Newspaper Page Text
16-A
. The Summerville News, Thursday, June 30, 1988
from front page
four things. Have 1 ogerated the
sheriff's office, in the last four years in
garticular. in the way the citizens of
hattooqa County wanted it operated?
By that, I mean, have we answered their
calls? Have we caught the Jonathen Jar
rells and the other criminals who have
committed crimes in our county? And
have I represented them as their elected
official in a manner that hasn't brought
any shame on them? By that, I mean
various programs and interviews, in a
co:(yle of cases, by the national news
media. Have I done the job they elected
me to do? And I think that's what
they've got to decide on Aug. 9.
The News: There have been various
controversies over the past several
years involving the sherif?': office and
the commissioner’s office. He, of course,
is seeking reelection. If he should be
reelected and you should be reelected,
how do you foresee the coming four
years?
McConnell: I think if you'll look back
over the past four years, you'll find very
little response from me to any allega
tions by anyone toward the sheriff’s of
fice or me personally. My responsibili
ty in Chattooga Countg' 1s law enforce
ment. That means of every person,
regardless of who they are.
And regardless of who the county
commissioner is, he has a tremendous
job — just as all other elected officials
— but my responsibility to every citizen
of the county is the sai;ty of them per
sonally, the safet¥l of their families and
their property; whether it be trying to
educate someone about drugs, or trying
to catch a Jonathen J arrefis.
And I will continue to ask for what
I see as necessary to do that job. Not
always will I be right but my concern
is for their safety and their property and
it's my resgonmbility and my nature to
try to do that job. And if it means ask
ing for more than some people think is
necessary, I'm sorry.
The News: What about the continu
ing drug problem in the county? So far
this year, your department has made
more than 120 arrests on drug violtions.
It seems like a lot are people in their 20s,
a lot in their teens. How can a sheriff’s
office get a handle on this, to control it?
Or can it be controlled?
McConnell: I don't know of anyway
to totally control it. I think aggressive
enforcement, along with an educational
program trying to work with the
parents and the schools and get the
message out about the seriousness of
our drug problem, about what it does to
our young people, helps.
I'm not telling our courts what to do
Cyeclist Injured In Crash
A 22-year-old motorcyclist
was injured in a collision with
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| Corner‘Of S. Commerce St. and Rome Boulevard |
McConnell Running On Record
Stewart Declines Request For Interview On Sheriff’s Race
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F ‘ Tk Q‘
MR. s
STEWART 3,/
but I believe they need to look at not
just punishment but some sort of
rehabilitation program, especially for
the young folks, to try to salvage their
life and tieir fmture. .
The News: Since you became sheriff
the first time and then again eight years
ago, you've arrested a lot of people.
That means a lot of people you've made
unhappy, along with their families. Do
you think that will be a f[;‘l;oblem in seek
ing reelection as sheriff?
McConnell: Sure it is. You certainly
hope it's not. But you've also got to be
level-headed enough to stop and realize
that not everybody you put in jail, or
their families, are going to realize that
you're doing your job. It's not a per
sonal thing. It's that I took an oatfieto
perform the duties of sheriff in Chat
tooga County as lor:fi as I occupy this
office. I may not always agree with
things I have to do, but it's my sworn
duty to do it. I think I would be letting
down the folks who I work for if I do not
do my job. A
The News: What's the toughest part
of your job so far?
McConnell: The toughest part is see
ing kids who have been severely beaten
or abused, in a real severe way. And
anytime you have to physically take
custody — take a chiKi from his
mother's arms under a court order and
put it under the custody of DFCS
(Department of Family and Children
Services) or another state agency. When
vou physically have to take one hand
and pull the child and with the other,
hold the mother off. That's tough.
And it's not easy picking up %eople
who are victims of crimes, either. I
guess in the most recent years, the
worst thing I've had to do is pick u
Lorraine and Gertie Elrod — that’s a£
fected me most personally.
The News: How do you assess your
vears in office up to this point?
McConnell: I think we've had a very
successful eight years in the sheriff's of-
a car in Summerville last Sun
day evening, according to
police reports.
He was identified as Ray
mond G. Jones, 105 Curran St.,
Summerville.
Sgt. Charles Owens said the
mishap occurred on Rome
Boulevard at University Circle.
A sports car driven b
William%—lenry Morgan Jr., 21’:
Lyerly Rte. 2, turned left onto
University Circle from Rome
Boulevard, Owens reported,
and Jones' motorcycle struck
the passenger side door of the
vehicle. The cycle was travel
ing north on }%,ome Boulevard
at the time. :
ONE HURT
One person was also injured
in a two-vehicle accident on
North Commerce Street last
Saturday, said Capt. Fred
Lawson. She was identified as
Josette Frances Stricklin, 17,
Wildlife Lake Road,
Summerville.
Reports said the Stricklin
car and a vehicle driven by An
drew Gorman Baker, 80, ’lYrion,
collided near the entrance to a
fast food restaurant.
