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PAGE 22A PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. OCTOBER 14. 2010
Public expresses support for sheriff during public hearing
Sheriff Craig discuses traffic stops,
animal control, budget
“A DONNIE CRAIG LOVEFEST” as one person referred
to the sheriff’s town hall meeting last Tuesday. Craig dis
cussed the general operations of his office and fielded a
handful of questions.
Breast Cancer Health Checks were well
received at the Pickens Senior Center!
Arthur Goldberg, Francis Mackenzie, Lauren McDermott,
Dr. Langella, Harriett Smith and Roy Ward.
By Dan Pool
“If I’d known this was going
to be a Donnie Craig lovefest, I’d
have stood up earlier,” said the
mayor of Nelson during the sher
iff’s public forum Tuesday at the
chamber of commerce building.
Nelson Mayor David Leister
was among the dozen or so mem
bers of public who came prima
rily to praise Craig for the work
he has done or at least attempted
during his 20 months since win
ning election as sheriff.
Sheriff Craig began with an
overview of operations at the jail,
on the road patrols and with an
update on the mostly-completed
animal shelter.
While there were a few ques
tions regarding deputy pay, con
tinuing animal problems and
response times, most speakers
finished with a compliment to
the sheriff.
No one voiced any criticism
in the meeting - a change from
the sheriff’s first town hall meet
ing a year ago when there was
public dissent over the purchase
of new patrol cars leading to a
higher budget from the sheriff’s
office.
Among the speakers Tuesday,
one person said that the sheriff is
supported by the community and
if Craig presents a need that he
really believes, people will back
him up.
A person involved with secu
rity at the gated Preserve com
munity said Craig’s staff has
been great to work with. “Our
neighborhood appreciates all you
have done,” he said.
Another homeowner said he
appreciates the time the sheriff
took personally to discuss his
home security last year when
there was a problem. And he ap
preciated the fact that Craig
holds a town hall meeting so
ideas can be presented.
Among other comments made
by speakers:
A west end homeowner said
three pit bulls had killed a pair of
prized sheep and under Georgia’s
dangerous dog law they are im
mune from any measures. “Geor
gia dangerous dog law only
applies to humans,” according to
the speaker.
Craig, who had met with the
homeowner earlier that day, said
the animal control policy is still
a work in progress and while it
borrows from standard ordi
nances, it can be “flexed” for
Pickens County. “I don’t have an
answer, but I’m willing to sit
down and see what we can do,”
the sheriff said.
About the closest comment to
a criticism came from a person
who said that the sheriff has
noted his road patrols are under
staffed, but the department pays
less than surrounding communi
ties. According to the discussion,
the sheriff’s office pays deputies
less than officers receive with the
cities of Jasper, Nelson and Ball
Ground.
Craig said he is aware of the
sparse pay, but under the current
budget it can’t be addressed this
year. He said they depend on the
dedication of the officers who
will stay with them. He said he
would like to improve pay, but it
can’t be adjusted until more rev
enue is available.
This year, according to his
opening presentation, the sher
iff’s office will see a budget that
was cut 1.3 percent from last
year. This year the sheriff has
budgeted $5,055,923, an amount
$68,665 less than year. Craig
said this decrease comes despite
higher costs for insurance, retire
ment plans and feeding inmates.
To a question on response
times, Craig said they customar
ily have three to four deputies on
the road, but may have as many
as five during peak times and
five is the number he would pre
fer to see on a shift.
He noted that officers as
signed to animal control or to
serving court papers are on the
roads and able to handle calls
and act as backup as needed.
Craig said when he took of
fice, the average response time
was around 12 minutes per call.
It has been cut to 10-11 minutes.
“That’s okay, but I’d like for it to
be much better,” he said.
Among the sheriff’s own
comments to open the meeting
are that the department has been
focusing more on traffic stop in
the past year, which has upset
some people but produced solid
results.
Among the benefits of the
stops were more drug-related ar
rests. He said the combination of
traffic stops and having a K-9
imit have lead to quite a few drug
arrests.
Since the sheriff’s deputies
started working traffic issues, the
number of wrecks has dropped
and there has been a decrease in
the number of fatal wrecks. In
the first nine months of 2009,
there were 493 wrecks, including
112 wrecks with injuries and 9
fatalities. In the first nine months
of this year there were 309 acci
dents; 46 with injuries and five
fatalities.
“I credit this with more pa
trols,” the sheriff said.
Craig said the traffic stops
have been criticized by those
who think they are just trying to
write tickets. But he wanted it
known that of the 2,162 total
stops, they have issued 1,808
warnings which shows that writ
ing tickets is not the top priority.
Craig also highlighted other
initiatives including:
• The Reserve Deputy Pro
gram where suitable volunteers
can go through training to assist
the department. Two of the re
serve deputies, who happened to
both be local school principals,
Neil Howell and Carlton Wilson
were on hand. Wilson spoke of
the advantages of the program.
