Highlight of the Fall Festival was a helicopter ride

October 18, 2014

I visited the 2014 Oconee County Fall Festival rolling on 3 different occasions, and by far the most enjoyable was the last when I ventured onto the Thomas property and took a helicopter ride with a company out of Gainesville Georgia who were kind of doing this as an experiment. Chad Haney of Select Helicopters was offering brief flights around the amazing 100 acres of the Thomas Property and over the fall festival and part of the industrial part of the east side of Watkinsville.

But it was the best $45 ever spent. It got me thinking about heliports, helipads, emergency response, Watkinsville's future, access to someone hurting in a crowd, and how we can all work together to make things better and safer for everyone.

I had a great time seeing old friends and making new ones at the 2014 Oconee County Chamber of Commerce Fall Festival all over downtown Watkinsville but primarily focused on Rocket Field. It is remarkable how ancillary events like the Farmers Market and helicopter rides can benefit as well. I hope a helicopter could help if someone is seeking immediate medical attention in a very crowded area where moments make a difference in the first aid received by a stricken person. I am sure there have been more than one life flight evacuation in Oconee County before.

Otherwise my other two trips were a little less eventful although it's always great to see lots of Watkinsville residents as always. The no campaign sign was a tad bit gratuitous and largely ignored.

Last time I want there was a person who required medical attention. But immediately getting through the crowd was hard for an ambulance to get through here. and I do think there needs to be a Gator for The City of Watkinsville to be able to move somebody and I would make that a priority if elected.

Organizers were heard be saying that it was frustrating to try to get medical attention quickly. An ambulance and cart were dispatched almost simultaneously and the cart did get there and the person received the attention they needed.

Anytime there's a gathering of this large in Watkinsville there needs to be ambulance on the field in the park ready. In no way am I criticizing the response time or the effort put forth by those who arrived timely, but it was almost as if the crowd hampered response time.