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The Miss Menlo Beauty Pageant will be held Saturday, April 30th at 5:00pm.

The entry forms deadline has been extended until April 22nd.

There will be no forms accepted after that date.

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The Chattooga County Retired Educators Association will meet this Thursday (April 21st), at 11:30am at Sweet P’s at the Tavern.

A program will be presented by Tex Bagley, the Director of Three Circles Foundation.

All retirees regardless of position from the Chattooga and Trion School Systems are invited to attend

A 28 year old Rome resident has been charged with theft by shoplifting, willful obstruction of law enforcement, giving a false name and two counts of false statements and writings.

Brandon Edward Hill is accused of stealing steaks from the IGA on Shorter Avenue; reports show that while being questioned, Hill gave a false name and he also falsified documents by signing the wrong name.

(Coosa Valley News)

For the week of April 12th – 18th Chattooga County Animal Control reports investigation of eight cases; ten animals were impounded; there were six stray/owner surrender cases; two animals were returned to their owners and two animals were adopted out; there were four animals that went to rescue and one dog and one cat were euthanized.

Animals picked up or brought to Chattooga County Animal Control may be available for rescue or adoption after a three day holding period, which allows time for owner reclaims. Chattooga County Animal Control is located off Hwy. 100 at 464 Red Oak Road. From Summerville, turn left on Red Oak Road before you get to Georgia Power. The Center is located at the end of the road on the right. The adoption fee for male dogs is $75, female dogs $85, male cats $40, and female cats $50. This includes spay/neuter and rabies shot at the Summerville Veterinary Clinic. Those people adopting animals who want to use a different veterinarian must pay a $25 adoption fee and provide proof of spay/neuter within 30 days.

The Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) recently announced that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in March was 5.5 percent, up one-tenth of a percentage point from 5.4 percent in February.

The rate was 6.2 percent in March 2015.

“Even though the rate went up slightly, March was really a good month for Georgia’s labor market,” said State Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. “Our employers created 12,600 jobs, which is much stronger than the average for the same period over the last three years, and they had fewer lay offs. Our labor force grew by 21,570, bringing the total growth this year to more than 55,000.”

It was the additional labor force growth that caused the rate increase. While jobseekers are searching for work, they’re counted as unemployed. The number of unemployed in Georgia rose by 4,827. There were also 16,743 more Georgians employed in March.

The number of jobs increased by 0.3 percent in March to 4,359,100, up from 4,346,500 in February. Over the previous three years, Georgia has gained an average of 9,600 jobs from February to March. Most of the increase came in construction, 4,300; education and health services, 4,100; government, 1,900, along with trade, transportation and warehousing and information services, 1,100 each. The overall job gains were somewhat offset by losses in professional and business services and leisure and hospitality.

“While our month-to-month job growth was strong, our over-the-year job growth was even stronger,” Butler said. “We continue to outpace the rest of the nation.” Georgia’s March-to-March job growth rate was 3.1 percent, compared to the national rate of 2 percent.

There was an over-the-year increase of 130,000 jobs, from March 2015. The sectors showing the largest increases were professional and business services, 29,300; trade, transportation and warehousing, 28,100; leisure and hospitality, 20,000; construction, 15,500; education and health services, 13,500; manufacturing, 9,900, government, 7,400; financial activities, 5,700, and other services, 2,400. Information services was the only major employment sector to lose jobs, with a loss of 1,600.

While the number of jobs increased, the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance, a measure of new layoffs, declined by 1,357, or 4.6 percent, to 27,982 in March. Most of the decline was due to a decrease in claims filed in manufacturing and construction, administrative and support services, and trade, transportation and warehousing.

And, over the year, the number of claims declined by 1,914, or 6.4 percent, from 29,896 filed in March 2015. The decrease came mostly in construction.

Butler continued to encourage job seekers and employers to use the GDOL’s online job listing service, www.employgeorgia.com to search for jobs or recruit new employees. In March, 78,986 jobs throughout the state were posted on Employ Georgia. The leading sectors for job postings were health care and social assistance, professional, scientific and technical services and retail trade.

Georgia Power base electric rates to remain flat through 2019

Georgia PSC approves deferral for three years; continued fuel savings bring lower customer bills in 2016

Georgia Power recently announced that its base electric rates will remain flat through 2019

The announcement follows a vote by the members of the Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) on an agreement connected to the pending merger of Southern Company (the parent company of Georgia Power) and AGL Resources. This three-year rate assurance is in addition to a net reduction of approximately $2.50 in the overall monthly bill for the typical residential customer primarily driven by a 14 percent decrease in the fuel rate. This reduction was effective January 1.

Georgia Power traditionally files a base electric rate case with the Georgia PSC every three years to consider new and existing costs to provide reliable electric service to its 2.5 million customers. The company’s next base electric rate case was originally scheduled for this summer. However, as part of the agreement, Georgia Power, Southern Company, AGL Resources, Georgia PSC Staff and other parties agreed that the company’s next base electric rate case should be postponed until July 2019 to ensure that benefits that the potential merger could bring to Georgia customers can be fully realized.

The company’s last base electric rate case in 2013 incorporated the costs of investments in infrastructure required in order to maintain high levels of reliability and superior customer service. Investments in place today as a result of this process include new environmental controls on the company’s generation fleet and improvements in the transmission and distribution network such as smart grid technologies to limit the frequency and duration of power outages.

Georgia Power consistently offers rates that are below the national average. Over the past 26 years, the company's total retail rate has averaged more than 13 percent below the national average. The company’s total retail price of 9.22 cents per kilowatt-hour at the end of 2015 was more than 14 percent below the national average.

To learn more about how Georgia Power delivers clean, safe and reliable electricity at an affordable price, as well as customized rate plans and energy efficiency programs to help customers save money and energy every day, visit www.GeorgiaPower.com.

About Georgia Power

Georgia Power is the largest subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), one of the nation’s largest generators of electricity. Value, Reliability, Customer Service and Stewardship are the cornerstones of the company’s promise to 2.5 million customers in all but four of Georgia’s 159 counties. Committed to delivering clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy at rates below the national average, Georgia Power maintains a diverse, innovative generation mix that includes nuclear, 21st century coal and natural gas, as well as renewables such as solar, hydroelectric and wind. Georgia Power focuses on delivering world-class service to its customers every day and the company is consistently recognized by J.D. Power and Associates as an industry leader in customer satisfaction. For more information, visit www.GeorgiaPower.com and connect with the company on Facebook (Facebook.com/GeorgiaPower) and Twitter (Twitter.com/GeorgiaPower).