City Hall Drama Continues In Fort O.

It appears the city-hall drama in Fort Oglethorpe will continue for awhile.

Appeals hearings for the fired police chief and public works director, which were scheduled for Monday night, have been put off with no new date set.

The attorney for Chief David Eubanks and Public Works Chief Jeff Long had a conflict with court dates.

The two men were abruptly fired on March 22 with no reason made public at the time. City Manager Ron Goulart was forced to resign at the same meeting.

April 19 Arrest Report

Listed on the April 19 Arrest  Report are:

Thomas Aaron Brown — No Charges Listed

Jeffrey Baxter Hines — Probation Violation

Timothy Howard Hogue — Probation Violation

Stephen Christopher Weaver — Good behavior warrant; stalking//misdemeanor.FVA

Ali Christine Higgins — Disorderly Conduct

John Wesley Martin Jr. — Willful Obstruction of Law Enforcement Officers; Failure to obey traffic control device; Possession/use of drug related objects; Possession schedule II drug

Man Carried To Patrol Car, Charged With Obstruction

A Chattooga County man was arrested almost immediately when Chattooga County Sheriff's Deputies arrived at a Dry Creek Road residence on April 6. Ashton Hooper is facing several charges.

Officers arrived just after 11 a.m. and  were greeted by two men in the front yard and two on the front porch  Hooper told them they weren't going to arrest him, because they were trespassing. Hooper reportedly smelled of alcohol. He was told to calm down or he would be arrested. According to the report, Hooper continued acting aggressively.

It was also indicated on the report that Hooper had a knife on his side and a knife on his key ring.

Officers put handcuffs on 24-year-old Hooper and that is when he resisted arrest, according to the report. Hooper is alleged to have kicked the deputy's legs while he was getting him on the ground and he would not give his hands to the deputy when he was cuffing him. He reportedly told the officer he wasn't going anywhere. 

  It was then that the officer pepper sprayed the man and, according to the report, the spray had no affect on him. It was at that point that Hooper appeared that he might go for his knife. One of the men on the scene reportedly grabbed one of Hooper's hands while the deputy grabbed the other and put him in handcuffs. When walking Hooper to the patrol vehicle, Hooper reportedly fell to the ground and said he wasn't going anywhere.  It was then that the deputy picked him and carried him to the patrol car.

According to the report, the original call came because William Hughes said he got home and Hooper was inside his house, looking for his guns, that had been taken away because Hooper had threatened to kill himself. Hooper reportedly had been drinking all night and morning, according to Hughes.

Hooper was taken to the Chattooga County Jail charged with felony obstruction of officers. public drunkenness. misdemeanor obstruction of officers and disorderly conduct.

While being transported to jail, Hooper is alleged to have tried to open the patrol car door. He also was uncooperative and used profanity, according to the report.

Empty House Damaged, Burglarized

An empty rental house was recently burglarized and damaged.

According to the report by the Chattooga County Sheriff's Department, the incident was reported on Tuesday, April 16.

The report indicates that the  wiring, plumbing pipes and fixtures were taken from the brick house on Trion Teloga Road. Entry reportedly was gained through a kitchen window. Estimated damage is unknown. The burglary was turned over to investigators.  

Abandoned, Malnourished Horse Found

The Chattooga County Sheriff's Department received a call on an abandoned horse on Tuesday, April 16.

According to the report, deputies met with a woman on Forestry Road, around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. Susan Moore told them a friend call her about a horse on the road that appeared to be injured and abandoned. She said, she and her husband got their horse trailer and drove over in their truck to find the horse barely able to walk and appearing to be extremely malnourished with a blind eye.

The report indicated that the horse did appear to have been mistreated. Moore was advised to take the horse to her home and call Animal Control the next morning. 

Two Charged With Criminal Trespass

A Chattooga County couple were charged with criminal trespass after refusing to vacate a Trion residence on April 10.

