After 2 years, a Stephens County murder case is finally closed.

Roger Gary Jackson pled guilty to manslaughter Monday morning in the death of 31-year-old Wayne Wilson.

That plea came just hours before his trial was to begin.

Assistant District Attorney Eddie Staples said the DA’s office is satisfied with the plea agreement, especially since the case was complicated.

“We are very satisfied with it because it was a hard case, primarily because under the facts, we would have to prove in order to make our case, the deceased, Mr. Wilson, had a rifle in his hand, had it pointed at Mr. Jackson, and had pulled the trigger at least once and probably more times,” said Staples. “Unbeknownst to him, that rifle did not work. Essentially, the case would have boiled down to whether we could prove that Mr. Jackson knew the rifle would not work.”

Wilson was shot to death in December of 2006. Jackson was the one who called 911 and was eventually arrested and charged with murder.

In addition, Jackson pled guilty to a drug charge that he had faced before the shooting occurred.

Jackson was sentenced to ten years to serve seven.

With federal legislators haggling over how to help the nation’s financial institutions, numerous area financial institutions say things are not that bad at their institutions.

First Franklin Financial is not a bank, but they do deal in loans and investments.

Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Roger Guimond said they have over $240 million in debt securities.

He added they do not provide any safeguards because FDIC insurance is not available. The only insurance is the “reputation of the company.”

However, Guimond said their balance sheet is strong and investors seem happy overall with First Franklin.

Guimond did say they have looked a little closer at their lending practices.

“On our underwriting, we have been a little bit more cautious in who we lend to, but that is due more to the economy, higher gas prices, higher food prices, and those types of indicators, then they are to what is going on with the banking turmoil and chaos,” said Guimond. “However, we are looking at our customers a little closer, how far do they drive to work and things like that.”

Guimond said despite the economy and a definite slowdown in profits from a record 2007, the company is strong and 2008 is a profitable year at this point.

Meanwhile, Habersham Bank said they are sound as well, with Bank President David Stovall saying they will weather the storms.

A report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution published by an Atlanta-based research firm showed Habersham Bank on a list of banks that could face difficulty.

That report used a formula called the “Texas ratio.” According to Stovall, the Texas ratio was created for Texas banks and is not applicable in Georgia. He said it is like comparing “apples to oranges.”

At Stephens Federal Bank, officials said everything is fine, emphasizing there is a huge difference between what is happening with investment banks on Wall Street and a community bank.

Meanwhile, nationwide, the House voted down a proposed Wall Street bailout package Monday.

Locally, Congressman Paul Broun voted against the bailout proposal in Washington, D.C.

The 10^th District Republican said in a press release that the bill is unacceptable to him.

He added that “giving the Treasury Secretary the power to bailout Wall Street is unconstitutional and just plain wrong,” going on to say that “if this bill had been passed, American taxpayers’ money would be used to give a golden parachute to Wall Street that our grandchildren may still be paying for many decades from now.”

The bill was defeated by a vote of 228-205.

Supporters said it is necessary to prop up the banking and credit markets in the United States, which have slowed in recent weeks and months.

Broun’s opponent, Bobby Saxon, has not yet released a comment.

School buses will keep running, despite shortages on fuel across North Georgia.

Stephens County School System Transportation Director Beth McDonald said she is working with suppliers to make sure the fuel continues flowing.

“As far as the school buses are concerned, we do have about a five-day supply of diesel in the ground right now that we are able to use,” said McDonald. “So, we are okay for this school week. Our local drivers have not been able to obtain diesel. However, they expect to by the end of the week.”

Other officials reported much the same.

Toccoa City Manager Billy Morse said the city has a two-week supply of fuel on hand, and has been in touch with suppliers to continue to monitor the situation.

Stephens County Administrator John Rutan said he is also working with Morse to keep fleets rolling.

As for everyday drivers, filling up the tank continues to be hit or miss.

A Toccoa man is missing the wheels off of his car after a reported theft.

The Mountain View Road man reported to the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office that someone stole four 16-inch aluminum wheels off of his 1989 Nissan Maxima sometime between September 21 and September 23. According to the victim, the car was parked in a field above his home.

Authorities valued the wheels at $400.

Meanwhile, another Toccoa man told the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office that someone recently took a number of tools from his Stephens County shop.

The victim said sometime between the beginning of the month and last week, someone took a cement drill and bits valued at $4000 and a pair of electric shears valued at $350.

Finally, an Estatohe Circle man reported a theft to the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office last Tuesday.

According to the victim, it occurred sometime on September 21. Two firearms were taken, according to the victim, from two of his vehicles. Those firearms included a Smith and Wesson 357 caliber and a Ruger 22.

Authorities placed the value of the two firearms together at about $900.

The investigation into all three incidents continues.

Stephens County continues preparations for Currahee Military Weekend this weekend.

One of the main events of the weekend is the 2008 Currahee Challenge, which takes place Saturday morning at Currahee Mountain.

Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce President Wendi Bailey said this is the sixth annual run/walk at Currahee Mountain.

According to Bailey, things get started early on Saturday, rain or shine.

“Registration will be open at 7 a.m. and it is the original course as seen in the HBO series, “Band of Brothers,” so it is the Colonel Robert F. Sink Trail,” said Bailey.

Bailey said they will hold a one mile run-walk, three mile run-walk, and a six-mile run-walk. The races begin at 7:45 a.m. with the one-mile run, and the six-mile race starts at 8:30 a.m.

Registration is $20. In 2006, 157 runners took part and officials said they had almost 300 last year. According to Bailey, the goal is to have more than 300 this year.

Bailey said prizes will go to top finishers in each age group and refreshments will be provided.

“The prizes are the second rendition of art done by Carl Fennell,” said Bailey. “We have matted the print and he has come and signed them and numbered them. Those will be given to the first, second, and third place winners in the fifteen age groups.”

For more information on the 2008 Currahee Challenge or to find out about registering, call 886-2132 or stop by the Chamber of Commerce office located on Alexander Street.

This weekend, the past will come alive with living, breathing history.

As part of the Currahee Military Weekend, a group of World War II re-enactors will walk the streets of downtown Toccoa.

“Beginning Friday, we will have young men and older men here that will be dressed as they were dressed as soldiers during World War II,” said Steve Tilley, who is helping to coordinate the re-enactors. “They will be all over town. I am trying to spread them out. There will even be a few camping out at the old Camp Toccoa site.”

He said the group comes from all over Georgia, as well as Florida.

On Saturday, part of Doyle Street will be blocked off and military vehicles will park along the street, just as when Easy Company was in town.

The soldiers will also visit local restaurants and Tilley added; maybe even add some spice to the downtown atmosphere.

