Newspaper Page Text
The
Commerce News
Page 2A • FEBRUARY 27,2008
Jamieson Forgot
To Pay State
Taxes For 8 Years
Rep. Jeanette Jamieson has been
cited by the Georgia Department
of Revenue for not paying her
state income taxes for the past
eight years. She has reportedly
agreed to pay $45,734 by the
March 15 deadline this year.
Rep. Jamieson, a Toccoa
accountant, represents Banks and
Stephens counties, as well as part
of Franklin County.
She has reportedly paid her fed
eral income taxes, but said paying
income taxes to the state slipped
her mind.
County Begins
Training Of
Emergency Teams
Jackson County has started
its own Community Emergency
Response Team (CERT) to train
citizens how to help in the event
of a disaster.
CERT is a training program that
prepares citizens to help them
selves, their families and their
neighbors in the event of a disas
ter. During the incident, emer
gency service personnel may not
be able to reach citizens right
away. By getting trained in CERT,
citizens will have the skills to
help emergency responders save
lives and protect property.
Under the direction of local
emergency responders, CERT
teams help provide critical sup
port by giving immediate dam
age assessment information, and
organizing other volunteers at a
disaster site. Volunteers trained
in CERT also offer a potential
workforce for performing duties,
such as shelter support, traffic
control and evacuation. The role
of CERT volunteers is to help
others until trained emergency
personnel arrive.
The first CERT instructors in
Jackson County were trained
Feb. 23-24. The event was host
ed by the West Jackson Fire
Department and was held at the
Braselton Police Department.
Instructors from GEMA/
Department of Homeland
Security taught the two-day,
16-hour course with topics that
included fire safety, search and
rescue, and emergency prepared
ness. Nineteen students from
Jackson, Banks and Barrow coun
ties and other counties across
North Georgia attended.
Those in attendance from agen
cies in Jackson County were
Bruce Davis, Town of Braselton;
David McCoy, Jackson County
EMA; and Lt. David Edge, Capt.
Tony Harris and Asst. Chief Joel
Keith, all with the West Jackson
Fire Department; Capt. Dwayne
Keith, WJFD, Jackson County
EMA and CERT coordinator;
and Steve Nichols, director of
Jackson County EMA.
Jackson County will now begin
the process of starting a CERT.
The Jackson County CERT was
started by the West Jackson Fire
Department, and merged with
the Jackson County Emergency
Management Agency.
In 1985, CERT was started
in Los Angeles, CA, with the
idea to train volunteers from
the community to assist emer
gency personnel during large
natural or man-made disasters.
In 1993, the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA)
decided to make the concept
and program available nation
wide and to make it applicable
to all hazards. In 2002, CERT
became part of Citizen Corp., a
unifying structure to link a vari
ety of related volunteer activi
ties to expand a community’s
resources for crime prevention
and emergency response.
The Jackson County EMA will
meet with the public in the near
future as the program devel
ops.
For more information, or to
volunteer, contact Capt. Dwayne
Keith, CERT coordinator, Jackson
County EMA, at the West Jackson
Region Roundup
Fire Department by calling 706-
654-2500 or e-mailing dkeith@
westjacksonfd .com.
Peace Place Wins
$15,000 Grant
From Jackson EMC
Peace Place in Winder has been
awarded a $15,000 grant by the
Jackson EMC Foundation to
repair and renovate two houses
donated to the agency as transi
tional housing.
The domestic violence shel
ter, which has served more than
1,200 women and children since
opening in 2000, will use the two
single-family homes as transition
al housing for families who are
leaving the emergency shelter,
but need affordable, safe hous
ing as they rebuild their lives and
become self-sufficient.
“While we were delighted with
the opportunity provided by the
gift of the two homes, we had
not anticipated nor have avail
able the funds for the expense
of repairs and renovation," said
chief finance officer Pat Peterson.
Grant funds will be used to reno
vate the larger home into a duplex
that will serve two women.
Participating Jackson EMC
members fund foundation grants
through the Operation Round
Up program, which rounds up
their monthly electric to the next
dollar amount, on average about
$6 per year per participant.
Ninety percent of the coopera
tive’s members participate in the
Round Up program. Since its
2005 introduction, the Jackson
EMC Foundation has awarded
more than $2.12 million through
176 grants to organizations and
90 grants to individuals.
Newest Recmit
Is A Dog
Of An Officer
HOMER - The newest member
of the Banks County Sheriff’s
Office is sleek, lean, strong and
ready for duty.
He’s also approximately two
years old and has four legs. His
name is Officer Jo Jo and he is
the first K-9 officer the Banks
County Sheriff’s Office has
employed.
A full-blooded German
Shepherd, Officer Jo Jo is a native
of Texas where he was brought
up at a kennel which trains police
K-9 officers. Banks County
Sheriff Charles Chapman said
the Texas kennel is considered
“highly respected" in the field.
Officer Jo Jo was shipped
from Texas to the Chatham
County Sheriff’s Department in
Savannah for additional training.
During this time he met his new
partner in Banks County deputy
Mike Wood. The new partners
spent four weeks training togeth
er and now are on patrol on the
highways and byways in Banks
County.
Officer Wood is now a certified
K-9 handler and he and his part
ner were on display earlier this
week at the BCSO. Officer Wood
demonstrated the commands
Officer Jo Jo abides by and even
had him search a vehicle in the
parking lot at the BCSO.
