RUMOR MILL: Chattanooga Street Tavern insiders say the restaurant is up for sale. Lovelady family is in talks with Jefferson’s Restaurants.

Jefferson’s was interested in the location before the Tavern opened, but Mike Lovelady (through his position on the city DDA board) found out and decided to open his own poor imitation of a Jefferson’s in the same space.

Now that Mike’s plans to take over LaFayette have been defeated, we might actually get the restaurant that WOULD have opened two years ago if not for him.   

At 10:30 this morning representatives from Hutcheson, Erlanger, Regions Bank, Walker, Dade, and Catoosa were scheduled to be in Rome fighting over Hutcheson’s future.

Erlanger is pushing to have the hospital foreclosed next Tuesday for the $2.5 million debt it’s still owed. Regions Bank says Erlanger can’t have anything until Regions’ older loan to HMC is repaid. The counties and hospital all want the debts to go away and plan to argue that a hospital can’t be foreclosed on in Georgia.

Chattanooga media finally covers what LU reported back in April: The Hutcheson mess has contributed to Walker County’s credit rating being cut, because Walker County is on the hook for half of Hutcheson’s $60+ million debt.

Don Oliver, ex-con lawyer for both Walker County AND Hutcheson, insists that he’s fouled up the paperwork and loans so well that neither Regions OR Erlanger will ever get a dime:

WQCH Radio, 07/29/14: “WILL HUTCHESON MEDICAL CENTER BE ‘SOLD ON THE COURTHOUSE STEPS’, ACCORDING TO ERLANGER’S STATED PLAN? WALKER COUNTY ATTORNEY DON OLIVER, WHO HAS WORKED CLOSELY WITH HUTCHESON IN THE TROUBLED HOSPITAL’S BID TO STAY AFLOAT, SAYS ‘THAT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN’.

“OLIVER EXPLAINED THAT HUTCHESON’S DEBT TO ERLANGER IS SUBORDINATE TO THE HOSPITAL’S DEBT TO REGIONS BANK. IN OTHER WORDS, IF THE HOSPITAL PROPERTY WERE TO BE SOLD, REGIONS WOULD HAVE ‘FIRST DIBS’ ON THE PROCEEDS.

“HE WENT ON TO SAY THAT REGIONS CAN’T FORECLOSE ON THE HUTCHESON MAIN CAMPUS BECAUSE THEIR DEBT WAS SECURED INSTEAD WITH THE HOSPITAL’S PARKWAY PROPERTY. ERLANGER’S NOTE IS SECURED BY THE HUTCHESON MAIN CAMPUS, BUT THEIR NOTE IS NOT ‘FIRST IN LINE’ FOR REPAYMENT.

“OLIVER ALSO SAID HE HAS BEEN TOLD THAT IF ERLANGER ATTEMPTS TO FORECLOSE, REGIONS WILL BRING SUIT AGAINST THE CHATTANOOGA HOSPITAL SINCE THEIR NOTES HAVE SUPERIOR STATUS. THE SCENARIO HAS OLIVER ‘CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC’ THAT HUTCHESON MEDICAL CENTER WILL SURVIVE AS THE TRI-COUNTY AREA’S LOCAL, INDEPENDENT HEALTHCARE PROVIDER.”

Thing is, the hospital owes $60 million to Regions and Erlanger but has maybe $25-35 million in assets. If they sold everything Hutcheson owns at market value and divided it up, neither creditor would get even half what they’re owed and the counties would end up on the hook for everything left, plus lose control in the hospital.   

Cherokee Regional Library leaders have voted to slash hours at the Rossville branch in order to handle decreased funding and the community’s rejection of a proposed library tax. Hours at the LaFayette branch will increase slightly.

LaFayette and Chickamauga have raised their annual contributions to the library in recent years while Rossville’s budgeted spending on its branch has fallen. If not for a planned $10k increase in funds from the school system this fall, Rossville would close entirely.   

Sales tax holiday on some back to school items in GA started at 12:01 this morning and runs through 11:59 tomorrow night. Tax breaks in TN and AL last through Sunday.

Meanwhile in Trion, today is the first day back at school. !@!!!   

Those who guessed that low-flying helicopters spotted last week were looking for drugs would win the prize, if LU had any prizes to give away.

WQCH Radio, 07/30/14: “THE DRUG TASK FORCE FOUND A NUMBER OF MARIJUANA PLANTS BY SEARCHING FROM THE SKY, LAST WEEK. THE STATE TASK FORCE HELICOPTER SEARCH RESULTED IN A HOME-GROWN BUST IN ROSSVILLE.”

Other cases are “pending” so arrests in LaFayette might also result from the sky-based invasion of privacy.   

A recount in the GA School Superintendent race found one extra vote for candidate Mike Buck, but in the end Buck still lost to challenger Richard Woods.

Woods, now officially Republican nominee for the sup’t job, will go head to head against Democrat Valarie Wilson in November.   

An “equipment malfunction” has resulted in the traffic signal at Hwy. 136 and the bypass (at Pit Stop) flashing instead of working normally during morning rush hour several days in a row. The signal at 136/Villanow St. and Duke has also been observed on a flashing cycle during the day.

GDOT says the issues are being fixed, but be careful out there.     

Law enforcement and hospital leaders worry Georgia’s new gun laws allow concealed weapons to be carried into unsecured areas of Hutcheson’s campus. But if the property has no security, what’s stopping guns from being carried there illegally regardless of the law?

At least now somebody with a legal right to have a gun has a means of self defense against those who wouldn’t follow the law anyway.   

Electronic cigarettes are now formally banned from all Walker County Schools property.   

Walker County author Dennis Glaser has released a new book, “The French Kiss-Off” – his first work of fiction. The WWII vet previously wrote several nonfiction titles about Nashville and traveling.

This is the first time he’s been on LU’s radar. Here’s a complete list of his works available on Amazon.com.   

For today’s links and any breaking news, follow the Underground on Facebook or Twitter.