02.11
Today is another snow day for Walker County, with four or more inches measured in areas around LaFayette. Tomorrow’s forecast calls for more of the same, with a layer of ice expected before noon followed by another three to eight inches of snow.
Unlike the big Tuesday snow of two weeks ago, all local schools were closed for the day and some businesses also kept their doors closed. That means no repeat of kids left on stuck busses or stranded at school, even though more snow fell today than during the late January “snowpocalypse.” Beyond a few minor accident reports, things today have been relatively calm and enjoyable.
Hoping to avoid a repeat of the last snow mess, Gov. Deal prematurely declared a state of emergency for 14 counties midday Monday. By Tuesday morning he had expanded the declaration – twice – to 44 and then 88 of Georgia’s 159 counties. The emergency area includes Walker and every other county from Atlanta north to Tennessee.
Tuesday President Obama signed a resolution opening FEMA funds to the parts of Georgia covered by this emergency declaration, meaning the fed can repay 75% of everything spent clearing roads in the state’s northern half. At this point the state AND county have been out doing a decent job of that, clearing the roads and maybe even laying out treatments so they don’t get too bad tomorrow. LaFayette, meanwhile, borrowed an extra road scraper from Rossville to work on city streets.
Preparing for possible devastating power losses when the ice hits tomorrow, GA Power has called in thousands of extra workers from power companies around the country. As of NOW there are no reported significant power outages for GA Power or NGEMC, but that will probably change by Wednesday lunchtime after several hours of heavy ice.
At this point ALL public schools in the region are closed for Wednesday. Other closings: Walker County government and Walker Transit. First and Second Baptist LaFayette, Rock Spring UMC, Stone Ridge Community Fellowship. NGEMC payment office in Trion. GNTC, Dalton State College. Propex in Ringgold. All local Dept. of Driver Services offices. Shaw LaFayette (plant 67) also closed, no word yet about Synthetic in Chickamauga.
There’s also an unverified report Phillips Bros. Machine will be closed. Roper was closed for both shifts today but has made no declaration yet about tomorrow. For the latest check LU Facebook or Twitter. 
Hutcheson is removing and replacing the “Erlanger at Hutcheson” signs it spent thousands of dollars buying and installing less than three years ago. No word if they kept old signs in storage or if this will require spending more money the hospital doesn’t have.
Replacing the Erlanger signs, just like putting them up to begin with, has absolutely no impact on quality of care, which is the main reason Hutcheson is dying.
(Will replacement signs say “CATOOSA COUNTY’S LARGEST ANTIQUE MALL” where they used to say “Women’s Center”?)
Today at 2 PM, Steve Tarvin was sworn in as Georgia State Representative for House District 2.
Tarvin will get the rest of this week off; as he was being sworn in, the General Assembly decided – due to snow? – it should close down until next Monday. Before that point, they voted to end this year’s legislative session on March 20th – meaning Tarvin will have about five weeks to actually do anything before his term ends.
Senator Jeff Mullis and Gov. Deal both backed Neal Florence in the House District 2 election and applied considerable resources to get him elected. Mullis’ voice was used for robo calls asking people to vote for Florence. That means, at least per Atlanta blog Political Vine, Steve Tarvin’s victory over Florence makes both Mullis and Deal “look like sh*t now” politically.
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