Memorial service for slain county police dog Tanja was attended by hundreds of law enforcement and emergency service workers from Walker County and the surrounding area. Ceremony at the Civic Center was preceded by a procession of 100+ county vehicles, which left LaFayette High School around 10 AM Friday.

A week before the shooting, a Chattanooga charity donated $850 to buy a bulletproof vest for the dog. Funds weren’t used, and will presumably go to buy a vest for the next K9 unit.     

Rampant theft in the Queen City continues uninterrupted:

WQCH Radio, 06/19/14: “A LAFAYETTE HIGH SCHOOL MAINTENANCE BUILDING WAS TARGETED BY THIEVES OVER THE WEEKEND, AND AROUND 100 GALLONS OF GASOLINE WAS STOLEN.

“LAFAYETTE POLICE GOT THE CALL MONDAY MORNING. THEY FOUND THAT A LOCK ON THE MAINTENANCE BUILDING GATE HAD BEEN CUT, AND ANOTHER LOCK WAS BROKEN OFF THE GAS-HOLDING TANK. PRINCIPAL MIKE CULBERSON SAID THE TANK HAD JUST BEEN RE-FILLED, AND THEY CALCULATE THE LOSS AT ABOUT 100 GALLONS. THE TANK IS USED TO FILL LAWN TRACTORS AND OTHER MAINTENANCE EQUIPMENT ON SCHOOL GROUNDS. POLICE HAVE NO SUSPECTS AT PRESENT.”   

Walker County leaders met Tuesday in Chickamauga to discuss a variety of topics. Most of the speeches were fluff, but one item stands out: Commissioner Heiskell says Money Cove Farms “will soon be placed under professional management.”

Wait, so David Ashburn, Bebe’s uneducated Graddaughter, and toothless hillbilly campaign supporter James Alfred Brooks somehow couldn’t successfully run a wedding resort in the middle of nowhere after we spent at least $10 million on it? Now THAT’s a surprise.

Hopefully it’s the kind of professional management deal where an outside company leases the property and runs it, absorbing all losses and keeping all profits. But it’s probably a crap deal where we pay some outfit a big chunk of change to supervise the property and we still have to eat the money it doesn’t make.

Remember, this is the same crew that controls 1/3 of Hutcheson Hospital.   

Marie Creech, Dade woman who disappeared on June 4th, is still missing. A $1,000 reward is now offered for information on her whereabouts.   

Most Republican politicians have stayed away from the upcoming School Superintendent primary runoff vote, but not Jeff Mullis.

“Conservative” Senator Jeff The Hutt has waddled in to endorse Mike Buck for the superintendent job. Buck has taken positions against arming teachers on school campuses, opposes expansion of charter school opportunities, and thinks Common Core is the cure for all that ails us.

Mullis’ endorsement of Buck may boost Buck’s opponent, Richard Woods.   

Dade County inmate Josh Bradford, who escaped from Hutcheson in early April, has been found, re-arrested, and re-released on bond.

As someone commented on the Channel 9 story, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to let him out on bond considering he escaped custody and managed to hide from police for 2 1/2 months.   

Latest local arrests, June 12-18.   

Next week marks 150 years since the Civil War Battle of LaFayette.

Today an event commemorating that anniversary will be held at the Marsh House and Chattooga Academy.   

Some 500 law enforcement officers in Georgia have cheated online testing, renewing their certifications without completing necessary online exams.

Linked report says POST knows for sure 500 officers cheated, so LU contacted the agency to see if any local deputies or cops were involved. They replied saying they don’t know who really cheated, and that has to be determined by local sheriffs and police chiefs.

POST is supposed to certify officers. If they don’t know who’s actually taken a test, they’re about useless. Or they’re lying about not knowing, enabling officers to get away with faking tests.   

SunTrust bank has reached a settlement with Georgia and 48 other states regarding unethical mortgage practices.

One aspect of the settlement repays homeowners who were foreclosed on during 2008-2013. Settlement also gives current SunTrust mortgage customers more options and rights when dealing with the bank.   

Marcus Wellon, age 59, was put to death by the State of Georgia Tuesday night for murdering a 15-year-old Atlanta girl in 1989.

He was convicted and sentenced to die in 1993, was almost executed in 1997, and has spent the last seventeen years in appeals. (He got to live longer after killing her than she got to live in the first place.)   

A few days ago Georgia General Assembly created a “medical marijuana study group,” expecting the committee to hand down legislative suggestions for next year’s session.

State legislature also set up committees to discuss self-driving cars, underground water storage, ride sharing services, and other issues of varying importance.   

GNTC Youth Success Academy, a program to help high school dropouts obtain their GED, is now taking applications.   

Music reviewer Marc Michael says Vic Burgess’s songs are obviously coming from a person who’s lived the things he writes about, and compares the LaFayette singer/songwriter to musician Tom Waits.

Burgess’ latest album “The Whisper Campaign” is available to order online, either as a digital download or CD.   

College costs in Georgia are still among the cheapest in the country, but over the last five years Peach State tuitions have risen by the second highest rate in the US.

“In 2002-2003, UGA undergraduate tuition and fees added up to $3,616 per year. This year, it was $10,262 — not adjusted for inflation — according to state Board of Regents statistics.

“Next year tuition goes up another $560.”

All that money and you get a piece of paper that guarantees little about your potential to actually get a job. Technical education is looking better and better.   

Two professors at Georgia State University (using some of those tuition fees) have uncovered a bacteria that can potentially keep peaches – and other produce – fresh for longer times without artificial chemicals or genetic manipulation.   

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