“They will be going in different restaurants, like they did in World War II and they are going to act like they were in World War II, maybe not quite as rough though,” he added.

Tilley said it is possible some re-enactors could dress as German soldiers.

The murder trial of Roger Gary Jackson will not happen. That is from Stephens County Clerk of Court Aubre Grafton, who tells WNEG the case will not go to trial. Jurors do not need to report, but should call after 4 p.m. today for further instructions.

Reports indicate a guilty plea may be entered.

Jackson is accused of murdering 39-year-old Wayne Calvin Wilson in December 2006.

According to reports, Jackson was the person who called 911 after Wilson was shot. Sheriff’s deputies took two guns into evidence and arrested Jackson. He was indicted in January 2007 and charged with felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm in the commission of a crime.

Stephens County citizens go to jail.

A steady stream of people attended an open house at the new Stephens County Jail Friday, getting an inside view of the facility and, as one man said, seeing where their money is going.

“I am over here at the jail to look around and see what is going on with the progress and also where the money is going,” said John Austin, who came out Friday with his wife. “I am interested in why we have to pay so many taxes.”

Sheriff Gene Sorrells helped lead tours and did not hide his pride in the facility.

“We are very proud of it and I think it is something that the county will be proud of, to see we have a place where we can put the inmates now without having to house them out somewhere else,” said Sorrells. “We have a facility that is very easy to operate. We are looking forward to getting the jail open, getting started, and going to work.”

He went on to say the new jail now meets state and federal guidelines about separating the inmates by various classifications. The new building houses inmates in pods – each with 32 beds. Sorrells said inmates will be separated in these pods by gender, as well as by severity of the crime committed, and whether or not someone is in jail awaiting trial, or having been sentenced.

Sorrells said he hopes to have the jail open and working by the end of October.

Cancer may have met its match on the street of Toccoa.

Almost 100 walkers gathered Saturday morning for the inaugural “Kickin’ It One Step at a Time” walk where walkers raised money by walking 2, 5, or 10 miles. The money raised is going to pay for mammograms for women in Stephens County who have no insurance and struggle to pay the $400 price tag for a mammogram.

For the walkers gathered on Alexander Street, the cause is personal. One group of women wore pink sashes that read “In Honor of Linda Carson.”

Dana Morgan attends Compassion Baptist Church in Carnesville with Linda.

“For Ms. Linda Carson,” said Morgan. “She is a second-time breast cancer survivor. As a matter of fact, it has been just recently she continued her last treatment, so we are walking in honor of her.”

Trinity Lutheran Church brought 13 people to join the walk. Truman Mila said he believes it is a cause everyone should support.

“Well, we have a number of people who are cancer survivors and we felt it was good to support the community.”

Organizers Connie Tabor and Jennie Clifton said they were thrilled with the turnout and that it exceeded all their goals. To donate to “Kickin’ It One Step at a Time,” you can go to their website at www.kickinit_onestepatatime.com

The search for a new school superintendent is underway, and the Stephens County School Board wants to hear from you.

Board Chair Jerry Steele said a public forum will be held October 2 at 5:30 p.m. in the Tugalo Building at the system’s administrative offices on Mize Road.

“Dr. Don Rooks from the Georgia School Board Association is going to facilitate a meeting and it is an opportunity for people to come and express what they would like to see in a new superintendent,” said Steele.

Dr. Rooks is with the Georgia School Board Association, who has been contracted to help with the search process. Steele said, while the school board will make the final decision, the GSBA will take care of most of the details required in the process.

“The School Board Association is conducting our superintendent search for us and they will be the ones that are putting out the brochures that will be sent out to prospective candidates,” added Steele. “They are doing everything from A to Z for us.”

Again, that public forum is October 2, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Stephens County School System offices on Mize Road. A new superintendent will be hired to replace current superintendent Gary Steppe, who will be retiring in June 2009.

A group of bicycle riders honor a Toccoa hero with a 500-mile bike ride.

Six men are on their way to Toccoa this morning on part of a bicycle journey to raise money for the Paul Anderson Youth Home in Vidalia. Paula Schaefer, Paul Anderson’s daughter, said the goal is to raise $100,000 to help with operational funds at the youth home started by her father.

She said the idea of raising money with a bike ride has special meaning to both her family and the youth home.

“The reason that they are doing the bike race is that my dad was trying to raise money to start the youth home and so he rode his bike from Toccoa all the way to Father Flanagan’s Children’s Home and my mom followed him in a van,” said Schaefer.

Father Flanagan’s Youth Home is in Omaha, Nebraska. Schaefer said her father completed that journey wearing flip-flops.

The ride taking place now began at a Chik-fil-A Store in Atlanta Friday. Once again, the sentiment goes back to that ride Anderson took all those years ago when he met up with another famous person.

“My dad was riding the bike and this gentleman, who founded Chik-fil-A, says he saw what he thought was an elephant riding this bicycle,” explained Schaefer. “So, my mom and dad waved and went in the only restaurant he had at this time and gave my dad the first contribution to the Paul Anderson Youth Home and has been a faithful friend and contributor to the ministry ever since that time.”

The cyclists from the Paul Anderson Cyclist Challenge will be stopping in Toccoa on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Paul Anderson Park on Tugalo Street. At that time, a drawing for a free bicycle will be held for children 14 years of age and younger.

A woman who has made her mark at the Toccoa-Stephens County Boys and Girls’ Club is now being honored with a state-level award.

Chevalier Ruff has been given an award for excellence by the professional organization that supports Boys and Girls’ Clubs across Georgia.

Chevalier, who has been the administrative assistant at the Toccoa-Stephens County Boys and Girls’ Club for almost a year, said she was surprised and honored.

“I was very surprised,” said Ruff. “I did not know why I was going to Atlanta and all of a sudden, we get down to the awards selection and I am the first one that gets called up so it was very much a surprise.”

Ruff said working for the Boys and Girls’ Club has been more than just a job. For her, she explained, it is a chance to influence a child’s life.

“To be here with all these children and especially from our community and to know that I am a part of their growing up and trying to instill those good things in them so they become productive individuals is a very good feeling,” added Ruff. “It is very rewarding. It is a beautiful ministry.”

Director Oliver Dorsey said her award was much deserved, especially considering she has only been at the Whitman Street facility for a relatively short time.

“She has done an outstanding job within those ten months of making sure some things are getting done and that we are on task on everything,” said Dorsey. “She is just a great asset to our organization. It was quite exciting to hear that she was selected for that award and we are very proud of her. We know she is going to continue to do great things here at our Boys and Girls Club in Toccoa.”

The Boys and Girls Club offers after school activities for almost 130 kids every day.

Officials at North Georgia Credit Union want their customers to know – they are not calling you. President Brian Akin says on Thursday, some customers began getting computer-generated calls from a source claiming to be North Georgia Credit Union.

