Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 6A
BANKS COUNTY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2023
Public Safety
Travel trailer fire near Alto Council
displaces mother, two small children
A house fire Tuesday on
Gainesville Highway at
Smokey Road near Alto
with flames as high as 30
feet displaced a mother and
two small children.
Dispatchers paged out
Habersham County Emer
gency Services, Baldwin
Fire Department, and Lee
Arrendale State Prison Fire
Department, along with the
Habersham County Sher
iff’s Office. Habersham
County Emergency Ser
vices Engine 12, Med 12,
Battalion 1, Captain 1, and
PIO responded, along with
Baldwin Fire Department
Engine 42, the Lee Arren
dale State Prison Station 24
Fire Team, Alto Police De
partment, and units from the
Habersham County Sher
iff’s Office. When Engine
42 arrived, the crew report
ed a fully involved travel
trailer in the back yard of a
mobile home.
“No injuries on the fire,”
said Habersham County
Emergency Services Battal
ion Chief Dwight McNally.
“Everyone was outside of
the residence, and it was a
complete loss, unfortunate
ly. There was no damage to
other structures,” McNally
said. “It was contained to
the travel trailer of origin.”
A supply line connected
to a fire hydrant across the
street required that Gaines
ville Highway be shut down
between Grant Mill Road
and Smokey Road.
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Photo by Rob Moore
Firefighters continue to spray water to ensure the fire in the travel trailer is fully extinguished.
Habersham County Sheriff’s Office units protect the supply line providing water to Haber
sham County Emergency Services Engine 12 from the hydrant across Gainesville Highway.
New pilot program aimed at helping
prison inmates find jobs following release
Incidents reported to
sheriff’s office include
shoplifting, disputes
Incidents reported recently to the Banks County Sher
iff’s Office includes the following:
•speeding and driving under the influence of intoxicants
(DUI) at an 1-85 location.
•possession of drugs at a Highway 51 North, Homer, ad
dress.
•shoplifting at a Banks Crossing business.
•theft at a Highway 441, Commerce, address,
•possession of marijuana at a Sweetwater Way, Lula, lo
cation.
•shoplifting at a Highway 441, Commerce, address,
•stalking against a Homer resident.
•domestic dispute at a McEver Road, Commerce, loca
tion.
•theft and driving violations at a Highway 441, Com
merce, address.
•theft by shoplifting at a Highway 441, Commerce, busi
ness.
•speeding at an 1-85, Commerce, address.
•domestic dispute at a Highway 51 South, Lula, address,
•abandoned vehicle found at a McDonald Circle, Com
merce, location.
•abandoned vehicle found at a Berlin Road, Homer, ad
dress.
•simple battery at an Otis Brown Road, Baldwin, loca
tion.
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LOCKDOWN DRILL AT SCHOOLS
The Banks County Sheriff’s Office recently conducted a lock-
down drill at Banks County High School and Middle School.
To ensure school safety, the H.E.R.O. Unit, Banks County K9
Deputies and Helen Police Department assisted the schools
with the drills.
Georgia legal services offered
By Dave Williams
Capitol Beat News Service
Incarcerated Georgians
about to leave the prison
system will get a leg up
on landing a job through a
new pilot program unveiled
Wednesday.
The Walking the Last
Mile Reentry Program,
to be administered by the
Georgia Department of La
bor in partnership with the
state Department of Correc
tions, will provide inmates
transitioning back to society
individualized skills assess
ments, help them develop
those skills based on their
needs and interests, and
assist them with job place
ment.
Key components of the
initiative will include re
sume building, mock inter
views, and connections to
potential employers looking
to fill open positions.
“The Walking the Last
Mile program will help
break the chains of incar
ceration by equipping par
ticipants with the skills and
resources necessary for a
successful reentry into so
ciety,” state Commissioner
of Labor Bruce Thompson
said dining a news confer
ence at the Chatham County
Detention Center in Savan
nah.
“This innovative program
is where opportunities be
gin for those who are seek
ing to embrace a fresh start
and rebuild their lives.”
