Berry college students have received many awards from the College Media Association for its student media outlets. A student website called Berry’s Viking Fusion was among one of the media outlets that received two top honors from the Pinnacle Awards. They received “College Media Group of the Year” and “TV Station of the Year.” The College Media Association also recognized two podcasts from Viking Fusion. A total of nine individual Pinnacle awards, including four first place recognitions, were earned by the student media outlets and the Department of Communications.

Georgia Highlands College had an enrollment growth this year for fall 2023 of 6.7%. The university System of Georgia enrollment had a record high of 344,392 students. When you apply to GHC during the month of November the $30 application fee is waived. According to USG’s Fall semester enrollment report, Enrollment increased at 23 of the 26 public colleges and universities.

According to The Rome News Tribune, the state has issued a permit to Georgia Power for a closure plan for the coal ash pond at Plant Hammond, which critics say violates a federal rule against leaving ash in contact with groundwater. Georgia power plans on retiring its entire fleet of coal burning power plants soon, aside from two plants in Cartersville, Ga. The coal ash contains contaminants that can pollute groundwater, drinking water, and the air. The permit that was issued contained a list of conditions that would follow a 30 year post closure plan, groundwater monitoring, and the effectiveness of the system to correct the effects of the settlement.

FINAL SCORE

Elbert County – 42

Trion – 41

The Trion Bulldogs lost a heartbreaker Friday night at Sam R. McCain Stadium in overtime 42-41 to the visiting Elbert County Blue Devils.  The game will certainly go down as one of the best games in Trion football history as the 4th quarter and overtime period was a roller coaster ride of several lead changes and big plays by both teams.   Click the story below for an audio recap of the game from WZQZ’s Ben Groce and Jeremy Burke.

Here is the latest arrest report from the Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office for Friday, November 17, 2023:

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The Rome Braves gave way to the Rome Emperors on Thursday evening.  The minor league baseball team, and Atlanta Braves affiliate, was recently sold to new owners who elected to change the name of the team.  Rome’s Minor League Baseball team that has been known as the Braves since moving to Rome in 2003 will now be the Rome Emperors.  The announcement was made at AdventHealth Stadium on Thursday evening.  The logo and branding for the new team will feature an Emperor Penguin.

The 11-0 Trion Bulldogs will look to extend their playoff run tonight in Round 2 of the GHSA state playoffs.  In order to advance to round 3, the #2 ranked Bulldogs will have to defeat the #4 ranked Elbert County Blue Devils tonight at Sam R. McCain Stadium.  Elbert County is 9-2 on the season and finished 2nd behind Commerce in Region 8-A.  Elbert County played an impressive non-region schedule defeating the 1st and 2nd place teams out of region 6-A in Whitefield Academy and Mt Vernon.  Elbert County’s only other loss on the season was in week 2 to Madison County 55-35.  Madison County was a AAAA school that finished 8-3 and 2nd place in their region.

Elbert County is fresh off a 34-27 win over Oglethorpe County last week in a game that was decided in the 4th quarter.  However, with Trion’s region championship this year, the Blue Devils will have to travel to Sam R. McCain stadium tonight.  Trion will  be looking to advance to the 3rd round of the playoffs for only the 3rd time in the last 50 years dating back to the 1974 state championship season.  The only other years Trion reached the 3rd round of the playoffs was in 2003 and 1997.

If Trion were to win tonight against the Blue Devils, Trion would play their 3rd round game next week in Trion thanks to the result of the GHSA coin-flip this week which awarded home-field advantage in the event of identical seeds to the teams on the upper side of the bracket, the side in which Trion resides.  However, the Bulldogs have to take care of business tonight against a very tough Elbert County team.

Due to GHSA rules, WZQZ will not be able to video live stream tonight’s game.  However, WZQZ will carry the game on the radio on FM 99.1 and AM 1180.  WZQZ will also have a live audio stream of tonight’s game on the WZQZ Facebook page.  Join Ben Groce and Jeremy Burke for the pregame show at 7pm with kickoff to follow at 7:30pm.

A sixty-six-year-old man is accused of trying to shoplift more than $800 worth of items from Walmart in Trion.  According to arrest records, David Lee Williams was booked into the Chattooga County Jail over the past weekend after he loaded a shopping buggy full of items and attempted to pass all points of sale and leave the store.  Williams then allegedly loaded the stolen items in his vehicle when he was approached by deputies.  Williams refused to obey lawful orders and resisted arrest, but was booked into the Chattooga County Jail on shoplifting charges.

The Judicial Council of Georgia Ad Hoc Committee on ARPA Funding has awarded grants totaling $20,712,972 to be distributed among 39 judicial circuits that applied for CY 2024 – 2025 funding. The Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit (LMJC), which includes Chattooga County, received $1,702,543, the largest amount awarded by the committee.

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A man with multiple sex offences against children in both Georgia and Mississippi has been indicted for three counts of child molestation by the Chattooga County Grand Jury.  Forty-three-year-old Jamey Paul Burrage is accused of molesting three children between the ages of 10 and 14 at an Ellenburg Subdivision address in Summerville.  Burrage, who is a convicted sex offender, was charged with sex crimes against children in 2018 in Lee County,  Mississippi.  In August of 2000, Burrage was convicted of statutory rape in Chattooga County.