Jekyll’s fire, police, and EMS carry on an island tradition.
By RICHARD L. ELDREDGE
From about 1891 to 1896, Peter DuBignon, an oyster fisherman by day who had been previously enslaved on Jekyll Island, returned to serve as the island’s first night watchman. By 1893, in exchange for spending his nights patrolling the Jekyll Island Club, DuBignon, his wife Susie, and their children moved into the island’s first night watchman’s cottage. A few years later, George H. Burbank relocated from Cumberland Island to become Jekyll’s second night watchman, bringing his wife Nellie and their children with him.
Policing has changed a lot on the island in the past 130 years or so, but the goal for today’s watchmen remains the same as it was for the originals. Explains Georgia State Patrol Post 35 commander Sgt. James Metts: “Whether you’re a longtime resident or a visitor here for the weekend, when you go to bed at night, we want to offer reassurance. We’re there for [you].”
That objective becomes easier now, thanks to a brand new $8.2 million state-of-the-art public safety complex, which was completed last October with a ribbon-cutting featuring Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. The facility, on Shell Road near its intersection with North Beachview Drive, houses both the island’s nine-member Georgia State Patrol post and Jekyll Island Fire & EMS. With sleeping quarters, a gym, a living area (with eight comfortable recliners), a large meeting space, and a second-floor patio, the center is a vast upgrade for the island’s public safety officers.
GSP Post 35 had been located, since 1985, in a one-time liquor store on the Jekyll Island causeway. The fire department, formerly on Stable Road, routinely held meetings at a card table set up in an equipment bay. In short, working conditions were not ideal. “When troopers went to their vehicles, they dodged hermit and fiddler crabs,” says Noel Jensen, the deputy executive director of the Jekyll Island Authority (JIA). “It wasn’t a great environment for law enforcement.”
The new facility offers a place for troopers, fire personnel, and paramedics, now all under one roof, to easily coordinate with officials of the JIA, the governing body for the island. That’s something that’s especially important during hurricane season and the busiest days of summer. Metts says the new facility also has been a terrific recruiting tool for an island that he first encountered as a kid during annual vacations with his parents. “My parents’ love for the island is ingrained in me,” Metts explains. “Seeing the changes throughout my life has been amazing.”
As it was for the original night watchmen more than a century ago, the emphasis remains on community policing. “It’s a mindset you have to adopt,” says Metts. “Getting out, walking through the businesses, knowing each other by name. We look out for each other. It’s how small towns used to be.”
The island’s emergency responders still answer many calls as they have for years; things like dealing with broken collarbones suffered by bike-challenged tourists, issuing traffic citations, and making wellness checks. But Metts says certain calls are unique to Jekyll Island. “Last year we had to coordinate with the wildlife department to coax an 11-foot alligator off the beach,” Metts recalls. “That’s something that’s not taught at the academy.”