Recidivism rates in Geor
gia and throughout the
nation have long been a
challenge to public policy
makers, due in large part to
a lack of job opportunities
and support for those re
entering communities after
being released from pris
on.
“By investing in rehabil
itation and removing barri
ers to employment, we are
creating opportunities for
successful reentry,” Thomp
son said.
The program will launch
next month from the Metro
Reentry Facility in down
town Atlanta.
“Our goal is to give every
person in the program the
tools and support needed to
land a good job,” said Joe
Argo, who will manage the
initiative for the labor de
partment. “By tapping into
people’s strengths and pro
viding targeted assistance,
we aim to help returning
citizens find work and be
come productive members
of society.”
To assess the program’s
effectiveness, the labor
department will monitor
participants’ employment
status at key milestones, in
cluding the number with job
placements upon release,
the rate of job retention
within six months to a year,
and the reduction in recidi
vism among participants.
The assessments will
guide the agency in expand
ing the program to other lo
cations around the state.
The initiative is getting
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Banks County News • Jackson Herald
Madison County Journal • Braselton News
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COMMERCE
IP AMERICAN LEGION
Post 93 • Meets 2nd Thurs., 7:00 p.m.
Wayne Brown, Commander
Phone (404) 310-7177
Commerce Civic Center, Commerce, GA
12971
MADISON COUNTY
DEMOCRATS
Meet Monthly
For Time, Date & Location:
Facebook:
MadisonC ountyGaDemocrats
Or mcgademocr ats .wixsite .com/mcdp
JEFFERSON ROTARY CLUB
Meets Tuesdays 12:00 Noon
Jackson County
Historic Courthouse
85 Washington St., Jefferson
Traci Bledsoe, President
678-227-8417 ,2626
4660 1
St. Catherine Laboure
Catholic Church
Mass Schedule: Sat, 4:00 p.m, Sun, 10:00 a.m, Tues, 12:10 p.m,
Mon.,, Wed., Thurs. & Fri. 10:00 a.m, Spanish Sun. 0:00 a.m. 1
Website: www.stcatherinelabourega.org
706-367-7220
BANKS COUNTY ' 3 “
HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.
Meets first Monday each month
7:00 p.m. in the Banks County
Historical Courthouse at
105 U. S. Hwy 441 North in
Homer, GA
csl 12972
JL, ROCKWELL
rwK LODGE F& AM
No. 191, Hoschton, GA
2nd Tues. at 7:30 p.m. • Dinner at 6:30 p.m.
www.rockwelllodgel91.com
Two blocks behind Larry's Garage
West Broad at Hall Street
12969 . ^
Tri-County
t Shrine Club
3rd Thurs. of each month
7:30 p.m.
Rockwell Lodge 191
12619
gSk JEFFERSON
IjP AMERICAN LEGION
Post 56 • Meets 3rd Tues., 6:30 p.m.
Joe Ruttar, Commander
Phone (860) 949-4037
309 Lee St., Jefferson, GA
KIWANIS
OFJEFFERSON
Meetings every 2 nd & 4 th
Monday at Noon
Cream & Shuga
Contact Darryl Gumz at
770-605-6656 for more info.
Pilot Club of Jefferson
Meets 3rd Tuesday of
each month, 6:30 p.m.
Jefferson City Clubhouse
706-367-9313 or
706-693-4715 ,2625
support from various busi
ness organizations, includ
ing the Georgia Association
of Manufacturers and the
Associated General Con
tractors of Georgia.
The program will work
in tandem with the state’s
Work Opportunity Tax
Credit program, which of
fers businesses tax credits
for hiring qualified people
who face barriers to em
ployment.
Free legal services are available to low-income clients
throughout the state of Georgia from the Georgia Legal
Services Program (GLSP).
GLSP offers civil legal services to Georgians with low
incomes who reside outside metro Atlanta in 154 of the
state’s 159 counties. ” The legal services are based on case
type and financial eligibility, according to program leaders.
Leaders also note that the program does not handle crim
inal cases.
For an appointment and initial consultation, call 1-800-
745-5717 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., on
Mondays through Fridays, leaders state.
For further information about the program, visit the web
site at https://www.glsp.org/
