According to family members, 15-year-old LHS student Austin Whitten was injured in a swimming accident Saturday afternoon and is now (at least temporarily) paralyzed from the chest down. They have requested prayer from the community regarding his recovery and future prospects.

A Facebook support group for the Whitten family, started late Saturday evening, has collected more than 850 followers in less than 24 hours.

There was a small earthquake early Friday morning centered between Naomi and Ringgold.

WQCH Radio, 06/08/11:

“THE LAFAYETTE CITY COUNCIL IS EXPECTED TO DECIDE ON WHETHER TO ‘SPLIT’ THE POSITION OF PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR AT THEIR MEETING ON MONDAY NIGHT. WORD FROM A HIGH SOURCE IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT IS: THE DECISION IS ‘AS GOOD AS MADE’ AND THE COUNCIL WILL VOTE FOR A SEPARATE POLICE CHIEF AND FIRE CHIEF.

“UNDER THE CURRENT SYSTEM, THE POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS ARE LUMPED-TOGETHER UNDER THE ‘DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC SAFETY’ POSITION. SINCE THE TERMINATION OF PUBLIC SAFETY DIRECTOR TOMMY FREEMAN, HIS ‘SECOND IN COMMAND’ BENJIE CLIFT HAS BEEN ACTING AS INTERIM DIRECTOR.

“CITY MANAGER FRANK ETHERIDGE SAID FRIDAY MORNING THAT HE COULD SAY NO MORE ABOUT THOSE BEING CONSIDERED FOR THE POSITIONS ‘UNTIL AND IF’ THE COUNCIL ACTUALLY VOTES TO SPLIT THE DEPARTMENTS AT THE MEETING MONDAY.”

It’s a move we need to make. Next step: finding men (or women maybe) to fill those roles.

The council meeting will be tonight at 7:30. Also on the agenda: a presentation from SunRae Water, discussions of the May garbage pickup “experiment,” and other regular business.

Saturday night Channel 12 did a report about Hope Rebirth Homeless Shelter in Summerville. County leaders there are glad to have the shelter; in comparison the Queen of Walker County used her influence to stop one from opening here a decade ago.

To Heiskell’s credit, some actual good job news in the county: Phillips Brothers Machine, who will be buying the old BlueBird plant with a $3 million loan backed up with county bonds, expects to hire forty new employees once they’re set up in LaFayette. (That’s a fifth of the Walker County jobs lost in April.)

The article originally quoted Development Director Larry Brooks saying the deal has been in the works for three years, but BlueBird didn’t close until August 2010 (two years ago). The report now says one year. Not sure if that mistake was made by liar Brooks or the Messenger.

Friday Gov. Deal froze the state gas tax at $.121 (12 and 1/10th cent). It was scheduled to increase to $.129 next month without intervention.

During the legislative session, few state senators and reps. would support a law limiting them to a maximum of $100 per day in gifts. But now with an election drawing near, they’re lining up to sign a non-binding pledge not to exceed that amount.

GA House District 1 candidates Tom McMahan (D) and Alan Painter (R) have signed the pledge. Here’s Painter’s actual signed form, and here’s the full list of signees.

Jay Neal, Steve Tarvin, John Deffenbaug, and Mike Nowlin have so far not signed on. Neither has Jeff Mullis – his support would be the most significant since he isn’t facing an opponent in the election, and he’s within the upper ranks of State Senate leadership.

Speaking of State Legislators:

The State Senate is moving forward with an ethics complaint against its most powerful member. This will be on the table until voting is done, and then they’ll forget about it.

Former Hutcheson ER doc Chris Moore has been named Hutcheson’s new Chief Medical Officer.

A while back we reported on a woman kicked out of a public council meeting in Cumming, GA. The actions of city leaders there to suppress her access to the meeting has resulted in a lawsuit from the state attorney general. A good warning to any government agency in the state that would try something similar.

..of course it doesn’t matter what open meetings laws we have if nobody ever bothers going to the meetings. Same with open records laws if nobody ever wants to see the records.

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