OSHA is investigating the cause of a deck collapse yesterday in Stephens County that injured six people.

It happened Thursday morning at the Currahee Club on Oak Valley Road. Representatives from OSHA were in Toccoa yesterday to look at the damage.

Six construction workers were on the deck when it collapsed, plunging them some 14-feet to the ground below. Efforts by WNEG News to speak with management at the Currahee Club about the accident were unsuccessful and we were not allowed on the property.

However, sources tell WNEG that the home, which is being built by Bainbridge Construction, Inc. is located on lot 17d inside the gated community. OSHA district supervisor G.T. Breezly tells WNEG there are two circumstances in which they investigate, one is a fatality and the other is if more than three people are injured.

Breezly said Bainbridge Construction could be cited, if they are found at fault or found negligent. He said the investigation will take about six months to complete. All six workers were taken to Stephens County Hospital where they were treated for their injuries and released.

Many young people and parents are faced with the temptation to try drugs. That’s one reason the Boys and Girls Club of Toccoa is sponsoring a drug abuse prevention program tomorrow.

Club director Mary Rice says she was contacted recently by the director of a local drug clinic about starting such a program. "Dr. Marion Pittard, the Medical Director of the Robert W. Dials Memorial Treatment Center in Banks County contacted us recently and asked if we would be interested in starting a drug prevention program," she said.

This first meeting Saturday morning is a pilot program. Rice says if it’s successful, they hold drug prevention programs regularly. Many of the children who attend the Boys and Girls Club have family, friends or neighbors who are addicted to drugs. And many parents might suspect their children are involved, but Rice says they may not know how to find out for sure.

"Many parents suspect their kids are using drugs, but they don’t know what the signs are," Rice explained. "So one of the things we’ll cover tomorrow is what to look for and what is a red flag," she said.

The program will be an hour long from 10a.m. to 11 a.m. tomorrow morning at the Boys and Girls Club on Whitman St. Refreshments will be served.

Toccoa Water Department workers will be out in force beginning this weekend flushing water hydrants throughout the water system, according to Water/Wastewater director Don Dye.

Work will get underway Sunday night about 10 p.m. and will end about 4 a.m. Dye says the reason for the late night work is to minimize sediment in customers’ tap water, but he says water service will not be cut off while hydrants are being flushed. The hydrant flushing will take place each night for the next four weeks according to Dye.

It’ll be a colder, wetter winter, but we’ll see fewer hurricanes. Why? Because the weather pattern known as, "El Nino" is back. University of Georgia Agro-meteorologist Joel Pas tells WNEG the return of an El Niño climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean will make the Georgia, Florida and Alabama weather colder and wetter this fall and winter.

Paz tracks climate patterns as a member of the Southeast Climate Consortium, offering advice on neutral, El Niño and La Niña climate phases. The group also includes UGA State Climatologist David Stooksbury and his Florida state counterpart David Zierden.

The SECC's fall climate outlook for Georgia, Florida and Alabama is based on an El Niño that has returned for the first time since 2003, according to Paz. Paz says the condition began in July, when unusually warm sea surface temperatures appeared along the Equator around the international date line.

It has since spread all the way to the coast of South America. Over the past two weeks Paz said the spread of unusually warm water has taken on the traditional El Niño pattern.

The National Federation of Independent Business, Georgia’s leading small-business advocacy group, has announced its endorsement of incumbent State Senator Nancy Schaefer.

NFIB Georgia director David Raynor called Schaefer, "An outstanding advocate in Atlanta for small business owners."

NFIB’s endorsement is a key one for Schaefer. Small business owners and their employees vote in high numbers and are known for actively recruiting friends, family and acquaintances to go to the polls.

NFIB has pledged to activate a grassroots network campaign on Schaefer’s behalf.

Health departments in North Health District 2, which includes Stephens County, now have the rotavirus vaccine available for children.

Health Department spokesman Dave Palmer says rotavirus can be a deadly disease in children five years old and under. In the U.S. rotavirus occurs most often from November to May.

It’s contagious and is usually spread from person to person through the fecal-oral route or by respiratory droplets when people cough or sneeze. Rotavirus accounts for 29 to 45% of the nearly two million deaths attributed to diarrhea disease. The world health community believes vaccines offer the best hope for protection against rotavirus.

Consult your pediatrician or the health department for the recommended dosage series for your child, but it must entirely administered by 32 weeks of age.

Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture, Tommy Irvin, and Coastal District Health director Doug Skelton are warning the public about the dangers of eating raw oysters, after two women who had eaten raw oysters in Chatham County died. 

The women are suspected to have died from vibrio vulnificus, a naturally occurring marine microorganism that can be fatal, especially to people with compromised immune systems. 

Vibrio vulnificus is associated with oysters raised in the Gulf of Mexico (the source of most raw oysters consumed in the United States ) and other warm waters. 

The microorganism is still present if the oysters are undercooked.   To kill vibrio and other dangerous microorganisms, the oysters must be cooked to 145 degrees f for 15 seconds. 

Restaurants that serve raw oysters are required to post warnings where consumers are most likely to see the information.  "When diners see a warning statement on the wall of a restaurant, on a bag of oysters, or in a menu, they should take it seriously," said Irvin.  "If you think you may be at risk, consult your doctor or local health department before consuming raw oysters," he said 

Toccoa Falls College has announced freshman Chantia Brinson is the recipient for the 2006-2007 Coca-Cola first generation scholarship.

The Coca-Cola first generation scholarship is designed to help expand opportunities for a college education for the first member of a family to pursue higher education.

The scholarship is available to eligible students attending colleges that are members of the Georgia Foundation for Independent Colleges.

Chantia is studying counseling psychology at TFC. She came to Toccoa Falls College from Wrens, GA, where she was actively involved in her church and community. Chantia will receive $5,000 each year from the scholarship as long as she continues to meet the academic standards.

There is light at the end of the long e-911 tunnel. The hold up with Stephens county e-911 system appears to be giving way to progress. Yesterday, e-911 Communications director Paige Crocker received word from Windstream that Stephens County had met the 2% error rate on the address/phone number list.

County administrator Darrell Hampton says Crocker must now approve that master list.

