Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin is alerting consumers to the recall of a Publix brand pumpkin pie because it contains pecans that may not be listed on the label.

Publix Super Markets of Lakeland, Fla., is recalling certain batches of its Publix Pumpkin Pecan Streusel Pie because the ingredient statement on the label does not declare pecans, which are an ingredient in the pie. 

The product was prepared at Publix stores for retail sale between November and December 2009 and has a UPC number of: 002-95118-20399-7. It is packaged in a 30-ounce plastic container.

The mislabeled pies were distributed in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and South Carolina. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to pecans run the risk of allergic reaction if they consume this product.

Consumers who have purchased the product may return it to their local store for a full refund. Those with questions can contact the Publix Consumer Relations department at 1-800-242-1227 or visit www.publix.com/recall.

Floyd County Police arrested a Lindale man late Saturday night after they say he made death threats to his live-in girl-friend and two of her friends. He is now facing two felonies and three misdemeanors.

According to police and jail records: Daniel Allen Byerly, 39, of 133 Teat St., was charged with two counts of felony ter-roristic threats and acts, two counts of misdemeanor simple assault, and one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct.

Police say Byerly threatened to kill his girlfriend, and when her friends tried to calm him down he ran at them and threatened to kill them too. The girlfriend told police she was afraid to continue living with Byerly.

He remained in jail late Sunday night.

RNT

The Summerville News is Reporting there are changes coming in Lyerly….

Some changes are already in the works for Lyerly as the new administration gets ready to take charge tomorrow.

     A new city attorney is being appointed. Mayor-elect Jessica Eller has sent out a letter to current Attorney Ben Ballenger informing him that his services would no longer be required as of the New Year.

Ballenger is being replaced by Attorney Holley Strawn, of Cook and Connelly Law Firm, Summerville.

      This is Strawn’s first stint at representing a local government. Strawn passed the bar in 2006. Her first job in law was being a law clerk with the four Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit judges. Then she was hired by Cook and Connelly in May 2007.

     “I am really excited about that. I was really thrilled when (Mayor Eller) asked,” Atty. Strawn said.

     Mayor Eller has also sent Lyerly Clerk Leesa Manning a letter. It also stated that Manning’s services were no longer required beginning the first of the year.

Manning will be replaced by Joy Hampton, of the Lyerly area.

     “I knew some people that were interested and got some resumes. I looked over the resumes and she was the most qualified,” Mayor-Elect Eller said.

Rome’s Zartic, Inc. a subsidiary of Pierre Foods in Cincinnati, Ohio, has posted a $200,000 bond with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to obtain a license to operate in the produce industry.

Zartic, founded by James E. Mauer in 1976, has been a maker and distributor of packaged beef, poultry, pork and veal for decades but according to USDA regulations, has been required to get a permit to distribute produce.

A spokesman for the USDA said that apparently the company has been including vegetables in some of its packaged product. Any company which purchases or sells more than 2000 pounds of fresh or frozen produce is required to have a license under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act.

Rome News Tribune

The Chattooga County Health Department will be providing free H1N1 (swine flu) immunizations on Jan. 13-14.

On Jan. 13, health department personnel will be at the Summerville Recreation Department on Bolling Road (Ga. 100) from 4:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Health department workers will be at the Trion Recreation Department from 4:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. on Jan. 14.

The health department will close at 4 p.m. each day to allow workers to conduct the special clinics.

All county residents are welcome. Both injectable and nasal spray immunizations will be offered. There is no charge for either method.

“Of course our goal is 100 percent immunization, but we really want to make sure young children and high risk groups are inoculated,” said Julie Pierce, office manager of the Chattooga County Health Department. “That’s what the CDC guidelines were set up to do at first, but now that the CDC has relaxed those guidelines we can treat anyone.”

Pierce said “people are still coming in every day” for the shots. Younger children and senior citizens are more commonly treated.

She said the health department has done about 1,300 inoculations. That’s out of a county population of more than 25,000.

     “I’m not surprised by the response, but we would certainly like to do more,” said Pierce.

Smokers in 12 states will be lighting — and relighting — fire-safe cigarettes designed to go out when they’re not puffed as the result of new laws that go into effect Friday.

The states are among the last to require that all cigarettes meet standards first implemented by New York six years ago. The states with laws going on the books this week are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Wyoming is the only state that hasn’t passed such a law, according to the Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes. Fire-safe cigarette laws will also take effect in Mississippi, Ohio and South Dakota by the first week of 2011. Canada has a similar law.

Calhoun Times

Two students from Chattooga County recently made the Dean’s List at Georgia Highlands College in Rome….Tracey Elizabeth Esmann from Menlo and Nicole Ann McKenna from Trion made the list that was recently announced by Georgia Highlands College.

Republican  Rep. Jim Cole, a three-term lawmaker from Forsyth in Middle Georgia, will be  picked by Gov. Sonny Perdue to be the next Secretary of State, sources tell the AJC.

Cole, Perdue’s House floor leader,  will replace Karen Handel, who announced last week she would resign to concentrate full time on her race for governor. Perdue’s office is expected to make the announcement Monday.

Cole, 38,  will serve out the final year of Handel’s term. He will also run in 2010 for a full, four-year term.

Cole has been on Perdue’s House team for three years, carrying and pushing the governor’s legislation.

AJC

CHATTOOGA COUNTY’S UNEMPLOYMENT IMPROVED TO 11.8 PERCENT IN NOVEMBER… DOWN FROM 13.3 THE PREVIOUS MONTH.

UNEMPLOYMENT WAS UNCHANGED FROM OCTOBER TO NOVEMBER IN THE NORTHWEST GEORGIA REGION… HOLDING AT 11 PERCENT.  BUT WALKER COUNTY’S NOVEMBER UNEMPLOYMENT MOVED TO 9.4 PERCENT, UP FROM 9 PERCENT IN OCTOBER.  THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS IN WALKER COUNTY WAS UP BY 149 OVER THE MONTH.

CATOOSA COUNTY’S UNEMPLOYMENT WAS 8.1 PERCENT IN NOVEMBER, UP SHARPLY FROM 7.3 PERCENT IN OCTOBER.  THAT’S AN INCREASE OF 321 ON THE UNEMPLOYMENT ROLES.

WHITFIELD COUNTY’S RATE WAS UNCHANGED OVER THE MONTH, AT 12.8 PERCENT.

WQCH

From the National Weather Service:

Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 37. North wind between 5 and 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 12. North wind around 5 mph.

Monday: Sunny, with a high near 36. North wind between 5 and 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.

Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 13. North wind around 5 mph.

Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 36.

Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 20.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 41.

Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21.

Thursday: A 30 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 39.

Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 21.

Friday: A 20 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35.