The City of Baldwin plans to spend $6,349 to buy wearable cameras for their police force.

In total, they’ll equip seven officers with Watchguard Vista HD cameras that will connect with the department’s existing dashboard camera system. It will give them audio and coverage from two cameras for each police operation.

“This adds a layer of redundancy to the in-car camera,” says Mayor Jerry Neace, “so you have two viewpoints of each incident.”

Chief Chad Nichols pushed for the devices and is using money from the sale of “seized assets” to help pay for them.

The cameras will be attached to an officer’s uniform via a system of magnets and metal clamps which the Chief says is very secure. “I’m not saying it could never be torn off but I would hate to be in the fight where it did get torn off. It would take some real effort to do it.”

Nichols points to the recent accusations of wrongdoing against police officers nationwide in explaining the need for the cameras and the need for more transparency in day-to-day police operations. “It’s for collecting evidence,” Nichols says, “but also for liability protection for the officers.”

It could also protect the city should any local officers be accused of impropriety during a traffic stop or other interaction. “Baldwin’s Police Department, many years past, got a bad reputation,” Neace admits.

That “bad reputation” includes repeated allegations from ticketed drivers that the town, specifically the portions of 365 and 441 patrolled by Baldwin PD, is a speed trap. Those claims were investigated by the Georgia State Patrol in 2001. The state found the allegations to be false, clearing the city of any wrongdoing, but you will still find warnings about Baldwin’s ticketing practices on various “speedtrap” websites.

In addition to the debunked complaints, there were a couple of high-profile resignations from the department back in 2013. Both were directly related to allegations against an officer stemming from a traffic stop.

Mayor Neace says the department underwent a complete overhaul 18 months ago and is working hard to put those bad times behind them. He believes the new technology will further improve relations between Baldwin neighbors and the Police. “It will protect our officers and will also allow us (city leaders) to gauge how they interact with the public,” Neace adds. “They (officers) are our diplomats because they have more contact with the public than just about any other city worker.”

There is still work to be done before the new camera-equipped Baldwin Police hit the streets. First, leaders instructed the chief to come up with a policy instructing officers to turn on the cameras for each traffic stop or citizen interaction, “You hate to have this kind of technology, says Council Member Joe Elam, “and then realize that somebody forgot to push the button.” That situation came up recently with one of the town’s dash-cam video units. It wasn’t recharged properly and didn’t record a traffic-stop that was later disputed.

They also need a long-term storage solution for all the data the cameras will generate. “We don’t know how long it might be before someone brings up an issue,” Council Member Jeff Parrish cautions. “We need somewhere to keep (videos) for longer than a month or two.”

Parrish also wants a policy to protect folks from being unfairly exposed. Currently, media outlets can request dash-cam or body-cam video through Georgia’s “Open Records Act” in the same way we can request someone’s arrest photo. “I still have an issue with mug shots being released when a person hasn’t been convicted of a crime,” Parrish says. “You see them (body-cam videos) now on TV. Somebody that gets stopped but really hadn’t done anything, we need to come up with some way to protect these peoples’ privacy.”

Baldwin City Council will vote on the purchase of the new police cameras at their regular meeting Monday, June 8 at 6:30 pm in the Baldwin Municipal Courtroom at 155 Willingham Ave.

Alto’s Spring Fling Parade and Festival starts at 11 am Saturday, June 6 at Town Hall at 162 S. Grant Street. 

“There will be vendors over here and over here,” says Alto Town Clerk Penny Rogers pointing to the corners of the enormous white tent set up behind the Town Hall. She and Council Member Abel Ramirez are trying to work out how many tables and chairs they’ll need for Alto’s biggest annual party that’s coming up on Saturday.

“We’ve been doing it for, well, this will make 12 years,” Rogers explains, “they started it the year I was hired, back in 2004.” She says the Alto Spring Fling Parade and Festival has grown every year, especially after they started holding it later in the spring. “We used to have it earlier (in the year) till we figured out that it’s too cold, it rains, and it’s too windy!”

The forecast for Alto on Saturday between 11 am and 4pm calls for partly sunny skies and 86° with less than 1% chance of a shower.

Rogers and Ramirez settle on a total of 30 tables and roughly 180 chairs for the dozens of vendors and other activities planned for the space Saturday morning. While this is his first year on Alto Town Council, Ramirez knows a lot about planning this kind of party through his business, “Party Time Tables and Chairs for Rent” on the Gainesville Highway. “I’m learning this year but, next time, I’ll know exactly what we need up here.”

In addition to all the vendors and kid’s activities planned, the day kicks off with a parade at 11am and continues with live entertainment all day long.

• Clarkesville native Joseph Erwin fronts the band Twisted Whiskey. They describe their sound as “Red Dirt/Southern Rock/Country Music.”

