Tuesday morning around 9:45, a Walker County Jail trustee doing work at LaFayette PD snuck off. Around 11 AM he was noticed missing, launching a multi-state manhunt.

Seven hours later, Leonard Anthony Martin was arrested on his way home to Hixson, TN:

WQCH Radio, 11/12/13: “AN ESCAPED WALKER COUNTY JAIL TRUSTEE DIDN’T TASTE FREEDOM FOR LONG. LEONARD ANTHONY MARTIN WALKED AWAY FROM HIS WORK DETAIL AT THE LAFAYETTE POLICE DEPARTMENT TUESDAY MORNING, AND LEFT WITH A FRIEND WHO WAS WAITING IN A CAR.

“SHERIFF STEVE WILSON SAID A CELL PHONE PROVIDER ‘PINGED’ THE PHONE MARTIN HAD BEEN USING, AND FOUND THE PAIR IN A WALMART PARKING LOT IN MARION COUNTY, TENNESSEE.

“IT TOOK AROUND 7 HOURS TO TRACK MARTIN DOWN, AFTER HIS ESCAPE AT 9:44 AM. HE WILL FACE AN ADDITIONAL FIVE YEARS, ON TOP OF HIS JAIL TIME FOR A METH CONVICTION. THE DRIVER OF THE CAR INVOLVED, JESSICA ROGERS, WAS ALSO ARRESTED FOR AIDING THE ESCAPE.”

Why was someone on the “most wanted” list a few months ago left to work by himself in downtown LaFayette?

Walker Jail trustees are a bit too trusted… We’ve had beer parties before, inmates wandering off, guys unsupervised. Some who use their time away from supervision to sneak things into the jail for themselves or others.

Sheriff Wilson could put a stop to this by tightening up departmental policies about trustees and disciplining the people who supervise them – but consistency and discipline would be a 180° change from everything Wilson has done in the last sixteen years he’s been Sheriff. It’ll never happen, at least not until a trustee runs off and kills somebody.     

Run-off election for LaFayette Council Ward 1 (Wardlaw v. Garmany) will be December 3rd. Early voting begins next Monday, lasting through the 26th. Early voting will be held at the Courthouse elections office, while the actual vote on December 3rd will be at LaFayette City Hall.   

Here’s the LU Q&A for that race, which only Mr. Wardlaw bothered to participate in.

A date for the upcoming special election to replace Jay Neal as GA Representative for House District 2 has been set for January 7th. Runoff, if necessary, will be Feb. 4th.

Early voting for that race will begin December 17th at the Courthouse and run through January 3rd, except for on holiday and county furlough days (Dec. 24-26, Dec. 30-Jan 1). Voter registration deadline is December 9th.

HD 2 represents West Walker County, along with parts of Catoosa and Whitfield. In Walker you can only vote in this race if you live in LaFayette, Rock Spring, Armuchee, part of Chickamauga, and part of the Center Post precincts.

Candidates interesting in being on the ballot have to register in Atlanta at the Secretary of State office, November 18-20, since this is a state election.       

Happy Veterans’ Day.

City and county offices, along with most federal agencies (including mail) and banks will be closed today. Schools, however, will be open. LHS will host a Veterans’ Day program at 8:30 this morning in the auditorium. Keynote speaker will be Michael Rewis, an army recruiter fresh back from Afghanistan.   

Also today, despite city offices being closed for the federal holiday, LaFayette City Council will hold its monthly meeting at 7:30 PM in City Hall. Posted agenda looks thin – discussion of another event closing on Chattanooga Street, airport runway stripe painting, and a few other odds and ends.   

Friday night LHS finished the football season with a 35-34 win on the road against Johnson High in Gainesville. Ramblers finish the season 2-8, one win more than last year under coach Gable. Despite going five weeks without a single victory at the season’s start, the Ramblers won two of their last three games – including the team’s first win over Ridgeland in a decade.

LHS never played Johnson High’s Knights before, and likely never will again. The matchup was a result of end-of-season non-region scheduling.     

Villanow residents report multiple home break-ins during the last week.

Burglar(s) have broken out windows and kicked in doors on Shahan Ln, East Armuchee Rd, Dicks Creek Rd, and Pocket Rd. stealing items in the “thousand dollar range” – hitting at least one home twice. If you live in the area be on the lookout for anyone suspicious, and be sure to lock up.

Officers from the Sheriff’s Office have been investigating the burglaries but so far the department has released nothing about this possible epidemic to the press or public.   

