Getting back on track. That is the assessment of members of the Toccoa-Stephens County Boys and Girls Club Board of Directors. After months of re-organizing and retraining, the Board held its annual meeting last night to discuss what’s been done and what their plans are for the future.

Since former Club Director Ron Ross suddenly left last summer, Interim Director Mary Ritchey has been helping Board members regroup. Last night, the Board heard from David Roark, Regional Vice President for the Boys and Girls Clubs. Roark said he wants to see the Toccoa Club offer a full range of programs for kids, and he said the staff and Board needs continued training. "The staff has to be trained continually," Roark noted. "The board needs to get to some of the Georgia state training and find out what's going on in other boys and girls clubs and so I'd like to see some of that going on. But the truth is what we've got to do is re-establish the boys and girls club in Toccoa," he said.

Roark also said it’s important for the entire community to fall in love with what’s going on at the boys and girls club and the positive influence the club makes on a child’s life.

Board spokesman bob Pless says the club’s train is quote, "back on track" but there is still work to be done.

"Our train is back on track. it is not full speed yet. we have a budget for the year that is in keeping with what we think we can meet. we have a committed board. In addition, one of the greatest things that has happened is we are getting more of the community involved, small fundraisers, volunteering their time. these are things that need to grow and expand, but I'm amazed at far it's come in so little time," Pless said.

Pless says he plans to visit other boys and girls clubs in Georgia to get input and ideas. Since it re-opened in the fall, membership at the Toccoa club on Whitman Street has risen to 80.

Renovation of the main classroom building at the old middle school will not be paid for with SPLOST IV monies. This week County Commissioners, County EMA Director Joe Anderson and County EMS Director Ray Willis toured the vacant building and discussed possibly moving the EMA offices there.

If that happened, EMA would be part of the County’s Emergency Response System. However, County Administrator Darrell Hampton says because EMA offices were not listed as part of the SPLOST IV monies on the ballot, money to build their offices cannot come from that revenue source. "SPLOST money can only be used as it appears on ballot," Hampton said. "It would either have to come with some kind of general fund operating revenue or some other source of general operating monies," he said.

Wednesday, County Commission Chairman Steve Chitwood said aside from EMA offices, no other definite decisions have been made regarding how that building will be utilized. Chitwood said one option might be to move some county offices over there from downtown Toccoa because it is more centrally located.

The Stephens County Education Literacy Foundation will be reaping the benefits of tomorrow’s "Ice Bowl" disc golf tournament. Every January, the tournament at the Recreation Center on Rose Lane selects a charitable organization as the recipient of its proceeds. This year, "SELF" Director Lisa Prickett said she asked that her organization be considered. "I actually called them and asked if they donated their proceeds to charity and they said they did so I asked if we could be on their list this year and they agreed," Pricket said. "They’re also asking anyone who participates or just comes to watch to bring a new children’s book. These will be distributed to various groups and places around town so children can get the use of them," she said.

Money raised will help both young and adult literacy students continue their education. "We will use part of the money to fund scholarships to pay for students to take their GED tests and for other areas as needed around town," Prickett said. Registration for the "Ice Bowl" disc golf tournament takes place from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday.

Two variance requests to the County need closer study. County commissioners made that decision at a called meeting this week.

In the first, Commissioners tabled a request to reduce the lot sizes of a planned subdivision off Fernside Drive. The County ordinance states that the minimum lot size for a single family home with city sewer and water be no less than three-quarters of an acre.

However, local developer Elliott Caudell has requested he be allowed to build five condominiums per acre of land, works out the point-21 acres per condominium. Commissioners said they needed more time to study the request.

In another variance request, Diana Holland with Compass Technology Services, Inc. of Austell is looking for land in Stephens County for a Verizon cell tower. She found land off turner and wolf pit roads, but it does not meet the county ordinance. "What we're requesting is the ordinance calls for a setback of the height of the tower from the lot line to the residence," Holland said. "We have a 250' foot tower within 80 feet from the property line which is within the fall zone. the closest structure is 190' away so that's what we're requesting from the board is a setback variance from that distance," she said.

