Chattooga County Relay for Life is Friday, May 18, at Dowdy Park, Summerville.

The Survivor Lap starts off the event at 6 p.m. Teams from throughout the county will sell tee-shirts, food, cakes and playing games and more to raise money for Chattooga County Cancer Patients. This year a Caregiver Lap will follow the Survivor Lap.

Cancer survivors should stop by the park at 5 p.m. and pick up a tee-shirt, courtesy of the American Cancer Society. 

AN UNUSUAL UN-ATTENDED DEATH HAS BEEN RULED "SUICIDE" BY THE WALKER COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT. 

THE MAN'S BODY WAS FOUND AT THE END OF HIS DRIVEWAY OFF KELLER ROAD IN ROSSVILLE, EARLY MONDAY MORNING.   DEPUTIES SAY HIS FEET WERE BOUND AND THERE WAS A PILLOW CASE OVER HIS HEAD.   A 45-CALIBER PISTOL AND A SINGLE GUN CASING WERE FOUND NEAR THE BODY.   NO NOTE WAS LEFT.

DETECTIVES SAY THE MAN, WHO’S NAME WAS NOT RELEASED, APPARENTLY SHOT HIMSELF.

WQCH 

LaFayette's Public Safety Director is no longer employed by the city. Tommy Freeman served as the police and fire chief since 2007 but was fired Wednesday morning. He will be replaced in the interim by the assistant chief Benjie Clift.

A search reportedly will be conducted for a permanent replacement.  Freeman will receive all salary and vacation due as well as retirement benefits. The city manager said he and the city council had been considering Freeman's dismissal for some time.

Several empoyees had publicly complained that Freeman's language was, at times, "abusive" … and their work environment was "hostile." There was a public outcry when Freeman fired a firefighter earlier this year on an insubordination charge after he refused to install a radio in a city public works truck. The council affirmed that dismissal.  

Two police department employees who were fired by Freeman, were both reinstated.

American Sign Language and finger-spelling classes are starting up Thursday night at the Goodwill Career Center on Hicks Drive.

The classes are the first local ones offered in several years, said they are recommended them especially for people in the medical, retail and legal fields.

“Actually, anywhere you’re going to be working with the public, you’re going to run into deaf people who appreciate you being able to communicate with them,” she said.

The seven-week courses are jointly sponsored by disAbility Link and the Sign Language Interpreters of North Georgia. Fees are $40 for the finger-spelling sessions and $70 for basic ASL, plus the cost of the textbook. Some discounts are available. 

The organization is hosting a free workshop on May 24 for state and local officials, employers and other interested parties to learn about recent changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act and their responsibilities under federal law. 

The seminar, presented by the Disabilities Resource Group, runs from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Goodwill Career Center. Register by Friday  by calling 770-451-2340.

Read more: RN-T.com – Advocates for disabled reach out to community 

 Political and non-partisan candidates hoping to get elected this year will be qualifying next week.

Qualifying opens May 23 and ends May 25. Qualifying for state non-partisan offices will be conducted at the Elections Division downtown or the South Georgia office in Tifton. Qualifying for political parties for state offices will be conducted at the Georgia Capitol. Qualifying for non-partisan and political party candidates will last from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Wednesday, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Thursday and 8 a.m. until noon on Friday.

All local qualifying will begin at 9:00am on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 and conclude at 12:00noon at on Friday, May 25, 2012. For specific daily hours, candidates should contact their local Supervisor of Elections.

Online:

http://www.sos.ga.gov

 eorgia Power customers will see their monthly bills drop by about $8 starting next month.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports  that state utility regulators on Tuesday approved the average 6% decrease.

The reduction is the result of a lower amount that the utility says it needs to buy fuel to make electricity – such as natural gas, coal, nuclear power and renewable energy. Georgia Power said in March it would reduce fuel charges on customer bills by $567 million a year over the next two years.

Georgia Power can recoup the cost of fuel from its customers, but it cannot profit from those costs.

ATLANTA — The number of mortgage lenders slapped with state sanctions dropped in 2011 to nearly half the previous year, according to an annual report of the Georgia Department of Banking & Finance.

Administrative actions against mortgage lenders peaked in 2010 at 723. Last year’s 47 percent drop still resulted in 383 sanctions, higher than the previous peak of 324 in 2007.

Three-fourths of the actions were for unlicensed activity.

Ironically, there might have been more sanctions if the agency’s examiners who investigate complaints weren’t busy sorting through a flood of applications to get licensed. Last year, the department got more than 2,000 applications now that federal law mandates it.

One in seven is rejected. They may have failed the required tests or simply didn’t have their personal finances in order since a bad credit rating is a basis for denial.

A new federal law requires states to license mortgage originators, swamping the Georgia agency.

Despite having its examiners distracted, Georgia has improved consumer protection he said, noting that the state has dropped from having the most mortgage fraud in the nation to no longer ranking in the worst half of states.

The licensing requirements and increased regulation have shrunk the number of mortgage-related jobs. Many small companies closed their doors when they couldn’t meet new federal capitalization minimums, and people who couldn’t pass the licensing standards either left the field or went to banks where the requirements are different.

An historical night at Trion High School last night during the school's 2012 Honors Night and Senior Night.

In all 7 students were named Zell Miller Scholars and 55 were awarded Hope Scholarships, the most in the school's history. That represents a dollar figure of more than $1.4 million. In fact, more than half of the 2012 graduating seniors received Hope Scholarships.

Susan McCain was named Star Teacher for the eighth time.

Students received scholarships to  Gadsden State, Jacksonville State, Georgia State, Abraham Baldwin, Mercer, Shorter, Berry and Troy University.

In the past Honors Night and Senior Night have been separate events.  Principal Brian Edge said he decided to hold both events together so the underclassmen can see what can be accomplished through hard work and determination.