Friday, August 16, 2013
On Sunday, August 25, the National Park Service turns 97 years old. In celebration, all national parks, including Fort Pulaski National Monument, will offer free admission.
“Birthdays are a time to celebrate and we want everyone, especially the children of America, to join the party,” said Fort Pulaski National Monument Superintendent Melissa Memory. “National parks belong to all Americans and offer something for everyone. So visit the park, wander a trail, take in the scenery, or watch a living history demonstration. Children especially enjoy the popular Junior Ranger program where they earn a badge by taking part in kid-friendly activities.”
Fort Pulaski National Monument will celebrate the 97th birthday of the National Park Service with complimentary cake in the park’s Visitor Center, starting at 1:30 PM. The Visitor Center will also be showing excerpts from Ken Burns’ documentary, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.” Visitor Center hours will be 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM.
Additional Founders Day activities will include fort tours, historic weapons demonstrations, and showings of the park film. The fort and Visitor Center will be open to the public from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. The park gates close at 6:15 PM.
The Founders Day schedule is:
Sunday, August 25
10:30 AM Guided Fort Tour
Noon Musket Firing Demonstration
1 PM Ranger’s Choice Program
1:30 PM National Park Service Birthday Cake
2 PM Musket Firing Demonstration
3 PM Guided Fort Tour
4:30 Musket Firing Demonstration
Southside Precinct detectives are requesting the public’s help in locating 24-year-old residential burglary suspect, Mishawn Ehaw Green.
Green, a resident of the 400 block of Windsor Road, has been charged by precinct investigators with three residential burglaries in the Windsor Forest neighborhood, occurring between July 25 and Aug. 8. Electronics were reported stolen following each incident. Detectives also are investigating similar burglaries in the area.
Green is described as a black male, weighing 163 pounds and 5-9 inches tall. He is known to frequent the Tatemville area.
Charges so far include three counts of burglary in the first degree, probation violation and theft by deception. Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Crimestoppers at (912) 234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637). Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward. A confidential Tip Line also is open directly to investigators at (912) 525-3124.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Savannah Fire & Emergency Services investigators charged a 13-year-old girl with two counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with a July 14th house fire on E. DeRenne Drive that resulted in the deaths of two children.
"The blaze, which erupted just after 2:00 p.m. at 239 E. DeRenne Dr., engulfed the entire rear of the house," says a department spokesman. "Two children, ages six and 13, were pulled from a smoke-filled bedroom by Savannah firefighters and rushed to Memorial University Medical Center. The children remained in critical condition in the hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit until their deaths four days later."
Investigators say the 13-year-old girl arrested today was present at the house when the fire broke out but was able to escape the burning structure. In addition to the involuntary manslaughter charges, she was charged with a single count of 1st degree arson. She was arrested at the Chatham County Youth Detention Center where she remains in custody awaiting an initial detention hearing.
Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Chief Willie Lovett announced the death of the 2013 EMS Dispatcher of the Year in a traffic accident Tuesday afternoon on Veterans Parkway.
Keri Clark, 23, had worked in the communications department for two years.
“As a 911 dispatcher, Keri Clark was constantly involved in saving lives,” Lovett said. “Almost every member of this department at some time probably has depended on her for vital information. This was a shock to our entire communications department and the rest of us are saddened as well.”
She was named Dispatcher of the Year by the Chatham County EMS Council in May for her work involving a suicidal woman in the early morning hours of March 8.
Clark spent nearly an hour on the phone with the woman as officers scoured the area to locate her in a remote area near the Talmadge Bridge. The woman later called the communications center and Clark personally to thank her for taking the time to listen to her.
Clark died Tuesday afternoon after the car she was driving collided with the rear of stopped Chatham County truck.
She died of her injuries at Memorial University Medical Center. Theodore Lee Holmes, 53, driver of the 1994 International 4700 stake body truck, was transported to Memorial for treatment of non-life threatening injuries after the 12:54 p.m. crash.
Clark was driving a red 2008 Dodge Avenger in the right southbound lane of Veterans Parkway just north of Highway 204 when it ran into the rear of the truck. The county truck was stationary in the right lane behind a mower cutting grass around the guard rails on Veterans Parkway. "The truck's emergency lights, including the directional arrow, were illuminated and operating," says a spokesman.
Southbound traffic was halted between Chatham Parkway and 204 for several hours.
Country rocker Shooter Jennings and his band The Triple Crown will headline the 2013 Tybee Island Pirate Fest on Saturday, October 12. The singer, songwriter and guitarist recently released “The Other Life” and is best known for hits like “Fourth of July” and “Busted in Baylor County.”
