The single-wide mobile home and a vehicle were engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived at the residence on Sailor's Avenue the morning of Dec. 23, 2023. (Hall County Fire Rescue)
One person was injured when fire broke out inside a mobile home in Hall County early Saturday morning.
At approximately 2:20 a.m. Hall County Fire Rescue responded to the 2200 block of Sailors Avenue for reports of a residential fire.
When firefighters arrived, the single-wide mobile home was fully involved and the fire had spread to a nearby vehicle.
Everyone inside the mobile home escaped the fire before firefighters arrived, says Hall County Fire Rescue Public Information Officer Kimberlie Ledsinger.
One person was injured escaping the burning mobile home. (Hall County Fire Rescue)
Firefighters put out the fire, but the mobile home was a total loss.
One resident was burned while escaping the flames. An ambulance transported them to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville where they were placed on a helicopter and flown to the Grady Burn Center in Atlanta.
No other injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this time, says Ledsinger. The Hall County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating.
Habersham Central JROTC cadets and instructors assemble at the Habersham County airport on December 7 for flight orientations with Black Hawk helicopters. (Dana D'Alessandro)
Habersham Central High School Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corp (AFJROTC) cadets received a rare opportunity earlier this month. The Georgia Army National Guard flew two UH-60 “Black Hawk” helicopters to the Habersham County Airport in Baldwin to give flight orientations to the cadets.
A rare opportunity
AFJROTC Instructor SMSgt Dana D’Alessandro explained that these flights had been in the works for quite some time.
“The coordination was made possible through a former student of Rob’s (Wallace) who was able to put us in contact with a Colonel who runs activities for the State Army National Guard. Over the next 2 months, we were in contact with various members of the Georgia Army National Guard (GANG).” D’Alessandro said. ”This was the 1st time ever that this opportunity was provided to our cadets.”
Habersham Central JROTC students load a Black Hawk helicopter for flight orientation. (Dana D’Alessandro)
Requirements to participate
For a cadet to participate in the orientation flights, they had to be active in the JROTC program. They had to have passed all of their classes and received parental consent to fly in the helicopter. According to D’Alessandro, 43 students participated.
The students were bussed to the airport. The pilots landed their helicopters and refueled. Once all of the students were assembled, the pilots gave a briefing on how to load the helicopter and how to buckle into their seats.
Bird’s eye view
The helicopters made two trips carrying 11 students per trip per helicopter. The flights lasted about 20 minutes and gave the cadets a bird’s eye view of Habersham County.
The helicopters also did a flyover of the high school.
Habersham Central JROTC students lift off from Habersham County Airport in a Black Hawk helicopter on December 7. (Dana D’Alessandro)
Tremendous experience
“They all enjoyed it and said it was a great experience,” D’Alessandro remarked.
Cadet Bobby Ray Wallace enjoyed the experience.
“It was fun and I want to fly choppers,” Wallace said excitedly.
“They all loved it and kept talking about it in class until dismissal for the (Christmas) break,” stated D’Alessandro
“This was a great success,” D’Alessandro talked about the orientation flights and hopes this will be a recurring event.
“We now have a working relationship with the GANG and hope to provide this opportunity again annually to our students.”
Habersham County Animal Care and Control’s (HCACC) crew of Christmas characters paid a visit to The Oaks assisted living facility in Baldwin. They carried with them “trinkets and treasures” to hand out to the more than two dozen residents who live there.
Santa gave everyone a stocking with donated items from staff and volunteers. They even brought a small dog with them that warmed people’s hearts. The crew’s ringleader, Grinch, created merry mischief during their Dec. 22 visit.
In preparing for the visit, the Grinch’s alter ego, HCACC Director Madi Nix, said, “Everyone always does so much for the shelter, so it’s time for the shelter to do something nice for someone else.”
The HCACC Christmas Crew delighted staff and residents at The Oaks in Baldwin on Dec. 22, 2023.HCACC staff and volunteers donated items for the stockings.The Grinch lounges on the sofa during a visit to The Oaks in Baldwin on Friday, Dec. 22, 2023. (photo submitted)
Cleveland Municipal Judge Garrison Baker administers the oath of office to newly re-elected Cleveland Mayor Josh Turner. (Dean Dyer/WRWH.com)
CLEVELAND, Ga. — A large crowd of family, friends, and city and county officials gathered for the recent swearing-in of Cleveland’s recently elected officials.
The city held the ceremony on Dec. 21 at Cleveland First Baptist Church.
Cleveland Municipal Judge Garrison Baker swore in the newly re-elected Mayor Josh Turner, Ward 1 Councilmember Nan Bowen, and Ward 2 Councilmember Annie Sutton.
