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PAGE 12A — THE MADISON COUNTY (GA) JOURNAL, THURSDAY. JULY 21.2016
AZEVEDO SERVES AS DELEGATE
AT REPUBLICAN CONVENTION
Madison County’s Bruce Azevedo is the Republican
Party’s 9 th Congressional District Chairman. He is in
Cleveland for the Republican National Convention
this week, serving as a national delegate and Geor
gia Electoral Elector. He said all 320 delegates met
Monday for lunch at the downtown Wynham Hotel.
“Our speaker was U.S. Senator David Perdue,” said
Azevedo. “He gave a motivating speech on ‘getting
on the Trump train’ and ‘let’s beat Hillary.’ He stated
there are no other options, no matter who you pre
fer for our nominee. It appeared the delegation is
overwhelming together on nominating Trump from
the applause.”
Candidates
• • • continued from page 3A
He said he is also committed to building morale inside the
sheriff’s office.
“The brothers and sisters in law enforcement have a target
on their back.” he said. “We have to watch each other 24/7.
By standing with them you will build relationships. A happy
employee is one who will serve the citizens of Madison
County without hesitation. I believe in an open-door policy. I
will be available to our citizens and to our staff.”
Kip Thomas, incumbent
Kip Thomas is a 1994 graduate of Madison County High
School and has served two terms as Madison County's sheriff.
He attends Colbert Baptist Church and a Partner in Education
at two elementary schools. He is a member of the Madison
County Rotary Club and involved in the annual toy collection
for the Madison County Food Bank.
“After returning to Madison County following my military
service, I began working in law enforcement and currently
have over 17 years of experience.," said Thomas. "Most
importantly, I have been your sheriff for the past seven-and-a-
half years. I have over 1,400 hours of law enforcement train
ing. I am a P.O.S.T. certified general instructor with additional
instructor certifications in firearms, shotgun and taser. Some
of my other training includes SWAT, active shooter response,
advanced firearms, gangs, drug investigations, school vio
lence, identity theft, search and seizure, traffic laws, grant
management, ethics, open records, and child safety passenger
technician. I am also a certified armorer."
Thomas said his office has accomplished many things
during his two terms.
"I am very proud of the hard-working men and women that
make up the Madison County Sheriff's Office,” he said. “My
jail staff has persevered through years of over-crowding and
a stressful work environment. They now have more space
to do their job in a safe and adequate building. My deputies
work hard each day and are constantly obtaining training to
stay informed on the latest issues. Our office’s seven certified
instructors, including myself, are able to provide in-house
trainings to cut costs of sending staff out of town for training
hours whenever possible. The sheriff's office currently has
seven investigators that are specialized in crimes against
children, sex offenders, identity theft and fraud, drug investi
gations and other crimes, including theft.”
He said the inmate work crews do work around the county,
saving money for the government. Thomas said the depart
ment holds numerous community training programs. He said
he has placed school resource officers at the high school and
middle school to improve school safety and has an active
CHAMPS program to encourage kids to make good life
choices.
"We also continue to have the Explorers Program for stu
dents in the middle and high schools that are interested in
future law enforcement careers,” he said, noting that there is
also a Junior Deputy program.
Thomas said budgeting is a challenge for the sheriff's office.
"During my years as Sheriff, we have cut hundreds of
thousands of dollars from the budget,” he said. “In the end,
there was only so much that could be cut while still being able
to function properly. For the past several years the sheriff’s
Office and Jail have been over budget. This was due to being
underfunded from the get go. For example, in previous years,
our water/sewer bill averaged 68,000 per year. In my budget,
I would ask for this amount, but would only receive 54,000 to
cover this cost. With situations like this along with things like
winter storms that required many hours of overtime pay, my
office would end up over budget.”
Thomas said his office is committed to battling diug use and
drag trafficking in Madison County.
"Those who abuse drugs many times spiral into also com
mitting other crimes also,” he said. "This is problem in our
county, state, and nation. The sheriff’s office drug investigator
is constantly working to locate and arrest those that are using
or selling illegal drugs. The recent formation of a new diug
task force for our area, which will include Madison County,
will allow for more manpower for diug investigations.”
