A Highway 27 Storage unit was reported burglarized on Wednesday. According to the Sheriff's Department report, three people apparently had items in the unit. Dustin Cochran and Deanna Kriner reported stolen: a Nintendo 64 with games, and two baby beds with mattresses. Theresa Padgett reported stolen: a curio cabinet, and washer and dryer.  Padgett said the last time the items were seen inside the unit was about a month ago. Entry was gained by breaking a lock on the storage building. The incident was turned over to investigators. 

 THIS WEEK the Hospital Authority  announced its support of plans by Catoosa and Walker counties to back consolidation of Hutcheson Hospital's debt through the issuance of bonds.

They also agreed to explore alternative long term operating strategies, including leasing the Fort Oglethorpe operation to a hospital entity.

Hutcheson reported a loss for the month of March, but that was expected, according to CEO Roger Forgey. Earnings for March reflect a 1.6 million dollar improvement over the same month a year ago. It's the fourth consecutive month that the hospital has performed "better than budget."   

Under new legislation signed by the Governor on Wednesday, more technical college students will qualify for the hope grant.

The bill returns the qualifying grade point to 2.0. It was raised to 3.0 two years ago, because of declining revenue. In the following years, there was a drop in technical college enrollment.

Governor Nathan Deal's office said recent growth in lottery revenue will cover the five-eight-million dollar cost of lowering the grand point requirement, qualifying more students for the Hope Grant.

Deal said, "We need more college or technical college degrees in order to attract and fill the jobs of tomorrow."

Listed on the April 24 Arrest Report are:

Erin Obrian Burke — No Charges Listed

David Lee Criswell — Failure to appear

David Lee Daniel — Battery/FVA; Cruelty to children

Aaron Travis Holmes — Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon

Melissa Bernice Key — Failure to appear

Timothy Seth Lloid — Child safety restraint violation (X2); Driving with a suspended/revoked license; DUI/multiple substances; DUI/child endangerment (X2); failure to maintain a single lane; use of license plate to misrepresent/conceal vehicle identity.

Alisha Pauline Marks — no charges listed

Krista Brooks Matthews — no charges listed

Michael Lee Pickle — failure to appear

Robert Franklin Sizemore — no charges listed

Latasha Rose Waddle — no charges listed

Daniel William Jackson — Hold for transport to Collwell Probation Center

Tammie Denise Willbanks — disorderly conduct

Paul Bryan Wilson — Good Behavior

What began as a domestic dispute last week ended up with a Chattooga County couple being arrested on drug charges with the husband also picked up on a fugitive from justice warrant out of Florida.

The incident occurred on April 16 when officers were dispatched to a Jenkins Gap Road address in reference to a woman being hit in the face by her husband. Christy Cooper told officers Tommy Cooper hit her in the face and head several times with his fist. 37-year-old Christy Cooper reportedly had blood coming from her nose and on her shirt. 

35-year-old Tommy Cooper told officers the fight occurred over meth and his wife was upset that he didn't have any and couldn't afford any. Officers found a suspected meth pipe in a vehicle at the residence as well straws and plastic baggies containing suspected meth residue.  Two sets of scales with suspected meth residue. 

Both were charged with possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug related objects. Tommy Cooper was additionally charged with cruelty to children, simple battery/ FVA, and being a fugitive from justice/ Florida, on burglary charges and other charges.

The couple was transported to the Chattooga County Jail. 

Two trucks collided near Krystal in Lafayette just before noon Tuesday. Neither driver sustained life threatening injuries.

The Georgia State Patrol is investigating to find out which of the two vehicles involved ran the traffic signal at the intersection.

Paul Simmons of Lafayette was traveling north on Highway 27 in a pickup, while a Walker County Animal Control Truck, driven by Kristopher Smith, of Lafayette, was traveling east through the intersection.
    The investigation revealed that neither driver had time to apply brakes before the impact.

Cartersville police have jailed a local man for allegedly attempting to rob a local business Monday evening while covering his face with women’s underwear.

Reports state Icar St. Valentine Channer, age 62, wore a black toboggan and held yellow panties over his face as he tried to get a cashier at Dollar General to give him four $20 bills out of the register. When the cashier told him he couldn’t open it up, Channer left the store and was later found by police at the nearby Church’s Chicken where they say he had the toboggan, panties and a large knife in his possession.

Channer faces charges of Robbery and Concealing Identity. He was booked into the Bartow County Jail about 8 pm Monday.

Rome High School has again been named one of the top institutions in the state in the annual study issued by U.S. News & World Report.

Coming in 46th out of Georgia’s 440 high schools, Rome has been named a “Best High School in America” as a Silver Award winner. The ranking places Rome in the approximate 90th percentile for all high schools in the state. It is the 4th time in the last 6th years Rome High has earned the distinction.

Other high schools honored in the Northwest Georgia region include a lofty ranking for Dalton at number 16, in addition to Calhoun at number 28 and Cartersville at number 31.

High schools are ranked by U.S. News based on several different types of criteria including college readiness and student-to-teacher ratio as well as math and English scores.

Locally Trion High School scored the highest in Chattooga County with "near Georgia average" in student teacher ratio with 387 students and 24 teachers. Trion ranked 18.4 in college readiness with 44 percent of students taking the AP test and 10 percent passing. Trion rated near the state average in math with 95 percent proficient and 5 percent not proficient, while rating above the state average in English with 98 percent proficient and 2 percent not.

Chattooga high rated near the state average in student teacher ratio and below the state average in college readiness with only 7 percent taking the AP test and only 2 percent passing. Chattooga rated below the state average in math with 76 percent proficient and 24 percent not; and below the state average in English with 83 percent proficient and 17 percent not proficient.   

Gov. Nathan Deal has signed a comprehensive boating safety law after a deadly summer on the water in north Georgia.

The bill, signed Tuesday at an event at Lake Lanier, honors the memory of 2 brothers killed in a boating crash last summer as well as the stepson of R&B artist Usher who died in a personal watercraft accident.

The bill lowers the blood-alcohol limit for boaters to .08 to match the driving limit. The bill also requires a boater safety education course for those operating motorized vessels that were born since Jan. 1, 1998.

Deal says too many tragedies have been tied to boating under the influence and inadequate boater education.

Georgia had been 1 of 8 states with a higher blood-alcohol limit for boating.

The first of two eaglets at Berry College took flight on Monday morning. After being chased by crows, the juvenile parked in top of a pine tree on the north side of the college's entrance road for over two hours to wait out the crows.