FROM PRESIDENT, TED BEARDEN:

Greetings Coroners and Deputy Coroners,

As I sit and write this Spring is just around the corner and we
all know what that means. Our Spring training and meeting in Savannah
will be here soon. A lot of work has gone into making this meeting a
success and we look forward to seeing as many of you as possible there.

One change we will try this year is to have our association meeting
on Thursday evening instead of on Saturday. We will have a full
buffet meal prior to the meeting. We need as accurate a count as possible
for the meal and if you are planning to attend, please let us know how many
we need to prepare for. I understand the training class is full.

It is imperative that your register for training classes as soon as possible
to assure you get in the class your prefer. I'm sure all of you received a
letter from Lee stating he is going to limit class sizes so register early.
I am asking all committee chairmen to be prepared to give your committee reports
at the meeting so if there are issues in your committee, please address them now.
All the committee and chairperson appointments were made and posted on the website
just after the fall meeting in Macon.

I want to give you an update on the legislation currently being considered.
House Resolution 200 which places the Coroner's back in the Constitution as
an officer was introduced last year and there was a hearing last Thursday
in the subcommittee. We are expecting it to go to full committee soon.
House Bill 44 which is the immediate notification bill is in the Judiciary
Committee and is expected to be heard later this week. It was on the agenda
last week but because the sponsor was tied up in another committee had to be
postponed. House Bill 1204 which deals with some stillbirth deaths has been
read for the second time and has just been assigned to the Judicial Committee.

Our association representatives are hard at work at the Capital and are doing
a great job of keeping us up to speed on all these issues. There may come a time
we ask you to help us by contacting your legislators when they come up for vote on the floor.

As always, the association is hard at work for you and the officers and
directors are to be commended for their hard work and dedication.
Looking forward to seeing all of you in Savannah.

Ted Bearden, President
E-Mail Ted Bearden

TRAINING SCHEDULE :

There will be two specialties (make up) classes,
One will be APRIL 22-24 in Forsyth and it will be over Photography.
This is not a regular class and it is for make up only.
The other one will be in the fall and it will be over Blood Patterns,
the date will be set later. It is also a specialty class and not a regular class.

Training:
January 15-17…………………………….Forsyth

March 5-7 ………………………………..Forsyth

March 26-28……………………………..Savannah

April 12-13 (Saturday and Sunday) 12 hour classes…………….Forsyth

April 22-24 (specialty class only) Photography………………..Forsyth

May 5-7………………………………......Rome

IMPORTANT:

BY-LAWS CHANGE PROPOSAL:
This Proposal will be voted on at the Spring Meeting
Please make sure that you understand the proposal

It is a recommendation from the by-laws committe to
change the following:

By-law currently reads:
A. The nominating committee for association officers and executive
board members will consist of the 3 most immediate past presidents of the
association*. (ADD CHANGE HERE). The most immediate past
president will serve as chairman of the committee. In the event
there are not 3 immediate past presidents available to serve, the current
association president will appoint a representative to fill the committee.

The proposal: is to add where the asterisk is; and 1 coroner and 1
deputy coroner from different counties appointed by the President of the
Association. The coroner and deputy coroner appointed to the committee
shall not be currently serving as an officer or director of the
association.

CONGRATULATIONS:

WE HAVE A STAR AMONG US:
Hon. Samuel Brown Coroner Thomas County has been elected
Chairman of the Georgia Wireglass Chapter of the American Red Cross.
This Chapter serves Thomas, Grady, Decatur and Seminole Counties.
He also received the Board Member of the year award last year.
The Thomasville Police Department and Thomas County Coroner’s Office
will be featured on the TruTV show, titled Dayle Hinman’s
“Body of Evidence”. This was filmed in December and will be shown
in the near future.

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A MESSAGE FROM:

Becky Callihan:
Hello everyone,
Well guys it’s another year and boy this year is flying by.
I want to thank everyone that has responded to my pleas for
birthday’s and anniversaries. If I don’t have your birthday or
anniversary in the news letter then please e-mail it to me.
Also if you have any good news or even bad, if there is something
going on in your County that you would like to share with everyone
e-mail me with your story and I’ll get it in the news letter.
I don’t know about you but I love to hear about the goings on in
other Counties. Please continue e-mailing me with your updated information,
it is very important that I have that. Some other information that
I’m going to start gathering is how long you have been Coroner or
Deputy Coroner. I am going to send out a form for you to fell out for
me some time in the near future, so be looking for that. It’s the
dratted election year; I hope this election goes smooth for you.
I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in Savannah.

