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PAGE 6A BANKS COUNTY NEWS WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2020 Public Safety TANKER ACCIDENT SHUTS DOWN HWY. 441 ON CHRISTMAS DAY A tanker truck rollover on Christmas Day shut down Hwy. 441 and led to several homes being evacuated. On December 25, at 8:24 p.m., Banks County Fire/EMS responded to 2519 Hwy. 441 North, near Berlin Road, Homer, on a reported vehicle accident involving a tanker truck rollover. Upon arrival, public safety workers found a single-vehicle accident, a gasoline tanker, that had left the roadway and rolled over in the drainage ditch along Hwy. 441. The highway, both north and south bound, was shut down during the entire operation. The tanker was hauling 9,000 gallons of gasoline and had ruptured during the accident. A total of 4,000 gallons was discharged and was running down the drainage system along Hwy. 441. The driver of the tractor trailer was treated on the scene and transported to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in stable condition with minor injuries. Fire personnel diked the runoff in three directions and four homes were evacuated in the immediate area due to the spillage hazard. Several cleanup companies were brought in to mitigate the gasoline spill and remove the hazard. At 4 a.m., the incident was deemed safe and all lanes of Hwy. 441 were reopened to traffic. The residents that had been evacuated were allowed to return to their homes and fire personnel checked each residence for any hazards. Two injured in Christmas wreck Two people were injured in a Christmas Day wreck in Homer. On December 25, 2020 at 8:08 p.m., units from Banks County Fire/EMS responded to 290 Crowe Road on a re ported vehicle accident with injuries. Upon arrival, public safety workers found a single-vehicle accident where the driver had struck a tree. One patient, a female, had been ejected from the vehicle and was transported by EMS to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in critical condition. A second victim, a male, was trapped in the vehicle and required extrication by fire per sonnel. The patient was transported by EMS to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in critical condition with severe injuries. The cause of the accident is under investigation by the Georgia State Patrol. Man charged with aggravated assault in shooting 13 charged by sheriff’s office 13 people were charged by the Banks County Sher iffs Office last week. Those charged by the sheriff’s office including the following: •Ricky Douglas Brock, 61, 3350 Hwy. 51 South, Lula, child molestation. •Jessie Leanna Pierce. 27. 2860 Goetz Drive, Gaines ville, possession and use of a drug-related object, possession of methamphet- amine, giving false informa tion to a law enforcement officer and possession of a Schedule I Controlled Sub stance. •Brent Monroe Boling, 29, 1247 South Elm Street, Commerce, probation vio lation. •Christopher Dan Hor ton, 176 Spruce Lake Lane, Thomasville, loitering or prowling. •Joe Paul Hulsey, 88,1533 Moccasin Gap Road, Lula, driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUI). •Garry Leonard Bailey, 60, 177 Leachman Road, Commerce, possession of a firearm by a convicted fel on. •Dorothy Elaine Nunns. 57. 177 Leachman Road. Commerce, possession of a firearm by a convicted fel on. •Jose Vincent Sisneros. 25. 101 Mexico City Drive, Alto, simple battery and ob structing a person making an emergency phone call. •Michael Blaze Robbins, 30, 156 Sherwood Forest Circle, Brunswick, 30, theft by shoplifting and obstruc tion of a law enforcement officer. •Christy Lynn Roberts, 32, 103 Bennett Road, Ho mer. DUI. •Ricky Dewayne Walk er, 38. 304 Gaines Avenue, Selma. Ala., disorderly con duct, obstruction of a law enforcement officer, terror istic threats and acts and criminal trespass. •Raven Nickole Reichert, 21, 256 Friendly Mission Lane, Cornelia, DUI. •Julia Washburn Poole, 33, 116 Grand Oaks, Drive, Clarksville, battery. Free smoke alarms installed; batteries tested If you are a Banks Coun ty resident and need assis tance installing or checking smoke alarms, call 706- 677-1812 and Banks Coun ty Fire & EMS can install free smoke alarms or check the batteries for you to en sure yours are working cor rectly. •Almost three of every five home fire deaths result ed from fires in homes with no smoke alarms (40 per cent) or no working smoke alarms (17 percent). •No smoke alarms were present in two out of every five (40 percent) home fire deaths. •The death rate per 1,000 reported home fires was more than twice as high in homes that did not have any working smoke alarms compared to the rate in homes with working smoke alarms (12.3 deaths vs. 5.7 deaths per 1,000 fires). •In fires in which the smoke alarms were pres ent but did not operate, more than two of every five (43 percent) of the smoke alarms had missing or dis connected batteries. •Dead batteries caused one-quarter (twenty-five percent) of the smoke alarm failures. An arrest has been made by the Banks County Sher iff’s Office investigators in connection to the aggravat ed assault that occurred on December lion Highway 63. Bradley Dennis Payne, 52, of Sunshine Church Road in Toccoa was charged with aggravated assault on the afternoon of December 23. He is currently being held at the Banks County Deten tion Center. A bond has been denied. BRADLEY PAYNE He is reportedly charged with shooting at a woman’s car as she drove on Hwy. 63. Electrial fire reported at Maysville home A Maysville home received minor damages in an elec toral fire. On December 26, Banks County Fire/EMS responded to 350 Hembree Road on a reported structure fire. Upon arriv al, firefighters found a single-family residence with smoke showing in the interior. The fire was quickly located in a wall and contained to that area of origin. The cause of the fire is listed as a short age in an electrical outlet and the home is listed as having minor damage confined to the room of origin. The resident was relocated with family members until the home could be repaired. No injuries were reported. Information given on getting burn permit To obtain a burn permit in Banks County, call 1-877- 652-2876 or online at www. gatrees.org. Once you have received your permit number, call the non-emergency dispatch number at 706-677-1234 to inform them of your permit number. It is unlawful to burn man made materials such as tires, shingles, plastics, lum ber, household garbage, etc. Permits are issued only for natural vegetative mate rials. Burn permits are good only for the day that they are issued. Fires should not be initiat ed before 8 a.m. and should be completely extinguished before dark. Please Recycle This Newspaper In Memory Dec. 27,1932-May 7,1954 Killed by a drunk driver a It’s Time for a CHANGE in the Public Service Commission! Daniel Blackman will fight for working families and senior citizens to insure affordable utility rates, bring high-speed internet to all Georgia counties, and strengthen utility assistance programs. BLACKMAN <fPo Arrested? WWW. BANKS .LAW Using more than 50 years of combined experience to defend -DUI / Traffic Charges -Violent Crimes -Theft Crimes THE LAW OFFICES OF rawford and oyle, LLC -Drug Crimes -Computer Crimes -Sex Crimes We can also help with divorce and child custody Eric C. Crawford Managing Partner (678) 506-8990 www.banks.law