Serving LaFayette, Chickamauga, Rossville, Rock Spring, Flintstone, Villanow, Noble COMMUNITY NEWS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2014 • Vol. 2, No. 13 Walker DIGITAL LEARNING Walker County BOE OKs almost $124,000 in new technology. PAGE 6. HERO: Teacher saves student from choking. PAGE 4. LaFayette looks to business sector for inspiration By Rachel Sauls-Wright Community News Assistant Editor When it comes to the city of LaFayette’s operations, leaders want to see it run more like a business than a typical municipal- ity. “Roughly two percent of the city’s budget comes from taxes,” Mayor Andy Ar- nold reported at a recent One-Walker meeting. “We are a revenue and utility based city.” Of the city’s $28 million bud- get for 2014, only $469,000 is pro- jected to come from property tax- es. LaFayette’s gas, electricity and water utility sales to residents both inside and outside the city account for the bulk of the city’s Recycling underway in Chickamauga See BUSINESS, Page 2 The City of Chickamauga Residential and Commercial Recycling program has begun. By early March, nine residents signed up for a 95-gallon, green recycling can. City of Chickamauga residents can enroll in the program by calling City Hall at 706-375-3177. Cardboard can be recycled in the bins behind the Older Ameri- can Center and ShopRite. From left are Republic Services General Manager Joe Salamone and Operations Manager Jay Dunham. Photo by Katie Ward Hamilton HOME ON THE RANGE:Chow House serves Western flavors, feel. PAGE 5. HERO: Teacher saves student HOME ON THE RANGE Ch Andy Arnold Financing WAC • Free Gift Wrap • Expert Watch & Jewelry Repair 501-B Alamar Street | Ft. Oglethorpe, GA | 706.866.3522 We Buy Scrap Gold & Silver for Cash 36885853 Diamond Earrings Round • Princess • Marquise White, Blue or Black Diamonds .25 ct • .33 ct • .50 ct • 1.00 ct • up to 2.00 ct GREAT SELECTION!
Transcript
Serving LaFayette, Chickamauga, Rossville, Rock Spring, Flintstone, Villanow, Noble
COMMUNITY NEWS
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 2014 • Vol. 2, No. 13
WalkerDIGITAL
LEARNINGWalker County
BOE OKs almost $124,000 in new
technology.PAGE 6.
HERO: Teacher saves student from choking. PAGE 4.
LaFayette looks to business sector for inspiration
By Rachel Sauls-WrightCommunity News Assistant Editor
When it comes to the city of LaFayette’s operations, leaders want to see it run more like a business than a typical municipal-ity.
“Roughly two percent of the city’s budget comes from taxes,” Mayor Andy Ar-nold reported at a recent One-Walker meeting. “We are a revenue and utility based city.”
Of the city’s $28 million bud-get for 2014, only $469,000 is pro-jected to come from property tax-es. LaFayette’s gas, electricity and water utility sales to residents both inside and outside the city account for the bulk of the city’s
Recycling underway in Chickamauga
See BUSINESS, Page 2
The City of Chickamauga Residential and Commercial Recycling program has begun. By early March, nine residents signed up for a 95-gallon, green recycling can. City of Chickamauga residents can enroll in the program by calling City Hall at 706-375-3177. Cardboard can be recycled in the bins behind the Older Ameri-can Center and ShopRite. From left are Republic Services General Manager Joe Salamone and Operations Manager Jay Dunham.
Photo by Katie Ward Hamilton
HOME ON THE RANGE:Chow House serves Western flavors,
feel. PAGE 5.
HERO: Teacher saves student
HOME ON THE RANGE Ch
Andy Arnold
Financing WAC • Free Gift Wrap • Expert Watch & Jewelry Repair 501-B Alamar Street | Ft. Oglethorpe, GA | 706.866.3522
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Published Wednesdays by the Target Publishing Group of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, with saturation residential distribu-tion via Chattanooga Times Free Press combined with independent contractor delivery to non-subscrib-ers. News and photographs may be emailed to [email protected] or faxed to 757-6704. Mail may be addressed to Walker Weekly, c/o Chattanoooga Times Free Press, 400 E. 11th St., Chattanooga, TN 37403. Copyright, 2013, all rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of content herein is prohibited without written permis-sion. The publisher will not accept responsibility for submitted materials that are lost or stolen. For distribu-tion questions or complaints, please call 757-6262.
