2023 Year In Review – January

Beginning WNEG News’ look back at 2023, we take a look at the top stories in January:

SCH announced its partnership with Wellstar to expand stroke care. 

At the time, Stephens County Hospital Chief Executive Officer Van Loskoski said, “Stroke is among the leading causes of death in our region and this initiative will allow us to do more at our hospital in managing stroke patients than we’ve ever before been able to do. Historically, if you’ve come to our hospital for a stroke, our team immediately began treatment and patients were then transferred to other hospitals. The support from the Vascular Neurology team at Wellstar Kennestone will allow us to keep many stroke patients here for their entire treatment. This is better for the patients and their families, but also for the overall safety of our region. It also reduces the burden on our EMS, limiting the number of transfers they have to coordinate outside of our county.” 

As part of the partnership, SCH said they would be adding new technology to its radiology equipment that would utilize artificial intelligence to immediately detect certain types of strokes allowing for faster notifications to the medical team.

 

Also in January, Rick Phillips was appointed to the SCDA Board to fill Chuck Wright’s unexpired term on the Board after Wright was elected the previous November to serve on the Stephens County Board of Commissioners and had to give up his seat on the Development Authority Board in order to serve in this new capacity.  

 

Chick Fil A opened  at 605 Big A Road in Toccoa on Jan 19. The Toccoa Chick Fil A is an independent franchise and is owned by Tyler Pischke and his wife Alex. Pischke is originally from Woodstock, GA. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Waldorf University and an associate degree in Intelligence Studies and Technology from the Community College of the Air Force.

He served in the United States Air Force for 10 years, where he developed crucial leadership skills. He then began his career with Chick-fil-A with Operator Erik Smith at Chick-fil-A Grovetown, where he worked for over three years, learning the ins and outs of the business.

 

In what would be a busy law enforcement year, January 17 saw the first manhunt in Toccoa, when, According to Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley, deputies with his office were notified by the Toccoa-Stephens County Airport Authority and 911 dispatch that a male subject had driven a vehicle, later learned to have been stolen from a business on Prather Bridge Road, into the parking lot, before entering the airplane parking area.

The male subject then began running down the taxiway into the direction of a parked airplane.

The suspect then attempted to pull the cover off the aircraft in order to gain access.

After the male suspect was unable to gain access to the aircraft, he turned his attention to a vehicle parked next to the aircraft that was also covered.

The suspect attempted to take the cover off the vehicle to gain access to the car.

After he was unsuccessful the male suspect ran down a hill into a wooded area nearby.

Shirley says deputies, as well as officers from the Toccoa Police Department arrived on scene and established a perimeter around the wooded area.

The Stephens County Sheriff’s Office K9 Reba was called to the scene to assist in tracking the suspect.

Reba then flushed the male suspect out of the woods where he was apprehended by law enforcement.

The suspect was identified as 58-year-old Kenneth Leon Kell, of Toccoa.

Kell was arrested for obstructing or hindering law enforcement officers, theft by taking motor vehicle, and three counts of criminal trespassing.