A Summerville man was arrested early Saturday morning on felony child molestation charges after he allegedly tried to entice a minor, reports stated.

On New Year’s Eve, Fulton County Superior Court considered a petition for an injunction brought by the Georgia Association of Independent Ambulance Companies to halt the licensing of Walker and Dade counties to provide emergency ambulance services.

The GAIAC argued that the state Department of Human Resources, the agency that license entities to provide ambulance services, failed to follow state law in processing the licenses for the two counties.

Judge Henry M. Newkirk was the presiding judge hearing the case due to the fact that the injunction was filed on the afternoon of Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, requesting an emergency hearing on the following Wednesday, New Year’s Eve.

“The biggest argument they offered,” Walker County attorney Don Oliver said, “was that the Georgia Department of Human Resources didn’t follow state law in allowing enough time for notices to be sent out and hearings to be considered from other would-be providers of the service.”

Walker and Dade Counties were issued licenses to provide ambulance services to their residents on Dec. 11 by the Department of Human Resources.

“But lack of notice from Hutcheson Medical Center stating it would discontinue ambulance services forced DHR (Department of Human Resources) to move more quickly than normal because of the emergency situation,” Oliver said.

Hutcheson informed the DHR of its intent to discontinue the service on Dec. 2.

Judge Newkirk denied the motion in court, citing that the association failed to show it had been harmed and there was insufficient evidence that state law had been broken in the issuance of the licenses.

“Actually no law was broken because the normal three-month period that usually is given in the consideration of such a license is really only a best management practice used by DHR,” Oliver said. “The Georgia Board of Health felt completely justified in the DHR decision because of the potential of disrupted services due to Hutcheson’s untimely decision. Had the licenses not been quickly issued in the emergency fashion, the counties could not have secured replacement services in time to avoid the likelihood of a total lapse in service.”

Walker County began providing its own emergency ambulance service for its residents on Dec. 31, operating through Walker County Emergency Services.

Dade County entered into an agreement with Lifeguard Emergency Services to provide ambulance service for its residents on Jan. 1.

Hutcheson Medical Center began its emergency medical services in 1977 and has provided the service to the three-county area of Walker, Dade, and Catoosa counties until December 31, 2008.

Catoosa County opted to allow Angel Ambulance Service to provide for all of its medical transport needs as of Jan. 1. Angel had provided non-emergency medical transport for the county under Hutcheson’s emergency medical services.

Oliver said of Newkirk’s decision to dismiss the injunction, “Certainly the judge made the correct decision. Had he enjoined the counties from providing ambulance services, around 100,000 people would have had no emergency ambulance services as of Jan. 1.”

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Floyd County’s legislative delegates are heading for Atlanta for Monday’s start of the 40-day Georgia General Assembly session.

Kevin Ray Glenn – Hold for Funearl

Brian Stewart Osborn – Possession of Marijuana less than 1 oz.. DUI Drugs, Possession and use of drug related objects.

Terry Raymond Williamson – DUI, Open Container Operator of Vehicle

Charlie William Jackson – Weekends Superior Court Sentenced

Benny James Matney – Failure to sign citation, open container

Darrell Alan McGuire – Open Container

Ronald Eugene Padgett – Weekends Superior court Sentenced

Georgia regulators have fined nine gas stations so far and continue to investigate nearly 200 others over consumer complaints of price gouging when Hurricanes Gustav and Ike made fuel scarce last September.

Some of the stations have to refund money to customers who can prove with a receipt they bought gas during the price spike, while others have to pay up to $5,000 in fines to the state.

The stations are among 200 the state is investigating over complaints of unfairly raising gas prices after Gov. Sonny Perdue activated the state’s anti-gouging statutes Sept. 12, said Bill Cloud, spokesman for the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs.

Most of the investigations should be wrapped up in the next few months, he said. The consumer affairs office is posting the names of the fined stations online so that the 2,400 motorists who complained can check on the status of each case, Cloud said.

“What people need to understand is this is law enforcement, the laws that pertain to price gouging,” Cloud said. “We are in charge of enforcing those laws, and we are going to do that.”

Gustav and Ike shuttered Gulf Coast oil refineries for a few weeks because of power outages, which left several southern states, including Georgia, without enough gas. The shortage made gas prices shoot up across the region and frustrated motorists who had to hunt for fuel and wait in line sometimes for hours to fill up.

The average price of gas in Georgia hit $4.16, the highest ever recorded average for the state.

One station in Cobb County charged $8.82 a gallon, while another in Houston County was asking customers to pay $7. Another station had posted a price of $9.99.

Under state law, businesses have to prove that they were making the same profit with their elevated prices as they were before Gov. Sonny Perdue activated the anti-gouging statutes in September.

In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, the state got 6,000 complaints of price gouging. The state investigated about 200 gas stations, and ended up fining 80 stations for price gouging, Cloud said.

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AM 1180 Chattooga County Radio has learned that a second school administrator in the Chattooga County Public School system has announced their resignation.

Mrs. Ila King, principal at Summerville Elementary School announced her resignation during a staff meeting with teachers on yesterday.  It is not clear what prompted King to announce her resignation.  King is the second school administrator to announce they are resigning at the end of this semester.  Earlier this week Chattooga High School Principal Morgan Nugent announced that he would be leaving the school system at the end of this semester.

The Chattooga County Board of Education will be holding their regular monthly meeting this Monday at the Chattooga Education Center in Pennville.  AM 1180 Chattooga County radio will have the latest from the school system in upcoming newscast and on the web at chattoogainfo.com.

Fairmount’s former city clerk was released on a $2,500 property bond following her arrest on charges that she stole from the city.

Jonathan Hines – Superior Court Probation Violation

Justin Crowe – Superior Court Sentenced (weekends)

Christopher Stiles – Hold for Rehab

William Parris – SPD Probation Violation

Audrey Archuleta – Hold for Court

Charlie Wilson – Battery FVA, Cruelty to Children 3rd Degree

Balentin Mendez – No License, Failure to Yield

Zachary Shortnacy – Racing

John Pugh – False Imprisonment FVA, Terroristic Threats and Acts, Battery FVA

Brian Osborn – Possession of Schedule IV Drug, DUI Drugs, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Drug Related Objects