Walker County has reached a $65k “settlement” with the state in response to damage done to waterways on Lookout Mountain as part of a county leader’s pet project. The fine will be paid out as a project for EPD, not in cash. Slap on the wrist; Bebe and her people got the project done the way they wanted, and she still insists they did nothing wrong. The only losers here are Walker County taxpayers and residents of Lookout Mountain opposed to the project.

WQCH Radio, 09/13/12: “GEORGIA’S ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION DIVISION IS REQUIRING WALKER COUNTY TO DO A ‘CORRECTIVE ACTION’ ON WORK WHERE THE DURHAM TRAIL PROJECT MEETS ROCK CREEK, ATOP LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN. INSTEAD OF A FINE, THE AGENCY IS MAKING THE COUNTY DO REMEDIAL WORK ESTIMATED AT 65-THOUSAND DOLLARS.

“THE CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN CALLS FOR INSTALLATION OF AN ARCHED METAL CULVERT UPSTREAM, TO PROTECT THE OLD RAILROAD CULVERT THAT IS NOW MORE THAN 100 YEARS OLD. THE DURHAM TRAIL FOLLOWS THE ABANDONED ROAD-BED OF AN OLD MINING RAILROAD ON THE MOUNTAIN.”

That hardly sounds like something worth $65,000 and it’s still part of finishing the Lookout Mountain trail system. It’s the punishment equivalent of ordering bank robbers to spend stolen money on something they wanted to buy anyway.

Why such a light punishment? Bebe Heiskell has been working politically since before this became public to make it go away. She and County Attorney Don Oliver (who actually oversaw the trail work and tried to hide the damage) asked State Senator Jeff Mullis to pressure EPD into looking the other way or issue a minimal punishment.

Mullis’ unwarranted involvement in this situation (bought through the Joint Development Authority he’s paid to run) is likely why the county got a $65-thousand-worth-of-projects-slap instead of losing hundreds of thousands in federal and state road money (“an election disaster for all of us”) as Mr. Oliver warned might happen in an e-mail to Sen. Mullis.

Hopefully we can go into more detail on this later on.

LaFayette “Main Street & Economic Development” Director Catherine Edgemon was terminated by the city Tuesday.

Her role as development director and leader of the Historic Preservation Commission were conflicts.. The two often overlap and have different goals. Overall she’s been ineffective, and the city’s leaders came to realize how little she was getting done in that position. You can’t blame sore ankles on poor job performance forever.

Jan Shattuck has been appointed temporary director of the Downtown Development Authority until a permanent replacement is named. City leaders apparently have someone in mind for the job already, but will have to post it for public application if Edgemon doesn’t appeal her termination.

Monday night your City Council rejected a new budget, finding only one member (Andy Arnold) willing to vote for it without resolving some unanswered questions. City Manager Etheridge was pushing to get it done now, council will have to meet again before Oct. 1 and get something approved. Council also held off on approving drive-up beer sales, but changed boundaries for alcohol selling businesses and approved rezoning of multiple properties in town.

WQCH Radio, 09/11/12: “LAFAYETTE’S CITY COUNCIL COULD NOT AGREE ON A NEW BUDGET AT MONDAY NIGHT’S MEETING, SO ANOTHER SESSION WILL BE CALLED LATER THIS MONTH. COUNCILMAN BEN BRADFORD SAID HE HAD ‘MORE QUESTIONS TO ASK’ BEFORE HE COULD VOTE ON THE BUDGET. WHEN COUNCILMAN ANDY ARNOLD MADE A MOTION TO PASS THE 23.7-MILLION DOLLAR SPENDING PLAN THE MOTION DIED FOR LACK OF A SECOND.

“THE PROPOSED BUDGET INCLUDED SEVERAL INCREASES, INCLUDING A HIKE IN THE BASE-FEE FOR NATURAL GAS, AN INCREASE IN SEWER RATES, A 5-PERCENT INCREASE IN EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THEIR HEALTH COVERAGE, AND INCREASES IN FEES AT THE LAFAYETTE GOLF COURSE. A ONE-PERCENT ACROSS-THE-BOARD INCREASE IN PAY FOR CITY EMPLOYEES WAS ALSO INCLUDED.

“CITY MANAGER FRANK ETHERIDGE SAID THAT THE BUDGET PROPOSAL WAS BALANCED AND WAS 1.3-MILLION DOLLARS UNDER WHAT HAD BEEN REQUESTED BY CITY DEPARTMENT HEADS. A NEW BUDGET MUST BE PASSED BY THE END OF SEPTEMBER.”

That’s the most sensible report from a LaFayette council meeting in years. Almost like we have a few leaders with sense now, or at least some willing to disagree with each other when necessary instead of rubber stamping everything.

The council also blocked thru-traffic on Wardlaw Street to protect children at Joe Stock Park, took another step towards zoning changes to allow a drive-up window for beer sales (the changes will be approved in October), voted to allow bow hunting in city limits for anyone with 5 or more acres, and set October 31 as the city’s “official” Halloween and date for Scare on the Square. The county also changed boundary rules for establishments serving alcohol; establishments selling beer or wine still have to be 300 feet from a church, but now the distance is building to building, not property line to property line.

“Fiber Adding to Walker County Economy”

Another report about United Synthetics expanding. This one says the city took over their property, not the county – probably a mistake on the paper’s end.

More about the missing dogs in Rossville. Coordinated dog theft, or just coincidence? Seems like an awful lot of animals gone in a short amount of time to just be random.

