Silver Comet Attack sparks m upgrade in video cams on multiuse path.

[Gardner Neely]

This AM  8/5/014 WABE.org ran this story about the recent assault of a walker/cyclist on this path, which is the west side of Decatur/Dekalb's Stone Mountain path foundation path. This  may have been site/or nearby recent armed robberies (e.g. 300 block of E College ave.)  or other late night phone snatchings and last years predatory crimes )  Do we need more security on these paths in Dekalb / Decatur??  Gardner

http://www.decaturmetro.co/2014/08/01/decatur-police-alert-reported-armed-robbery-and-assault-on-east-college-ave-overnight/ 

http://wabe.org/post/paulding-county-adding-digital-cameras-silver-comet-trail-after-attack

• According to authorities, Tina Waddell was found near this 19.50 mile marker after being attacked on the Silver Comet Trail on July 29.

  Robert Aaron/WABE

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Action is being taken to increase security along the Silver Comet Trail.

On Monday morning, Paulding County officials ordered digital cameras for its stretch of the trail. 

The county had planned to transfer its trail cameras from analog to digital, but last week's attack on jogger Tina Waddell sped up that move.

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Authorities say 42-year-old Waddell, of Dallas, GA,  was attacked by a man on the trail last week along the Paulding County stretch.

Waddell is still in the hospital, as the search for the suspect, described as a white male with dark hair, continues.

This map of a portion of the Silver Comet Trail in Paulding County shows where Jennifer Ewing was murdered in 2006 and where Tina Waddell was attacked last week.

Credit PATH Foundation; WABE News

  In 2006, Jennifer Ewing, of Sandy Springs, was killed about 2.5 miles away from where Waddell was beaten.

“The only safe way to be on the trail is with a group or a gun.  And if you have a gun, you have to know how to use it and be willing to use it.  Or either you don’t need to be out there alone, you need to be in a group,” says Paige Slocumb, Ewing’s sister.

The trail runs for nearly 62 miles in Georgia, from Smyrna through the Alabama state line.

But the longest stretch of the trail in Georgia is in Paulding County.

The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office has three deputies assigned to the trail from dawn until dusk [when the trail closes].

There are four to six cameras along the trail in Paulding County.

“We are now in the process of upgrading those cameras from analog to digital, which gives you a clearer picture,” says Commission Chairman David Austin.

Austin says Paulding County is increasing the number of cameras on its stretch of the trail.

The Paulding Co. Sheriff's Department patrols its portion of the Silver Comet Trail in this smart car.

Credit Robert Aaron/WABE

But he stresses to walkers and joggers the need to be aware of their surroundings, even if that includes not wearing headphones.

“Even our sheriff has ridden in the smart car and gotten as close as 10 to 20 feet from people and they don’t even know that he’s there.”

Waddell’s family has set up a fund with SunTrust, aimed toward helping paymedical bills.

A couple of businesses near the trail may also hold events to help pay for the medical costs.

TAGS: 

Silver Comet Trail

 

Paulding County

 

public safety