Here is an arrest summary from the Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office for arrests made from Friday, December 2, 2022 – Monday, December 5, 2022:
The Georgia Municipal Gas Authority has put the Town of Trion and the City of Summerville on notice that natural gas prices are likely to be higher this year. In 2021, Georgia residents paid more for natural gas than 40% of natural gas users across the nation. Forecasters say that the war in Ukraine and demand are likely to drive prices even higher in 2023. Summerville Mayor Harry Harvey told the local paper last week, “I do know that there will be an increase as far as the natural gas amount”. The news about an increase in natural gas prices comes on the heels of Georgia Power’s request for a 12% increase in power rates. The Georgia Public Service Commission is set to vote on Georgia Power’s request later this month.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported late last week that the man who was serving a life sentence for killing Chattooga County native and Polk County Police Detective Kristen Hearne killed himself on Thanksgiving Day while on suicide watch.
Chattooga County saw an increase in COVID-19 cases in the latest report released by the Georgia Department of Public Health. The numbers are released on Wednesdays and last week the Department of Public Health said that their were eight positive cases of COVID-19 in Chattooga County. That is up four from the previous week. The number of people with COVID-19 that were hospitalized in Rome hospitals also increased to twenty-four, up from eighteen from the previous week. There was one COVID-19 related death reported in Floyd County last week. In all, 34,072 Georgia residents have lost their lives due to COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp was quick to endorse the widow of former Georgia House Speaker David Ralston who has announced that she is running to fill the former speaker’s seat in the Georgia House of Representatives.
Georgia Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled has launched a new website that makes it easier to sign up or access audio or braille books and other low vision resources.
The deadline to enroll for the spring semester at Georgia Highlands College is approaching.
On Nov. 22, the USDA mailed survey codes to all known agriculture producers across the 50 states with an invitation to respond online to the 2022 Census of Agriculture at www.agcounts.usda.gov. The ag census is the nation’s only comprehensive and impartial agriculture data for every state, county, and territory. By completing the survey, producers across the nation can tell their story and help generate impactful opportunities that better serve them and future generations of producers.
One of the oldest houses in Chattooga County will be decked out for Christmas and locals can come enjoy a look at Christmas-past at the Couey House at Dowdy Park during Christmas in the Park on Friday.
A fifty-three-year-old Rome man who has had numerous run-ins with the law over the past several years was sentenced in Chattooga County Superior Court for violation of probation. Larry Dewayne Justice was arrested back in 2016 for stealing a Bobcat-brand farm tractor worth $20,000. In October of 2020, Justice was arrested for stealing a camper shell, laser level, stud gun, plants, a pressure washer, a cart, and iron from the backyard of a home and then selling the items on Facebook marketplace. In addition to the theft arrests, Justice has had violations of his probation for marijuana possession. Justice received a sentence of three years in prison from the Chattooga County Superior Court for violating the terms of his probation.