November 4, 2016
Board of
Commissioners Regular Meetings November 15 at 6:30 PM December 6 at 9:00 AM Meetings held at: Administration Building Community Room 140 Henry Parkway McDonough, GA 30253 Regular Commission meetings air daily on Henry TV Channel 180 and AT&T U-Verse Channel 99, at 9 a.m. & 7 p.m.
Henry County Shelter Dog Finds New Career with Federal Agency The Henry County Animal Care and Control Department is proud to announce that “Delphine,” one of the many homeless pets that the department shelters, has found her purpose. According to Animal Control Director Gerri Yoder, Delphine is now an official “Beagle Brigade” member. “The Beagle Brigade is a team of dogs, mostly beagles, and their human handlers who, as part of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), inspect luggage at U.S. airports searching for illegal agricultural products,” said Yoder. According to the USDA, the Beagle Brigade program averages around 75,000 seizures of prohibited agricultural products a year. Since 2014 and including “Delphine,” a total of eight dogs from the Henry County Animal Control Shelter have graduated from the National Detector Dog Training Center, located in Newnan, Georgia, and joined the Brigade. Yoder said that a dog career with the Brigade usually lasts between six and ten years, and upon retirement, they are almost always adopted by their handlers (handlers and dogs are paired throughout the dog’s career). Otherwise, they are placed in screened and approved adoptive homes. Continued on page 2
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November 4, 2016
Intersection Improvement Bid Awarded Published by Henry County Communications Department The Henry County Board of Commissioners
Editor Melissa Robinson
A bid for the construction of an intersection between Mt. Carmel Road and Chambers Road was awarded to CMES, Inc. for $635,974.60 at the November 1 Commission meeting. CMES, Inc. submitted the lowest bid out of twelve submissions. The intersection improvement is an approved District II SPLOST IV project. To keep up with this or any SPLOST project, please visit www.henrycounty-ga.com/splost.
Graphic Designer Meredith Butler Samantha Watson
Layout Designer Samantha Watson
Contributors Melissa Robinson Samantha Watson
Beagle Brigade from page 1
Earlier this week Animal Care and Control received a Certificate of Appreciation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for its outstanding support of the detector program. The Henry County Animal Care and Control Department has a wide variety of dogs and cats who are looking for forever homes. For more information on Henry County Animal Care and Control, please visit www.henrycounty-ga.org/animalcontrol. henrycounty-ga.org
Commissioners Amend County Code on Zoning Advisory Board Appointees Commissioners approved an amendment to Chapter 3-6, Article II, Section 10.01.00 of the Unified Land Development Code that dissolves the City of Stockbridge’s appointee to the County’s Zoning Advisory Board. The City of Stockbridge officially swore in their newly created Zoning Advisory Board on October 10, making the City’s presence on the County’s board redundant. With approximately 233,000 residents, Henry County is not required by law to have a Planning Commission, but has voluntarily established the Zoning Advisory Board to better serve the growing community. To view the Unified Land Development Code, please visit www.henrycounty-ga.org/planningzoning/uldc.shtml.
Adopt-A-Senior Program in Need of Donations The Henry County Council on Aging and the Henry County Senior Services Department are once again making the holidays a little brighter with its AdoptA-Senior for Christmas program, where citizens can try their hand at being Santa and buy a gift for a senior or simply make a donation to the program. Organizers have interviewed local seniors and collected individual Christmas wish lists of specific items. Seniors without Christmas wish lists would always benefit from a warm full size blanket and three to four full size toiletry items. Currently, there are 280 seniors in Henry County to be adopted and many of the seniors who will benefit from the program are homebound and on a fixed income. These simple, but much-needed gifts, will help bring them Christmas cheer. The idea behind the program is for individuals, families, groups, churches, businesses or organizations to adopt seniors in our community, who are aged 60 and over who are in need, in order to provide them with a Christmas gift. “Adopt-a-Senior allows all of our senior clients to experience the joy of Christmas and for some it is the only gift they will receive,” said program coordinator Ann Marie Quincey. “It also provides a special experience for those that chose to adopt and keeps the community and our senior population connected.” Gifts can be festively wrapped or placed in a gift bag and should be delivered to any Henry County Senior Center no later than December 12, as gifts will be delivered to seniors on December 14 through the 21. Arrangements for gift pick up can be made by calling Senior Services. Cash or check donations are always appreciated. If you are interested in adopting a senior during this holiday season, please call Ann Marie Quincey at 770-288-7000. For more information about the Henry County Senior Services Department, visit www.henrycounty-ga.org/seniorservices.
Fire Department Approved for New Equipment and Six Staff Positions Commissioners approved a purchase of emergency equipment and the addition of six new positions for the Henry County Fire Department at the November 1 regular meeting. Emergency equipment is needed to outfit two new Pierce Stock Saber Pumper Fire Trucks that were purchased in August of this year. Municipal Emergency Services, through a standing contract with the Fire Department, provided a quote in the amount of $96,080.94 to supply the equipment, which was accepted by the Board. The Fire Department was also approved to add three Lieutenant Positions for Fire Station 14 and three Captain Positions for Fire Station 15 in the amount of $560,754. According to Fire Chief Nish Willis, there are currently no Chief Officers on the West side of I-75 so the Fire Department has determined for scene safety and effectiveness to upgrade Station 15 to a Captain Level Station. This will provide the West side of Henry County with more seasoned officers, while creating an opportunity for a fourth battalion in the future.