Councilmember Nan Bowen takes the oath of office from Judge Garrison Baker. (Dean Dyer/WRWH.com)
Baker told the crowd prior to swearing in each candidate, “I truly believe that public service is a calling; it is one of the highest callings you can have as it relates to nation, state, and our local community.”
A family affair
Mayor Turner thanked those who came out for the ceremony. He gave a special thanks to his family for serving alongside him.
“As elected officials, we are the ones that take the oath but the service to the community transcends beyond the elected official,” said Turner. “I want to thank my wife Lacy, and my three kids for allowing me this opportunity to serve my community that I love.”
Councilmember Bowen said she’s grateful for the opportunity to serve her community.
Councilmember Annie Sutton takes the oath of office during her swearing-in ceremony. (Dean Dyer/WRWH.com)
“I just want you to know that I appreciate all of our staff, love and appreciate all our council members and our mayor, and I thank you for the opportunity to serve our great city of Cleveland,” said Bowen.
Councilmember Sutton shared about her desire to serve, saying, “This is something I love doing. I’ve always told my family that when I’m dead and gone, I don’t want anything; just don’t put my name out there anywhere, just simply say she was a servant.”
Above, an overcrowded Grovetown, Ga., charging station is seen. A car dealership in Winder, Ga., will add an additional 19 electric vehicle chargers and several solar panels as part of a clean energy partnership. (Camila Domonoske / NPR)
Georgia’s largest Ford dealership is partnering with an electric infrastructure energy company to build several new electric vehicle chargers and solar panels.
Akins Ford in Winder, Ga., will install 19 total charging stations to decrease the dealership’s carbon footprint. Charge Enterprises will be overseeing the projects.
Its CEO, Paul Williams, said the clean energy project was originally just chargers but quickly expanded.
“They asked us to do a feasibility project for them, which has now turned into a full-blown project to install about 450 kW of rooftop solar that will generate power for the next 30 years,” Williams said.
Akins Ford is the largest dealership by volume in the state of Georgia. The addition of chargers and solar panels are expected to offset 455 metric tons of carbon dioxide.
Williams said the two projects are designed to support each other.
“We can charge six vehicles simultaneously,” he said. “So there’ll be six parking spaces and they’ll be covered with solar panels above. And that’s where we’ve got a convergence of both projects.”
Six chargers at the dealership will be for public use, while the remaining 13 will be for service and maintenance.
This article appears on Now Habersham in partnership with GPB News
Jocelyn Wallace, executive director of The Never Alone Clubhouse, stands at the entrance of the recovery center in Douglas County. As someone in recovery herself, she opened this place two years ago to give people who have dealt with substance use disorder a chance to connect. (Credit: Sofi Gratas/GPB News)
For Jocelyn Wallace, a former paramedic from Douglas County, her opioid addiction started like many others — with a prescription to treat her pain after a car accident. She was 16 years old at the time.
Her addiction would endure far longer.
“For over 26 years, I was stuck in opioid use disorder,” Wallace said. “I got married and had kids and my disease just continued to grow.”
It has been six years since Wallace last used substances, but she still vividly remembers what it felt like to be waiting for placement in a treatment or detox center to get help.
“I’d be looking at my watch going, I mean, ’15 minutes from now, I’m going to be violently ill; somebody’s got to help me,’” Wallace said. “And then I would give up. And I would leave. Very rarely did I even call them the next day.”
Sometimes, wait times were too long, or her insurance wouldn’t cover it. More often, it was the personal shame she felt of her addiction that kept her away.
She’s not alone. In 2021, 46 million people in the U.S. were diagnosed with a substance use disorder, or SUD. Last year, 2,600 people in Georgia died from drug overdoses, almost double from 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Opioid-related overdose deaths, in particular, have spiked in the past five years in the state, especially with the widespread introduction of fentanyl into the drug supply.
For people living with addiction, it’s been proven that access to evidence-based treatment and support can help keep them alive and stable. But care can be hard to come by and is only possible by combating the stigma around addiction, which is pervasive among providers, the public, and people with addiction themselves.
“Why isn’t there access?” said Brian Kite with the nonprofit Georgia Council for Recovery. “Sometimes that is often because of stigma, or furthermore, discrimination.”
Discrimination based on a mental health condition can very easily spin out of control.
Addiction is a disease
Substance use can start mildly at first, but over time, regular use of drugs and alcohol alters brain chemistry and causes compulsive use. Many people with a substance use disorder, or SUD, also have co-occurring mental health issues that can make the addiction harder to address.
