Criminal Defense Attorney in Thunderbolt, GA.

Thunderbolt Town Council approved a resolution for the city’s first hotel/motel tax Tuesday in a special called meeting.

The bed tax would allow the town to collect revenue off short term vacation rentals. Town Clerk Deatre Denion estimates that there are about 30 homes, apartment and boats available as vacation rentals.

Thunderbolt is not home to hotels currently, although two bed-and-breakfasts operate in the town. B&Bs are regulated under separate rules.

The excise tax, which was previously marked for up to 8%, was changed to 6% after Chatham County's state legislative delegation showed weak support to a proposal to bump Savannah's hotel/motel tax from 6% to 8%. The delegation asked Thunderbolt Town Council to approve a revised resolution that would match the existing hotel/motel tax of Savannah and other Chatham County's municipalities.

All council members voted to pass the resolution.

Thunderbolt Mayor Beth E. Goette says the revised resolution is expected to pass the Georgia General Assembly.

“We’ve had a tremendous increase in people buying up homes and renovating them and renting them out,” says Goette. “A lot of people come here to visit the view, so we have a lot to offer.”

Thunderbolt’s River Drive borders the Wilmington River, once the shrimping capital of the East Coast, and is now home to several marinas plus Thunderbolt Marine, one of the country's busiest seagoing ship maintenance facilities. North of the city is Bonaventure Cemetery, a popular picnic spot listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A resolution for a hotel/motel tax has been in the works since last year and has been in discussion for even longer. It has not been met with any vocal opposition according to several councilmembers.

However, Drohan acknowledges that, in addition to the extra cost, “it makes what traditionally was a really easy process a bit more complicated.”

“Now you're doing sales tax and hotel/motel tax and you’ve got to do all the filings and all the costs that are associated with doing that,” says Drohan.

Although the extra revenue that will be generated has not been specifically earmarked, the resolution states that “such tax would benefit the Town of Thunderbolt by providing additional revenues for the promotion of tourism, conventions, tradeshows, and tourism product development.”

Typically, bed tax revenues are used for marketing to visitors.

“This was talked about in terms of having funds that would be utilized in terms of helping Thunderbolt to be a more desirable point of visitation,” says Drohan.

Bringing in more tourism would, in turn, benefit the short term rental owners as well.

An ordinance further detailing how the revenue will be used will be drafted after state approval of the resolution.

Yes. Thunderbolt. That was not a typo. (We tease because we love, right?)

It’s been said here and there a time or two that the best way to watch our food scene grow from the inside out is to find a way to get culinary talent to commit to Savannah long term. It’s a scenario easier said than done, of course, but it is beginning to happen.

The latest example is in the aforementioned Thunderbolt.

Finches Sandwiches and Sundries opens today. This is going to be a good one, in the most unlikely of locations.

“We met in Massachusetts, working at a Vineyard.” says Rebecca Matthews. “I was working in retail and also doing some marketing. Miles was one of the chefs.” Miles has serious skills in the kitchen.

This movie we’ve seen already. Boy meets Girl. Each become smitten and they decide to move. Maybe for better weather, maybe for a fresh start as a newlywed couple. In the search for that fresh start, Savannah came on to their radar. Miles searched for a job and landed as a Sous Chef at Husk Savannah downtown. I think we’d all agree that was a major landing spot.

We told you Miles has skills.

They found a cute house to live off of the beaten downtown path in Thunderbolt. Just across the way from Vertu Farms and the Old Dairy Farm. Like so many others, they loved it here. Nightly walks with their dogs was as much about meeting neighbors as it was exploring an historic neighborhood that was not only home to Bonaventure Cemetery, but also a lot of historic structures. Each with a story to tell. Including the one they found and are now renting as a modern sandwich shop and necessity store. You know, the kind everyone else is trying to call a bodega these days?

Thank goodness they didn’t, but I digress.

“We would walk by here regularly and I just loved everything about this area.” Rebecca says of the tiny 1950s ish building on Mechanics Road right next to an old gas station that’s been converted to an AirBnB that sleeps twelve.

But what to do with it? Enter Jamie Pleta. Rebecca met Jamie while working together in management at a downtown Savannah hotel. Rebecca had a vision, she shared it with Jamie. Once Jamie was on board, they approached the building’s owner at Yes Antiques and Thrift next door and talked her into renting it to them.

