“Happy” may not be the proper greeting on a day intended for mourning and remembering, but hopefully your Memorial Day was pleasant and purposeful.

Local news from the last few days:

Sunday afternoon around 4 PM, one man in a group of four exploring Ellison’s Cave in Pigeon Mountain fell 30 or 40 feet and was separated from the rest of his group. Rescuers were called in around 6, but due to the deep location local cave teams were unable to rescue him. Cave/rescue groups from out of state were called in to assist, but getting here and getting to the man’s location took hours.

The spelunker was reached, found alive, some 800 down in the cave Monday morning. He was reportedly given a blood transfusion inside the cave, and finally extracted around 1:30 PM and flown to Erlanger for treatment. Rescue workers described his injuries as a broken femur, broken ribs, and fractured skull. He hasn’t been named but was identified as a 54-year-old “experienced caver” from Pennsylvania.

Ellison’s Cave is one of the deepest caverns in the world, and the deepest in the Southeast. It’s a legendary challenge for cavers, but has taken the lives of several who had accidents inside – including two college students in 2011 and another individual just one year earlier. This latest accident prompts many to wonder if access to the state-owned cave should be restricted or controlled somehow to limit future accidents.           

LPD Chief Benjie Clift says the tasering last Thursday at LHS has been investigated; use of force “was justified” against two fighting students. The girls, age 16 and 17, face a single misdemeanor charge each. The older may be tried as an adult.

An unusually thorough CatWalkChatt article about the tasing provides details about the girls’ conflict, noting that both girls involved are good students and this was a first for them both.

Per the linked piece, school resource officer Billy Mullis used the taser not because of the fighters being girls or some suggested inability to break up the fight, but because he was concerned about the potential for injury with the fight on concrete. Article also claims LHS security cameras didn’t catch any of the conflict, and Mullis’ taser doesn’t have standard recording equipment because it was purchased with donated funds. That means student created video is the only record.

The primary video in question was shared online last week by LU exclusively, but YouTube removed the clip for unspecified reasons. Another host was located and the video is now here.

It’s unclear why the video was taken down from YouTube, but it could be due to complaints from the school system itself. The next controversy coming out of LaFayette High School could be over the school’s investigation into and punishment of student(s) who made video or photos of the actual fight. Times Free Press quotes the school superintendent saying they’re looking for the student and plan to punish whoever it was:

“School officials now are trying to find the student who shot the cellphone video of the girls, who were rolling on a patio outside the school lunchroom while pulling hair and kicking and punching at one another. The footage shows a girl shot with the Taser scream and roll face-down on the cement.

Students say school officials have been confiscating cell phones and threatening suspensions, loss of phone privileges, and possibly criminal charges.

The school system allows cell phones, allows students to carry them, use them for “research” but then prohibits posting any video or photos online. ANY. But if the video was of kids doing homework and singing happy songs about loving school, would they be threatening suspensions and criminal charges? Confiscating phones to find out who made the video and who sent it to LU, or who posted it online? No.

“Raines said the student who recorded the fight violated policy. Students who bring cellphones to school have to sign an ‘appropriate use’ policy in which they promise not to post photos and videos online.”

School policy was not technically violated: All copies of the video online and on TV, including still images, came from a copy obtained by LU – which was never otherwise put online or made publicly accessible. It was passed from student to student, but does SMS message count as “online” ? That’s private communication like a phone call or a text. The school system is on the verge of violating student First Amendment rights; hopefully they’ll drop the idea of punishing students over the video when school resumes today.

Maybe students will also be settled down and can endure the last four days of school without further incidents of violence or retribution against SRO Mullis.       

A home burned Monday around 4:30 on Auburn Drive off Round Pond Rd. Fire began in the garage, house is a complete loss. Everyone inside is OK.

According to the American Red Cross, this was home for a family of five. They’ve been provided emergency food, shelter, and clothing.   

A man with a deer rifle was involved in a standoff with police in Lyerly, on the other side of Chattooga County, on or near GA 114. Traffic through the area was rerouted for a while as the man fired bullets at responding law enforcement officers.

Chattooga’s sheriff released a short comment about the situation, saying the man involved was “firing random shots” and briefly had a woman trapped in the home with him. Teams from Walker County Sheriff’s Office were also involved in the response.       

