One person is injured and a family of four is displaced following a structure fire Tuesday in Auburn. Communication Officers with Barrow County Emergency Services received a 911 call at 9:35 a.m. reporting the fire at 64 Main St.
Firefighters responded to the scene and found heavy smoke, according to a Barrow County Emergency Services press release.
[Full Story »]
Public Safety Archives
One injured, family displaced in Auburn fire
Tuesday, January 10. 2012
Train derails in Auburn; no injuries
Tuesday, January 10. 2012
Early Tuesday morning around 7-7:30 a.m. a train derailed in Auburn at Etheridge Road, but the line now has reopened, according to CSX spokesman Gary Sease.
There were no reported injuries, and the cars in the local Palmer train were transporting plastic.
"[It] held four cars total – two were leaning and two were turned," said Sease. [Full Story »]
There were no reported injuries, and the cars in the local Palmer train were transporting plastic.
"[It] held four cars total – two were leaning and two were turned," said Sease. [Full Story »]
Young child drowns in Winder
Thursday, January 5. 2012
The young granddaughter of Auburn City Council member Dorissa Shackelford died Wednesday night from drowning. Winder rescue responded at about 8 p.m. to a house in the 100 block of McElroy Street, and the victim was receiving CPR when police arrived.
[Full Story »]
Sheriff’s office investigating source of prank 911 call
Wednesday, January 4. 2012
Authorities have alerted media to a 911 “hoax” call for a suicide threat made from a residence in the Kendall Park subdivision in Winder Jan. 3.
[Full Story »]
[Full Story »]
Sheriff Jud Smith appointed to Legislative Committee
The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office announced Jan. 2 that Sheriff Jud Smith has been appointed as the vice chairman of the Legislative Committee for the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association.
The Legislative Committee is composed of 25 Sheriffs throughout the state. Each committee member works closely with the Governor, Lt. Governor, and legislators at the capital throughout the year.
“It is a great honor to be appointed as vice chairman of a such an important committee for the GSA," said Smith. "I am humbled to be selected to represent the 159 Sheriffs throughout the state. I look forward to working with Representatives Terry England and Tommy Benton, Senator Frank Ginn, and other legislators in order to make Georgia a better place for our citizens.”
Sheriff Smith will serve a one-year term on the committee through 2012.
The Legislative Committee is composed of 25 Sheriffs throughout the state. Each committee member works closely with the Governor, Lt. Governor, and legislators at the capital throughout the year.
“It is a great honor to be appointed as vice chairman of a such an important committee for the GSA," said Smith. "I am humbled to be selected to represent the 159 Sheriffs throughout the state. I look forward to working with Representatives Terry England and Tommy Benton, Senator Frank Ginn, and other legislators in order to make Georgia a better place for our citizens.”
Sheriff Smith will serve a one-year term on the committee through 2012.
Merrifield gets reprimand
With the backing of the Barrow County Board of Commissioners, Chairman Danny Yearwood on Monday issued a written reprimand of the chief of Barrow County Emergency Services over the costly lapse of Barrow County’s license to operate emergency medical services.
The reprimand states that the state license is so fundamental to the operation of the department that its lapse reflected a “gross deficiency” in Chief Dennis Merrifield’s job performance for which he “could, and perhaps should, be immediately terminated.”
But to avoid the loss of yet another chief, Yearwood agreed to keep Merrifield in the position “with the understanding that any future failures on your part will be grounds for immediate termination.”
The reprimand cites the county’s “substantial” loss of ambulance fees – estimated by the county’s CFO to be over $159,000 – as well as the county’s legal exposure from having provided unlicensed medical services during the 32-day lapse period.
“It is simply inexcusable that you allowed this to occur,” states the document, which was written by county attorney Angela Davis on Yearwood’s behalf.
In the reprimand the chairman also is sharply critical of how Merrifield reacted after learning that the license had expired Aug. 27.
For the full story, see the Dec. 21 issue of the Barrow Journal in print or online e-edition.
The reprimand states that the state license is so fundamental to the operation of the department that its lapse reflected a “gross deficiency” in Chief Dennis Merrifield’s job performance for which he “could, and perhaps should, be immediately terminated.”