Rossville applying for $500,000 grant to fix sewersBy Katie Ward Hamilton
Staff Writer
Rossville City Council is applying for a $500,000 Com-munity Development Block Grant to rehab sewers on the north end of the city.
The city plans to provide a matching amount of at least $10,000 to ensure continued sanitary sewer service to the
community.“The city of
Rossville de-sires to provide sanitary sewer service to all residents in or-der to provide for the public health, safety and welfare
of the citizens,” said Ross-ville Vice Mayor Hal Gray. “Rossville’s aging sewer infra-structure can’t be maintained and parts will need to be replaced. The project area of North Rossville is eligible for assistance through the Geor-gia [Department of Com-munity Affairs] Community Development Block Grant
program.”The city is applying for the
grant to replace aging sew-er infrastructure in the area including household connec-tions, he said. The project will be included in the 2014-2015 fiscal year.
stream in mind, officials are looking for a new city manager that can bring a business mentality to the municipality. Last spring, local businessman Max Morrison of Flex-A-Bed took over as interim city manager.
“We’re looking for somebody who has a lot of business experience an awful lot like Max has,” Arnold said. “We want to hire our next city manager out of the busi-ness sector instead of the city-municipality sector.”
So far, he said the city has received 65 appli-cations for the position and is in the process of narrowing them down. Candidates with at least five years of business experience and a mas-
ter’s degree in business administration will be preferred.
Another step to making the city operate more like a business is a recently approved city council measure that states the council will only approve purchases when there is available cash on hand to pay for such purchases.
“We don’t want to borrow money if we don’t have to borrow money,” Arnold said.
The city is also crack-ing down on customers who receive utility ser-vices from the city.
“We’re doing a bet-ter job with delinquent customers,” said Ar-nold. “We’ve gotten a bit tougher and had to condition some of our customers to make sure they’re making pay-ments.”
Subscribe to Rachel Sauls-Wright at facebook.com/racheljsauls
Business• Continued from Page 1
The Marsh House holds a fund-raising reception for the Clayton Bell Scholarship Fund. More than $1,200 was raised in donations for the program. From left are Damon Raines, Walker County School Superintendent; Andy Arnold, Mayor of LaFayette; Victoria Tomlinson, Ridgeland High School participant; Erika Whitfield, Gordon Lee High School participant; David Boyle, Walker County Historical So-ciety president; Phyllis Bell Ratledge, sister of Clayton Bell; and Dianne Shields-Bell. Wade Knight, the Ridgeland High School participant, is not pictured.
Contributed photo
Marsh House raises money for scholarship
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After brainstorming new ways to give back to the community in 2014, local general contractor Collier Construction is developing a service program called Collier Cares.
Through this initia-tive, the company will dedicate a minimum of one day per month to
volunteering in the Chat-tanooga area.
Although Collier has historically participated in a number of volunteer projects — building the camel track at the Chat-tanooga Zoo, working on repairs to the eagle and sandhill crane enclosure at the Chattanooga Arbo-retum and Nature Center and participating in the
Tennessee River Rescue — there has never been a great deal of structure surrounding the selec-tion and scheduling process. Collier Cares is intended to serve local nonprofit organizations, rather than individuals, he noted.
Applicants should understand that Collier does not plan to purchase
the materials or equip-ment needed to complete projects. However, the team is not opposed to taking larger projects into consideration.
To apply to be helped through Collier Cares, email your name, title, organization and pro-posed project(s) to [email protected].
Collier Construction finds new way to give
Staff Report
Due to an overwhelm-ing response from local residents enrolling in health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, Erlanger Health System officials are providing a new, free telephone ho-tline.
Representatives with Erlanger and American Exchange are encourag-ing area residents to call 888-995-1674. Representa-
tives are available Mon-day-Saturday from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. to provide assistance in applying for or selecting the best health insurance plans.
For residents who are self-pay or have individ-ual coverage, they may find insurance under the Health Insurance Marketplace can be more affordable by enrolling under the Affordable Care Act. In fact, low-
to-mid-income families can also qualify for tax
credits to help cover the premiums.
New hotline available to assist with Affordable Care Act Enrollment
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While sitting in the North LaFayette Ele-mentary School cafe-teria, 8-year-old Skye Smith began choking on nachos.
Skye touched her friend Heather’s shoul-der. Using her other hand, she began mo-tioning to her throat to show she was choking.
That’s when Audra Shepherd jumped into action.