NOTE: LIST OF INFORMATION I NEED FOR MY RECORDS AND/OR
TO PUT IN THE NEWS LETTER
CHANGE OF ADDRESS
CHANGE IN DEPUTIES
CHANGE NAME
BIRTHDAY (MONTH AND YEAR)
ANNIVERSARY (MONTH AND YEAR) ALSO YOUR HUSBAND OR WIFE’S NAME
CHANGE IN CONTACT INFORMATION
E-MAIL ADDRESS
PRAYER REQUEST
IF YOU HAVE A STORY YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE IN THE NEWS LETTER
DEATH OF FAMILY MEMBER
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN CORONER AND/OR DEPUTY CORONER
(WHAT YEAR DID YOU TAKE OFFICE)
IF YOU ARE A DEPUTY HOW MANY CORONER’S HAVE YOU SEVERED UNDER
BIRTH OR A CHILD OR GRANDCHILD
PLEASE E-MAIL ME AT beckycallihan@gmail.com OR
MAIL IT TO ME
BECKY CALLIHAN
346 WEST MAIN ST.
BLUE RIDGE, GA. 30513
Becky Callihan, Secretary

Connie Kitchens-Jackson:
If anyone has a death or sickness in the family, please call me and let me
know. 706-598-2161
Connie Kitchens-Jackson, Coroner Glascock County
E-Mail Connie

PRAYER:

Please be in prayer for Hon. Vanita Hullander Coroner Catoosa County,
she had surgery and has had a time with it.

Gary McElhanney had been sick, he is doing much better.

I had surgery twice this year and I’m doing much better.

Hon. Billy Jordan Coroner Early County has been very sick.

Let’s remember all that have been sick this year, have lost
loved ones and the one’s going through difficult times and
please be in much in prayer for one another.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

A New Rule:
A new rule regarding the Georgia Coroners Association has been
set by the Executive Committee. Effective immediately there will be a
charge of $150.00 for any Coroner attending off-site training who is not
a member of the GCA. This will be in addition to the normal fee paid to the
Training Council. For off-site training the Georgia Coroners Association pays
for the place to hold the training and for any hospitality.

Building Blocks For Success
The Building for Success Child Abuse Conference will be held
March 18, 19, and 20th in Atlanta. Registration will begin in January .
Hon. Vanita Hullander will post the contact information later this month.
Remember, if you want to attend and get credit for the class you have
to be pre approved by the Training Council 45 days in advance.

Remember: Electronic Death Certificates Are Coming:
The Georgia Department of Vital Records is implementing
death certificates online. They are testing different areas now and
want to roll out statewide by October of this year.
It will be interesting to see how long it will take to
get a certified death certificate. Vital Records will send someone to
Macon to preview this at our annual meeting. It should be very interesting.

NOTE:
You are reminded that every Coroner and Deputy Coroner
must have 24 hours of continuing education each year.
All courses you receive outside of the courses from
Forsyth must be approved by the Georgia Coroners Training Council
prior to you attending these courses.

The cost of the classes are $300.00 made payable to the
Georgia Coroner’s Training Council.
To sign up, please call Mavis Long at 478-993-4528.

NOTICE:

The Georgia Division of Public Health conducts surveillance for
influenza deaths among pediatric patients. We are in the middle
of a very busy flu season right now, and would like you to help
us if you are seeing pediatric deaths (age <=18 years) where
influenza is suspected. Documenting the impact of influenza on
children is important for vaccine policy decisions, and helps
to motivate families to protect their children from this disease.

The Georgia Public Health Laboratory will process influenza cultures,
free of charge, from nasal swabs submitted by medical examiners or
other pathologists, when influenza is thought to be present in a
pediatric death. In addition to viral cultures for influenza,
public health (CDC) can provide immunohistochemical staining of
formalinized or paraffinized tissue specimens, ideally including
larger airways, primary and segmental bronchi, which have the
highest yield for detection of influenza viruses.

Please discuss this information with your colleagues and medical
examiner contacts so that we can improve our surveillance for
influenza-associated pediatric deaths.
If you are interested in submitting an influenza culture or tissue
specimens, please contact our Influenza Surveillance Coordinator,
Ariane Reeves, at the numbers below. We appreciate your willingness
to work with us, and look forward to hearing from you as needed.

Thank you,
Ariane Reeves RN, BSN, MPH, CIC
Influenza Surveillance Coordinator
Georgia Division of Public Health
2 Peachtree Street NW, 14-215
Atlanta, GA 30303
404-463-4625 (office)
404-657-2608 (fax)
alreeves@dhr.state.ga.us

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All Georgia Coroners and Deputy Coroners are required to take the
Incident Command Support courses 100 and 700.
The course information can be obtained through your local Emergency Management
Coordinator in your county. The courses can be taken on line.
You can also find the course information on the FEMA website or the
Georgia Emergency Management website

From Vanita Hullander with reference
to the website

The website committee is still trying to build a memorial
page for the website. They need members to provide a list of
Coroners and Deputy Coroners that died while in office or Coroners
who received special recognition from their community or other
agencies.