But to avoid the loss of yet another chief, Yearwood agreed to keep Merrifield in the position “with the understanding that any future failures on your part will be grounds for immediate termination.”
The reprimand cites the county’s “substantial” loss of ambulance fees – estimated by the county’s CFO to be over $159,000 – as well as the county’s legal exposure from having provided unlicensed medical services during the 32-day lapse period.
“It is simply inexcusable that you allowed this to occur,” states the document, which was written by county attorney Angela Davis on Yearwood’s behalf.
In the reprimand the chairman also is sharply critical of how Merrifield reacted after learning that the license had expired Aug. 27.
For the full story, see the Dec. 21 issue of the Barrow Journal in print or online e-edition.
Eight-ton bulldozer disappears from county road project
Barrow County officials are seeking the public’s help in locating an eight-ton bulldozer that disappeared last week from a county job site near the intersection of Hwy. 81 and Hoyt King Road.
[Full Story »]
Barrow emergency chief calls reporting of licensure issue ‘misinformation’ and ‘lies’
The chief of Barrow County Emergency Services on Dec. 8 sent his entire staff an email claiming that “misinformation” and even “lies” were being disseminated — apparently by the local media — about the recent lapse of the county’s Emergency Medical Services license.
“There is a lot of misinformation being broadcast about our department and the lapse of our EMS license,” Dennis Merrifield wrote in the email addressed to the department’s administration, all fire and EMS employees, and the staff of the E-911 communications center.
“The best lies always have some truth and then a lot of twisting of the facts,” he added. “Then there are those with very vivid imaginations.”
He told his staff that the financial loss from forfeited ambulance fees would be “much less than what is currently being touted,” and he asked his employees not to “fall into the trap of spreading misinformation.”
The truth, he said, “will come out.”
The email coincided with the Dec. 8 posting of updated loss figures on the Journal’s website. The figures came from the packet of information for the Dec. 13 meeting of the Barrow County Board of Commissioners.
Tuesday night, CFO Rose Kisaalita reiterated those same figures to the BOC. She said the county responded to 357 emergency calls from Aug. 28-Sept. 28 when the county did not have a state license to operate its EMS services, and the total estimated billings amounted to about $293,000.
However, as previously reported online, she said the “net” loss would be $159,120, because Medicare and Medicaid do not pay their full invoices, and many patients without insurance do not pay and their accounts are referred to collections.
“There is a lot of misinformation being broadcast about our department and the lapse of our EMS license,” Dennis Merrifield wrote in the email addressed to the department’s administration, all fire and EMS employees, and the staff of the E-911 communications center.
“The best lies always have some truth and then a lot of twisting of the facts,” he added. “Then there are those with very vivid imaginations.”
He told his staff that the financial loss from forfeited ambulance fees would be “much less than what is currently being touted,” and he asked his employees not to “fall into the trap of spreading misinformation.”
The truth, he said, “will come out.”
The email coincided with the Dec. 8 posting of updated loss figures on the Journal’s website. The figures came from the packet of information for the Dec. 13 meeting of the Barrow County Board of Commissioners.
Tuesday night, CFO Rose Kisaalita reiterated those same figures to the BOC. She said the county responded to 357 emergency calls from Aug. 28-Sept. 28 when the county did not have a state license to operate its EMS services, and the total estimated billings amounted to about $293,000.
However, as previously reported online, she said the “net” loss would be $159,120, because Medicare and Medicaid do not pay their full invoices, and many patients without insurance do not pay and their accounts are referred to collections.
Wallace reprimanded for E-911 ‘inefficiency’; E-911 merger with Winder nearly stopped in its tracks
Under fire for months over a variety of issues, the longtime manager of Barrow County’s E-911 Communications Center has been reprimanded for managerial “inefficiency” as well as for how she has reacted to criticism from both inside and outside the department.
Barrow County Emergency Services Chief Dennis Merrifield issued a written reprimand to Kathy Wallace on Dec. 2. That was the day after he and Wallace met with two E-911 dispatchers to discuss a November letter they and a third dispatcher had sent to the chief about the management of the center.
Meanwhile, the proposed merger of the county and Winder's E-911 systems came within a single vote of being stopped in its tracks Tuesday night by the Barrow County Board of Commissioners.