Trooper Mike King of the
Georgia State Patrol said two
people were injured in a two
vehicle accident at the intersec
tion of Tate Road and Green
wood Branch Road 1.8 miles
west of Trion last Thursday,
June 23.
The injured were identified
as Thelma L. Dover, 59, Trion
Rte. 2, and Megan Mcßamey,
8, no address listed.
Reports said the Dover car
was involved in a collision with
a car driven by Frankie E.
McGraw, 53, Summerville Rte.
4,
CLEANING
Clean gilded mirrors and
pictures by softly rubbing the
surfaces with a soft rag
dampened with beer, says a
housing specialist with the
Georgia Extension Service.
Subligna BBQ
Set July 23
The Subligna Volun
teer Fire De‘;))!!‘tment will
sponsor a barbecue and
political rally for all local
candidates on Saturday,
July 23.
All candidates will be
given an opportunity to
speak that evening.
fice. Most folks will remember some of
the major cases we've been involved in:
the devil worshiping case with West and
Brock — both of them were caught
within a very short time and sentenced
to death here and also to death in
Mississippi where they killed a Navy
Lieutenant; the Neelleys — where the
girl was shoved off a mountain in
Alabama and Mrs. Col:)?man was shot
in the back in Haywood Valley here —
both those folks were apprehended. Of
course, the most recent one was the
Elrod case where Jarrells beat up one of
the Elrod sisters and killed the other one
and he was caught within eight hours
of leaving Chattooga County.
We've had tremendous success with
drug raids and druF apprehensions and
the marijuana fly-in operation in
cooreration with the state.
think the Junior Deputy program
has been a great success, working with
the sixth graders for the last seven
years.
The Advisory Council that we
created four years ago gives valuable in
formation to me, and from the sheriff’s
office back to the community. It keeps
us aware of the concerns of various
organizations.
The sheriff's office has been ver
successful in the past eight years in afi
the major cases and has done a respec
table job in the other aspects of law en
forcement, such as serving approx
imately 150 civil papers, serving about
25,000 subpoenas a year, in the opera
tion of the jail and enforcement.
The News: You mentioned civil
papers. What does the sheriff’s office do
in this area? Most people have the idea
of the sheriff’s office as only running
the jail and apprehending criminals.
What's involved with civil papers?
McConnell: Civil papers speak
directly to lawsuits, divorces, collec
tions, this sort of thing. There's been a
tremendous increase in that sort of
thing in the past eight years. We're now
averaging 150 a month. Eight years
ago, we were serving about 30 per
month. Approximately half of those —
depending on what type of paper it is
— have to be served personally.
Anything pertaining to money, whether
it be child support or a lawsuit for debt,
has to be served personally on that per
son. Normally, it takes at least two tries
to serve one because of people not be
ing home, being at work at that time,
or trying to locate them. A lot of time,
the address you have is very vague. It
may be a certain person “living in Sum
merville, Ga.” and you have to spend a
lot of time running that person down.
Individual warrants tafign out by or
dinary citizens for some person — a lot
of times they have an address of only
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Cyclist Was Injured In Crash Last Sunday Evening
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Staff Photos By Earl McConnell
SGT. CHARLES OWENS (R) INVESTIGATES CAR-MOTORCYCLE WRECK
Accident Occurred On Rome Boulevard At University Circle
“Summerville.” They may know the
person who committed the acts against
them — such as a bad check or tres?‘ass
ing on their progertf' — but they have
no idea where they live so we spend a
lot of time trying to locate people. Just
because a warrant comes in with the
name ‘‘John Doe’ on it, that doesn't
mean everybody knows where ‘‘John
Doe' lives.
The News: How do you handle hav
ing someone in the courtroom during
State Court and Superior Court, and
Circuit Court on the first and third
Mondays?
McConnell: By state statute, the
first responsibility of a sheriff is to serve
the courts. That takes priority over
anything, by statute. It's my respon
sibility to attend the courts or to have
someone there. I attend all sessions of
Superior Court. I attend approximate
ly 75 percent of the time at State Court.
And now, if you read the papers,
.you'll see a whofiz lot more attention
given to courtroom security as far as
violence occurring. Thankfufi,y, we have
not had any here, but we are now also
required to have more than just the
sheriff in the courtroom when we have
a jury — for both the protection of the
court officials, the defendant, the fami
ly of the victim and also the spectators
and jurors. You're seeing courtroom
security becoming a big issue. We just
had two folks graduate from the Police
Academy in specific training for cour
troom security and I have two more in
the federal law enforcement training
facility in Brunswick who will graduate
today. You will start seeing at least
three uniformed deputies in court at all
times for courtroom security purposes.
The News: When deputies have to be
in court, how does that affect the rest
of the department in staffing and
patroling the county? What measures
have you taken in that area? _
McConnell: Anytime you have them
off patrol, it creates a problem. For ex
ample, if the second shi?t deputies — our
second shift normally runs from 3 until
7 o’clock — are subpoenaed to court at
10, once they get out, they have to go
on their regular shift. If t{e first shift
officers or the investigators are sub
poenaed to court, someone has to cover
their regular duties while they're there.
