Habersham Co. Sheriff Joey Terrell

This message come from June Black Warren Tax Commissioner. Just a reminder: The tag/tax office is open for property and mobile home payments only. No one in the State of Ga can issue or renew tags/ titles until Jan 19th. The Dept of Public Safety (driver licenses) is linked with the Dept of Revenue (tags/titles) on this upgrade. Please be patient as we learn the options in the system upgrade. Thanks so much, June

Special Weather Statement for Habersham County Issued by National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg, SC... 8:29 PM EST Fri, Jan 8, 2021 ...PATCHY BLACK ICE WILL DEVELOP ACROSS THE WESTERN CAROLINAS AND NORTHEAST GEORGIA OVERNIGHT... The combination of wet roadways and temperatures falling below the freezing mark overnight will cause patches of black ice to develop on area roadways. This will make for very slippery driving conditions where this occurs. Use caution if driving overnight and Saturday morning since the black ice could be very hard to spot. Temperatures will likely recover above freezing by 10 am Saturday morning.

Winter Weather Advisory for Habersham County Issued by National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg, SC... 2:51 PM EST Thu, Jan 7, 2021 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO MIDNIGHT EST FRIDAY NIGHT... * WHAT...Wet snow expected. Total snow accumulations of up to 2 inches, except up to 6 inches possible in the higher elevations of South Carolina. * WHERE...The South Carolina mountains, Habersham County Georgia, and the southern foothills of North Carolina. * WHEN...From 7 PM this evening to midnight EST Friday night. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult. The hazardous conditions could impact the Friday commute. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means that periods of snow will cause primarily travel difficulties. Be prepared for snow covered roads and limited visibilities, and use caution while driving. Please report snow and ice accumulations by calling the National Weather Service toll free at...1...800...2 6 7...8 1 0 1. Leave a message with your observation and the specific location where it occurred. You can also post your report to National Weather Service Greenville Spartanburg Facebook or tweet your report using hashtag nwsgsp. Stay tuned to NOAA Weather Radio or your favorite source of weather information for the latest updates. Additional details can be found at www.weather.gov/gsp.

Update 01/07/2021 09:44 am

Habersham County in Partnership with the Georgia Department of Revenue will upgrade its Georgia DRIVES Motor Vehicles System The Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR) is upgrading to a new version of the Georgia Driver Record and Integrated Vehicle Enterprise System (DRIVES). This upgrade will keep us up-to-date with the latest technology advances and will ensure we have access to the most recent enhancements and features of the software. Implementation of the upgrade will requ...ire the vehicle registrations and titling services, including e-Services, to be unavailable Wednesday, January 13 through Monday, January 18. Vehicle owners with renewal dates in January are encouraged to do so prior to January 13 to avoid delays. What to Expect: Wednesday, January 13, 2021: County Tag Offices and the Motor Vehicle Division will not be able to process transactions. All online motor vehicle related services including online tag renewal services will be offline January 13 January 18. How will this impact Georgia customers and drivers? During the week of January 19-22, walk-in customers may experience delays and longer than normal wait times. To avoid such delays, Georgia residents with January and February renewal dates are encouraged to renew prior to Wednesday, January 13. Customers and dealers seeking to conduct any title transactions should complete their business at a county tag office prior to Wednesday, January 13. Dealers will be able to initiate electronic title and registration (ETR) transactions and issue temporary operating permits (TOPs) over MLK Day weekend. Law enforcement will still have access to motor vehicle records through a statewide backup file. Please visit our county tag website at www.habershamga.com for more information on upcoming scheduling changes. June Black-Warren 706-754-2516 office 706-768-9222 cell [email protected] ###

Today our HEAT unit joined GOHS for a news conference at Georgia Gwinnett College. Joined by other HEAT units from across the state, the Georgia Department of Public Safety, Law Enforcement Division - Georgia DNR, Georgia Gwinnett College Police Department (GGCPD) and other local law enforcement agencies to discuss holiday impaired driving enforcement in Georgia and the very real and deadly consequences of DUI. Make no mistake, get caught driving impaired and you will go to ...jail. While we take impaired driving seriously all year, the holiday season is especially important. More than 30% of DUI fatalities happen during the holiday season. Please use common sense if you're going to enjoy the season with friends and family while consuming alcoholic beverages. Make plans to have a designated driver or use ride share. If you choose to drink and drive, don't be surprised to see blue lights in your rearview. From all of us, please have a safe and Happy Holidays.

Scam of the Week: Phishing emails are often designed to trick you into clicking a malicious link. Most email clients, such as Microsoft Outlook and Gmail, have filters that add warning messages to emails with suspicious-looking links. Unfortunately, the bad guys are always finding new ways to bypass these security filters. The latest way that scammers sneak past your email security is by taking advantage of the collaboration tools available for the Google Drive platform. The... platform allows you to tag any user in a file by using their Gmail address. Once tagged, the user will receive a notification directly from Google. This means that if a bad guy tags you in a Google document, you will receive a legitimate notification from Google that includes a link to the bad guy’s file. If you view the file, you’ll likely find that it directs you to click another link. This second link is actually a malicious attempt to steal your sensitive information. Don’t fall for this trick! Remember: Always be suspicious of emails or notifications from someone you do not know. Never click on a link within an email that you weren’t expectingeven if it came from a legitimate website.

Had a great time tonight at the Habersham County Christmas Parade with our Sheriff’s office family.

