A stolen wedding ring set was sold at a local pawn shop and then bought back by the husband of the woman the rings were stolen from. According to the report by the Chattooga County Sheriff's Department, the rings reportedly were stolen by the woman's 17-year-old son and his juvenile girlfriend. They allegedly were sold to Herb's Pawn Shop on Highway 27 the same day. The woman's husband and boy's father went to the pawn shop, bought the rings back and called 911. According to the report, his wife had taken the rings off and set them on the microwave before she went to bed and noticed later that they were missing. Pawn shop employees provided a description of the vehicle the couple were in when they sold the rings. The rings are valued at $1,000. No arrests have been made.

A Lafayette woman reported that her wallet may have been stolen while she was at the checkout line at Walmart in Trion on January 3. According to the woman she was in the self checkout line and there was a white male and white female with a child behind her acting strangely. She said she put her wallet down to scan the items she was purchasing and found that her wallet was missing when she got home. She returned to the store to see if her wallet had been turned but but it had not. Inside the wallet, she said she had $700 in cash, all $20 bills along with identification and credit cards.

A recent audit has found Georgia's Department of Agriculture failed to use E-Verify to check whether new employees were eligible to work, which state law has required of public employers since 2007.

Federal officials say the department did not register to use the database until April 2012. E-Verify is used to make sure new hires are eligible to work in the United States.

The requirement targeting illegal immigrants initially took effect while Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin was in office. He was succeeded by Commissioner Gary Black in 2011.

Department spokeswoman Mary Kathryn Yearta says the department's personnel office was not using the system as required. She said all new hires are now being checked.

Disclosure reports filed this week show state lawmakers have taken advantage of free football tickets over 30 times since August.

WXIA-TV Friday reported the Georgia World Congress Center Authority has distributed $9,630 worth of free football tickets to state lawmakers since August.

The television station reports Democratic Reps. Virgil Fludd, of Tyrone, and Rahn Mayo, of Decatur, have each received free tickets three times since August.

Georgia World Congress Center Authority representatives say the gifts to state lawmakers is a longstanding practice, and is not tied to the Falcons asking for a new stadium. The plan calls for the new stadium to be financed in part by state hotel-motel tax revenue. The proposal to build a new stadium also calls for the demolition of the 20-year-old Georgia Dome.

Bartow County School Vice Chairman Angie Cornett has resigned her position on the board of education. .The move follows the former vice chairman's Dec. 28 arrest at Walmart in Cartersville on a reckless conduct charge.

Police say the 17-year-old girl was standing in a parking space trying to save it for someone and 41-year-old Cornett argued with the teen before Cornett hit the girl with the car. Authorities say the incident was recorded on surveillance cameras.

Cornett said that she never hit the teen and said the girl leaned against her car. Police on Tuesday released a video of the incident. The teen reportedly had a scuff mark to her knee but did not suffer any serious injuries, according to police.  

Listed on the January 4, 2013 Arrest Report at the Chattooga County Jail are:

Kenneth Anthony Dodd, Summerville — Driving with Suspended/Revoked License; Driving with Defective/Without Taillight/ Headlight Lenses

Lafayette's Roper Corporation is building a million-dollar addition at the south end of the plant. The addition reportedly will house a new mechanical power press, which will be used to stamp parts for a new line of kitchen ranges. Further details on the new project will be available when an official announcement is made in about three months. The City of Lafayette issued the building permit totaling one-million, 598 thousand dollars for the addition.

The family escaped unharmed, but a Catoosa County home was destroyed by fire Wednesday afternoon. Someone knocked on the door, alerting the three family members inside. The family dog perished in the Blaze on Greens Lake Circle. The Red Cross is assisting the family and the State Fire Marshall's Office will be to investigate the cause. 

Georgia state troopers arrested 321 people on charges of driving under the influence during the New Year's holiday travel period, which began at 6 p.m. Friday at 6 p.m. and ended at midnight Tuesday.

That compares to 262 arrests for impaired driving during the 78-hour New Year's holiday period a year ago.

The state patrol announced the DUI numbers early Wednesday morning.

A truck was reported stolen from Truck Town sometime between Christmas Eve and Wednesday. According to the report by the Chattooga County Sheriff's Office, Billy Jo Dooley said the last time he had seen the truck was on Christmas Eve in the front lot of the Highway 27 business. The truck is a 2005 F250 two-tone white, with tan trip. It has a six-inch lift kit with 20-inch black and chrome wheels and has a Truck Town drive-out tag. It is valued at $18,000.