Jake Lee Skuse – Failure to maintain single lane, suspended registration, DUI Alcohol under 21, Driving without a valid license.

Edward Henderson Smith – Weekends/Superior Court Sentenced

Michael Tommy Tucker – Weekends/Superior Court Sentenced

James Neal White – Simple Batter FVA, Disorderly Conduct

Jennifer Michelle Ford – Possession of marijuana less than 1 oz, possession/use of drug related objects.

Justin Grant Gentry – Possession of Marijuana less than 1 oz, Drug related objects

Daniel Paul Ragan – Good Behavior Warrant

Tracy Leona White – Disorderly Conduct

Jeffrey Scott Curtis – DUI Alcohol Less Safe, Reckless Driving, Vehicles to drive on right side of roadway, open container operator of vehicle, felony obstruction of an officer.

Terry Lee Payne Jr. – Possession of Hydrocodone, Drugs to be kept in original container

Tracie Marie Rowlls – Disorderly Conduct, Criminal Trespass, Battery FVA

Here’s your chance to pick up a quality hot meal for FREE:

The Summerville First United Methodist Church located in downtown Summerville behind the court house will be hosting free lunch beginning at 11am and ending at 12:30pm. Lunch is dine in only.

 The Lyerly Methodist church located across from the Lyerly school will be hosting free lunch from 11am until 1pm.

Take advantage of one of these lunch programs and enjoy food and fellowship in a safe place.

“The White House Garden,” which originally debuted at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. in 2008, opens at Georgia Highlands College (GHC) on Monday, Feb. 1.

The exhibit will remain on view in the Lakeview Art Gallery through March 29 before continuing on a 20-city national tour through 2012.

The stately grounds of the White House have served as an impressive stage for everything from elegant weddings and royal receptions to Easter egg hunts and President Eisenhower’s personal putting green.

After more than 200 years as the site of those events, that backdrop of history comes to the fore with “The White House Garden,” an exhibition developed and supported by the White House Historical Association and organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES).

The collection includes photos, drawings, maps and family and business correspondence.

Since the 1790s, presidents, first families, renowned landscape architects and countless other Americans have contributed to the development of the formal gardens and parkland surrounding the “people’s house,” shaping the land into an extraordinary, one-of-a-kind national touchstone and treasure and the oldest continuously landscaped garden in the U.S.

“The White House Garden” paints a botanical and historical portrait through a series of thematic sections that highlight three gardens in particular: the Rose Garden, the East Garden (the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden) and the Children’s Garden.

Key to the development, design and evolution of the gardens are some of the biggest figures in American landscape design, including Andrew Jackson Downing, Beatrix Farrand and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr.

They built upon a canvas first envisioned by famed city planner Pierre L’Enfant, who set aside 82 acres for a President’s Park in 1792, when the nation’s capital was little more than a collection of farms and marshes.

Visitors to the exhibit will learn about the daunting challenges posed by the indigenous landscape, see the innovative changes and renovations that occurred as the grounds were rebuilt after the War of 1812 and be drawn into the decision and deliberations of the 20th and 21st century presidents, who added their own contemporary touches.

The exhibit features Thomas Jefferson, designer of the area’s first landscape plans; John Quincy Adams, who worked in the garden alongside White House gardener John Ousley; Theodore Roosevelt, who reluctantly allowed his architects to demolish his cherished conservatory; John F. Kennedy, who made the private Rose Garden near the Oval Office into an outdoor meeting place that accommodates 1,000 spectators; and Harry S. Truman and George H.W. Bush, both of whom enjoyed a lively game of horseshoes.

The exhibit illustrates the various roles the White House gardens have played in the international and domestic affairs of each administration: Presidents Tyler and Lincoln held receptions for the public; Civil War soldiers carried out drills on the South Lawn; Jacqueline Kennedy hosted ballet performances and concerts; and Lady Bird and Lyndon Baines Johnson held dinners and barbecues within view of the sweeping lawns and grounds’ carefully tended flower beds.