He also noted that law enforcement is facing some real
challenges in the U.S.
"Another challenge that we face as law enforcement, here
and across the nation, is the ever-changing situations that
officers are placed in,” he said. "We frequently see it on the
news, a total lack of respect for the men and women that try to
serve and protect their communities. Our deputies never know
what might be around the next comer or what the next call
might entail. While we are still a somewhat rural county, we
are not immune to potential deadly situations that we must be
prepared to handle. As sheriff, I will continue to work towards
providing my staff with what they need to do their jobs effec
tively and with the utmost safety.”
• • • continued from page 1A
dog show judge, my mother
showed Cocker Spaniels and we
had a kennel at home.”
In fact, Edins first career choice
was to become a veterinarian, but
chemistry was not her forte, she
said - psychology was.
"So I guess you could say
I found a way to pull the two
together,” Edins said of her work
with Ally. ‘People call me ‘Dr.
Doolittle.”’
Before her accident, Ally
accompanied Edins on a visit to a
depressed client’s home. “She had
called and was so depressed and
didn’t know what to do,” Edins
remembers. “When we got there
she was just sitting on the ground
so Ally went right over and got in
her lap."
Edins said on a scale of one to
10, the client described her anxiety
level at about an eight when they
arrived, but when she and Ally
completed the visit, the woman
said her anxiety was reduced to
a “three.”
Then there’s the child who often
has suicidal thoughts. Edins said
Ally and she usually take a walk
with the child and just chat, talking
about animals and how wonder
ful they are. She says the child
has benefited tremendously from
having Ally around, so much so
that the child will soon have a
therapy pet of their own.
“Sometimes it helps them just to
have somebody else to take care of
and to be active,” she said.
Ally also makes visits to the
Athens-Clarke County Animal
Shelter and other local shelters.
And Edins says being a three-
legged dog hasn’t slowed Ally
down much, if at all. "She can
do stairs now with no problem,”
she said. “And I’m thinking that
what Ally has overcome herself
may be a further help to some of
our clients."
Edins said she “had to have”
Ally, the little 8-week old Border
Collie/Black Lab mix puppy that
belonged to her son's friend as
soon as she saw her.
“I didn’t need another dog,”
Edins, who had several already,
said, but that little puppy worked
her way into her heart.
Shortly after she brought her
home, Edins got sick with a stom
ach virus and noticed something
strange about Ally.
"She whined and worried over
me, she even threw up when I
did,” Edins said "Her empathy
was evident”
On another occasion, Edins was
walking Ally at a park when a little
girl fell.
“Ally dragged me over to where
the girl was,” Edins said. "She was
so worried about her and eager to
comfort her.”
Edins knew Ally had potential,
so she worked to get her the train
ing and certifications she needed.
Ally is now a member of Therapy
Dogs International and in addition
to working with EPIC patients,
Ally goes to the Madison County
library on their "Read to Rovef ’
children’s program, held the third
Sundays of the month and she also
participates in 'Paws and Relax” a
program to help college students
de-stress during final exams.
Ally is also working with Edins
to train Daisy, another dog Edins
has, to become a therapy dog.
Ally has given so much to those
around her that a fund has been
set up to help defray some of
the high costs of her veterinary
expenses. To find out how to help
Ally and Dr. Edins, go to Ally’s
medical expenses gofundme page
on Facebook.
Incidents
• • • continued from page 8A
again and heard someone inside
attempting to barricade the door.
A woman then opened the door
and Norris drew his pistol to
secure the residence as there
were three people “running
around inside” the home. He
ordered the two women and one
man to get on the floor in the
living room. All three complied
and the residence was cleared.
The person they were seeking
was not found.
•A man on Thomas Road told
deputy Joshua Smith last week
at the sheriff’s office that he is
hearing voices in his home and
that people are taking pictures
inside the house. He stated inci
dents have been taking place for
the past four months while he
was incarcerated in the Clarke
County Jail. He reported that he
hears voices while he is watch
ing movies (voices not related
to the movies being watched)
and also sees people in his home
taking pictures. He said these
people have been caught on “live
feed” but not recently and he
doesn’t know who they are.
