Residents of Chattooga County will have an opportunity this week to meet directly with a member of Congressman Clay Fuller’s staff as part of a new effort designed to make congressional constituent services more accessible throughout Georgia’s 14th Congressional District.

Fuller’s office recently launched the County Connections Program, a rotating series of in-person office hours in counties that do not have a permanent congressional field office.

The program comes to Chattooga County this Friday, September 4, at the Hurley Community Development Center, 10050 Commerce Street in Summerville. The scheduled hours are 9 AM until noon.

The program is intended to bring many of the services normally available through a congressional district office directly to residents in their own counties.

Fuller currently maintains district offices in Rome, Dalton and Dallas, but Georgia’s 14th District covers a large portion of Northwest Georgia. Under County Connections, a member of the congressman’s staff will visit counties without a permanent field office on Fridays on a rotating basis.

For Chattooga County residents, Friday’s visit could be particularly useful for people who have encountered problems dealing with a federal agency.

Congressional offices routinely provide what is known as constituent casework. While a member of Congress cannot order a federal agency to decide a case in someone’s favor, congressional staff can help constituents communicate with agencies, determine the status of a case and work to make sure an inquiry receives appropriate consideration.

Fuller’s office says residents needing assistance with federal agencies or other casework are encouraged to attend County Connections. Constituents, business leaders and elected officials can also use the visits to meet with congressional staff, discuss issues affecting their communities or provide comments for the congressman’s team.

The County Connections rotation began Friday, August 28, in Walker County. After this week’s Chattooga County stop, staff visits are scheduled for Dade County on September 11, Murray County on September 18, Catoosa County on September 25, Polk County on October 2 and Cobb County on October 9.

Fuller, a Republican from Lookout Mountain, took office earlier this year after winning the special election to represent Georgia’s 14th Congressional District. He defeated Democrat Shawn Harris in the April runoff with about 56 percent of the districtwide vote. In Chattooga County, Fuller received approximately 70 percent of the vote, with 2,546 votes compared with 1,101 for Harris.

The congressman has already made visits to Chattooga County since taking office, including a tour earlier this summer of Smith Ironworks, where he met with employees and learned more about the Summerville company and its role in the local economy.

Friday’s County Connections visit provides a different kind of access, giving residents a designated time and place to bring individual federal concerns directly to Fuller’s staff without traveling to one of the congressman’s permanent district offices.

Again, Congressman Clay Fuller’s County Connections Program will be at the Hurley Community Development Center in Summerville this Friday, September 4, from 9 AM until noon.