Additional Tybee Island Pirate Fest musical acts will include Journey tribute band Departure, Jimmy Buffett tribute band A1A, The Chuck Courtney Band and several other local performers.
The Tybee Pirate Fest will feature three days of live music and family-friendly activities at Tybee Island’s South Beach parking lot, located on Tybrisa Street.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Metro Police say they "will be paying particular attention to traffic patterns developing in the East Victory Drive and Truman Parkway area Tuesday morning during the opening" of the new shopping area including Whole Foods Market, scheduled for 8:30 a.m.
Officers say they also plan to have the department’s Mobile Command Center on hand for any questions or issues that may arise.
The area "traditionally has been a high-traffic area and Police are concerned that the additional traffic could overwhelm the roadway at times, despite the expansion of Victory Drive in the area," a spokesman says.
The traffic could be increased as well by school traffic on the second day of the 2013-14 school year.
Motorists planning to drive through the area en route to other locations may want to consider other routes Tuesday, or leave early to allow for unexpected traffic issues.
Tags: Whole Foods
U.S. Senate Candidate Michelle Nunn (D) visits Senior Citizens, Inc. at 10 a.m. as part of her "What Washington Can Learn From Georgia" tour to highlight the "extraordinary examples of Georgians lifting up themselves and reaching out to help others," a spokesman says.
Nunn is among a crowded field vying for the seat of retiring Sen. Saxby Chambliss, a Republican.
Senior Citizens, Inc., at 3025 Bull St., will show off its Meals on Wheels program as Candidate Nunn and her family deliver meals to homebound seniors.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Savannah City Council voted last week to lower the property tax rate for Savannah property owners. By a unanimous vote during its regular meeting, Council voted to roll back the rate from 12.5 mills to 12.48 mills, "marking the lowest millage rate in Savannah since 1987," says a spokesman.
“It speaks to our staff and the City Manager and all the folks in Finance that we can offer a slight reduction to our residents when other governments all around us are raising taxes,” said Alderman Tony Thomas.
Since 1996, the City of Savannah has reduced its property tax rate by 29% — from 17.46 mills to 12.48 mills. "The reduction has been made possible through the creation of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, which has funded more than $300 million worth of capital improvements, half of which has been spent on drainage improvements," says the spokesman.
An estimated 40% of the 1% sales tax, known as SPLOST, is paid by visitors to Savannah.
“This affords us the opportunity to develop critical infrastructure, and build police and fire stations without having to rely on property taxpayers to foot the bill,” said Mayor Edna Jackson.
The millage rate, combined with the assessed value of your property, is used to determine an individual’s property tax bill. Thursday’s reduction equals the “rollback rate,” the amount required to offset the increase in the City of Savannah’s property tax digest due to re-assessments over the past year.
2013 marks the first significant year-over-year growth in the tax digest since 2008, another sign of economic recovery.
Two people are in custody following a large seizure of marijuana by the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team (CNT).
"Earlier this week, CNT, along with officers from the Garden City Police Department, began a joint investigation into the possession of a large amount of marijuana in a residence located within the city limits of Garden City," says a CNT spokesman. "Through the use of various investigative techniques, CNT obtained a search warrant for the residence, which is located on Shady Lane Drive in the Garden City Mobile Home Park."
Shortly after 1 p.m., CNT agents and Garden City police officers executed the search warrant at the residence. Agents seized about 90 pounds of marijuana, most of which was packaged in large, separate bundles.
As a result of the seizure, CNT arrested 27-year-old Martin Hernandez Aparicio and 26-year-old Marilu Trujillo, both of Garden City. Aparicio and Marilu have been charged with Trafficking Marijuana and are currently being held in the Chatham County Detention Center.
The seized marijuana has any estimated street value of up to $115,000.00
A 30-year-old Stockbridge, GA., man died instantly Saturday when the cargo truck in which he was a passenger collided with a tree on Interstate 16.
Ronald V. Lawrence Jr., was killed when the 2003 GMC truck ran into the wood line of the eastbound lanes between Dean Forest Road and Chatham Parkway about 3 p.m.
Rai Rajen, 33, of Clarkston, GA, driver of the truck, escaped serious injury but was transported to Memorial University Medical Center for observation.
"The truck was eastbound when it swerved to the right shoulder of the roadway, struck a highway sign, and continued into the tree line," says a police spokesman. "The cargo area of the truck ruptured, spilling its content. Traffic on the eastbound lanes was halted or restricted for about two hours."
