Around the World In May of 2005, I had just been assigned as a Detective with the UGA Police when one day a young lady came to the Police Department wanting to speak to an officer about a problem she was having.  Someone had altered a picture so that her head was on another woman’s nude body, and this picture had been uploaded to some web page called "Facebook" with her name attached to it.  As she was telling me this story, I was thinking, “What’s a Facebook?”  The irony still amuses me every time that I relate this story. Yes, there was a time when Facebook was not prevalent.  In fact, at …

Winter Weather and Emergency Alerts Winter is upon us, and we have already had forecast of snow in the area.  We would like to remind everyone of available emergency alert systems.  Citizens can sign up for emergency alerts using the Nixle system by going to http://www.nixle.com and establishing an account.   This method allows you to sign up for email and/or text message alerts.  Another method for signing up is to text your zip code to 888-777.  This method will send you any emergency alert that is sent out to that zip code.  Finally, there is a free app available for iPhones in the App …

Refuse To Be A Victim On October 22, 2011, your Sheriff’s Office hosted a Refuse To Be A Victim seminar at the Oconee County Civic Center.  The turnout was great with well over 40 people participating in this crime prevention seminar.  The NRA provides us with 20 free course packets whenever we do a class.  We paid for the additional course packets with seized drug funds.  I do have a story resulting from this seminar that I would like to relate.  A grandmother who attended the class was inspired to discuss with her grandson what to do if someone tried to abduct him.  She had him practice …

Basic Jail Officer Course and Senior Deputy Certification This month we partnered with the Georgia Sheriffs’ Association to host a Basic Jail Officer Course.  We had 19 students in the class representing several sheriffs’ offices.  The course in its full form is 80 hours and is required of any person assigned to a jail.  A new jailer may work for up to six months prior to taking the course.  A certified peace officer that is assigned to the jail or wishes to also be certified as a jailer attends 45 hours of the course.  Of the 19 students attending, six are members of your Sheriff’s Office.  …

Another Retirement Last month, I reported to you that two long-time members of your Sheriff’s Office had decided to take the county’s early retirement package.  Since I wrote that piece, Deputy Mike Taylor, known affectionately as “Pops” around the Office, has also decided to retire. Deputy Taylor has been a peace officer since 1968.  He previously retired from the Snellville Police Department where he was a Captain and served a stint as interim chief.  “Pops” is well regarded around the Office for his experience and his sense of humor.   Here, he has served in the Patrol Division and most …

In June, I wrote about the operational impact of budget cuts to your Sheriff's Office.  This month I am coming to you to talk about the human costs associated with the current economic situation.  The governing authority of Oconee County has extended an early retirement package to county employees meeting certain criteria.  Two long-term members of the Sheriff's Office have chosen to retire, and their loss will be strongly felt within the organization.  They are Lieutenant David Kilpatrick and Matricia Strickland. Lieutenant Kilpatrick is one of four employees that predate Sheriff Scott Berry…

Tragedy reared its ugly head recently in Oconee County with the untimely death of a 15-year-old Athens boy due to what appears to be an accidental shooting with a pellet gun.  For obvious reasons, I can’t go into the details of the incident at this point and in this setting, but there are two key themes from this incident that I can discuss, and they are organ donation and firearms safety.  According to Pam Duke of Athens Regional Medical Center, Georgians can indicate on their driver’s license their wishes to be an organ donor.  This is considered “first person consent."  If a person has not…

When I agreed to write these monthly features for Oconee Patch, I had hoped that their primary focus would always be to bring good news and positive stories to the citizens of Oconee County about their Sheriff's Office.  Unfortunately, such will not be the case this month as the prevailing issue concerning the Sheriff's Office lately is a budget cut, or “budget amputation” as Sheriff Berry calls it, we are facing. Several local media outlets have already run stories on the budget cuts.  I don't want this piece to be a rehash of those articles.  My intent is to hopefully explain to the public …

In May of 2009, Oconee County Sheriff’s Office personnel made the trip to Washington, D.C. for Police Week.  Unfortunately, this was a somber trip as the reason for it was the induction of Deputy David Gilstrap into the National Law Enforcement Memorial.  Our guys were so impressed at the way Tammy Gilstrap, Deputy Gilstrap’s widow and Sheriff Berry’s executive assistant, was treated by peace officers there to provide escorts that they decided they wanted to be part of this event in future years. In 2010, three of our deputies -- Griffin Attaberry, Stephen Guest, and Shane Partain-- organized…

Welcome to the first of what will be a monthly feature on Oconee Patch. Each month I will be bringing you information about your Sheriff’s Office. I look forward to your feedback and suggestions. Please feel free to contact me about items you would like to see discussed in upcoming months.For this first feature, I thought a profile of the entire Sheriff’s Office and how it is organized would be in order. The Sheriff’s Office currently consists of 88 people divided among multiple divisions. Of those 88 employees, 56 are “sworn,” meaning that they are certified peace officers in the state of …