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Candidate for 9th District Congressional Seat, Zoller Speaks in Elberton 02/03/2012
Candidate for the new 9th congressional district for Georgia, Martha Zoller spoke to the Kiwanis club of Elbert County yesterday in Elberton about running for the office.
Zoller says that the new 9th district covers the northeast corner of the State of Georgia, with Elbert County being in the far Southeast, or 17 full counties in Northeast Georgia.
“The district came about because of re-districting in the census… The new 9th district is anchored by Hall County in the West up all the way to the Tennessee Border, over to South Carolina, down to Elbert County which is the southeastern part of the district”
According to Zoller, one of the major problems that the state and the entire country is facing is government spending.
“What I think is important is…the new CBO numbers came out last week about where we were financially as a country. With all the wrangling we did last year and all the work that the 87 new guys came in and did, they still spent about 4% more last year than they did the year before.”
The election for the new 9th district will be coming up soon in Georgia, with a primary taking place in the summer.
Elberton City Council Meeting Agenda Released 02/03/2012
The Elberton City Council has released their regular meeting agenda for Monday evening's meeting.
The meeting will be taking place on Monday evening, starting at 5:30. One of the first items on the agenda is a financial report for the city.
There are several items on the consent agenda, including the approval of dues, travel, and training for all city departments for the month, as well as some street closures for events coming up.
The departmental reports will be given by the City Manager towards the end of the meeting on Monday.
Wrestling Tournament in Elberton Starts Friday 02/03/2012
.JPG) This evening kicks off a big weekend for the Elbert County Wrestling team. Blue Devil Wrestling Coach Shane Anderson says that a big tournament is being hosted in Elbert County this weekend.
“It’s the 8AA Area Traditional tournament. This is our qualifying tournament for the sectionals. We will be having it at the Inferno starting on Friday at 5:30 until 10. Then Saturday we will have the semi-finals starting at 9 am and the finals will be at 2 pm.”
Elbert County’s wrestlers are expected to do well in the tournament, and are highly ranked in the state.
“The team’s doing pretty good, we were 4th at the State Dual Tournament, we’re currently ranked 4th in the state and we’re hoping to get a little bit higher.”
Tickets to the tournament are $7 a day or a two day pass for $12.
Bowman Called Meeting Tuesday 02/03/2012
The City Council for the City of Bowman has announced that they will be holding a Called Meeting on Tuesday afternoon at 4 pm.
The meeting is going to be held at the Bowman City Hall and is being held to discuss funds and utility rates for the City of Bowman.
That meeting once again is a called meeting for the City of Bowman that will be taking place on Tuesday at 4.
State Has Work to do After Race to the Top 02/03/2012
Last Year, Georgia was named as a Race to the Top Winner. The Race to the Top competition was for grants to be given to the state's schools to help start new programs to help children in the state.
That's something that the Government says that Georgia has been slow to do.
The US Department of Education is now putting pressure on Georgia to keep its promise about the Race to the Top Grants that the state received last year.
Georgia was awarded 400 million dollars in grants for schools. The state was slow to fill 21 key jobs and start a pilot program to evaluate teachers.
People who are overseeing the state's grant says that they are going to pick up the pace in getting those programs started. Georgia was cut from the Race to the Top competition this year.
Martin Signs with Carson-Newman 02/02/2012
 National signing day took place all across the country on Wednesday. At 7:45 in the morning yesterday, Elbert County's three year starter Bryce Martin inked his letter of intent to become Carson-Newman's latest commitment for the 2012 class. Bryce was surrounded by his parents Chuck and Mary Ann Martin, his coaches, Sid Fritts and Philip Brady and some fellow football players.
Martin says that he's excited to get to work for Eagles Head Coach Ken Sparks "I'm real excited, and ready to head up there and get things done. Coach Sparks is a great man, and I feel like I'm going to fit into their football program really well and have a good time getting my education."
Going in to the 3rd season under Head Coach Sid Fritts, Martin is the third player to get a scholarship for playing football. Coach Fritts said, "When you get your program to the point where those guys are expecting to get to the next level, rather than dreaming of getting to the next level, then you've got something. Now our young men... are seeing Bryce (move on)."
Bryce is expected to play linebacker at Carson-Newman, a position he played at Elbert County during his Sophomore and Junior seasons. Martin reports to Carson-Newman in the beginning of May to begin his career with the Eagles.
New Procedures for Winter Weather for DOT 02/02/2012
Even though the Winter in Elberton has been extremely mild, and even warm at some points so far, the Department of Transportation says that they ready for any winter weather that might hit the rest of season.
Georgia DOT Spokesperson Teri Pope said that the Department has completely revamped its winter weather protocols heading into this season.
“After last winter and the ice and gridlock that we had in metro Atlanta, we have completely reworked our winter weather response plan based on input and help from several other states that have more winter weather than we do and we are working closely with local cities and counties,” said Pope.
Pope said the state has had several training sessions to get used to the changes, which she called a “complete paradigm shift.”
In addition to these changes, Pope said that additional winter weather storage facilities have been opened throughout the state to help with storing supplies and providing bases out of which crews can respond quicker during winter weather. Also, she said that the DOT will post updated winter weather information on its Facebook page.