SUDs can range from mild to severe.
Wallace said what she saw in her work as a paramedic stopped her from getting help. Wallace would revive people who had overdosed, often the same people every week, while she was navigating her own addiction.
“I didn’t want to continue the life that I was living, but I was so terrified to be seen in that light,” she said. “I was so terrified of what that would look like for me. Like we were hopeless, you know, we were a strain on the system.”
Though there’s no cure for addiction, there is treatment for SUDs. But 94% of those diagnosed with an SUD won’t get treatment on their own, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
For others, like Michelle Jackson from Macon, getting help when she was going through a stimulant addiction just wasn’t something her family supported or understood.
“Somebody dies? Get high, get drunk,” Jackson said. “No matter what happens in life, get high, get drunk. That was the answer. We don’t embrace mental health help because otherwise you’re crazy, you know?”
Michelle Jackson after graduating in 2020 from Mercer University with summa cum laude honors. (Credit: Courtesy of Michelle Jackson)
Jackson has a different perspective since starting recovery about 20 years ago, and after stints in rehab and detox facilities. Now she works with Macon’s River Edge Behavioral Health helping people who have been incarcerated and who also have a substance use disorder or other mental health issues.
“I come across people plenty of times in the five years that I’ve been doing this where their stories can almost line up to mine,” Jackson said.
Jackson said it was a “no-brainer” to train as a forensic peer mentor. After years of feeling powerless against her own addiction — and uncertain about what kind of future would be available to her — Jackson’s now able to use her experiences to encourage others down a healthier path.
“I think about the people that were sitting around the table with me when I was doing crack cocaine,” she said. “Several of them are not here now. Several of them have OD’d. If you don’t have any hope, why are you going to try to be better?”
Evidence-based treatment
Because substance use can be chronic, it typically requires ongoing care and support, but many people with SUDs struggle to access services and have treatment covered adequately like other health conditions. This is especially true for people of color.
Plus, it’s not always guaranteed that addiction care will be covered by insurance.
Last year, The Department of Justice issued guidance protecting the right to treatment for opioid use disorder under the American Disabilities Act. Georgia passed its own law last year making it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage for detox, treatment, or rehabilitation services.
Though advocates say a parity law is a good first step in addressing stigma and holding healthcare providers accountable, there’s still a long way to go in the law being enforced.
“You can pass a piece of legislation, but if you don’t have any teeth behind it, then to what extent does it actually happen?” said Dr. J. Aaron Johnson, a longtime substance use disorder researcher. “It just sort of remains to be seen the impact that actually has.”
Johnson, who’s director of Augusta University’s Institute of Public and Preventative Health, has spent years researching access to evidence-based treatment for SUDs. This treatment ranges from daily medication to cognitive behavioral therapy and fully depends on the severity of a substance use disorder.
Research shows that evidence-based treatments can be life-saving. But Johnson says he’s encountered “resistance” among rural healthcare providers in providing a key component of care: medication.
FILE – A nurse holds tabs of buprenorphine, a drug which controls heroin and opioid cravings, as he prepares to administer the drug in Greenfield, Mass, on July 23, 2018. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Tuesday, June 13, 2023, finds only 1 in 4 residential treatment centers for teens offers a gold standard medicine for opioid addiction. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)
Take access to one of the most common medication-assisted treatments for opioid use disorder: buprenorphine, a main ingredient in Suboxone. It helps during withdrawals and, over time, eases opioid cravings.
Though easily available with a prescription and considered a gold standard of care, only a quarter of substance use treatment facilities in Georgia have it available.
“It could potentially be widely available if you had physicians and nurse practitioners, PAs, etc., that were more widely accepting of offering it,” Johnson said.
Johnson said that’s because many of these providers still hold stereotypes around addiction.
“They don’t want to become known as the place where people go to get their buprenorphine — or their comment might be, ‘Well, we don’t want those kinds of people in our practices’ — that type of thing,” Johnson said.
Another effective medication for opioid use disorder, methadone, is typically administered in special clinics but is currently available at only 20% of substance use treatment facilities in Georgia.
“Most methadone maintenance clinics are only going to locate in high-density areas,” Johnson said.
Johnson said better training and the implementation of universal screening for substance use could help reduce misconceptions about the disease and curb stigma.
Jocelyn Wallace sits in her office with Cyndi Burnett and Candi Florence, both volunteers at The Never Alone Clubhouse. Recovery Community Organizations like this one are run almost entirely by people who have dealt with substance use disorder. (Credit: Sofi Gratas/GPB News)
“Don’t just skip over the screening because you assume that a 70-year-old female cannot misuse alcohol or drugs,” Johnson said.