“It’s amazing how attached I’ve
become to him," Wood said. “I
consider him my law enforce
ment partner in every way."
Officer Jo Jo wears a badge sim
ilar to the one worn by his human
partner. Eventually, Officer Jo Jo
will sport a K-9 officer badge.
There is also talk of purchasing a
bulletproof vest for him.
K-9 officers are a high expense
for local sheriff’s department but
Wayne and Heather Abbs, own
ers of Wayne Neal Chevrolet,
handled the expenses associated
with Officer Jo Jo. The Abbs,
who said they have a person
al interest in fighting drugs in
Banks County, paid the cost to
make having a K-9 officer a real
ity for the BCSO.
“We felt with the sheriff’s effort
and dedication to fighting drugs,
this was the least we could do,"
Wayne Abbs said. “When you
have a K-9 officer who is capable
of finding millions of dollars in
drugs then it gets the attention of
the big boys."
“We appreciate the generous
effort on the part of Mr. and
Mrs. Abbs," Chapman said. “This
is a highly trained K-9 officer.
The reports are he is one of the
best dogs to come through the
academy. He is a big addition
for the Banks County Sheriff’s
Office and something we could
not have done on our own."
Officer Jo Jo has been on the
job locally for approximately
two weeks. Chapman said the
new K-9 addition works exclu
sively with Officer Wood and
goes home with him after his
duty ends each day.
Chapman also said Ricky
Mealor of Ward Brothers
Concrete donated materials for
Officer Jo Jo’s kennel and also
donated time in pouring the
floor. Tim Farmer of Grove River
Farms purchased a kennel for the
new officer and Randy Trotter of
Owens Farm Equipment donat
ed a kennel to be installed at the
sheriff’s office.
Despite his new kennels,
Officer Jo Jo has already been
reported to be sleeping inside
the residence of Officer Wood if
the weather is cold or if there is a
chance of rain.
“He is a great asset for us,"
Chapman said. “We appreciate
the Abbs’ concern in helping
us obtain him to fight drugs in
Banks County.
Photography
Guild Meets In
Athens Thursday
The Athens Photography Guild
will meet Thursday, Feb. 28, from
7:30-9 p.m„ at the Lyndon House
Arts Center in Athens.
The group includes photogra
phers, who share ideas and dis
cuss photography. Visitors are
welcomed.
For information, call Franklin
Dee Myrick at 770-369-330E
County Puts Down
220 Cats And Dogs
During Past Year
More than 220 Jackson County
animals were euthanized by the
Jackson County animal control
department last year while 74 pets
were adopted.
A report released by the depart
ment following an open records
request outlined a month-by
month list of calls handled by the
county’s animal control unit.
Some 85 cats were eutha
nized and 135 dogs were put
down, according to the report.
Another 74 animals were listed
as being adopted during the
year, with 77 being taken to
other agencies.
“Animal control only chooses
to humanly euthanize animals
due to diseases, sickness, aggres
sion or injury where to prevent
pain and suffering," said Rhonda
Stebbins, county animal control
officer. “All animals are either
housed at the Commerce Vet
Hospital (five days) due to lack of
space, or at the 10 county holding
pens for a period of 21 days to
better their chances of adoption
or to be agency transferred.”
Other information listed on the
report includes the following: 51
bite calls; 32 rabies citations; 115
rabies warnings; 47 abandoned
animals; 11 cruelty or neglect
calls; 225 stray cats without tags;
three stray cats with tags; 563 stay
dogs without tags; 45 stray dogs
with tags; 126 nuisance warnings;
27 nuisance citations; and 982
nuisance calls.
Intersection
Improvements
May Begin In '08
The revamping of the intersec
tion of Ga. Hwy. 53 and Ga. Hwy.
124 in downtown Braselton could
begin by the end of the year,
according to the town’s manager.
Jennifer Scott outlined the sta
tus of the re-alignment project
during the council’s day-long
retreat Friday. Braselton officials
plan to re-align Hwy. 124 behind
the Braselton Antique Mall, thus
provider a safer intersection at
Hwy. 53.
Re-aligning Hwy. 124 is one
of the key projects of town offi
cials, and is the foundation of
Braselton’s effort to revitalize the
downtown area.
Scott said the initial price tag
of the project was an estimated
$1.2 million, but may now exceed
$2 million, as construction prices
have increased.
Braselton has allocated its share
of Jackson County sales tax funds
for the project and has received
state transportation funds for a
streetscape project to provide
sidewalks in the area. The Georgia
Department of Transportation
has also committed $800,000 to
the re-alignment project, accord
ing to mayor Pat Graham.
“They really want to see it move
forward," Graham said of DOT
officials.
Braselton officials must acquire
18 downtown parcels for the re
alignment project, Scott said.
Twelve of those parcels will be
donated, while the remaining six
must be acquired by the town.
Fifteen percent of the necessary
rights-of-way have been acquired,
she added.
About 20 percent of the final
design has been completed, Scott
said. The town’s initial final plans
are being redesigned to save con
struction costs, she added.
Braselton officials hope to award
a bid for the project in December,
but completing the construction
project may take some additional
time.
“I’d like to see it done in 12
months, but I bet it will take 18
months," Scott said of the con
struction project. She added that
as soon as the final plan is done,
the town may begin moving utili
ties in the downtown area.
Mayor Graham said during the
construction project, drivers will
be asked to “pardon" the town’s
progress.
“Quality growth is dirty work,"
she said.
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