WHITE COUNTY, Ga.– White County Public Safety Director David Murphy provided the following damage/injury update following the storm that passed through Cleveland and Helen area over the weekend:

• 19 reports of trees down (including a tree on a vehicle on Albert Reid Rd. There was one minor injury to occupant)
• 8 reports of lines down
• Multiple reports of damage to business signs within the city limits of Helen.
• 1 reported tree on residence at 407 Pless Rd, Cleveland

Public Safety Director David Murphy

CLEVELAND, Ga. – FM Global, one of the world’s largest commercial property insurers, presented White County Public Safety Director David Murphy with a check for $2,500 last week to help fire service respond to emergency situations.

The award will be used to assist with pre-fire planning to efficiently collect and track data related to local community buildings.

Because fire continues to be the leading cause of property damage worldwide, during the past 40 years FM Global has contributed millions of dollars in fire prevention grants to fire service organizations around the globe. Locally, the company has awarded grants to a number of Georgia-based organizations.

“At FM Global, we strongly believe the majority of property damage is preventable, not inevitable,” said Michael Spaziani, assistant vice president – manager of the fire prevention grant program. “Far too often, inadequate budgets prevent those organizations working to prevent fire from being as proactive as they would like to be. With additional financial support, grant recipients are actively helping to improve property risk in the communities they serve.”

To learn more about FM Global’s Fire Prevention Grant Program and other resources for the fire service,  visit www.fmglobal.com/fireservice. Established nearly 200 years ago, FM Global is a mutual insurance company whose capital, scientific research capability and engineering expertise are solely dedicated to property risk management and the resilience of its client-owners.

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com

CLEVELAND, Ga. — No injuries were reported when a single-wide mobile home caught fire Thursday afternoon at 68 Aardvark Trail off Camelback Road.

White County Public Safety Director David Murphy reported units from White County Stations 4, 5 and Tanker 2 responded shortly after 4:45 p.m. along with mutual aid units from the City of Cleveland and Lee Arrendale State Prison.

In a press release, Murphy stated that units responding reported heavy smoke conditions from the area prior to arrival.  Firefighter arrived on scene to find the home was 50 percent involved and had partially collapsed..

No one was at home at the time of the fire and no cause has been determined.  Fire investigators were called to the scene. American Red Cross was also called to assist the victims. Road conditions in the neighborhood caused a delay in apparatus getting to the home, however, Murphy said it was not a contributing factor to the loss

CLEVELAND, Ga. –  This new 9-1-1 phone system will bring us into the 21^st century, Public Safety Director David Murphy told White County commissioners during the work session on Monday.

The new age system Murphy was describing is an AT&T product that comes with a price tag of a little more than $222,000, but it has several features that could be critically important to those in need of emergency services.

First, it allows the caller’s location to be pinpointed even if the caller doesn’t know where he or she is. That is critical in White County where first responders are often called upon to locate lost or injured hikers remote and rugged terrain.

Next the system will accept text messages. That feature can save a life in a situation when someone has broken into a home, the occupant is forced to hide and is afraid to speak. Instead of communicating by voice, they can test the 9-1-1 message.

Murphy says the new system is a critical need.

“The current equipment was installed in 2007 and has outlived its usefulness,” Murphy told commissioners Monday. “Also the company it was purchased from is no longer in business and portions of it no longer work.”

This new equipment will meet the requirements coming down from the Federal Communications Commission that 9-1-1 systems be able to provide access by different forms of media.

The cost of the system, which includes software for recording 9-1-1 calls, was approved in the 2019 budget and will be paid for with revenue from the special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST).

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com

David Murphy

CLEVELAND, Ga. – In a 3 p.m. weather advisory on Monday, Sept. 11, White County Public Safety Director reported that 158 Habersham EMC customers are without power in White County. No roads are closed at this time, but residents are still encouraged to remain inside. Government offices remain open today.

White County School Superintendent Dr. Jeff Wilson announced that schools that are closed today will remain closed Tuesday, Sept. 12.

CLEVELAND, Ga. — Residents of north Georgia got a first-hand look at how devastating wildfires can be this year. Now, White County Public Safety, the National Fire Protection Association and State Farm will observe the fourth annual Wildfire Community Preparedness Day Saturday, May 6 to help communities prepare for and work together to reduce their risk of wildfire damage.

On that day, White County Public Safety will host Information Day at Ingles, 55 Helen Highway in Cleveland from 10 a.m. until 2p.m. in an effort to bring together people of all ages to explain how to plan and participate in a risk-reduction or wildfire preparedness activity that makes their community a safer place to live.

“Continued drought, hotter temperatures and carelessness are major contributors to the increased wildfire activity we are experiencing in Georgia,” says David Murphy, Public Safety Director of White County. “That’s why White County Public Safety has organized our Information Day at Ingles and are committed to working together with NFPA and State Farm to make our community safer from the threat of wildfire. We believe Preparedness Day is a great way to raise awareness of this important issue. ”

Information Day activities will include:
• Goody bags for adults and kids (while supplies last)
• Visit with Smokey the Bear and see Firefighting Trucks and Equipment
• Sign-up for a Free Firewise Home Inspection

Projects undertaken on Preparedness Day can range from a short time commitment up to an entire day and can be undertaken by individuals or groups. Some actions residents can take to reduce the risk of home and property becoming fuel for a wildfire include:

• Rake and remove pine needles and dry leaves within a minimum of 3 to 5 feet of a home’s foundation. As time permits – continue up to a 30-foot distance around the home. Dispose of collected debris in appropriate trash receptacles.
• Collect downed tree limbs and broken branches and take them to a disposal site.
• Distribute wildfire safety information, like the free Firewise Toolkit, to neighbors or staff a table at a grocery or hardware store (other high-traffic locations work, too) and distribute free Firewise and emergency preparedness materials that can be ordered from the Firewise catalog or from READY.gov.
• Join forces with neighbors and pool your resources to pay for a chipper service to remove slash.
• Help an elderly relative or neighbor enter emergency numbers and the names of close relatives into their cell phones; and in large font post their phone number and street address above their landline so it can easily be seen when providing information to an emergency dispatcher.

You can find additional project ideas and learn more about the national Wildfire Community Preparedness Day event on May 6 by visiting www.wildfireprepday.org.

CLEVELAND, Ga. – White County has received a grant from the Georgia Department of Agriculture that will be used to assist low-income families with the costs associated with spay/neuter surgery for their pets, White County Public Safety Director David Murphy announced Tuesday.

“We are pleased to be the recipients of this grant and to be able to assist families in our community,” Murphy said.

Murphy also announced a new adoption fee schedule for Animal Control Services that will go into effect July 1. Pets already altered when they enter the shelter will be $25. Unaltered pets will remain at $90 and families eligible for the spay/neuter grant can adopt an unaltered pet for $45 through the end of July.

Applications for both the spay/neuter grant and adoptions can be obtained at White County Animal Control, 680 Industrial Blvd., Cleveland, Ga. For more information, call 706-219-2689 or check the county website at www.whitecounty.net

Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at www.fetchyournews.com