Chattooga County was one of only four counties in the state to have an unemployment rate above 5% during the month of December.  According to numbers released on Thursday by the Georgia Department of Labor, unemployment in Chattooga County stood at 5.1% for December 2022.  The data shows that there were 9,204 eligible workers in the county and 8,739 people were employed.  There were 465 unemployed workers – 129 more than the previous month when unemployment was 3.9%.  Chattooga County was the only county north of Atlanta to post an unemployment rate above 5%.  Wheeler, Telfair and Clay Counties – all rural south Georgia Counties – also had unemployment rates above 5%.

A Calhoun woman was killed in a crash on I-75 in Gordon County Wednesday morning.

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The Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office was called about a theft in Cloudland last Saturday.  According to a report released this week by the sheriff’s office, the complainant said that someone had stolen a 100 gallon air compressor from her shop on Gordon Lane.  The compressor was a Craftsman brand and had a value of $1,200.  The incident was turned over to an investigator.

State Rep. Eddie Lumsden (R-Armuchee) says that state lawmakers were busy last week during “budget week” under the Gold Dome in Atlanta.  Lawmakers heard from state agency leaders regarding budget requests as the legislators worked on the annual budget.  Lumsden says that the legislature will be working with Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on his plans to prioritize education and health as well as the governor’s plans to crack down on crime in the state.  You can read Rep. Lumsden’s complete report below:

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The number of COVID-19 cases in Georgia were down over the past week, according to numbers released Wednesday by the Georgia Department of Public Health.  However, there were more cases reported in Chattooga County than the previous week.  Chattooga County saw a total of 15 new COVID-19 cases between January 18 – January 25.  That was up three from the previous week when there were 12 new COVID-19 cases reported.  Statewide, the number of new reported cases dropped to 5,224, down from 6,132.  There were 113 COVID-19 deaths statewide during the reporting period, up from 102 the previous week.  The Georgia Department of Public Health releases COVID-19 numbers each week on Wednesdays.

Here is the latest arrest report from the Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office for Thursday, January 26, 2023:

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The U.S. Small Business Administration Outreach Center in Summerville will be closing today at 4 PM.  But those impacted by flooding over Labor Day weekend in 2022, still have time to apply for a disaster loan.  You can find resources below if you need more information:

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