Back in Douglas County, that’s just the kind of myth 68-year-old Cyndi Burnett believed.
“I didn’t start really drinking heavy till I was in my 50s,” Burnett said. “I kept saying to my husband, ‘I can’t go to rehab; I’m a teacher.’ And never once did I think I could walk in my principal’s office and say, ‘I have a problem and I need some help.’”
Countering the narrative
Burnett did eventually get help through Alcoholics Anonymous. Now, she works with former paramedic Jocelyn Wallace at the Never Alone Clubhouse, one of 45 recovery community organizations in the state.
The number of recovery community organizations in Georgia, like the Clubhouse, has more than doubled from five years ago with help from the state Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, which designated $4 million in 2018 toward amping up recovery services.
Details at The Never Alone Clubhouse in Douglas County. On the right is a memorial to friends and family who have died from substance use. (Credit: Sofi Gratas/GPB News)
“Typically, where you have seen funding for substance use or behavioral health in general was often geared towards prevention, and treatment and recovery was kind of an afterthought,” said Kite with the Georgia Council for Recovery.
Now, Kite argues, the state is undergoing a recovery “movement” based on the idea that creating more spaces for connection gives people with substance use disorders a much higher chance at sustaining their recovery — as does connecting them to stabilizing resources, which many recovery organizations do.
Wallace opened the Never Alone Clubhouse a couple of years back. It’s a place for people who are ready to address their addiction and for her community to see recovery working.
“We’re able to continue to educate the community that recovery is real and we’re going to normalize recovery,” Wallace said. “It’s expected. Let’s get better.”
Because being able to ask for help in treating substance use should be the normal thing to do.
This article appears on Now Habersham in partnership with GPB News. Georgia Public Broadcasting is part of the Mental Health Parity Collaborative, a group of newsrooms that are covering stories on mental health care access and inequities in the U.S. The partners on this project include The Carter Center, The Center for Public Integrity, and newsrooms in select states across the country.
The FBI has issued a statewide lookout in Georgia for a missing 14-year-old Indianapolis girl.
According to the Atlanta field office, Akary Cruz left home on the night of December 18. She is believed to be traveling with her 20-year-old boyfriend, Esvin Cruz Cante. The pair are believed to be traveling through Georgia and may be on their way to Guatemala, where Cante is from.
The FBI says Cruz left behind a note expressing her romantic involvement with Cante. The note revealed their intention to travel to Guatemala.
Cruz is described as being 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 120 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes.
Cruz and Cante are believed to be traveling in a blue 2010 Honda Civic with license plate number 783CNO.
Authorities urge anyone with information about their whereabouts to call 911 or the FBI in Atlanta at 770-216-3000.
Barbara Kaye Sanders Benfield, age 58, of Clarkesville, passed away on December 21, 2023, at her residence.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 14, 1965, she was a daughter of Hoyt and Annette Hooper Sanders of Clarkesville. Mrs. Benfield was the owner and operator of Snip and Clip, and she was of the Christian faith.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Steve Glenn, and her grandson, Hendrix Lee Benfield.
Surviving are children Jake Jones, Jesse (Terri Lee) Benfield, and Jarrett Benfield, all of Clarkesville; siblings Scott Sanders of Cleveland, Steve Sanders and Jason Sanders, both of Clarkesville, and Tina Burke of Buford; grandsons Coleman Jones and Case Lee Benfield.
For the second time in two days, a wreck at the same intersection in Hollywood sent several people to the hospital.
According to the Georgia State Patrol, 61-year-old Tina Farmer Waycaster of Clarkesville was driving a Ford Escape north on GA 15/US 441. She attempted to turn left onto Talmadge Drive and failed to yield, troopers say. A Dodge Ram pickup, driven by Joel Brookshire, 80, of Gainesville, was traveling south on GA 15/US 441 and struck the Escape on the passenger’s side.
The collision injured both drivers. Habersham EMS took them to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville. Waycaster sustained a suspected serious injury. State troopers say Brookshire suffered an apparent minor injury.
The wreck happened around 5:20 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 22. The day prior, on Thursday, Dec. 21, a wreck at that same intersection sent two people to the hospital.
The Georgia State Patrol Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team (SCRT) assisted troopers from Post 7 in Toccoa with both crash investigations.
No charges have been filed in Friday’s wreck as of this time.
