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The Paper | Thursday, September 26, 2013
Fatal Hoschton fire ruled accident K-9s ‘sweep’ for The Sept. 18 fire that killed a 20-year-old Hoschton resident and sent two other people to the hospital has been ruled an accident, according to Georgia Insurance Commissioner’s Office spokesperson. Tanner Wassler died after a fire broke at the family’s home on Jackson Meadow Drive just off Jackson Trail Road in Hoschton. Lori Lynn Wassler, the young man’s 41-year-old mother, was taken to Athens Regional Medical Center for treatment of burns to her hands and possible smoke inhalation. Mike Clayton, 58, escaped unharmed. The call came in at 9:46 p.m. and Jackson Trail had units on the scene where there was a possible entrapment at 9:48 p.m. with West Jackson Fire units also dispatched and arriving at 9:53 p.m. When the first units arrived, the structure was almost fully involved in flame, and a woman, who had escaped the structure with her husband, said her son was still inside. A crew from the Jackson Trail Fire Department entered the home with a fire line as a two-person West Jackson Fire crew entered through a window. Firefighters attempted to locate the son but were forced out when the structure began to collapse. The autistic son was later found dead in a
drugs at JCCHS
LeAnne Akin The Paper
The yellow tape remains around the home where Tanner Wassler lost his life on Sept. 18. Below, a witness captured the smoke rising from the still-burning structure. bathroom located in a portion of the house that was fully involved at firefighters’ arrival. The state fire marshal was dispatched to the scene, according to West Jackson Fire Chief Ben Stephens. The house is located in the Jackson Trail Volunteer Fire District just doors away from that department’s second station location. The coroner’s office was also summoned at the scene.
Fire investigators determined the fire originated in the kitchen where several items left on the stove ignited and quickly spread. The fire fatality came later in the day after an 18-month-old lost her life in a Barrow County blaze that was also ruled an accident. In the house fire that killed Kaharma Knight, electrical failure was the cause. Coroner David Crosby said the child died of smoke inhala-
tion. The origin and cause investigation indicated the fire started in the area of the sun room and dining room of the home and spread quickly due to the home’s layout. The blaze that occurred about 2:15 a.m. destroyed the Moon Bridge Road residence from which four other people escaped – although not without injury. Three were flown to Grady Medical Center for treatment.
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of the Georgia State Patrol K-09 unit, the Georgia Department of Corrections K-9 unit and the Banks County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit, conducted an unannounced search of drugs at Jackson County Comprehensive High School on Monday. The K-9 units alerted in several areas of the school promoting further investigation. The practice will continue through the school year with the assistance and support of Superintendent Dr. April Howard and the central office staff. On Monday, Principal Scott Smith sent a letter to parents in which he said, “Today, to ensure a drug-free environment, the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department coordinated the efforts of three law enforcement agencies to bring on campus dogs trained in locating drugs. These dogs made their way through the school, checking lockers, restrooms, and classrooms. After a thorough check of these areas, no drugs were found. “We want to communicate this good news to you in our ongoing efforts to provide a safe, secure and drug-free environment for your students,” said Smith.
2 child molestation arrests reported The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office arrested William Anthony Patrick, 23, of Braselton, on Sept. 11 and charged him with two counts of aggravated child molestation stemming from an investigation involving a juvenile female. The Sheriff’s Office conducted interviews and executed a search warrant at Patrick’s home which lead to the arrest. Deputies learned that Patrick and the juvenile met through Facebook and the contact had been going on for some time. The investigation is ongoing and other charges may be forthcoming. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office has also arrested Anthony Lee Moon, 32, of Commerce, on charges of one count of child molestation on Sept. 17, however, more charges are pending as the investigation continues. Moon is currently incarcerated in the Jackson County Jail.
