Commissioner’s ruling: Fatal fire was accidental
The victim has been identified as Alvin Leon Graham, 75, of the residence in Ranger.
RANGER — Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner Ralph Hudgens has ruled a mobile home fire that claimed the life of elderly Gordon County man accidental.
A fire at a residence at 460 Apple Road NE in Ranger claimed the life of one man. The victim has been identified as Alvin Leon Graham, 75, of the residence.
The fire happened around 1 p.m. on Wednesday. According to the Gordon County Fire and Rescue report, stations in Red Bud, Oakman and Ranger, along with Station 1 off Belwood Road, responded to the mobile home fire. Dispatchers from 911 advised all units that the caller stated someone was inside the building, at which time LifeForce was placed on standby.
Upon arrival, it was estimated that 50 to 60 percent of the structure was on fire. Family members told the crew on scene that there was a male subject in the front room of the home.
The crew attempted to knock the fire back around the doorway and front window so a search could be performed, but nothing was found within that area.
Firefighters eventually were able to enter the structure to do a primary search and found the victim, removing him from the structure.
The Gordon County Fire Department assisted with the investigation. Brandi Owczarz,
Calhoun Times
Catoosa urges use of drug disposal boxes
RINGGOLD — “Mom’s my dealer and doesn’t even know it.” That’s the wording on a poster showing a young girl holding a handful of prescription drugs. The poster is used by Catoosa Prevention Initiative, a project of the Catoosa County Family Collaborative.
CaPI is currently involved in two projects, one to reduce underage drinking and marijuana and tobacco use, and one to reduce the abuse of prescription drugs by young people ages 12-25.
William Mathew is the project coordinator for the prescription drug project, which is called Generation Rx.
“There are two main things we’re working on right now,” said Mathew. “One is getting drug disposal boxes located in strategic locations. We have one at the Catoosa Sheriff’s Office, and we’d like to see one in Fort Oglethorpe.”
Mathew said people can drop their unneeded or outdated prescription drugs into the box 24/7, no questions asked. Officials empty the boxes and incinerate the drugs in a burn unit referred to as the “Drug Terminator.”
How much is the drug drop-box at the sheriff’s department used? Mathew said it collects an average of 25 pounds of drugs a week.
“When you think about how light all those pills are,” he said, “that’s a lot of drugs. This is a way to keep drugs from sitting around in people’s homes where children or teens can find them.” CaPI also promotes the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Take Back Days — promotional events held twice each year to encourage people to clean out their medicine cabinets and turn the drugs in to their local law enforcement agencies.
“Last spring, during Take Back Days,” said Mathew, “The Catoosa Sheriff’s Office took in 100 pounds of drugs in one week.”
Also part of the GenRx project is the distribution of medicine safes to help keep prescription drugs out of the hands of children.
“If a child is on a drug like Ritalin, or there are homes where adults take prescription drugs that could be dangerous for children in their homes, we can provide them with a special safe that has a combination lock to keep the drugs out of the wrong hands or to keep children from taking too much of their own medicine,” said Mathew.