The Chattooga County Health Department will be providing free H1N1 (swine flu) immunizations on Jan. 13-14.

On Jan. 13, health department personnel will be at the Summerville Recreation Department on Bolling Road (Ga. 100) from 4:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Health department workers will be at the Trion Recreation Department from 4:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. on Jan. 14.

The health department will close at 4 p.m. each day to allow workers to conduct the special clinics.

All county residents are welcome. Both injectable and nasal spray immunizations will be offered.

There is no charge for either method.

Christopher William Yor, age 32 of Grant, AL., Charged with Parole Violation

Rickey Dale Keith, age 49 of LaFayette, Charged with DUI / Alcohol, Open Container

Ernest Irvin Greenleaf, age 54 of Shannon, Charged with DUI / Alcohol, Failure to Maintain a Single Lane and Open Container

Rebecca Estelle Adams, age 49 of Trion, Charged with Weekend Superior Court Sentence

William Milo Bell, age 30 of Lyerly, Charged with Disorderly Conduct

William Ty Craig, age 23 of Summerville, Charged with Probation Violation

Zabril Dione Perry, age 38 of Rome, Charged with Probation Violation

Gov. Sonny Perdue is calling for legislation that would pay Georgia’s teachers based on student performance, not their advanced degrees.

Perdue says the state’s current system rewards teachers for their level of education instead of classroom achievement.

He announced the proposal Tuesday at the annual Eggs and Issues Breakfast presented by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. It was the governor’s final address to the group, as he enters his final year in office.

Perdue also renewed his vow to reach an agreement with the governors of Florida and Alabama on water use before all three leaders leave office — and possibly by the end of the legislative session. He left open the possibility of a special session later this year to address the issue.

Walker County Messenger

THE CITY OF LAFAYETTE WILL BE BREAKING ITS HIRING-FREEZE TO REPLACE PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR RICHARD MOORE… AND THEY WILL HIRE TWO MANAGERS IN HIS PLACE.  MOORE RESIGNED THE PUBLIC WORKS JOB TEN DAYS AGO, ACCORDING TO MAYOR NEAL FLORENCE.  AT MONDAY’S COUNCIL MEETING, IT WAS DECIDED TO DIVIDE THE JOB INTO TWO POSITIONS… SUPERINTENDENT OF THE ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT, AND SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC WORKS. 

MAYOR FLORENCE SAID THE TWO JOBS WERE COMBINED UNDER THE "PUBLIC WORKS" TITLE ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO, AS A COST-CUTTING MEASURE.  ASKED WHY TWO PEOPLE ARE NEEDED NOW… HE SAID THAT THE ELECTRIC DEPARTMENT HAS A BACKLOG OF PROJECTS THAT, WITH THE ADDITION OF THE PUBLIC WORKS JOB, WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR ONE MANAGER TO HANDLE.  THE CITY WILL BE ADVERTISING THE TWO JOB OPENINGS RIGHT AWAY.

WQCH

The Georgia State Patrol Post in Rome is reporting a DUI arrest from an accident that happened over the weekend.

According to the weekly report from the GSP – Bobby Ladell Dover, age 21 of a Ridgeway Road address in Trion, was traveling east on Butler Dairy Road last Saturday  which was officialy closed due to icy road conditions by Chattooga County Public Works.  The 2001 Cheverolet Tahoe went into a spin and went into a private driveway.  The vehicle then began to overturn, striking a mailbox and came to a rest on it’s top.

Dover was charged with DUI / Alcohol, Driving on a Closed Roadway, Failure to Maintain a Single Lane, Driving too Fast for Conditions, Open Container of Alcohol while Operating a Motor Vehicle, Duty of Driver on Striking a Fixture.  A passenger in the car, 20 year old Brittany Noel Crump of LaFayette, was charged with Underage Consumption of Alcohol.

The GSP post in Rome releases accident reports on a weekly basis.

Michelle Reynolds is charged with the July 5, 2004, murder of her husband, Thad John Glenn Reynolds.

A small portion of the 200 prospective jurors requested to be excused Tuesday from serving in what could easily be a lengthy trial. The court has reserved the entire month of February to hear the case.

Another hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. today.

Of the prospective jurors, 16 were excused from service entirely because of medical or financial reasons. Two others were excused from beginning portions of jury selection, and 14 of the summonses were returned without a forwarding address.

Jurors who have medical conditions, full-time students or primary caregivers for young children can be excused from service said Davlon Ezell, director of the Floyd County Superior Court Receiver and Jury Management.

That leaves a 170-strong pool of potential jurors to choose from in the case.

In order to ensure a fair trial, the court sent out a specialized jury summons in December. For the most part, the needs of the jurors were medical related and, with a doctor’s note in hand, they were excused one by one.

The jury pool was drawn from a two-year-old pool, which the court has already ruled is composed from a pool representing a cross section of the population, in accordance with the law.

And while the case is still technically a death penalty case, the DA agreed not to ask jurors for the death penalty as a part of a surprise plea agreement by Reynolds’ co-defendant, Richard Scott Harper.

Harper pleaded guilty in October 2008 to the murder with the understanding that he would testify against Reynolds and prosecutors would not seek death for either suspect.

He agreed to life imprisonment without parole as part of the deal but is unlikely to be sentenced until Reynolds’ case is finalized.

Rome News Tribune

Last week Chattooga County got a taste of old man winter and for the first time in several years winter weather caused icy road conditions across the county.

Chattooga County Public Works Director Lamar Canada told AM 1180 on Tuesday that the county had plenty of salt for the last winter weather incident.  The county spread about 5 tons of salt which is mixed with gravel during last week’s hazardous driving period.

Canada said that he has been able to secure 25 more tons of salt from a company in North Carolina that is being delivered this week.  Normally it takes several months to receive salt from the suppliers, but Canada was able to locate the shipment fairly close to the area and have it delivered immdediately.

The salt that was used last week on Chattooga County’s roadways had been in storage for over 5 years according to Canada.  He said that the county is as prepared as it can be for the next winter weather incident.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of Georgia and Ladies Auxiliary has announced the 2009 – 2010 Patriot’s Pen Essay winners.  A Chattooga County student was a winner in the Georgia contest.  Garrett Salmon, who attends Lyerly School, came in third place in the state-wide contest.

Patriot’s Pen, a youth-essay writing contest is a nationwide competition that gives students in grades 6,7 and 8 the opportunity to write essays expressing their views on democracy. Annually, more than 115,000 students participate in the contest.

Garrett Salmon was sponsored by the Summerville Post 6688 and Ladies Auxiliary District 1.

Contestants write a 300-400 word essay based on an annual patriotic theme.

The Chattooga County Water District Board elected a new chairman at last night’s water board meeting held at the district office on Old Highway 27 in Trion.

Sammy Lee was elected unanimously by fellow board members to take over affective February 1, 2010.  He will be replacing outgoing board chairman and former Chattooga County Commissioner Mike Dawson.  Dawson will continue to serve on the water district board.  Larry Wesson was re-elected vice-chairman of the water district board.