Tobacco Free Lafayette looks to reduce cigarette litter 

MAYO, Fla. — The Florida Department of Health’s Tobacco Free Florida program and Tobacco Free Suwannee are observing World No Tobacco Day by raising awareness about cigarette litter, which adds up to an estimated 1.69 billion pounds of litter worldwide per year. Each year, the public health community observes World No Tobacco Day on May 31 to focus on issues associated with tobacco. This year, Tobacco Free Suwannee is educating residents about the importance of smoke-free outdoor policies to not only protect the community’s health, but to also help protect the environment from toxic litter.  Cigarettes that are discarded on roadways and sidewalks can end up in storm drains where they are carried as runoff to rivers and ultimately to the ocean and its beaches. In fact, cigarette butts are the single most collected item in beach cleanups worldwide. Fish, birds and other marine life can mistake the toxic cigarette butts for food. Discarded cigarette butts are non-biodegradable litter. Nearly all of cigarettes sold in the United States have filters made of cellulose acetate, a plastic product.

Local Students Working Against Tobacco members have initiated a Clean the Springs Project. Members have been visiting local parks and springs to pick up tobacco butts. They hope to convince local officials to place receptacles at all parks and springs which would encourage smokers to dispose of tobacco butts properly. The SWAT members are asking for help to keep local springs clean by discarding tobacco butts and other litter properly. 

 

Rotary Club becomes Paul Harris club

TIFTON, Ga. — Rotary Club of Tifton was recognized recently after becoming a 100 percent Paul Harris club. At the May 10 meeting, Pam Lightsey, District 6920 Governor for 2016-2017, was on hand to both confer the title of Paul Harris Fellow on approximately 40 club members and to recognize the club for its achievement. The Tifton Rotary Club has a long history of doing good in the world. The club participates in many local and international projects ranging from support of the Tift County Foundation for Educational Excellence to a water well project with a Club in Oregon to provide clean water to children in Uganda. Named after the founder of Rotary, currently there are only a few clubs that are 100 percent Paul Harris Fellow Clubs. This means that a club has accumulated contributions equal to $1,000 for every club member. The contributions fund the Rotary Foundation, which was organized as a memorial to Paul Harris following the Rotary International Convention in Atlanta 100 years ago. The purpose of the Foundation to “Do good in the world,” and their main project is eradicating polio.

 

Hospital warns of phone scam

MOULTRIE, Ga. — A telephone call that appears to come from Colquitt Regional Medical Center has been linked to a scam, hospital officials warn. “A patient called our hospital Wednesday morning stating that she received a phone call telling her she had been approved for assistance to pay her medical bills,” said an email from the office of Colquitt Regional President and CEO Jim Matney. “The patient hung up after they started asking for personal identification information. When she checked her caller ID, it listed Colquitt Regional Medical Center’s number as the caller.” The email said this scam appears to have targeted several Colquitt Regional Medical Center patients.

 

Juvenile implicated in car break-ins 

VALDOSTA — A juvenile was arrested early Friday stemming from the break-in of several vehicles, according to police. At 12:54 a.m., an officer on patrol saw something suspicious at a closed business in the 2000 block of North Forrest Street, said Lt. Adam Bembry of the Valdosta Police Department. He saw brake lights flicker on a car when the engine was not running and the headlights weren’t on, Bembry said. The officer found a juvenile lying down in the front seat of the car, attempting to hide, he said. The juvenile was out past curfew on private property inside a vehicle that did not belong to him, Bembry said. The officer learned the juvenile had broken into four vehicles in the parking lot of the business, Bembry said. The juvenile was taken into custody and has been turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice. He now faces four felony counts of entering an automobile with the intent to commit a theft, plus misdemeanor counts of trespassing and curfew violation, the lieutenant said. “The officer in this case did an excellent job being proactive and vigilant while on patrol. The officer’s actions led to the arrest of this offender, the recovering of stolen items, and likely preventing more vehicles from being broken into,” said Police Chief Brian Childress.

 

Dalton man’s death investigated after officer-involved shooting in Tennessee

DALTON, Ga. — The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) is investigating the death of a Dalton man following an officer-involved shooting in Oneida, Tenn., Saturday morning. The TBI identified the man as Ron Harlan Lewallen, 30, from Dalton. According to a press release from the TBI, two deputies with the Scott County Sheriff’s Office and one officer with the Oneida Police Department tried to stop a vehicle. The press release does not say why they were attempting to stop the vehicle. But it says the driver, Lewallen, didn’t immediately stop and continued on until he reached the parking lot of a business. The press release says officers “approached the vehicle and removed a female passenger.” But the TBI says Lewallen did not comply with officers’ commands and “accelerated, driving toward officers and nearly striking them.” Officers shot at the vehicle, which left the parking lot and traveled north on a nearby street for a short distance before crashing. Lewallen was pronounced dead at the scene.