Henry County Update - August 27, 2013

AUGUST 27, 2013

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

Henry County Police Department Unveils New Patrol Cars

Called Meetings August 29th at 6:00 p.m.

Regular Meetings September 3rd at 9:00 a.m.

September 17th at 6:30 p.m.

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 14 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99, at 9 a.m. & 7 p.m.

The Henry County Police Department unveiled 12 new patrol cars on Wednesday morning. The 2013 Dodge Chargers are expected to replace several older model vehicles in the fleet.

“We just received 12 new, fully outfitted Dodge Charges, and it was a dilemma for us because the Ford Crown Victorias have long been an institution in police vehicles and the manufacturer stopped producing them,” said Henry County Police Chief Keith Nichols. “I spoke to several chiefs and reviewed

many vehicle tests and the Dodge Charger came out consistently in the top three in performance, breaking and accelerating and a lot of things important in our day to day duties as a police officer.”

Nichols said the vehicles were purchased seized funds, at no additional cost to the County and should be more fuel efficient as they are equipped with six-cylinder engines.

“We did purchase these 12 vehicles with confiscated funds from drug dealers and drug investigations, so they didn’t cost Continued on Page 3 the henry county update

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Henry County Sheriff’s Office and School System Seek Help to Catch Bus Battery Thieves

The Henry County Sheriff’s Office and Henry County Schools are looking to the public for assistance to help identify thieves who are stealing batteries from parked school buses. Thirty-eight batteries with a total value of approximately $5,000 have been stolen from 21 different buses starting on August 4, the day before school started.

“Aside from it being reprehensible to essentially be stealing from kids who rely upon our transportation to make it to and from school, it costs our district a lot of money and precious time to replace the batteries when we already are operating on tight budgets and timelines,” said Cliff Shearouse, Director of Transportation for Henry County Schools. “Our bus drivers are up early in the morning to start their routes but get delayed when they find their bus will not start because of a stolen battery. We hope our community

can help track down these suspects to keep them from committing more crimes.”

The suspects appear to be white males, between 5’7” and 6’0’’ tall, in their mid to late 30’s.

The batteries have been stolen from buses at six different schools primarily in the central and northern parts of the county. One burglary took place while a bus was parked at its driver’s residence.

Scrap metal yards and battery dealers should be on the lookout for individuals bringing in batteries for cash exchanges.

If you have information that might be helpful in this investigation, please contact Sgt. Sandra Holliday with the Henry County Sheriff’s Office at (678) 898-7339.

Henry County Emergency Management Agency Offers Free CERT Training

Are you the kind of person that is ready to spring into action when an emergency strikes? If so, the Henry County Emergency Management Agency is offering a free Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training Session starting in September, with enrollment open to citizens of Henry County.

CERT training is a component of the Henry County Citizen Corps Council and is intended to promote a partnership between emergency management and response agencies and the people in the community that they serve with the goal to train members of neighborhoods, schools, churches and workplaces in basic response skills. CERT teams are then formed and maintained as part of the emergency response capability for their area. When emergencies happen, CERT members can give critical support to first responders, provide immediate assistance to victims and organize spontaneous volunteers at a disaster site. CERT members can also help with non-emergency projects that help improve the safety of the community. henrycounty-ga.org

CERT Basic Training includes emergency preparedness and disaster response skills such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team organization and disaster medical operations. Citizens receive the CERT training to serve the community and experience the value of teamwork. Training includes such components as classroom instruction, hands-on activities and exercises to learn new life skills.

Two options are offered to take part in CERT training.

Classes will be held in the evenings (once a week for seven weeks), each Tuesday, September 17th - October 22nd from 7 to 9:30 p.m.. Daytime classes will be held November 12th - 14th, (3 days) from 8 a.m. to 5p.m.There will also be a live drill on Saturday, October 26th from 10a.m. to approximately 1p.m.

Registration

is

required.

www.co.henry.ga.us/911/cert.shtml

To

register,

visit

and download and submit the CERT volunteer application. For more information, contact Shelita Broomfield at sbroomfield@co.henry.ga.us.

POLICE Continued from 1 the taxpayer a single dime,” said Nichols. “We also got the six-cylinder engines which are high performance engines, but will also hopefully save us some gas costs.”

It was in early April that Commissioners approved the purchase of the vehicles at the regular commission meeting. Cost per fully equipped vehicle is approximately $32,435, which includes $22,813.45 per car, as well as an additional $51,900 for camera systems in the cars, $51,978

for the police equipment, including lights and sirens, $4,920 to mark all of the vehicles, and a total of $6,660 to remove radio systems from the older cars and install them in the new vehicles. Total cost for 12 fully-equipped police vehicles was $389,219.52.

