Another house fire death in a winter filled with them.

Saturday night 52-year-old Timothy Allen Brown died inside an abandoned home at 748 Highland Avenue in Summerville.

Investigators say Brown, described as “a vagrant” (read:homeless), broke into the house to sleep. They think the fire that took his life was started by one of his own candles.

The death occurred less than half a mile from a homeless shelter.       

LaFayette native Lance Ledbetter won’t be bringing another Grammy award home to Atlanta.

His latest historical album was beaten to the trophy yesterday by a set of Bob Dylan bootlegs. (Losing a five-album race to 1960’s Bob Dylan is certainly nothing to be ashamed of.)

Ledbetter DID win the honor in 2008 and has been nominated for it several other times, as a result of his work to preserve obscure recordings through Dust-to-Digital.   

“Lance and April Ledbetter are perhaps the most important preservers of folk music in the modern world, and they do it all from the basement of their little brick house.”

Saturday evening the Mega Star Mart on Highway 151 towards Ringgold was the scene of a hostage situation.

Per a law enforcement source the suspect in this case, who had a knife, was essentially holding himself hostage.

The situation was resolved with minimal bloodshed, considering.   

A Trion Walmart cashier was recently tricked by a customer into giving away $300 in change for a $100 bill.

The slick shopper, unidentified and likely not local, got away with nearly three hundred in cash and razors worth $1.88.   

Tonight LaFayette City Council will have its regular monthly meeting.

Meeting will begin at 6:15 with a zoning hearing followed by the regular business meeting at 6:30.

The meeting agenda is here.   

Since opening at Pie Slingers Pizzeria last summer, the men behind Phantom Horse Brewing Co. have learned a lot about brewing their own beer – and have taught the community quite a bit about consuming craft brew.

Now owners Jason Randles and Skip Welsh are considering expanding distribution into Chattanooga, but face a big obstacle in Georgia’s outdated state beer laws.   

Under the Gold Dome in Atlanta, a former elected leader who keeps playing the game as a lobbyist is welcome, while a current legislator who angered colleagues on both sides by demanding more transparency and accountability (Josh McKoon) is being shoved out.

For most there, it’s better to be an ex-legislator lobbyist with something to sell than a current legislator with principles.   

Late Friday night or early Saturday morning, the eagles at Berry College hatched their first chick of the season.

The eagles can be monitored online with a web cam here.   

Georgia legislators are exploring legalizing casinos in the state on a limited basis, but one may come in regardless of what they do.

A band of Keetoowah indians, relatives of the Cherokee who mostly left Georgia a few years before the Trail of Tears, say they plan to buy land in the state and build a gambling operation.

A proposed site somewhere in Cherokee County would be declared exempt from state law by the tribe; the eventual casino built there would be run by a traditional gaming company in partnership with the Keetoowah. Most of the profits would be sent out of state.   

Fort Payne Alabama is gaining 400 new jobs from the sock business, due to Walmart committing to buy more US made products.

Fort Payne was once the “sock capital of the world” making 1/8th of the global supply of socks in the mid-90’s.   

Created in 1886, weighing maybe six tons and larger than a football field, the Atlanta Cyclorama is the largest painting in the country.

The Civil War art has hung in the same spot since 1921 – until last week. Now it’s been carefully relocated from Grant Park in Atlanta to a new custom-built facility where it will be restored and re-displayed.

After reopening in 2018, the painting will be reunited with another of Atlanta’s most famous Civil War relics: The locomotive Texas, also currently off-site being rehabbed.

More: New Georgia Encyclopedia / The Yankees (New York Times)   

Have you considered becoming a foster parent?

Myths debunked, and a few things you should know – from the perspective of a foster dad.   

“A rule I go by is to bring back more trash than you brought in.” -Tommie Turvey

Always good advice when going for a hike, through the woods or just down the road.   

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