The plan was simple. Once they cleaned it up and made it Instagram ready, Miles would do the food. A very simple menu. Sandwiches, wraps, chips, fruit, drinks. You get the idea. The big difference is Miles is drawing on his experience in major kitchens to create this menu. They are partnering with local farms including Vertu right down the street in Thunderbolt to create seasonal offerings, not just something you’d get out of the back of a supply truck. They are also using Auspicious Baking Company breads. A very big deal.

The menu? Smallish and clever for starters. Skinny Italian is a thinly sliced Pork Belly Porchetta, spicy greens, aioli and a side of smoky broth. There’s a braised chicken sandwich, a grilled cheese and a peanut butter and jelly.

Yogurt and Bananas will satisfy the healthy crowd and a “Love your Roots” Vegan soup will satisfy that crowd this winter.

Do you get the picture? This is different for Thunderbolt and I think a welcomed addition. “Foodie” food. But I’m parking that word over yonder with ‘bodega.’

“Miles is a very talented guy.” says Jason Starnes, Executive Chef at Rhett in The Alida Hotel. “I am VERY excited to see what he does with their new place.”

“I had worked in tight spaces before at the winery.” Miles says “So putting together a menu that was easy to execute but still fresh was easier for me.”

On the other side of the tiny space are the grab and go items. Other than food. You might find a good looking sweatshirt, you might want a deck of cards, a frisbee or a candle. Heck, even the picnic baskets decorating the walls are for sale.

The goal is to create a one stop shop that this trio doesn’t believe exists in Thunderbolt. They see how much traffic comes and goes from the cemetery down the street on a daily basis but there is nowhere really for those visitors to stop and enjoy something creative and local.

“The kayak tour company down the street does a ton of business. Those people don’t have anywhere to stop and grab a bite either.” Rebecca says. “Now they will.”

That’s to say nothing of the potential to draw a lunch crowd from the immediate area. Across Victory Drive you have Tubby’s, Tortuga’s and the very popular Erica Davis Low Country . But what if you want something simple, like a hit and run sandwich or salad? Finches will now give you another option in that department.

Once the warmer months roll back around, the trio expect to offer their services for boxed lunches or catering to the nearby marina traffic coming through Thunderbolt on any given Spring or Summer day on the water.

In the short term, consider me among the thankful that they thought enough of Savannah to stay and build something new and creative where we can Eat It and Like It. Because I believe we will.

Finches Sandwiches and Sundries2600 Mechanics AvenueThunderbolt, GA 31404finchessandwiches.comOpen 7am-2pm Tuesday through FridayOpen 8am-4pm Saturday and Sunday

The A-10 Thunderbolt is a close-air-support attack aircraft, and it is not a common view at airshows, except for the A-10 Demonstration Flight Team.

On October 30-31, four members of the A-10 Demo Team will attend the Wings Over Georgia Air Show. Their presence there is not random since they grew up less than a two-hour drive from Rome, GA. That includes the team leader Capt. Haden “Gator” Fullam, Staff Sgt. Hunter Nance, Staff Sgt. Robert Benson, and Senior Airman Jacob Stephens.

Senior Airman Stephens said that "We're super excited to be able to share the A-10 with the northwest Georgia community and demonstrate its combat capabilities in an area that we all know and love" and added that "It is a great opportunity for me and the other team members to be able to return to the area where we all grew up. We look forward to showcasing what we do as we travel to air shows across the country."

Fullam joined the U.S. Air Force as a tribute for his grandfathers, who fought in Vietnam and, moreover, for 2021, the A-10 Thunderbolt used by his team will come with the Vietnam War-era paint scheme. That paint includes the name of 97 members of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing who paid the ultimate price or were POWs during military service. The A-10 Demonstration Flight Team is part of the 355th Wing based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, near Tucson, AZ.

This year, the event will use a hybrid format, including a drive-in tailgate system and hill-top patio seating. Those who choose the parking will get a 10 by 20-foot spot (3x6m) for their vehicles and an adjacent area for enjoying the show.