Write-In Commissioner Candidate Ales Campbell presents her “vision for the future” of Walker County:

“When someone says “development”, do you think of “development” as in subdivisions/houses, industrial sites, & hotels OR do you think of development as in quality roads, streamlined permitting processes, a recycling program & outstanding basic services? There’s “commercial development” and there is “community development”, in my opinion. I want to see our county’s basic services strengthened & community improvement projects strengthened so we are more attractive to visitors, potential businesses/industries & residents without having to sacrifice what I’ve loved about this county my whole life – historical and natural depth. I want to find a BALANCE on the focus of our promotions and emphasis for tourism and industry WITH our need for JOBS and quality basic services. We can do this, Walker County!”

Campbell’s campaign to replace Bebe Heiskell as Walker Commissioner continues.

An unusually high number of dogs missing from one Rossville neighborhood leads some to speculate about thieves taking the animals to use for dog fighting. The dogs wouldn’t be trained to fight, but used as bait for other animals being trained.

September City Council meeting will be tonight at 7:30. Council will be voting for a new budget that raises fees for the golf course, along with higher bills for gas and sewer. (A meeting about the budget last week had 0 public participation and no media coverage.) There’s no agenda posted yet online for the meeting (as-of 2 PM), so maybe you need to show up and make sure nothing gets slipped by without a challenge.

If you’re a city resident and you can’t be bothered to give up an hour or so Monday at 7:30 to ask questions or express concerns about the budget, then you lose your right to bitch when your gas bill or sewer fee shoot up in October.

Here’s the “executive summary” of next year’s budget, but it doesn’t specifically address proposed changes to golf course or sewer/gas fees. (PDF)

24-year-old Michael Anthony Brooks II of Lindale California is locked up in Hamilton County facing, so far, nine different charges related to last week’s police shooting, carjacking, and police chase originating in Chickamauga. Lucky for him he’s in a Tennessee jail else his mugshot might not look so pretty by now.

Michael Anthony Brooks I is probably wishing his progeny had a different name…

An incident of domestic violence yesterday in Chickamauga turned into a police shooting and multi-state car chase.

Three Chickamauga PD officers responded to a call of domestic violence inside a vehicle on Wilder Road. The situation heated up, and officer Ira Taylor was shot in the leg with his own gun by the suspect. Suspect then fled in his own vehicle, carjacked someone else’s vehicle in Catoosa County, and ended up going the wrong way down I-75 in Tennessee. He was finally stopped by Walker and Catoosa deputies who crushed their cars against his. The resulting arrest blocked traffic on I-75 in both directions and involved a retired New Jersey officer who stepped in to help direct cars.

What a mess.

The officer involved only suffered a minor wound and has been released from the hospital. The separate incidents (officer-involved shooting, carjacking, and traffic disruptions on I-75) are being investigated by the GBI, Catoosa Sheriff’s Office, and Tennessee Highway Patrol, respectively. Things will not go well for the suspected shooter.

Read More: CatWalkChatt | Times Free-Press | WRCB TV 3

WQCH Radio, 09/06/12: “LARGE SIGNS ALLEGING RACIAL DISCRIMINATION BY THE CITY OF LAFAYETTE ARE CATCHING ATTENTION ON CHATTANOOGA STREET AT THE DEPOT.

“THE SMALL BUILDING IS LOCATED AT THE FORMER ‘BUSY-BEE TAXI STAND’ AT THE CORNER OF VILLANOW AND CHATTANOOGA STREETS. NO ONE WAS THERE TO TALK TO US THURSDAY MORNING, SO WE ASKED ABOUT THE MATTER AT CITY HALL.

“THE SIGNS, LOCATED ON TWO SIDES OF THE BUILDING, DECLARE – QUOTE: ‘BLACK MAN CANNOT OPEN BUSINESS – DIFFERENT CODES FOR DIFFERENT PEOPLE’.

“CITY MANAGER FRANK ETHERIDGE SAID THE SMALL BUILDING IS BEING RENTED BY TERRY SHROPSHIRE, WHO WANTS TO OPEN A BARBECUE TAKE-OUT BUSINESS THERE.

“ETHERIDGE DENIED ANY DISCRIMINATION, SAYING THAT A TAKE-OUT RESTAURANT WOULD BE FINE AT THAT LOCATION. HOWEVER, HE SAID MR. SHROPSHIRE WILL HAVE TO MEET CITY CODES FOR SAFETY. FOR INSTANCE, THE BUILDING NEEDS A 200-AMP ELECTRIC SERVICE BOX AND AN APPROVED HOOD-VENT SYSTEM. ETHERIDGE ADDED THAT AS A RESTAURANT, THE BUILDING WILL HAVE TO MEET HEALTH DEPARTMENT CODES, AS WELL AS CITY ORDINANCES.

“IN REGARD TO THE PROTEST SIGNS, MR. SHROPSHIRE HAS BEEN CITED TO CITY COURT. ‘IT’S NOT FOR THE CONTENT OF THE SIGNS’, ETHERIDGE SAID, BUT FOR THE FACT THAT ‘HE DID NOT GET A PERMIT TO ERECT THEM’.”

The city has rules about signs like that, but they’re not consistently enforced. If he wasn’t being publicly critical they probably wouldn’t have said anything. Even Councilman Bradford said prosecuting him over the sign “isn’t going to fix the underlying problem and makes the city look petty.”

That said, he can’t have a restaurant that doesn’t meet code or health standards, whatever his race is. This conflict has been going on for more than six months, and it’s silly because there are plenty of buildings elsewhere in town better suited for a restaurant than the small old taxi stand. The parking lot there is too small, traffic flow is already a mess, and it would cost tens of thousands of dollars to get the building in compliance with codes – the same codes everyone else regardless of race has to comply with.