• Chart-topping country performer Andy Griggs will bring his act into Alto on Saturday before heading off to the Nashville FanJam in Tennessee on June 13.

• Saturday’s Alto Festival will also include singer, songwriter, and America’s Got Talent semi-finalist Marty Brown.

Alto’s Spring Fling Parade and Festival starts Saturday, June 6 at 11 am at Town Hall at 162 S. Grant Street. Events will continue throughout the day.

The state is checking gas pumps in Habersham County and the rest of Georgia for electronic devices designed to steal your credit card information.

State Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black says they’ve added the search for “skimmers” to their regular inspections. “Our fuel inspectors work hard to ensure travelers throughout the state receive the quality gasoline they pay for,” Black says. “We are proud to extend those consumer protection efforts to include protecting our consumers from identity theft at the pump.”

So far, no illegal credit card/debit card “skimmers” were found on pumps in Habersham County.

Angela Holland, VP of Services with the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores says businesses are also on the lookout for the scamming “skimmers,” “Store owners are aware of this issue and are putting measures in place to help protect consumers. Retailers use security tape, alarms and frequent pump checks to keep consumer’ information safe.” She says the GDA inspections will add another layer of security.

While they’ve yet to find any problems at Georgia pumps, leaders warn that advancing technology means increased opportunity for thieves.

GDA offers the following advice to reduce your risk of identity theft at the gas pump –

• Pay in cash inside the store to ensure the credit card information stays safe.
• Check to make sure the gas pump dispenser cabinet is closed and has not been tampered with.
• Use a gas pump closer to the front of the store. Thieves often place “skimmers” at the gas pumps farther away from the store so they are not noticed as quickly.
• Use a credit card instead of a debit card. Credit cards have better fraud protection, and the money is not deducted immediately from an account.
• If using a debit card at the pump, choose to run it as a credit card instead of a debit card. That way, the PIN number is safe.
• Monitor bank accounts regularly to spot any unauthorized charges.

Baldwin City Council is moving quickly on a new ordinance to regulate the sale and use of fireworks within the city limits.

A new Georgia law expands the types of explosives that can be sold to the public starting on July 1 and Baldwin city staff reports that one retailer has already contacted them about a permit to open a roadside fireworks stand.

“It just says that folks can now sell fireworks in the city according to state law,” says Baldwin Mayor Jerry Neace of the proposed city ordinance. “It outlines how it can be done through occupational taxes if someone opens a business and temporary permits and special use permits.”

Under the old Georgia law, the sale of fireworks was limited to wire or wood sparklers, glow sticks, noise makers, poppers, snappers and drop pops. The new definition is much broader and covers any small fireworks device that is intended to cause “a visible or audible effect by combustion, explosion, deflagration or detonation, including blank cartridges, firecrackers, torpedoes, skyrockets, bombs, sparklers, and other combustibles and explosions.”

Council member Jeff Parrish is not a fan of the new state law, “I think that is unfortunate, I truly do.”  He sees a big potential downside for the town once the new state law takes effect on July 1, “I think it has the potential to cost us more in fire and police responses.” Parrish also expects there to be an uptick in noise complaints as Baldwin neighbors add fireworks to their holiday celebrations.

He says citizens need to be aware that Georgia legislators changed the law and the city is just moving to comply with the changes at the state level.

The state law does come with restrictions on when folks can use the explosive devices. It will be legal to shoot fireworks between the hours of 10 a.m. and midnight every day but the state law expands the curfew on holidays when it’s more likely people would use them. On Independence Day and New Year’s Eve you can set off fireworks till 2 am.

Baldwin City Council will hold a first reading of their new fireworks ordinance on Monday, June 8 at 6:30 pm. Council meets inside the Baldwin Municipal Courtroom at the Police Department at 155 Willingham Ave.

Officials with the US Forestry Service tell Now Habersham that this week’s water tests at Lake Rabun showed a return to normal “safe” levels of fecal coliform bacteria and the Rabun Beach recreation area is open for swimmers again.

Water at lakes on federal lands is tested weekly. Fecal coliform bacteria are naturally occurring but the government monitors and determines what levels are safe for swimming. A series of tests over a couple of weeks showed bacteria levels in Lake Rabun remained elevated prompting a warning to swimmers and fisherfolk at the site.

Fecal coliform grows in the waste of all warm-blooded mammals and is almost always present in area lakes in the spring and summer months. Over the past several weeks, some of the tests at Rabun showed significantly higher bacteria counts meaning the number of folks likely to get sick from swimming rose beyond the government standard and warnings were posted.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the normal (safe) level of fecal coliform in lakes is 200 cfu/100 ml – that’s 200 colony forming units per 100 milliliters of water. At that “safe” level, in fresh water, the federal government reckons eight folks will get sick out of every 1,000 swimmers which is an acceptable number as far as the EPA is concerned.