06.06
Former LaFayette utility worker and firefighter Marvin Chase, who was arrested in December ’10 and accused of lighting thirty arson fires, pled guilty this week to setting only eight and gets 18 months in jail plus 20 years probation. That’s 2.25 months for every house. Obviously they had a really STRONG case against him to accept this kind of a deal.
LaFayette has had a fire problem forever, but in the last ten years fires have gotten a lot worse. As long as the fires stayed “over there” nobody cared, but once arsons moved to the “good side of town” it became a concern.
In May 2010 an arson fire was set on First Street near a councilman’s home, and another was set on Indiana Street within smell of North Main. At that point LPD declared an “epidemic” and offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arsonist’s arrest.
We did about half an hour of investigation and found a whole bunch of people who all named the same suspect, a teen crackhead who lived in Linwood and had been bragging about setting the fires. We didn’t name him in the article but hinted to his name and linked to something else naming him.
During the summer of ’10 LPD started actually investigating the arsons, but Chief Freeman refused to support the officers involved. P.D. Vaughn was head of the case and he resigned in disgust because of getting no support.. Along the way Robbie Tate also had some responsibility for the investigation and he requested a transfer to road patrol because of how Freeman was treating him and the case.
In December 2010 LPD picked up the same kid we named as a suspect for stealing metal to fuel his drug habit. He pointed fingers to Marvin Chase, who was a firefighter for the city and had worked for the gas department until recently. The juvenile rolled on Chase to help get himself out of trouble, and they had to call officer Vaughn to ask him where the case file was since nobody had looked at it in months. Stacey Meeks, who inherited the case, then took credit for tracking down the arsonist and solving the case. Said Marvin confessed to twenty and was responsible for thirty.
The LU called Meeks out for his minor role in the case, and named the juvenile suspect again because we were told by members of his own family he had rolled on Chase to get out of his own role in the fires.
Meeks wrote a chapter-length response on our blog post chewing us out and denying everything we said, dared us on Facebook to call him on the phone… It’s all still there, phone number and all, mixed with about sixty comments on that article.
Fast forward to this week..
The fires they nailed him for don’t all fit the pattern. The one that had an eyewitness was set in the day off Rhyne Rd. One was on West Main.. Two were set at the same time on opposite sides of town. There are way more fires unsolved than solved, and one has been set since his arrest that they say is a “domestic issue” for some reason.
The end results of this are very unsatisfying. Justice done very lightly, and only for a portion of the crimes. Others who were involved, or who set other fires, face no punishment.
Did Marvin Chase set fires? Yes. Did he set them alone? No. Did anyone else set them on their own? Yes. Will anything else ever come from this? Absolutely not.
Someone vandalized the Bebe! billboard south of town on 27 heading to Trion. Please note that we don’t condone vandalism, violence, or other law-breaking even in protest.
Someone climbed up there, blacked her teeth, and wrote a profanity on the jacket. The billboard company or someone from her campaign, maybe, cut the damaged sections out of the board before we got our photo.
This is a crime, and dangerous.. Will cost a lot of money to fix. We understand frustration, but don’t resort to this.
The vandalism may not be related to politics, it could just be random.. We DO have wild herds of youth who wander the county with nothing to do except break things. Even if it’s done out of frustration with Heiskell, there’s no connection to the Shaw campaign. But it’s probably just a matter of time before someone tries to blame it on Shaw or the LU.
WQCH Radio, 06/05/12:
- “THE LIBRARY BOARDS OF TRUSTEES HAVE BEEN CALLED TO A SPECIAL MEETING TUESDAY, TO DISCUSS BUDGET WOES. SCHOOL SYSTEMS IN BOTH WALKER AND DADE COUNTIES ARE CUTTING THEIR SUPPORT OF THE CHEROKEE REGIONAL LIBRARY SYSTEM, A MOVE THAT INSIDERS FEAR WILL LEAD TO SHORTER OPERATING HOURS AND EMPLOYEE LAYOFFS. THE REGIONAL LIBRARY SYSTEM IS ALSO FACING HIGHER COSTS FOR EMPLOYEE HEALTH INSURANCE BENEFITS OVER THE COMING YEAR. ..THE SPECIAL BOARDS MEETING IS TUESDAY AT 2 PM, AT THE LIBRARY’S TEMPORARY HEADQUARTERS AT 1105 NORTH MAIN IN LAFAYETTE.”
This meeting could be where some people’s careers with the library system end.. A lot of concern about this, we’re looking at some big cuts in library operating hours, plus probably job cuts and maybe program cuts. It’s coming from the same budget problems that led to school layoffs last month.
