May 1st was one year since the first LU Daily Update. The goal was (and still is) to provide a daily summary of news from LaFayette and other links that might be of interest to LaFayette readers.

Daily Updates stopped, for a while, last August due to burnout from covering local elections and frustration with election results. Updates stopped again this year in March and (until this point) in April because of personal issues and time constraints. But during those breaks the Underground did continue, as usual, on social media – and will resume posting Daily Updates here Monday.

In the meanwhile, catch up on major news from March and April:

In LaFayette city government, City Manager Frank Etheridge was pushed out after only 18 months on the job. Weeks later, details and acceptable explanations for the forced resignation still haven’t been provided. (A standalone LU blog post about the dismissal didn’t help clarify things much – but that should be updated soon to add more detail.) Etheridge is technically employed by the city through May as part of his severance, but has already applied for a new job as Manager of Colquitt County.     

During a special called meeting last Wednesday, the City Council named ex-Councilman Max Morrison to serve as interim City Manager. He started in that role Thursday. Morrison will accept no pay for the job while the council searches for a permanent occupant. One councilman says they’ve gotten twenty applications for the job, so far.     

Mayor Florence finally revealed the city’s worst kept secret, confirming (to WQCH radio) that he doesn’t intend to run for mayor again this fall after more than 22 years in office. Maybe now he can focus on his vow to “get” Times Free Press reporters who asked too many questions.   

During its April meeting, the city council voted to raise electric rates by 10%. The vote was 3-2, with Chris Davis and Wayne Swanson both voting in opposition. Councilman Andy Arnold may be haunted by his advocacy for the rate increase this fall when he runs for reelection or (as many expect) tries to become mayor. Freshman councilor Ben Bradford, also up for a vote this fall, might also regret the “yes” vote come November.     

An online petition asking the council to allow a vote on liquor sales in restaurants has a goal of 1,000 signatures, but is stuck somewhere around the 140 mark. Even with 1,000 names the petition isn’t likely to sway a majority of the council to revisit the contentious alcohol issue, which was defeated during a close (non-binding) vote in 2009.     

WQCH Radio, 03/05/13: “WALKER COUNTY CITIZENS MAY GET THE CHANCE TO VOTE ON CONTINUANCE OF THE ‘SPLOST’ SALES TAX, AS WELL AS WHETHER TO APPROVE DEDICATED TAX MILLAGE TO SUPPORT LIBRARY SERVICES, THIS NOVEMBER.

“COMMISSIONER BEBE HEISKELL SAID THURSDAY, THAT THE SPLOST WILL BE UP FOR RENEWAL IN 2014 BUT UNLESS THE VOTE IS HELD THIS NOVEMBER, THE PRESENT 5-YEAR SPLOST WOULD END TWO MONTHS BEFORE A VOTE FOR RENEWAL COULD BE HELD NEXT YEAR. FOR THAT REASON, SHE IS CONTEMPLATING CALLING THE 5-YEAR PENNY SALES TAX RENEWAL VOTE, THIS NOVEMBER.

Walker County’s business community should demand Bebe hold off on SPLOST renewal. Two months without the 1% sales tax won’t break the county, but it could show voters the impact lowering sales taxes would make on their wallets and local business’ sales. Heiskell won’t do it; she’s been around long enough to know it’s easier to convince voters to continue an existing tax than implement one they haven’t been paying – even if they only stopped paying it a few months before.

WQCH Radio, 04/25/13: “THE COMMISSIONER PLANS TO EARMARK A PORTION OF THE SPLOST FOR ROADS PAVING, SINCE THE NORTHWEST GEORGIA AREA TURNED ‘THUMBS-DOWN’ ON THE TRANSPORTATION SALES TAX VOTE, LAST YEAR.”

If Bebe will put language into the SPLOST measure guaranteeing at least 60% of the funds raised (60% of the county’s share) will go to roads, she might find more support for the tax. Less than that and she’s going to have a hard time getting another renewal. Ideally 75% would be for road work – REAL road work, not paving her driveway and building walking trails for the Davenport family – but 60% would probably be enough to sway voters still on the fence.

Per multiple city sources, LaFayette City Manager Frank Etheridge will be leaving his position as-of Friday. The change was announced to city department heads during a meeting this morning, and Etheridge apparently made the same announcement during a Rotary Club event this afternoon. No word yet what the specific reason was for his departure, and it’s still not clear if he quit, was fired, or forced to resign.

