Holly Springs Police Find 20 Rifles at Student's Home

Holly Springs police have seized more than 20 rifles and shotguns from the home of the 15-year-old student arrested after the Woodstock High School lockdown.

A police spokeswoman says the weapons were taken from the student’s home after his arrest yesterday.

Authorities say the student ran away from home Wednesday night. He took three of his parents’ guns with him.

The school was locked down yesterday morning. The student and 17-year-old Forrest McCord Busby were arrested. Officers had found an unloaded gun in the school restroom. Two assault rifles and 200 round of ammunition were also found at Busby’s home.

The 2,300- student suburban Atlanta high school resumed its normal class schedule today.

(AP)

Atlanta to also add ticket surcharge

The Atlanta City Council has approved a citation surcharge in order to combat rising fuel prices.

The proposal is similar to a surcharge approved by Holly Springs on Monday.

Motorists cited for speeding, DUI or other traffic offenses could pay an extra $10 to $15. The council hopes the surcharge will raise at least $500 million.

Holly Springs approves ticket 'fuel fee'

The city of Holly Springs in north Georgia’s Cherokee County hopes its new fee attached to speeding tickets will help offset the cost of fuel for the city’s fleet of police vehicles. The city council approved the 12-dollar fee last night. It goes into effect July 1st. The city expects the fee will bring-in an additional $29,000-$35,000 a year.

City voting on extra speeding fee

Today city officials in Holly Springs, Ga. will vote on whether to add a $12 fuel fee to speeding tickets.

The fee is expected to help combat rising gas prices which are causing a deficit in the Holly Springs budget.

City officials say the police department has burned through more than half of its $38,050 fuel budget so far this year. Officials say at that rate, the department's fuel budget likely will be drained by late November.

North Georgia city to consider fuel charge for tickets

A north Georgia police department may have a new way to help combat the rising cost of gas for its fleet.

The city of Holly Springs in Cherokee County might be the first in Georgia to approve a fuel charge for certain types of tickets, including speeding. The proposed 12-dollar charge would also attach to violations of city ordinances.

Public safety departments across the state--and nation--are struggling with how to pay the soaring price of fuel for their vehicles.

Holly Springs police chief Ken Ball says all departments are grasping for straws in trying to keep the same level of public service.

"This gas cost is adversely affecting public safety. Ambulance services, fire departments, police departments…I don’t know what the answer is, but this is the only good answer I saw where the user pays".

Ball says the department’s annual gas budget of around 45-thousand dollars is nearly exhausted only six months into the year.

The Holly Springs City Council will consider the 12-dollar surcharge next week.

Iraq vet fired upon return home, files suit

A Georgia National Guardsman says he was fired from his job with a local police force in Cherokee County, because of time away serving on active duty. He's filed a federal lawsuit.

Michael Wells was away from his job as a sergeant with the Holly Springs police department for 18 months. His service with the National Guard included a year of combat in Iraq. Wells told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that while there, a bomb blast caused some hearing loss. When he returned last June, he had hoped for a promotion at his old job.

Wells in his lawsuit filed in U-S District Court in Atlanta, claims he was denied the necessary training for the position, passed over for the job, and pushed to retire. Wells was fired in April. He says it was without cause.

Wells was a nine-year veteran of the Holly Springs force--his suit is seeking back pay. In a statement, an attorney representing the city says they stand by their reasons for the firing.