"The next step is Windstream will forward a copy of the Master Street Address Guide to the e-911 Director. She will review it, make sure it is correct, then she will present it to the Board of Commissioners with the recommendation that the Board of Commissioners approve it," Hampton explained.

Once that is done, the list will go back to Windstream who will begin building the cad component of the system. Hampton says the entire final leg of the process should take about 4-6 weeks.

"We expect to receive to receive the Master Street Address Guide before the week is out, so we hope the Commissioners will be in a position to approve it at their regular meeting next Tuesday. The normal process without any hold ups is four to six weeks from the time Windstream gets the Master Street Address Guide back. They will then work with their consultants to build the Computer Address Dispatch (CAD) system. That would take up through the latter part of November," he concluded.

Crocker informed commissioners they had some 642 errors in the address list to correct. As of yesterday, they were down to two and they were corrected by the end of the day.

The City of Toccoa will spend a week touting the benefits of using natural gas. Next week is Public Natural Gas Week and City manager Billy Morse says Toccoa Natural Gas will be participating.

"For 16 years, Toccoa Natural Gas has joined other municipal gas systems in celebration of Public Natural Gas Week," Morse noted. "And once again, the City of Toccoa is planning to focus on that next week for the employees and customers in the communities in which we serve. It's an opportunity for us to promote gas safety and the natural gas services we provide," he said.

One of the highlights of events next week will be a technology showcase on Wednesday. Morse says the show will take place at the Fernside Drive Fire Station.

"We will be featuring an operational display of the tankless water heaters as well as mobile and operational displays featuring natural gas appliances such as gas range, radiant heaters, gas logs and much more," Morse said.

There will also be a free lunch provided for the public of hot dogs and drinks. Of course, the hot dogs will be cooked on natural gas appliances.

Governor Sonny Perdue’s re-election campaign has announced the endorsements of 367 County Commissioners, including 86 Democrats, and Stephens County Commissioner Ken Peeples is one of them.

Peeples, a Democrat, is the only County commissioner from Stephens County to publicly endorse Perdue. In issuing the report yesterday, Perdue said Commissioners have their fingers on the pulse of Georgia.

Perdue’s campaign office says the endorsements from county commissioners, which span party lines, are a testament to governor Perdue’s efforts to work with local officials to meet the needs of Georgia citizens.  

They say that over the past four years, the Governor has listened to commissioners and worked with them to implement programs including:

·        $234 million for paving the way home to make much-needed local road improvements

·        $55.5 million in GEFA loans for water and sewer improvements

·        $15.9 million for the hazardous waste trust fund

·        $6.18 million for the solid waste trust fund which includes a new focus on litter

·        $5 million for land conservation grants

·        $1.5 million to the Georgia cities foundation

They say that is the treason Perdue has received endorsements from so many local leaders who see how far Georgia has come since the days of the Barnes-Taylor administration.

Dozens of police, city, county and state officials arrived in Toccoa by train yesterday after getting a first-hand look at the kinds of issues engineers face.

It was part of the Operation Lifesaver - a joint safety initiative between Georgia Operation Lifesaver and Norfolk Southern Railway that teaches children and adults about how to stay safe when crossing railroad tracks.

Local participants included Toccoa mayor Bob Troup who took the trip here from Duluth yesterday. However, Troup says they did not see any safety problems at railroad crossings.

Once they arrived in Toccoa, participants were shuttled by bus to Quincy’s on Big A Road for lunch. They then returned by train to Duluth.

Local Democratic candidates will be on hand to meet and greet the public today in Franklin County. A reception for Democratic State Senate candidate Carol Jackson is taking place this evening at the Southern Oaks on Highway 17 in Lavonia beginning at 5 p.m.

Jackson had missed a local reception here last week after being hospitalized for what the doctors thought was the flu. Diagnosed with high fever and severe flu symptoms last week, Jackson was hospitalized for eight days and returned home Monday.

It turned out to be Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Doctors treated her with anti-biotics and Jackson is now doing well.

Doctors determined Jackson’s illness was in no way related to her radiation therapy and took extraordinary measures to continue the therapy during her hospitalization. Also on hand tonight will be State Representatives Jeanette Jamieson and Alan Powell.

Some Stephens County Middle School Students will be getting a first-hand look at various career options today. According to Literacy Foundation director Lisa Prickett, the kids will be attending a job fair today at the Currahee Campus of North Georgia Tech.

Over 40 businesses will be participating in the job fair, which is being sponsored by the Stephens Works program. Stephens Works brings Chamber of Commerce members and Stephens County schools together to help keep kids in school and prepare them for the workplace.

"Tomorrow is another day." That might be the new motto of the plaintiffs in the civil case against Caterpillar, Inc., who went home empty handed yesterday. Some of the plaintiffs are vowing to appeal a jury’s decision that found Caterpillar did not violate their right to the quiet enjoyment of their homes by producing foul odors and loud noises.

During closing arguments yesterday morning, attorneys for Caterpillar admitted there are noises and odors emanating from the plant. However, they said the emissions are normal for a manufacturing plant located in an industrial park set on 50 acres, and those noises and smells were listed as a possibility in a memo of understanding made when the Company first began negotiations with the Stephens County Development Authority to build the plant here.

After deliberating just three hours Tuesday afternoon, the jury ruled the 30 plaintiffs had not proven their case. Attorneys on both sides refused to comment on the decision.

City commissioners will wait to get more input from the Development Authority’s Infrastructure Committee before making a decision on whether to sell water to Habersham County. Habersham wants to purchase a million gallons of water a day from Toccoa. One of the issues yet to be nailed down is how much to charge.

Currently, the City is selling Franklin County water at a rate of $1.88 per 1,000 gallons. Commissioner Ferrell Morgan says that should be the base rate for all other water sale deals.

However, other commissioners, such as Billy Chism and David Austin believe each deal is separate and should be based on supply and demand.

Habersham is already buying water from the City of Demorest at a rate of $2.80 per 1,000 gallons.

The County has agreed to pay the city the extra pumping costs and any other extra costs involved in getting the water to their main water lines.

The Stephens County Recreation Department has a new interim director. Yesterday, County administrator Darrell Hampton appointed Roger Terrell as the interim director. Terrell says he is happy to do the job.

