Some scary moments Friday  for some Catoosa County elementary school students, when the bus they were riding in caught fire.

It happened just after 3 o'clock Friday afternoon in Ringgold.

It seems that the  bus cabin was filled with smoke and firefighters were called to put out the flames.

In all about three fire trucks,  one ambulance and several sheriff's cars responded.

All of the 20 or so children were able to get off the bus safety and another bus picked them u leaving the charred bus in the road. 

A spokesperson with Catoosa County Schools says the bus driver followed procedure to the letter by evacuating the bus and notifying the bus transportation dispatch.

She says within the last 30 days, the entire Catoosa bus fleet was inspected by the state and all buses passed.

Officials believe the fire may have started with the alternator.

A Summerville couple reportedly were held at gunpoint by three young males early Thursday morning, who took their car and personal items before leaving them kneeling on the ground 

Rome police are searching for three male suspects.

According to the police report:  The owner of the car told police that they were stopped at the intersection of East Main and Glover Street at 5:30 a.m. by a man who pointed a revolver at his head.

When asked by police why he waited until later in the day to report the crime, the owner told police he had no good reason. 

A similar incident took place on North Broad Street around 6 p.m. on Thursday.

A man reported three teenagers approached him after he cashed a check from the Hop 'n Shop.

The man told police that one of the teens demanded money and pointed a gun at him. When the man refused, all he remembered was blacking out and waking up with his wallet missing.

Floyd EMS personnel who were checking out the man could find no medical reason for his blacking out, and found no physical signs of him being struck.

There were no arrests at the time of the reports.

Read more: RN-T.com – Police searching for 3 men possibly involved i

A Walker County Sheriff's Office employee has been charged with taking home several hand guns from the department's evidence room. 39-year-old Thomas Scott Davis has been with the department for four years. His job was to keep track of evidence, He now faces 11 counts of theft, which came Thursday at the conclusion of a GBI investigation. Sheriff Steve Wilson said he received a tip that Davis had taken the guns home.  There was no evidence that he tried to sell any of the weapons and none of the cases were still active. Therefore, the guns would have eventually been destroyed or sold at judicial sale, according to Wilson.  

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A FREE CONCERT HEADLINING COUNTRY HIT-MAKING BAND"LITTLE TEXAS" WILL BE HELD IN DOWNTOWN LAFAYETTE, THIS SATURDAY.  LAST YEAR'S CONCERT WAS ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND… BUT THIS YEAR, IT'S BEING HELD A WEEK EARLIER, DUE TO A SCHEDULING CONFLICT.  OTHER GROUPS PLAYING INCLUDE THE DENNIS BROWN PROJECT, THE BEL-AIRES, COMMON GROUND, THE FOG, VIC BURGESS, BOUNTY HUNTER, DAVE GIBSON AND DIXIE DERN… AND OTHER LOCAL SINGERS.
    THE MUSIC STARTS AT 10 AM… SO BRING YOUR LAWN CHAIRS AND SUN-SCREEN.   FOOD VENDORS WILL ALSO BE OPEN ON-SITE.  THE DAY-LONG MUSIC FESTIVAL WILL LAST UNTIL 11:30 PM… AND TRAFFIC WILL BE DIVERTED AWAY FROM THE SQUARE IN LAFAYETTE, TO MAKE ROOM FOR SEATING.
    THAT'S THIS SATURDAY, FOR THE FREE "LITTLE TEXAS" CONCERT IN DOWNTOWN LAFAYETTE.   5/17/12

            IN HONOR OF ARMED FORCES DAY SATURDAY… CHICKAMAUGA BATTLEFIELD AND THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE ARE OFFERING ACTIVE DUTY MEMBERS OF THE U.S. MILITARY AN "ANNUAL PASS" FOR FREE ENTRANCE TO ALL 397 NATIONAL PARKS.    
    THE ANNUAL PASS FOR ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY AND THEIR DEPENDENTS MAY BE PICKED UP AT THE BATTLEFIELD VISITORS CENTER AT CHICKAMAUGA… OR AT POINT PARK.   A CURRENT, VALID DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ID IS REQUIRED.
    RANGER-LED TOURS WILL ALSO BE HELD AT POINT PARK ON LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, THIS SATURDAY AT 10 AM AND 2 PM… IN HONOR OF ARMED FORCES DAY.    5/17/12

The Rev. George Gravitte, a Berry alumnus, will be the guest minister for the college’s annual Alumni Weekend and will present a sermon “Berry Boots on the Ground.” He will speak about why Berry “people” are uniquely qualified to help others and correct injustices. The 11 a.m. worship service Sunday in the College Chapel is open to the community. Gravitte is pastor of Hackleburg Methodist Church and has been working diligently in the community to foster hope and provide spiritual as well as physiological support to the residents.

More than 800 people are expected for this year's Alumni Weekend and Work Week festivities, scheduled for May 18-25. Alumni Weekend officially begins Friday May 18, welcoming home more than 20 years of Berry graduates. Friday morning’s highlight is the Golf Scramble at Stonebridge Golf Club to benefit Berry’s men’s and women’s golf teams. 

Saturday afternoon, alumni, staff, faculty and students will gather for the campaign kickoff to name the Science Building after Professor Lawrence E. McAllister or “Dr. Mac,” as he was fondly known. McAllister started Berry’s physics program in 1932 and led the program until his 1971 retirement. Former students are launching an effort to raise $5 million to name the science building after their beloved professor. The program will begin at 1:30 p.m. with an open house and science building tours until 3:30 p.m.

Now in its second year, Young Alumni Weekend offers newest alumni (those who attended Berry in the last 10 years) the opportunity to “party on the green” at Oak Hill, rekindle intramural rivalries and leave a legacy through various service projects. New this year is a live auction benefiting the Season’s Harvest student enterprise.

Work Week begins Sunday, May 20, honoring Berry’s proud “work” tradition, with teams of alumni investing time and energy in numerous campus projects. Contact the alumni office at 706-236-2256, 800-782-0130 or alumni@berry.edu for more information.

James Benson, the man accused of gunning down his wife and her mother at a Fort Oglethorpe hospital in January, has pleaded guilty.

Benson, 59, entered his plea today before Walker County Superior Court judge Jon “Bo” Wood, who sentenced him to two life sentences. He will be eligible for parole in 30 years.

Benson is charged with the murder of his 56-year-old estranged wife, Mary Sue Benson, and her mother, 77-year-old Charlotte Johnson, on Jan. 6 at Erlanger at Hutcheson hospital.

Police say he emptied a. 38-caliber revolver with five bullets into the women’s chests while in the intensive care unit’s waiting room.

Immediately after the shooting he drove to the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department and turned himself in.

In court today, Benson explained how he shot the two women, which is required when a defendant pleads guilty.

District attorney Herbert “Buzz” Franklin said Benson offered no apology and showed no remorse during his explanation. At least eight family members were present at today’s proceedings, he said.

Franklin said he is satisfied with the outcome of the case.

“The families have been through a great deal of stress,” Franklin said. “They have suffered through the loss of family members and experienced health-related problems as a result of this case.”

The two slain women were visiting another woman who was in the hospital's intensive care unit.l The woman was in a coma and died a week after the shooting.