A man known for barging into local church services, rubbing kerosene on his body and talking wildly has now tried eating the concrete walls of his Chattooga County jail cell.

Two deputies spotted a 24-year-old man on the shoulder of the road wearing a black graduation gown at 2 a.m. in the morning. He was standing by himself on a rarely traveled road – south Little Sand Mountain Road.

 “I had previously been dispatched to the area because of complaints about the suspect committing acts of vandalism at the cemetery of Little Sand Mountain Church. Also, there have been complaints that the suspect was interrupting church services by entering the church and rubbing kerosene on himself and talking crazy,” Deputy Matt Hayes stated.

Deputy Hayes and Sgt. Paul Busby stopped and tried talking with Joshua James Childers. Before deputies could walk close, Childers inched toward the woods despite Sgt. Busby’s commands to halt.

“After a brief struggle and a short application of OC spray to the suspect’s face, the suspect was taken into custody . . .” Deputy Hayes reported.

Childers was arrested for obstruction of an officer, jail reports state.

The odd behavior didn’t stop at the jailhouse. Last Thursday jailers caught Childers tunneling through his cellblock wall.

After he was caught, he told investigators that he was trying to escape. But sheriff officials believe otherwise.

“He was eating the concrete dust from the hole he was digging,” Sheriff John Everett said.

Officer Joseph Stricklin found Childers digging the hole when he opened the holding cell door to give Childers his nightly medication, according to reports.

Summerville City offices will be closed today from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for the funeral services of 76-year-old City Manager James Grady McCalmon.

Services will begin at 11 a.m. from the Cloudland Presbyterian Church with Dr. Roger Kvam officiating. Interment will be at Cloudland Presbyterian Cemetery.

“The City of Summerville suffered a great loss as did Chattooga County. He had a lot of love for the people of this community. . . Mr. McCalmon was a great fiscal manager. Our hearts go out to his family and friends . . . He is not only someone you work with, but also he is a friend,” Chattooga County Commissioner Jason Winters said.

McCalmon’s career with the city began in the 1950s when he was the city’s recreation director.

“Grady McCalmon has always been larger than life to me.  From the first time I saw this ‘huge’ man with a flattop hair cut, he has had a profound influence over who I am.  Grady, he insisted we call him Grady, was an absolute giant to a 10-year-old kid.  As recreation director, he was king over everything that was fun.  He had a pool, a basketball court, a trampoline, tennis courts, and three baseball fields.  You were absolutely destroyed if he had to restrict your access to these delights. But believe me; he could if you didn't meet his standards of conduct,” Summerville businessman and former city councilman Milford Morgan said.

McCalmon’s career was entrenched with municipal recreation centers after he graduated from East Central Junior College, Decatur, Miss. He also attended Troy State College, Troy, Ala.

He was also the recreation director for Hapeville, Griffin and in July 1969 he was named director of the Rome Recreation Department. He left the Rome program in late 1971 and took a job with the Macon-Bibb County Recreation Center.

“I would give anything to hear him come over the phone and say, “Bo, where are you?’” current Summerville Recreation Director Bo Chamlee said. “He always told anybody that he introduced me for the first time, ‘This is Bo Chamlee, the second best recreation director in the state of Georgia. He would say, ‘You know who was the best is? It is me.’”

McCalmon was a member and former board member of the Georgia Recreation and Park Society and member of the National Recreation and Park Society. He was also a former Kiwanis, Rotary, Key and Elks Lodge member.