A group of volunteers are busy putting together the first Cherokee County Fair since the 1950s that will be held in Centre, Alabama.

A representative of the group addressed the Cherokee County Commission during its Monday planning session.

The group is seeking just over $3,600 from the county to help market November’s FFA Agriculture Fair.  The group says the event will hopefully help make today’s students interested in a career in agriculture.

The Cherokee County Commission took no action, but did express interest in supporting the agricultural fair.

WEIS Radio 

A Chattooga County man is upset because he purchased an I-phone from another resident and can't use the phone.  The man said that he purchased the phone on October 1st and attempted to activate it, but Verizon Wireless told him that the phone was still on the other persons plan and he could not activate the cell phone.  The man contacted the original owner several times, who assured him that they were taking care of the problem.  However, as of this past weekend the man could still not activate the phone.  A deputy advised the man of magistrate court proceedings to settle the dispute.

Berry College has settled its legal dispute with the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) over its right to advertise in that state. The dispute was over billboards in the Nashville area that showed two Berry students on the campus with the college’s name and the phrase `26,000 Acres of Opportunity.` THEC had sought to make Berry pay large fees not charged to Tennessee private colleges in order to advertise in Tennessee. THEC officials had asserted that placing the billboards in Tennessee constituted conducting educational activity in that state. Berry has no campuses in Tennessee and does not offer distance or online education.

The settlement provides a waiver of the THEC rules for advertising and solicitation because Berry meets the same standards required of Tennessee colleges.

`We are very pleased that the settlement agreement provides exactly the resolution we were looking for, and grateful to the Tennessee Attorney General’s office for working with us in good faith to address our concerns about the Tennessee law and its application,” said Berry President Steve Briggs. “It is important that high school students and their families have open access to the information they need to make informed college decisions, and that colleges compete on a level playing field in the market.”

After being threatened with fines, Berry sued THEC in May, alleging discriminatory treatment that violated the college’s constitutional rights under the Commerce Clause and its rights of commercial free speech. U.S. District Court Judge Harold Murphy of the Northern District of Georgia dismissed Berry’s lawsuit on jurisdictional grounds in June, agreeing with Tennessee that the suit should instead be in federal court in Tennessee. Before Berry refiled its suit, the parties entered settlement discussions.

More than 200 of Berry’s 2,100 undergraduate students come from Tennessee.

`Berry has welcomed students from Tennessee for many decades; Tennessee families are attracted to Berry because of our strong academic program, our amazing campus, our affordability, and our student work experience program, which is the nation’s largest,” Briggs said.

A Summerville couple reported a dangerous situation involving children to the sheriff's department over the weekend.  According to the report a child was left in a pickup truck on Ocotber 16 in the parking lot of Wal- Mart with the truck running and a child hanging out of the window.  The resident knew the child and spoke to him.  The child, whose age was not identified in the report, was in the truck along with a "baby" and said that his step-dad had gone into Wal-Mart to get some bread, leaving the two minor children in the running vehicle.  The couple were alarmed by the incident and wanted to make a report.  

Joe Johnston, Jr. was doing something fun for Halloween and someone spoiled the party by stealing a chain saw.  Johnston was hosting a Halloween "Haunted Trail" at his home off of Calland Drive over the weekend and was using a Stihl chainsaw with the chain off the bar to scare people as part of the event.  Johnston noticed later that the chainsaw was missing and reported the theft to the sheriff's department.  It is believed that someone who was at the event took the chain saw.  The case is being investigated by the sheriff's department.

A Menlo resident came to the sheriff's department last Friday to report a strange item found in his yard.  The Bell Street, Menlo man told the sheriff's department that he had left to go hunting last Friday morning and when he returned he found a clear plastic bag on his lawn with a rock and a note inside.  The note read, "Neighborhead Watch. You can sleep well tonight knowing the UKA (United Klans of America) is awake."  The note also contained a web site link to the United Klans of American and an Alabama phone number.  According to the Menlo resident, several people around Menlo have received similar notes from the organization. Deputy Jason Burrage with the Chattooga County Sheriff's Department contacted the number and received a voice mail.  In the report, Deputy Burrage said that the note was believed to be a recruitment effort by the Klan.

A Mountain View Road man was bitten by a dog last Friday according to a report from the Chattooga County Sheriff's Department.  David Lassetter was walking on Mountain View Road near the intersection of Davis Road when a black dog ran out of someone's yard and bit him on the leg.  The responding deputy arrived after a call to 911 and found the man, along with an animal control officer at the man's home.  The deputy observed puncture wounds to Mr. Lassetter's right lower leg.  The deputy and animal control officer went to the home where the dog had been and could find no one there.  The case was turned over to animal control according to the report.

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The annual Trion-Summerville Optimist Club Halloween Walk is coming up this Thursday in downtown Summerville.  AM 1180 will have a Newsmakers Interview with Ricky Hughes, President of the Trion-Summerville Optimist Club talking about the Halloween Walk following the 8 AM Newscast on AM 1180.  

This Saturday the Rattling Gourd Art Festival will take place at the Chattooga County Civic Center.  AM 1180 will broadcast a Newsmakers Interview with Olivia Myers on Tuesday following the 8 AM Newscast.