http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/georgia/trion/ Trion, GA News http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/georgia/trion/content/ef44fc31eaeab150608c2fe3fb0521da.html Rick Snow may have made his last trip to Athens to unearth human bones http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/georgia/trion/content/fdc6f38f8c01b0b0649c6a1b2e04c9c5.html The law will determine whether Californiabased Bigfoot tracker Tom Biscardi gets back the 50000 he paid to two Georgia hoaxers who claimed to have discovered a carcass of the thusfarmythical manape in the North Georgia woods http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/georgia/trion/content/800a4afa9e2a5f044d0e8fe73d5371a0.html ATLANTA Georgia Bureau of Investigation crime labs are feeling the pinch because of state budget cuts mandated by Gov Sonny Perdue http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/georgia/trion/content/9bde25959741bfb446f8bd7c4cdccfaa.html The Fort Oglethorpe City Council has again postponed hiring a city managerThe council was scheduled to name a replacement for Interim City Manager Ron Goulart at its Monday July 28 meeting; but when council member Harold Silcox suggested hiring Ed Vickrey for the job only Charles Sharrock voted with him and the motion was defeated 32Yet no one else on the council moved to hire John Simmons the second finalist in a search that began with 18 applicants Mayor Ronnie Cobb asked what the pleasure of the council was and after several moments of silence finally received a clear answerldquo;Start overrdquo; said council member Johnny ldquo;Redrdquo; Smith ldquo;Thatrsquo;s the only thing I can see that we can dordquo;Goulart was a finalist for the job as well but he withdrew his name from consideration when he learned the maximum salary would be 75000 Thatrsquo;s his current salary which also covers his work as city attorneySimmons has been a city manager in the Georgia cities of Royston Summerville and Adairsville Vickrey has a long history in Catoosa politics having served at times as county manager and schools superintendentCouncil member Steve Brandon said he had nothing against either man However he did publicly state his concern that Vickrey would not be the right person to handle longstrained relations between the county commission and the cityIn 2004 Vickrey ran as a Republican for the chairmanrsquo;s seat on the Catoosa County Board of Commissioners but did not win it This was after his resignation as county manager in February of that year following a public outcry when he fired thenchief financial officer Carl Henson Henson has since returned to the positionCouncil member Louis Hamm publicly stated at the meeting that he would not move to hire Simmons because of interviews he conducted with people who had worked with himldquo;I was told that he was a hot head nothing against himbut when he got something against one of the employees he would ride him until he was outrdquo; Hamm saidSharrock said he was concerned that Goulart has continued to sit in the city managerrsquo;s chair since March 2007 while simultaneously acting as city attorney He said that in government training classes he and other council members took earlier this year they were told Goulartrsquo;s dual positions were a conflict of interestldquo;I donrsquo;t think we can afford as council members that we can allow this to go on any longerrdquo; he saidSilcox said the council should seek another interim city manager until someone could be hired into the position permanently Cobb said Goulart would need to be terminated or resign as city attorney in order to keep his other position which hersquo;s already stated he doesnrsquo;t want because of the payldquo;We canrsquo;t give him any more moneyrdquo; Silcox saidCobb warned that the council should not continue advertising for the job or back down on their original salary and qualifications He also said that finding someone more qualified than any of the applicants that have applied would be difficult given the salary for the job and Fort Oglethorpersquo;s history of firing its city managersldquo;Irsquo;ll work with whoever you hirerdquo; he said ldquo;but we need to fill this position and we donrsquo;t need to keep advertising Wersquo;re becoming a jokerdquo;The council has been conducting the city manager search and interviews since the beginning of the year The requirements stated that candidates would need a bachelorrsquo;s degree in a field related to the job along with experience managing dozens of employees Goulart has spent most of his career as an attorney or judge and did not meet some of the stated qualificationsCobb said only nine of the applicants met the qualifications and two of those didnrsquo;t submit a resume as requested He said when he was on the council several years ago an advertisement for the position drew 48 applications from wellqualified people Since 2000 the council has gone through about seven city managersWhen asked for comment on the nightrsquo;s events Goulart said ldquo;Irsquo;m glad that theyrsquo;re going to take their time totry to get a candidate that theyrsquo;ll all be happy withrdquo;He declined to say whether he would reconsider taking the job if offered more money However Brandon said in an interview after the meeting that he might be open to changing the job qualifications offering more money and benefits or both when the council advertises againCLICK ON THESE LINKSFEEDBACK: Send a letter to the editorSUBSCRIBE: Get The Catoosa County News each WednesdayGO BACK:Return to our homepage http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/georgia/trion/content/b73a4f8d787b0ec17c90637dd70705b7.html One interesting fact about Raymond Gideon is that he was born on a traveling carnival in Lebanon Tenn Yet most people probably know him as someone who coached in local recreational leagues for 35 years is a Vietnam veteran and has spent 42 years in law enforcementDuring that his law