Etheridge was hired in October 2011 to replace fired City Manager Johnnie Arnold. The decision to hire Etheridge was made by a lame-duck four-member city council, two members of which had already decided to retire. At the time LU pushed to have the decision made by a newly elected council, so new city leaders could have their own man (or woman) in the job but the outgoing councilors chose Etheridge to make their own mark on the future.

When Etheridge was chosen, LU raised some concerns about the man’s work history. Between 1997 and 2010, Etheridge held four different jobs and was apparently fired from all of them – which is why LU dubbed the man “Four-Firings-Frank”:

Etheridge lists five non-military jobs on his résumé, beginning in 1997 when he was a Planner, Surveyor, and Project Manager for a Florida-based engineering company. He held that job for a year and two months, then moved on to work as Planning and Development Director for Camden County, Georgia. That position lasted exactly three years, followed by a two-year, two-month stint as Building and Planning Director for Habersham County and a three-year, nine-month job doing the same thing in Jackson County. His last job was City Administrator for Pembroke, GA (population under 3,000), another position that lasted only 23 months.

That’s the kind of job hopping you expect from a single twenty-something trying to find their place in the world, not a professional married adult with children in college. What grown man, over forty years old, works five jobs in fourteen years?

Perhaps a grown man who gets fired frequently.

Inquiries as to the reasons for those dismissals (which didn’t inherently make Etheridge a bad guy) were never provided. At this point he should probably consider another line of work.

Etheridge’s wife Denise is currently an assistant editor of the Catoosa County News/Walker County Messenger. No word on her position.

Updates as this story develops.

Article updated below to add results of Convention.

This Saturday, March 9th, at 9 AM, the Walker County Republican Party will hold its biannual County Convention. Decisions made at the convention will set the tone for politics and leadership in Walker County for the next two years – making participation in the convention a must for those who desire political relevance.

Political parties are meant, in theory, as a way for like-minded people to band together in support of certain causes and principles. However, causes and principles of parties can vary widely generation to generation (or even year to year) based on the whims of party leadership and participants. A party (be it Republican, Democrat, or something else) can only be as good as the candidates who choose to run within it and local party leaders who decide what the party stands for.

National party positions on issues like homosexual marriage, foreign relations, or the price of gasoline don’t generally make a difference to the jobs of county commissioner, coroner, or Sheriff – so local candidates often choose political affiliation not because of party principles, but on how well that party can help them win elections. That allows them to claim similarity and affinity for popular national candidates, as seen in the tacky, opportunistic Bebe Heiskell/Mitt Romney mailer depicted above.

Heiskell, of course, was a hard-core dedicated Democrat until losing a primary vote for County Commissioner in 1996. She switched parties before running again in 2000, then rode a wave of support for national Republican candidates to victory, becoming the county’s first female and first Republican commissioner. But her core values didn’t change, and she quickly shaped Walker County Republican Party agendas and values to mirror her own.

Before 2000, the Walker County Republican Party considered ending sole-commissioner county government a “most significant” issue. After Heiskell took the sole commissioner job as a Republican, the party changed gears to make support of the formerly-opposed system one of its core values. Likewise, the Walker County Democrat Party – which upheld sole-commissioner government as sacred when the sole commissioner was a Democrat – shifted to oppose it.

A wide majority of Walker County voters consider themselves Republican and support Republican candidates; in fact by last year’s elections the county had only one Democrat official left and isn’t likely to have any more in the foreseeable future. However, it’s debatable if a majority of the county’s residents or a majority of Republican voters also support sole-commissioner leadership.

The two issues shouldn’t be tied together; voters should be able to support Republican candidates and issues without inherently advocating for unaccountable sole-elected-leader government. That’s why the Walker County Republican Party should drop support for that archaic system of governance from its official platform and endorse voting for whatever type government the people want.

And the time to make that change is this Saturday during the 2013-2014 convention.

WQCH Radio, 02/26/13: “WHEN A TORNADO WARNING GOES OUT IN WALKER COUNTY, RESIDENTS WILL GET THE CALL. THE COUNTY IS MAKING THE LAST-MINUTE PREPARATIONS TO LAUCH THE NEW EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEM, OFTEN CALLED “REVERSE 9-1-1” – WHICH GOES INTO OPERATION THIS FRIDAY.

“COUNTY COORDINATOR DAVID ASHBURN SAID THE CONTRACTOR WHICH WILL HANDLE THE MESSAGES, HAS ALREADY BEEN PROVIDED WITH THE WALKER’S 9-1-1 DATA-BASE OF LAND-LINE PHONE NUMBERS.