More than 500 trees planted on the grounds also are highlighted in the exhibit. Initially documented by first daughter Amy Carter as part of a school project, many of the trees were planted for ceremonial purposes.

Among the most renowned are the ancient magnolia planted by Andrew Jackson in memory of his late wife Rachel and the dogwood planted by Bill and Hilary Clinton in 1995, dedicated to the children killed in the Oklahoma City bombing.

“We are honored to continue our relationship with the SITES program to bring the beauty and history of the White House gardens to Rome and Floyd County,” said John Spranza, GHC director of student life. “This is the eighth exhibit that we have hosted over the past four years, and I continue to be amazed at the excitement and positive reception these exhibitions receive from both our campus and the surrounding community.”

“The White House Garden” will be on exhibit in GHC’s Lakeview Art Gallery from Monday, Feb. 1, through Monday, March 29. Admission is free.

The exhibit will be open to the public each week Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. and on Fridays from 8 a.m. until noon. Other days and times can be scheduled for groups by contacting the Office of Student Life at (706) 295-6363.

Rome News Tribune

A quarterly report issued by Gov. Sonny Perude`s stimulus accountability office said that the state funded around 20,000 jobs with its $1.1 billion it received from federal stimulus money. The report said that 20 state agencies were awarded $3.5 billion in stimulus contracts to 67 prime recipients.

The report went on to say that between October and December the state spent more than $1.1 billion.

A lot of the money went toward school districts and law enforcement agencies.

Coosa Valley News

State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond announced Wednesday that the Georgia Department of Labor‘s new Cedartown Career Center is now open for business at a new address. The new state-of-the-art facility, located at 262 North Park Blvd. in Cedartown, will allow the department to better serve employers and job seekers alike in Haralson and Polk counties.

`We‘re pleased to be able to provide a new state-of-the-art facility for all of our employers, job seekers, and vocational rehabilitation customers in the Cedartown area,` Commissioner Thurmond said. `The new career center is one of the most accessible government facilities for persons with disabilities in Georgia.

`I would like to thank the members of the Polk County Commission, the Cedartown City Council and the Cedartown Development Authority for their support and assistance,` Thurmond continued. `Special thanks goes to former Polk County Commission Chairman Billy Croaker, without whose interest and perseverance this facility may not have been built.`

It‘s a very exciting time for the Cedartown Career Center,‘ said Manager Mark Ezzell. We can now provide services to our customers in a more convenient and comfortable facility than in our old location on West Avenue. This spacious new building also provides a place for our workforce partners to serve customers, as well.

The 9,062-square-foot facility provides employment-related services for employers and job seekers, as well as user-friendly access to vocational rehabilitation customers. Employment-related services include: job referrals, Internet access, resume preparation assistance, career exploration, labor market information, job search and interview preparation, referral to training and education programs, assistive technology for persons with disabilities, and counseling for the deaf and hearing impaired, the blind and visually impaired, and those with mental health disabilities.

The new career center also features two training rooms and a business center where employers can interview clients, conduct group meetings, and have access to copiers, faxes, and computers. It also has accommodations for staff members of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), who provide on-the-job training services to jobseekers.

Coosa Valley News

The career center is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. The telephone and fax machine numbers will remain the same at (770) 749-2213 and (770) 749-2277, respectively.

Georgia pair arrested in connection to local burglaries

An on-going burglary investigation of several campers on Cherokee County Road 450 in the Spring Creek area has resulted in the arrest of two Georgia residents for possession of a stolen vehicle and illegal drugs.

Arrested, according to Cherokee County Sheriff Jeff Shaver, was Rayford Clarence Redding (31 year old white male) of 1130 Gunclub Rd. Buchanan, Ga., who was charged with receiving stolen property in the first degree, unlawful possession of a controlled substance and Obstruction of Justice for giving Investigators a false name to avoid arrest.

