July 30, 2015
Board of
Commissioners
Operation Rolling Thunder: A Sweeping Success for Safety
Regular Meetings August 4th at 9:00 AM August 18th at 6:30 PM Meetings held at: Administration Building Community Room 140 Henry Parkway McDonough, GA 30253 Regular Commission meetings will air Fridays, Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays on Henry TV Channel 180 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99, at 9 a.m. & 7 p.m.
The Thunder Taskforce out making County roadways safe.
Operation Rolling Thunder, which took place on July 17 and 18, was a successful weekend of law enforcement efforts to reduce accidents, serious injuries and fatalities throughout Henry County and the State of Georgia. The Rolling Thunder Operation was first established in 2011 with the help of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS). “The GOHS helps to coordinate large task forces between county and city
law enforcement so that our officers have the extra manpower to address high crash areas in the county such as state routes and highways,” stated Captain Chuck Simmons of the Henry County Police Department. During the two day process 14 law enforcement agencies from across the state came to aid the Henry County Police Department’s Highway Enforcement of Aggressive Traffic Unit (H.E.A.T.), the Henry County Sherriff’s Office and Continued on page 3
1
July 30, 2015 Published by Henry County Communications Department The Henry County Board of Commissioners
Editor Melissa Robinson
Graphic Designer Meredith Butler
Layout Designer Samantha Watson
Contributors Samantha Watson Melissa Robinson Kevin Williams
HCPD Utlilizes Technology to Preserve Evidence The Henry County Police Crime Scene Unit recently added another Forensic Drying Cabinet which is used for the drying and storing of forensic evidence collected from crime scenes. Once the evidence is dried, it can be properly processed and maintained for court and evidentiary requirements. Crime Scene Technician Kathryn Brown said, “This item is not only needed and used for maintaining evidence integrity, but for the health and safety of employees who work with blood and other fluids that may contain blood borne pathogens.� Crime Scene Technician Kathryn Brown demonstrates how to use the drying cabinet.
14th Annual Tennis Clinic to Be Held on August 8 The Jac Roth Annual Free Tennis Clinic will be held on Saturday, August 8, 2015 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Richard Craig Park in McDonough with registration starting at 8:15 a.m. The first 50 participants to register will receive a free T-shirt! The clinic is free to everyone and open to all age and experience levels. Participants will learn the basic fundamentals of the serve, volley, forehand and backhand from experienced volunteer tennis instructors. Equipment will be provided by the Henry County Parks and Recreation Department as well as the instructors themselves. Participants will be split into age groups ranging from Elementary up to Adult and will have the opportunity to win prizes during court lessons. Ball machines will be set up for more experienced players henrycounty-ga.org
who wish to focus on consistency. The clinic will be followed by a free weenie roast/cook out provided by clinic sponsors such as the McDonald family, Legacy Ford, Herman and Joeann Compton, Union Grove Tennis Camp and many more. Jac Roth was the founder of the Free Tennis Clinic. Herman and Joeann Compton and the McDonald family honor his memory by continuing the clinic 14 years after his passing. Special thanks to the 35 volunteers and 14 sponsors of the Jac Roth 14th Annual Free Tennis Clinic. For more information about the clinic or the Henry County Tennis Association contact the Recreation Department at (770) 288-7300.
Rolling Thunder from page 1 the McDonough, Locust Grove and Hampton police departments. H.E.A.T. is a unit designed to educate the public and enforce laws related to proper safety restraint usage, speed enforcement and impaired and aggressive driving. A total of 481 citations were given during the weekend. Out of 481, 112 were seat belt citations, 168 were speeding violations, and 29 were impaired driver citations (DUI). In addition, a total of 10 felony arrests were made as well as 83 misdemeanor arrests. For more information on the Rolling Thunder Operation please visit the website at www.co.henry.ga.us/Police.
Law Enforcment officers from across the state come together to keep Henry County roads safe.
Free Emergency Preparedness Training Registration Ends Aug. 10 The Henry County Office of Emergency Management is hosting Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training every Tuesday from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM starting Aug. 18 and ending Sept. 29. CERT training is an educational program that is designed to prepare citizens to help themselves, their family and their neighbors in the event of a catastrophic disaster. The training is a free citizen preparedness course that includes academic and hands-on instruction.
A wide range of topics will be covered throughout the six-week course including fire safety, emergency medical operations, light search and rescue, incident command systems, disaster psychology, terrorism and team organization. Registration is currently open and will end on Aug. 10, 2015. The course is open to all interested individuals aged 18 and up. Citizens can register and download an application online at www.co.henry. ga.us/911/cert.shtml. Contact sbroomfield@co.henry. ga.us for more information.