“They are attempting to obtain debt card numbers, account numbers, social security numbers and information like that,” he explains. “We would already have that information on our members, so we would not need to call and ask for it.”

Akin advises customers to not give this information out. If you have, you can call the Credit Union at 706-886-1441. Akin says he has been in touch with the Toccoa Police Department as well as the Stephens County Sheriff’s office about the scam.

With frightening stories of financial meltdowns and rising unemployment hitting the airways, the Georgia Labor Commissioner is still somewhat optimistic about the long-term outlook.

“In the long run the economy will rebound and will get back to creating jobs and spreading economic prosperity,” says Commissioner of Labor Michael Thurmond. “Things will get better. I am always confident in the economy and in the American worker.”

Thurmond made his remarks one day after the Department of Labor released unemployment statistics for the month of August that shows unemployment in Northeast Georgia at a 15-year high. Thurmond says the stats in North Georgia mirror what is happening across the state and the country.

“The Northeast Georgia unemployment rate of 6.5 percent is in line with the state rate of 6.3 percent and the national rate, which is 6.1. What we are seeing in North Georgia is what we are seeing all over the state and all over the country,” he says.

Thurmond goes on to say in the short-term things will continue to difficult for those looking for jobs. “Because of the housing crisis, the credit crunch and the high fuel prices, it is difficult for employers to maintain the workforce that they have. For unemployed Georgians, it’s very difficult to find new work,” Thurmond says.

The unemployment rate for Northeast Georgia in August is 6.5 percent.

It’s time to roll up your sleeve and get that shot in the arm again. The North Health District has announced the schedule for flu shots in area Health Departments.

Here in Stephens County flu shots will be available October 1 from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Stephens County Recreation Center on Rose Lane. This will be part of the pandemic flu drill being held by various emergency agencies. After that, flu shots are available from the Health Department on Wednesdays from 8 a.m. – 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

“The CDC and Health experts agree that the flu shot is the best prevention from getting the flu,” says District Health Coordinator Dave Palmer.

The flu shot costs $25.

If you need to bone up on your blacksmithing or cornhusk doll making, then Travelers Rest Historic Site may just be the place for you this weekend.

The Stephens County historic site will be hosting its second annual Pioneer Days on Saturday from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.. Coordinator Tony Souther says it will feature all kinds of crafts from the early 1800s. We’re going to have 10 different crafts people demonstrating things like basket making,” he says. “We are trying to get a working loom so we can also have weaving.”

In addition, there will be demonstrations of blacksmithing, black powder shooting, hearth cooking and doll making. Souther says the afternoon will also feature musical artists sharing their skills. “There’s going to be 3 sets of dulcimer players, a dulcimer maker and an old time string band,” he says. “We will also have some contra dancers doing mid-1800 contra dancing.”

The historic Traveler’s Rest was built in 1815 and served as a stagecoach inn and plantation home. Souther says last year 300 people came out for the event and he hopes this year will see a large turnout too.

By MJ Kneiser,

92.1 WLHR

No bond for Raymond Daniel Thurmond.

Superior Court Judge Lindsey Tise issued the ruling late Wednesday afternoon. 

The 36-year old Thurmond is charged with rape, four counts of felony cruelty to children, and five counts of false imprisonment.

Authorities say Thurmond held his wife and four children captive in a filthy, roach infested trailer in Lavonia for three years.  They he raped his wife and say his children were malnourished and were not allowed to go to school or leave their Beaver Creek trailer.

In his written ruling, Judge Tise agreed with the prosecution that Thurmond was a danger to witnesses and might try to intimidate them based on testimony last week from Thurmond's ex-wife. Judge Tise said he also believes Thurmond poses a significant flight risk because of the severity of the charges against him. And he cited the fact that the investigation into the allegations against Thurmond is ongoing.

Thurmond has been in the Franklin County Detention Center since his arrest in mid-August.  The Franklin County Grand Jury met last week, but did not hear the Thurmond case.  So far, there's no word on when the grand jury will consider the case against Thurmond.

It is not an easy week to be the manager of a gas station.

Besides having to sell gas at high prices, some local stations have been seen with plastic bags on their pumps signifying a pump run dry. The Murphy USA station at Wal-Mart ran out of gas on Tuesday, but by Wednesday morning had a new supply. The manager says she doesn’t anticipate any other difficulties in getting gas.

Out on Highway 123, the owner of the Royal Food Store reports she has not run out of gas this week, but was low on Wednesday afternoon. She did not know if continuing to get supplied would be an issue. In addition, both station managers report that as tensions around gasoline supply and prices increase, so has the incidents of customers treating them rudely. The manager at Murphy says she has been yelled at, cursed at and even had items thrown at her. Across North Georgia, reports of gas shortages and long lines have been seen all week.

With 6 weeks of school under their belts, Stephens County Middle School 7^th grade teachers are finding a mixed reaction to the split gender classes.

This year, 7^th graders are split into three teams: all boys, all girls and a mixed team. Principal Tony Crunkleton suggested implementing the system after learning of research that shows boys and girls in this grade do better academically and with discipline if they are separated. As for the teachers actually experiencing the change, they seem to be having different experiences.

David Williams teaches 7^th grade science and has one of the all boys teams. He says, so far, his experience has been a challenge. “It’s been an interesting year. It’s really been more difficult then we thought it would be when we were planning it. It’s been a challenge having all boys,” he says. “Overall, it’s not all bad, but it’s not all good either.”

Though Williams is not sure if there are more discipline issues this year, he says the large class sizes make discipline more difficult.

“If they were going to make changes, I would limit the number of boys in a classroom. They should maybe lower it to 20 boys in a classroom because that’s a lot of testosterone going on,” he says. In all, though Williams says, he is willing to wait until more time has passed before issuing a final grade on splitting classes by gender.

Karen Henderson is also a 7^th grade science teacher and she has an all-girls class. She says she has been pleasantly surprised at how much she is enjoying her experience.

“On the girls team, we really like it. At first I wasn’t really sure about it, but my girls seem to be learning a lot more in the lab,” she says. She goes on to say her observation has been that without the boys taking immediate charge, the girls are forced to be more hands on with the equipment.

As for her students, Henderson says they seem to enjoy the calmer atmosphere that comes with an all-female environment. And she has noticed one particular change with this year’s class. “The girls seem to really enjoy not having the boys in the class with them,” Henderson says. “It is a little calmer. The boys are a little more rambunctious at this age. I know for the first time in 20 years of teaching, I have been able to hand out rubber bands.”

Principal Crunkleton says he is carefully monitoring the data, both in academics and discipline to see if there is truly a difference with this arrangement.

Sheriff Gene Sorrells knows every light switch in the new Stephens County jail.