LaFayette square will soon be home to an “antique mall”:

“I guess it’s time to officially let the cat out of the bag. Daddy and Me Vintage will be opening an Antique Mall in LaFayette soon! We will be located on the west side of the square downtown. For those ‘mature’ enough to remember, it’s the old Winer’s Department Store building next to the Bouquet Shop. We are currently seeking vendors for a limited number of booths. Our target opening date is the first of July but may be sooner. Give me a call at 423-364-6727 if interested.”

Not sure yet if that’s good or bad.   

Stacy Lamar Croy is an Alabama registered sex offender recently arrested in Chattooga Co for not updating his address. He’s on the loose, wanted by law enforcement, and possibly in the Summerville area or beyond. If you see this guy, call the Cherokee Alabama Sheriff’s Office – 256 927-9999.

Per the Alabama Sex Offender Web site, Mr. Croy was convicted on two counts of child molestation against a 10-year-old girl in 1999 when he was 25. Also mentions that he drives (or has driven, or owns) a white 1998 Mercury Grand Marquis.   

Friday morning a single vehicle accident in the 700 block of Probasco Street sent a man to the hospital. Per an eyewitness, the SUV left the road and completely flipped. The driver was not severely injured.   

A more serious accident on Friday killed 51-year-old Elizabeth Venita Stephens of Dalton. Stephens’ accident was on Gore-Subligna Rd. just south of the the Walker/Chattooga line. The wreck, recovery, and cleanup blocked the road for over two hours.   

Another news report about financial struggles at Hutcheson. A lot of details previously published about the refinancing and credit line, and one that hasn’t been revealed anywhere else: Erlanger is in talks to completely take over the hospital in a lease, not just loan it more money.

Erlanger WOULD have taken over in 2011 if the Hospital Authority (Walker, Dade, and Catoosa leaders) were willing to surrender some control. They wanted to maintain leadership, so the “Erlanger at Hutcheson” deal was mostly just a loan along with a management arrangement. Things have gotten progressively worse in the 2 1/2 years since, to the point that the counties keeping full control is no longer a realistic goal.

Some fear Erlanger will turn Hutcheson into a “feeder” hospital sending elective surgeries to their main campus in Chattanooga. That might well be the case, but a lot of people prefer Erlanger, Memorial, Parkridge, or Hamilton for those elective surgeries anyway. If making the hospital into a feeder is the only way to make it profitable and open for emergency care/community health/OB-GYN, so be it.   

Georgia has missed out on $1.8 million in federal funding by refusing to ask middle school students questions about their sexual behavior. Gov. Deal says the state won’t take money that requires going against “Georgia values.”

Would it be worth this tiny fraction of the state budget to give every 6th grader a survey about condom usage and count how many people they’ve slept with? Absolutely not.   

Fried Oreos Saturday night at Joe Stock Park. Also they’re showing a free movie or something.

LaFayette Downtown Development Authority showed “Cars 2” free to the community for the summer’s first Movies In the Park. A movie will be shown one saturday each month through October. Photo courtesy of Councilman Chris Davis.   

Public Officials Behaving Badly, Continued: Wednesday State Rep. Tyrone Brooks pled not guilty to charges of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from two charities he was running. A judge set him free on $25,000 bond. He’s being represented in court by former GA Governor Roy Barnes but says he may also need a public defender.

Gov. Barnes released a statement on Thursday saying Brooks isn’t a crook, just a bad bookkeeper too stupid to realize he was stealing money. If that’s the best Barnes can do, Rep. Brooks is in trouble.   

Walker Transit is seeking feedback for its drivers and dispatchers in preparation for an evaluation. If you regularly use the county bus service and have any issues with particular employees there, contact the director.   

School bus driver for Haralson County was fired for posting on Facebook about a child on his bus who complained about not having money to eat at school. School says his activity violated rules about “disruptive social media” posts, and an investigation (per the school) found the child’s story wasn’t true.

The child’s story being found untrue probably had no bearing on his termination. Administrators told him to take it down or be terminated and he didn’t take it down.

What is it about public schools and social media? Facebook is like school principal Kryptonite.   

A group of UGA professors, protesting the state’s immigration laws, have begun teaching classes to illegal aliens off-campus. The classes aren’t accredited since the students aren’t admitted to UGA, and their job prospects remain pretty poor even with an unofficial education since they’ll still be “undocumented immigrants.”   

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