“RESIDENTS WITH CELL PHONES WILL BE ABLE TO GO ON-LINE AND GIVE THEIR INFORMATION DIRECT TO THE COMPANY. A LINK TO THAT SITE WILL BE UP ON THE COUNTY’S WEBSITE, STARTING FRIDAY, ASHBURN SAID. YOU’LL BE ABLE TO CHOOSE WHETHER YOU WANT A CELL PHONE CALL, A TEXT OR AN EMAIL – WHEN YOU ACCESS THAT WEB SITE. YOU CAN ALSO CHOOSE WHICH TYPES OF MESSAGES YOU’D LIKE TO RECEIVE.

The Web site to register cell phones is already online. Those without Internet (people who certainly aren’t reading this) can call the Commissioner’s office and request their mobile number be added to the database.

“ASHBURN EXPLAINED THAT THE COUNTY WILL BE CHARGED IF IT GOES OVER IT’S ALLOTTED MINUTES FOR PHONE SERVICE. FOR THAT REASON, THE PHONE MESSAGES WILL BE LIMITED TO ABSOLUTE EMERGENCIES, SUCH AS A TORNADO OR FLOOD WARNING. THOSE WHO CHOOSE TEXT OR EMAIL MESSAGES AS AN OPTION, MIGHT CHOOSE TO GET MORE ‘NON-EMERGENCY’ MESSAGES FROM THE COUNTY, BECAUSE THEY CAN BE GENERATED AT NO ADDITIONAL COST.

No word on what kind of “MORE ‘NON-EMERGENCY’ MESSAGES” the county might send out, but it’s probably just a matter of time before they push the boundaries on that and start sending out thinly-veiled political messages.

“”..THE EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION SYSTEM IS BEING PAID-FOR BY A ‘FEMA’ GRANT TIED TO RECOVERY FROM TORNADO DAMAGE IN 2011.”

This is a nice system that will actually help people, so of course it was paid for with federal deficit money. Local taxes continue to be completely wasted.

As part of investigating fired officer Tom Evans, Ringgold PD tried to interview Ken Hillman, the FBI agent Evans allegedly provided special favors to. But their access to Hillman was blocked by the FBI.

(The above article acknowledges ex-officer Evans is married to Assistant DA Beth Evans, something LU pointed out first. Ms. Evans frequently worked with Hillman to prosecute men arrested by his FBI task force.)

An internal FBI investigation into Hillman, focused on people getting inappropriate access to his office, has cast doubts on his entire operation at the “Crimes Against Children” task force. If the force is found to have been run improperly it could mean new trials (or even dismissed cases) for some of the child molesters (and wannabe molesters) Hillman brought charges against.

Meanwhile the Catoosa Sheriff’s Office has decided not to investigate any of its own officers involved with Hillman’s task force. (Walker County won’t investigate either, certainly, because even officers who HAVE broken the law in Walker County don’t get checked out.) Here’s the Catoosa press release and a response from attorney Ken Poston, who’s pushing the local agency to check into its men.

Don LoLo’s Mexican Restaurant was closed for business during dinner Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday. A sign on the establishment’s door said it was closed due to a family emergency and would reopen Monday. However, customers and several employees report being told the store closed temporarily because of a “gas leak” requiring extensive repairs.

DLL has had issues with paying its employees on time and in full, naturally leading to speculation that the oldest of LaFayette’s three sit-down Mexican eateries might have closed due to financial problems. (Two conflicting stories about the untimely closure just make those concerns stronger.) Hopefully there was just a family emergency or gas leak, but if the restaurant doesn’t reopen for lunch today there’s a good chance it never will.

Ringgold cop Tom Evans was dismissed last week as result of an investigation into special treatment he provided to an intoxicated woman who exposed herself to him and an equally intoxicated FBI agent. The woman is married to one of Catoosa County’s wealthiest men; the drunk FBI officer is Ken Hillman, special agent in charge of investigating sex crimes against children. The fired officer’s WIFE is Assistant District Attorney Beth Tate, who frequently prosecutes cases made by the Hillman and the FBI.

But the cheap mystery novel plot doesn’t stop there.

The FBI is also investigating Agent Hillman separately for providing non-officers access to his office. That investigation is causing doubts about the entire “Crimes Against Children Task Force” which Hillman leads (or led until it apparently shut down). Hillman and his office have close ties to many in local, state, and federal law enforcement; officers from GBI, Dalton and Rossville PD, and Walker and Catoosa sheriff offices were part of his outfit.

More than a few local law enforcement leaders and employees of the district attorney’s office might well be losing sleep over this and what else the FBI could stumble into.