For more information on the Henry County Police Department, visit www.henrycounty-ga.org/police.

Henry County D.O.T. Resurfacing Schedule Starting the week of September 3rd, River Road from Snapping Shoals Road will be resurfaced. * Weather permitting.

TOWN HALL MEETING Hosted by District 3 Commissioner Gary Barham

A Discussion regarding River Road to get feedback from citizens on whether the county should consider closing the road to through traffic, as well as a discussion regarding the realignment of Mt. Bethel Road and Wynn Road at Highway 81.

Saturday, August 31, 2013 at 9 a.m.

Mt. Bethel United Methodist Church Activity Center 992 Mt. Bethel Road in McDonough

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Henry County Fire Department Fourth Grade Fire Safety Education Program Gets Underway at Austin Road Elementary School

(L-R) Fire Chief Bill Lacy, Assistant Principal Lois Barney, Prevention Chief Joe Kelley, and Fire Safety Educator Lieutenant Wanda Maddox

Today in Fairview, at 10:00 a.m., a new fire and life safety education program was inaugurated at Austin Road Elementary School. Henry County Fire Department, Chief Bill Lacy presented the school with a certificate in appreciation for their dedication and commitment to the new fourth grade program. Fire Educated And Ready (F.E.A.R.) is a series of lessons designed to ensure Henry County Children are educated on staying safe from fire and other unintentional injuries to children. The F.E.A.R. program was once in Henry County Schools, but dissolved due to time constraints and the many instructional mandates required of the teachers. Chief Lacy stated, “We have seen an increase in juvenile firesetters in 9 and 10 year old children throughout Henry County.” The F.E.A.R. program was revisited and updated to include information and activities that better aligned with the national curriculum standards for henrycounty-ga.org

this age group. This program is intended to help teachers meet educational goals by presenting fire safety information in such a way as to support the objectives of the fourth grade educational curriculum.

Henry County Fire Department is excited and optimistic about the new program. “My goal is to, of course, reach the children with the invaluable information encompassed in this program, but it is also my hopes that we will, in addition, reach the parents and siblings, generating a change in fire and life safety behaviors in the home,” stated Lieutenant Wanda Maddox. “As a department, if we respond to it, we feel it is our responsibility to attempt to prevent it through education programs in the community, added Captain Sabrina Puckett.

TOWN HALL MEETING Hosted by District 1 Commissioner Bo Moss

Bert Brantley, Deputy Executive Director with the Georgia Road and Tollway Authority (GRTA) will discuss the I-75 Express Lanes and Trea Pipkin, Henry County Solicitor General, will provide an overview of Henry County’s criminal justice system.

Saturday, September 14, 2013 at 9 am Locust Grove Recreation Center 10 Cleveland St. in Locust Grove

Fire Department Offers Fall Fire Academy for the Residents

Henry County Fire Department will be offering a ten-week program, “A Citizen Fire Academy,” for the citizens of Henry County. This is the eight offering of what has been a very successful program. The program increases awareness and generates a more informed community of the inner workings of the fire department.

The Citizens’ Fire Academy will begin on September 19, 2013 and run thru November 21, 2013. The class will be held on Thursday evenings from 6:00 P.M. until 9:00 P.M at the Henry County Fire Headquarters located at 110 South Zack Hinton Parkway. On the last week of the program participants will graduate and receive a certificate of completion.

Each week participants will learn different aspects, tactics and strategies of firefighting and rescue operations. The program is designed to provide a greater understanding of the services the Henry County Fire Department provides. Participants will not graduate the academy with training for firefighting, but yet a better understanding of what firefighters, emergency medical technicians and paramedics do on a daily basis. The

program is actually two-fold in its design. The information participants will receive will increase awareness as well as encourage more safety conscious and informed members of the county. Both goals are positive and potentially lifesaving for the communities of Henry County.

The Citizens’ Fire Academy will benefit the residents and the fire department alike by creating an opportunity to work closer together. It will enhance open lines of communication, between the residents and the Henry County Fire Department. Citizens will gain the ability to make informed decisions regarding controversial fire prevention issues they may face in their communities while also becoming aware of the problems their fire department faces.

Deadline for making application is September 5, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. For more information or to obtain an application please visit us online at www.co.henry.ga.us/ fire or call 770-288-6620.

Henry County Fire Department looks forward to working with the citizens of Henry County and invites citizens to apply.

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