SPECIAL NOTICES:

ANNIVERSARY:
01-12- Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Lowe Coroner Lee County
01-25- Walter Wacter Coroner Lowndes County and wife Marie,
They celebrated there 56 wedding anniversary.
They where married at McDill Air Force Base in Tampa Florida.
01-25- Mr. and Mrs. Ted Bearden Coroner Dawson County
03-08- Milton F. Harper Coroner Pierce County and
Wife Dottie will be celebrating 57 years. They where married in Waycross Ga, in 1951
03-20- Paul Lowe Coroner Warren County and wife Becky
03-36- Mr. Mrs. Kenny Jones Coroner Pickens County
04-03- Sandy L. Yelton Deputy Coroner Warren County and husband Jimmy
04-05-Jay Coleman Deputy Coroner Dodge County and Wife
04-07- Tony Cooper Chief Deputy Coroner Floyd County and Wife
04-20- Susan Salemi Deputy Coroner Burke County (15years)
05-15- Earl Darby Coroner Cherokee County and wife Olene
05-16-Tom Jordan Deputy Coroner Fannin County and wife Priscilla
05-18- Kathie Buchanan Coroner Heard Co. and husband
05-26-Don Pitts Coroner Habersham Co. and Wife Celebrating 36 years
06-07-Sonny Foster Coroner Spalding County and Wife Marilyn will be celebrating there 51st wedding anniversary.
07-03-Mr. and Mrs. Russell Dixon Coroner Johnson County, will be celebrating there 42nd wedding Anniversary.
08-08- Becky Callihan Coroner Fannin County and husband Don
09-18-Vic Smith Deputy Coroner Fannin County and wife Sally
09-19-Denise McDaniel Deputy Coroner Crawford County and Husband
10-14- Mr. and Mrs. Bill Cselle Deputy Coroner Pierce County
11-21- Mr. and Mrs. Earle Rainwater Coroner Chattooga County and wife
12-17-J.T. Smith Coroner Dodge County

BIRTHDAYS:
01-14-Tom Jordan Deputy Coroner Fannin County
03-11 -Lee M. Pierce Sr. Deputy Coroner Liberty County
03-19- Johnny Burch Coroner Ben Hill
04-09- Susan Salemi Deputy Coroner Burke County
04-12- Paul Lowe Coroner Warren County
04-22-Bill Cselle Deputy Coroner Pierce County
04-26- Reginald L. Pierce Sr. Coroner Liberty County
04-27- Kathie Buchanan Coroner Heard County
04-29-Tony Cooper Chief Deputy Coroner Floyd County
06-06- Vic Smith Deputy Coroner Fannin County
06-11-Sonny Foster Coroner Spalding County
06-12- Ronald Rowe Coroner Lee County
06-16- Becky Callihan Coroner Fannin County
06-25- Ted Bearden Coroner Dawson County
07-08- Loin Fletcher Deputy Coroner Ben Hill County
07-21-Milton F. Harper Coroner Pierce County
07-28-Russell Dixon Coroner Johnson County
08-31-Sandra L. Yelton Deputy Coroner Warren County
08-11-Kenny Jones Coroner Pickens County
09-25- Gary McElhenney Coroner Putnam County
10-15-J.T. Smith Coroner Dodge County
10-19-Jay Coleman Deputy Coroner Dodge County
11-02- Earl Darby Coroner Cherokee County
11-12- Earle Rainwater Coroner Chattooga County
12-10- Walter Wacter Coroner Lowndes County
12-25- Samuel Brown Coroner Thomas County

OUR DEEPEST SYMPATHY:
Hon. Sybil Ammon Coroner Stewart County lost her Mother on December 16, 2007
Hon. Raford Horton Coroner Telfair County lost his Father Mr. Richard Raford Horton on December 28, 2007
Hon. Allen O’Neal Coroner Crawford County lost his Mother Edna Mae O’Neal on January 04, 2008
Denise Atkins Deputy Coroner Houston County lost her sister Debbie Story on February 17th 2008.
Mr. Clyde Ingle age 53 passed away on March 08, 2008 from being very sick.
Mr. Ingel was at one time Deputy Coroner in Catoosa County.

CONGRATULATIONS:
Hon. L.W. Bruce Coroner Camden County is the proud Grandfather of
Aiden Bryce Niessner 7lbs 15oz and 19.5in long. Proud parents are
Leslie and Eric and big brother Ethan. Aiden was born on January 24, 2008.

Hon. David Moore’s Coroner Candler County daughter Madonna K. Moore
is getting married on June 07, 2008 to Mr. Brett Henry of Emanuel County.

New Items Now Available !

Purchase Coroners Association Items On This Site
Or Contact, Hon. Gary McElhenney. Treasurer

Becky Callihan, Secretary
Georgia Coroners Association
E-Mail Becky Callihan