Here are some news and links of interest for Valentine’s Day.

Walker Co. Messenger: LaFayette High School on lockdown

“LaFayette High School was placed on lockdown this morning and remained on lockdown as of 11:45 a.m.

“Walker County Schools public relations coordinator Elaine Womack estimates that the lockdown began around 11 a.m. or shortly thereafter, but had not yet been able to ascertain the reason why.”

No idea why.. If The Underground still had Facebook access we could probably find out from a student, but thanks to those who were offended at our disdain for underage drinking parties now we might not know for hours, or ever find out for sure what went on.

UPDATE: It’s another bomb threat, this one described as “non-credible.” Glad it wasn’t credible else doing a “lockdown” for a bomb is ridiculous…

“Womack would like to remind the students of LaFayette High School that such incidents of falsified bomb threats are a dangerous deterrent to their education.” Oh well that should fix it. They hadn’t thought about that.

Chattanooga Times Free Press: Friends mourn students who died in cave

“Rescue workers believe Grant Lockenbach, 20, and Michael Pirie, 18, died of hypothermia while trapped by their rappelling ropes in a frigid waterfall cascading inside Ellison’s Cave, Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson said.

“Witnesses told officials that someone dropped a bag down the cave’s first large pit, estimated to be a 125-foot drop. Lockenbach rappelled down to retrieve the bag but got tangled in his ropes about 100 feet down. Cold water pouring over the cliff’s face drenched him, and he called for help. That’s when Michael Pirie rappelled down and also got stuck.

“‘The [other students] couldn’t really communicate because of the volume of the water,’ said Wilson. ‘They could hear them calling for about 30 minutes, but then their voices faded out.’ Wilson explained that hypothermia could have set in as quickly as 15 minutes. The two men were wearing shorts and T-shirts, Ashburn said.”

This is a sad story, senseless loss of life.. They weren’t even tackling the 600 ft drop, just dropped something in a hole and went after it.

Sounds like everyone was very unprepared for this trip, both in equipment/clothing and training. The friends probably panicked instead of going for help when the first guy went in, but even if they had went for help it probably wouldn’t have made a difference if they died within 15 minutes. Would have taken longer than that just to get out of the cave and get to a place with working cell service, much less get the Walker Fire & Rescue cave and cliff team there.

WQCH says an autopsy will be performed to confirm the hypothermia.

The group was apparently celebrating Lockenbach’s 21st birthday, which would have been next Saturday.

Chattanooga Times Free Press: Clock ticks for Hutcheson as hospital’s losses mount

“A 60-day due diligence period has come and gone and anxiety is growing among Hutcheson Medical Center employees as they await details of a partnership agreement between the Fort Oglethorpe community hospital and Erlanger Health System. As Hutcheson continues to lose money, the clock is ticking.

The new deal was supposed to save the hospital, but two or three weeks ago we were told they only had enough free cash to operate another 15 days. If a decision isn’t made soon, probably within the next week, Hutcheson could shut down.

As we’ve noted before, the hospital property is owned by a hospital authority controlled by Walker, Dade, and Catoosa county governments but the hospital’s operations are under Hutcheson Medical Center, Inc. The authority could let HMC, Inc. close down and go into bankruptcy, but apparently the counties are on the hook for some outstanding debts, including $35 million in bonds that were sold to pay off debts and remodel the hospital.

“Hospital leaders announced Oct. 29 they would begin working with Erlanger in Chattanooga on a partnership agreement aimed at keeping Hutcheson afloat as it deals with dwindling patient volumes and more indigent care.

“Even members of the hospital’s operating board haven’t been privy to Erlanger’s draft proposal, which is under review by Hutcheson CEO Charles Stewart and the hospital’s legal counsel.

“Officials from Hutcheson and Erlanger emphasize that the deal is still on track.”

So the “savior” deal with Erlanger is being reviewed by the CEO who’s run the place into the ground, and until he decides what to do with it the bleeding will continue. Nobody’s seen the deal, but how much do you bet it calls for a change in leadership? It’s to Stewart’s advantage to drag his feet on this, keep cashing his monster paychecks until the hospital collapses entirely and then take off somewhere. The hospital authority should step in here and set a deadline for him to make a decision or resign, but it’s not clear how much authority the authority actually has. There are so many overlapping layers of bureaucracy here and so much red tape there might not be anything anyone can do except watch the fire get bigger.

WQCH, 02/14/11: “COMMISSIONER BEBE HEISKELL EXPRESSED HER LACK OF CONFIDENCE IN THE HOSPITAL’S PRESENT ADMINISTRATION AND SAID SHE ‘COULD NOT BELIEVE’ THE COMPENSATION PACKAGE FOR CEO CHARLES STEWART, REPORTEDLY OVER 425-THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR.”

So even Bebe, who serves on the authority board, admits the hospital’s leaders are a problem and the CEO is overpaid. But what’s she planning to do about it? The county can’t take legal action against the hospital because Walker County Attorney Don Oliver is working for HMC as financial advisor. Conflict of interest much? Absolutely..

“Last summer, five primary care doctors who had stopped or reduced their practice at Hutcheson offered to return upon conditions, including a change of leadership, said Dr. David Bosshardt, president of the tri-county North Georgia medical society. Bosshardt’s primary care practice was a huge source of admissions before he joined the Parkridge Health System in 2008.

“The Hutcheson Medical Center board did not respond to the offer, he said.”

The leadership didn’t respond to a generous offer that would have saved the hospital but required them to be replaced. Gee imagine that…

WQCH: LHS HONOR GRADUATES FOR CLASS OF 2011 NAMED

“LAFAYETTE HIGH SCHOOL HAS ANNOUNCED THE THREE TOP-HONOR GRADUATES IN THE CLASS OF 2011. THE YEAR’S VALEDICTORIAN AT LAFAYETTE HIGH, IS HANNAH TURNER. THE SALUTATORIAN IS ETHAN HUNTER AND THE THIRD-HONOR STUDENT IS JONATHAN INGRAM. CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2011 HONOR-GRADUATES OF LAFAYETTE HIGH.”

Congratulations to those students who have excelled and been given the honor. But this makes us wonder, since the school year has several months left, what’s the decision based on? What happens if somebody in this group fails a class and their GPA drops before graduation? Not saying they don’t deserve it, just wondering how the school determines its honors..