SPLOST backers claimed renewing the sales tax through 2020 would be the ONLY way to avoid a property tax increase. 68% of Walker County voters (those who bothered showing up) accepted that story.

Wednesday night on UCTV, Not-Commissioner Ashburn said taxes will go up anyway.

Surprise!   

In OTHER disappointing elections news, outgoing LaFayette mayor Neal Florence has confirmed plans to run for GA House District 2.

The linked “press release” from Florence includes more bio on him than the local paper has run in the last decade of his time as LaFayette Mayor. It also includes a full list of his accomplishments as mayor: absolutely nothing.

The pharmacist will be done as LaFayette mayor in January after 23 years, timing which works out well for an upcoming special election to replace current HD2 Representative Jay Neal, who’s resigning to take a paid job with the state.

Chickamaugan Steve Tarvin and Ringgold defense attorney Doug Woodruff are the only other candidates, so far, who have shown interest in the race – but others are expected to jump in once a date for the election has been announced.       

“Kerosene” purchased from MAPCO on Nashville St. in Ringgold is contaminated with gasoline. Anyone purchasing heater fuel there on Thursday should NOT use it.

There’s no sign of a similar problem at any other area MAPCO except the one in Ringgold.   

With high turnout in an odd-year election, Walker County SPLOST was renewed by 68% of 6,452 voters.

6,452 is the second-highest participation in a SPLOST vote held in the county (record 7,682 in 1987). Efforts from both sides, pushing yes AND no votes, apparently got a lot of people interested in this issue.

Unfortunately more than two thirds of the people who showed up voted against their own best interests. That’s 6,452 people who will continue paying SPLOST sales taxes until at least September 2020, and whose property taxes will all go up next year anyway.           

In city elections, outgoing councilman Andy Arnold handily beat Mike Lovelady and James Mashburn to become LaFayette’s first new mayor since 1991. Incumbent councilman Ben Bradford came out ahead of challenger Ronald Underwood, keeping his Ward 2 chair.   

For Ward 1, Robert Wardlaw and Beacher Garmany were top finishers against Glenn Gunnells, but neither man received more than 50% of the vote, meaning a runoff will be necessary. Single-race special election for Wardlaw and Garmany will be held on December 3rd.     

Tomorrow is election day. LaFayette voters will choose council members for Wards 1 and 2, and the city’s first new mayor in almost a quarter-century. Voters all over the county (including city residents) will additionally vote on renewal of the 1% SPLOST sales tax.

Some very good reasons not to renew the tax on groceries and other goods:

“When first passed in 1987, SPLOST eventually built such projects as a civic center and a 911 center in Walker County. No one disagrees both projects were sorely needed and are used by all citizens.

“But now the money is harder to trace, and critics are raising the alarm.

“..When an administration cannot even publish an annual budget, accounting for every tax penny spent locally whether SPLOST or otherwise, any continuation of a tax needs to be voted down.”   

Also, an insightful article about the SPLOST battle:

In this piece, we find that a committee campaigning to renew the tax is run by Virgil Sperry, a Chamber of Commerce board member who also directs the county’s Development Authority, which gets SPLOST funds. He admits they’ve raised thousands of dollars to buy advertising and print signs and broken the law by putting pro-SPLOST ads in county water bills and by handing out the same material at Gilbert Elementary.

..all to convince county voters they’re better off with a $100 property tax increase than with paying $200 a year in county sales taxes. If you can do math, you’ll be voting against the SPLOST tomorrow (assuming you didn’t already vote against it during three weeks of early voting).     

As for the city election, review LU’s Q&A’s with candidates Robert Wardlaw, Ben Bradford, and Mike Lovelady/Andy Arnold.

Unfortunately, tomorrow’s election (and even the inevitable runoff vote for at least one city race) won’t be the end of political campaigning for a while.

Last Friday, Rep. Jay Neal announced his impending resignation from the Georgia House, due to Governor Deal appointing him work in an organization helping inmates transition out of prison. The job begins in less than two weeks, on November 15th. That means Neal’s House District 2, which includes eastern Walker County and portions of Catoosa and Whitfield, will have no representative in the state house until a special election is held.

Chickamauga business owner (and perennial candidate) Steve Tarvin has already announced plans to run for Rep. Neal’s old job. Outgoing LaFayette Mayor Neal “going to get you” Florence is also, apparently, interested in becoming a state legislator. Don’t be surprised if this special election ends up with a dozen or more candidates before everything’s said and done.