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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.

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.

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.

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."

Detectives have made an arrest in one of three shootings last Tuesday night and continue to seek a suspect in a second that left two dead and one injured.

Metro officers took 19-year-old Daquan Demetrius Williams, of Rainbow Drive, into custody after Williams and another male were observed behind Pal’s Mini Mart on ACL Boulevard and Louis Mills Drive. He had been charged in the shooting of 25-year-old Javaris Smith near East Oglethorpe Avenue and Wilder Street last Tuesday. Smith sustained non-life threatening injuries.

Investigators continue to search for 21-year-old David Randy Daniels, Jr. charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Dominique Bright, 18, and Syheem Spaulding, 15, and aggravated assault in the shooting of Sha’nai Harris, 15, at East 39th and Cedar streets about 20 minutes after the Oglethorpe shooting.

Daniels is described as a black male, 5-foot-10 and weighing about 220 pounds. He is known to frequent areas throughout East Savannah and is considered armed and dangerous.

SCMPD Violent Crimes detectives ask that anyone with information on Daniels’ location not approach him, but call Emergency 911 immediately. Anyone with information on these cases is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (912) 234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637). Tipsters remain anonymous. A confidential Tip Line also is open directly to investigators at (912) 525-3124.

Chatham County District Attorney Meg Heap has been appointed to serve on the Georgia ‘House Bill 1’ Working Group by Georgia Speaker of the House David Ralston. Heap will serve alongside representatives from the
Georgia judicial and law enforcement community, as well as members of the Georgia House of Representatives, in reviewing a bill that would reform asset forfeiture law in Georgia. The group will make their recommendations the House Judiciary Committee by January 13, 2014.

In Georgia, "the greater number of asset forfeitures are the result of law enforcement confiscations from drug-related activities. However, there can be confiscations from the proceeds of any illegal activity or crime," says a spokesman.

Civil asset forfeiture has become an important tool in funding law enforcement agencies, as well as special programs that are aimed at increasing crime fighting ability and effectiveness. "Although there are definitive and measurable positive reasons championing asset forfeiture, it must be made legally certain that any confiscating of assets is not in violation of the civil rights of the citizens of Georgia," says the spokesman.

Detectives and patrol officers made an arrest in connection to an armed robbery at an east Savannah store last month.
This past Thursday, Steven R. Carter, 48, was taken into custody at a residence on the 1000 block of East 38th Street. Investigators believe Carter is the gunman who on the evening of July 23 entered the Family Dollar on the 1900 block of East Gwinnett Street and robbed the store clerk. Carter is charged with armed robbery. Additional charges are pending.

Police are asking the public’s help in locating a 21-year-old man they have charged with murder and aggravated assault in the shootings of three teenagers this past Tuesday night.

• David Randy Daniels

David Randy Daniels Jr. is a black male, 5-foot-10 and weighing about 220 pounds. He is known to frequent the East Savannah areas and is considered armed and dangerous. He has been charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Dominique Bright, 18, and Syheem Spaulding, 15, and aggravated assault in the shooting of Sha’nai Harris, 15, at East 39th and Cedar streets about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday.

SCMPD Violent Crimes detectives ask that anyone with information on Daniels’ location not approach him, but call Emergency 911 immediately.