The GBI, White County Sheriff's Office, and ARDEO arrested Michael Thompson of Cleveland, GA on drug and weapons charges Tuesday December 19. (Georgia Bureau of Investigation)
According to a press release, the GBI has arrested Michael Thompson, age 56, of Cleveland, GA, on drug and gun charges. On Tuesday, December 19, 2023, the White County Sheriff’s Office and the Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office executed a search warrant at Thompson’s home in Cleveland, GA.
Thompson was arrested on scene and charged with the following:
Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute
Trafficking in methamphetamine
Possession of a controlled substance (Schedule II)
Possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony (15 counts)
Unlawful possession of firearms or weapons
The Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office began investigating Thompson in October after receiving a tip that he was possibly selling illegal drugs. As a result of the investigation, a search warrant for his home was obtained. During the execution of the search warrant, around 47 grams of suspected methamphetamine, one pound of suspected marijuana, several pills, 15 firearms, and money were located and seized from the home.
Michael Thompson (White County Sheriff’s Office)
Thompson was booked into the White County Detention Center.
This is an ongoing investigation.
If you have information related to drug activity, you are encouraged to call GBI ARDEO at (706) 348-7410. Anonymous tips can also be submitted by calling 1-800-597-TIPS(8477), online at https://gbi.georgia.gov/submit-tips-online, or by downloading the See Something, Send Something mobile app.
The Appalachian Regional Drug Enforcement Office is a multi-agency unit that covers 30 counties in North Georgia and consists of the following Sheriff’s Offices and Police Agencies: White County, Lumpkin County, Banks County, Jackson County, Habersham County, Stephens County, Rabun County, Franklin County, Gilmer County, Fannin County, the Cleveland Police Department and the Toccoa Police Department, along with the Georgia National Guard Counter- Drug Task Force, the Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Department of Community Supervision, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
An F-150 involved in a short pursuit Tuesday December 19, rests against an embankment after a deputy performed a PIT maneuver. (Habersham County Rob Moore)
A man and a woman were arrested on numerous charges after a brief chase in Baldwin on Tuesday, December 19.
According to a press release from Habersham County Public Information Officer Rob Moore, a Habersham County deputy attempted to stop a Ford F-150 pickup truck at about 8:45 p.m. Tuesday evening, traveling northbound on GA 365 in the vicinity of Hayes Chevrolet automotive dealership.
Ronald Lindsey Bafile of Cleveland, GA, was arrested on numerous charges Tuesday, Dec. 19, following a brief pursuit in Baldwin. (Habersham County Detention Center)
The truck pulled over initially but then continued northbound with the deputy in pursuit. While traveling northbound on GA 365, the occupants of the truck began throwing items out of the passenger window that were suspected drugs.
The deputy initiated a PIT maneuver that brought the truck to a stop against a bank on the shoulder of GA 365 northbound in the vicinity of Kudzu Hill Drive in Baldwin.
According to the press release, Ronald Lindsey Bafile, 42, of Cleveland, GA, and Megan Nichole Bafile, 31, of Dahlonega, GA, were arrested and face numerous charges.
Habersham County Detention Center records show Ronald Bafile is charged with trafficking methamphetamine, fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer, possession of meth with intent to distribute, possession of Xanax, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of drug-related objects, tampering with evidence, and littering from a motor vehicle.
Megan Nichole Bafile of Dahlonega was arrested on numerous charges Tuesday, Dec. 19, following a brief pursuit in Baldwin. (Habersham County Detention Center)
Megan Nichole Bafile is charged with trafficking methamphetamine, possession of meth with intent to distribute, possession of Xanax, possession of drug-related objects, tampering with evidence, littering from a motor vehicle, obstructing or hindering law enforcement officers, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, detention center records show.
According to Detention Center records, both individuals have been denied bond and are still housed in the Habersham County Detention Center.
Pedestrian struck on Victory Drive (NowGeorgia.com)
A woman is dead after being struck and killed by a car while she was walking on Atlanta Highway in Athens. The crash happened around 6:48 p.m. on December 20, according to police.
The victim, identified as 44-year-old Cleo Catherine Wallace of Athens, was walking east in the left lane of the 4700 block of Atlanta Highway when she was hit by a car. The car, driven by a 20-year-old man, Jesus Marin Villarreal of Athens, was also traveling eastbound. Wallace was pronounced dead at the scene.
At this time, no charges have been filed. The crash remains under investigation. If you have any information about the crash, you are asked to contact the police.
The ACCPD is asking anyone with information about the crash to contact Senior Police Officer Tilley at 762-400-7355 or Sergeant Schulte at 762-400-7093 or by email at [email protected]. You can also tweet your tips anonymously to @ACCPD.
This is the 20th traffic-related fatality in Athens this year.
This article was written using assistive AI technology
