CHNV: Chairman’s Corner raises suspicion
In the latest addition of Chapel Hill News & Views (October 2006, Vol. 7, No. 10) the Chairman's Corner section of the magazine displays information about EMS and the Douglas County Fire Department. What raises suspicion is the fact that the location of fire stations and other details associated with these facilities were specifically requested by Losing Georgia back in late August, yet no response came from the County.
What is even stranger is that when I briefly talked to the Fire Chief Spencer a couple weeks ago, he specifically told me that the County could not release the physical addresses for the fire stations in Douglas County due to security measures brought on by the Post 9-11 era. The article presents the station number, addresses of all fire stations and the communities they serve – the very same information Losing Georgia requested.
To prove that this documentary actually requested the information prior to this article ever being printed, copies of the e-mails with time stamps will be provided after the jump.
The purpose for the information request was to provide the Public with information regarding the nearest public safety facility in a community. Afterwards the information would then be transposed to the Community Places section in conjunction with Google Maps and Google Earth. Also information would be eventually added to the Losing Georgia Wiki that is still under development.
Respecting the words by Fire Chief Spencer, Losing Georgia was not going to publish the physical locations of any fire station with regard to security. However, now that the article has been released to the Public, this Documentary Project will proceed to map out the locations as a resource to the citizens of Douglas County . The Chamber of Commerce also provides a map of Douglas County locating all the fire stations, which served as the initial resource for the public safety section of Community Places.
Whether it is coincidence or an action conducted out of spite by the County (I truly hope not), the information is now out in the open as it is considered public record. Are the efforts of the Losing Georgia Project finally starting to pay off? Maybe so, but the County's action to divert from the information request and not even respond to the e-mails is substantial at best. Below you can read the e-mails and receipts during the time period in which research was being conducted.
8/24/2006 5:07 PM
To whom it may concern,
My name is Andrew Powell and I'm the founder of the Losing Georgia Project. We are seeking information regarding the locations of all fire/EMS facilities within Douglas County to provide to the public via our Community Places program. Below is the following information that is being requested:
• Physical location of all fire stations / EMS facilities in Douglas County
• Name of each location and station #
• Any special units or equipment that makes a station unique
• contact information for each location
Thank You,
Andrew A. Powell
Founder - Losing Georgia Project
Your message
To: firedept
Subject: Information Request
Sent: Thu, 24 Aug 2006 17:07:03 -0400 was read on Fri, 25 Aug 2006 08:16:31 -0400
Final-Recipient: RFC822; swatson@co.douglas.ga.us
9/14/2006 3:29 PM
To whom it may concern,
My name is Andrew Powell and I'm the founder of the Losing Georgia Project. We are seeking information regarding the locations of all fire/EMS facilities within Douglas County to provide to the public via our Community Places program. The first request was sent on August 24, 2006 5:07 P.M. and was received on your end by Sheila Watson on August 25, 8:16 A.M. We are still awaiting the information requested. If you are not willing to provide the information, then please respond to this e-mail.
Below is the following information that is being requested:
- Physical location (address) of all fire stations / EMS facilities in Douglas County
- Name of each location and station #
- Any special units or equipment that makes a station unique
- Contact information for each location
Thank You,
Andrew A. Powell
Founder - Losing Georgia Project
Your message
To: firedept Subject: Information Request
Sent: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 15:29:24 -0400
was deleted without being read on Tue, 19 Sep 2006 08:01:33 -0400
Final-Recipient: RFC822; swatson@co.douglas.ga.us
Mr. Powell:
September 29th, 2006 at 1:35 pmI am the Public Information Officer for the Douglas County Fire Department, and your article is a great disservice to the citizens of Douglas County and the Douglas County Fire/EMS Department. If you will review your request for information, it contained items that are not published due to security reasons, such as number of personnel, list of equipment, etc. - just the type of information that those who wish to destroy America need to disrupt whenever and wherever they can, and we do not want this information posted where they may have access to it. The location of our fire stations is not a secret - this information is available in a number of locations - and our citizens regularly visit their neighborhood fire stations to have their blood pressure monitored, to receive safety information, and/or to visit with the brave men and women of the Douglas County Fire/EMS Department. It is a shame that you have decided to dwell on the negative instead of the positive - what the Douglas County Fire/EMS employees do every hour of every day to protect the lives and property of Douglas County citizens. I am proud to be associated with them. You owe them a profound apology.
Using the statement “for security purposes” is old hat by now. I can just see a bunch of Taliban Generals gleefully rubbing their hands together and whispering ” when we get the secret locations of the Fire Departments in Douglas County, we will visit them in the midnight hour disguised as moonshine runners and let the air out of all the Fire truck tires. Then, all will be well in Mecca”. If you’re the Public Information Officer, then provide the public with information. Or is that not your job?
October 12th, 2006 at 12:44 pm