Carroll County commissioners approve a motion Tuesday to purchase a specialized shallow water rescue boat for use along the Chattahoochee River, where the new Moores’ Bridge Park is opening near McIntosh Park, along with the new Chattahoochee Bend State Park.
Carroll County Fire Chief Tracy Smith says, as a result of the new openings, traffic along the river is increasing dramatically and emergency service needs are on the rise. “We’ve run several rescues over the summer… us, along with Coweta County Fire & Rescue,” Smith says. “We had a call recently… a lady from Pennsylvania was looking for her party that was in the river. It’s common for people to put in at Whitesburg with the intent of floating down to Franklin… and not realizing that’s more than a 10-mile trip… and they think they’ll make it in three to four hours. We end up having to run the river to try to locate them. Sometimes, this is in the middle of the night.”
Funding for the $36,000 boat comes from leftover 2008 SPLOST funds ear-marked for public safety.
E-Mail
Print