enforcement career hersquo;s seen a lot of changes including six changeovers in chiefs just in his last 10 years in the Fort Oglethorpe Police Department he said Yet he said wouldnrsquo;t trade any of his time in the profession for something elseldquo;I love law enforcementrdquo; he saidThe Lebanon Tenn native has coached football basketball and baseball in Catoosarsquo;s recreational leagues; is active in the VFW and American Legion; and participates in activities with the Georgia Peace Officers Association and Fraternal Order of Police He is a past president of the local Optimist Club and has served several times as lieutenant governor of the District One Georgia Optimist OrganizationGideon recently added another accolade to his collection of achievements: member of the year for the Georgia Chapter of the FBI National Academy Associates or FBINAAldquo;Raymond has served as a shining example of what dedication to the Georgia Chapter should berdquo; Georgia Chapter President Scott Brunsen said in a written statement ldquo;Raymond continuously works behind the scenes for the betterment of the chapter He has served on the door prize committee has obtained many donations from local business owners and has even made many donations himself He hasnrsquo;t missed a chapter business meeting in over 15 yearsrdquo;According to the chapterrsquo;s Web site the award is based on the nomineersquo;s efforts that ldquo;would lend strength dignity and credit to the profession of law enforcement;rdquo; the impact the person has had on the FBINAA law enforcement or the community; and additional law enforcement or community involvement separate from regular law officer dutiesMost of the recent award recipients have been from the Atlanta area Fort Oglethorpe Police Chief David Eubanks said he has worked with Gideon for six yearsldquo;If you need something done you can ask him to do it and itrsquo;ll get donerdquo; he said ldquo;Hersquo;s been a longtime employee hererdquo;Not counting his time as captain of the school patrol as a child Gideonrsquo;s began his law enforcement career in 1966 He worked in the Walker County Sheriffrsquo;s Department where he became chief deputy staying there until 1975 Prior to that he had served in the Army marrying his wife Edna just three weeks before he had to leave for basic training He saw combat in Vietnam and received severe burns from an explosion he said but made the decision to enter law enforcement to serve others upon his returnIt was during his time in Walker County that he became the first person in 35 years from the North Georgia area to attend the FBI National Academy he saidUp closeName: Raymond A GideonEmployment: Fort Oglethorpe Police DepartmentFamily: Wife Edna; sons Andy 43 and Branden 27Interesting fact: As a child he traveled all over the United States with his family in a carnivalldquo;Not many people get a chance to gordquo; he said ldquo;Itrsquo;s a great honor to be selectedrdquo;Gideon said a friendrsquo;s good word helped to spur him ahead He spent about 14 weeks undergoing training At that time he said law officers didnrsquo;t have to undergo police academy training as they do now so his FBI experience made him especially stand out from the crowd He estimated that there are now more than 600 members in GeorgiaEach year FBI academy graduates have to update their training which is where the FBINAA comes in Gideon helps with planning for the conference each year including soliciting door prizes from local merchants whom he said are always willing to giveFor about a year Gideon served as the chief investigator of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit in the district attorneyrsquo;s office in Chattooga County He soon returned to law enforcement though working in the Catoosa County Sheriffrsquo;s Department Walker County Sheriffrsquo;s Department and Fort Oglethorpe Police Department at various times He also owned a private security firm for several yearsHe has been with the Fort Oglethorpe department since 1998 but was also there from 197888 he saidldquo;I wouldnrsquo;t have been in law enforcement as long as I have if I hadnrsquo;t enjoyed itrdquo; he said ldquo;I figured I owed somebody something I wanted to help somebodyrdquo;CLICK ON THESE LINKSFEEDBACK: Send a letter to the editorSUBSCRIBE: Get The Catoosa County News each WednesdayGO BACK:Return to our homepage http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/georgia/trion/content/80215cc7f1f342a3a4753ac04f505c24.html ATHENS mdash; AJ Green says summer workouts with his new Georgia teammates gave him a head start in learning pass routes http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/georgia/trion/content/9d591ae94b9173bc842e618cbae9dded.html Atlanta police have identified the officers involved in a shootout that left one burglary suspect dead Police spokeswoman Sgt Lisa Keyes said officers Clarence Tosh and Gregory Dubose have been on paid administrative leave since the July 15 shooting in southwest Atlanta http://www.axtora.com/homesites/us/georgia/trion/content/78570c6ceaee9826aa3b314e6ecda706.html INCLUDES VIDEO of Spyder after he was foundSpyder the sixlegged deer that has captured the interest of the world will be moving to a new home Wednesday in Athens after making good progress on healing after having surgery to remove a tailThe deer was found Friday near Armuchee in Floyd County George Gallagher a professor of Animal Science at Berry College in Rome Ga gave the deer its name He said it will go to a private facility in the Athens area run by an individual who rehabilitates deer Dan Pate of the West Rome Animal Clinic said that Spyder is in good condition and is eating and walking around without much problem Pate said that over the longterm Spyder might have to have his two extra legs removed to make life easier ldquo;Since Spyder has two separate pelvises and tails the legs do get in the way of his walkingrdquo; Pate saidMore related contentPhoto galleryPrevious story