3
July 30, 2015 Accountability Courts Are Working In Henry County Earlier this year, a local grandfather stood in Judge Brian Amero’s courtroom and with tears in his eyes and a tremble in his voice, thanked the judge for giving him back his grandson. A powerful and poignant moment, followed by several more similar moments at a Drug Court graduation held in Amero’s courtroom this past April. His grandson, along with a handful of other offenders, were the latest group to graduate from Henry County’s Felony Drug Court, offering them a new lease on life and an opportunity to learn and move away from past mistakes. Success stories like these have become more frequent thanks to Henry County Accountability Courts, operated under the direction of Superior Court judges and staff. The tern “accountability” serves as an umbrella under which several courts fall, including DUI Court, Parental Accountability Court, Resource Court and Felony Drug Court The Drug Court program, along with several other programs, assist those who can be helped beyond incarceration, with a tough, nearly two year journey that enables offenders to get beyond the addiction and/ or mental illness that led to their criminal acts. For the past five years, Judge Brian Amero, with Henry County Superior Court, has been fighting the good fight, and little by little, helping to chip away at an all too pervasive problem of prisons and jails filled with mentally ill or drug addicted offenders, costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars every year. In addition to the Felony Drug Court, Amero is now taking on the Resource Court, in cooperation with Judge William Bartles. Passionate about the work being done across all fronts of the Accountability Court system, Amero recently engaged a team from American University in Washington, DC to visit and evaluate Henry County Court’s intake process for getting participants into the various and appropriate court programs.
Last month, Judge John Schwartz (ret.) and Lars Levy, both from the Justice Programs Office of the School of Public Affairs at American University, visited Amero and the Henry County Accountability Court system to evaluate and give their recommendations. Both Schwartz and Levy gave high praise to Henry County judges and officials for their support of the Accountability Courts programs. Both men bring a wealth of experience to the table and made several recommendations on how to more efficiently evaluate potential candidates for the program. Schwartz, a retired judge from Rochester, New York, has been working with accountability courts since 1995, operating a Drug Court, Mental Health Court, DUI Court and a Veterans Court. He is also on the Board of the National Association of Drug Courts as well as a founding member. He is now contracted by American University, along with Levy, to provide technical assistance to jurisdictions who are starting or operating these types of courts. In his extensive work with drug courts, he said it is clear that they work. “It’s about being smarter on crime, not just harder on crime,” said Schwartz. Levy, from south Louisiana has been a treatment provider for more than 30 years, both inpatient and outpatient, and has worked with drug court programs since 1996, including DWI Court, Re-entry Court and Juvenile Court. He also served two terms on the National Board of Directors of Drug Courts, and travels around the country to help manage and consult on these programs. For Amero and his staff, the numbers don’t lie. For every person who successfully completes a drug court or similar program, taxpayers win. Not only does it save money by reducing the cost of incarcerating the offenders, but more importantly, turns these offenders from tax burdens to tax payers. Continued on page 6
henrycounty-ga.org
Henry County’s National Night Out To Be Held On August 4 Henry County will be celebrating National Night Out on August 4, 2015 from 5:30pm-8:30pm in the Target parking lot on Jonesboro Rd in McDonough. Sponsored by Office Depot, the event will feature free food and drinks, live music and a variety of festival activities, booth displays and law enforcement demonstrations. It is also an opportunity to speak with local police and community leaders. National Night Out is a campaign that promotes community camaraderie and strong police-community partnerships in order to build safer neighborhoods across the nation. The locally organized events provide a positive opportunity for community members to engage and interact with law enforcement. National Night Out was initiated by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW) in 1984. NATW is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development and promotion of crime prevention in communities across the nation. The association is comprised of law enforcement agencies, neighborhood watch groups, civic groups, state and regional crime prevention associations and concerned citizens. For more information regarding Henry County’s National Night Out please visit www.henrycounty-ga. org. For more information on NATW please visit www.natw.org.
County employees and Commissioners donating blood at the Battle of the Badges Blood Drive
Henry County PD Dominates in Battle of the Badges Blood Drive Every day donated blood is used to save the lives of countless patients in Henry County and across the state, and Henry County employees did their part in supporting the American Red Cross with the Battle of the Badges Blood Drive that was held on Monday, July 27, 2015. The Henry County Police Department and the Henry County Sheriff’s Department squared off in a friendly competition to see which agency could garner the most blood donations, and this year the HCPD won, edging out the competition with 24 pints collected compared the to the Sheriff Office’s 22 pints. Donations of blood and platelets are always in demand. Please call 1.800. RED CROSS or log on to www.redcrossblood.org.
5
July 30, 2015 Accountability Courts from page 4 Schwartz echoed those sentiments. “Drug courts have been around since 1995 and have been studied more than any other court system in the history of the United States of America.” He said. “For every dollar a community invests, you save $6 in prison, medical and social services costs.” Levy said there are other benefits as well, such as alleviating some of the stress off of the criminal justice system and helping to reduce prison populations and recidivism.