•Deputies responded to a fight
on Alberta Drive last week.
Deputy Brian Cowart and two
other officers went to the scene
where they met with a black
male who said his “uncle Tom”
was attempting to hit him with a
large stick. He said he and “uncle
Tom,” who was later identified
by another name, got into an
argument over a weed eater and
that the other man picked up a
stick and tried to hit him. The
victim appeared to be drunk,
according to the report. “Uncle
Tom” said the other man had
hit and slapped him, so he got
a stick to defend himself. A wit
ness on scene said both men
fought at the residence across
the street and after few minutes
of mutual combat they separat
ed, but he never saw a stick
or any other weapons involved
Neither man had any injuries or
complained of being hurt. The
“uncle” requested that the other
man be banned from his prop
erty and both were explained the
warrant process.
•Two inmates recently caused
issues at the Madison County
Jail. Inmate Clint Culberson
reportedly entered a cell in his
pod and began to punch inmate
Samuel Dyer in the face and
head while he was lying on a
cot. The victim received a black
Dry ...
if things get worse before Urey
get better. In 1983, for exam
ple, he said tire hottest tempera
ture ever recorded here (107
degrees) occurred Aug. 21.
“If the long-range forecasts
are correct, the eastern two-
thirds of the country is going
to bake during the last 10 days
of July, and that includes us.
And if we do indeed shift into
a strong La Nina in the fall
then this drought is going to
continue, but how bad it will be
is anyone's guess right now.”
Jenkins said water conser-
continued from page 3A
vation should already be on
everyone’s mind — sooner
rather than later.
USDA Farm Service
Agency county executive
director Jay Jackson, who
oversees Madison, Banks and
Jackson counties said it’s defi
nitely tire he driest it’s been in
several years — specifically
since 2012 — when tire area
was also in extreme drought.
"But what makes this year
so unusual is that it started get
ting so dry so early, way back
in April, and it stayed dry in
May and June and we still
have our driest months ahead,
which typically begins this
month and includes August
and September,” Jackson said.
Jackson said it was a weir'd
flip of the coin recently, as last
fall was a deluge of rainfall,
which prevented farmers from
doing some of the things they
needed to do to prepare their
fields for this year’s growing
season. Madison County is
among 21 Georgia counties
declared as a "disaster area” by
tire USDA due to tire drought.
left eye and bruising to the top
and left side of his face. Dyer
told officer Burl Johnson he
heard Culberson coming up the
steps in the pod hollering some
thing about being "butt naked.”
The victim told Culberson he
was minding his own business.
Culberson allegedly replied
“don’t get smart with me ‘ole
man’ I’ll beat your @$$.” Dyer
said the offender then entered
his cell and began punching him
in the face while he was lying
in his bed. He said he wanted to
take out a warrant on Culberson.
Luter that day, Dyer reportedly
flooded his cell, which was still
on lockdown due to the fight.
Three detention officers wit
nessed the flooding and war
rants were to be sought for the
damage.
He said assistance will be
available to farmers, such
as tire Livestock Forage
Assistance Program (LFT) and
emergency loans, but fanners
must come in and apply for
such help.
And he strongly suggests
they make an appointment
before coming in, as there are
quite a few livestock produc
ers in all three counties and
the application process can be
quite lengthy.
The number to call is 706-
335-8111.
“St. Mary’s NICU
works miracles.”
Isabelle was born 15 weeks early, weighing
1 pound, 15 ounces. Her parents, Chrissy and
loseph, feared for her life. With the technology,
expertise and love of the doctors and nurses of
St. Mary’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Isabelle
thrived. Today, she is a happy, healthy 1-year old.
St. Mary’s level II NICU provides lifesaving
care for infants who need extra care, from minor
illnesses to life-threatening conditions such as
premature birth. In tune with the natural rhythms
of day and night, St. Mary’s NICU is a warm,
soothing place for love and healing.
See Isabelle’s story at www.stmarysathens.org
“I couldn’t be happier. She’s our
little miracle. It’s a miracle how
St. Mary’s NICU works.”
—Chrissy Bridges
A ST. MARY’S
HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
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