• Inmate work details have
performed 6,300 hours of com
munity service including road
pickups, construction on the ani
mal shelter and maintenance at
schools and other public proper
ties.
• Animal control - Craig said
they had been overwhelmed
since launching the program with
two deputies last year. He said
they have already taken 2,600
calls. He said the facility built
using inmate labor is mostly
complete with a cost savings of
more than $300,000 from what
would have been spent with a
standard contractor. Craig said
the facility will wind up costing
around $110,000 but was esti
mated to have cost $400,000
with regular construction.
It will be staffed by one full
time employee using inmate
help. With a budget for 2011 of
only $109,000, Pickens will op
erate their animal control shelter
much cheaper than any surround
ing area.
Thus far, the animal control
officers have impounded 121 an
imals. Of these 54 have been eu
thanized; four were returned to
owners and 63 were adopted.
Craig said they are working hard
to place groups of animals into
programs in other states were
dogs are in short supply.
He said a goal of the depart
ment is to promote spay/neuter
program to make a permanent
impact on the stray population
here.
The sheriff held a similar
town hall meeting in Big Canoe
Monday and will hold another in
Talking Rock October 20th at 6
p.m. at their city hall.
Horse Liniment
Erases Pain
HIALEAH, FL — An ingredient
often used to treat inflammation in
racehorse’s legs, is now back on the
market in its original doctor recom
mended clinical strength formula.
According to a national drug store
survey, the formula at one time be
came so popular that it rose to the
top of pharmacy sales for topical
pain relievers. But the company mar
keting the product at the time
changed the formula and sales plum
meted. One of the inventors of the
original formula has brought it back
to the market under the trade name
ARTH ARREST and says it can re
lieve pain for millions.
ARTH ARREST works by a dual
mechanism whereby one ingredient
relieves pain immediately, while a
second ingredient seeks out and de
stroys the pain messenger signal be
fore it can be sent to the brain. Con
sidered a medical miracle by some,
the ARTH ARREST formula is use
ful in the treatment of painful dis
orders ranging from minor aches and
pains to more serious conditions
such as arthritis, bursitis, rheuma
tism, tendonitis, backache and more.
ARTH ARREST is available in a
convenient roll-on applicator at
pharmacies without a prescription or
call 1-800-339-3301.
Now at: JASPER DRUG STORE
jqpj With us, its personal.
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We had a great attendance of
both men and women who took
advantage of the free breast
exam that Dr. Rosa Langella,
MD, and Lauren McDermott,
PA-C, came to the center to per
form.
October is Breast Cancer
Awareness Month! Please see Dr.
Langella at 80 Interstate South
(StatePoint) Kids today are
under more pressure than ever to
perform well at school. Each
year seems to bring more tests
than the last — from quizzes,
midterms and finals to standard
ized exams like the SAT.
The difference of just a few
points on a major test score
might even dictate whether a stu
dent gets into a dream college or
resorts to a safety school at the
bottom of his list.
“To give your child that extra
edge, it helps to complement
daily classroom work with good
home-studying habits and ex
tracurricular help,” says John
Stuppy, Ph.D. ofTutorVista.com,
an online tutoring service for
children in grades K-12. “It also
helps if parents and children
work together to identify weak
spots where kids need supple
mental help in different sub
jects.”
Here are some easy, cost-ef
fective ways to help children
boost their test scores:
Create a realistic schedule:
While kids understand they need
to study in advance of tests, they
usually think this means the
night before. But research has
shown small chunks of studying
over a longer period of time help
students retain information bet
ter. Consult your child’s test
schedule and work backward to
figure out when he or she should
start studying.
Be class smart: Not all teach
ers test the same way. Encourage
children to ask early in the se-
Drive, Suite B, here in Jasper
(706-692-9081) if you have not
been checked yet! Early detec
tion is what saves lives!
Thank you so much to Dr.
Langella and Miss McDermott
for taking time out of their busy
day to take special care of our
seniors!
mester whether exams will em
phasize class lectures or text
books. If it’s the former, paying
extra attention in class and taking
copious notes will serve your
child well. More thorough re
view of supporting materials will
help students more on textbook-
based exams.
Get help: While in-person tu
toring and test preparation can be
expensive, more families are
turning to the Internet, where
help is more affordable and
available whenever children
need it. Look for a service offer
ing monthly plans instead of pay-
by-the-minute options, and
you’ll likely save even more.
Services like TutorVista.com
give children 24/7 access to tu
tors and such interactive features
as voice and text chat and virtual
white board. Because of in
creased affordability, more par
ents are using such services
proactively, instead of as last re
sorts after kids perform poorly.
Keep them company: In ad
dition to designating a space and
time for children to study, it
helps if you enable them by
keeping them company, even if
you’re not in the same room.
Reading, knitting, or doing your
own research while your child
studies — instead of watching
TV or chatting with friends —
can go a long way in making
your child feel supported in aca
demic pursuits.
For more information on
helping children with tests, visit
www.tutorvista.com.
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