police force has had quite a busy first month. He’s helped make six drug busts, find a missing autistic juvenile in Barrow County and locate a suspect who at tempted to steal items from a self-storage facility. His starting pay? A new chew toy. Meet Hulk, the depart ment’s K9, the first for the agency since 2007. “He’s just a big ol’ puppy that loves to work and loves people," said Hulk’s handler, officer Holden Helcher. “It’s go, go, go, go, go. He’s prob ably the best dog I could have ever asked for, and as far as a fitting dog for getting back into the K9 program — this agency as well as this commu nity — Hulk is the perfect fit.” Hulk, a year-and-a-half-old, 65-pound Belgian Malinois, joined the force on Dec. 12. He’s a nationally certified nar cotics detection canine trained to sniff out methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin. Hulk also specializes in article detection and tracking (He is not a bite dog). “I just think it’s a great tool for the police department in my opinion," long-time Bra selton Police Chief Terry Esco said. Braselton police previous ly called in Barrow, Hall or Gwinnett county agencies when needing K9 services. Now, Hulk is just moments away. “I don’t even know if there’s words to describe it, how big of a vital resource having him already on duty, on scene is,” Helcher said. That’s particularly vi tal when tracking suspects who’ve fled Braselton police or missing senior citizens, which previously forced Bra selton police to seek neighbor ing agencies’ help. “We’ve had some that’s wandered off, and we’ve had to call other agencies with their dogs to come help us," Esco said. “That was one of the reasons we decided to go ahead and get one that could track and also help with the drug issues coming up and down the interstate.” Helcher — a second-gener ation Braselton police officer whose father handled K9s — has long been interested in a K9 program to help the depart ment crackdown on narcotics. “I love finding drugs and getting them off the street and keeping people safe and hav ing a tool that can help me do that much easier and at a faster rate,” he said. Enter Hulk. Helcher began the process of obtaining a K9 in January 2022. He and fellow officer Carl Askey assembled a Pow erPoint presentation, com piled a fiscal year cost and maintenance budget, wrote K9 program policy and secured quotes for the purchase of a K9 and equipment. Their hard work earned them the blessing of Esco, who tapped Helcher to start the program. The department went through Custom K9 Unlimited to get Hulk. Helcher said se lecting a dog for police work is rigorous. Dogs must possess the right drive, sociability and behavior and work effectively in different environments — whether deep in the woods or along bustling 1-85. “He’s got to have the ability to ignore everything else and do his job,” Helcher said. “It’s very strict and difficult to find these dogs that have that type of drive.” Hulk was selected from Mexico and paired with Helcher for four-and-a-half weeks. The two trained ev ery day “from sun up to sun down,” Helcher said. “It was pretty rigorous — definitely the most difficult training I’ve ever done in law enforcement,” Helcher said. “Stressful. Crazy stressful, but totally worth it.” Hulk graduated from train ing on Dec. 9. Helcher felt like a proud parent, which is a pretty accurate analogy. The dog stays at Helcher’s home and goes wherever he goes. Helcher keeps up with his medical and training records and is responsible for his health. He brushes Hulk twice a week, gives him two baths a month, clips his nails and brushes his teeth daily. “It’s like having a child that just barks,” Helcher said. “It really is.” Helcher describes Hulk as the most “lovable, high-en ergy Belgian Malinois” he’s ever met. He said the dog has no desire to do anything else “but play and love on people.” Hulk is “toy-driven” so Helcher keeps half a dozen toys in his patrol vehicle as a reward for when it’s time to work. “He doesn’t know he’s a said. “He just knows that if I smell this and do what I’m supposed to do, I get a toy.” And Hulk has quickly de veloped a sense of when it’s time to work. “He gets excited when I get out of the car,” Helcher said. "If I turn the blue lights and the siren on and the car pulls over, he gets excited. He starts circling, and he’s like, ‘Is it time to work?'” The department is arranging for a badge number for Hulk while Helcher is working on a bulletproof vest for him. Helcher has reached out to the Georgia Police K9 Foun dation, which provides free equipment to agencies. Helcher socializes Hulk as much as possible to build bonds with everyone in the de partment. He brings him into the office and takes him by town hall. “We take pride in trying to treat him like he’s one of us,” Helcher said. “I mean, he is. He's a part of this department. He’s a part of this agency.” And Helcher sees Hulk’s potential for public relations as substantial. “If I can take him out, and there’s a group of kids, he’s so lovable, I can bring him up to the kids and let him play with them,” Helcher said. “And that gives them a different per spective