A Menlo man that was shot on Wednesday evening is recovering well and is expected to be released from the hospital on Friday morning.

Tony Gilley was shot in the forearm and stomach on Wednesday evening by his ex-son in law, 27 year old Matthew Nathaniel Christol.  According to Chattooga County Chief Investigator Larry Kellett, the two were involved in a domestic dispute when Christol shot Gilley.  Kellett told AM 1180 Chattooga County Radio that he had charged Christol with aggravated assault on Thursday morning.

Doctors at Floyd Medical Center said that Mr. Gilley was extremely fortunate not to have suffered any major wounds from the gun shot from the .38 caliber pistol.  Investigator Kellett said "Mr. Gilley is an extremely lucky man."

ATLANTA – The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) reported today that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 10.3 percent in December, matching the record high reported last July. The jobless rate was up two-tenths of a percentage point from a revised 10.1 percent in November. Previously, the November rate had been reported at 10.2 percent, but was revised downward slightly.

The December jobless rate was up 2.8 percentage points from 7.5 percent at this same time last year. The national adjusted unemployment rate is 10.0 percent. For 24 of the last 25 months, Georgia’s unemployment rate has exceeded the national unemployment rate. And, since the recession began in December 2007, Georgia’s workforce has shrunk by 121,257 or 2.5 percent, from 4,823,467 to 4,702,210.

The number of payroll jobs in December decreased 175,000, or 4.3 percent, from December of 2008. The metropolitan areas with the highest percentage of job losses during the same period are Dalton, down 6.0 percent; Valdosta, down 5.8 percent and Macon, down 5.5 percent. The metropolitan areas with the smallest percentage of job losses are Rome, down 0.8 percent, Warner Robins, down 1.6 percent; and Albany, down 1.9 percent. Only Hinesville showed an increase in jobs, up 100, or 0.5 percent. Statewide, the over-the-year losses came in trade, transportation and utilities, manufacturing, construction, and professional and business services. On a positive note, educational and health services added 11,200 jobs over the year. 

The annual certified operator training has been scheduled for February 17-18
at Central GA Tech in Macon. If you know any dairy, swine, or poultry (wet
manure systems) producers that need certification, please pass along the
registration information to them. Just a reminder that all permitted
livestock operations are required to have a certified operator.
Registration information can be found on the AWARE web site under NOTICES :
http://agp2.org/aware/

The Georgia State Patrol and Chattooga County deputies responded to an accident at the intersection of the Gore-Subligna Road and Highway 27 this morning.

The accident was between a white mini van and a bluish – grey Caddilac.  Details of the accident were not available however AM 1180 Chattooga County Radio will have more information as it becomes available.

The accident happened around 10:30 this morning.  Chattooga County EMS was on the scene but there did not appear to be any injuries.

Nicholas Loyd Trammell, Charged with Parole Violation

Matthew Chase Sprayberry, Charged with Failure to Appear

Kayla Leeann Johnson, Charged with Weekend Superior Court Sentence

Matthew Nathaniel Christol, Held on Pending Charges

Garth Anthony Gentry, Held on Pending Charges

Kimberly Joyce Perry, Charged with Probation Violation

Dewayne Jason Kerr, Charged with Probation Violation

Becky Rose Schilling, Charged with DUI / Drugs, Failure to Maintain a Single Lane

Salvador Arriage, Charged with DUI / Alcohol, Driving without a Valid License, Open Container

Linda Kay Stena, Charged with Disorderly Conduct

Earianna Sprayberry Trammell, Charged with Simple Assault

The January meeting of the 15-county Northwest Georgia Regional Commission will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Rome Civic Center on Jackson Hill.

The organization varies its meeting locations among member-counties, which are Floyd, Gordon, Dade. Walker, Catoosa, Chattooga, Polk, Bartow, Paulding, Haralson, Whitfield, Murray, Gilmer, Pickens and Fannin.

This will be the first gathering in Rome since a state-mandated merger between the 10 counties of the Rome-based Coosa Valley Regional Development Center and the five counties of the North Georgia Regional Development Center in Dalton.

Oak Hill and The Martha Berry Museum will present Erasing the Color Line, an exhibition detailing the story of integration at Berry College, throughout the month of February. Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors and $3 for students/children. There is no charge for admission for children ages 6 and under.

In the fall of 1964, Berry College accepted three black students. It was, as President John Bertrand stated, better to face change and to get on with the job at hand than to be caught in a web of floundering resistance. At a time when schools across the South were wracked by violence and dissent, Berry transitioned from its roots as a school for poor, Anglo-Saxon children to an integrated institution quietly and peacefully, yet the ease of the transition was not foreordained. This exhibit depicts the story of the courageous individuals who led the way in erasing the color line.

Oak Hill and The Martha Berry Museum is a popular attraction and the former home of Berry College founder Martha Berry (1865-1942). It is located at the intersection of Georgia Loop 1 and U.S. Highway 27 in Rome, Ga. More information is available via the Web at www.berry.edu/oakhill.

Coosa Valley News

A Ringgold man received only minor injuries after police say he jumped in front of a truck on Veterans Memorial Highway late Tuesday afternoon.

According to officer Lee Bowden of the Rome Police Department:

Jason Farrell Pulcher Jr., 18, of Ringgold, was walking along the side of Veterans Memorial Highway around 4:45 p.m. Bowden said for some unknown reason, Pulcher lunged out in front of a 2007 International tractor-trailer that was traveling west on the highway. He hit the front of the truck then bounced off, landing in the road.

Bowden said the truck driver, Kenneth Lambert of Sylacauga, Ala., was slowing down because he saw Pulcher on the edge of the road and was able to soften the blow by hitting his brakes.

Bowden said Pulcher was taken to Floyd Medical Center for treatment, but the most serious injuries appeared to be road rash from sliding on the pavement. He was conscious and alert as medical personnel tended to him at the scene.

Westbound traffic was completely blocked for about 15 minutes on the loop.

Rome News Tribune

Residents of Cloudland and Menlo are growing weary of the road closure on Highway 337.  Several residents of the area that work in LaFayette and use the road for their daily commute can not understand why the road has not been repaired.

Highway 337 is a State road, and Chattooga County has no control over the closure nor the detour routes that are posted around the county.  State Representative Barbara Massey Reece has been in contact with the D.O.T. as have County Commissioner Jason Winters and Chattooga County Public Works Director Lamar Canada.

Canada told AM 1180 on Wednesday evening that the state is still waiting on 8′ tile to be delivered in order to repair the road.  Chattooga County offered the state tile that it had, but the state said they could not use the tile – that the job required 8′ tile.

So for now the road remains closed.  AM 1180 Chattooga County Radio will bring you updated information on the road closure as it becomes available.