Henry County Superior Court Judge Brian Amero had several special visitors last month. Pictured (l. to r.) Kerwin Henderson, Research Specialist with the BJA Drug Court Technical Assistance Project, Judge Tatsuo Okuda from the Otsu District Court in Japan, Judge Brian Amero, Lars Levy with the School of Public Affairs of American University, Rachel Gage, Project Coordinator, Office of Accountability Courts, Judicial Council of Georgia, and retired New York Judge John Schwartz with the School of Public Affairs of American University.
For Amero, he has seen the results, not only monetarily, but physically and emotionally, stressing the fact that drug and accountability courts help to heal broken families—returning fathers and mothers to children, and grandparents to grandchildren. “Look at the way it is restoring families,” said Amero. “Think of all the social services that have to be provided to fractured families.” As a prosecutor back in the 1990s in Clayton County, long before he was a judge, Amero said he saw over and over again the pattern of recidivism. “I would see someone sent to probation and henrycounty-ga.org
drug counseling and would see that offender back in six months for the same charge. Then more intensive therapy and they would re-offend and then it was prison,” he said. “If you tell them to get voluntary treatment, they don’t, they’re addicts. What makes this program so effective is it forces them into treatment for 18 months. The reality is if we don’t deal with the underlying addiction, most of them will re-offend.” Accountability Courts, particularly felony drug court, involves strict supervision, random drug testing, weekly reporting and visits from law enforcement, case management and group counseling, with the premise that behavior modification works best when it reinforces cause and effect. Amero said seeing how addicts struggle has made him a believer that drug addiction is a disease that can be treated successfully and that the courts have figured that out by addressing both the criminal attitude and the addiction. Schwartz said he is encouraged by the way Henry County’s courts are being operated, as well as with the staff and their knowledge. “We’re very impressed by the courts here. They realizes that drug addiction is a disease and by incarcerating people we’re not helping to arrest the disease, and that it’s better to treat though the court system than to punish and the results are more effective,” said Schwartz. “However, there are more people in this community that could benefit from these programs and save taxpayers a ton of money and we’re helping come up with ways of screening them and getting them into treatment faster.” Henry County’s Accountability Courts are financed through grant funds, and the use of D.A.T.E funds (Drug Abuse Treatment Education) which are generated from fines and forfeitures. For more information on Felony Drug Court, contact coordinator Craig Ogilvie at cogilvie@co.henry.ga.us and for Resource Court please contact director Debra Brown at 770-288-7590 or debrabrown@co.henry.ga.us.
Commissioner Bruce Holmes Youth Foundation to Host Volunteer Recruitment Workshop Commissioner Bruce Holmes Youth foundation (CBHYF) will host a volunteer recruitment workshop on Saturday, August 1st, 2015 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for their male and female mentoring programs. Each potential volunteer will have an opportunity to hear about various mentoring models and how CBHYF will implement a group mentoring model for the 20152016 program year. Group Mentoring is not a new concept. Observations of group mentoring sessions have revealed some interesting trends. Mentees in a group mentoring model appear to derive benefits not only from the mentor, but from their peers in the group. Peer input may, in fact, be the biggest advantage of group mentoring. To the extent that group mentoring can help with peer relationships, it is likely to have far-reaching effects and CBHYF is excited about this mentoring model. “Mentoring has been proven to have a positive impact on youth development and we continue to be in a high demand for quality, and caring individuals that have a passion for making a difference”, says Toni Holmes, CBHYF President. CBHYF is committed to making a difference in the lives of our youth through mentorship. With a focus on Healthy Living, Education, Athletics & Leadership (H.E.A.L.), CBHYF’s mission is to establish youth development programs and partnerships which help young people reach their fullest potential. CBHYF was established in 2011 as a nonprofit 501(c) 3 organization
and has successfully created measurable change through program development and partnering with existing institutions in the community to deliver activities which create meaningful, sustainable and positive outcomes. CBHYF is proud to partner with community volunteers to coordinate and develop mentoring programs for our young adults. CBHYF’s Volunteer recruitment workshop is open to the entire community. We welcome all interested volunteers to come out and hear about getting involved. The workshop will take place at Fairview Recreation Center, 35 Austin Road, Stockbridge, GA 30281.
A B O U T COMMISSIONER BRUCE HOLMES Y O U T H FOUNDATION (CBHYF) Commissioner Bruce Holmes Youth foundation was established in 2011 as a non-profit 501(c) 3 organization. Since its inception, CBHYF initiatives in Henry County have focused on Youth Development through athletics, education, healthy living, and leadership. Within a very short span of time the organization has successfully created measurable change through program development and partnering with existing institutions in the community to deliver activities which create meaningful, sustainable, and positive outcomes. www.cbhyf.org/. Pictures from past Commissioner Bruce Holmes Youth Foundation events
7