Chattooga County Sheriff Mark Schrader says that the move to the former GBI Crime Lab near Hays State Prison has had a lot of positive affects on his office and staff. In addition to a lot more space to work, the new facility offers a dedicated conference room and training facilities. Also, the investigations team now has their own space in the building.
As we head into the new year, the State of Georgia heads into new territory with the establishment of its own health insurance portal. The new website is called Georgia Access and it was created to help residents find their way to private insurers and brokers to purchase health insurance. People who visit the online portal will see links to 10 health insurance companies and links to seven insurance brokers. Earlier this year, the Peach State was denied approval to leave the federal insurance marketplace, resulting in the establishment of https://georgiaaccess.gov/ while the federal portal can be found at https://www.healthcare.gov/
The Rome News Tribune reported on Saturday that a Rome woman is charged in connection with a hit-and-run that killed a Floyd County man whose body was found on the side of a Polk County highway this past week.
The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control issued a warning recently about a new increase in Pediatric Invasive Group A streptococcal infection-or I-GAS. The CDC says it’s an infection that can lead to flesh-eating bacterial disease as well as toxic shock syndrome and can result in organ failure. Health officials say the levels of I-Gas infection in children nationwide is above what was seen in the first two years of the pandemic. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the Georgia Department of Public Health says I-Gas cases are showing an uptick here, but the department was unable to provide a number on recent cases.
Five Chattooga County residents were named to the Dean’s List at Berry College for the Fall 2022 semester.
According to the Georgia Department of Highway Safety, the number of pedestrians who died on Chattooga County’s roadways in 2022 was double the previous two years. Over the past five years there have been nine pedestrian fatalities in Chattooga County – four of those happened in 2022.
Most government offices, banks and the post office will be closed on Monday for the New Year’s Holiday. Since New Year’s Day fell on a Sunday this year, the offices will be closed for the holiday on Monday. Summerville, Trion, Lyerly and Menlo municipal offices, along with county government offices will reopen on Tuesday, January 3, 2023. If you have an emergency, you should call Chattooga 911.
Local author David Hartline is retiring. Mr. Hartline spoke with WZQZ News and said that he has made an arrangement with DIRT in Summerville to sell the remaining books he has, and that the books are at a reduced price. Hartline said that he wants the books to be available to anyone that wants a copy for their home library.
Around 700 foster youth leave the foster care program each year in Georgia. Georgia’s “Fostering Success Act” which went into place January 1, 2023, will authorize individuals to take a tax credit of up to $2,500 ($5,000 for a couple filing jointly) for contributions to qualified organizations that support foster youth between the ages of 16 and 18 and former foster youth, possibly up to age 25, who aged out without permanency.
The Georgia State Patrol says a Chattooga County teenager was arrested for DUI after an accident at Cloudland on New Year’s Eve.
