2015
08.30

Thursday afternoon Hutcheson employees were called into a meeting and told the hospital’s Women’s Center will be closing again next week.

Friday the hospital confirmed that closure is set for 7 PM Monday and added its Walk-In/Urgent Care/After Hours clinic in LaFayette will also close, on Tuesday. (Sources say a similar facility in Dade County will soon be operated by Memorial Hospital.)

Hutcheson Titanic Sinking

This is a last ditch, last-minute effort to convince a judge there’s an actual plan to save Hutcheson, otherwise he’ll remove their bankruptcy protection and let Erlanger foreclose on the property for its $60-plus million in debt.

(Changing directions continually, opening and closing the same unit multiple times in a handful of years, and making major decisions at the drop of a hat based on trying to appear competent. That’s the Hutcheson plan, as it has been for years.)

Meanwhile, Erlanger could use Hutcheson to absorb some of its overflow: “With the census climbing at the Erlanger Health System, hospital officials are scrambling to find available hospital beds.”

Hutcheson should have been sold to Erlanger to begin with, back when the Chattanooga hospital was offering to buy. Now years of damage have been done to Hutcheson’s reputation, employees have left after being been mistreated and lied to, and the facility is worth less than what it owes. We’ll get nothing from it now, and still have debt – but the faster the place changes hands, the faster we can get back on track.

Hopefully the judge will see reality and shut them down so that can begin promptly.   Tiny Facebook  Tiny Facebook

More setbacks in city plans to rehab South Chattanooga Street. Project will still be done (eventually?) but without help from state money, putting a squeeze on other lower-priority projects.

    WQCH Radio, 08/25/15: “THE CITY OF LAFAYETTE WAS NOT AWARDED A HALF-MILLION DOLLAR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT: MONEY THEY INTENDED TO USE ON WATER LINE IMPROVEMENTS UNDERNEATH CHATTANOOGA STREET.

South Chattanooga Street Pavement

    “..LAFAYETTE CITY MANAGER DAVID HAMILTON SAID THE NEWS IS A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. ‘THE LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT HAD HUNDREDS OF HOURS INVESTED IN DOING COMMUNITY SURVEYS DOOR-TO-DOOR AS PART OF THE GRANT APPLICATION’, HE SAID. ‘WE REALLY FELT LIKE WE HAD A STRONG APPLICATION’.
    “CHATTANOOGA STREET IS THE LARGEST PROJECT UNDER THE CURRENT SPLOST PROGRAM, AND THE IMPROVEMENTS WILL BE DONE USING THAT FUNDING SOURCE. HOWEVER, HAMILTON SAID THAT WILL CUT SPLOST FUNDING SHORT FOR OTHER PROJECTS, SUCH AS IMPROVEMENTS AT THE OLD LAFAYETTE HIGH FOOTBALL STADIUM AND A PROPOSED BOAT LAUNCH RAMP FOR QUEEN CITY LAKE.
    “HAMILTON SAID A PAVING COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE CALLED BEFORE THE NEXT CITY COUNCIL MEETING AND THAT GROUP WILL MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW TO PROCEED. THE CITY HAD ALREADY DECIDED THAT PAVING OF CHATTANOOGA STREET WILL BE DELAYED UNTIL NEXT YEAR WHILE WORK IS DONE ON UTILITIES AND CULVERTS UNDERNEATH THE ROAD.”

This wouldn’t be as much of a problem if LaFayette had gotten a bigger slice of the SPLOST money. Most of it went to Bebe to blow on garbage, and LaFayette is left deciding between paving one road or rehabbing a rec. facility.   Tiny Facebook

Stabbing reported “near Shop-Rite” last week was another drunken incident at the Railroad Park involving Darin Henderson, who basically lives there now.

Caboose Park Walking Trail Bridge

He and his ol’ lady (who also apparently lives in the park) got into an alcohol-enhanced conflict and blood was shed. He decided not to press charges.

If they break up, who gets custody of the caboose?

(Henderson has made it to LU three times in about six weeks: July 25, August 16, and now.)   Tiny Facebook

football-gordon_central-0828 
Friday night, in their season opener, the Ramblers beat Gordon Central, 37-0, at home in LaFayette.

Way to start the season!

One player, freshman Tyrek Ramsey, was injured. LU is told he suffered a mild concussion and will be fine.

Next week LHS will play Gordon Lee at home.

Friday GL beat LFO, 41-13. Chattooga beat Ridgeland 21-13, and Trion beat to Armuchee 40-6.   Tiny Facebook  Tiny Facebook  Tiny Facebook  Tiny Facebook
 

Couple of knothead Linwood brothers living in Villanow picked up for drugs.

    WQCH Radio, 08/27/15: “AFTER A LENGTHY INVESTIGATION, TWO BROTHERS FROM TAYLORS RIDGE, EAST OF LAFAYETTE WERE ARRESTED BY THE DRUG TASK FORCE LAST WEEK.

Troy Henderson Mugshot Richard Henderson Mugshot

    “A SEARCH OF THE RESIDENCE AT 8106 EAST HIGHWAY 136 RECOVERED BOTH METH AND MARIJUANA, ACCORDING TO TASK FORCE COMMANDER PAT DOYLE.
    “THE BROTHERS WERE IDENTIFIED AS 35 YEAR OLD TROY LEBRON HENDERSON (L) AND 46 YEAR OLD RICKY LAWRENCE HENDERSON (R). BOTH WERE CHARGED WITH POSSESSION OF METH.”