Commissioner Rex Anderson suggested land further north on Turner Road that is owned by the County, but Holland said it was outside Verizon’s outlay area. Commissioners asked Holland to search for another property and said they would revisit the matter at their February meeting.

The number of women-owned businesses, many of them one-person enterprises, grew at twice the national rate for all private companies from 1997 to 2002, with the biggest increases in Nevada and Georgia. That is according to the U.S. Census Bureau report released Thursday.

The report found that in 2002, nearly 1-in-3 women-owned firms operated in health care and social assistance, and other services, such as personal services, and repair and maintenance.

Women owned 72 percent of social assistance businesses and just over half of nursing and residential care facilities. Wholesale and retail trade accounted for 38.3% of women-owned business revenue. The report said states with the fastest rates of growth for women-owned firms between 1997 and 2002 were Nevada (43%), Georgia (35%), Florida (29%), and New York (28%).

Toccoa Police have released the name of a suspect shot last night by a Georgia State Patrol Trooper during a drug investigation. It happened late Wednesday afternoon on Stephens Drive. Police Chief Jackie

Whitmire says the arrest came as a result of a multi-unit drug bust. "On Wednesday afternoon, the Toccoa PD and the Piedmont Northern MANS unit officers were being assisted by the Georgia State Patrol in a drug investigation on Stephens Drive," Whitmire said. "They were chasing some guys on foot and one of the suspects jumped in a car and struck a trooper with his car. The trooper fired at the driver and struck him in the side. There are at least three, maybe five arrests that will be made out of this. It’s still under investigation. The person that was shot is a 20-year old Toccoa man. He was stabilized at Stephens County Hospital and life-flighted to Greenville," he said.

This morning, the suspect was identified as 20-year old Ocilla Tabor of Toccoa. Meantime, Police Captain Butch Newkirk says three others were arrested overnight and all four face multiple charges. "Yesterday he (Tabor) was charged with possession with intent to distribute and there were three others that were charged with possession with intent to distribute. One was charged with a warrant out of Franklin County and there was one obstruction arrest," Newkirk said.

The names of those three other suspects have not yet been released. Newkirk says Toccoa PD and the GBI expect more arrests.

No-one was seriously hurt following the collision of a Franklin County school bus and a truck. The accident occurred shortly before 8am near the entrance to the high school.

Transportation Director for Franklin County Justin Old said that the driver of the bus was following all of the procedures he was taught to do in case of an emergency. "When we arrived, the driver was unloading students from the school bus. We had just minor injuries," Old said.

The Georgia State Patrol investigated the accident. No names of anyone involved have been released at this time.

A 2% tax cut in home heating bills is no big favor to consumers. That is the opinion of State Representative Jeanette Jamieson. Yesterday, Jamieson submitted a bill that would put natural gas companies in Georgia back under the supervision and control of the Public Service Commission. Jamieson says the only way to keep natural gas prices from rising to astronomical levels is to make natural gas companies get approval from the PSC before they raise rates.

"My bill that I have cosponsored would return it to the PSC so that once again we could get control of these astronomical prices," Jamieson explained. "Not only is it creating a tremendous hardship on families, but look what it's doing to industry. At a time when we're losing jobs by the thousands in this state. Since 1999, we've lost over 100,000 in Georgia because the cost of operating in Georgia is so expensive. They choose to go elsewhere and elsewhere is always off the continental United States," she said.

This week, the State Senate passed HB970, which governor sonny Perdue says will return between $16-20 million dollars to Georgia’s economy. However, the temporary measure will only save consumers about $5-10 on their heating bills each month. Jamieson is calling the Republican-controlled House to allow her bill to go through. "I hope that the Republican leadership here will let this bill out. If they care one thing about the people of Georgia and the plight this is creating among the people of Georgia they will let this bill out. I have no idea whether they will let the bill out, but whether they do or not, we will be pursuing the bill, Jamieson said.

The current 2% tax cut on natural gas will run through April 30 and will affect usage between the months of January and March.