It’s part of the ESPLOST tax you all voted for last March. A new roof for LHS was specifically mentioned in the bill, so that has to be done with the money. And they can’t use ESPLOST to pay operating expenses like electric bills or teacher salaries.
Here’s what we said about the roof situation when the tax bill was up for a vote:
- “The new roofs promised for LHS and North LaFayette Elementary might well be needed, but shouldn’t be. Students moved into LHS in January 1998, and North LaFayette Elementary was rebuilt from the ground up in 1999 and 2000. Neither school should need a new roof until at least the year 2018, LHS’ twentieth year in its current location, but the Walker County School board of the late 90?s invested into cheap roofing for its new schools. Gilbert Elementary was opened in 1994 and already got a new roof several weeks ago. Hopefully any ESPLOST funding spent in the next five years for reroofing schools will be invested into metal roofing; that’s likely to outlast all of us and keep both school buildings dry long after they’ve been turned into a flea market or a church.”
And they basically did what we said. Shockingly enough.
New OSHA rules requiring certain workers to wear fireproof clothing have turned into major growth for Mt. Vernon Mills in Trion. Real jobs are being added as they turn out 2.2 million yards of cloth a week.
The mill is based in Chattooga County, but more than a few Walker County residents (including city councilor Judy Meeks) are employed there. More jobs at Mt. Vernon can translate into lower unemployment for south Walker, but it has absolutely nothing to do with Bebe Heiskell.
More about Mt. Vernon flame-resistant products…
WQCH Radio, 06/05/12:
- “EVEN THOUGH SCHOOL IS OUT FOR THE SUMMER, CHILDREN IN THE LAFAYETTE AREA CAN STILL GET A FREE, NUTRITIOUS LUNCH EACH MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. IT STARTS MONDAY, JUNE 11th AT THREE LOCATIONS IN TOWN.
- “THE PROGRAM IS CALLED ‘SERVING UP SUMMER’ AND IT’S SPONSORED BY THE NORTH GEORGIA YMCA AND THE CHATTANOOGA AREA FOOD BANK, THROUGH A GRANT FROM THE USDA. IT SERVES ALL KIDS, AGES ZERO THROUGH 17, WITH NO EXCEPTIONS.
- “LUNCH WILL BE SERVED MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, 11:30 AM ‘TIL 1 PM, AT THE LAFAYETTE HOUSING AUTHORITY BUILDING, 300 OAK STREET. ON MONDAYS, WEDNESDAYS AND FRIDAYS LUNCH WILL BE SERVED AT 1st UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, 301 SOUTH MAIN FROM NOON ‘TIL 1 PM. AND ON TUESDAYS AND THURSDAYS LUNCH WILL BE SERVED FROM NOON ‘TIL 1 PM AT SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH, 500 WEST MAIN STREET.
- “NO FOOD MAY BE PICKED UP, MEALS MUST BE EATEN AT THE SERVING SITES ‘SERVING UP SUMMER’ WILL CONTINUE THROUGH AUGUST 24th.”
For information, contact LaFayette Housing Authority (706 638 2733), First Methodist (706 638 2057 / office@lafayettefumc.org), or Second Baptist (706 638 2732).
A month ago we told you about a lawsuit filed against several bloggers by a director of the GA Democratic Party, because they revealed his criminal record. The case has been dropped because it was going nowhere.
Best comment: “I believe Richey filed this suit to make a point. I don’t think the point he intended to make was that it was stupid to file this suit. However, that’s the only point which he made abundantly clear.”
Some things are beginning to change in the State Legislature: “Sen. Tommie Williams has announced that he won’t seek re-election as president pro tempore.”
Hopefully whoever replaces Sen. Williams in this leadership role will try to go in a better direction.
And please pray it’s not Jeff Mullis.
GA Medicaid Reform Part 1: “The state is widely expected to announce a plan this summer that would dramatically expand the use of for-profit insurance companies in a new approach to managing Medicaid. The hope: that the companies would help hold down burgeoning Medicaid costs by emphasizing prevention and better tracking and coordinating care.”
Essentially, they’re going to contract some services of Medicaid out to private businesses in an attempt to make things more efficient.
GA Medicaid Reform Part 2: “Medicaid isn’t just a health plan for low-income people. These days, it’s a job training program, relief for a mom with an autistic son and crisis teams to help someone with schizophrenia live a stable life in the community.”
What is it with Dade County and crooked real estate deals? About once a year we hear about some massive multi-million-dollar land scheme imploding on the other side of Lookout Mountain.
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