Troy has spent considerable time in jail for meth, forgery, battery, and breaking into vehicles. He was last charged (far as we can tell) in 2005 and has been out since October 2013.

Plus: Local arrests for August 20-26.   Tiny Facebook  Tiny Facebook

Elizabeth Scroggs MugshotFormer teacher Elizabeth Scroggs, who was arrested in January for sleeping with one of her high school students, has pled guilty to “sexual assault by a person with supervisory and disciplinary authority.”

She gets ten years probation and won’t be allowed to supervise anyone under 16 during that time. Once her probation ends her record will be cleared.

Scroggs was employed by Whitfield County schools when the incident occurred, before that she was a teacher at LHS.   Tiny Facebook

Rodney Summerford Carrying Cross in LaFayetteThe man seen dragging a wooden cross through town on Monday is Rodney Sommerford of Alabama.

Sommerford is a former alcohol abuser, drug user, and meth manufacturer who says he turned his life over to Christ in 2003 and now carries the cross to tell others about Jesus. (Last fall Sommerford was in Summerville.)

    “He began his march at the old K-Mart building on U.S. Highway 27 and planned to walk through the city until he ran out of sidewalk.”

Short trip, there’s not much sidewalk in LaFayette. At least not that all connects together.   Tiny Facebook

During a speech to a group of area realtors, State Senator Jeff Mullis said legislators like himself “truly want to know how their constituents feel on the issues.”

Jeff Mullis Speaking to Realtors

As long as those issues, like allowing a vote on Sole Commissioner or reforming campaign finance rules, don’t conflict with the legislators’ money train coming in.

You can call Senator The Hutt and let him know how you feel on issues like sole commissioner at 706 375-1776. (Don’t expect an answer, much less a listening ear.)   Tiny Facebook

Since 2010, at least 166 people have been fatally shot by police in Georgia – and more than a third of those shootings happened at the person’s home. Many began with domestic violence, some were suicide by cop, and some were simply cases of mistaken identity. Several occurred when police raided an innocent person’s home and found the occupant armed, expecting robbers.

    “Kevin Davis, 44, called police for help Dec. 29 after his girlfriend had been cut by his roommate. When a DeKalb police officer arrived at the apartment, he shot Davis’s dog in the doorway and then shot Davis. Davis, who had no criminal history, had grabbed his handgun when he heard the shot fired outside his front door. He was holding the gun and still on the phone with the 911 operator when the officer fired his weapon.”

What. The. Hell.

Part of the problem? In Georgia, “sovereign immunity” laws frequently protect law enforcement officers and government employees (including local county/city officials) from being prosecuted for decisions and actions made on the job. That allows them to work without fear of retribution from suspects or citizens who don’t like their actions – although they can occasionally be sued in civil court.

And in too many cases, also allows them to abuse people without punishment.

Here are twelve examples of GA cops and state employees who went too far and then hid behind immunity laws.   Tiny Facebook  Tiny Facebook

Walker County Animal Shelter finally has an active Facebook page.

Dog at Animal Shelter

“Like” this page for updates on adoptable animals in Walker County.   Tiny Facebook

You’ve probably seen news reports about the bright yellow river in Colorado polluted by an accident committed by the EPA. Federal agency did almost the same thing, with similar results, in Greensboro GA – but that incident has gotten almost no attention in Georgia or elsewhere.

The poisoned water there isn’t bright yellow, so it’s less newsworthy?   Tiny Facebook

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  1. My goodness LU. Your beginning to sound like the Obama bunch putting cops down. I know some can make mistakes, but personally I’ve never had a problem with them. They make me feel safe at community functions, etc. Think what it would be like to have no law and order!

  2. Law enforcement is necessary, but I’ve honestly never had a good experience with any of them. While we need police to keep society running smoothly and protect the weak/innocent, we also don’t need to say “OK cops you can do whatever you want as long as you don’t do it to me.” That’s what the Constitution is supposed to be for, to reign this behavior in, but somehow a lot of this has slipped through and been approved by judges and juries alike.

    We do NOT endorse lawbreaking, we do not support people hiding from police, running from police, much less this crap with cops being targeted by murderers. But police also need to be held responsible for their bad actions when they do wrong, like everybody else.

    — LU

  3. My goodness Jamie, you sound just like one of the good ole high society clan. Believe me if you ever had to deal with the Law you would understand. They beat ppl up and its justified,(Sam Parker) Dino was told of Sam beating ppl up all the time. (But he stood by his Officer.) They put the petty addicts in jail and prison and slap the dealers on the hand. Because they use drug money for a good ole boy attorney. And do you know how many accused child molesters get off in walker county. Do your research. (A LOT) And then come back and say something. I know for a fact employees of the courthouse has shredded documents for Family and Friends. (Isn’t that right Mr.Carter Brown.(Don’t Lie) Wake up Walker County, Just like Bebe we should have got her out a long time ago. I think we did last time (but voter Fraud). Quit being blind sided and wake up. Hell we are in the RED. And it’s not going to get any better. And about the church’s it’s all hypocritical, Always was and always will. It’s very very sad.