Stephens County Emergency Management Agency and the Stephens County Emergency Medical Services hope to turn the main classroom building at the old middle school into useable space. On Wednesday, County Commissioners joined EMA Director Joe Anderson, and EMS Director Ray Willis for a tour of the building. The main building offers more space than either could use, and Commission chairman Steve Chitwood says the County is looking at possibly moving other County offices over there. "We don’t have anything definite we can go public with," Chitwood noted. "However, the building is centrally located in the County and it might be a good idea to move some other offices over here," he said.

But there’s going to have to be a lot of work done on the building to bring it up to useable standards –whatever it becomes. Since the building was vacated over a year ago, vandals have repeatedly trashed the place, throwing computer monitors through windows, dumping paint on the floor and writing graffiti across walls and old lockers. Chitwood said that is not the way the school administration left it. "When they left here everything was swept clean and in place," he said. The County would be able to use SPLOST iv money to renovate the main building, which would become part of the e-911 emergency complex. However, there is no word on when construction and clean up will begin.                

Toccoa police are investigating wreck that sent a bicyclist to the hospital. It happened Tuesday afternoon at the entrance to the Stephens County Hospital and Toccoa Falls College. Toccoa Police Captain Butch Newkirk said 38-year old Ricky Hunter was riding his bike home from his job in the Toccoa Falls College Cafeteria when he was hit by a 1998 sedan driven by Buffy Cobb of Martin.

"She was turning into the hospital entrance. He was coming from the Toccoa Falls Campus and he struck the side of her car. Miss Cobb is charged with failure to yield right of way. Mr. Hunter was admitted to the hospital and he's in stable condition at this time," Newkirk said.

Hunter suffered multiple fractures and remains hospitalized.

Beginning February 2, free tax help will be available from the Toccoa tax aide program.

The program is sponsored by the IRS and the AARP. Coordinator Dave Baglien says the free help will be available every Thursday from 9 a.m. To 4 p.m. In the fellowship hall of First Presbyterian Church on Tugalo Street.

Those coming for assistance should bring last year’s tax return, their w-2’s, 1099’s, and any other records, which might assist in preparing their 2005 tax return. In addition, Baglien says the tax center will also help those who are claiming the low income tax credit from the state of Georgia.

Low-income credit rebates range from $5 to $52 per person, depending on income and age. This is the 20^th year that the tax aide program has offered help to Toccoa-Stephens County citizens, according to Baglien.

Originally begun to help older citizens, the group now assists anyone who needs help with their taxes.

Two routine traffic stops lead to the arrests of two people – both wanted on bad check charges.

On Tuesday, an officer stopped a vehicle at the corner of Collins Road and sunset for no seatbelts.

A check of the driver’s license found that 23-year old William Bray of Eastanollee was wanted by Stephens County on a bad check charge. A short time later, the same officer stopped a vehicle on Hayes Road for a traffic violation and found that driver was also wanted in Stephens County on bad charges. Arrested was 19-year old Clayton Cordell of Toccoa. Both were transported to the Stephens County jail.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Hartwell will begin accepting reservations for picnic shelters on March 1 for the season starting April 1 and ending October 31. Reservation fees range from $30 to $150.

A reservation gives groups exclusive use of a shelter for the entire day. Lake Hartwell’s project manager says reservations for shelters may be made in person at the Hartwell Lake Project Manager’s office or by calling during regular business hours.

Do not use your new e-911 address yet. That is the message from County EMS Director Ray Willis and the Stephens County Commission. As the new addresses are being assigned, there has been some confusion as to which one to use when calling 9-1-1, according to County Administrator Darrell Hampton.

Hampton said this week, a resident on Prather Bridge Road called 9-1-1 for help and gave their new e-911 address. According to Hampton, EMT’s could not find the house at first because of the address given was wrong and they went to the wrong house. Eventually, the correct house was found but the call took much longer than it should have due to the confusion.

Hampton said there have been several similar incidents recently. The address you should be using at this time is the address assigned to you by the Post Office – especially if you have an emergency and an ambulance, fire department, police, or sheriff’s deputy.

