Wonders what is up with the media and the Watkinsville police officer's house arson?
I realize that a fire set at 3:47 am Sunday morning might be occurring at the most inopportune time possible for the sleepy Athens and Oconee County media and bloggers, but I am somewhat astonished that no one else - not the Banner-Herald, not the Enterprise and no other bloggers - have picked up on the apparent arson of the Watkinsville police officer William Horton's golf cart, car, and house in very near Main Street in downtown?
I came home from Atlanta late Mother's Day afternoon and after watching some NBA playoff basketball was somewhat surprised to see Watkinsville Police Chief Lee O'Dillon talking about one of his own on the evening news out of Atlanta. Apparently WSB TV was the only one of the three Atlanta television news channels to send a reporter to Oconee County as the other two pretty much rehashed the Associated Press reports with the offer of the $10,000.00 reward from State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine's office.
But again I am somewhat disturbed by the lack of coverage by the local newspapers about this important story. I hope they catch this person - and immediate reaction was that it is racially motivated. I hope it is not. But when you are an African American officer in what is called "White Subdivision" (I realize it is founded and started by former Watkinsville City Council man and Mayor Dr. William White.) the suspicious nature of the fire would lead anyone to suspect the motives.
There have been other unsolved fires in the immediate area near this fire that were obviously arson but also not reported as such in the local media. I came home from Atlanta with my son at 1 o'clock in the morning after some holiday gathering to see the sky ablaze and parked to check it out and literally tripped over the gas tank on the sidewalk in that fire, so this lack of reporting is not all that surprising. Are the two fires connected by anything more than proximity? Only time and the police will tell.
Obviously in this arson case, you check the list of the arrests made by Officer Horton, then you cross check that with people who live nearby or would otherwise know where he lives, and double check this with known members of the Ku Klux Klan or other white power groups in the area (entirely too many for my taste). I have to wonder who knows his girlfriend as well and must wonder as to her race as a motive as well. When you torch an officer's house with him and his girlfriend asleep in is not just arson, it is terrorism and attempted murder. You hear the tires explode on your burning SUV and you come out of your house with your gun ready to fire.
I am really sorry for Officer Horton and the loss of his vehicle and golf cart. I am glad he was not injured in this case. I am hopeful we will catch the buffoon who does not realize when you pour gasoline around a brick house that it is not going to burn the house. I am upset at the black eye this gives Watkinsville and Oconee County, but I am confident Police Chief Lee O'Dillon, Sheriff Scott Berry and the Volunteer Fire Department will find out more about this story and arrest someone soon. I am grateful for the instant media attention of WSB, WAGA and WXIA in Atlanta yesterday to help catch this scumbag who tried to torch Officer Horton's rental home.
Very few people knew where this police officer lives, and someone is going to talk about that in this small town. Contrary to what a prominent Watkinsville official said on another forum, this information is not readily available on the internet. Who is the Landlord? There is another area of investigation.
But again, the lack of publicity about this story is appalling, and shame on all the media around here for not getting the word out quicker about this horrible story.
I came home from Atlanta late Mother's Day afternoon and after watching some NBA playoff basketball was somewhat surprised to see Watkinsville Police Chief Lee O'Dillon talking about one of his own on the evening news out of Atlanta. Apparently WSB TV was the only one of the three Atlanta television news channels to send a reporter to Oconee County as the other two pretty much rehashed the Associated Press reports with the offer of the $10,000.00 reward from State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine's office.
But again I am somewhat disturbed by the lack of coverage by the local newspapers about this important story. I hope they catch this person - and immediate reaction was that it is racially motivated. I hope it is not. But when you are an African American officer in what is called "White Subdivision" (I realize it is founded and started by former Watkinsville City Council man and Mayor Dr. William White.) the suspicious nature of the fire would lead anyone to suspect the motives.
There have been other unsolved fires in the immediate area near this fire that were obviously arson but also not reported as such in the local media. I came home from Atlanta with my son at 1 o'clock in the morning after some holiday gathering to see the sky ablaze and parked to check it out and literally tripped over the gas tank on the sidewalk in that fire, so this lack of reporting is not all that surprising. Are the two fires connected by anything more than proximity? Only time and the police will tell.
Obviously in this arson case, you check the list of the arrests made by Officer Horton, then you cross check that with people who live nearby or would otherwise know where he lives, and double check this with known members of the Ku Klux Klan or other white power groups in the area (entirely too many for my taste). I have to wonder who knows his girlfriend as well and must wonder as to her race as a motive as well. When you torch an officer's house with him and his girlfriend asleep in is not just arson, it is terrorism and attempted murder. You hear the tires explode on your burning SUV and you come out of your house with your gun ready to fire.
I am really sorry for Officer Horton and the loss of his vehicle and golf cart. I am glad he was not injured in this case. I am hopeful we will catch the buffoon who does not realize when you pour gasoline around a brick house that it is not going to burn the house. I am upset at the black eye this gives Watkinsville and Oconee County, but I am confident Police Chief Lee O'Dillon, Sheriff Scott Berry and the Volunteer Fire Department will find out more about this story and arrest someone soon. I am grateful for the instant media attention of WSB, WAGA and WXIA in Atlanta yesterday to help catch this scumbag who tried to torch Officer Horton's rental home.
Very few people knew where this police officer lives, and someone is going to talk about that in this small town. Contrary to what a prominent Watkinsville official said on another forum, this information is not readily available on the internet. Who is the Landlord? There is another area of investigation.
But again, the lack of publicity about this story is appalling, and shame on all the media around here for not getting the word out quicker about this horrible story.
Comments
The newspaper I work at has had similar instances when something happened late in the night and the paper had already been sent to press.
Newspapers are designed and sent to press usually the night before it is placed in racks. Due to time and printing constrictions, many newspapers have midnight or early a.m. deadlines, so if this happened around 4 a.m., then there was no way to add the story to today's edition.