If you didn’t think the Campbell write-in campaign was serious…

This is a serious effort. Early voting begins next Monday, the deadline for voter registration is today.

New stop signs have been set up at the intersection of McCarter Rd. and Gordon Pond Rd. A lot of folks are blowing through the new stops because they’re located in a blind place and they’re used to speeding through. Pay attention and be careful.

The city verifies signs were erected by the county, but they’re apparently within city limits? It’s not fully clear if patrolling the intersection is a responsibility of LPD or the Sheriff’s Office or if it’s even legal for the county to erect signs inside city limits.

There will be a Candidate Forum at the Civic Center tonight. Unfortunately it’s NOT a debate, the candidates will not address or respond to each other. Even worse, the questions are already picked and pretty much stink. Only one set of questions for the two candidates in each contested race.

WQCH Radio, 10/08/12: “WITH A MONTH TO GO BEFORE ELECTION DAY, 2012 THE WALKER COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IS HAVING A FORUM FOR LOCAL CANDIDATES, TUESDAY NIGHT. QUESTIONS WILL BE ASKED OF THE TWO CANDIDATES FOR SHERIFF, STEVE WILSON AND TIM WESTBROOK; THE CANDIDATES FOR COMMISSIONER, BEBE HEISKELL AND WRITE-IN CHALLENGER, ALES CAMPBELL; AND CANDIDATES FOR STATE HOUSE DISTRICT 1, JOHN DEFFENBAUGH AND THOMAS MCMAHAN.

“THE CHAMBER’S GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE HAS COME UP WITH THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS FOR TUESDAY NIGHT’S FORUM: FOR SHERIFF – ‘WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS THE MOST DIFFICULT PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE FACING WALKER COUNTY – AND HOW DO YOU PLAN TO ADDRESS IT?’

“FOR COMMISSIONER CANDIDATES, THE QUESTION IS ‘WHAT DO YOU FEEL IS THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ISSUE FACING WALKER COUNTY – AND WHAT SPECIFICALLY WILL YOU DO TO IMPROVE THIS ISSUE?’

“AND FOR THE DISTRICT ONE CANDIDATES, THE QUESTION IS ‘IF ELECTED, WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE FACING DISTRICT ONE, THAT CAN BE ADDRESSED BY THE GEORGIA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES – AND WHAT IS YOUR PLAN TO SEE THAT IT IS ADDRESSED?’

“VOTERS CAN HEAR FROM THE CANDIDATES TUESDAY NIGHT, STARTING AT 6:30 AT THE WALKER COUNTY CIVIC CENTER.”

And they’re only getting 3 minutes each. Not sure why the Chamber is going to bother. That’s eighteen minutes for the entire thing, for those of you who failed remedial math at GNTC.

Underground Q&A responses for the same three races will begin posting today.

Friday the LHS Ramblers fell to Southeast Whitfield, 13-21. LHS is now 0-5 for the season. Taking on Heritage HS this week at home. This week’s game may be their best chance of the year to actually win.

In better news, here’s last week’s performance from the Rambler Band:

Looking sharp, kids.

Eighteen rail cars were derailed Sunday night around 8:30 in Dade County. Cleanup took almost all day Monday, no reason for the accident has been announced. No reported injuries except to property and pavement.

A letter to the editor recommends local Democrats write-in Ales Campbell for Walker County Commissioner, in hopes of eventually getting a multi-member commission.

Opponents of Ms. Campbell have latched onto this as being a sign she’s an Obama clone and unelectable in Walker County, but it’s just another sign of desperation from the Heiskell camp. When the county’s sole commissioners were Democrats, the Republicans fought against the sole-commissioner government in hopes of getting one of their people in, and now the tables have turned. Having a sole elected leader benefits the dominant party, be it Republican, Democrat, or Communist. While sole-commissioner leadership and sole-party dominance is good for the party, it’s bad in every way for the people.

Charter Schools Amendment opponents say the amendment isn’t necessary, because local school boards can already set up charters. But currently there are only seven charters state-wide actually created by local school boards, with fewer than 2,000 students. That’s not real choice for parents OR kids.

Also: State Rep. Christian Coomer of Cartersville on the benefits of passing the Charter Schools amendment next month.

Officials from the DNR answer questions about the family of bears from Chatsworth euthanized last week.

WQCH Radio, 10/05/12: ?”SEVEN REMODELING PROJECTS TOTALED OVER 156-THOUSAND DOLLARS IN PERMITS ISSUED BY THE CITY OF LAFAYETTE DURING SEPTEMBER. THE GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS HAD THE HIGHEST VALUE IN IT’S REMODEL OF THE FEDERAL BUILDING AT 109 NORTH MAIN STREET, AT 85-THOUSAND. NO ‘NEW CONSTRUCTION’ PERMITS WERE ISSUED DURING THE MONTH.”

Isn’t September usually a good month for construction and building trades? No new construction isn’t a surprise, but seems a bit low for remodels and expansions. Wonder how many people are just bypassing permits and doing stuff illegally to save money..

Do you know anyone who’s used Mountain Cove Farms for a wedding venue? The one and only review online says it’s a beautiful place with terrible, terrible customer service and nobody in charge.

A section from the review:

“The last coordinator/director was rude and unprofessional. He called me “wishy washy” after he misinterpreted a question I had about the barn windows, said he doesn’t “do email” when I referred to my email about the windows to clear up the misunderstanding, interrupted me repeatedly, and then talked over me loudly. He also lied to my mother and husband, trumping up his authority and position in county government (he said he was the Commissioner of Walker County, when indeed, he is the County Coordinator). When I complained about this treatment, he indicated that I should be happy with it because of what we paid for the barn rental.”

Another highlight from the incredible career of David Ashburn, wannabe County Commissioner.

The US Supreme Court will soon decide if states can limit their Freedom of Information Act laws (or Open Records/Open Meetings laws) to state residents. Hopefully they’ll decide against that – sometimes out-of-state residents need data for research, and sometimes you need to use someone out of state (as LU has done) to limit retribution against the people requesting records.

A year ago on the LU Blog: how did LaFayette get a railroad caboose in 1988, and where did it disappear to after 1990? LU researchers tracked it down, and now the city has reclaimed the caboose with plans to install it in a park.

The Chamber did basically admit in private that LU tracked it down and they had no idea. Undergroundlings found it in newspaper archives and thought it was something worth checking into. Be sure to read all the comments beneath the article for updates.

WQCH Radio, 10/08/12: “GRADES WERE ALL ‘A’s AND B’s’ IN LAST WEEK’S RESTAURANT AND KITCHEN INSPECTIONS FROM WALKER COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH. THE TOP SCORE, A PERFECT 100, WENT TO NORTH LAFAYETTE ELEMENTARY. LAFAYETTE 6th GRADE ACADEMY WAS CLOSE BEHIND WITH A 96. OTHERS SCORING AN ‘A’ INCLUDE THE FOOD SERVICE AT ROPER, SUBWAY AT WALMART AND THE LAFAYETTE PIZZA HUT. SCORING ‘B’s’ LAST WEEK WERE DON LOLO’s AND CHOO CHOO BARBECUE IN LAFAYETTE.”

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