LaFayette was thrust into the national spotlight last weekend as CBS’s 48 Hours presented an entire hour about the Theresa Parker murder. The show was hyped during the previous week as revealing mysteries about the murder, but ultimately added little to what we already knew collectively from reading and watching coverage of the case.

For your convenience the entire episode is embedded below, or you can read a transcript here.

From WQCH:

THE CITY OF LAFAYETTE WANTS TO HELP ROPER LOWER IT’S ELECTRIC BILLS… BUT NOT IN THE WAY THE INDUSTRY HAS REQUESTED. THE ROPER PLANT, OWNED BY G.E. – IS SERVED BY NORTH GEORGIA ELECTRIC MEMBERSHIP CORPORATION… AND SAYS THE LAFAYETTE PLANT HAS AMONG THE HIGHEST ELECTRICITY COSTS OF ANY GENERAL ELECTRIC FACILITY.

SINCE ROPER IS IN THE CITY OF LAFAYETTE ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT’S TERRITORY, NGEMC HAS TO PAY THE CITY A 4-PERCENT FRANCHISE TAX. IN A RECENT LETTER, ROPER REQUESTED THAT THE CITY DROP THE 4 PERCENT FEE… BUT THE MANUFACTURER APPARENTLY DOES NOT WISH TO SWITCH TO CITY OF LAFAYETTE POWER AT THE PRESENT TIME.

Roper, LaFayette’s largest employer, is struggling to stay solvent and relevant as it battles foreign competition, high material costs, and a souring economy. Roper’s parent company, General Electric, has been shopping the appliance division to several competitors, including China-owned LG, and may eventually close it down entirely if no buyers can be found. In light of all that the company’s leaders are looking for ways to cut costs in any way they possibly can.

From the December 20 Chattanooga Times Free Press:

Northwest Georgia leaders are asking the public to help identify potential sites for movies and hope to have a rough catalog of sites by the end of the year.

In August, Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, announced that Ringgold City Councilman Randall Franks would head up effort to inventory buildings, land and other locations where Hollywood film crews could aim their lenses to bring money and fame to the area.

“We think that could be a niche we could use,” said Sen. Mullis.

He called movie shoots “great economic opportunities” because when crews come into an area, they eat, sleep, shoot and leave, spending money without using many services.

Senator Mullis, always on the lookout for suggestions that appear to help the economy, is now suggesting we compile a list of ideal settings for hollywood movies. Theoretically a movie production will bring in film crews with hundreds of people who all stay in local hotels, eat local food, and then promote the area through a completed film. This nicely complements Civil War Tourism, Mullis’ only other plan for reviving the region’s economy; unfortunately neither has much (or any) impact on the finances of people living and working in Northwest Georgia.

As usual, last week’s predictions of snow led to overreaction and panicked grocery store shelf-clearing from local residents. Government-issued warnings to not panic followed by advice for handling power outages, closed roads, and water shortages did more to fuel fears of “another 1993” than to squelch them, as did premature and unwarranted closures of businesses and government agencies.

Walker County schools decided Wednesday afternoon to cancel all Thursday classes based on predictions of light snow beginning at noon. I can’t judge the methods and thought processes that go into making a decision about school closures; student/staff safety and insurance requirements have to be balanced with a responsibility to provide school and stay on schedule, and it’s a difficult decision for anyone to make. But calling school off for Thursday based on a prediction of possible light snow at noon is a bit premature. Either school administrators got tired of parents calling to ask if school was cancelled, or they realized a three-day school week beginning on a Wednesday (with Friday most certainly cancelled) was a waste of everyone’s time.

Good job to the City of LaFayette for keeping roads clear in town. The city’s Vietnam-war-era plow truck was out fairly early, followed a short time later by salt spreaders. Sand and salt were liberally applied to hills and low spots where ice was likely to form, although the downtown area got a lot more sand and salt than some of the outlying streets.

Back in November the Walker Chamber of Commerce announced the winners for its 2009 Best of Walker contest. In the spirit of that lopsided vote, the Underground presents its own contest for the Worst of Walker County 2009.

Like the Chamber’s contest, this will focus mostly on LaFayette, Rock Spring, and Chickamauga since nobody cares about Lookout Mtn. and everybody in Rossville apparently thinks they live in Catoosa County. Also like the Chamber’s contest, you can vote as often as you like, the results are based on nothing scientific, and some of the questions don’t fit into the category we put them in.