Cardona honored as Officer of the Year
♦ City Commissioners also extend the mask mandate for another month.
Joe Cardona was named the Rome Police Department Officer of the Year for 2020. Cardona was honored virtually by the Rome City Commission Monday night.
Cardona and Rome Police Civilian of the Year Katie Hibberts both received their awards from Chief Denise Downer-mckinney during a staff meeting in the City Municipal Courtroom earlier in the day.
On March 29, 2020, Cardona was off duty at his home when a neighbor came banging on his door because their 9-month-old baby was not breathing.
“Joe went next door and started CPR on the baby and got it to breathing again,” said Assistant Chief Debbie Burnett.
“I wish we could clone him,” said City Manager Sammy Rich during the Monday night commission meeting.
Now a school resource officer at Rome High, Cardona said he was humbled by the honor and wanted to thank the staff at the police department as well as everyone at Rome High.
Hibberts was honored for her efforts to put together a Governor’s Challenge Highway Safety program application on extremely short notice.
Burnett said the application typically takes up to three months to draw up but Hibberts’ knowledge of the computer system enabled her to get it done in 24 hours.
Also on Monday, Commissioners approved another month-long extension of the emergency face covering mandate in the city.
Mayor Craig Mcdaniel said the hospitals are reporting fewer COVID-19 patients now, after a postholiday surge — but he has received a number of complaints about what he termed superspreader events at local bars and restaurants.
Rich said that while businesses can opt out of the local mask ordinance, they can’t opt out of the governor’s mandate that limits capacity at events to 50 people or 35% of the capacity approved by the fire marshal, whichever is greater.
In other business, the board approved a $75,688 contract with Atlantic Coast Consulting for groundwater and surface monitoring at the Walker Mountain and Berry Hill landfills. It’s funded through the joint city and county Solid Waste Commission.
Commissioner Wendy Davis also briefed the board on plans to hold a public meeting to talk about annexation issues, particularly for residents of the Riverside community.
The meeting is scheduled for Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. in the City Auditorium, 601 Broad St. It also will be available virtually via Zoom and Facebook Live for those who might not feel comfortable meeting in person.