“The way she was sitting, I could tell she was having a hard time breathing,” said Shep-herd, who is Skye’s second-grade teacher. “Her eyes were watery and you could just tell. Trying not to scare any-one, I grabbed her from behind to thrust the chip up.”
She knew what to do because of her first aid training at North LaFayette Elementary, she said.
“Just because you are trained to do some-thing, you don’t know if you will do it when it happens,” said Rossville Public Library Youth Education Coordinator Kaylee Smith, who is Skye’s mother. “I’m a former military med-ic. She saved my baby. She’s amazing. I was amazed that her teach-er jumped in. Minutes count. I knew ‘Thank you’ would not be enough.”
So she invited WRCB-TV Channel 3’s David Carroll to visit Shepherd in an assem-bly. Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson and city of LaFayette
Police Chief Bengie Clift took part in chok-ing skits at the assem-
bly. During the assem-bly, the Smith family presented Shepherd with a dozen bright pink roses and a Wonder Woman cup.
Skye’s isn’t the first life Shepherd has saved. She was swimming in the ocean in Panama City, Fla., once when a boy, also age 8, was being pulled out by the waves, she said. So she swam out to him, put her arm under him and swam him to shore.
“I’m one of those people that sees a situ-ation and reacts to it,” said Shepherd. “Later, the adrenaline stops.”
The adrenaline isn’t the only thing that has stopped for Skye, who was “a little scared.”
“I still like chips, but not big ones,” she said. “I crunch up chips now before I eat them.”
North LaFayette Elementary School second-grade teacher Audra Shepherd, left, accepts a dozen bright pink roses and a Wonder Woman cup from Kaylee Smith and her daughter Skye Smith, 8, in thanks for her saving Skye’s life.
Photo by Katie Ward Hamilton
CHOKING 101Shepherd said some-one choking should always cross their hands on their throat to motion the universal sign of choking. Some-one saving the person should get behind him or her and, using their fist, pull in and pull up on his or her stomach.
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Home on the range: Chow House home to western-style food, musicBy Katie Ward Hamilton
Staff Writer
Walking into the Chow House is like taking a step back in time to a west-ern-movie set.
Boots, hats, old-fashioned bottles, cowboy silhouettes, stars, oil lamps and wooden signs hang throughout the cozy hangout spot outfit-ted with wooden tables and chairs. To the left of the en-trance is a wooden booth for the regulars.
Nestled in the Catlett com-munity, the Chow House is co-owned by Casey Russell, 29, who stands behind the count-er ready to take orders. People keep coming back for his large biscuits in the mornings, he said, adding that people order a lot of half-pound Big Boy Burgers at lunchtime.
“I personally eat the BLT and the bacon-wrap meatloaf,”
Russell said. “The meatloaf is a recipe that was named Best Recipe on the Food Network.”
Supporting not only quality but small area businesses, the restaurant’s meat comes from Lake Howard Processing, so it’s fresh from down the road, he added. The produce is from LaFayette Produce on Main Street.
“It is cheaper to eat here and it’s 10-times better food too,” said Jonathan Everette, who lives next door to the restaurant and frequents it. “I grew up in the country on a farm. I know when I come here that I’m eating local meat from a local processor, and that means a lot.”
Even the Chow House’s towels are handled by a local business, Jackson Towel Ser-vices.
In another effort to support
the community, Russell is looking for a charitable cause to which to donate leftovers. In the past he fed a homeless man who stopped in, but he quit stopping by, Russell said.
“This a pretty enjoyable job,” said Russell. “I get a kick out of people enjoying the food.”
The Chow House is open Monday-Wednesday and Sat-urday from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Thursday-Friday until 8 p.m. The restaurant welcomes Marlon Murphy, of Attic Toys Band, for an acoustic set most Friday nights for diners. In the future the Chow House plans to host bonfires next door and serve watermelon.
To learn more, call 706-638-8369 or find “Chow House La-Fayette Georgia” on Facebook.
Walker County BOE approves almost $124,000 in new technologyBy Katie Ward
HamiltonStaff Writer
When Rossville Mid-dle School students re-turn from spring break, they will have access to three mobile computer labs of 30 iPad Minis each; one lab for each grade.
The recent purchase approval by the Board of Education means approximately $124,000 worth of technology upgrades is en route for Walker County Schools.
The board also re-cently approved the purchase of 35 MacBook Pro laptops for special education classes at the Center for Evaluation and Consultation and 26 MacBook Pros and 100 iPad Minis for Naomi Elementary School.
