The Georgia Governor’s Office of Student Achievement has pulled a list of underperforming schools from the organization’s website, saying that they are reevaluating the data that was used to determine which schools were on the list.

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Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Clayton M. Fuller has returned from a six-month military deployment with the United States Air Force and resumed his role as District Attorney of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit. His deployment lasted from May 3, 2024, to October 30, 2024, as a legal advisor to military operations in the Middle East, supporting the United States Central Command at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar and Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. Chief Assistant District Attorney Kevin Baugh served as Acting District Attorney during Fuller’s absence. Fuller, a fourteen-year Air Force veteran promoted to lieutenant colonel during his service, received the Meritorious Service Medal and the Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal.

Calhoun Police, in conjunction with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, executed a search warrant on Friday at a business suspected of involvement in human trafficking activities.

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Georgia gas prices remain steady at the pumps compared to a week ago.  Georgians pay an average of $2.90 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline (subject to change overnight). Monday’s state average was the same as a week ago, at 4 cents less than a month ago and 15 cents less than this time last year. It costs drivers an average price of $43.50 to fill a 15-gallon tank of regular gasoline.

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On Wednesday, the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement unveiled a list of schools across Georgia designated as “underperforming,” a classification that now grants parents of students in these schools the opportunity to apply for financial assistance for private education. Among the schools highlighted in the report, LeRoy Massey Elementary School and Summerville Middle School in Chattooga County were identified as underperforming.

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An Armuchee man, Robert Keith Tincher III, pleaded guilty to killing his 82-year-old grandmother, Doris Cumming, and storing her body in a freezer for months. Tincher, 31, forced his grandmother into plastic bags, dragged her through their home, and placed her in a large freezer, causing multiple broken bones.

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An accident in Gore on Wednesday morning sent one person to the hospital with minor injuries.  According to a preliminary report from the Georgia State Patrol Public Information Office, a SUV was pulling out of the parking lot at Dirt Town Deli and attempting to make a left-hand turn.  As the SUV left the parking lot, it pulled into the path of a vehicle traveling southbound on Highway 27.  The second vehicle struck the SUV in the left side.  The driver of the SUV was transported to AtriumHealth-Floyd with minor injures.  The accident is still under investigation by the Georgia State Patrol Post in Rome.  More details will be released when the accident report is complete.

Chattooga County Commissioner-Elect Andy Allen says that he will be making several key appointments for positions in county government, but not until he takes office.  Allen told WZQZ News on Tuesday that several administrative positions will need to be filled, but he won’t be making those decisions until after January 1, 2025.  Allen said that he has someone to fill the position of county clerk, but that announcement won’t be made until after the first of the year due to contractual commitments in that person’s current employment.  Allen said that he wants to make decisions about leadership positions in county government in a deliberate manner and wants to do so “in the best interest of the county”.  Allen is attending required training this week in Athens as he prepares to take over the office of sole commissioner.   The “Newly Elected Commissioners Conference” is being held at UGA’s Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel.  Attendance and participation at the conference are mandatory and required by state law for all newly elected county commissioners.

Calhoun-based Mohawk Industries has sued several companies, including 3M and DuPont, claiming they were not informed about the risks of PFAS in carpet stain-resistant products. The lawsuit, filed in Whitfield County Superior Court, accuses these companies of fraud and negligent misrepresentation by hiding the dangers of PFAS and providing false safety assurances. PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, don’t break down readily in the environment or the human body. The chemicals have been linked to a number of health-related effects including some types of cancers. Mohawk seeks reimbursement for past and future costs related to settlements and PFAS remediation. They have also faced lawsuits over PFAS contamination in drinking water. Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency set new water quality standards for PFAS, expected to be enforced by 2029, as these chemicals are linked to serious health issues.