Walker County leaders say industrial facility planned for Noble will now be over 300,000 square feet. Construction on the Audia International site – which will do SOMETHING with plastics production – is tentatively scheduled to start in September.

The county, and the business, have still said nothing about how many jobs might be attached to this expensive project. Reading between the lines it sounds like a warehouse, storage facility, or transfer site – not an active producer. Such an operation would mean just a handful of jobs in return for the county’s multi-million-dollar investment on the old Swanson farm site.

As someone commented on LU Facebook, “smart business would have made them commit in writting to a x amount of jobs before we spend tax dollars.” But nobody’s accusing Commissioner Heiskell or “Development Director” Larry Brooks of being smart with business or anything else.

(Yesterday Volkswagen gave Walker County and Audia Int’l. a good example of how this should work: VW will invest $600 million into an expansion of its Chattanooga plant, adding a second product category and an R&D center for an additional 2,000 jobs. No guessing, no hiding – real figures. That’s needed here, too.)     

Monday morning around 12:45, 28-year-old Christopher Blake Bice of Catoosa County was shot on Cooper Rd. off GA 151.

Bice was wounded in the leg. He initially told deputies someone else fired the shot by accident, then changed stories to say HE fired it by accident, but no weapon or evidence to verify either story has been found.

Bice has a history of drug use and was paroled from prison in January. If investigators determine he had possession of the weapon, a parole violation, he’ll end up back behind bars.     

Walker County spends more money it doesn’t have to research walking trails almost nobody wants:

WQCH Radio, 07/12/14: “WALKER COUNTY GOVERNMENT IS JOINING A MOVEMENT TO STUDY WHETHER THE ‘SILVER COMET TRAIL’ CAN BE EXTENDED FROM CEDARTOWN – THROUGH WALKER – AND INTO CHATTANOOGA. COMMISSIONER BEBE HEISKELL SIGNED AN AGREEMENT TO JOIN CHATTANOOGA, SEVERAL GEORGIA COUNTIES AND THE REGIONAL COMMISSION – IN SEEKING GRANT FUNDING FOR THE STUDY.

“THE PRESENT SILVER COMET TRAIL RUNS 61 MILES FROM SMYRNA TO THE ALABAMA LINE NEAR CEDARTOWN. IT FOLLOWS THE ROUTE OF A FORMER SEABOARD AIR LINE PASSENGER TRAIN CALLED THE ‘SILVER COMET’ WHICH STOPPED RUNNING IN 1969. IT’S A MULTI-USE RECREATIONAL TRAIL, 12 FEET WIDE, OPEN TO RUNNERS AND NON-MOTORIZED VEHICLE TRAFFIC.

“IF THE FUNDING IS AWARDED, WALKER COUNTY WOULD AGREE TO PAY A 20-PERCENT LOCAL MATCH FOR THE FEASIBILITY STUDY.”

That 20% could be $5 or $50,000 – there’s no dollar figure attached to this. More shadiness from the Commissioner’s Office..

Meanwhile the county has spent about five years and hundreds of thousands of dollars building a walking trail on the old Durham rail line on Lookout Mountain, pissing off property owners up there, taking over private land, doing environmental damage, and getting sued by the state and homeowners alike.

Yes let’s do THAT again with another trail.   

Deputies in Chattooga County were called out last week to investigate a theft on Gore-Subligna Rd. just past the county line. Homeowner says someone broke into their home and stole everything from the dishwasher and microwave down to the kitchen cabinets. Losses estimated over $8,000.   

Runoff election will be held next week. Republican AND Democrat candidates for state school superintendent will be on ballots; here’s a look at all four of them with comments from a recent debate.

Buck and Woods are on the R ballot, Wilson and Morgan are on the D ballot – voters will have to choose one party or the other for the runoff.   

Walker County arrests, July 7-13.   

Chattooga County Schools moves forward with plans to install electronic student tracking devices on busses. Administrators say the technology will probably be optional, and aren’t sure yet how it will be used other than keeping up with kids during storms or disasters.

Similar systems installed in Calhoun and Texas were abandoned after less than a year because they didn’t accomplish anything except cause controversy and lawsuits.   

New study shows Georgia is 19th most corrupt (or 31st least corrupt) state in the country, based on number of public officials convicted of committing crimes. But the stats don’t figure for those who do wrong without being caught, something Georgia is pretty terrible with.   

Walmart Trion is having a job fair today. Company is hiring for 15 positions. Applicants are asked to register online.

As mentioned before, LaFayette Walmart will also be hiring on Wednesday.   

Bill Simon, Political Vine: “..if you ignore the corruption in your own [political] party (or your own family, or your own neighborhood, etc.), what moral standing do you have to criticize or object to what anyone does in any other party or group?”

Georgia DNR is seeking volunteers to help count bats. Agency is trying to determine if the state’s bat population is on the decline.   

“Project 52” – Chattanooga based home-repair ministry – is expanding services into Northwest Georgia. The org. helps elderly, disabled, and nonprofit groups with home repairs and maintenance.   

Social media posts, Facebook and the rest, are now considered legitimate tools for screening jurors.   

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