Last week Hutcheson’s failed and soon-to-be-former CEO sent an e-mail to all his remaining employees, saying what he should have said a year ago: the hospital cannot be saved.

He did not, however, admit to his own responsibility in the matter, instead blaming the hospital’s financial collapse on Regions Bank and Erlanger – two entities that were enlisted to bail the hospital out when it got into trouble years ago under a -different- bad CEO.

He specifically thanked Bebe Heiskell and Don Oliver for their “heroic” efforts to save Hutcheson (efforts that have put the county in debt by tens of millions for no net benefit) and made no mention of Catoosa or Dade, which hospital leaders still resent for not backing more loans as Walker did.

But wait!

Yesterday Hayes (or somebody using his name) sent a memo saying the hospital WILL be saved during a last-minute court hearing in Atlanta set for 4 PM today.

That hearing will be to consider the latest offer – $7.2 million – from Prime Healthcare, which has also committed to spending tens of millions more to rehab the hospital after completing a deal.

The deal, however, still depends on approval from Regions Bank, which likely won’t take it in favor of a shutdown/foreclosure which it feels would be more profitable for the bank’s debts.

Most remaining Hutcheson employees are tired of false promises and false hope from leadership (Hayes specifically) and just want to move on to their new jobs and lives.

A handful of remaining loyal staffers went to a Catoosa commissioner meeting last night hoping to push that board into doing something about the closure, but Hutcheson wasn’t on the meeting agenda and Catoosa’s leaders say they’ve been left out of the loop on the recent deal – likely on purpose.

Employees (mostly administrators) took their year-old SaveHutcheson.com signs and banners even though that Web site no longer exists – because they were instructed to by some lady on Facebook who claims to speak for the CEO.

Hutcheson’s actual web site at hutcheson.org is also down. The hospital itself will most likely be gone by this time tomorrow.       

What kind of man IS Hutcheson CEO Farrell Hayes?

Last night he showed some of his true colors on Facebook.   

Joseph Travis Whittemore, 33, arrested Tuesday morning for firing a gun inside his house on South Cherokee while under the influence and threatening to kill himself.

He faces charges of endangerment and marijuana possession; his wife and mother-in-law were in the home but sustained no physical injuries.   

Georgia’s League of Women Voters is calling on Governor Deal to investigate the recent data leak from the GA Secretary of State office.

They say the release of 6 million voters’ personal details by staffers under Secretary of State Brian Kemp will discourage voter registration, and want the office independently audited.   

Deadline to apply for Empty Stocking Fund food distribution is this Friday.

If your family needs Christmas assistance get that paperwork in.

(Empty Stocking is the United Way/DFCS/Bank of LaFayette sponsored charity that gives out food, not the similarly named Sheriff’s Office run charity that steals money and buys presents.)   

Car tag renewal notices are still a challenge for Georgia several months after a contractor went bankrupt.

Those whose tags need renewing in December will not get renewal paperwork in the mail, but will instead get a notice letter from the state telling them they.. won’t get a notice.

The state says local tag/tax offices aren’t legally allowed to waive fines for late renewal, but they are finalizing a deal with a new company to mail out notices.

All you need to renew your plate, if you remember to, is the tag number.   

New app combines video recording, alerting friends/family, and providing legal information for traffic stops into a single tap.

Videoing police at work is legal in Georgia (and should be allowed everywhere if the Constitution means anything) but “experts” warn users not to whip their phones out and record cops because it might provoke officers into action – the exact reason you’d be recording them in the first place.

Law enforcement could make the whole “recording police” issue a moot point by universally adopting body cameras, but that’ll never happen when we have dirty officers like Steve Wilson running the entities that lobby legislators against laws like that which would protect citizens AND officers alike.

It’s like the security camera over the cash register. It’s keeping an eye on the cashier so they don’t steal, but it also protects them from false accusations if they DON’T steal. Officer body cameras apply the same idea to police work.   

Dalton police seek two men suspected of trying to pass fake prescriptions through a Walgreens. An alert pharmacist realized the scrips were counterfeit after they made several attempts.   

Fourteen people died on Georgia roads during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, between Wednesday night and Monday morning.   

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