of law enforcement. We’re not out here just writing tickets. We’re not out here just taking people to jail.” “I enjoy getting him out of the car and letting kids play with him," Helcher continued. “It makes my day. It really does.” To that end, Helcher is ex cited about Hulk’s future im pact in the department — and community. “I feel like that's the biggest thing that this whole program provides for us,” Helcher said. “It’s not just drugs, or it's not just tracking, or it’s not just article searching. It’s all these encompassed into one, on top of being able to be out there with people and showing that there’s a fun side to law en forcement.” Commerce PD Recent incidents reported to the Commerce Police Department The following incidents were recently reported by the Commerce Police Department: • damage to property on South Broad St. where a street light was damaged by a vehi cle door. • driving under the influence (DUI)-alcohol-less safe; fail ure to maintain lane; and light violation on Ila Rd. where a woman was arrested during a traffic stop after she was seen driving “all over” the roadway. The woman reportedly ap peared intoxicated and admit ted to drinking. •domestic dispute at Heri tage Hills Apartments where a couple had a verbal argument, •animal complaint on Old Harden Orchard Rd. where a woman said two dogs attacked her dog. The woman also re ceived scratches during the en counter. A man fired two shots during the incident and the two dogs ran away. • suspicious incident on Vic toria Way where a woman saw a man looking into apartment windows on a security camera. •driving while license is suspended or revoked on South Broad St. where a man was arrested during a traffic stop. • theft by deception on Nunn St. where a woman reported a fraudulent online post, which indicated her house was avail able for-rent. Arcade PD Incidents recently reported to the Arcade Police Department The following incidents were recently reported by the Arcade Police Department: •agency assist on Hwy. 129 where officers assisted with Jackson County Sheriff's Office and Georgia State Patrol with a multi-vehicle crash with an in jury. • civil matter on Trotters Trace where a woman said she wanted a roommate to leave. • 911 hangup and animal con trol-nuisance on Rock Forge Rd. where animal control was called for dogs running at-large. • debris on roadway on Hwy. 129 where a log was found in the road. • harassing communications on Nathaniel Dr. where a wom an reported a man was harassing her. •welfare check on Hwy. 82 where officers checked on two people who were OK. • disorderly conduct on Rock Forge Ln. where siblings had an argument and a window was broken during the dispute. •theft by taking on Double Bridges Rd. where a man re ported someone stole his credit cards. • noise violation on Grace Dr. where someone reported loud music. •damage to property on Jef ferson River Rd. where a vehicle was damaged by an object that came off another vehicle. • harassing communications on Nathaniel Dr. where a woman reported another woman contin uously called her residence ask ing about her son. • driving while license is sus pended or revoked and unregis tered vehicle on Hwy. 129 where a man was arrested during a traf fic stop. • verbal dispute on Rock Forge Ln. where family mem bers had an argument. STATE OF GEORIA CITY OF JEFFERSON City of Jefferson Election & Notice of Qualifying Fees Pursuant to O.C.G.A. §21-2-131 (a) (1) the following qualifying fees were set by the City of Jefferson Mayor and Council in the January 23, 2023 meeting: Councilperson $75.00 The City of Jefferson will hold a General Election on Tuesday, November 07, 2023. The offices to be filled for election are Councilmember District 1, Councilmember District 3 and Councilmember District 5. The School Board Districts to be filled are School Board District 1 and School Board District 3 and School Board District 5. The qualifying fee for the school board districts will be $36.00. Qualifying for the offices listed above will begin at 8:30 a.m. on August 21, 2023 and will end at 4:30 p.m. on August 23, 2023. The General Election will be held on November 7,2023. Qualifying will be held at City Hall at 147 Athens Street, Jefferson, Georgia 30549. Public Notice In accordance with O.C.G.A. 21-2-131 the qualifying fees set for the City of Pendergrass to fill two (2) council seats and the Mayor's seat in the upcoming election on November 7, 2023 are as follows: Mayor (incumbent-Melvin Tolbert) - $35.00 Council seat (incumbent-Harlan Robinson) - $35.00 Council seat (incumbent-Willie Pittmon) -$35.00 Pursuant O.C.G.A. 21-2-132 Qualifying for the offices listed above will begin on August 21 th and end on August 23 th at the City Hall in Pendergrass. The address is 65 Smith Bridges St. Pendergrass Ga 30567. Hours of qualifying each day are from 8:30am - 4:30pm. Candidates must be a Pendergrass resident for at least 2 years prior to the election. The candidate must be 21 years of age, registered and qualified to vote in city elections. The General Election will be held on November ,7 2023. Renee Martinez City Clerk City of Pendergrass
