Publication note: due to Thanksgiving holiday, this will be the only Daily Update for the week. Regular posts will resume next Monday. Continue to check LU on Facebook or Twitter for breaking news and relevant information.

Today is the final day of early voting for City Council Ward 1 runoff vote. You can swing by the Courthouse elections office until 4:30 PM and cast a ballot for Robert Wardlaw or Beacher Garmany. (Courthouse will be closed tomorrow for county furlough day.) Actual election will be in one week, December 3rd.   

Also, if you have Thursday trash pickup in the city, your garbage will be collected Wednesday due to Thanksgiving. Better drag that bin down today so you don’t end up without room for a turkey carcass on Friday.

WQCH Radio, 11/23/13: “..LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN DRUG TASK FORCE HAS MADE ARRESTS RECENTLY, AT AN INDOOR MARIJUANA OPERATION IN LAFAYETTE, AND A METH LAB IN ROSSVILLE.

“COMMANDER PAT DOYLE SAID TWO PEOPLE WERE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY AT THE MARIJUANA OPERATION ON PRINCE LANE IN WEST LAFAYETTE. QUINCY SHROPSHIRE AND CANDIAC TRUJILLO WERE ARRESTED IN WHAT APPEARED TO BE A SOPHISTICATED INDOOR GROWING OPERATION. THAT INVESTIGATION STARTED WITH A FUGITIVE WARRANT ON TRUJILLO, FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS.”

Prince Lane is close to the center of town.. Between Culberson Ave. and Probasco Street. This isn’t backwoods trailer somewhere, or even Linwood – it’s almost the heart of the city. And the bust may never have happened if one of the men wasn’t wanted in another state.   

Two more reports about last Thursday’s hunting accident on Hillsdale Rd.

The biggest issue here isn’t that the guy accidentally shot his girlfriend, but how he went hunting in the woods, likely under the influence, and then fired blind at a noise he couldn’t see – all while next door to a recreation center. This could have very well ended up a lot more tragic than just a woman with a bullet in her leg.   

There will be no outside partner deal to save Hutcheson. The hospital will continue to be owned and operated by Walker, Dade, and Catoosa Co governments. Apparently the only serious bidder was Erlanger, and their bid was rejected.

Hospital leaders are now seeking new loans and refinancing for the facility’s growing, crushing debt.   

..which is why yesterday morning, Commissioner Heiskell “voted” to send Hutcheson another $2 million loan. Apparently she held a meeting Monday, which wasn’t announced anywhere.   

Friday morning a wreck on GA 151, near Cooper Rd, resulted in a young woman partially ejected from her vehicle. According to friends, she will be OK but sore for a long time. Which is pretty good, considering the ejection.     

Last week residents of one neighborhood in West LaFayette were wondering about rumors of a dead body found inside a pickup truck. Here’s an official explanation:

WQCH Radio, 11/22/13: “POLICE BELIEVE THAT AN ACCIDENTAL ALCOHOL OVERDOSE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATH OF A LAFAYETTE MAN, TUESDAY.

“THE BODY OF 42 YEAR OLD STEPHEN [sic] SCOTT GALLOWAY WAS DISCOVERED IN HIS TRUCK AROUND 4 PM. A FRIEND HAD ALLOWED GALLOWAY TO PARK AT HIS HOME ON MAGNOLIA STREET.

“POLICE FOUND A CONTAINER OF ALCOHOL WITH GALLOWAY’S BODY, AND THE CORONER IS INVESTIGATING. THERE WAS NO SIGN OF FOUL PLAY, ACCORDING TO THE POLICE REPORT.”   

Don’t forget to order your LU Hoodie by December 3rd. Have to sell fifty of these for the minimum production, so get one for yourself and several for gifts to others.

Also, be sure to shop locally this Friday and Saturday (Small Business Saturday), but if you can’t find everything you need in local stores, help LU by shopping at Amazon.com through this link. A portion of all purchases there (along with profits from the hoodies) will go back to cover the costs of keeping this site going in 2014.

Judd Westbrook, a Juvenile Court officer who ran for Chattooga Sheriff last summer, has been arrested along with his wife for an incident of mutual domestic violence.   

WQCH Radio, 11/25/13: “THE RAMBLER WRESTLERS TOOK FIRST PLACE IN THE ‘RINGGOLD INVITATIONAL’, AMONG 15 TEAMS PARTICIPATING. COLE INGRAM, SAM LEMONS AND MICHAEL SARTIN TOOK FIRST PLACE IN THEIR WEIGHT CLASS. THE RAMBLER MAT-MEN ARE UNDEFEATED IN THE YOUNG SEASON.

“AND IN BASKETBALL, THE RAMBLER BOYS REMAIN UNDEFEATED AS WELL. THEY BEAT PEPPERELL FRIDAY, 74 TO 56. THEY ARE 3 AND 0 ON THE SEASON. THE LADY RAMBLERS LOST THEIR FIRST GAME TO PEPPERELL FRIDAY, BUT IT WAS A CLOSE GAME: THE SCORE WAS 52 TO 50.”   

Investigating bad nurses in Georgia often takes years. Some with drug addiction continue to work in medical jobs while the state board overseeing nurses remains unaware of arrests or firings for abuse.

The state charges fees for licensing nurses, but only half that money actually goes to the organization called to keep nurses honest.   

Governor candidate David Pennington, self-described “limited government-business candidate,” talks about issues other candidates won’t touch, including the record of Nathan Deal:

“‘This is a conservative Republican primary,’ Pennington said. ‘(Deal’s) record has been anything but conservative. He’s increased the size and scope of state government, mostly at the expense of local governments.’ .. ‘He’s increased spending by almost $2.5 billion in less than three years – wanted to increase it by $4 billion because he heavily campaigned with Kasim Reed to pass the TSPLOST..'”   

Santa Land Christmas Tree Farm will open Thursday and be open through the weekend, on Concord Rd. in Villanow, with locally grown live Christmas trees available. If cutting a tree on Thanksgiving is part of your family tradition, a trip to Villanow may be in order.

Steve Tarvin press release officially announcing his candidacy for House District 2 election.   

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