11/2/20 Habersham County will have school on Monday11/2/20 Habersham County will have school on Monday

Heads up. More weather on its way to us.

Raiders win 35 to 15. Great game

Congratulations to Rick Salemi on his retirement of almost 40 years in law enforcement. Rick came to Habersham county in September of 2000. Sheriff Terrell presented Rick with his service weapon that was laser engraved with his name, badge, and years of service.

Beautiful evening for some Raider Football.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 29, 2020 Media Contact: Carolyn McDuffie, Public Information Officer; [email protected] Hurricane Zeta Update... Crews are working to ensure safe roads and timely rescues Hurricane Zeta has impacted Habersham County with high winds and heavy rain fall. These impacts are even more destructive due to the recent effects of Hurricane Delta. County officials are working quickly to reopen roads. Various County departments are closely working together throughout this process. There are power outages county wide as well as a significant number of down trees. Currently, Habersham County has received reports of almost 498 down trees. Of those reported, 249 trees were on roadways. The other 249 trees were reported to be embedded within power lines. Due to coordination with local power companies, crews have been able to remove a significant number of trees in a timely manner. As a result, there are approximately 50 trees remaining which are embedded with power lines. There are also currently approximately 30 roads that remain closed. The area most negatively impacted by the storm is located north of Clarkesville and to the south end of Habersham County. Notably, Shoal Creek Road has experienced some damage sustained from washing and will be graded tomorrow. Crews have successfully conducted two home rescues. These people were trapped due to trees falling on their homes. Additionally, Community Paramedicine has been delivering oxygen to those in need due to the power outages. This is done through coordination with Emergency Services Director Chad Black and Habersham Medical Center. Habersham County would like to commend all E911 staff, Community Paramedicine, Sheriff’s Department Law Enforcement staff, Emergency Services staff including fire and emergency medical services, and importantly our Road Maintenance staff and power line crews for their incredible work in the early recovery process.

Habersham County Offices Will Be Closed Habersham County will be closing government offices and buildings today due to the impacts of Hurricane Zeta. These closures include:... The Habersham County Administration Building The Habersham County Courthouse The Ruby C. Fulbright Aquatic Center The Habersham County Elections Office The Habersham County Senior Center

With wide spread power outages across the state, you'll no doubt be faced with intersections where the traffic signal is flashing or completely out. So what do you do? These rules apply when there is no public safety presence at an intersection, rendering it uncontrolled. If the signal is completely out, treat the intersection as a 4 way stop. If the intersection is flashing red or yellow on all sides, treat it as a 4 way stop. If one side is red and the other yellow, re...d stops and yellow uses caution. As with any intersection, drivers should slow down and be prepared to stop. Be aware that some motorists aren't aware of the traffic rules during a power outage and caution should always be taken when approaching, entering, and traveling through an intersection. Georgia Law O.C.G.A 40-6-70. Vehicles approaching or entering intersection When two vehicles approach or enter an intersection from different highways at approximately the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right of way to the vehicle on the right, provided that when a vehicle approaches or enters an intersection with no stop signs or other traffic-control devices from a highway that terminates at the intersection, the driver of that vehicle shall yield the right of way to the other vehicle, whether the latter vehicle be on such driver’s right or left. When two vehicles approach or enter an intersection with an inoperative traffic light, the driver of each vehicle shall be required to stop in the same manner as if a stop sign were facing in each direction at the intersection. Drivers shall not be required to stop if the traffic signal is properly signed as a pedestrian hybrid beacon and operating in the inactivated dark mode. When a flashing indication is given, the driver shall stop for the flashing red signal and exhibit caution while passing through a flashing yellow indication.

Please see message from Habersham County for CodeRed emergency notification system. https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/

Tropical Storm Watch for Habersham County Issued by National Weather Service Greenville-Spartanburg, SC...Continue reading

Scam of the Week: Blue Checkmarks are the Perfect Phish Bait Have you ever noticed the blue checkmark on your favorite celebrity’s social media profile? This checkmark shows that the person has provided documentation to verify their identity. Verification helps you know a real account from a fakebut this tool isn’t just for celebrities. Whether you have a personal social media account or manage one for your organization, being verified can be a great benefit. To become veri...fied, you are required to provide sensitive information which, unfortunately, makes this process the perfect bait for a phishing attack. Cybercriminals spoof popular social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube by sending out fake verification emails. The emails include a link that, when clicked, takes you to a convincing verification form. Here you’ll be asked for things like your username, organization, password, gender, and more. Anything entered on this page is sent directly to the bad guys. Stay safe from this fake verification scam with these tips: This attack exploits the feelings of excitement and validation that comes with becoming verified. Don’t let the bad guys play with your emotions. Think before you click! Never click on a link within an email that you weren’t expecting. When an email asks you to log in to an account or online service, log in to your account through your browsernot by clicking the link in the email. That way, you can ensure you’re logging into the real website and not a phony look-alike.

We want everyone to have a safe and Spooktacular Halloween. If you are participating in Trick or Treat events, please be aware of your surroundings. Keep a close on your little goblins and don't let them cross streets without an adult and making sure it's safe to do so . Increased traffic in some areas may cause delays, so please be patient. Slow down, be cautious, and stay safe. For the adults hosting or attending parties serving the witches brew , make sure you have a designated driver or arrangements to make sure you make it home safe. If not, you might encounter one of us and we'll be sure to give you a ride !!!