So if you see the deputies that normal
ly work from 7to 3 tied up in court all
({ay, that means somebody from one of
the other shifts has to come in and dou
ble over to answer calls. We have 20
employees, including two who are part
time, who work the courts and who are
patrolmen ang invgstig:itors.
Use News Classifieds
The News: How does the federal
court order on the jail affect its opera
tions and staffing? {Vhat sort of things,
in general, does it call for?
McConnell: The federal court order
we're under tells us exactly how many
people — 18 — to employ in the {ail. It
tells you what sex they must be. It also
tells you how many {)eol\?le will work
each shift in the jail. Neither I nor
anyone else has any control over the
number of people wKo work in the jail.
They're dxrec{)ly controlled by the
federal court system.
The News: Could you make any cut
backs in the costs of operating the jail
based on what the court order requires.
McConnell: The Chattooga County
Jail was put under a court order in 1984
for the operation and maintenance and
it sets out how many hours visitation
an inmate will have. Yt totally tells you
everything that will take place in the
_}ail. It tells you how many calories the
ood will have. It tells you how many
hours a day of recreation it'll have. It
tells you how many employees to have
supervising them. How much lighting
has to be on. What kind of phone ser
vice has to be available. What kind of
TV service has to be available. Even
down to what books must be available
to the inmates in the library.
The News: In other words, even if
you see some changes that could be
made to save money in the jail, you can’t
do it under the court order?
McConnell: 1 have no control over
the expenditures of the Chattooga
County Jail whatsoever. They are total
ly controlled and directed by the federal
courts and we have to regort to them by
10 o’clock every day what we've done
the last 24 hours. :
The News: There have been a lot of
people arrested locally since passage of
the state law that prohibits the posses
sion of alcohol by anyone under 21, in
cluding a 14-year-old who reportedly
didn’t even know where he was. Do you
see this as an increasing problem in the
next couple of years?
McConnell: I think it has increased
since they raised the legal drinkirlxfi age
in Georgia to 21, which made it illegal
for anyone under 21 to have beer or
whiskey. As society changes its views
about various things, including alcohol
use, it's hard for a 20-year-old to unders
tand why he’s an employee, possibly
married, could possibly be in the
military reserves, why he cannot have
an open beer. Whether I agree with the
law or not, the legislature passed it in
. R
| North Commerce St. Phone 857-1011 Summerville ‘
their ultimate wisdom and it's my
responsibility*to tr! to Snforce it.
The News: Although Chattooga has
had a number of burglaries and some ar
rests for bul‘-fla;y, it doesn’t seem like
the magnitude of the problem here is as
reat as it is in some nearby counties.
fs that the case? Is it under control
now? Do you see it as an increasing pro
blem in Chattooga in the coming years?
McConnell: I think we've been very
fortunate in afprehending burglars and
I attribute a lot of that to community
involvement. When they see something
going on, they call. We have had great
cooperation from all areas of the coun
ty as far as this tfype of information be
ing fed to our office. And our deputies
and investigators have done a fiood job
in followinlg( up on it and we've had a lot
of good luck. A lot can also be attributed
to our court system. Once you get a
burglar in front of Judge (Joseph) Log
gins, he prettz much relieves us of his
presence on the street for awhile.
The News: But what about the pro
blem of county jail overcrowding
brought about by the state not taking
all the prisoners who have been sentenc
ed by the courts?
McConnell: T could talk to you a
week about that. Right now in Georgia,
there are approximately 19,000 inmates
in the state prison system. As of 9 a.m.
today, there were 2,950 sentenced in
mates in Geor%ia waiting to go to
rison, and 13 of those are in the Chat
fooga County Jail. A lot of times we
don't realize g,ow many people are being
sent to prison in Georgia. On the
average week, there are 400 people
statewide being sent to the penitentiary.
This creates a tremendous backlog of
state inmates in county jails. %‘he
sheriffs of Georgia, througf‘: tflle sheriff's
association, have asked the lefiislature
to build more prisons and make more
bedspace available. And we have been
successful, along with the county com
missioners association, in at least in
creasing what they pay counties to keep
them in county jails. ’the bottom line to
jail overcrowding is this: as crime in
creases, jail polpulation will increase.
You're seeing a lot more criminal activi
ty than there was 10 years ago. You're
not seein% bedspace in jails and prisons
being built that fast and it’s probably
one of the most serious problems facing
the criminal justice system in Georgia.
What do you do with them today, once
you catch them? You see a revolving
door situation with the prisons: 400 in
the front door, 400 out the back door
and back on the streets to commit other
crimes very fast.
CAROLINA
COUNTRY RUFFLES
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100x84— $ 3 500
REG 88799 .. skY
200x84 — $6 500
REG 899 .. o o
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