The Tri-County Journal
& Chattahoochee Chronicle
PO Box 850, 71 Webb Lane
Buena Vista, GA 31803
229-649-6397
tjournal@alltel.net

By RICHARD HARRIS (from the May 10, 2006 issue)
The Unified Government of Cusseta-Chattahoochee County has received much attention and many accolades since being formed from the previously separate city and county governments, but it hasn't been all smooth sailing. Now, the chairman believes a string of acts of vandalism and theft over the last six months may be related and are likely "politically motivated."

Chairman Larry Dillard said there have been several instances when someone entered his office, as well as the office of Elvin Hardy, manager of the Unified Government. He believes it was someone with a key due to the absence of evidence that would have been left behind had it been forced entry.
Dillard said some Òfairly sensitive filesÓ were stolen from his office, but declined to say what information the files contained. His office is in the same building (the old City Hall) as the Planning and Zoning CommissionÕs office, where no theft of documents was reported, but Òyou could tell someone had been in there.Ó HardyÕs office, located in another building (the Courthouse Annex), also appeared to have been entered, but no noticeable theft was reported.

Other incidents have included both of the offices above being shot with paintballs, as well as apparent BB gun damage to the window in Chairman Dillard's Office. Commissioner Wade Coleman also said the glass in all of his vehicles had been broken out.

One of the latest incidents, and the one which prompted Chairman Dillard to bring the previous events up for discussion in the latest meeting of the Commission, was an apparent arson attempt on property owned by the Unified Government. It was reported that it looked as if someone had poured a trail of gas from the intersection of Riverbend Road and US Highway 27 toward the wooded area there and then set the gas on fire. There was no major damage to the area, as the fire fizzled out.
Dillard said various evidence leads him believe the incidents were an effort to intimidate certain members of the local government, including himself, adding that he believes a minority of residents will stoop to low levels to fight for the "way things were."

The incidents have been reported to the local Sheriff's Office, as well as to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.