Hampton said the e-911 project will be done soon and a letter will be mailed out to all Stephens County residences indicating exactly when to start using the new address.

It has been a slow process, but the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service expects to be hiring a new agent for Stephens County soon. Beverly Sparks, Extension Director for the Northeast Georgia Region says they expect to begin interviewing applicants soon. "The position was advertised and we closed it the end of January," Sparks explained. "We are in the process of going through the applications and selecting the ones, we want to interview. We're potentially going to be interviewing the second and third week of February and hope to make an offer with a view towards the new agent starting sometime in the spring," she said.

Since the former Extension agent Bob Waldorf moved to Banks County last year, Jo Evelyn Dean had served as the interim director. Dean recently retired and Sparks said until the new agent starts, 4-H agent Gina Gailey will work in the Stephens County office. "Gina Gailey who is our 4-H agent works in both Stephens and Banks counties. She is going to be coordinating all the efforts in the office for the interim. We hope to get this agent in the office as soon as possible so there will be somebody there fulltime," noted Sparks.

Sparks says providing a new agent for Stephens County involves help from a number of local sources as well as from UGA. "We really do appreciate the support that we get from the Board of Commissioners and the School Board of Stephens County. We all have to work together to fund these positions and we really do appreciate the support we get from the community," Sparks said.

According to Sparks, UGA’s Cooperative Extension was founded in 1914 to take research-based agricultural information to the people of Georgia. County agents and specialists throughout the state share information on issues like water quality, profitability in agribusiness, family wellness, and life skills. County agents provide soil and water test kits and instruction, advice on safe pesticide use, provide publications and computer programs and teach consumers skills to improve Georgians quality of life. They are also the local experts in food safety, proper eating habits, child safety, and parenting.

Toccoa Natural Gas customers will see a savings on future gas bills thanks to the State General Assembly that this week passed a measure that cuts the tax on home heating bills by 2%. "It will apply to all customers of Toccoa Natural Gas. We collect a 4% sales tax and send that to the state of Georgia and they are cutting that in half. So there will only be a two percent sales tax that goes back to the state," said City Manager Billy Morse.

On Monday, the State Senate voted 51-3 in favor of HB 970 that suspends half the tax collected on sales of liquid propane and natural gas. The tax cut on natural gas will run through April 30. That means customers will see a savings on heating bills they receive from February through April for gas used from January through March. While a big savings overall to Georgians, Morse says individual customers will not see a big savings on their bills.

"Unfortunately, I think you will only see two to five dollars reduction based on this sales tax. So, it will not be a significant amount," Morse said. "I think what the state is trying to do overall they're trying to present the fact that it will be a multi-million dollar savings that will stay in the economy as opposed to going back to the state. So maybe a good thing for the State as a whole, but not much there for each individual customer," he said. Governor Perdue’s office estimates the state will return between $16 - $20 million to Georgians.

The Georgia Mountains Regional Development Authority is about half way through their survey of the Avon street area in Toccoa. Surveyors have been out in force since December walking the streets looking at homes and streets.

City Commissioners and staff are planning to revitalize that section of Toccoa, and the survey is part of an overall study to determine Toccoa’s eligibility for certain block grants. Last week, a second community meeting was held at the Boys and Girls Club on Whitman Street. City Planning Commission Director Connie Tabor says another meeting is coming up February 6. "We will again talk about house rehabilitation, drainage, sidewalks, parks, and recreation and just get some of the neighborhood to identify some of the needs that they have in the Avon Street neighborhood area," Tabor said.

Last week’s meeting saw a better turnout from neighborhood residents than the first meeting in December, but tabor hopes even more people will come out to next month’s session. "We had a few more people there and a few more that had not been to the first meeting," Tabor commented. "For the third meeting, we sent out about 250 flyers with the help of Willie Woodruff. He has given those to the neighborhood churches. He has also posted some of the flyers in neighborhood business so hopefully; we will have even better participation for our third meeting on February 6," she concluded.

Streets being looked at include Avon, Edwards, Owens, Vernon, and Spring Streets and the west side of North Broad Street. Tabor says the RDC needs resident opinion and input on the project.