Northeast Georgia Unemployment Rate Rises for December 02/02/2012
According the newest data from the Georgia Department of Labor, Northeast Georgia's unemployment rate rose slightly for December.
The DOL is showing that the Northeast Georgia Region, which includes, Elbert County now has an umployment rate of 9.2% for the month of December.
That is an increase over November, when the unadjusted rate was slightly under 9%.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped again in December for the third straight month, to 9.7%.
Early Spring this Year - Says General Lee 02/02/2012
Today is February second and that means it’s Groundhog Day.
To the chants of "We want Beau," General Beauregard Lee emerged from his warm mansion at the Yellow River Game Ranch in Lilburn about 7:30 this morning.
"Did anybody see his shadow?" Yellow River Game Ranch owner and manager Art Rilling aid asked the crowd this morning.
"No!" the crowd yelled back.
"It's 7:30 and General Lee did not see his shadow. That means it's going to be an early spring!" Rilling announced.
Unlike his Yankee counterpart, Pawnxatony Phil who’s yanked out of his warm den amid thousands of spectators, Gen’l Lee is always gently coaxed out of his little mansion with his favorite foods.
Gen’l Lee waddled out of warm little house about 7:30 this morning as the crowd chanted even louder, but didn't go for the warm bowl of smothered hash browns provided by the local Waffle House. Instead, he dashed under some new bushes added this year to his landscape and had to be prodded out from under them.
But even though Gen’l Lee is calling for an early spring and we’ve been having an unusually warm and wet winter this year, and even though it will near be 70 and sunny today, we could be looking at a blizzard before winter is officially over.
It’s not a good report for those up north, however. Pawnxatony Phil DID see his shadow and that means six more weeks of winter for our northern neighbors.
By: MJ Kneiser / WLHR News
New Bill on Sexual Exploitation of Children Filed 02/02/2012
Hundreds of Georgians gathered on the steps of the State Capitol yesterday to raise awareness of the sexual exploitation of children. Among them, Senator Renee Unterman, who has filed a bill that would require everyone to report child abuse or exploitation.
This new bill erases those 7 mandatory reporters and opens it up so that anyone who witnesses child abuse that they have to report it to the authorities.”
Under existing law, only people directly responsible for a child's care, such as a teacher or doctor, are required to report abuse.
The General Assembly is addressing this problem
“We have admitted we had a problem, we've put money in the budget and we've created a system of care that includes therapeutic services and we've developed homes where young girls and young boys can go to.”
Registration Cut-Off for Bowman Election, Presidential Primary Next Week 02/01/2012
Monday is the cut-off date for voters to be registered to participate in the Presidential Primary in Elbert County, and the state of Georgia as a whole. It is also the registration cut-off date for the Bowman Special Election on March 6th.
February 6th is the registration cut-off date for voters wanting to participate in the primary, with March 2nd marking the last day of early voting in the registrar's office in Elberton, as well as the last day to issue an absentee ballot application.
Absentee Ballots are already being sent out for Elbert County voters for the primary.
For more information, you can call Elbert County Chief Voter Registrar, Charlotte Ward at 706-283-2016
Tax Scam Still Going On 02/01/2012
A tax scam is still going on in Elbert County, and is now being reported in other areas of Northeast Georgia
The scam is taking victims' personal information for a "government stimulus package". The suspects are taking the victims' personal information and then filing fradulent income tax returns and getting refunds in the victims name.
When the victim tries to file their taxes, they are then rejected by the IRS.
The Sheriff's Office is now working with the Federal IRS Fraud Investigators trying to identify the suspects and get the problems straightened out.
If you have been a victim of the scam and haven't reported it, you should contact the Sheriff's Office and file a report on the matter. If you aren't sure if you have become a victim, you can call the Criminal Investigations Division at 706-283-2032.
Member of Governor's Compliance Board Has Strong Words About Farmers and Immigration 02/01/2012
A member of Governor Deal's compliance review board that's overseeing enforcement of the state's new immigration law has extremely harsh words toward Georgia's farming community.
Phil Kent says, “All too many of these farmers have been addicted, like a crack cocaine addict. They want that illegal, cheap labor and they don’t want to pay the higher wage.”
Kent's comments come in the wake of a new State Agriculture Department Report that shows Georgia farmers are suffering ten million dollars in losses because of labor shortages. Kent says farmers need to start hiring legal guest workers out of a federal program.
Winter Fire Safety Tips 02/01/2012
Firefighters are reminding everyone to be safe with heaters during the cold.
Firefighters say that they tend to see more house fires during the winter months as the weather gets colder and more people start to use space heaters to keep warm. Most of the fires are due to space heaters and fireplaces being neglected.
To help save yourself from a house fire, remember to not leave fireplaces or space heaters unattended. When using an electric blanket without a thermostat, be sure to unplug it before you go to bed.
Bowman Special Election Coming Up 01/31/2012
The City of Bowman will be holding a special election to complete the unexpired term of a City Council member who is resigning.
The qualifying for the election will be taking place all day on February 8th, 9th and half of the day on February 10th at the Bowman City Hall. The qualifying fee is $21.
The last day to register to vote in the election is set for February 6th. If you are not registered to vote, you can do so by going to Bowman City Hall or the Elbert County Board of Registrars Office Monday through Friday.
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