About The Islander. (St. Simons Island, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 2021)
THE ^ISLANDER Published by Permar Publications www.theislanderonline.com ssislander@bellsouth.net February 15, 2021 Established in 1972 Vol 49 Issue 7 County tight for law & order space • Panel hears police department space needs By Matthew J. Permar Glynn County is growing, there’s no denying it. According to the ‘City Popu lation’ website, Glynn’s popu lation has grown from 62,496 in 1990 to 79,627 in 2010 and was estimated to be 85,292 by July of 2019. The current 2020 census numbers are still out. As populations grow, so does crime and the need for law and order. Glynn County used Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) 1 to build a new jail in the mid-1980s un der a federal court order. Having long since outgrown the one-courtroom Historic Courthouse, SPLOST 2 was used to build a much needed new Courthouse in the early 1990s. Funds from SPLOST 3 were used to build the new Public Safety complex off SPUR 25, a combination of the police department headquarters and a fire station, that opened in 2002. The police station re placed the one on Fourth St. that now houses the public health department. The first of these three law and order facilities that was outgrown was the jail, aka the Glynn County Detention Cen ter on Newcastle St., which had overcrowding problems to the point where inmates had to be housed in jails in sur rounding counties. SPLOST 5 was approved by voters in November 2005 with collections starting on Janu ary 1, 2007. It included $9 million to renovate and expand the De tention Center. However, after a change in the County Board of Com missioners (BOC), instead of a renovation and expansion, a new jail was built for $28 mil lion. $20 million of which was Turn to Page 9 Space needs Police panel gets update on recruiting By Matthew J. Permar Former chief named special advisor While it’s a temporary 6 month position, former Glynn County Police Chief Carl Alexander (center) took his oath of office from Glynn County Senior Superior Court Judge Steven Scarlett last week (Thurs., Feb. 11) after being named special advisor to the County Police Department by the County Commission. Alexander’s wife Susan holds the Bible during the ceremony. Islander Staff Photo - Permar Alexander hired as Police Department special advisor On February 11, after an hour and a half executive ses sion, the Glynn County Board of Commissioners (BOC) ap proved a six-month contract with Carl Alexander, to serve as a special advisor to them on the matters pertaining to the County Police Department. Alexander’s salary for six months is $62,500. This is a temporary posi tion that will report directly to the BOC. During this period of time, Alexander will assist the BOC in a search for a new Police Chief and evaluate and recom mend policies and procedures of the department necessary to achieve accreditation and to elevate and enhance the services it provides to the community. Commissioner David O’Quinn (At Large #1), who sits on the Police Advisory Panel, said, “It is the desire of the Board of Commissioners to maintain the forward momen tum the police department has gained towards the goal of accreditation and community based policing. A temporary special advisor will be able to assist in this transition to a permanent Chief. Our goal is to create a much improved department for the new chief to push forward with the 21st century policing initiatives that have been promoted in recent years.” Glynn County Interim Chief of Police Rick Evans will continue his role in main taining the day to day opera tions of the department as appointed. Alexander will advise and assist Interim Chief Evans with administrative functions of the department as needed and will coordinate with him on the budgetary needs of the department. Evans has indicated that he intends to apply for the Chief of Police position. Evans stated, “Carl is one of my mentors and has had a tremendous amount of influ ence on my career. I am hon ored to be working with a true legend of Glynn County law enforcement.” Alexander replied similarly that, “I am excited about work ing with Ricky. I have known him for many years and he is a fine, upstanding young man and brings an awful lot to the organization. Partnering with him is one of the best case sce narios to bring to the organi zation. Much has been accom plished and there are many more accomplishments in the pipeline.” Alexander is a former Glynn County Chief of Police Turn to Page 9 Alexander The Glynn County Police Department has had it’s share of problems in the last few years, but is working hard to get back on track. Part of the reason for this forward progress is the Police Advisory Panel (PAP) that was appointed last year by the Glynn County Board of Com missioners (BOC). One of the issues with the department is they have not had their full complement of officers provided for in their budget. This issue was brought to light recently at County Com missioner Sammy Tostensen’s (Dist. 1) town hall meeting, when several Blythe Island residents asked for more of a police presence on the island Turn to Page 2 Police advisory panel Georgia lawmakers eye citizen's arrest changes, no-knock warrants ban By Beau Evans Staff Writer Capitol Beat News Service State lawmakers are work ing this year on legislation to change Georgia’s citizen’s ar rest law, ban no-knock arrest warrants and lower employ ment barriers for residents on probation. But five weeks into the 2021 legislative session, reforming the citizen’s arrest statute ap pears the most likely criminal justice reform to gain passage. Democrats are pushing broad changes to policing techniques and Georgia’s criminal-justice system have filed dozens of bills in both leg islative chambers. Their bills range from Turn to Page 5 State lawmakers County-Wide News - Read County-Wide Page 3 - New Acting U.S. Attorney for Southern District named Page 4 - February & March Big Read Movies at the Ritz Page 6 - Georgia Power helps JekylPs ospreys Page 6 - KG IB Awards Page 11 - Big Read author Page 16- Back Talk 0 94922 29970 3