The County had narrowed their search down to three candidates and were ready to make a decision when questions were raised about their decision to change the job description to include the duties of the Senior Sector director without notifying all of the candidates.

Last Friday, Commissioners voted to re-advertise the job but did not include the Senior Center director duties in the new ad.

You may have seen the boxes for donations of books scattered at retail and government locations around town. Tomorrow, the Stephens County Literacy Foundation (SELF) will be collecting those books in an effort to raise money for literacy efforts around Stephens County.

SELF has been collecting the books this past summer and hopes to raise money to help fund a number of projects in addition to the literacy program, according to director Lisa Prickett.

Pricket says if you have been meaning to donate books, you still have today to do so. Books can be dropped off at any Stephens County school and the School Administrative Office on Mize Road.

Other drop off points include the county annex building, the County Government building, City Hall, the Java Station, North Georgia Tech, and the Toccoa-Stephens County Library. No dictionaries, encyclopedias, bibles, or magazines of any kind will be accepted.

In Walhalla, SC, relatives mourn the death of James Frady, Sr. Jim Frady, Sr. died last Saturday on the two-year anniversary of the murder of his son and a grandson, Jim Frady, Jr. and Barry Frady.

Frady, Sr. lived next door to his son and grandson and was the one who found them dead in their home after noticing their dog running loose in the yard on the afternoon of September 23, 2004.

Frady’s other grandson, 42-year old Randy Frady, was convicted August 31 for their murders in an Oconee County, SC courtroom.

Relatives say the stress of the murders coupled with the trial was likely too much for the 89-year old who had raised the convicted killer.

Perhaps all of the news stories about phony bank scams are starting to make an impression on area residents. A woman on Jordan Road told sheriff’s deputies that a man called her on the phone, said his name was John Roberts, and that he worked for a local bank. The caller said there was a mix-up in her account and he wanted her checking account number to clear up the account.

When the women asked for his phone number so she could call him back, the caller then hung up. She did report the incident so that other people might be informed about it and not fall for the scam.

A Dahlonega man reported some theft of copper tubing. Royce Bennett told deputies he came to the trailer which he owns on Cawthon Road to cut the grass and discovered that the air conditioning unit had been torn apart. Neighbors did not report seeing anyone around the mobile home recently.

A student at Stephens County High School faces charged after he was found to have a stolen cell phone in his possession. Several students were in the gym when they reported that two cell phones and some money were taken out of their lockers. Cameras revealed that 19 year old Franklin Norris Sims, who was in a class in the back hall, was scene entering the locker room. The Resource Officer discovered a cell phone on his possession identified by one of the students as one of the stolen phones.

Closing arguments are underway today in the civil suit against Caterpillar.

Yesterday, jurors in the civil suit against Caterpillar heard testimony from an engineer who is an expert in sound and noise levels.

Families living near the plant in the Hayestone-Brady Industrial Park claim offensive odors and loud noises coming from the caterpillar plant are violating state and federal laws that protect their right to the quiet enjoyment of their homes.

Jurors listened to samples of sounds, which were recorded at the homes of each of the families listed in the suit. According to testimony, 54 to 58 decibels is in the normal range for any residential area.

All of the samples played for jurors yesterday ranged from 38 to 57 decibels. Most of what was heard on the sound samples was Highway 17 traffic, farm animals, birds, and insects.

The City of Toccoa is not interested in coming up with an ordinance legislating illegal aliens who come here to work, but it is not because city commissioners do not consider it a problem.

At last night’s work session, Commissioners considered a request from a citizen to develop an illegal alien immigration relief act ordinance.

However, Commissioner Ferrell Morgan disagreed. Morgan cited one Florida town that successfully instituted an illegal alien work ordinance.

Ultimately, commissioners voted to have the staff draw up a letter to our representatives in Washington, DC asking them to come up with a federal and state plan to curb illegal aliens working in the U.S.

A local teacher has been awarded "Master Teacher" status. Kerrie Perrin, a third grade teacher at Toccoa Elementary School was part of 199 teachers statewide who made the grade.

The Master Teacher Certificate and Academic Coach Program was created during the 2005 legislative session to recognize teachers who are impacting student achievement. It also is designed to keep Georgia’s best teachers in the classrooms, rather than moving them to administrative positions.

Toccoa Elementary School principal Sherri Whiten says Perrin is a fantastic teacher.

"We’re proud of her achievement," Whiten said.

If an applicant did not teach in a grade level or subject covered by a standardized test, the applicant had to show student learning gains through national, local or school level measures.

In addition to the learning gains, principals had to verify that applicants met basic professionalism standards.

Whiten says the Master Teacher certification means Perrin can now mentor other teachers.

"We already have a schedule set up for her where she will be mentoring other teachers, especially the new teachers we have this year, " Whiten noted.

Applications for the second class of master teachers will be available in early October and will be accepted by the PSC from November 2006 through January 2007. 

The PSC and Governor’s Office of Student Achievement will be offering technical assistance to teachers throughout the state in collecting and submitting student achievement data for the Master Teacher application.

City commissioners approved a resolution last night for "Operation Lifesaver Day" tomorrow.

Operation Lifesaver is a joint safety initiative between Georgia Operation Lifesaver and Norfolk Southern railway.

It has designed to educate children and adults on how to stay safe when crossing railroad tracks.

On Wednesday, a train carrying dignitaries from around north Georgia will travel to Toccoa from Duluth.

While on the way, spokeswoman Jennie Glasgow says riders will get a firsthand look at the problems facing engineers.

Additionally, a TV camera will be mounted in front so passengers in the back can also see the road ahead.

Once they arrive in Toccoa, mayor Bob Troup will read the proclamation and then the group will travel to Quincy’s for lunch before returning to Duluth.

Two people were arrested and charged with drug possession officers stopped their SUV behind the Sav-a-Lot. An officer on routine patrol noticed the jeep’s taillight was out and approached the vehicle. Arrested were 19-year old Jesus Soto of Lavonia and 20-year-old Kristina Taylor of Clarkesville. Both were charged with possession of less than an ounce of marijuana and possession of cocaine.

