Two Chattooga County residents, as well as a Floyd County woman have been arrested for their involvement in a criminal ring that spans from Georgia to Pennsylvania.

According to the indictment, Chattooga residents, 36-year-old Astrid Perry and 25-year-old Heather A. Smith, as well as Floyd resident Beverly J. McHenry, and five others were involved in a conspiracy to use identification: including names and social security numbers, of other people, some of which are prisoners incarcerated in state correctional facilities in Georgia, to unlawfully file false electronic and paper tax returns in which false refunds were claimed.

The group is being charged under the federal mail and wire fraud statute.

The conspirators in Pennsylvania would gather social security numbers and then call or mail them to Georgia for Smith, Perry and McHenry to process.

Smith and McHenry are accused of using an online tax service called, `Taxslayer.com` to file fake tax returns. The refunds were either electronically funneled to bank accounts in Georgia and Pennsylvania or mailed to post office boxes in Rome or Summerville.

Authorities said that Smith and McHentry opened several fake bank accounts around the area.

The indictment said that they used the names, D`s Gutter Cleaning Service, Heather Tax and Accounting, Williams Repair and Remodeling, Bells Tax Service, and Frank Smith Tax Consulting and Home Repair for the deposits.

The group also used H&R Block Emerald Prepaid MasterCards to divert money, records state.

All three Georgia residents were taken before the Rome district federal court magistrate judge and given a $20,000 bond. They all have to appear in a Pittsburg federal court later this week.

A Dalton woman says she was kidnapping in Dalton and brought to Chattooga County, but then refused to talk to Sheriff's Department investigators.

The 21-year-old woman told deputies she  was walking on Highway 201 near Dalton on April 26, going to a friend's house when a dark colored vehicle, possibly a Dodge Charger, pulled up. She said she got into the vehicle, occupied by two Hispanic males, when they asked her if she needed a ride.

She said they drove past where she wanted to go and the driver would not let her out of the vehicle when she asked him to stop. By this time, the vehicle and its occupants were in Chattooga County. The woman said she called 911 and the men heard her make the call. One man, reportedly named Jay, opened up the vehicle glove compartment, retrieved a gun and is alleged to have laid it on lap. He reportedly said, he was not going to jail. 

The driver reportedly stopped at the the intersection of Gore-Subligna Road and E. Armuchee and told the woman to get out of the vehicle.  The woman reportedly went to an empty house on West Armuchee Road  and waited for deputies,  according to the report. The woman told deputies that the vehicle had the same type of equipment as the deputies' patrol vehicle and its occupants could hear everything officers were saying to 911 and other departments. 

She alleges that at one point the man named Jay said he had a house in Trion, where they could take her and they would "take care of her.

Once at the Sheriff's department, the woman reportedly refused to talk to investigators. A friend took her home.

Sheriff Mark Schrader said he "finds it odd that the woman wouldn't speak to investigators about a possible kidnapping incident."  He said deputies are trying to follow up on the reported incident and will try to talk with the woman again. He said he is checking with Dalton/Whitfield County law enforcement to see if there has been a similar incident in the past.

Schrader said the woman's descriptions were vague but deputies are looking for a vehicle that fits the suspect vehicle in the area.

Listed on the April 29 Arrest Report at the Chattooga County Jail are:

Joshua Anthony Day — Hunting without permission; Discharging a firearm from across the road; Hunting from a vehicle

A man died of apparent natural causes while he was loading his lawnmower into a truck in front of a residence on Cliffbrink Drive on Thursday night, according to Deputy Coroner Gene Proctor.

The man was identified as James Richard Holcomb, 86.

A bill passed by the Georgia House on March 22, and later by the Senate, grants Catoosa County an additional member on Hutcheson Medical Center’s hospital authority board. This would give Catoosa four members, the same as Walker County.

But, as part of the bill, Dade County is left with a difficult decision: to either pledge financial support and keep its two board members, or drop to one member.

Dade County has until July 1 to enter an intergovernmental contract with the hospital authority — along with Walker and Catoosa governments — to pledge 20 percent. The remaining 80 percent of financial backing has already been supported in agreements between Walker and Catoosa counties. Either way Dade chooses to go, Catoosa will still see its representation rise by one. But with Dade’s pledge of support, the risk and obligation carried by the other two counties will decrease, according to Catoosa County commission attorney Chad Young.

Dade County commissioners will discuss their options at the upcoming commission meeting May 2. Dade commission chairman Ted Rumley said the county is currently faced with helping one of the largest businesses and employers with a bond for an expansion project. If Dade County assists in the bond for Hutcheson hospital, it would affect the interest rates for any additional bonding opportunities, he said.

“We are going to do what we feel is right for Dade County citizens,” Rumley said. “We passed a resolution to keep our two members on the board but obviously the legislature thought differently. The hospital is needing money very quickly.”

If you're planning on burning any yard debris, you have two more days. The annual burn ban goes into effect on Wednesday, May 1.

Chattooga, Walker and Catoosa counties fall under the annual burn ban from the first of May through September 30. ,  It's an effort to cut air pollution due to ozone and particulates during the summer months.

The burn ban is a requirement of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

Listed on the April 28 Arrest Report are:

Anna Lisa Boman — disorderly conduct

John Lydell Hill — driving with suspended license; DUI/alcohol; open container of alcohol; failure to yield while turning; failure to signal when turning; improper turn; deficient equipment/ brake lights/ turn signal

Carol Ann Martin — obstructing or hindering someone making an emergency telephone call