Mother, Daughter Get Out Of Car Before Hit By Train

A driver and her daughter were unharmed Sunday, March 31, after they abandoned the car they were in moments before it was hit by a train.

Laterica Finley was driving her silver Chrysler Sebring eastbound on East 12th Street in South Rome when the car stalled on the tracks just before Cedar Avenue.

Finley said she was going over the tracks when the car's front axle broke. Finley said it was about a minute later that a Norfolk Southern engine heading south came through the crossing and rammed the passenger side of her car.

Luckily, she had gotten her 4-year-old daughter out of the back of the car and moved a safe distance away before the train got to the car.

Norfolk Southern spokeswoman Susan Terpay said company officials were called to the scene to inspect the train and the tracks before allowing the engine to start moving again.

East 12th Street was closed for some time before a crew arrived to clear it.

Terpay said the actions that Finley took once she realized her car would not move are exactly what people should do if they ever find themselves in a similar situation.

Sheriff’s Office Server Crashes, No Arrest, Incident Reports–UPDATE

THE COMPUTER SERVER AT THE CHATTOOGA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE HAS BEEN REPAIRED. HOWEVER, THERE ARE ISSUES SENDING OUT SOME INFORMATION. WE WILL HAVE THE ARREST REPORTS AND INCIDENT REPORTS AS SOON AS THEY ARE AVAILABLE. 
 
 
 
 
If you've wondered why you haven't heard any arrest or incident reports on AM1180 recently, it's because the computer server at the Sheriff's Department crashed over the weekend.
 
AM1180 received an email from the Chattooga County Sheriff's Department at 8:10 a.m. on Monday. It said, "our server crashed over the weekend. We have no way to pull up any reports. Sorry. All incidents, bookings or 24-hour (reports) have to be hand written and cannot be sent. Sorry! We will have to purchase a new server." 
 
Local media outlets normally receive all arrest and incident reports from the Sheriff's Office by email. 
 
AM1180 phoned the Sheriff's Office on Monday morning to ask if we could pick up copies of the reports and were told that deputies weren't really doing reports, but just taking notes on incidents.
 
We phoned the jail to ask if we could copy the arrests in the docket book by hand and were told by a flustered sounding, female employee that "court was this week," and she "didn't have time to find the docket book."
 
AM1180 hasn't received an arrest reports or incident reports from the Sheriff's Office since Thursday. 

Obesity: Health Crisis Facing Georgia Children

The largest health crisis facing Georgia school children right now isn’t a virus or an infection. 
 
It’s obesity. According to a speech given last week by Brenda Fitzgerald, the state’s chief public health official, Georgia is in second place for having the highest rates of childhood obesity in the nation, trailing only behind Mississippi. A fitness exam that measures health indicators like BMI and flexibility was recently given to over 1 million school children in the state. 
 
Fitzgerald relayed the dismal results to an audience at the University of Georgia’s State of Public Health Conference. 
 
“Only 16% of Georgia’s School Children tested—it was about 99% of the schools and about a million children—and only 16% of Georgia’s children were able to pass all simple parts of the fitness exam,” Fitzgerald said. “And, only 20% of the babies didn’t pass anything.” 
 
To combat this growing epidemic, local public health agencies have been really zeroing in on the issue, including Northwest Georgia’s Public Health Department. Spokesman Logan Boss said his agency has been promoting the ‘eat less, move more’ philosophy to both adults and children alike in the region. 
 
“There are two key components to ensure that any initiatives to combat childhood obesity and obesity in general are a success; First, is a recognition that we all have to take a personal responsibility when it comes to managing our weight—the decision on whether to exercise or supersize our meals ultimately rests on you and me,” Boss said. 
“The second component involves working together to make sure our communities are more conducive to practices and choices that will help curtail obesity.”  
 
The problem is dire, Boss said, and costly. According to him, Georgians spend up to 3 billion dollars a year on obesity-related costs. And, research indicates 80% of overweight children will grow up to be obese. 
 

Cartersville Man Arrested In Rome On Child Sex Charges

A Cartersville man was taken into police custody Saturday after they say he travelled to Floyd County to have inappropriate relations with a minor.  
 
According to a prepared statement from authorities, 40-year-old Nathan Lee Claus of Cartersville was arrested during an undercover operation by Floyd County Police. Through the course of that investigation, it was revealed that Claus was having explicit contact with a child under the age of 16 and he was reportedly in Floyd to meet with the minor.
 
Claus is now facing some serious felonies; Child Molestation, Enticing a Child for Indecent Purposes, and Solicitation of Sodomy.  
 

Rome Police Seek Help In IDing Armed Robbers

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Berry Athletic Director Resigns

A Berry legend has resigned.
 
 
Berry College announced Friday that Todd Brooks, the liberal art schools’ athletic director of over 16 years, has accepted a similar position at Christopher Newport University effective June 17th.
 