The Center for Eval-uation and Consultation will accept $45,541 in equipment purchased through Title VI-B Funds. Naomi’s $53,387 in new technology will be paid using govern-ment funding in the Naomi Elementary School-wide Title 1 Plan.
“The CEC technol-ogy is used by related teachers, therapists and support staff,” said Walker County Schools
Coordinator of Integrat-ed Technology Michael Tipton. “Naomi will use the laptops and iPads in the classrooms. They needed computers to in-crease student achieve-ment.”
Walker County Schools is in the process of upgrading technology infrastructure across the board, he said. The up-grades will take place in all 21 system facilities.
“We can have up to 115 devices on the wire-less router at one time,” said Tipton. “We are looking at the possibil-ity of letting students bring their own devices
to school such as iPads and Android tablets. We want to be able to han-dle whatever the future brings as far as technol-ogy goes.”
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■ The Blair Cantrell fam-ily is the featured guest at a fifth Sunday singing March 30 beginning at 10:45 a.m. at the Rossville Church of God of Prophe-cy, located at 110 Cherry St. There is a pot luck din-ner immediately following. For more information, call 423-432-2715 or email [email protected].
■ Chickamauga Lions Club meets the second and fourth Thursdays of each month at 7:30 p.m. at Chickamauga Public Li-brary, 306 Cove Road.
■ Free GED classes are held in the Adult Litera-cy Center, 501 Carden Ave. in Rossville (yellow building next to the old Rossville Middle/High School). Attendees must be 16 years of age. Call 706-858-0150 for more information concerning testing for both day and night classes.
■ LaFayette-Walker County Public Library, at 1105 N. Main St., hosts its Preschool Ready to R.E.A.D class every Tues-day at 10:30 a.m.
■ Lookout Missionary Baptist Church, at 8645 Hwy. 193 in the High Point community, invites the public to Sunday school services at 9:45 a.m. and worship at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Midweek services are Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. Awana and youth meet Sunday nights. All are welcome.
■ Mark your calendar. The Easter Egg Hunt, spon-sored by the LaFayette DDA, will be at Joe Stock Memorial Park April 12.
■ Oakwood Baptist Church, at 115 Oakwood St., offers free English as a Second Language classes Friday mornings from 8:10-9:30 a.m. in the Prayer House and Wednesday nights with child care from 6:30-8 p.m. in the Faith Building, Room 107. For more in-formation call Mary Ann VanLandingham at 706-924-2241.
■ Oakwood Baptist Church is now providing Adult Reading and Writing classes to the public using the Laubach for Reading materials. This is not a GED class. If interested, call Mary Ann VanLand-
ingham, literacy director for Oakwood Baptist church at 706-924-2241.
■ Walker County Com-mission meets every Thursday as called at 3 p.m. at 101 S. Duke St. Visit walkerga.us/Home/Dates—-Events.aspx for more information and meeting updates.
■ Walker Co. Regional Heritage Museum, at 100 Gordan St., is having
special WW2 exhibits now until March. 31. Special displays of Weapons, equipment, uniforms and war trophy flags and prayer flags. For more information call 706-375-4488. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Satur-day. Adults: $2. Children $1.
■ Walker County School System held its first Mc-Teacher Night to raise money for Relay for Life March 25 at the LaFayette McDonald’s. The next Relay for Life fundraiser is April 8 from 5-7 p.m. at the Chickamauga Mc-Donald’s. Walker County School Superintendent Damon Raines is issuing a challenge to Walker County schools to partici-pate in the April 25 Relay for Life at Saddle Ridge School in Rock Spring.
Walker Weekly wants to know about your upcoming church, school and club events. Please submit event informa-tion, including date, time and location, at least one week in advance of each Wednesday’s publication to [email protected].
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Fundraiser to help Rossville LibraryThe Chickamauga Pizza Hut, located at 13311 N. Hwy. 27, and the Chattanooga Pizza Hut, located at 4308 Rossville Blvd., will donate 10 percent of dine-in and carryout sales and 20 percent of sales more than $500 to the Rossville Library on April 1. Chickamauga Public Library manager Renee Roeder, LaFayette-Walker County Library youth education coordinator Karen Thompson, Rossville Public Library youth education coordinator Kaylee Smith and Cherokee Regional Li-brary System Director Lecia Eubanks, from left, invite the public to take part in a Rossville Library fundraiser.
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