The Paper February 7 2013 Edition

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CMYK Thursday, February 7, 2013

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Sheriff’s 2nd Amendment position clear Jackson County Sheriff Janis Mangum is standing up for the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and with the Georgia Sheriff’s Association. “I stand by the oath that I took as your Sheriff of Jackson County to support the Constitution of the United States and the State of Georgia and that includes standing by the Second Amendment, as well as enforcing the State laws that serve and protect our citizens,” said Mangum. “I take this oath very seriously. “The Second Amendment affords the good people of our county the right to bear arms. This is a right guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States; I took an oath to support that right,” said Mangum, who has received many calls and visits asking about her stance on the current gun violence controversy

about the Second Amendment. “I explain my personal beliefs each time. Guns don’t kill people, people kill people. We will never keep guns out of the hands of bad people,” said Magnum, who shares that her graduation from Sheriff Elect Training was Dec. 14, 2012, the day of the Sandy Hook school shooting. “...after four long weeks of training, this was a very emotional, however, exciting day for me after a long journey to get there,” said Magnum. “On the way home, I received a call from a friend, telling me about the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., which placed a very dark cloud over this special day and my heart was so heavy. I couldn’t get home fast enough, only to watch on television the horror of what had happened to these innocent

children and the faculty of this school.” Magnum said the position of the Georgia Sheriff’s Association on the gun debate is one which she shares: “The Sheriffs took an oath to support the Constitution and will stand by the Second Amendment. The Sheriffs will aggressively oppose federal or state legislation which infringes upon law abiding citizens’ right to bear arms. The Sheriffs further agree to support any legislation that would effectively penalize criminals who use firearms in the commission of crimes.” Mangum, who has worked in law enforcement for 28 years, says, “What’s broke in our society is our responsibility to care for people with mental issues, the entire system that revolves around mental health, including the di-

agnosis, treatment and care for this segment of our society that has been left on the streets, shuffled from courtroom to courtroom, transported to diagnostic centers so many times they’re on a first-name basis, moved from jail to jail and dumped on their relatives to care for the best they can.” Magnum said the Sheriff’s Office plans to host a class on firearm safety for the community. “I feel that it is imperative that people are properly trained in the use of firearms,” said Mangum, who indicates the training dates will be announced soon. This will be a continuing program and the firearm safety class will become a service provided for the citizens of Jackson County by my office.” The sheriff welcomes your questions or concerns. Call 706-367-8718.

Hoschton considers single night for sessions

HOSCHTON

Kenerly takes oath as mayor BY LEANNE AKIN

lakin@clickthepaper.com

BY LEANNE AKIN

Theresa Kenerly placed her hand on her maternal grandmother’s Bible on Monday night as she took the oath of office as mayor of Hoschton. Kenerly led in prayer prior to calling the meeting to order. She introduced members of her family who filled the audience for the occasion. She thanked them for supporting her. Kenerly said her grandmother, Nannie Lou Storey Landers would have LeAnne Akin The Paper been 103 years old this year. City Attorney Thomas Mitchell administered the oath of office to Theresa Kenerly, who resigned When Kenerly decided she would seek to fill the unexpired mayoral term her council seat to serve as mayor. She was the lone qualifier for the mayoral post. Qualifying of Erma Denney who resigned last Oc- to fill her unexpired council seat continues with Councilman Jim Cleveland announcing he will tober, she forfeited her council post as qualify for the seat as his spot on the council will be dissolved at year end with a charter change she qualified to seek election. She was introduced in the Georgia General Assembly by State Rep. Tommy Benton on Tuesday. the sole qualifier for the special electhan opposing sitting council members for a proved two conditional use applications after tion. public hearings were conducted at the Jan. Now her post is vacant, and Councilman four-year term. Qualifying ends Friday. The proposed legislation makes several 31 work session. Both Ed Quirk and Robert Jim Cleveland announced at Monday’s council meeting that he intends to qualify changes in the city’s charter including re- P. Gresham sought a conditional use to operto seek that post. Cleveland’s Post 3 will be ducing the size of the council. The measure ate a vehicle repair shop on Pearl Industrial eliminated at year’s end as local legislation is part of an effort to reduce the cost of city Boulevard. Both also requested auto sales to requested of State Rep. Tommy Benton was operations. Benton said he had discussed the be permitted but sales are not permitted at legislation with City Attorney Thomas Mitch- those nearby locations under the city’s zoning dropped in Atlanta on Tuesday. ordinances, said consultant Guy Herring in Cleveland said he would opt to serve the ell and State Sen. Frank Ginn. On the consent agenda, the council ap- his staff report. remaining two years of the open post rather