Under a tentative proposal, the city agreed to cover for about 36 months the costs of four city police dispatchers going to work for the county in its E-911 center.
County officials agreed to cover the cost of upgrading the communication center’s computer-aided dispatch system to enable it to handle the increased dispatching services and to make it compatible with the city police department’s system.
However, when BCES Chief Dennis Merrifield asked for the FY2012 budget amendment to cover the $79,972 cost of upgrading the hardware and software, it took a fourth vote by BOC chairman Danny Yearwood to break a 3:3 tie. Voting no were commissioners Larry Joe Wilburn, Eva Elder and Ben Hendrix.
For the full story, see the Dec. 14 issue of the Barrow Journal.
Barrow County Emergency Services Chief Dennis Merrifield issued a written reprimand to Kathy Wallace on Dec. 2. That was the day after he and Wallace met with two E-911 dispatchers to discuss a November letter they and a third dispatcher had sent to the chief about the management of the center.
Meanwhile, the proposed merger of the county and Winder's E-911 systems came within a single vote of being stopped in its tracks Tuesday night by the Barrow County Board of Commissioners.
Under a tentative proposal, the city agreed to cover for about 36 months the costs of four city police dispatchers going to work for the county in its E-911 center.
County officials agreed to cover the cost of upgrading the communication center’s computer-aided dispatch system to enable it to handle the increased dispatching services and to make it compatible with the city police department’s system.
However, when BCES Chief Dennis Merrifield asked for the FY2012 budget amendment to cover the $79,972 cost of upgrading the hardware and software, it took a fourth vote by BOC chairman Danny Yearwood to break a 3:3 tie. Voting no were commissioners Larry Joe Wilburn, Eva Elder and Ben Hendrix.
For the full story, see the Dec. 14 issue of the Barrow Journal.
Winder police nab tire scammer
Winder police have charged a man they believe tried to scam females from ages ranging from 60-78 by posing as a car technician who could fix their wobbly tires.
According to Winder police spokesman Chris Cooper, Joe Quick of Norcross, 45, was arrested around midnight Wednesday night. He is charged with two counts of theft by deception, two counts of robbery by intimidation, three counts of criminal attempt to commit a theft by deception and four counts of elder abuse-exploitation.
"We had a total of five victims come forward since our initial press release went out on Monday," Cooper wrote in an e-mail. "Quick had an extensive criminal history of similar offenses in Georgia and Florida and was also found to be on felony probation out of Dekalb County for the same type of crimes. Since our arrest we have gotten calls from several surrounding metro area counties that have experienced similar type encounters reported to them by elderly females and those jurisdictions are also looking at Mr. Quick as a potential suspect."
According to the department's initial release, a suspicious male claiming to be a tire technician may be trying to scam people locally. There have been three separate incidents in recent days where women have come to described similar incidents.
Mike Cain of Bob’s Tire Service in Winder told police that the women came into the shop and asked to have their axles and wheels checked. They all told Cain about the suspicious man who stopped them and told them he thought their right rear wheel was wobbling. The man reportedly told the women they could have a bent axle and offered to repair it for $325. [Full Story »]
According to Winder police spokesman Chris Cooper, Joe Quick of Norcross, 45, was arrested around midnight Wednesday night. He is charged with two counts of theft by deception, two counts of robbery by intimidation, three counts of criminal attempt to commit a theft by deception and four counts of elder abuse-exploitation.
"We had a total of five victims come forward since our initial press release went out on Monday," Cooper wrote in an e-mail. "Quick had an extensive criminal history of similar offenses in Georgia and Florida and was also found to be on felony probation out of Dekalb County for the same type of crimes. Since our arrest we have gotten calls from several surrounding metro area counties that have experienced similar type encounters reported to them by elderly females and those jurisdictions are also looking at Mr. Quick as a potential suspect."
According to the department's initial release, a suspicious male claiming to be a tire technician may be trying to scam people locally. There have been three separate incidents in recent days where women have come to described similar incidents.
Mike Cain of Bob’s Tire Service in Winder told police that the women came into the shop and asked to have their axles and wheels checked. They all told Cain about the suspicious man who stopped them and told them he thought their right rear wheel was wobbling. The man reportedly told the women they could have a bent axle and offered to repair it for $325. [Full Story »]
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