In another incident over the weekend, police arrested a Toccoa woman and charged her with drug possession. Police arrested Susan Long Thompson of Archer Street on Saturday. Thompson is charged with failure to keep drugs in original container, possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance.

A fight Sunday leads to the arrest of a Toccoa man on assault charges. It happened at a home on South Pond Street. Police say an argument turned heated and resulted in the fight. The suspect, identified as 25-year old Anthony Mayes of Sautee Street allegedly pulled a weapon during the melee. He was arrested and charged with aggravated assault.

Police have taken another counterfeit bill into evidence. The phony twenty was turned in to First Citizens Bank on Big A Road last week.

Even with dropping gas prices, people are still trying to steal it. Toccoa police arrested 25-year old Phillip Treece of Clarkesville Friday after he drove off without paying for gas pumped at the Quick Mart on Mize Road. He was also charged with driving on a suspended license.

Absentee voting for the November election begins today. The law requires absentee voting begin 45-days before the election, but this absentee ballot promises to be long and possibly confusing according to County Registrar Theresa Kelly.

"This absentee ballot is basically two pages long," Kelly explained. "It's front and back of one page and then additional page. It has several constitutional amendments, statewide referendums, and seven local referendums. So, it is going to be a big ballot. It is a long ballot. The ballot on the touch screen is nine pages long. So I would encourage everybody to pick up a sample ballot and go over it well before they go to the polls," she concluded.

Additionally, if you want to vote in the November election but have not yet registered in Stephens County you need to do so. Kelly says the deadline to register to vote is October 10.

A preliminary hearing was held Friday afternoon for the two suspects charged with the murder of a Toccoa man. 38-year old Van Allen Caffee and his nephew, 31-year old Raheem Shands are charged with killing 57-year old James Robert Lewis in July.

Friday’s hearing was to determine if there is enough evidence to hold the pair. Authorities say both Shands and Caffee have admitted to killing Lewis who lived nearby.

During the hearing, defense attorneys questioned a GBI agent who testified that witnesses said Lewis had argued with Caffee and Shands on several occasions. Passersby found Lewis’ body off Black Mountain Road the night of July 23, barefoot with his hands tied behind his back. He had been shot at least once in the head.

The hearing ended abruptly at 2 p.m. Friday and will continue at a later date. So far, no bond hearing has been scheduled for either Caffee or Shands and they remain in the Stephens County jail.

County commissioners have backed off of their plan to use SPLOST IV money allocated for the Courthouse restoration to help pay for the new county jail.

At Friday’s called meeting, Commissioner Ken Peeples said using the $2-million for the Courthouse was never an option. Then, Commissioner Steve Chitwood pulled out a copy of an article that appeared in the Toccoa record in December 2002, which he said defends the Commission’s right to use that money if they so choose.

Chitwood said the previous commission budgeted SPLOST IV projects totaling $18 million, but indicated only about $15 million would actually be collected in SPLOST money. He then accused members of the Courthouse Restoration Authority, WNEG radio and the Toccoa Record for spreading rumors that the courthouse renovation would not go through.

Dr. Henry Fields, a member of the Restoration Authority told the commission that is just not true.

"I think you need to take into consideration that we citizens were asked by the government to do something, and then to say that we're 'spreading news' that it's not going to be funded is not fair," asserted Dr. Fields. "She (AM630 WNEG News Director MJ Kneiser) asked me a question, 'What's going to be the outcome of this if it's not funded?' and my answer is what was on the radio - that we wouldn't be able to do it and that I would not support another SPLOST if we didn't follow what we were told we were going to have done. That stands," he concluded.

Chitwood then denied making any accusations.

"Well I have never said the courthouse restoration would not be done," replied Chitwood. "And I don't think any of the other commissioners have either. They've never said that, but they'll have to speak for themselves," he said.

"I understand that, but you come in and you read this (Toccoa Record article) and it sounds to me like what you're saying is, that we've been out spreading rumors - we have not," Fields responded.

Under law, the Commission could have used the $2 million set aside for the courthouse renovation to help pay for the jail, but on Friday, they directed County Finance director Phyllis Ayers to look at several financing options.

The jail project will cost the county just over $11 million to complete – that’s more than $4 million over the $7.2 indicated in SPLOST IV.

Now that the question of whether the courthouse renovation is going to happen has been answered, there is a lot more work to be done. At their meeting last week, Courthouse Restoration Authority members discussed the next phase, which involves the interior.

Dr. Henry Fields says the next step is to have the building inspected for hazardous materials.

"If there's stuff like asbestos, lead paint, we're going to have to neutralize the paint, get the asbestos out, and we won't be able to do anything like that until we get a full fledged inspection. That's supposed to be done very quickly," Dr. Fields explained.

Another concern is what to do with the volumes of law books and other court documents currently stored in the old courthouse. Many of those documents go back as far as 1907. Before any building inspection can be done, they must be moved to a secure location.

On Friday, County commissioners gave the Authority permission to move the documents and books. The Authority is now working with county staff to find a place to store them. Options include the Toccoa-Stephens County Library, the Historic Society, or one of the vacant county buildings not currently being used.

The projected online date for the new e-911 system has come and gone and the hold up is being blamed on Windstream. Last week, e-911 Communications Director Paige Crocker told County commissioners Windstream has been assigning new phone numbers to people in the County without requiring a valid address.

That means, the phone company keeps kicking back phone numbers to e-911 staff because they do not have valid addresses. The catch is, Windstream will not allow the e-911 system to go live until the address/phone number error rate is below 2% and they recently found some 630 new errors.

"Based on the 630 that they sent us and all the corrections that we've made since last Wednesday when they sent it, we have 201 left to put us at the 2%," Crocker told commissioners.

"What if they sent you another 40 in the morning to correct that they said they just assigned?" Chitwood asked.

"Then we've got 40 more," Crocker answered.

Frustrated with what appears to be a never-ending problem, commissioners urged Crocker to find a way to get the system up and running. Crocker said there is nothing she can do except continue to fix the errors the phone company finds, but she’s hopeful they’ll be up and running soon.

"If we keep going at the rate that we're going with the corrections that we're making, we should have it down within three weeks at the most - should be two if we keep getting 71 in a day. We never know. We might get 71 in a day, we might get two. It's just according to how many we can find, but it's still going to take, even once we get to that 201, 30 days before they're ready to go live," Crocker concluded.