As he prepares to open the facility he worked hard to get, Sorrells is obviously proud of the state-of-the-art building that will replace the current 50-year-old jail. He’s so proud, that he is willing to take anyone on a personal tour, including a curious reporter.

Sorrells and the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office will be hosting an Open House at the jail tomorrow from 10 a.m. until noon. However, Sorrells says, if anyone can’t make it to the open house, he will be willing to take them on a tour himself.

As he walks through the new facility, Sorrells is intimately familiar with the light switches, the computer systems, the storage facilities and the safety features. He points out that the sheriff’s department will be housed in one wing and comes with a squad room, offices and a large evidence room.

Most of the building is dedicated to the jail. There’s a booking room, flanked by holding cells, including one specially padded cell to protect inmates who may be a danger to themselves. There’s also a visiting area and a small courtroom, which will allow arrestees to go before a judge for their first appearance without having to be transported across town.

The heart of the jail is the pods in which inmates will be housed. Access to them is down a long concrete hallway, with a glass tower at the end. In this tower, a jailer will be able to see all 7 pods below and control the lights and locks within each 2-person cell. Sorrells says manning this spot is so intense, a jailer must be relieved of this duty every three hours. Inmates will be separated in these pods by gender, as well as by severity of the crime committed and whether or not someone is in jail awaiting trial, or having been sentenced.

Sorrells hopes to open the jail by the end of October. The Open House will be tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Stephens County Jail located off Prather Bridge Road.

A fashion show featuring beautiful clothing and delicious food will help benefit victims of an ugly crime.

The Power House for Kids – which offers services for victims of child abuse or rape -- will present its fifth annual Fall Fashion Show and Luncheon at Glen Ella Springs Inn in Turnerville Saturday. Tanners Fashions provides the clothing modeled.

“Models volunteer to show off the beautiful Tanner fashions. Jacqueline Grover sings for us. You have a nice lunch. You get to buy some clothing and that money goes to pay for counseling at the Power House,” explains Janet Cordis, Prevention Coordinator for the Power House for Kids.

The Power House for Kids sees 200 -300 children a year from Stephens, Habersham and Rabun Counties. Located in Toccoa, it is a safe, child-friendly environment that is equipped with professional staff who offer physical exams, forensic interviewing, advocacy and ongoing counseling. Cordis says the services they provide are essential.

“People don’t realize how much sexual assault is out there in the community.” she says. “It is essential that victims get services to be able to heal from that trauma and put that behind them. We offer those services free of charge to the victims.”

Tickets to the Fashion show are $40 and include a luncheon, silent auction and raffle. For more information on the luncheon or on child abuse services you can contact the Powerhouse at 706-866-2290.

Election politics come to local government.

At the Stephens County Commission meeting Tuesday, a candidate running for the Georgia House of Representatives asked commissioners to join her in an effort to change the management of Lake Hartwell and her opponent accused her of playing politics.

State Rep. Jeanette Jamieson, the Democratic candidate for District 28, asked commissioners to support her in trying get the US Army Corps of Engineers to hold hearings in Stephens County about water levels at Lake Hartwell. “I intend to call on the US Representative and both U.S. Senators to ask them to change the management style of the Corps of Engineers as it pertains to the lakes they currently manage,” Jamieson told commissioners. She called the lake an “economic lake” and said low water levels are unfair to Stephens County taxpayers.

Her republican opponent, Michael Hardin, rose to say, while he supported the effort to re-evaluate Lake Hartwell, he questioned Jamieson’s timing. “I want to commend Ms. Jamieson for her realization that so many citizens of Stephens County have been aware of for years on the crisis at Lake Hartwell. I find it disturbing in a sense that 40 days before the election that it has all of a sudden come to the realization of our representative that Lake Hartwell has grass growing on the bottom of it,” he said.

He says the lake issue is only being raised to distract voters away from other issues such as the uncertainty of the completion of Georgia Hwy 17 in Stephens County. Jamieson countered, saying she only acted Tuesday after the Corps announced Monday it was scheduling hearings on Lake Lanier. Commissioners agreed to support her effort to get federal authorities to act on behalf of Lake Hartwell.

Construction on the last part of the Downtown Streetscape project in Toccoa is set to begin in a couple of weeks. Main Street Coordinator Connie Tabor says the work on Sage Street will begin on Currahee Street and go to Railroad Street.

“Work will commence on the west side of Sage Street on the corner of Currahee Street,” Tabor explains. “They will work their way down that side of the sidewalk and substantially complete that before work begins on the eastern side of Sage Street.”

Brick pavers, period lighting and benches will be installed along with international crosswalk markings for pedestrians. Tabor says it is important to create a pleasant streetscape on this section since it virtually an entryway into Downtown.

“The reason we are starting on the Currahee Street end is that is an entrance into our downtown and it’s appropriate we extend into that area,” she says. This will be the last bit of the project that culminated with the removal of the canopies and the opening of Doyle Street to traffic.

This week, some Stephens County students will get the flu. No, it’s a not a crystal-ball prediction, just an upcoming exercise for the Stephens County School System in handling a large outbreak of pandemic flu.

Systems Director Brenda Kelley says the school system is working with a multitude of agencies to prepare for such a crisis and the final exam, so to speak, will be a county-wide drill on October 1^st. Kelley says the school system is beginning this week on Thursday with a scenario designed to mimic a growing flu epidemic effecting students and teachers.

“As the scenario goes on we will have maybe, three teachers out sick and no substitutes. It makes principals look at what would you do in that situation or if you had 4 or 5 students out of every class,” she says. By October 1^st, when the larger emergency preparedness drill takes place, the school system will be facing a crisis within the schools as well as in the larger county area. Kelley says all parts of the system will be taxed.

“If the pandemic emergency is there, you may have no food deliveries or fuel deliviers. We want to be able to educate our students, feed our students and take care of them in such an emergency,” she says. Again, the drill for the school system is scheduled to start Thursday with several kids in every school being diagnosed with the flu.The larger pandemic flu drill will be Wednesday October 1.

Three more jailers will be hired for the new Stephens County Jail to round out the contingent of 20 jailers requested by Sheriff Gene Sorrells. At their meeting Tuesday, the Stephens County Commission approved the hiring of the three additional jailers.

Earlier in the month, the commissioners gave the sheriff permission to hire 17 jailers from the pool of candidates that had gone through the initial screening process. Sheriff Sorrells says the new jailers are currently undergoing orientation training at the new jail and will soon under go state training for jailers.

In other business, the commissioners announced their intent to accept names for the EMS Council. They will be filling the vacancy left empty with the death of Joe Anderson.

If one group of walkers has their way, cancer will be kicked out of town.

