Following a week long undercover drug operation, the Jemison Police Department Investigators arrested 32 year old Wesley Ryan Morrow (aka “Fet”) of Smith Rd. here in Jemison.  Morrow was arrested and charged with 3 counts of unlawful distribution (sales) of a controlled substance (cocaine).  He is also currently out on bond for 3 other distribution cases.

I have received information and many complaints for quite a while concerning Morrow selling cocaine to any and everybody on our streets.  Morrow is not just your everyday drug dealer who does enough to support a habit of his own and enough to get by.  Morrow has been selling cocaine for a long time here in Chilton County and while making lots of money, he has destroyed many lives of all ages including very young kids.  Sometimes it takes a while and now hopefully we’ve got enough to keep him in jail and off our streets for a very long time.  In addition to these new charges, we are working with the DA’s Office to get the bond revoked on the charges he is out on bond for.

We are looking at making several other arrests before we conclude this undercover operation.  Our Investigators and patrol officer’s who assisted have done an excellent job and I commend them for their performance.  This is one drug dealer for sure that doesn’t need to be in our society doing these things that he does.

During the arrest investigators seized $1,400.00 in cash and a 1970 Oldsmobile.

Morrow is currently being held in the Chilton County Jail on no bond which was imposed by Circuit Judge Sibley Reynolds.

Chief Shane Fulmer
City of Jemison

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Jemison Municipal Complex, 14 Padgett Lane, Jemison, AL 35085

Firefighter Jamie McKenzie (left) and Jemison Fire Chief John Dennis (right)

Jemison Fire and Rescue awarded firefighter Jamie McKenzie with Fire/Rescue Member of the Year honors at its annual Christmas dinner in December.

“Jamie is very dedicated to the department and a great asset for us,” Jemison Fire Chief John Dennis said. “He is also one of seven firefighters in the county to complete the Volunteer Firefighter Certification classes this year.”

Dennis said the classes encompassed 160 hours of training involving introduction to the fire service; basic and advanced firefighting skills and knowledge; and hazardous materials awareness and operations training.

Others who completed the class were: Marc McMinn (Jemison Deputy Chief of Police) from Jemison; Joe Cole, Kim Winters and Mitch Keener from Fairview Fire; and Christy Aaron and Riley Yeargan from East Chilton Fire.

Dennis said 2011 was a busy year for Jemison’s fire department, with a total of 846 responses, up 18 from 2010.

“We responded to 161 structure fires and over 500 EMS related incidents,” Dennis said. “We also began our own fire inspections within the city this year, with 96 commercial occupancies coming within compliance with the International Fire Codes.”

The Officer of the Year Award that Jemison Police Chief Shane Fulmer presented to Officer Riley Barnett on Dec. 21 held even more meaning than in previous years.  This was the first year Fulmer presented the annual award as the Officer Donald “Josh” Newman Officer of the Year Award.

Jemison Police officer Riley Barnett (left) was honored recently with the Donald "Josh" Newman Officer of the Year Award. He is shown with Jemison Police Chief Shane Fulmer.

Newman was a Jemison police officer who died while responding to a car accident at the beginning of his shift the night of March 5. He was 30 years old and had been with the department since 2008.

Fulmer said each Officer of the Year is selected based upon nominations submitted by police officers and city personnel in order to “let the ones he works around all the time have a say in who they feel has (gone) above and beyond, all around, in showing their professionalism and dedication to the work and to the citizens and the people in the department.”

“He (Barnett) received a majority of the votes,” Fulmer said. “He’s still fairly new to the profession but has come a long way since we hired him. He’s a great officer.”

Fulmer gave Barnett his award at the police department’s annual Christmas dinner Dec. 21.

He also presented Newman’s widow, Tracy, and 4-year-old son, Jace, with a commemorative plaque and a United States flag that flew over the U.S. Capitol in honor of Newman, along with a certificate of authenticity he received from the U.S. Capitol Police.

Newman's wife, Tracy, and their 4-year-old son, Jace, were also honored with a commemorative plaque.

According to Fulmer, Newman told his wife at the 2010 Christmas dinner that one of his goals for the next year was to earn the Officer of the Year Award through hard work and a job well done.

From now on, Newman’s name will always be associated with the award he so avidly sought.

“We’ve got a good group of officers,” Fulmer said. “They all work hard and do a great job. Officer Barnett did go above and beyond. We have received several calls commending his service from citizens.”

Jemison Middle School is still as empty as the budget for its future renovation project.

The middle school is comprised of grades 5-7 and currently operates in Jemison Intermediate School, which was built last year to alleviate overcrowding in Jemison’s other three schools.

Lack of adequate state education funding seems to be the only roadblock.

“We want to do something as soon as possible, but we’re just having to wait,” Chilton County Superintendent of Education Dave Hayden said. “Right now, it’s just not in the budget to do what we need to do.”

Hayden said the old gymnasium has been declared unsafe and would have to be demolished and rebuilt.

Beyond that, an architect and a structural engineer would have to conduct a total re-evaluation of the entire building.

Before any work is done, the Board of Education must approve the recommended renovations, and the final step is getting permission from the state to proceed with the project.

Hayden said the goal is to make improvements to the school in “the most economical way possible.”

“You have to do the best economically speaking and for safety purposes,” Hayden said. “We’re just not sure when we’re going to be able to do it.”