Listed as cited or arrested in the past 24 hours according to the docket records of the Chattooga Co. Sheriff’s Dept.:

Fredrick Edward Miller-28-Trion-Possession of marijuana less than 1oz.

Yolanda Ramey-38-Summerville-Maintaining a disorderly house, furnishing alcohol to persons under 21

Clara Elena Simpkins-17-Rome-Underage consumption

Jose Luis Alvarez-48-Rome-Probation Violation

Tara Nicole Brown-18-Rome-Underage consumption

James Remley Brumby-18-Rome-Underage consumption

Jonathon Seth Clark-17-Trion-Underage consumption

Jonathan Warren Chitwood-28-Dalton-Probation Violation

Charcy Keirra Dargin-18-Rome-Possession of marijuana less than 1oz., underage consumption

Carliena Cicele Silmon-25-Summerville-Probation Violation

January 1^st, 2010.  It’s the day the new state ‘Super Speeder Law’ goes into effect in Georgia.  And any high-risk drivers who make a habit of ignoring posted speed limits will be the first to feel the pinch of higher state fines (called fees) on their wallets.  

How much higher?  The new law titled HB160 tacks-on another two-hundred-dollar state-fee for any driver convicted of speeding at 75-or-more on any two-lane roads.. OR convicted of speeding at 85-and-over anywhere in Georgia.  Those new state fees will be in addition to any local fines already in effect in the jurisdiction where the speeding offense occurs. 

Who is a SuperSpeeder?  Under the provisions of this new Georgia law, any driver convicted of violating HB160 will now be classified by the state as a ‘Super Speeder’ and subject to an additional fee. The new ‘SuperSpeeder Law’ is designed to get tough on high-risk drivers who’ve been endangering other motorists and ignoring warnings to slow down.  On average, there’s a speed-related death-a-day in Georgia!

The ‘SuperSpeeder Law’ established the new state fees to help police put the brakes on Georgia’s dangerous and illegal speeders. Failure to pay the ‘SuperSpeeder’ fee results in an additional $50.00 fee and the suspension of the offender’s driving privileges and license.  ‘SuperSpeeder’ is a highway safety law designed to save lives on our roads by changing the way illegal speeders drive in Georgia.. By slowing them down within legal limits.

And these new fees will save lives another way.  Fees collected under the new ‘SuperSpeeder Law’ will be used to help fund Georgia’s trauma care hospital system where approximately sixty-percent of all trauma-care-patients are crash-related.  Now for the first time, ‘SuperSpeeders’ will help pay for the hospital beds where their crash-victims are being treated.

Drivers need to remember:  There are safety reasons for posted speed limits.  Any time motorists drive at illegal speeds they put themselves, their passengers and others at tremendous risk.  Crash forces double on impact with every ten mph increase in speed above fifty.  Speed reduces the amount of available time needed to avoid a crash.  Georgia’s new ‘SuperSpeeder Law’ and fees go into effect January 1^st, 2010.   Learn more at www.superspeedergeorgia.org

Hays State Prison in Pennville will begin the New Year with a new Warden. Rick Jacobs officially takes over today as the new Warden of the facility which houses almost 1,700 close-security inmates. Jacobs – a native of Rome – joined the Georgia Department of Corrections as a Probation Officer in 1992 and since that time has held several positions including those of Assistant Superintendent, Superintendent, Warden, and Director of Special Operations. Jacobs most recent assignment was Macon State Prison.

The Walker County Sheriff’s Department is reporting the arrests of the following Chattooga County residents within the past two weeks:

Charles Leslie Thompson , of Dale Trail, Menlo, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, possession of control substance or marijuana, driving on roadways laned for traffic.

Brandee Michele Mitchell , of Lee Avenue, Summerville, failure to appear.

Just days after suspected counterfeiter Christy Ann Greeson made $45,000 bond in Alabama, she was arrested again — this time in Dalton.

The Dalton Police Department charged Greeson, 31, 659 Richardson Road, Dalton on Tuesday with first degree forgery. Police department spokesman Bruce Frazier said law enforcement officials had been searching for her after a report that she tried to pass a counterfeit $100 bill in November, then wrote a bad check.

Greeson was recently arrested in Ft. Payne on the counterfeiting charges along with her boyfriend, Aubrey Silvers who remains in jail in DeKalb County, Alabama.

Dalton Daily Citizen / AM 1180 Files

Chattooga County Commissioner Jason Winters adopted a budget on Wednesday that he says will be realistic based on expected revenue for the county.  The $12.3 Million budget included some increases for certain areas of county government, including the Sheriff’s department and the jail, while other department’s budgets were decreased.

Commissioner Winters told AM 1180 Chattooga County Radio that he drafted the budget and tried to base it on reasonable numbers that the various county offices could operate within.  A hearing on the budget was held last week at the Commissioner’s office in Summerville.

A Calhoun man who formerly lived in Adairsville is in the Bartow County Jail on a charge of bigamy.

According to Bartow Sheriff Clark Millsap:

Dusty Cade, 22, was arrested at his South Line Street residence by the Calhoun Police around 1:40 a.m. Thursday and then transferred to the custody of Bartow County law enforcement officers.

After being married in 2007, Cade allegedly falsified a marriage license application from Bartow County Probate Court and married a second time in 2009 without being divorced.

Cade, who is charged with one count of bigamy and one count of false statements and writings, is being held in the Bartow County Jail pending bond.

RNT

A Centre man has been arrested on a charge of manufacturing methamphetamine.

Officers with the Alabama State Probation Office, with agents from the Cherokee County Narcotics Unit and the Sheriff’s Department – executed a Probation Violation Warrant, at the home of 32 year old Charles Monroe Edwards III.

Upon executing the warrant and clearing the residence at 13905 U.S. 411 North in Centre authorities discovered a meth lab.

Edwards was taken into custody and was charged with both a Probation Violation and the Unlawful Manufacture of Methamphetamine 2nd Degree

WEIS Radio

Health officials say swine flu was widespread in only four states last week, indicating the fall wave of illness is still declining.

Swine flu was widespread in seven states the previous week. Reported infections have been dropping since a peak in late October, when 48 states reported high levels of sickness.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the new data Thursday. The four states are Delaware, Maine, New Jersey and Virginia.

CDC officials say swine flu vaccine is increasingly easy to get, with more than 118 million doses now available. They say people should still get vaccinated because there could be another wave of infections this winter.

Rome News Tribune