The Kickin’ It One Step at A Time Cancer Walk will be held this Saturday and the money raised will go to help women take a vital step in fighting the disease. Organizer Connie Worley says it is a grass-roots campaign aimed at paying for mammograms. “It costs $400 for a woman to get a mammogram if she has no insurance,” Worley says.

Worley says the Kickin’ It group was formed after she and her friend, Jennie Clifton, had their own experience with breast cancer. Both had their cancers discovered with mammograms. “Mammograms won’t find all breast cancers, but they will find 80 percent of breast cancers. That’s a whole lot of women that can save,” she says. “We are living proof that if you get a mammogram, mammograms can save lives.”

Worley says it was important to the group that the money raised stay in Stephens County, so they have partnered with local agencies to provide the means of paying for mammograms. “We wanted to keep it local. So we are working with the Stephens County Health Department and the program BreasTest and More to fund these mammograms,” she explains.

The Kickin’ It One Step At A Time Cancer Walk will start at 8 oclock on Alexander Street right here near the WNEG studios. For more information you can contact Connie Worley at 706-886-6323.

A local agency that gives people a helping hand, gets its own helping hand. At a special ceremony Monday, the Open Arms Clinic received a $5,000 grant from the Chestatee-Chattahoochee Resources Conservation and Development Council. The clinic offers medical services to people without health insurance. Clinical Director Sherry Beavers says the money will be used for two purposes. One will be to buy an AED device or Automatic External Defibrillator.

“Diabetic supplies are one of the most expensive medications and supplies we have in our clinic,” she says. “For example, a box of testing strips can cost as much as $70.” Beavers says the clinic sees almost 300 patients and is funded solely on private donations.

The Chestatee-Chattahoochee RC & D is a federal nonprofit organization that supports conservation efforts and human resource projects in a 13-county area. Luther Jones, Acting Director for the RC & D, says the funds for the grants given Monday came from a success story.

“The funds for the mini-grants presented came from an old program, the Road Striping program. That program was such as success that now there are private entrepreneurs doing that work. So the Council sold the equipment and used the money to offer mini-grants,” he explains.

The Open Arms Clinic will be hosting a Rubber Duck Race Fundraiser October 5 at Henderson Falls Park.

Vandals help create a messy situation in Toccoa Sunday morning. According to Toccoa Water/Wastewater Director Don Dye, a sewer line off of North Pond Street overflowed after someone dumped concrete pieces and tree limbs down a manhole. “I would call it vandalism,” Dye says. “The manhole cover was pried up and concrete and limbs were dumped in. It backed up over time and overflowed.”

Dye says the overflow was discovered by a Toccoa citizen who noticed an overflowing manhole near his property and called city officials. The call came in around 10 a.m., but city workers had difficulty stopping it because it was in a hard area to reach. “The hardest part about it is that it is a cross-country line. It took quite a bit of finagling to get trucks up in there,” he explains. “Once they did, they got the blockage cleared and within a few minutes, everything was back to normal.”

He estimates around 5000 gallons of raw sewage spilled, but it is not clear if it reached a body of water since the nearest creek is actually a dry water creek. Dye says no private property was affected by the spill and workers put down lime to absorb any odors. As for the vandals, Dye says he hopes the city now has solved that problem. “We now are tack-welding the lids down so they are not so easily assessable,” he says.

Following state law, the City of Toccoa will test the water in a creek downstream from the spill to monitor whether there was any environmental impact.

While voting is a privilege, the county registrar reminds voters that one must register to vote. Stephens County Registrar Theresa Kelley says the deadline to register to vote is October 6, 2008.

“Voter registration ends October 6.If you are not registered by then, you can’t vote in the November election,” she explains. “If you are not sure, call the office and we will look you up.” Kelley goes on to say registering to vote is as easy as filling out a form.

Citizens can register when renewing a driver’s license, but Kelly says you should check with the registrar’s office to make sure the information is there in time for you to get on the voter rolls.

“Sometimes we get those, sometimes we don’t. If you have registered through the DMV, double check with us to make sure we got the paperwork,” she says. Kelley says she has seen an increased number of new voters registering and she expects a large turnout for the November election. For more information on registering to vote, you can call the Stephens County Registrar’s office at 706-886-8954.

An organization dedicated to bringing fragile children together with special horses gets a significant boost in its financial life. Eagle’s Wing Farm, in Stephens County received a $5000 mini-grant from the Chestatee-Chattahoochee Resources Conservation and Development Council Monday.

Eagle’s Wing Founder and Certified Instructor Melissa Pless says the money will help with the everyday bills required to keep the organization going. The non-profit organization offers riding lessons to people with physical, mental and emotional needs. Kids with speech challenges learn to speak more clearly while giving the horses verbal commands. Other clients, who struggle physically, find riding the horses helps them balance and tone their muscles in a unique way.

“Currently, we see a girl who could only walk about 15 feet with assistance, when she first came to the farm,” Pless says with emotion. “Now she walks all over the farm by herself unaided. It’s made a huge difference in her life.”

Resources Conservation and Development Councils are federal agencies that help communities across the nation. The Chestatee-Chattahoochee Council works in 13 counties in North Georgia. “What an RC&D Council does is reach out to the community through community service projects,” explains Luther Jones, Chestatee-Chattahoochee’s Acting Coordinator. “Most of the projects are related to natural resources or human resources.” In all, 6 area organizations received funding Monday.

An upcoming training session will give local businesses a chance to bone up on their Southern hospitality. The Toccoa Stephens County Chamber of Commerce will be giving a class called “Hospitality Training” this Thursday.

Chamber President Wendi Bailey says the training it is for anyone who greets out of town guests. “Restaurants, hotels, gas stations, real estate agents, churches – any business that helps our out-of-town guests enjoy their visit and want to come back,” she explains.

The training will be held at the Historic Train Depot on Alexander Street. Each half-day session will include information on the interesting features of Toccoa and Stephens County, as well as a refresher on customer service.

“The first hour will be information about our attractions and assets. Main Street Coordinator Sharon Crosby will teach that,” Bailey says. “The second part will tips on excellent customer service, and the Home Depot will provide that training for us.”

The training costs $10 for Chamber Members and $20 for Non-Chamber Members. You can get more information from the Chamber of Commerce by calling 706-886-2132.

For one accident victim last week, her heroes were a group of men considering prying her car apart.

A group of specially trained volunteer rescuers were called to Hayes-Wilbanks Road last week when a Toccoa woman lost control of her car and it landed upside down in a creek. Mark While, Assistant Chief at Eastanollee Volunteer Fire Department, says Extrication Training is part of the cross-training firefighters have in multiple skills. “The training is based on the equipment a unit has. We have jaws of life, spreaders, rams and other equipment that spread the car apart and pry the door open,” he explains.