lakin@clickthepaper.com

Citing minimal business on meeting agendas, the Hoschton City Council is considering moving its work session from the Thursday preceding its business session held the first Monday of the month. At the Jan. 31 work session, Councilman Jim Cleveland said he wanted to go to one meeting night per month since the business sessions are sometimes as short as 90 seconds. Citizen input is received at work sessions. Mayor Theresa Kenerly said the Braselton Town Council attempted a similar measure to have a work session followed by the business meeting. After five months, the town returned to a Thursday work session and a Monday business session when the work session agendas continued to run into the business meeting start time. City Attorney Thomas Mitchell said the council would adopt a new meeting schedule at its March meeting and begin holding work sessions at 6 p.m. on the Monday of the business meeting that begins at 7 p.m. Other council members agreed and indicated a called meeting could be held if a matter needed more time for consideration before a vote is taken.

Recognizing neighbor helping neighbors, beyond CERT volunteers like Bob Richardson assist emergency responders on disasters, training, events Margaret Thatcher once said, “There is little hope for our countries if the hearts of men and women in democratic societies cannot be touched by a call to something greater than themselves.” During the Barrow County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) annual awards dinner held Jan. 15, special recognition was given to one of those who responded to such a calling. Robert (Bob) Richardson of Hoschton, who

For The Paper

Bob Richardson accepted surprise recognition from Barrow County CERT as he prepared for his retirement after seven years as an integral part of the volunteer group.

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is retiring from CERT after seven years of dedicated service, is one of those men. Richardson, joined by his wife, other members of the Beringer Point subdivision and several other Barrow County citizens took part in the first class of the CERT program offered by firefighters with Barrow County Emergency Services. The initial class was taught at Fire Station #5 and was an eye-opening experience for many. For Richardson, it placed in his heart a need for developing the program and creating a team of trained volunteers to assist those in public safety. The Community Emergency Response Team in Barrow County has been evolving through the years – growing from the first class of citizens wanting to feel safer in their homes because of their preparedness. Knowing how to respond in the face of disaster included skills learned through CERT classes. Since its formation, Barrow County CERT has conducted 13 classes for individuals who spend eight weeks learning how to be prepared in the event of a disaster. CERT classes include basic disaster response including fire safety, light search and rescue, medical operations and team organization. The coursework is developed by the Department of Homeland Security and is generally affiliated with a community’s Emergency Management Agency (EMA). For Richardson, building the CERT team has been one of the greatest experi-

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ences of his retirement life. He says there are many who helped to make CERT the success it is. The initial training allows citizens to get basic emergency response training which will help them in their home and their neighborhood should, for example, a tornado touches

down in the area. CERT graduates may also pursue further training and become part of the active CERT organization which assists the community in a number of ways. Barrow County CERT has assisted with searches

See NEIGHBOR, page 7A

Severe Weather Awareness Week: Getting alerts can help prepare families in emergencies From tornadoes to lightning to floods, Georgia is susceptible to a variety of natural disasters. Severe weather is dangerous and can strike with very little warning, which is why it’s important to get ready in advance. Severe Weather Awareness Week continues through Feb. 8, and recent severe weather in Georgia put us on notice that severe weather season has indeed arrived. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), tornadoes are the No. 1 severe weather-related killer in Georgia. Last March, severe storms spawned powerful EF3 tornadoes, which tore across Paulding and Lanier counties, and an EF-1 tornado, which struck Cobb County. Just last week, a weather front, that contained a tornado, heavily damaged Adairsville where one man was killed. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency, local emergency management agencies and other emergency responders

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use Severe Weather Awareness Week as a means of educating communities about the importance of being prepared for any severe weather-related event or disaster. See more on the awareness campaign, which included a statewide tornado drill on Wednesday, at ClickThePaper.com Jackson County Emergency Management Agency Director Steve Nichols reminds families about the importance of registering to get emergency alerts by phone as part of preparedness. “It’s important to pay attention to your local forecast and be sure you have a way to receive weather alerts, even if you are asleep. Jackson County provides our citizens with the opportunity to sign up on our Early Warning System, JENS, Jackson Emergency Notification System, at the county web site and follow the link to register,” said Nichols.

See EMERGENCIES, page 7A

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