The Walker County Board of Commissioners meets tonight, May 7th, at 6:30 p.m. with a full agenda of zoning cases, funding items, and contract approvals. Commissioners will hold a public hearing on multiple zoning requests, including properties on Happy Valley Road in Rossville, Round Pond Road in LaFayette, and a variance request on Dusty Trail. A long-standing rezoning request along Highway 151 is also up for a vote. The board will also take up new business items including election qualifying fees, opioid settlement fund agreements, road safety projects, and a new $600,000 annual EMS contract. Additional items include agriculture extension building renovations and Board of Health appointments. Old business includes continued discussion on proposed changes to the county’s animal control ordinance.
A LaFayette nonprofit that builds beds for children in need is recovering after a storage unit fire destroyed nearly 100 bed frames and supplies Monday afternoon. Sleep in Heavenly Peace says the fire caused an estimated seven-thousand dollars in damage, including wood, bedding and rails used to build beds for local families. The LaFayette Fire Department is investigating the cause. Lowe’s has stepped in to help replace the lost materials, and the organization says bed deliveries will continue despite the setback.
Georgia high school students will soon face new limits on cell phone use during the school day. Governor Brian Kemp signed House Bill 1009 into law Tuesday, requiring public high schools and school systems to create policies restricting phone use in classrooms. State leaders say the goal is to reduce distractions and improve student performance. The move expands last year’s Distraction-Free Education Act, which already banned classroom cell phone use for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.
A Dade County jury has convicted a Trenton man on multiple sexual offense charges involving a minor victim. Thirty-six-year-old Randall Dakota Wallin was found guilty of aggravated child molestation, aggravated sexual battery, and two counts of child molestation following a three-day trial that concluded April 22nd before Judge Chris Arnt. Investigators say the case began in July of 2024 after authorities responded to a report of sexual abuse at a Casey Road residence. Officials say several minors were removed from the home, and a forensic interview later revealed extensive abuse. Wallin was sentenced April 29th to consecutive life sentences and will not be eligible for parole for 60 years.