On Hayes-Wilbanks Road, the group made their way down the muddy ravine to assess the situation. While says this case turned out easier than normal. “Fortunately, we had access to the patient without having to use the equipment. We were able to get her out without cutting and prying,” he explains.

The unit was able to remove the patient and gently bring her out of the creek. She was taken to Stephens County Hospital. While says most, but not all the Fire Departments have this special training, and it’s only the high cost that keeps more from getting it. “Currently, some of us don’t have the training. We are hoping to get donations to get the equipment. It is rather expensive,” he says.

If you would like to make a donation to Extrication training, or any kind of rescue work, contact the chief at one of the local Volunteer Fire Departments.

With 43 days to go until the November election, you can begin voting today. Stephens County Registrar Theresa Kelley says beginning today and going until Election Day on November 4, you can vote on the machine in the registrar’s office.

“Absentee, or early voting if you want to call it, starts today. You can vote on the machines without a reason,” she explains. “It’s not the same as advanced voting. Advanced voting will be the week of October 27 through October 31.”

The registrar’s office is open Monday through Friday, 9 until noon and 1 until 5. Kelley reminds voters that anytime you are voting in person, you must bring a photo id.

Acceptable forms of identification are a Georgia driver’s license, a state or federal government issued photo ID car, a valid U.S. passport or military ID.

For those wanting to vote absentee with a paper ballot, Kelley says she expects to send the ballots out soon. “Paper ballots are not in yet. As soon as they come in, they will go out in the mail. We have about 400 we are waiting to fill,” she says.

Election Day is November 4^th

A neighborhood fight is spilling over into city government. A group of neighbors from the Boulevard and East Tugalo area came before Toccoa City Commissioners Thursday to further explore how to amend the city’s nuisance ordinance so they can stop a neighbor from riding 4-wheelers in the area.

The group says one neighbor refuses to stop riding the noisy machines in his back yard, despite numerous complaints. He and his family are not breaking any state law because he stays on his property, however, it is not totally clear if the city’s nuisance ordinance is being adhered to.

City Marshal Ken Cox appeared as a citizen at the meeting since he lives in the neighborhood, and told commissioners he was concerned about safety, noise and dust.

“My concern is safety. When you have powerful machines like these in a small city lot, you cannot control them,” Cox explains. “The second thing is the nuisance issue. It is so loud and so dusty.”

Courtney Orr, who lives closest to the people riding the 4-wheelers, says safety is her main concern. “If they lost control of one of them, the wooden fence would come down and they would run over my children. That’s the thing that concerns me the most. They do not ride them safely; they are just crazy riders,” she says.

City Attorney John Dickerson told the group the best scenario might be to come together to file a civil suit to try to stop the behavior. In the meantime, commissioners asked Dickerson to review the ordinance to see if it could be tightened to address issues such as 4-wheelers or dirt bikes in city limits.

Police are still trying to determine if a break-in at an apartment complex’s mailboxes is related to the break-ins at all three Stephens County post offices.

An employee at Imperial Place Apartments on Rose Lane called police on Thursday after she came into work and noticed the outgoing mail drop on the complexes mailboxes had been pried open and the lock on the envelope drop box on the manager’s office was broken. That is the same day, police and sheriff’ deputies discovered the burglaries at the Toccoa, Martin and Eastanollee post offices.

The woman told police that she could not be sure what was in the drop box, but said it was commonly used by residents to drop off their rent checks. Police could not immediately determine if this break-in was related to the other mailbox cases. U.S. Postal Inspectors are working with local law enforcement to investigate the burglaries at the post offices.

With the opening of Doyle Street in Downtown Toccoa, a new law enforcement issue is cropping up for the Toccoa Police.

“I want to remind the citizens about parking on a street where you have to parallel park. The state law says your right wheel has to be approximately 12 inches from the right hand curb,” says Toccoa Police Chief Jackie Whitmire. “That means you have to park on the side of the street that you are going on. You can't cross over the street and face the oncoming traffic.”

He says his department had received several complaints about the issue recently. Up to now, Whitmire says, officers have only issue warnings, but that could change in the near future. “We have been writing warnings for a good while now. I said we would do that a month and then start writing tickets. We have gone past a month,” he says.

Whitmire goes on to say the ticket for parking illegally is $140.

While drivers nation-wide are looking for cheaper gas, someone in Toccoa wants some free gas. Natural gas that is.

Police reports say an employee of Toccoa Natural Gas called police after he spotted a gas meter that had been tinkered with.

Authorities say when the employee went to check the meter on a house on Scenic Drive, he noticed the valve had been broken in a way that allowed the gas to be received illegally.

In addition, the usage valve had been tampered with also, so officials could not determine how much gas had been taken.

The investigation continues.

Community leaders react to the death of a local leader they call a visionary and a friend.

Lucious Alewine, a former Mayor of Toccoa, died Wednesday at his home at the age of 90.WNEG founder, Roy Gaines, served on the Toccoa City Commission with Alewine for 9 years, and says he was always focused on the needs of the community.

Gaines, who calls Alewine a friend that goes back to a “red-dirt farm in Franklin County” says he recently was with Alewine to celebrate his 90^th birthday and the two men reflected on their shared leadership.

“He mentioned two things he was proudest of. One was establishing sewage treatment facilities for the city. When we went on the commission all the raw sewage was dumped into Toccoa and Eastanollee Creeks. That was eliminated. The other was establishing the Lake Yonah pumping station, which ensured an adequate water supply for the community,” Gaines remembers.

Echoing those words is current Toccoa mayor, Andy Pavliscsak. He says Alewine encouraged him to get into local politics and set an example of forward-thinking leadership.

“He had the ability to see the future and he always understood the big picture. I think Toccoa was really fortunate to have him as mayor multiple times, “ Pavliscsak says. “More than that, I was really fortunate to call him my friend.”

Alewine is survived by 3 children, four brothers and a sister. He was born in Hart County in 1918 and was a member of the First Baptist Church. Funeral services for Alewine will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at First Baptist Church. Burial will be in Stephens Memorial Gardens.

Authorities are still trying to find those burglars who don’t care about the post office’s motto of “neither rain nor snow nor dark of night.”

Federal and local authorities continue to investigate the burglaries at all three Stephens County post offices. Almost 100 postal boxes in the lobbies at the Toccoa, Martin and Stephens County Post Offices were smashed or pried open Wednesday night.

Police Chief Jackie Whitmire says the Toccoa Police Department, Stephens County Sheriff’s office and the U.S. Postal Inspectors Office is working together to try to solve the cases.

“They processed the scenes and got a lot of evidence,” he says. “We are moving forward with this case and are optimistic about making an arrest or arrests.”