Apart from the A-10 Demo Team, the U.S. Navy Blue Angels will attend the event, celebrating their 75th Anniversary as the headlining act, U.S. Army SOCOM Black Daggers, and U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster II. Ticket prices for general airfield parking are $150 for every day, and the organizer announced that the vehicles could not exceed 20 ft (6 m). The capacity of the cars will be counted by the number of seatbelts installed. Tickets must be purchased in advance; hence there will be no tickets sold at the Show.

The Commemorative Air Force’s Airbase Georgia, formerly known as the Dixie Wing, has established an enviable reputation for its aircraft restoration prowess over the past few decades, breathing life back into a number of complex airframes, such as their SBD-5 Dauntless (BuNo.54532) and P-63A Kingcobra (42-68941), during that time. The group is currently in the advanced stages of another restoration, this being Boeing N2S-2 Kaydet Bu.03531, more familiarly known as a ‘Stearman’ due to its design origins. However, this past week saw a significant new project crossing the threshold of Airbase Georgia’s hangar in Peachtree City, Georgia with the arrival of Republic P-47N Thunderbolt 44-89136.

As many readers will know, this aircraft has been with the CAF for more than half a century, although not without incident; the fighter incurred substantial damage following an inflight engine fire in March, 2002. The badly burned airframe sat for a number of years after this incident, awaiting a sponsor with deep pockets to begin its restoration.

After fits and starts, a rebuild began in earnest under the auspices of the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, Texas during 2013. However, by 2016, the airframe was again awaiting reassignment to a new home. Put up for ‘adoption’ in 2018, the CAF’s SoCal Wing won the honor of completing the restoration. Fresh from their triumphant, decades-long resurrection of the world’s sole surviving PBJ-1J Mitchell, it seemed like the P-47 had arrived at the perfect location for her skyward-bound adventures to begin anew. But sometimes priorities change; for whatever reason, the SoCal Wing was not able to devote the necessary resources to their new prize, with little substantive work reportedly taking place during the aircraft’s tenure in Camarillo, California. And this brings us to March of this year, when the CAF announced that the P-47N would move again, this time to Airbase Georgia which, oddly enough, was one of the original sponsorship bidders back in 2018. And so the Thunderbolt made the long, cross-country journey by road to Peachtree City this past week, arriving over the weekend.

Looking nearly complete, structurally speaking at least, there is a lot of work remaining, especially with the aircraft’s systems, before the fighter can head aloft once more. Anyone wishing to support the project should click HERE to do so. We look forwards to bringing regular progress reports as her rebuild continues!

This P-47 arrived too late to see frontline service with the U.S. Army Air Forces, it did have a fairly colorful post-war history south of the border, which we reported on HERE back in 2016… it’s worth another look!

THUNDERBOLT, Ga. —

The Major League Baseball postseason will begin Tuesday with the Wildcard Playoff Round.

And that means the return of a second-season tradition in Thunderbolt.

It’s become a familiar site in the first few days of October, a teepee erected at Coach’s Corner in Thunderbolt.

The structure has gone up every year that the Atlanta Braves have made the playoffs since 1991.

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And they’re looking forward to another opportunity to do it again.

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“We’re really excited," said Lawrence Bennett, the organizer of Coach's Corner Teepee. "We only have a few more things to do on our punch list, and it’s going to be great. The playoffs are going to be awesome, the Braves are going to kick butt and we’re going to have a really good time up here.”

But it’s not just about cheering on the Braves, it’s also about helping out a worthy cause. You can pay for an opportunity to watch the game in the teepee, with proceeds going to benefit the nonprofit Help Save One of Our Own.

“Everything is tax deductible. Every dime goes to somebody in need in our community," said Bennett. "It all stays local, and we’re real proud of it.”

A year ago, because of the Braves' early exit from the playoffs, they didn’t raise nearly as much money as they had hoped for during that particular run. This year, though, they’re optimistic, thinking the Braves will have a run all the way to the World Series and in turn, that will mean more opportunities to raise more money for the charity.

“We do have a goal that we’re trying to raise money for Help Save One of Our Own," said Bennett. "It was cut a little short last year because the Braves exited early. We really want to hit our mark and raise as much money as we can.”

Now, even though the Braves' first playoff game is not until Saturday, Coach's Corner will be manning the teepee 24 hours a day starting Tuesday, the same day the MLB Wildcard Playoffs begin.