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Highway 365 re-opened after accident

By
Joy Purcell
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Highway 365 at Jaemor Farms in Alto is open again after being shut down for two hours Tuesday evening due to an accident.  North and southbound lanes were closed and traffic re-routed after a tractor trailer and vehicle collided.

photos by Tommy Cash
photos by Tommy Cash

The Georgia State Patrol says the accident happened around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. The scene was cleared by 7:30 p.m. Initial reports indicate at least one person was transported to the hospital.  No names have been released. The cause of the accident remains under investigation.

Courts consolidate staff

By
Joy Purcell
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Courthouse consolidation in Habersham County is nearly complete.  The county placed all of its courtrooms under one roof when it opened the new judicial center last fall.  Now, the county is taking the final step in the process by consolidating court staff.  County Commissioners on Monday approved a resolution to place Magistrate Court staff under the direct management of the Habersham County Clerk of Court.

Magistrate Court had its own clerk and staff for years because the courtroom was housed in a building separate from the main courthouse.  Now that all courtrooms and judicial offices are in the same building District 2 Commissioner, Andrea Harper, says it just makes sense to bring the staffs together. “This is something I’ve been hoping for years to happen because we’re tried for years to consolidate services.  Now that we’ve consolidated the courts we felt it was appropriate to consolidate staff.”

Harper says it’s not clear at this point whether anyone will lose their job. She says she hopes not and adds Habersham County Clerk of Court, David Wall, will evaluate the employees and see where he can place them. She says that process could take weeks or even months.

Harper says the move might save taxpayers money but adds the overriding concern for commissioners in making their decision was how to provide the best possible services for citizens.

Mountain NCIS Team disbanded

By
Joy Purcell
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The much maligned Mountain Narcotics Criminal Investigation and Suppression (NCIS) Team is being disbanded. The local drug task force, which was a collaborative effort between the Habersham, Rabun and Stephens County Sheriff’s Departments and Toccoa Police, has been under fire ever since a toddler was injured during a drug raid in Cornelia earlier this year.

A press release issued Tuesday by White County Sheriff Neal Walden says the four law enforcement agencies will join the Appalachian Drug Task Force (ADTF) effective Wednesday, October 1, and the Mountain NCIS Team will no longer be in operation.

The ADTF is supervised by the GBI in partnership with local law enforcement agencies. It currently includes officers from White, Banks, Lumpkin and Towns Counties. The move effectively merges drug enforcement operations for the Mountain, Enotah and Piedmont Judicial Court Circuits in northeast Georgia.

The press release states the expansion of the ADTF  is the result of a vote on July 14, 2014 by the existing task force board members to accept the four new agencies into the task force. Walden says, “The addition of Rabun, Habersham, and Stephens counties will enhance coordination, information and intelligence sharing, and law enforcement efforts across these two geographic areas which border each other. In addition, GBI supervision and training resources will assist in enhancing and improving law enforcement investigations and the resulting prosecutions in the Enotah, Piedmont, and Mountain Judicial Circuits.”

Under the agreement Habersham, Rabun and Stephens Counties and the City of Toccoa will adopt and utilize the same personnel assignment system and working model currently used by the Appalachian Drug Task Force.  Personnel assigned to the drug task force will be selected from a pool of candidates supplied by member agencies and vetted by the GBI.

Walden says, “This effort is being undertaken in an effort to increase collaboration across jurisdiction investigations, training, and effectiveness. It is the considered belief of all officials and agencies involved that this effort will help ensure both effective and higher level investigations in the member counties and the availability of the best and most thorough training and resources.”

bhouThe announcement comes exactly four months after 19-month old Bou Phonesavanh was critically injured when NCIS agents threw a flash grenade into a home in Cornelia during a drug raid . The incident launched state and federal investigations and the case currently is being heard by a Habersham County grand jury.

The Mountain NCIS Team also came under intense scrutiny and criticism five years ago after a Lavonia pastor was shot and killed by agents during an undercover drug investigation.  28-year old Jonathan Ayers was shot and killed outside a Toccoa convenience store on September 1, 2009. The incident was captured on the store’s surveillance video. A grand jury determined the shooting was justified because Ayers tried to leave the scene as officers approached him. No criminal charges were filed but Ayers’ widow, Abigail, filed a wrongful death lawsuit and was awarded $2.3 million dollars by a federal court jury.

Bubble soccer and how it’s played

By
Joy Purcell
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Bubble soccer TONIGHT at Piedmont College

By
Joy Purcell
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Bubble Soccer; it’s a first of its kind event in Habersham County and it’s happening tonight, Tuesday, September 30, at Piedmont College.  Director of Student Activities and Campus Events, Natalie Crawford, says 125 students, faculty and staff have signed up to participate in this one-of-a-kind soccer game in which players are encased in large, plastic bubbles.  While it’s relatively new to the States it’s all the rage in Australia and Europe (click here to watch video).

