Governor Brian P. Kemp and the Georgia Department of Economic Development on Tuesday celebrated the destinations gracing the four unique covers of the 2024 Georgia Official State Travel Guide. Following multiple record years for tourism in the Peach State, this annual publication will continue to inspire travel to and within Georgia. The 2024 edition features four different covers showcasing the diverse geographies around the state, from rural to urban locales and mountain to beach destinations.
A police chase that started in Whitfield County on Tuesday evening wound up in Chattooga County with the driver abandoning the vehicle. Chattooga County Sheriff Mark Schrader told WZQZ News on Wednesday afternoon that it is still unclear to local authorities why the chase was initiated in the Dalton area, but the driver drove through Walker County into Chattooga County on East Armuchee Road before the care was abandoned on Dry Creek Road and the driver fled on foot. Sheriff Schrader said that there was no description of the driver, but that there was also no reason to believe that the driver posed any threat to the public. The sheriff added that deputies found two bags of marijuana inside the abandoned vehicle. Anyone with any information is urged to call the Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office.
Early last Saturday morning a Chattooga County Deputy who was sitting near the four-way stop on Highway 48 at Menlo City Hall saw a vehicle run through the four-way stop without stopping. The deputy gave chase with emergency lights and sirens and stopped the vehicle at Shinbone Valley Road. The deputy said that he reached speeds of 110 miles-per-hour while in pursuit. The deputy ordered the driver out of the vehicle with his hands up. The driver complied and told the deputy that he didn’t realize he was being chased. The deputy explained that it was hard to believe the driver didn’t see the lights or hear the siren. At that time the driver blurted out to the deputy that there was marijuana and a firearm inside the vehicle. The deputy placed the driver under arrest and the driver asked the deputy “Why am I under arrest? Is it because I ran?”. Casey Edward Lazono of a Railey Road, Summerville address was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession, traffic offences, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, fleeing and attempting to elude, failure to maintain a single lane and failure to stop at a stop sign.
Ashley Marie Cowan, a Pre-Occupational Healthcare student from Adairsville, has been named Georgia Northwestern Technical College’s (GNTC) 2024 Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) winner, and Deanna Hulsey, instructor of Cosmetology, has been named the college’s 2024 Rick Perkins Instructor of the Year.
Longtime state Rep. Richard Smith died suddenly overnight at the age of 78 after fighting the flu. Smith, R-Columbus, was chairman of the House Rules Committee, the “traffic cop” that decides which bills make it to the floor of the chamber. “This morning, the entire Kemp family is saddened by the news of Representative Smith’s passing,” Gov. Brian Kemp said in a prepared statement. “A longtime public servant and valued friend, he represented the Columbus area well and had an important impact on the entire state.”
Here are the latest health inspection scores from the Chattooga County Environmental Health Department for the last half of January, 2024:
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