Commission Chairman Steve Chitwood suggested Crocker and County administrator Darrell Hampton drive to Dalton, GA to meet with the head of Windstream’s 9-1-1 departments to speed up the process.

A Toccoa man charged with assault on a police officer and as a habitual drunk driver is running from the law today. 42-year old Steven Savage was to have made a court appearance last Thursday to answer the charges, but he never showed up.

Savage has been and out of prison on habitual violator charges going back to 1984. He was last released from Wheeler State Penitentiary in September, 2005. If convicted on these latest charges, savage faces up to 26 years in prison. Savage is described as a white male, 5’8", and about 170 lbs. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact Stephens County authorities.

Stephens County Hospital and the Recreation Department will be starting up another session of the "Family Walking Group" with registration to be held Tuesday September 26th from Noon till 6PM in the hospital in the Community Education Center.

The one time cost is $5 per person or $10 for an entire family. The walk is open to all ages, but an adult must accompany participants under the age of 18. Walk dates will be Mondays and Thursdays from 5;30PM until 6PM in the multi=purpose gym at the Rose Lane location.

For more information, call the hospital at 706-282-4491

A local 15 month old child was left scared, but un-hurt when the vehicle the child was in apparently went out of gear and rolled against a fence.

Toccoa police responded to a residence at 162 Hickory Circle. A child had been placed in a car seat in a Chevy Blazer. EMTs were called to the scene to check out the child, who did not suffer any injuries.

Damage to the fence was extensive and damage to the vehicle was moderate. The owner of the vehicle, Jennifer Tolbert, was cited for reckless conduct for leaving the child unattended in the vehicle. Ms. Tolbert admitted she knew the transmission would not hold in gear while on a grade.

It was a packed house at the Georgia Baptist Conference Center last night as people came from all over Northeast Georgia to see a true Hollywood legend. Mickey Rooney and his wife Jan kicked off the Northeast Georgia Community Concert Association’s 2006-2007 season last Monday night.

In an interview with WNEG News Director M.J Kneiser, Rooney said he had just two words for young people seeking a career in entertainment. "Work hard," Rooney said. "And don’t give up."

Rooney and Jan have long had a strong Christian faith and he says that faith plays an important role in their everyday lives. "The Lord is the one who gets you through," Rooney said. "Especially being on the road. It can be tough, but His presence is always there," he said.

At 86, Rooney does not intend to retire from the stage or from films, and is appearing in a family movie coming out in December. "It’s called ‘Night at the Museum’ with Ben Stiller and Dick Van Dyke," Rooney said. "I play a night watchman. It’s a family film that you can take your kids to see," he said.

And just like the Energizer Bunny, Rooney has no plans to take a break. Next week, he will be in London for the Starcon-U.K. Autograph Show and then attend a safari brunch fundraiser for the Wildlife Way Station.

Defense attorneys for Caterpillar, Inc. are arguing their case this morning in the civil suit against the Toccoa Metalworks plant. The families living near the plant claim offensive and obnoxious odors and unreasonably disturbing noises at all hours are violating state and federal laws that protect their right to the quiet enjoyment of their homes.

Yesterday, Caterpillar attorneys called Scott Avis to the stand. Avis was the plant manager in Toccoa from 2002 to 2004. He testified that corporate experts had not been able to figure out what was causing the noise residents were complaining about.

Avis said after several meetings it was decided to add mufflers to the plant stacks, but they were never added, avis said because the mufflers were too heavy. Other ideas included wrapping insulation around expansion joints on the dust collectors but he said that had no affect on the noise.

As for the odor residents complained about, Avis admitted he had smelled it sometimes on his way to work, but said it was minimal. Avis said the Company switched to what he called a low-smoke sand used in the ring mold-making process, but he said no one at caterpillar is really sure where the odor is coming from nor what to do about it. Testimony is expected to wrap up this week and both sides are hoping for a decision by Friday.

Voters in Stephens County are deciding whether to approve another tax in order to build a new high school.

County registrar Theresa Kelly says the usual voting hours apply.

If passed, the one-cent sales tax would help fund the building of a new high school for Stephens County.

Opinions on the proposed tax, which would be an extension of the current Education Local Option Sales Tax (ELOST), are apparently running high based on last week’s advance voting turnout.

Kelley says over 600 registered voters cast their ballots last week or 5.5%. Polls close at 7 p.m.

AM630 WNEG will have the results of today’s special election after the polls close tonight.

County Commissioners will meet this afternoon for a lengthy called session to finish business left over from last week’s regular meeting. Under new business, Commissioners are expected to announce their choice for the County Recreation Director.

After receiving dozens of resumes and interviewing nine people, commissioners narrowed their search down to three candidates. They include, Richard Adams, Hayley Knight, and Tina Summers.

Adams has over 25 years of management experience and has owned and operated a private security company for over 12 years. He also h as over 15 years in recreation – serving as coach, umpire, and starting and managing several sports programs.

Hayley Knight currently serves as the senior center director and has a bachelor’s degree in social work.

She also has experience in developing and implementing various recreation programs.

Ms. Summers currently works for the Hall County Parks and Leisure Services as a program coordinator.

She has a degree in education, recreation, and leisure studies. Summers has over 10 years experience in providing and managing recreation programs. Today’s meeting takes place at 1p.m. in the Grand Jury room of the County Government building.

Stephens County Hospital officials are waiting to hear from their Certificate of Need Application before they can proceed with renovations to the second floor patient rooms.

Hospital Administrator Ed Gambrell said that a lot of paperwork has been done while the hospital awaits the state’s decision. "We’ve actually done most of the paperwork." Gambrell indicated. "The ninety day deadline for the State to decide on our Certificate of Need application is September 19th. Which is right now, actually. They may automatically extend that 30 days, they have not told us yet if they are doing to do so. In the meantime, we’ve done a lot of work on the bond issue in the past month.. Within a week or maybe two weeks after the Certificate of Need is approved, we be able to go to market next week with the bond issue. The architect is a little behind in the drawings, but we’re right now looking at a bid opening in late October."