It has not been determined yet if any mail was actually taken, however, Whitmire says much of the mail was pushed to the floor behind the boxes as the burglars tried to get in.

The new baseball coach at Stephens County High School is no stranger to Stephens County sports. Mike Cox, who was announced as the new coach on Wednesday, has been involved with Indians baseball for almost 30 years. He served as head coach beginning in 1979, then worked with the JV team, and helped with last year’s varsity team.

I’m excited about it. I enjoy these kids and I am looking forward to the opportunity,” Cox says. Stephens County High principal David Friend called Cox a “level-headed coach with good knowledge of the game.” High School Athletic Director Travis Noland says Cox’s experience is quite an asset. Cox replaces Mark Gosnell who resigned last year to take a job in North Carolina.

Snowcones and inflatable amusements will be used Saturday in the “final push” to eradicate polio. The Stephens County Rotary Club will be hosting a fun, fundraising effort to support the national Rotary Club’s 20-year fight against the world-wide disease. Rotary President Steve Alligood says the local chapter’s goal is to raise $1000 per year for the next three years to contribute to the overall effort.

“We don’t see it here, but it still exists. The Rotary started 20 years ago trying to eradicate it, and we just have to finish the job,” he explains. “This is a last effort to do that.”

The local effort is part of a larger fundraising campaign to match a $100 million grant given by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Polio is a crippling, infectious disease, which strikes children mostly under the age of five in countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In the United States, the disease has almost been eradicated because of a nation-wide immunization project.

Alligood says on Saturday, Rotary members will be at Wal-Mart selling snowcones and tickets to inflatable amusements for kids. In addition, they will be taking donations.

If the Stephens County Historical Society gets its way, the City of Toccoa could soon be the proud owner of a World War II Browning machine gun.

At the city commission meeting Thursday, commissioners reviewed a request by the historical society for the city to take ownership of much of the society’s historical property so that those items could be insurance under the city’s insurance policy.

City Manager Billy Morse says the ownership would be mostly a paperwork matter and the property would remain at the Currahee Military Museum under the care of the Historical Society.

The Historical Society provided commissioners with a long list of items to be conveyed to the city, including such items as a browning machine gun, and an Italian carbine rifle with a bayonet.

Commissioners decided to remand the matter to City Attorney John Dickerson so he could review all the legal matters involved.

In addition, City Finance Director Emory Stephens told commissioners the cost of insuring the property under the city’s insurance policy would most likely be “minimal’ but he would bring an exact figure to the next meeting.

In a move Stephens County economic leaders calls “fine news,” an international company has expanded its local footprint.

Dewtex, Inc., which has a facility in Meadowbrook Industrial Park in Eastanollee, recently completed a $10 million expansion, which added 20 new jobs at the plant.

“Dewtex investing $10 million and adding 20 new jobs is extraordinarily fine news,” says Tim Martin, Executive Director for the Stephens County Development Authority.

The company originally occupied a 48,0000 square foot facility. The expansion effort doubled that area and added new equipment. Dewtex produces laid scrim, which is industrial reinforcement fabric. Now, production will include tri-directional scrim.

“You especially enjoy when an existing company expands because they know you best and it says they have faith and confidence in your local economy, your local labor force and your local suppliers,” Martin said. “It really says something complimentary about your community when existing companies expand.”

The Stephens County plant is a subsidiary of the European technical fabrics market leader, James Dewhurst Ltd. that is based in Langashire England.

Motorcycles will roar through Toccoa next month for another Relay for Life fundraiser. The second “Ride for Life” is scheduled for October 4. Event coordinator Eddie Hallford says this follows up the first ride held back in May.

“We had 90 motorcycles and 135 participants (in May). It rained, but we still had a fun, safe family ride,” Hallford says. “We did this for Relay for Life. Stuff animals were collected by the Toccoa Fire Department, and distributed here locally, then down at the Augusta burn unit.”

Hallford says the October 4 ride will benefit Relay for Life. In addition, Toccoa and Atlanta Shriners will collect and distribute stuffed animals for children.

The October 4 ride will begin at the Wal-Mart in Oakwood at 10 a.m. with line-up at 9:45 a.m. It ends at the Wal-Mart in Toccoa. The cost is $20 per driver and $10 per passenger, along with the donation of a stuffed animal for the Shriners.

To register, forms can be picked up at the Towne Doctor or at Mega Motorsports. People can call to register at 770-967-5300 or 706-491-5340.

Changes in the Medicare system will affect Stephens County Hospital starting next month. According to hospital officials, the changes take effect October 1. One change involves having auditors check hospital records to make sure the proper amounts are being paid out.

Meanwhile, the second change involves the payments the hospital receives for certain procedures that Stephens county hospital administrator Ed Gambrell calls “never” events. These are rare events that can happen while a person is in the hospital that were not present when the person was admitted.

Gambrell says the changes will affect the hospital, but the patients will see nothing change.

“In fact, the patient will not even know of any difference between now and then,” Gambrell explains. “It will not impact patient care or even how much a patient owes a hospital.”

Gambrell says the hospital is ready for the changes and he is not worried about them at all. A presentation on these changes was made to the Stephens County Hospital Authority at its monthly meeting Monday night.

The FFA program in Stephens County schools is about much more than pigs and goats. That’s the message three Future Farmers of America instructors brought to the Stephens County School Board Tuesday night.

Stephens County High School teacher Dr. Farish Mulkey says the mission of FFA is to promote personal growth, agricultural leadership and career success through a combination of classroom instruction and career development events

“Here in Stephens County at the Middle School and the High School we strive to promote leadership for our young people through supervised agriculture experiences, career development events, and in our classrooms,” Mulkey says.

As the school board has more closely examined school field trips in order to cut costs, the number of trips taken by the FFA program in Stephens County was raised repeatedly. Tuesday, Mulkey, along with Nicolas Moody of the high school, and Mindy Moore of Stephens County Middle School appeared before the board to explain the purpose of the trips known as Supervised Agriculture Experiences or SAE.

Moore says the SAE events the kids take part in gives them real-world experience to enhance what they are learning in the classroom.

“It does give them a chance to apply what they are learning. Also, most of the events we attend, families can attend,” she explains. “It makes us a more well-rounded program.”

The biggest trip FFA students will be taking is to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis Indiana in October. Mulkey says 8 students will be taking the trip this year to compete in several different events. Moody says the trip is funded through a combination of efforts.

Ethics and insurance will take center stage at tonights Toccoa City Commission meeting. Commissioners will re-examine the city’s Ethics Committee and make recommendations for appointments. City Manager Billy Morse says the committee is in place to hear cases where an ethical complaint has been lodged against a public official. He pointed out the committee has never been called since it was formed in 2001.

