The Police Department responded to 53 calls this week, resulting in 5 arrests.
GILMER --- Miscellaneous and welfare calls made up the bulk of the department's work this week. Assistant Chief T.J. Harris also noted that thefts were up somewhat, and said that was typical to the holiday season.
Activity by the numbers:
| Complaint | Calls | Arrests |
| Alarm / 911 Call | 4 | 0 |
| Major Theft | 1 | 0 |
| Minor Theft | 6 | 0 |
| Disturbance | 4 | 0 |
| Suspicious Persons | 7 | 0 |
| Welfare Call | 3 | 0 |
| Miscellaneous | 17 | 0 |
| Warrant Arrest | 3 | 3 |
| Drug Solicitation | 1 | 1 |
| Criminal Mischief | 2 | 0 |
| Forgery / Check Fraud | 1 |
|
| Assault | 1 | 0 |
| Vehicular Accident | 2 | 0 |
| Graffiti | 1 | 1 |
|
|
|
Totals
| 53 | 5 |
--- DeWayne Spell
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A house fire at 430 Montgomery Street draws the efforts of three Upshur County Fire Departments.
GILMER --- Engines and crews from the Gilmer Fire Department, as well as Harmony and East Mountain VFD's combined to fight an attic fire in the wood frame house owned by the Curington family this afternoon.
According to City Fire Marshall Mike Melton, the Gilmer Fire Department received the call at 12:58p.m., and arrived on the scene at 1:00.
Crews from all three departments were engaged by 2:00p.m., and the roof had been ventilated and the main pump on Gilmer's engine got into action.
As shaken family members and friends huddled together across the street, firemen pumped water at the flames through holes chopped in the roof gables.
Slowly, the thick smoke cleared, and by 2:30 p.m. the crews had turned their attention to pulling melted siding and tin roofing aside to attack smoldering hot spots that threatened to reignite.
By 3:00 p.m., things were controlled enough to allow firemen and investigators to enter the home, searching for items the family asked for, and beginning to determine the cause of the fire.
Stuart Curington confirmed none of the family had been injured, and Melton said no firefighters were hurt in the response.
Melton said the crews had cleared the scene by 3:22p.m.
And while the house did suffer obvious damage, a detached building connected to it by a breezeway appeared unscathed.
County Fire Marshall Paul Steelman declined to speculate on the cause, saying his investigation was just getting underway.
--- DeWayne Spell
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FEMA announced the center's relocation to Whitehouse today.
AUSTIN , Texas -- The FEMA/State Disaster Recovery Center in Gregg County is relocating to a new site in Smith County , after close of business on Thursday, Nov. 20. The new center is scheduled to open from Saturday through Monday, Nov. 22-24, to provide face-to-face assistance to those who suffered damage from Hurricane Ike.
Smith County
YMCA parking lot
301 Terry St.
Whitehouse, TX 75791
Hours
1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. opening day, Saturday
12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Sunday
9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday
A complete list of centers is available at www.txdps.state.tx.us/dem/pages/dr1791_drc_list.htm .
Residents are encouraged to register with FEMA before visiting a center. There are two ways to register: log on to www.fema.gov or call 1-800-621-3362, TTY 1-800-462-7585. Both numbers are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until further notice.
At the Disaster Recovery Center , visitors can:
* Receive information about different types of state and federal disaster assistance.
* Get help completing applications for U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) low-interest disaster loans for homeowners, renters, businesses of all sizes and private nonprofit organizations.
Inquire about the status of applications for federal assistance.
* Receive referrals to voluntary organizations to help with immediate unmet needs.
* Learn cost-effective mitigation measures to reduce the impact of future disaster losses.
FEMA coordinates the federal government's role in preparing for, preventing, mitigating the effects of, responding to, and recovering from all domestic disasters, whether natural or man-made, including acts of terror.
FEMA News Realease
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Sheriff Anthony Betterton reports that 156 calls for service were reported to the UPSHUR COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE between the dates of 11-10-08 and 11-16-08.
Sheriff Betterton also reports that 40 people were booked into the Upshur County Jail on a variety of charges which include Unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Aggravated Assault, Theft, Issuance of a bad check, Driving while license invalid, Stolen vehicle, Burglary of a Habitation, Burglary of a Vehicle, Manufacturing and Delivery of a Controlled Substance, Federal Detainer, Criminal Mischief, DWI and traffic. There were also 58 people released from the Upshur county jail.
Thefts 12
Assault 13
Burglary 8
Criminal Mischief 5
Disturbance 12
Traffic 15
Suspicious Vehicle/Person 8
Civil Matters 6
Assist other agency 8
Drug cases 3
Unwanted Guest 3
Deaths 0
Shots Fired 3
Juvenile 8
Harassment 4
Other 48
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