Gambrell said that even if the certificate of need is delayed another month or so, it would not make any difference as far as the bond issue is concerned.

The month of August was a record-breaking month for the hospital in the delivery room. Gambrell said the doctors and nurses have been extremely busy this past month. "We had sixty-seven births in the month of August. That’s a phenomenal number because we average about 45 births a month. But we had 67 and I’ve been here for 22 years and that certainly is a record number of births for this hospital."

In her report, Nursing Director Faye Taylor reported that since 1991, ninety- eight scholarships have been awarded to nursing candidates by the hospital. Of that number, 44 are still working at Stephens County Hospital.

There are nurses, EMTs, radiologists and paramedics currently on scholarship.

Sexual predators using the Internet to entice children will find no safe haven in Georgia thanks to the child safety initiative or CSI Georgia, a new initiative announced yesterday by Governor Sonny Perdue.

CSI Georgia will triple the GBI’s undercover special agent force dedicated to investigating child Internet predators and child pornography cases with eight new agents. It will also double the number of GBI forensic computer specialists who collect technical evidence to prosecute computer crimes with five new specialists. 

Perdue said the initiative will be funded with approximately $900,000 in the FY07 amended or FY08 budget cycle. The duties of CSI Georgia agents and forensic computer specialists will include working undercover investigations to apprehend online child predators, conducting in-depth investigations to search for Georgia IP addresses that are downloading and/or uploading known child pornography, and training local law enforcement to enforce laws that protect children on the Internet.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice reported that one in seven young people received an unwanted sexual solicitation over the Internet in the past year.  There are currently four full-time GBI agents that work on Internet crimes against children and five computer forensic specialists at GBI.   

State Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin says to date, no Georgians have contracted e-coli from eating bagged spinach, but the spinach recall continues. So far, 109 100 people across the country have fallen ill from eating the greens and one woman has died.

The escalating rate of illnesses has prompted Irvin to warn Georgia consumers to continue avoiding bagged spinach and to throw out any bagged spinach you might have. Natural selections and river ranch are the two companies recalling fresh spinach and spinach mixes. Natural selection brands include other brands such as Dole, Rave Spinach, Emeril, Sysco, and Ready Pac. River Ranch brands include:  Farmers Market, Hy Vee, and Fresh and Easy. Canned and frozen spinach are not affected and neither are other fresh greens. 

The referendum election on the Education Local Option Sales Tax (ELOST) is tomorrow, but if you wanted to take part in advance voting, you are too late, according to County Registrar Theresa Kelly.

"Advance voting ended Friday," Kelly said. "Polls open tomorrow at 7 a.m. and will close at 7 p.m.

If passed, the one-cent sales tax would help fund the building of a new high school for Stephens County.

Kelley says last week’s voter turnout was better than expected. Over 5% of registered voters in Stephens County chose advance voting last week.

They were required to use a photo ID to vote, but voters tomorrow can use one of 17 forms of ID, according to Kelly. The same judge who issued an injunction against the new state law in the spring, wasted no time in issuing another injunction stopping the law from being enforced again last week once the previous injunction ran out. However, Kelly tells WNEG she expects the photo ID law to be in force for the November General Election. AM 630 WNEG will have the results of tomorrow’s election after the polls close at 7 p.m.

Stephens County Sheriff’s investigators are looking into another copper wire theft. This time it happened at a home on Garland Road. The victim told deputies someone entered his basement and cut out all the copper wiring and a copper pipe from the gas line.

Deputies found no evidence of forced entry. The homeowner said the property is a foreclosure and they would make contact with the listing agent in Florida who is overseeing the estate. So far, deputies have no suspects.

The Northeast Georgia Housing Authority is joining with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Georgia Association of Housing and Redevelopment Authorities to celebrate public Housing Awareness Week.

Beginning today and running through Monday, September 25, the week honors the work of public housing authorities in Georgia. Northeast Georgia Housing Authority Executive Director

Executive director H.L. Brantley says this is the first time the work of the housing authorities in Georgia have been recognized by a governor.

Events kick of today in Atlanta on the steps of the State Capitol building where a proclamation will be read. Here in Toccoa, a special open house will be held at the new Housing Authority offices on South Pond Street tomorrow.

Other activities around the state this week include a resident involvement day on Wednesday, a home ownership and development seminar on Thursday for residents and a community partners day on Friday.

There are 188 public Housing Authorities in Georgia.

More than 50,000 Georgia families live in public housing and another 52,000 households utilize housing vouchers to help them pay rent.

Ninth District Opportunity Inc., in cooperation with local volunteers, will once again distribute USDA Surplus Foods in Franklin County at the Franklin County Community Services Center on Highway 145 in Carnesville on Wednesday September 27th from 3-5PM Commodities will be served on a first come, first served basis.

Any household whose gross income is below 130% poverty level and is a resident of Franklin County is eligible for the program.

Any persons picking up food for another household must have a completed form, available at the Ninth District Opportunity Office Inc, or a handwritten permission note with the following information is allowed: name, name of authorized person to pickup the food, number of people living in the household, complete street address, monthly household income amount, signature and date.

For more information on the Commodity Foods Distribution or to volunteer, call Anne Marcengill, Community Resource Coordinator, at 706-384-3495.

On September 17, 1787, the U.S. Constitution was signed by 39 brave men who changed the course of history. Today, Constitution Day is a time for citizens to continue that legacy by helping to develop good habits of citizenship in a new generation.

Last week and this week, students in Stephens County are learning about our Constitution and each school is doing something different. On Friday, fourth graders at Eastanollee Elementary School wore red, white and blue to honor the Constitution.

Studying the Constitution was made a federal law in 2005. The law mandates all school systems in the U.S. that hope to receive federal funding, including private schools, must have a Constitution Day lesson or event.

Schools risk losing federal dollars if they fail to hold a Constitution Day lesson. U.S. Senator Robert Byrd (WV) pushed for the law after becoming frustrated with school children who did not know anything about America’s most important document.

Lavonia Police have had several burglaries and thefts to deal with recently.

A resident of Poole Street told police that his 1992 Oldsmobile Cutlass had been taken. However, it was returned the same night. The resident did not want to press charges.