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November 4, 2016 SPLOST IV Project Status Update SPLOST Capital Projects Director, Ron Burckhalter and SPLOST Transportation Director, Roque Romero presented a SPLOST IV Project Status Update to the Board of Commissioners at the November 1 regular meeting. The Directors used a PowerPoint presentation to detail the status and rate of completion of each 2016 scheduled SPLOST IV project. Countywide projects, including a 911 radio replacement, construction of three fire stations and the renovation of the Animal Care and Control building were discussed first. It was noted that 76 percent of all countywide projects are currently in progress or have been completed. Projects were then discussed by district beginning with District I. District I projects include multiple road improvement and paving projects as well as the construction of Fire Station #2 and a joint project with the City of Locust Grove to construct a concession building, fence and parking lot for the Tanger Ball Fields. Sixty seven percent of the capital projects in this district are in progress and 94 percent of the transportation projects in this district are in progress or have been completed. District II projects include multiple intersection and bridge improvements as well as the construction of the Hampton Senior and Recreation Center and the paving of ten dirt roads. Fifty percent of the capital projects in this district are in progress and 87 percent of the transportation projects for District II are in progress or have been completed. District III projects include several road improvement and paving projects as well as the construction of North Ola Park and improvements to be made to the Jason T. Harper Arena and Heritage Park. All of the capital projects for this district have been completed and 86 percent of the transportation projects are in progress or have been completed. henrycounty-ga.org
District IV projects include road resurfacing and paving projects as well as the construction of Bud Kelley Park and several intersection and bridge improvements. Half of the capital projects for this district have been completed and 82 percent of the transportation projects are in progress or have been completed. District V projects include bridge and intersection improvements as well as the construction of a new park yet to be named and improvements to be made to Cochran Park. All of the capital projects for this district have been completed and fifty six percent of the transportation projects are in progress or have been completed. In summary of the status update, 75 percent of all capital projects scheduled in the County are completed or are in progress to be completed and 85 percent of all the transportation projects scheduled in the County are completed or are in progress to be completed. To view the entire PowerPoint, please log on to www.henrycounty-ga.org/splost. To view the Directors giving the presentation to the board, please watch the November 1 Commission meeting online at www. henrycounty-ga.org/communications/watchhenrytv.
Commissioners Recognize Hospice Care Month
Pictured in the front row (l. to r.) Linda Poore, nurse with Sacred Journey Hospice, Gwen Parks, Community Relations, Pastor Dave Riley, Spiritual Care Coordinator, Jack Draughon, President, all with Sacred Journey Hospice, Chairman Tommy Smith, Lauren Keefer, Volunteer Coordinator, Don Daly, Bereavement Coordinator, Sharon White, Spiritual Care, and Mary Ruth Davidson, Spiritual Care, all with Sacred Journey Hospice; Second row (l. to r.) District V Commissioner Bruce Holmes, District I Commissioner Bo Moss, District IV Commissioner Blake Prince, and District III Commissioner Gary Barham.
In honor of National Hospice and Palliative Care Month, the Henry County Board of Commissioners issued a proclamation at the November 1 Commission meeting recognizing the month of November as Hospice Care Month in Henry County. The proclamation read, in part, “Hospice and palliative care professionals are dedicated to helping communities access quality, end-of-life care and are committed to removing barriers to accessing care… and this service brings patients and family caregivers the highest quality care delivered by a team of skilled professionals including physicians, nurses, social workers, counselors, aides, spiritual care providers and others who make the wishes of each patient and family a priority; and more than 430,000 trained volunteers contribute 19 million hours of service to hospice programs annually in the U.S….” The proclamation was accepted by several members of the hospice community in Henry County. For more information on Hospice and Palliative Care Month, visit www.nhpco.org.
HCPD Participates in No-Shave November Male officers of the Henry County Police Department have renounced their razors and sworn off shaving for 30 days to raise awareness for cancer as a part of the No-Shave November initiative. The goal of No-Shave November is to grow awareness for cancer by embracing hair, which many cancer patients lose, and letting it grow wild and free. The web-based non-profit asks participants to donate the money they would typically spend on shaving and grooming during the month to cancer research and education. Police Chief Keith Nichols has waived the department’s grooming policy on shaving for those who want to get involved. Officers are required to pay a $50 fee to join in, which serves as their donation to the No-Shave November foundation. This is the second consecutive year the department has participated and they are only one hundred dollars away from matching last year’s donation, which totaled approximately $3700. In addition to growing a “neatly trimmed and maintained” beard, according to the department’s rules for participation, officers will be required to continue to shave their neck line as well as wear a lapel pin or wrist band that is meant to start a conversation about the initiative. To make it a little more interesting, the department has organized a Best Beard Contest for the end of the month that will feature an eleven person judging panel made up of female officers who wish to donate $10 to the cause. For more information on the Henry County Police Department, visit www.henrycounty-ga.org and to learn more about the No-Shave November foundation, please visit www.no-shave.org.
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