Part of South Three Notch Street will be closed to northbound traffic for the next several months as construction continues there.
"Starting Monday, we'll be moving into Phase 4 for the project," Daniel Wells of CDG Engineer said. "We will be closing the street to northbound traffic from Segar Street to the railroad tracks.
"With that, we'll be setting up a northbound traffic detour that routes traffic from Snowden to Church Street. That's for inbound traffic, from the bypass to the Square."
There will be one lane of traffic, in the center of the street, for southbound travelers, or those travelling from the Square toward the bypass, he said.
Wells said the traffic changes are expected to be in place for about the next six months.
Work began the first week of November on the first phase of construction, which widened the street from Simmons Street to Railroad Avenue. This phase also included installation of a new sanitary sewerage line in the center of the street.
Another phase included widening on the southbound side of the street, but did not interrupt traffic.
The completed project is expected to take approximately a year.
It's being billed as the "blue jean banquet," and yes, you really can wear blue jeans.
"The theme for this banquet will be a wild west theme and our guests are encouraged to wear blue jeans and boots if they wish," executive director Chrissie Duffy said. "Of course, business attire will be fine, as well."
William "Billy" Canary, CEO of the Business Council of Alabama will be the keynote speaker for the 94th annual chamber banquet, and entertainment will be provided by Loop Rawlins, a wild west trick roper. The event is set for 5:30 p.m., Tues., Jan. 31, at the Kiwanis Community Center.
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Bodyworn cams now countywide
If you get in trouble with the law, make sure you smile. Youâll be on camera.
All members of the Andalusia and Opp police departments completed training in the use body worn cameras this week, and as of today, will have them completely deployed in the field.
Members of the two departments join the Covington County Sheriffâs Department and the Florala Police Department in the use of the cameras.
âThe response has been good,â Hudson said. âEverybody understands the cameras are a safeguard for them as far as false allegations go.â
Police and animal control officers spent the first part of the training learning about the use of the cameras, which are on and in standby mode when an officer is on duty. If he or she gets out of their patrol car at a scene, they press the record button to capture everything that happens, the chief explained.
Even if nothing goes wrong, Hudson said, the video evidence can help establish for trial what an officer saw upon arriving at a scene.
The second portion of the training involved policies and procedures for the use. The digital recordings must be uploaded by the end of every shift, Hudson said.
Officers cannot edit the videos, he said, but they can tag certain scenes, or add case numbers as they complete reports.
The digital media evidence false into the same rules for evidence, as far as chain of custody goes, he said.
A year ago, the U.S. Department of Justice awarded Andalusia an $87,224 grant for the Covington County Law Enforcement Agencies Collaborative, which included APD, the Opp Police Department, and the Covington County Sheriffâs Department. The award initially covered the purchase of 81 body worn cameras for all area law enforcement personnel. In June 2016, Sheriff Dennis Meeks chose to remove his department from the grant and purchase cameras for their department. Andalusia and Opp Police Departments were able to secure additional equipment with the monies that remained.
All uniformed personnel from the Andalusia and Opp departments are outfitted with a Coban Echo. These cameras have 115-degree field of view, low light video capability, are water resistant and are made to military specifications for durability. In addition to the purchase of the camera systems, the departments were outfitted with two servers (one per department, with 32 terabytes of storage), docking stations for uploading video evidence and additional cameras for each department so that no officer goes without his or camera.
Hudson said that since October 2015, the Covington County LEA Advisory Council, comprised of area law enforcement representatives, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and community leaders, have worked to develop policies for the use of the cameras. A Justice Department technical assistance team approved that policy in June.
Hudson said the council developed policies to improve transparency between officers and the public; established privacy policies; and implement the use of the cameras.
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