Next door a burglary was reported and a Canon man was charged in the incident. Twenty-eight year old Christopher Michael Bailey was charged with burglary after reportedly taking $200 in household goods.

Detectives are investigating the theft of $5,100 in guitars, amps and currency from a location on Vickery Street.

About 6000CDs and DVDs were reported taken from 134 Midway Drive in Lavonia, A 1986 Oldsmobile Cutlass was also reported taken from that location.

Some vending machines were broken into at the Super 8 motel and an undetermined amount of money was taken.

Lavonia Police have arrested 42 year old Kenneth Butler of Lavonia and charged him with a violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act and Public Drunkenness.

A 34 year- old man, identified as Roger Kenneth Little of Lavonia was arrested and charged with battery-family violence, two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, theft by receiving stolen property and possession of cocaine. The firearm had been reported stolen from Elbert County. Lavonia police were assisted in this case by a Franklin County Deputy and the M.A.N.S. Drug Unit.

Stephens County is welcoming a new Chamber of Commerce president. After a search that took several weeks, Chamber chairman Toby Goodlett announced yesterday afternoon they have hired Martin resident Wendi Bailey for the position.

Bailey is a recent transplant to Stephens County from Atlanta, and will be responsible for all Chamber activities focusing on business, community, and member services. Bailey says those duties are not much different from her former job at Home Depot’s corporate office where she served as marketing director for their Employee Health division.

"I was encouraged by some friends I made here locally who thought I'd be perfect for the job. As I researched it, I found out promoting Toccoa-Stephens County is not much different from what I was doing at Home Depot; it is just a different product. So with my experience in marketing and promotions I thought I could come in and help the Chamber get word out about our lovely community," Bailey said

Goodlett says that while it took some time to work through the process, they were very pleased with their choice.

"I do want to say that we had some great contenders for the role and that's exciting. We've got some great folks in this community who are willing to step up and serve. So I think that speaks very well, but at the end of the day we felt like Wendi would do a great job and would be able to look out three to five years and be able to take us where we needed to be, so we're very excited about this selection," Goodlett said.

Bailey says she’s been impressed with the work the Chamber has done so far and says it will provide a solid foundation from which to build.

If you’re planning to cast your vote in advance of next week’s special ELOST referendum, you only have hours left. Advance voting ends this afternoon at 5p.m.

The special election on the Education Local Option Sales Tax (ELOST) referendum is coming up next Tuesday, September 19. If passed, the one-cent sales tax would help fund the building of a new high school for Stephens County. Kelley says so far, voter turnout has been better than expected.

Now this morning, we told you that you would have to have a valid photo ID to vote, but that has changed yet again.

The same judge who issued an injunction against the new state law in the spring, wasted no time in issuing another injunction stopping the law from being enforced once the previous injunction ran out.

Registrar Theresa Kelley says any one of 17 different forms of identification will be accepted today and on Tuesday.

Meantime, Kelley says next week, her office will be gearing up for absentee voting which begins later this month for the General Election in November. Kelley says that ballot will be four pages long.

Employees at Patterson Pump are being recognized by the state for an unheard of safety milestone. Yesterday, they celebrated 4-million man-hours without an on-the-job accident – that’s no accidents in the workplace since 2000. Some are calling that a record in Georgia.

During a special ceremony and lunch Thursday, the Company was presented with several resolutions – one from the Governor Sonny Perdue and another from the State House of Representatives. Patterson Pump president Al Huber told employees that those awards represent their hard work.

Just before reading the Resolution from the Governor, State Senator Nancy Schaefer said Patterson Pump workers’ proven level of competency and safety is world class. State Representative Jeanette Jamieson echoed that sentiment saying the employees made it happen.

Employees were treated to lunch and the National Safety Board sent the Company a special flag noting their safety record.

Ever wonder what your kids are doing when they’re on the computer? You’re not alone. Keeping your children safe when they surf the Internet is the topic of a free class coming up September 26 at North Georgia Tech in Clarkesville. While many sites are safe for kids, there are web sites that expose children to predators, identity thieves, and other cyber dangers.

Taught by the Georgia Department of Homeland Security, the class will give parents the tools they need to monitor what their child is exposed to on the World Wide Web. That ‘s according to Todd Keys, Area School l Safety coordinator for GEMA who teaches the class.

"The big thing I’m hearing from parents is that as parents, we know how to protect our children from dangers we see all around us, such as crossing the street, and don't talk to strangers, but we don't know how to protect them from what's available on the Internet," Keys explained. "What I'm trying to do is educate parents as to what is out there in the Cyber world; what is available in chat rooms, what My Space. COM has on it. I want to educate parents on what to look at and what to look for and what to be wary of," he concluded.

Keys has taught the class in communities across Georgia and says parents are typically astounded at what their kids are exposed to on the Internet.

"There's such an "awe" response from the parents. They tell me they can't believe this is going on; that people on the Internet can have this kind of access to their children," he said.

To register for the class, call the Clarkesville campus of North Georgia Tech at 706-754-7716. Refreshments will be served. If you’d like to find out how to have Keys come to your church, organization, or school to speak, you can call him at 706-621-1190.

Rumors of a hostage standoff yesterday at Commerce High School were greatly exaggerated. Commerce police chief John W. Gaissert. Gaissert tells WNEG rumors of lock downs and other problems began circulating after an incident at the high school Wednesday.

That’s when a 15-year-old juvenile had allegedly threatened violence against students at the school. The Commerce Police Department immediately contacted school officials and began interviewing witnesses.

Investigators, along with GBI agents, worked throughout the night conducting a criminal investigation. A 15-year-old has been taken into custody and charged as a juvenile with one count of terroristic threats and acts. 

Gassiert said the investigation remains narrowly focused, and at this point, nothing has been uncovered to suggest this is anything other than an isolated occurrence. No other problems have occurred at the school since Wednesday.

The Stephens County Sheriff’s office has had several reports of burglaries and thefts this week.

A Craftsman tool box was taken from the carport of William Mallalieu on West Silver Shoals Road. Mallalieu told deputies that it was the second theft from his carport recently. A check of local pawn shops did not turn up any of the items.

