Latest news with #Sivley
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Special needs community has a blast at Point Mallard water park
Jun. 7—Michael Musacchia was pumped Friday after going down one of the giant slides at Point Mallard water park in Decatur. He made the journey with one of his caretakers from the R&R Group Home. He was among well over 200 people who turned out for the second annual Special Needs Summer Celebration hosted by Decatur Fire & Rescue, said Lt. Brandon Sivley. Last year's event drew about 60, he said. The event, which consisted of lunch and then water park fun, was from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. under clear skies and a scorching hot sun, though a rainstorm came through later in the afternoon. Michael Wrangler, also a member of the group home, had his eye on the diving boards after having a good lunch. "We're just here to have fun," he said. "We ate lunch with a mermaid, but I didn't get my picture with her." Alexis Mason, a caretaker with R&R Group Home, said they were at Point Mallard Friday because it was a special day for special needs caretakers and clients. "It was free admission to the park and free lunch," she said. "They offered hamburgers, hotdogs, chips, sodas and water." Mason enjoys being caretaker. "I love that they love me and they know the love I show for them is real," she said. "Some of them don't have their parents or anybody, so the caretakers are the people they look forward to seeing every day." It takes a special person to be a caretaker, she said. "It takes a lot of patience," said Mason, who has been a caretaker since 2022. "But with the right type of heart, you'll get it done. These are like your second kids. I treat them like my babies." Decatur Fire & Rescue began the annual summer celebration after hearing that some of the special needs clients in the community didn't have enough activities to attend throughout the year, Sivley said. Firefighters made calls for sponsors and now the effort has grown into celebrations on Halloween, Christmas and summer, he said. He thanked Point Mallard for allowing them to host the celebration. Texas Roadhouse volunteered to cook 300 donated hamburgers and 120 donated hotdogs for the event. Walmart donated about $1,000 to cover the meals. Other sponsors included Pepsi of Decatur, Hubbard & Drake and Gillespie Cabinets. Sivley enjoys the annual event. "I just like getting the handshakes and the hugs and the smiles — they are an awesome community." — or 256-340-2361
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Eva man charged with trafficking meth
May 28—Priceville police charged an Eva man with drug crimes after they found 5 ounces of methamphetamine in his vehicle during a traffic stop Tuesday, police said. Douglas Jerome Sivley, 51, remained in the Morgan County Jail on Wednesday in lieu of a $360,000 bond, according to jail records. Police said they pulled Sivley over at the intersection of Mountain Valley Road and Garth Road around 12:29 a.m. In addition to meth, police said they discovered drug paraphernalia and cash. Priceville Police Department's K-9 assisted in the search. Sivley was charged with trafficking in dangerous drugs and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. — or 245-340-2438.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Eva man charged with trafficking meth
May 28—Priceville police charged an Eva man with drug crimes after they found 5 ounces of methamphetamine in his vehicle during a traffic stop Tuesday, police said. Douglas Jerome Sivley, 51, remained in the Morgan County Jail on Wednesday in lieu of a $360,000 bond, according to jail records. Police said they pulled Sivley over at the intersection of Mountain Valley Road and Garth Road around 12:29 a.m. In addition to meth, police said they discovered drug paraphernalia and cash. Priceville Police Department's K-9 assisted in the search. Sivley was charged with trafficking in dangerous drugs and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. — or 245-340-2438.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Officials say children, smartphone features cause most accidental 911 calls
Apr. 10—The Morgan County 911 center received 19 accidental calls on Tuesday and Limestone County 911 averaged 23 accidental calls per day in March, officials said. Morgan 911 Operations Manager Joey Sivley said the most frequent cause of accidental calls, or abandoned calls, are children activating the safety feature on their parents' cellphones. "Parents give the kids the phone, and the kids play with it, hitting the power button four or five times, which calls 911 before they hang up," Sivley said. He said they have also received multiple calls from Apple Watches because of their fall detection feature, which automatically dials 911 when it detects a fall, even if the wearer doesn't manually call for help. Morgan 911 uses a call handling system that sends a text to anyone who hangs up before speaking with a dispatcher. The text asks whether they meant to call 911. If there's no emergency, recipients are instructed to reply with the letter "N." "If they don't return the text, then we have to call back to make sure everything is OK," Sivley said. "What sending the text out does is it frees up that call-taker having to call back a number and basically speeds up the process." Sivley explained the abandoned call feature is triggered when a 911 call is made but disconnected before it reaches the emergency dispatcher's phone system. Although this feature is in place, Sivley said he encourages the public to remain on the line if they accidentally dial 911, rather than hanging up. Limestone County 911 Director Brandon Wallace said they also receive frequent accidental calls. "Over the last year, our hangups, open lines, and misdials are right at 24% of our 911 calls," Wallace said. "Those are some rough numbers, but we had 691 (accidental calls) in March." He said he believes accidental calls began increasing after Apple Watches started to become popular, but said they can distinguish the call and determine if it came from an Apple Watch or not. Wallace said he has witnessed instances where an unlocked device has accidentally dialed 911 when left in someone's pocket. "I remember about 10 years ago, we had a guy laying block and building a house," Wallace said. "His phone accidentally dialed 911 about 40 times, and somebody finally got out there and the guy had his phone in his back pocket and had no clue what was going on." Wallace said Limestone 911 differs from Morgan 911 in that their open lines are transferred to law enforcement for follow-up. He said Limestone 911 does not handle the follow-up, as it is considered a law enforcement issue, unlike Morgan County, where law enforcement is dispatched by 911. "We dispatch for fire departments only," Wallace said. Wallace said their system was upgraded a few years ago to support smartphone and smartwatch crash detection features, which automatically alert 911 of a potential wreck and broadcast the location — even if the caller is unresponsive. He called the technology a game changer for crash victims in remote areas. "If you're driving an '84 Chevrolet and run off the road at 2 a.m. and hit a tree in the middle of nowhere, I mean, nobody knows it," Wallace said. "Over the last few years, since crash notifications on phones have been a thing, we've received a few of those and sent responders out. They've found a deceased person or someone in critical condition." — or 256-340-2442.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Brandon Sivley named 2025 Firefighter of the Year
DECATUR, Ala. (WHNT) — Decatur Fire & Rescue announced that one of its own was named as the 2025 Firefighter of the Year. On Saturday, Decatur Fire & Rescue announced Lieutenant Brandon Sivley as the recipient of the 2025 Firefighter of the Year award. The department said Sivley serves as a Deputy Fire Marshal for DFR. In the news release sent out announcing Sivley as the recipient of the award, DFR said he is well-regarded for his 'unwavering advocacy for Decatur Fire & Rescue and the City of Decatur.' DFR said Sivley began his career with the City of Decatur on Jan. 24, 2011, as a firefighter. He has since grown his career, being promoted to Driver-Engineer in Nov. 2019 and later to Lieutenant in Jan. 2022. In his current role within the Fire Marshal's Division, DFR said Sivley is responsible for a variety of tasks, including fire investigations, plan reviews, site visits, life safety inspections and code enforcement. Sivley was honored at the annual American Legion Post 15 Community Awards Ceremony on the evening of Friday, March 14, 2025. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
