Free Republic

Millions of Texans were jolted out of bed just before 5:00 a.m. Friday when Hall County—somewhere north of Lubbock, population 2,810—issued a Blue Alert after a deputy was injured by a fleeing suspect, sending people and social media into a frenzy. A Blue Alert is a bulletin that informs the public about a search for a person suspected of harming a law enforcement officer. In this morning's case, the alert was triggered in Hall County by the Texas Department of Public Safety. We were told a deputy was injured by Seth Altman, a 33-year-old white man, 6-foot, 2 inches tall,...

GAINESVILLE, Ga. - A Gainesville man's attempt to rob the employees of a local business became than he bargained after it turned into what police described "like a scene from Home Alone." The Gainesville police say that 30-year-old Luis Sajbocho-Ordonez had hid himself behind a business on the 400 block of Atlanta Highway in the early morning hours of Christmas Day. When an employee exited the store, police say Sajbocho-Ordonez pulled a gun on them and demanded cash, leading to a struggle. Investigators say Sajbocho-Ordonez became startled when another employee left the building and fired a shot, which didn't hit...

We have quite a little eminent domain saga going on in my home state of Georgia. Hall County lies north of Atlanta at the base of North Georgia foothills. In Hall County you will find $10 million homes on the shores of Lake Lanier, one of the busiest resort lakes in the nation. Our story involves Eleanor Brazell. Eleanor is a widow. She owns 323 acres in Hall County. She has a contract to sell 311 of those acres to a developer who has plans for a "Sun City" type retirement community. Eleanor will keep the 12 acres on which...

Timing, they say, is everything. Casey Cagle played only one season as a strong safety for legendary football coach Erk Russell. The year was 1984, and Georgia Southern narrowly missed the playoffs that year. Over the next two years Erk’s Eagles began their storied march winning back-to-back Division 1-AA championships. With his unfortunate timing, Cagle “missed it by that much” as Agent Maxwell Smart might say. The same cannot be said of his political career. State Senator Cagle was first elected to the 49th district in 1994 ousting the incumbent Democrat. Cagle’s election was one in a series of Republican...