Awards were presented during the annual Christmas gathering for BCSO employees and their famililes. 

Deputy David Michaels received the Sheriff's Career Excellance Award for 2011. Taking part in the presentation were (front row) Maj. Jon Collins, Deputy Michaels, and Capt. Jimmy Woody. Back row Lt. Julie Quinn and Sgt. Russ Henry. Michaels is assigned to the school resource officer program.

Employees of the Year: Those receiving awards as Employees of the Year are pictured with Chief Deputy Wayne Bird. L-R - Carol Fowler - administration; Deputy Robert Favreau - corrections; Cpl. Daniel Marlowe - patrol; Chief Bird; Terry Flatt - Support Services; and Det. Zech Pike - criminal investigations. Not pictured Cpl. Kester Calfee - Judicial Services and Jaime Thurman - school rerource officers.

Capt. Jimmy Woody (patrol division) received the Meritorious Service Award for his work in the April 27 tornados and was also named Supervisor of the Year. He is pictured above with Chief Deputy Wayne Bird.

Employees receiving Life Saving Awards were Jaime Thurman, Jeremy Guthrie, Gabe Thomas, Keith Edwards, Mark Miller, Darren Miller, Robert Favreau, Bo Collins, Shane McKee, Rusty Bryant and Tim Bohannon. 

An elderly woman is recovering in the hospital after she had an apparent seizure while driving on APD 40 Wednesday afternoon. 

Bradley County Deputy Sheriff Tim Bohannon saw the woman’s car go through a red light at APD 40 and Treasury Drive without stopping. Deputy Bohannon activated his vehicle’s emergency equipment to conduct a traffic stop, but the vehicle continued on APD 40.

With the driver not stopping, Bohannon pulled alongside the vehicle and saw the driver who appeared unconscious. He pulled in front and used his patrol car to stop the woman’s vehicle, avoiding the potential of serious injury or loss of life.

The emergency medical service responded and transported the woman to the hospital for treatment.

There was minimal damage to the patrol car.

UPDATE:

With representatives of two Chattanooga TV stations present, Sheriff Jim Ruth presented Deputy Bohannon with the Life Saver Award Thursday morning. 

Deputy Tim Bohannon receives the award from Sheriff Jim Ruth

--- It was two days after Christmas. The day was cold and the snow lay thick on the whole landscape. The young sheriff quickly gulped his breakfast down, not even noticing what he was eating.

He sprang from his chair toward the peg that held his newly acquired guns. As he reached for the white handled Colt .45’s and began strapping them to his slim waist, he was thinking how much he liked the way these guns looked and felt. --- He knew that most men wore only 1 handgun and that some of his friends might rib him for wearing the two perfectly matched, silver plated tools that could bring such sudden death to the bad guys. Well, he could take the ribbing.