Redding is also charged with a probation violation from the State of Georgia.

Also arrested, Shaver said, was Katrina Ellen Frazier (35 year old white female), of 1244 Rockmart Hwy. Cedartown Georgia was charged with receiv-ing stolen property in the first degree and unlawful possession of a con-trolled substance.

On Tuesday, Jan. 26, Shaver said, deputies responded back to County Road 450 after a concerned citizen came into the sheriff’s office and informed sheriff’s officers he had tried to assist individuals that had a vehicle stuck in the mud on County Road 450. When deputies arrived on the scene they found the vehicle stuck and abandoned.

After investigation, it was learned that the truck was stolen from Heard County, Ga. And local authorities towed it to the sheriff’s inpound lot in Centre. A search of the area failed to locate anyone. The citizen described the two people he had seen as a slender white male and an average size white female, the male was also supposed to have some facial hair. Investigator Bo Jolly returned to the area Wednesday morning where he observed a white male and a white female at Johns Store that fit the description of the two people that had been at the truck the evening before, Shaver said.

Investigator Jolly contacted the suspects and was unsucessful in obtaining any identification from them. Investigator Jolly was joined by Cpl. Gene Knowles and after obtaining consent, a search was conducted where a pistol, illegal drugs, and a rifle were discovered. Evidence was found in their pos-session that linked the suspects to the stolen truck that was recovered on Tuesday. Both were arrested and transported to the Cherokee County Deten-tion Center, Shaver said.

The burglary investigation is still being conducted by investigators with the sheriff’s office. At this time the suspects have not been charged with any of the burglaries. Anyone having any knowledge or information related to the burglaries is urged to contact the Sheriff’s Office.

Frazier and Redding are currently awaiting a bond hearing, Redding will be released to Georgia authorities upon his release, Shaver said.

Cherokee Herald

The greater Chattanooga area, including Northwest Georgia, will become a hub of the automotive industry, Don Jackson, Volkswagen Group of Americas’ president for manufacturing, said here on Tuesday.

“In the next several years, you’ll see this corner of the state, all three states surrounding us, the industry continuing to grow,” Jackson said. “We really think this area is perfect for the automobile business.”

Jackson spoke on Tuesday to the Dalton Rotary Club about Volkswagen’s new plant in Chattanooga, its 62nd plant worldwide, but its first in either the United States or Canada. The plant will build a new mid-size sedan.

Jackson said the plant will create about 2,000 new jobs and about 9,500 additional jobs at the suppliers for the plant.

“We’ve already gotten over 65,000 applications,” he said. “We are going through the process of identifying the team members that will work for us. It’s about a four- or five-stage process.”

At the start of the year, Volkswagen had 300 employees on board.

 “This summer we will build our first vehicles,” he said.

Jackson said some people have asked why Volkswagen is moving so forcefully on the plant given the current recession. He said the North American market is very important to the company. It currently has total sales in North America of about 200,000 vehicles. But Jackson said company officials want to increase that to 800,000 units a year.

The Chattanooga plant has the capacity to build 150,000 cars annually. But Jackson said that could be increased from 200,000 to 220,000. Current plans call for just one model to be built in the plant. But Jackson said the plant was built with some flexibility to allow other models to be built there. 

A Rome man was arrested Friday after police say he held a woman against her will and impersonated an officer, reports stated.

According to Floyd County Jail reports:

Eric Warren Mathis, 35, of 109 Oakwood St., was arrested when he had a black .45 caliber pistol after already being convicted of a felony before this offense. He also held a woman against her will in one of the rooms at a motel on Martha Berry Boulevard. He claimed he was a peace officer with intent to mislead officers and the victim, stating he was with the Summerville Police Department.

He was charged with a felony possession of arms by convicted felon, false imprisonment and misdemeanor impersonating a public officer or employee. Mathis remained in jail Friday night with a blanket bond of $24,150.

Rome News Tribune