Residents of Northwest Georgia and Northeast Alabama have been treated to a rare sight the past two nights – the Aurora Borealis – or “Northern Lights”. It’s not every day that residents in the Deep South see the displays that are normally relegated to areas closer to the North or South Poles.
You might find Sheila Bennett up late Friday night grading papers or teaching online in the Bachelor of Health Science program at Georgia Highlands College. The senior vice president and chief of patient services at Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center is, at heart, both a nurse and a teacher of nurses.
Trion Mayor Lanny Thomas told WZQZ News this past week that several people had been questioning how the town’s tornado warning siren works. Mayor Thomas explained, “With the recent storms and tornado warnings, I have had several people reach out to me asking how the siren system works and who decides to set off the alarms. The Mayor nor anyone working with the Town of Trion is responsible for setting off the alarm. The tornado siren works in a polygon format that is sent out from the National Weather Service, Peachtree City, Atlanta, GA. If the system were to be down and the polygons cannot be defined 911 is alerted and they will manually set off all sirens throughout the county. I hope this explains how the alarm system in Trion works. Hopefully, we will be hearing less of it. Please, if you do hear the siren, find safe shelter immediately.”
Here is the latest arrest report from the Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office for Saturday, May 11, 2024:
State Rep. Eddie Lumsden (R-Armuchee) is supporting the idea of a Department of Drivers Services (DDS) Office being built in Chattooga County. Lumsden sent a letter to the Department of Drivers Services outlining reasons why a new facility should be built in Chattooga County. Chattooga County Sole Commissioner Blake Elsberry is also backing the idea. Elsberry says that the county would be willing to donate property for the new facility off Stockade Road. Rep. Lumsden urged the Department of Drivers Services to, “prioritize and support the funding needed to realize this initiative”. The closest DDS offices are currently in Rock Spring and at the Georgia State Patrol Post in the Armuchee Community.
A Northwest Georgia man has been convicted of statutory rape in Dade County. James Clay Mayo was found guilty of having a sexual relationship with a thirteen-year-old female child in 2021. Mayo was arrested by Dade County deputies after they found him in a car, parked in a dark area with the child. Mayo at first denied being in a relationship with the child, but later admitted that he had met the child on social media and was in a sexual relationship with the girl and had furnished alcohol to the minor. The Lookout Mountain District Attorney’s Office released a statement about Mayo’s conviction by a Dade County Jury yesterday. (Read below). Mayo is facing up to twenty years in prison.
Paradise Garden Foundation presents the 7th Outsider Art Trail Tour on Saturday, May 18, 2024, offering a road trip that will take visitors to different places in Chattooga County and the to Rome. You can see this year’s stops below:
More than 150 nursing students were celebrated during a graduation ceremony held Thursday at Georgia Highlands College.
Today is the last Saturday that voters will be able to cast their ballots in advanced voting for the May 21st Primary Election. All early voting for the Primary Elections takes place at the Chattooga County Registrars Office, located on Commerce Street in Summerville, just past the courthouse. Voters can vote today from 9 AM until 5 PM. Early voting will continue next week from 8:30 AM to 5 PM, Monday-Friday at the Registrars Office. The election will be held on Tuesday, May 21st. On Election Day, all voting will take place in voters’ local precincts. Summerville residents who wish to cast an advanced ballot in the special election for City Council Seat One can vote today at Summerville City Hall from 9 AM until 5 PM. The only voting at Summerville City Hall is for the special election for the city council seat.
This week, Georgia Highlands College announced the beginning of expansion of the Lakeview Building on the college campus. The building is being renovated to accommodate an expanded healthcare degree program that will focus on nursing and other degrees in healthcare. The Georgia General Assembly has allocated $900,00 to get the project started. In all, the expansion is expected to cost $12 million. Atrium Health Floyd is on board with the plans at Georgia Highlands College with a commitment to the Atrium Pathway Scholarship. Already, more than forty students have gone through the pathway, sponsored by Atrium Health Floyd, and will graduate with the promise of positions at Atrium Health Floyd. Local officials along with Atrium Health Floyd President Kurt Stuenkel were on hand on Thursday of this week to celebrate the expansion. Elected officials present included State Senator Chuck Hufstetler, State Representative Katie Dempsey and Chattooga County Commissioner Blake Elsberry.
