ATLANTA (AP) -- The head of Georgia's emergency management agency has been reassigned to a deputy position, months after becoming the public face of the state's weak response to a January storm that trapped motorists on highways in metro Atlanta for hours. <br />
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Adjutant Gen. Jim Butterworth, who was appointed to lead the Georgia National Guard in 2011, will take over as director of the Georgia Department of Emergency Management. <br />
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The change was announced Monday as part of staff changes inside Gov. Nathan Deal's administration before his second term. <br />
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Charley English has been with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency since 1996 and became its director eight years ago. English also is a past president of the National Emergency Management Association, which is comprised of top emergency response officials from each state. <br />
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Critics questioned Deal for keeping English in the role in the storm's aftermath, but Deal said then that he wasn't looking for a scapegoat. English also apologized for the state's response, saying two days after the storm that he had ``made a terrible mistake and put the governor in an awful position.'' <br />
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Butterworth is a former Republican state senator who was commissioned through the Air Force ROTC program at the University of Georgia. <br />
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Brig. Gen. Joe Jarrard has been appointed to replace Butterworth as adjutant general.