James Carson told deputies that a hand gun that he had placed under the driver’s side of his vehicle was missing. He said he had been out of town for a week and left the vehicle un-locked in the driveway.

A resident of Twin Lakes Road told deputies that a suspect took $194 from her wallet along with two bottles of prescription medicines. She said that the suspect also apparently drove around in her vehicle, using about three quarters of a tank of gas.

While moving from a location on Christie Circle a man told deputies that someone entered the residence and took a 13 inch TV and a blue 2-seater go kart.

Toccoa Police reported that someone cut three tires on a vehicle while it was parked at Zaxby’s in the early morning hours.

Another group of World War II history buffs began their long Band of Brothers tour yesterday here in Toccoa. Every year, several groups follow in the footsteps of the 506th paratroopers and they start by visiting the site of the old camp Toccoa and the Currahee military museum.

Among the 42 taking the tour this time was one of the actual members of Easy Company. Now in his 80’s, Paul C. Rogers still has vivid memories of his time in Toccoa.

"I started in Toccoa and from here went to Austria," he remembered. "I was wounded and spent six weeks in Holland but was able to return to action in time to go into Bastogne and then Bergesgarten, Hitler’s retreat," Rogers said.

One of the highlights for Rogers this trip was to see the stable where he and the rest of the 506th camped while in Aldbourne, England. 64 years later, Rogers describes what it was like to see the stables again.

"It’s good to see it again," Rogers said. "It brings back a lot of memories. This is a nice museum; you’ve really done a good job," he said.

Like most who served during World War II, Rogers says they were only doing what they were trained to do and does not see himself as a hero. As for the movie, Band of Brothers, Rogers said the producers did a good job. He plans to be back in Toccoa next month for the Camp Toccoa Reunion.

Testimony began yesterday afternoon Stephens County Superior Court in the civil case against Caterpillar, Inc. The suit was filed three years ago by a group of Eastanollee residents living near the plant in the Hayestone-Brady Industrial Park.

The families claim offensive and obnoxious odors and unreasonably disturbing noises at all hours are violating state and federal laws that protect their right to the quiet enjoyment of their homes.

Ruth Pless has lived in her Yow Mill home for almost 30 years. She testified that the smell started in 2001 and at first, she thought the house was on fire. Pless said she and her family routinely suffer from burning eyes, nose, and throat and she said she worries about the long-term affect on her and her family.

Under cross-examination, Pless admitted she had never consulted with her doctor about the alleged health and noise issues. Nor, admitted Pless, has she ever approached Caterpillar management about the alleged noise and odor issues. Testimony continues today and is expected to continue through next week.

Stephens County Sheriff’s investigators along with Toccoa Police are stepping up the patrols at the Stephens County Recreation center after yet another vicious attack on one of their buildings. This time it was the Activity Center building. Maintenance crews discovered the damage on Tuesday.

"It looks like they took some sort of large object like a sledge hammer and smashed the rear glass doors to the Activity Center," explained Recreation Department spokesman Roger Terrell. "They totally destroyed one door, and the other door won’t open. We have been able to fix one door so far. We think this attack may be related to what happened at the little hub," he said.

That little hub is the concession stand that was vandalized over the weekend. In that case, Terrell said it looked like the suspects used a crowbar to break off several locks on the building, but nothing was taken.

The suspects also broke the outside water spicket, which caused the water to be left running. So far, Terrell says they have a few suspects in mind that authorities are looking for.

"We’ve had several people here recently that we’ve had to ask to leave and we’re looking at them," Terrell said. "It could just be kids looking for something mean to do, something to vandalize," he concluded.

Terrell says the activity center is still open and while considerable damage was done to the back doors, nothing inside the building appears to be missing.

Police are looking into the theft of a dealer tag stolen from an auto repair business in Toccoa. It happened last Friday at Dents & Details on Spring Street. The owner told police the tag number is DL 62B31 and was last seen displayed in the back window of a blue Cutlass driven by a black male. Officers confronted the suspect at his home. He admitted to having the tag, which he said he got from a friend who saw someone throw it out his or her vehicle window. The suspect would not give officers any more information.

A clothing business on West Currahee was the scene of a recent burglary. Police were called to the Venus and Mars shop on West Currahee. Storeowner told officers someone broke in by throwing a cement block through the window. Clothing, shoes, and accessories valued at $3,000 had been taken. The scene was for fingerprints and the investigation is continuing.

A homeowner on Country Club Drive called authorities after discovering his home had been burglarized. The victim told Stephens County Sheriff’s Deputies his home has been broken into twice in the past month. So far, the only stolen has been a gold ring with an eagle on the face outlined in silver. Deputies determined entry was made through a back window. Extra watches have been placed in the area.

A Stephens County man got a surprise when he opened a credit card bill recently. Fred Jackson told deputies BP Gas Company wants him to pay over $3,000 in charges he claims do not belong to him. Jackson claims the company has him confused with someone else.

The chief criminal prosecutor for Oconee-Anderson counties in South Carolina has ruled the drowning of an assistant Clemson track coach killed in a Lake Keowee watercraft accident does not warrant any charges. Jarrett Foster, a passenger, lost his life in the late night lake accident July 6 near Seneca, SC.

After reviewing all the evidence, solicitor Chrissy Adams announced all three players involved in the fatal accident were fined. Two Tiger football players have pleaded guilty to Magistrate’s Court. Adams says linemen Roman Fry and Nathan Bennett were fined - Fry for reckless operation of a watercraft, and Bennett for negligent operation of a watercraft. 

With only two months into the new fiscal year, the City of Toccoa is doing a little better than expected.

That’s according to City Finance director Emory Stephens in his monthly report to City commissioners.

Stephens told Commissioners he foresees Toccoa ending a higher note than the last fiscal year. Right now, the gas fund is down to its seasonal low, but Stephens expects revenues to pick up sharply in the near future as the cold weather sets in. He also said with tax bills going out soon, the General Fund revenues will see an increase in the coming weeks and months.

A Toccoa artist is working to help a South Carolina girl make the holidays a little brighter for soldiers overseas. David Duerr is collecting items for Janey Turner of Easley, SC. Three years ago at age 8, Janey founded, "Hands for Soldiers" – a non-profit group that sends care packages to servicemen around the world.