Police blotter
The following accounts were taken from reports from The Columbia County Sheriff's Office. Additional reports are available at www.columbia countyso.org:
//
Homeless family accused of stealing from helpers
An Appling couple told police Monday that a homeless family they were housing left unexpectedly with a bag of collectible coins.
The couple told police that their daughter befriended the couple and their 2-year-old daughter at a South Belair Road truck stop in October. They were living out of their car, so the couple let the family stay in the basement of their Appling home.
The couple had provided meals and basic needs for the family since Oct. 31.
The couple's daughter said she came to her parents' house on Sunday evening and found the family gone. The couple said the family also took a set of bed sheets, a DVD player and about 80 DVDs. The coins, including some U.S. coins dating to 1804, are worth about $2,000.
Residents say decorations were vandalized, stolen
Three Columbia County residents told police that their holiday decorations were vandalized or stolen during the weekend.
An Evans woman said that on Thursday evening someone arranged decorative deer in the yard of her Maple Ridge Court home so that they appeared to be mating.
On Saturday evening, an Evans man said he heard a noise outside his Astor Court home. When he looked outside, he noticed that all his Christmas lights were out. He found two lighted Christmas trees and two lighted reindeer unplugged.
One of the trees was broken, and a reindeer was taken apart and thrown into the street.
A Martinez woman said one of her Christmas decorations was stolen Sunday. The woman said a snowman was taken from her Cofield Road home while she was out shopping.
Man says ATV, key to it were stolen from home
An Evans man called police Saturday after finding that someone had stolen an all-terrain vehicle from outside his home.
The man said that when he returned to his Hickory Court home at 5:30 p.m. Friday he noticed his Honda ATV missing. He didn't immediately call police because he hoped it had been taken by children in the neighborhood and would be found.
Whoever stole the ATV knew where its key was. It was missing from a cluttered work area in the man's basement.
The man couldn't provide a serial number or VIN for the vehicle, but he provided police with several identifying features of the ATV.
Vehicle used to damage golf green, club says
The general manager of Jones Creek Golf Club recently told police that someone used an ATV to damage a green and bunker on the golf course.
The manager of the Evans course and clubhouse said that between 7 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday someone drove an ATV on the golf course, damaging the green and bunker of the 12th hole.
The ATV ran over the green flag and ripped the cup out of the ground.
Martinez-Columbia Fire Rescue report for Dec. 5-11:
Medical calls, 22; vehicle wrecks, 15; investigations, seven; structure fires, five; activated fire alarms, four; assist citizens, four; wood/brush/grass fires, three; mutual aid/assist public safety, two; activated carbon monoxide detector, two; controlled/unauthorized burn, two; and vehicle fires, two.