Tonight’s Bubble Soccer Event starts at 8 p.m. on the Walker Athletic Soccer Field behind Mize Athletic Center located at 1021 Central Avenue, Demorest, Georgia.  If it rains the event will be moved inside to the gymnasium.

Crawford says a crew from CNN in Atlanta is expected to videotape the event for a feature story that will air at a later date.

The public is invited to come view the game.  There is no admission charge.

 

90-day moratorium on new signs

By
Joy Purcell
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There will be no new business signs in Habersham County, at least for the next three months.  The Habersham County Commission voted on Monday to impose a 3-month moratorium on all new billboards and other signage in unincorporated areas to give the county time to revise its existing sign ordinance.

Commissioners approved the 90-day moratorium during a called meeting Monday morning. They directed county staff to work with the county attorney to insure revisions to the ordinance are constitutional and work in concert with the county’s Highway 365 Corridor Overlay Management Plan.

District 4 Commissioner, Natalie Crawford, says changes need to be made to the county’s sign ordinance to insure it’s consistent throughout Habersham County and to prepare for the future.  “We have an ordinance that needs to be updated to make sure that it is constitutional and pays attention to the safety and welfare of our citizens,” Crawford says.  She adds, “Growth is coming whether we want it to or not. It’s coming our direction and we need to decide as a county – as a community – how we want that growth to look.” Crawford says the moratorium gives the county time for careful thought and planning and adds, “It’s about what makes sense for our community.”

District 2 Commissioner, Andrea Harper, agrees.  She says the county wants to make sure that the sign ordinance and county overlay plan are compatible.  “We needed to give our staff time to meld the two together and see what other cities and counties are doing and see if it will work here.”

Habersham County’s sign moratorium remains in effect until December 15, 2014.

Doreen Reems Martin

By
Staff Report
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DOREEN REEMS MARTIN, age 94, of Cedartown, passed away on Saturday, September 27, 2014. She was born on October 26, 1919 in Alto, Georgia. She was the daughter of the late Fred Reems and Subbia Martin Reems.

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Driver injured in crash with patrol car

By
Joy Purcell
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photo by Jessica Waters
A close-up view of Trooper T. Sanders' patrol car following the collission.

A collision at approximately 2:30 p.m. this afternoon, Monday, Sept. 29, between a Georgia State Patrol vehicle and a green Honda Element disrupted traffic at Cannon Bridge Road and Old Athens Highway in Cornelia as both vehicles were loaded onto tow trucks to be removed from the scene.

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HEMC CEO resigns

By
Joy Purcell
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Long-time Habersham Electric Membership Corporation President/CEO, Todd Pealock, has resigned.  HEMC Chairman, Hugh Rucker, made the announcement in a press release Tuesday. Pealock’s resignation is effective immediately.

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It can change the outcome

By
Pastor Mike Franklin
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Psalm 103:20-23, “Praise the Lord, you his angels,  you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. 21 Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.”

Do you realize, when you speak God’s Word, when you do His will, when you declare His Name over your situation, angels will respond? It is a very important part to know. What comes from our mouths is pretty significant. It can change the outcome of our situations.

If you will, consider that words are secondary to our thoughts. We think and then respond. Sometimes, it may appear as if we put no thought into what we are saying, but words come from the thoughts we have. It is important to meditate on the Word of God; to fill our thoughts with God’s Word so that when we respond, it will reflect Him. How we filled our minds shows in our words.

Psalm 91:10-12, “No evil will befall you, Nor will any plague come near your tent. 11For He will give His angels charge concerning you, To guard you in all your ways. 12They will bear you up in their hands, That you do not strike your foot against a stone.…”

There is a great deal the Lord is telling us in these two scriptures. When we praise Him and when we declare His word over our lives, He instructs His angels to protect us. That in and of itself gives me reason to sit up and take note. The times we need to praise Him the most are the times we don’t feel like praising Him. I’ve learned over the years in ministry, when people are in trouble or hurting or confused, they tend to run away from God. They tend to shake their fists at God. Those are the times His people need to shout out His name in praise because His angels will come to their defense.

One of the greatest weapons of warfare we have is praise. Psalm 34:1, “I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.” Not sometimes on my lips or just when things are good and I feel happy, we are to declare I will praise the Lord ALL the time and His praise will ALWAYS be on our lips.

Today, thank God for the blessings of your life. Thank Him for the discipline He has given you. Thank Him for the trials and struggles that you will overcome because of Him. Thank Him for His ability to heal you. Praise Him that He is the ultimate victor and glorify His name because Satan can’t have you. You are God’s child.

King of the Opry

By
Joy Purcell
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Opry dreams come true

By
Joy Purcell
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