A 6-foot, 7-inch long alligator was spotted in front of the Coastal Courier at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. Employees from the City of Hinesville’s public works department, ESG, rounded up the wayward reptile and released it unharmed back into the wild. “I’ve been here 28 years working with the city and that’s the first time I’ve seen one downtown,” said street supervisor Mike Davis. Davis, along with ESG employees Jeff White, Joey Wells, Willie Bacon and Frankie Wilson, first secured the scaly animal with a rope, then placed a traffic safety vest over its eyes to calm him down. The workers then hog-tied it and taped its mouth shut. The reptile round-up took 30 to 45 minutes to complete, according to Davis. City workers transported the gator to an area called McIntosh Mountain off Highway 84 and released it into Peacock Canal. Davis said a construction maintenance associate first alerted ESG about the gator. (Photo/Patty Leon)