Chattooga County Sheriff's deputies were called to what can only be called a strange incident Thursday and could only have left shaking their heads.

According to the report, it all began when officers responded to a call that a suspicious male was on the front porch of a Hair Lake Road residence asking for help, and claiming that two people had chased him through the woods with a machete.

When police arrived the officers realized it was a man they had detained and then released earlier in the day, suspected of breaking into a car in the Walmart parking lot.  

 The man, who was holding his stomach, told officers he had been assaulted earlier and that he had been hiding under the porch for several hours at the Hair Lake Road residence, until he had knocked on the door for help. 

He said his aunt, the owner of the vehicle at Walmart, and her boyfriend had beat him up, and chased him through the woods with a machete and a ball bat. He said at one point the boyfriend had held a knife to his throat and forced him to eat hot chicken, straight from the skillet, and the couple was trying to take him somewhere after loading ball bats and a machete into the trunk of a car. He told police he broke and ran from the couple who were chasing him. 

Upon speaking with the couple that allegedly chased the man, officers were told that the man had come home with the car officers thought he was trying to break into, with the vehicle door locks ruined and a slit cut in the convertible top. He reportedly held his stomach again, and told the couple that someone he owed money to damaged the car and then a state trooper and sheriff's deputy beat him up in the Walmart parking lot. They said shortly after that conversation they were going to take the man to another relative's house, went outside for a few minutes,  and when they returned the man was gone. 

They found out shortly there after that the indicident the man described to them about the car being damaged did not happen. Officers also noticed that the aunt's boyfriend, who was accused of chasing the man, was noticeably disabled and would not have been able to run. 

The man found on the porch was eventually taken home by his relatives and was not arrested.  

The Greater Rome Convention & Visitors Bureau (GRCVB), Oak Hill & the Martha Berry Museum and Berry College have partnered together to host the 2013 Winter Chautauqua on Tourism in March.

The two-day conference on March 3-4 is in its 23rd year and will feature speakers from across Georgia as well as many of Rome's leaders in tourism and downtown development.

On Sunday evening, attendees will explore Oak Hill & the Martha Berry Museum and learn how the museum was developed into one of the top tourism attractions in North Georgia. Attendees will then tour Rome's downtown businesses and residences to learn about the revitalization of the Victorian Downtown.

Monday's sessions will be held on the campus of Berry College, the largest college campus in the world at 26,000 acres. Experts in tourism, economic development and marketing will present fresh and relevant ideas to over 100 attendees.

Beda Johnson, Director of Outreach of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, will present the morning keynote. Johnson is recognized as a longtime expert in tourism product development and marketing. She will present an update on the current state of tourism throughout Georgia. Currently, tourism is the second most influential industry in Georgia behind agriculture.

The luncheon will feature a light-hearted keynote address from Southern author Hollis Gillespie. Author of several books and a regular columnist for Atlanta Magazine, Gillespie is known for her wit of growing up in the south. The luncheon is sponsored by Atlanta Magazine.

Registration for both days of the conference is $90. Individuals can attend the Monday portion of the conference for $70.

More information and registration information are available on www.WinterChautauqua.com. Registration is open until Monday, February 25.

 A memoir of a medical doctor from Rome’s early history will be the focus of a book-signing at the Rome-Floyd Visitor Center and the Last Stop Gift Shop on Thursday, February 28 from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.  

“The Doctor Has Arrived” was originally written in 1953 by Dr. Mather Marvin McCord. The autobiography chronicles his life as a physician in Floyd County from the post-Civil War era to the early 20^th century. 

The story follows the south Georgia-native as a trailblazer in the community, his work in the medical field and the challenges that often came with a resistant, sometimes uneducated public following advances in medical knowledge. Dr. McCord is credited with teaching basic sanitation and establishing standards for public health in the area.

 McCord’s many accomplishments over his lifetime included education at Emory University and Harvard Medical School, serving as Floyd County’s first public health commissioner, working on staff at Harbin Clinic, and membership in various prestigious medical associations. In 1925, Dr. McCord was named to “Who’s Who in American Medicine.”