According to the Chattooga County Sheriff's Department report, officers received information that 52-year-old Jeffery Hines, of a Washington Street, Summerville address, was staying at an Elm Street, Trion address, even though he had been told to vacate the property due to ownership by Chattooga County.

When officers arrived they found Hines and 57-year-old Charlotte Brown inside  the residence. Both Hines and Brown were arrested.    

Trion Kills Darlington 14-Game Winning Streak

Darlington’s 14-game win streak and flawless region record were both ended Monday with a seventh-inning rally that put Trion over the edge, 5-3.

The Tigers looked poised to notch their 15th straight win going into the seventh inning, as they built a 3-0 lead in the fifth and sixth innings off of a walk and a two-run double by David Grindstaff, but the Bulldogs pulled off a five-run game-winning rally, scoring their winning runs with two outs.

Trion’s Ethan Young delivered the first run of the rally, and the next Bulldog run was walked in by Darlington pitcher Burton Dulaney.

With bases loaded, Trion drove in another run to tie the game with two outs on the inning.

A two-run left-field hit for the Bulldogs put them over the edge and secured them a lead that Darlington would not be able to counter in the bottom of the seventh.

“Hats off to Trion tonight,” said Darlington coach Kent Harrison. “They played a great game and showed a lot of fight. They were a well-prepared team.”

Harrison said his team will use this loss as a “learning experience”, and that he still likes their chances at winning the division.

“We will get better from this,” he added. “I can’t wait to get back on the field tomorrow.”

Young earned the win for Trion, as he pitched six innings, had eight strikeouts and three earned runs.

Grindstaff led the Tigers from the plate in the loss with his two RBIs.

Trion Prom Saturday

Trion High School's Junior-Senior Prom is Saturday and this year students won't have as far to go as in the past.

For the past four years, the Trion prom has been held in Kingston at the Governor's Mansion. This year the prom is set for 7 p.m. at Circle B Farms in the Perrennial Springs area of Summerville on Fish Hatchery Road.

Trion High School Principal Brian Edge, said the Governor's Mansion had worked well in the past, but was no longer a viable option since the venue has been sold. He said many places were already booked and price is a consideration since Trion has fewer students than many schools, therefore few funds to spend on prom. He said he thinks students will be pleased with the new venue.

AM 1180 wishes all Trion students a safe and happy prom night.

 

April 18 Arrest Report

Listed on the April 18 Arrest Report are:

Lucinda Michelle Easterwood — Theft by shoplifting

Haley Jordan Elrod — Probation violation (two counts)

Cody Ray Harmon — VGCSA/Possession of meth

Alicia Ann Hayes — Failure to appear

Hoyt Murrele Marks — Simple Battery

John Wesley Martin Jr. — Willful obstruction of law enforcement officers; failure to obey traffic control device; possession/use of drug related objects; VGCSA/ possession of schedule II drug

Kayla Marie Rogers — VGCSA/ possession of meth

Tracy Leann Terry — Theft by shoplifting

Terry Wayne McWhorter — VGCSA/ possession of schedule III drug; VGCSA/ possession of schedule IV drug; Possession of drug related objects; possession of less than one ounce of marijuana

Jonathan Eric Mitchell — Hold for Walker County

Jonathan Lawrence Wright — Weekender

 

Plant Bowen Remains Offline

It’s been almost two weeks since the explosion at Plant Bowen and the facility is still offline. 
 
Though most employees returned to work the next Monday after the April 4th blast, the plant remains offline as both Federal and Georgia Power investigators continue their inquiry into what went wrong in the unit two generator, which has been blamed for the explosion. 
 
The coal-firing plant is the largest of its kind in North America, and though the facility has not produced electricity since the fourth, Georgia Power’s John Kraft says they’re having no trouble keeping the lights on for their customers. 
 
“This time of year, demand is not as high as it could be, so we’ve been doing fine with that. We also have other resources around the state and around the Southern Company System that we can draw on to get power as well,” Kraft says. “We’re able to manage just fine while this plant is down, for now.”
 
There is still no word on when the plant will continue its operations or what preliminary investigations have turned up.