In addition, Morse says, tonight commissioners are expected to consider an agreement with the Stephens County Historical Society to convey almost 25 pages of items to the City of Toccoca for insurance purposes.

Finally, after the regular meeting, commissioners will be meeting with the Toccoa Planning Commission to discuss revisions and/or additions to city ordinances. Morse characterizes the special meeting as a time for each group to check in with one another.

The regular City Commission will be at 5 p.m. in City Hall, while the Planning Commission Meeting will follow immediately. Both meetings are open to the public.

A major part of the construction of the new Stephens County High School is taking an important step.

The Stephens County Board of Education voted Tuesday to award the grading and paving contract for the project to Ace Grading Company out of Dawsonville, Georgia.

Tadd Swartz, Ace’s project manager, said they are ready to get started.

“We are ready to roll,” said Swartz. “It is exciting. You come to a pre-bid and you see your competition and finally get to the bid opening, it is a little nerve-wracking. But, when you hear your name as the low bidder, it is even more exciting.”

That vote is contingent on the approval of the construction manger, Bowen and Watson.

Keith Watson, of Bowen and Watson, said almost 400,000 yards of dirt has to be moved to begin the construction process. He said the next step is that the bid package must be evaluated and recommended.

“We go back, evaluate, make sure everything is complete in the bid package we received and turn that over to the owner and recommend they proceed with it,” said Watson. “Hopefully, we will get that proceed order, get ready to start, and within a couple of weeks, have the contractor out there going to work.”

The good news that comes out of the bid opening, Watson added, is the first bids in the multi-million project came in lower then expected.

“Actually, the numbers came in better than expected,” he explained. “We are very happy with the results of the bid.”

The bid includes all the cutting and filling in the grading process, as well as all the paving and curb and gutter.

The total cost of the school is estimated to be $38 million.

Community leaders take the road to Savannah to pick up a check to fund a local road.

The City of Toccoa and Stephens County have been awarded a grant from the state’s Community Development Block Grant Program and Community HOME Investment Program, or CHIP.

The Development Block Grant program is administered by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, which uses funds allocated through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In all, Georgia received $44 million in federal grants.

Toccoa City Manager Billy Morse said the grant monies will be used to build a road to connect the new high school and the Bypass.

Stephens County Hospital’s finances remain okay, but not as good as they have been in the past.

Monday night, Elliott Caudell presented the monthly finance committee report at the regular meeting of the Stephens County Hospital Authority.

Caudell said he expects the hospital to end the year with a profit, despite some losses in recent months.

Hospital officials have attributed those losses to increased costs and other factors.

Caudell did say the Clary Center it remains almost full and doing as well as it has done in years. Caudell added the Wilkinson Center also sits just a few residents short of capacity.

In his report, Caudell said that Stephens County Hospital is not seeing conditions different from many other hospital systems. Officials said though they are in a position to handle any further tough economic times.

Congressman Paul Broun continues to call for more drilling to help solve the nation’s energy crisis.

Broun spoke to WNEG after attending a press conference in support of the American Energy Act.

Broun said while we need an all-inclusive energy platform, drilling needs to take the lead.

“Right now, America is drilling for ice on Mars, yet we cannot drill for oil in America,” said Broun. “It is absolutely idiotic. We have to start tapping into our own natural resources and we have to do it in an environmentally sensitive way. The American Energy Act will do that. It promotes conservation. It promotes alternative sources of energy. It promotes nuclear energy.”

The American Energy Act would open the Arctic coastal plain and areas off shore to drilling for oil and natural gas, provide tax incentives for energy efficiency, and lift restrictions on emission-free nuclear power, according to supporters.

We also asked Broun about many of the issues that his opponent, Bobby Saxon, brought up on a visit to Toccoa over the weekend.

Broun said government needs to help small businesses, which Broun calls “the economic engine of America.”

“We have to make an environment so small business can establish itself and flourish, thrive, and develop new jobs,” added Broun. “The way we do that is by getting the regulatory burden and the tax burden off of small business so that they can be successful in stimulating our economy and creating those new jobs that we absolutely, critically need.”

Broun also spoke on healthcare, repeating his position that less government is better for the health care industry.

“We have got to find solutions that will put the patient in charge, get the regulatory burden off of the system,” added Broun. “We have got to change the whole of the health care system so that the insurance companies do not gauge the American public, so the insurance company, whether it is a government insurer or a private insurer, is not making medical decisions. The doctor and patient need to make those decisions.”

The general election comes up on Tuesday, November 4. The winner of the Broun/Saxon race will represent the 10^th Congressional District for the next two years. That district includes Toccoa, Athens, and Augusta.

It is raising the roof, Martin style.

At its monthly meeting Monday, the Martin City Council voted to have AAA Roofing repair the old refueling station.

Mayor Don Foster said it is repairs that have been sorely needed.

“We are going to put a roof on the old service station building,” said Foster. “It is the old Glenn Moseley service station as we know it in the town of Martin. We are going to put a roof over the whole building. It has been needing it. The roof has been leaking for a number of years. We have got retail shops in there, so it is kind of dangerous.”

The repairs will cost $18,200, which will come from the city’s general fund.

Foster said he hopes the work will be completed by the upcoming Fall Festival.

In a related item, the council also passed its fiscal year 2009udget. The 300-resident city operates on an $84,000 budget.

Planning continues for the Stephens County Anti-Drug March next month.

Danny Yearwood with the Stephens County Anti-Drug Coalition says things are coming together for the march, which is scheduled for October 18.

Yearwood said the final large planning meeting will take place this Saturday at 9 a.m. in Cheek Hall at the First United Methodist Church in Toccoa.

“The Mountain Judicial Circuit DA is Brian Rickman,” said Yearwood. “He will be our guest speaker and he will be speaking on the problem we have here in Stephens County, how the community can help and the stats. We are looking forward to the meeting.”

They will have maps for the march and corresponding motorcycle ride available at the meeting.

Yearwood encourages people interested in helping to get involved.

The Coalition is selling yard signs, banners, and t-shirts to promote the drug march.

The Drug March and Motorcycle Ride will begin October 18 at 10 a.m. at the Sav-A-Lot in Toccoa. Line-up is at 9:30 a.m. The march and ride will travel in different directions and both will end at the Stephens County Courthouse.

Yearwood said he hopes this march will lead to the community coming together to get rid of drug dealers.

He said though everyone needs to help.

“If the community will get involved and call these confidential drug tip lines that we are getting set up,” said Yearwood. “We have one right now with the Sheriff’s Department and two more in the works. When you see drug activity or someone selling drugs, call and report it. We need to help our police and sheriff’s departments. If we get involved, drug dealers will find another place to sell drugs.”

The tip line number is 706-886-7048.

A Toccoa woman said her child’s bike has gone missing.