Fred W. Snell, Jr. is the grandson of Dr. McCord and will be at the event to sign copies and tell stories from the book. Light refreshments will be served.

 Call the Rome-Floyd Visitor Center at 706.295.5576 for more information.

The Bartow County Sheriff's Office has identified a Kingsland man as the shooter in an apparent murder and suicide Thursday morning at Barnsley Gardens resort.

Authorities say that 42-year-old Robert Wade Brazell shot and killed Angela Player, 37, of Cartersville early Thursday morning. The two were recently divorced in January 2013.

Brazell fled into the woods near the resort after the shooting and authorities say he killed himself.

The Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office is being proactive in its efforts to properly dispose of excess drugs in the area. It has installed a public drug drop depository for citizens to use.

The drug drop box was set up Feb. 15 in the lobby of the sheriff’s department at 5842 U.S. 41 in Ringgold.

The box is a place for people to get rid of expired or unused drugs, instead of flushing them down the drain, toilet, or simply throwing them in the trash.

Sheriff Gary Sisk, who took office in January, says it’s a project he hopes is adopted by other sheriff’s departments throughout the state.

“It’s the only box set up in our area right now, but all the counties in the state have been introduced to it, and we’re anticipating that other counties in north Georgia will have something similar implemented in the near future,” Sisk said. “We are one of the first offices to offer it, but the hope is there’s a push for it with every sheriff’s office.”

Listed on the February 21-22 Arrest Report at the Chattooga County Jail are:

Roger Dale Galloway, Jr. , Summerville — No Charges Listed

Jimmy Lee Marbutt, Summerville — VGCSA/ Possession of Schedule II Drug (Aderol)

Scott Douglas Payne, Summerville — No Charges Listed

Lewis Lee Timmons, Summerville — VGCSA/ Possession of more than one ounce of Marijuana

Jaylin Lashaun Daniel, Rome — No Charges Listed

Ellen Carrol Hall, Fort Payne, Al — Drugs to be kept in original container; VGCSA/ Possession of Schedule IV drug (Diazepam); Driving with Suspended/ Revoked License

Manuel James Williams, Sneads Ferry, NC — Driving with a suspended/revoked license

Martin Scott Greene, Summerville — VGCSA/ Possession of Methamphetamine

Michael Greenwood Camp, Fort Oglethorpe — Theft By Taking 

Chattooga County Road and Bridge director Joe Reed has reported to AM1180 that Oak Hill Rd, between Smallen Rd and Owens Dairy Rd will be closed today for a tile to be replaced.  The Road will be closed the majority of the Day.  Please use an alternate route.

A Chattooga High School Senior is collecting prom dresses for high school girls that can't afford the pricey gowns. Melissa Maynard is a member of Chattooga County 4-H. 

Melissa says she and her sister just started out collecting dresses for Chattooga High girls, but then realized that girls that attend Trion High, or girls that live here but attend schools elsewhere may also need dresses.

She's getting some help from the Chattooga County Extension Office; Ms, Jarrett, of Summerville Middle School's  FFA Program, and Ms. Broom, Chattooga High prom coordinator. A local woman has also volunteered to style hair free of charge.

So far, they have nine dresses available, but are looking for more. They are also collecting shoes, jewelry and any other evening wear accessories.

If you're interested in helping out by donating a dress or cash, you can contact the Chattooga County Extension office, or call Chattooga High School and leave a message for the prom coordinator.  Girls needing prom dresses can also get in touch with those same contacts.  

Lafayette police are still investigating a head on wreck that injured two Lafayette women on Monday.

Billie England and Laura Wilson were transported by ambulance for treatment of serious injuries.

The wreck happened in from of Professional Park Associates on East Villanow Street. Dr. Suzanne Storey and nurse Jennifer Pickard are credited for helping to stabilize the women before EMT's arrived on the scene.  

Both cars were totaled in the estimated 45-mile per hour impact, and debris from the vehicles was found up to 200 feet away. The elderly Wilson reportedly was trying to turn her Buick into Professional Park and apparently didn't see England's Trailblazer approaching in the opposite lane.