 
The search will begin immediately to fill his shoes, and, though active in the budding program, his sudden departure should have no effect on Berry’s inaugural football season, says Berry Spokeswoman Chris Kozelle. 
 
“We are going full-steam-ahead on the football program. Coach Tony Kunczewski has been recruiting and bringing in some fabulous students. It shouldn’t have any effect on the football program,” Kozelle says. “We are looking for someone obviously like Todd, who can manage a large number of sports on campus. When Todd first started, we only had 10 sports. We now have 21. And, more than 300 of our students are athletes. It is a very important part of our campus and we hope to be building on the progress he’s made as we look for our new athletics director.” 
 
Along with these achievements, Brooks has also at had a hand in the new $32 million CAGE athletics center and in the planning of the proposed Valhalla football stadium. 
 
Brooks will stay until June to see the college through its NAIA transition to division III status. 
 

Mini Quesadillias, Pizza Slices Recalled

 Rich Products Corp. has announced a voluntary recall of 192,222 pounds of its Farm Rich Mini Quesadillas and other Farm Rich products because of a possible E. coli contamination.

The recall of also includes the Buffalo, N.Y.-based company's Farm Rich Mini Pizza Slices, Farm Rich Philly Cheese Steaks, Farm Rich Mozzarella Bites and Market Day Mozzarella Bites. They were produced Nov. 12 through Nov. 19.

The Farm Rich products were distributed in retail stores nationwide. The company says it's working with the Food Safety Inspection Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture to identify the possible contamination source.

The problem came to light after one person became ill and food samples were tested. Twenty four cases have now been reported in 15 states, the USDA said in a statement.

E. coli 0121, the strain implicated in the outbreak, is one of six known as non-0157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli that were banned in 2011 from the U.S. meat supply.  Testing for the six began last spring, a move that was opposed by the meat industry.

Like E. coli O157:H7, the six new strains are capable of producing bloody diarrheal illness that can lead to kidney failure and death. In 2010, for the first time, the non-O157 strains, were responsible for more infections in the U.S. than E. coli O157:H7, according to federal health officials.

Consumers with questions about the recall can call 1-888-220-5955.

Trion Students Particpate In Honor Band

Two Trion High students participated in Honor Band earlier this month.

Jake Reeves and Mason Pike participated in the Georgia All-State Band in Savannah. At Honor Band, the most advanced musicians in the state gather on these dates to rehearse music they have never seen with students they have never played alongside. After only four rehearsals, they perform a program of very advanced band literature at a very high level of achievement.

Members of All-State Band were selected from the thousands of band students who auditioned from across the state. 

Reeves, who is a veteran three-year member of the prestigious group of musicians, commented, “"It’s sad that this was my last year of All-State, but it will be an experience I carry with me forever."  Reeves held first chair for the trombone section.

It was was sophomore Mason Pike’s first opportunity to attend. 

"It was an experience I couldn’t have gotten anywhere else. It taught me how to play in a professional orchestra,"  commented Pike, who sat third chair in the baritone section of the band.

Trion band director Andy Cox joined the two for the weekend concert and said, "I couldn't be prouder of how these students represented our school and community in the name of music.  They worked so very hard to achieve this great honor!"

Man Picked Up On Federal Warrant

Trion Police Officers Wednesday picked up a man on a federal warrant.

Kip Laurice Pearson was being held for U.S. Marshals in the Chattooga County Jail.

According to Trion Police Chief Chad Spraggins, Pearson was picked up during a routine traffic stop on Georgia Street and was a passenger in the vehicle that was stopped.

The vehicle reportedly was being driven  by a local man, with several men as passenger, who were traveling in a work vehicle.

All of the people in the truck were questioned and gave the Trion Police officer all pertinent information when questioned.

Spraggins said the questioning of passengers is routine now that there have been so many burglaries in the area.

Pearson's information came back that he was wanted for a federal probation violation by U.S. Marshals. Spraggins said from his experience, he believes Pearson was on probation for previous federal charges and violated that probation. Spraggins said he doesn't know what the original federal charges are. He said Pearson was not considered dangerous however, and did not resist or cause a problem in any way.  

Floyd Cops Arrest 4 In Armed Robbery

Floyd County Police arrest four individuals involved with a Tuesday night armed robbery of the Northridge Stop-and-Shop on Calhoun Road. Investigator Rusty Williams says those four arrested each face Armed Robbery, Aggravated Assault, False Imprisonment, and Battery. They include:

Kaitlynn Morgan, 24, 201 E 10th Street

Matthew Warren, 23, 201 E 10th Street

Jamal Jasper, 23, 3217 Calhoun Road

Michael Chastain, 26, 79 Shamrock Way

A quantity of cash, identification and other items were taken in the Tuesday night robbery.