Barrow County will hold millage rate hearings again By Lona Panter
Regional staff
Despite a recent snafu with the county’s just-passed fiscal year budget, Barrow will continue to operate normally. County Manager Jock Connell said Friday that the Georgia Department of Revenue had been unable to sign off on the county’s tax digest because legal advertisements announcing a millage rate increase for City of Winder residents had been improperly sized. The rates and information in the ads were correct, however the ads will have to be rerun – and the county will have to again hold public hearings on the millage rate. The Barrow County Board of Commissioners already once approved its intention to increase the property taxes it will levy this year by 11.08 percent over the rollback millage rate in Winder city limits. Now, they will have to go through the process as second time after the legal ads are rerun. The first and second public hearings on the Winder tax increase will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 2 and again at 6 p.m. at the County
Annex Building, located at 233 E. Broad St, in Winder. The final public hearing will be held at 6 p.m. on Oct. 9, at which time the board can take another vote to accept the millage rate. While the second chance to vote could allow the board to change its mind, Connell said he was “not anticipating that option.” The setback may cause tax bills to go out a few days later than normal as well.
After appeals, funding restored to Sheriff ’s Office 2014 budget Barrow County Commissioners have unanimously agreed to restore funding to the sheriff’s office after pleading from law enforcement and citizens. Commissioner Steve Worley led the charge to give Sheriff Jud Smith more funding for his office and the detention center by asking to redistribute funds currently allocated for
capital outlay. The money was coming from a continued 1-mill rate increase which was adopted last year. Worley asked to take that increase to .75 mill and divvy it up between public safety and capital outlay projects. The county is banking on about $1.2 million to come from that increase, and it will be split three ways. Worley suggested that $410,000 go toward the sheriff’s office, $200,000 for Barrow County Emergency Services and the remainder for road and information technology plans. An additional $90,000 will also go toward Smith’s budget from the sale of prepaid phone cards that are used by prisoners to make calls, as well as the profits from selling confiscated firearms. A proposed budget for the county’s 2014 fiscal year initially cut the sheriff’s budget by about $777,000. When commissioners first revealed the budget, Smith said he felt his department was being targeted unfairly. The move to appease Smith came after several public hearings during which he
Sheriff’s Office to provide all SROs By Lona Panter
Regional staff
The Barrow County Sheriff’s Office will provide 11 school resource officers for local schools following a unanimous recent decision from the Barrow County Board of Commissioners. The commission approved a resolution to allow Chairman Pat Graham to sign an intergovernmental agreement between the Barrow Sheriff’s Office and the Barrow County School System to place officers in local facilities. The school system will be responsible for paying for 50 percent of the salaries of the SROs while they are in the schools, according to the agreement. The agencies pay for all vehicles, equipment, uniforms, etc., for the SROs. Prior to this move, the Sheriff’s Office and Winder Police Department shared the responsibility of having police officers on campus.
However, in April, Winder Police contacted Sheriff Jud Smith about his office possibly taking over the SRO positions for Russell Middle School, Winder-Barrow Middle School and High School, as well as the alternative school. Since W-BMS closed its doors in May, and those students were moved to the newly-opened Bear Creek Middle School in Statham, the sheriff’s office already planned to take over that position. In April, Smith said the change was monetary and strategic. “The [WPD] does support us,” he said. “It’s a monetary thing, [and now] it was probably a good idea to back out and let Barrow County deal with the Barrow County Schools.” Smith said having one agency over the SROs might make everything more efficient for communications between law enforcement
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and the schools. SROs typically patrol more than one
school, and will continue to do so.
appealed to the board to give him back his funding. “It is no secret that just about every year Barrow County has a budget shortfall for various reasons,” Smith said. The sheriff noted the days of excess in Barrow were probably behind the county, and said that the Board’s job was to maintain the services citizens deserved and expected. “They deserve to have a service that is quick, efficient and fair,” he said. “This can be a hard balance in some cases, and in these economic times, there are few options for you as elected officials to provide these services when times are hard.” Commissioners agreed to reconsider the plan, with Commission Chairman Pat Graham stressing the need to compromise and indicated there would be future meetings with Smith regarding the budget. She did, however, say that Smith’s department needed to become more efficient, and shared financial numbers from other area sheriff’s departments. No one at any of the meetings spoke in favor of cutting the sheriff’s budget.
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