Walhalla mayor hopefuls sound off on transportation

Of the Walhalla mayoral candidates, Dennis Owens sounded the strongest support last night for extending bus service to Walhalla. But one other mayor candidate declared he opposes the spending of any city money to make that happen. The two other mayoral candidates have mixed opinions. Tjay Bagwell said, “I do not support spending any of the city of Walhalla’s money on a CAT bus specifically, public transportation. If the county wants to pay for it,” he said, “we’ll give them a few spots around town where they can draw rectangles.” Incumbent Danny Edwards says because Walhalla is the county seat, bus service can meet a need for those outside Walhalla to reach county services. But Edwards says bus service is only part of an equation covering transportation needs. Randy Chastain, who preceded Edwards eight years ago, questions whether Walhalla bus service is feasible. Chastain, who operates a private detective business, also raised the issue of whether some bus passengers might bring crime to Walhalla.