They are calling it the biggest drug bust in South Carolina history. This week, South Carolina authorities rounded up some 40 suspects in a major drug bust in the Upstate. South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster, along with Greenville County Sheriff Steve Loftis, Pickens County Sheriff David Stone, and a host of other state and local law enforcement conducted surprise raids at locations across the Upstate this past weekend.

In December, the state grand jury indicted the 40 suspects involved in the drug ring, but authorities continued the investigation until this past weekend. The indictments cover a total of 92 separate charges.

If convicted the group faces in excess of 2,336 years in prison with fines of over $11-million dollars.

During the raids, agents seized more than37 pounds of meth "ice," two pounds of cocaine, 290 tabs of ecstasy, and 820 pounds of marijuana.

Also seized was over $200,000 in cash, almost $39,000 in assets that have been sold and $22,000 in assets that are currently being used by law enforcement in the war on meth.

Stephens County has had its first confirmed case of rabies this year. Ron Miller, head of Environmental Health at the Stephens County Health Department tells WNEG tests on a skunk came back positive for rabies last week. District Two Health spokesman Dave Palmer says the skunk was found at a home on Prather Bridge Road near the South Carolina border. "It’s my understanding the skunk had tangled with the homeowner’s dog and he called Animal Control. Animal Control investigated and called our representative there in Environmental Health who came out and took care of the situation," Palmer explained.

There have been several suspected cases of rabies in raccoons in Stephens County over the past several months, according to Miller, but all of those cases have turned out to be negative. Palmer emphasized it is important to make sure your pets get their rabies vaccine very year. Every summer, veterinarians in Stephens County offer rabies clinics at several places in Toccoa-Stephens County. However, if you are not sure if your pet is safe from rabies it is a good idea to have them vaccinated immediately.

A veteran member of the Stephens County Cooperative Extension Service Office was honored Friday afternoon. Jo Evelyn Dean, a Home Economist and coordinator of the county’s 4-H program, retired at the end of December. Her retirement reception was rescheduled after the ice storm postponed the festivities in December.

Jo Evelyn Dean began her service in Clarke County and then went on to server in Hart County. Northeast Georgia District Development Coordinator for 4-H at the University of Georgia, Marilyn Poole said that Jo Evelyn was her mentor when she was in high school at Hart County High School. Ms. Poole said that Jo Evelyn Dean has been an inspiration to many 4-H members. "Jo Evelyn has worked tirelessly with many youngsters in the 4-H program," Ms Poole stated. "She helped them prepare for their projects in the state competition and has had many district and state winners. She has been a real inspiration to the many young people in the 4-H program."

Jo Evelyn said she joined the cooperative extension service right out of college. "I graduated from what was ‘Women’s College’ which is now Georgia College and my major was Home Economics." She re-called. "I could have either taught high school or taught 4-H. And the 4-H people grabbed me first. Then the green of the 4-H program got into my blood and I never wanted to do anything else."

She was asked what was the most fun part of her job with 4-H. "I think the most rewarding thing is to see a youngster who is very shy and can’t speak in front of people, grow and mature and become more self confident and have self worth."

She indicated that she would be spending more time with family in the future. "No grandchildren yet." She said. "I have a husband who is an adventurer. I will be doing a lot of reading, I have a mother to take care of and just more family, that type of thing."

Jo Evelyn recorded a radio program twice a week for AM 630 WNEG since last summer.

It is hoped that the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service will name a new county agent in the next couple of months. WNEG News has learned that the application process has been concluded and there were a large number of candidates who were seeking the position. Meanwhile, Susan Yearwood began serving the county in the Cooperative Extension Service Office in January. She will be working mainly with the 4-H program.

City Commissioners would normally meet for their second meeting of the month this evening, but that meeting has been postponed. Commissioners are out of town until tomorrow. All weekend they have been in Atlanta at the Mayor’s Day Convention, which began Saturday and ends today. The City Commission will meet next Monday, January 30 at 5 p.m.

The unemployment rate in Georgia dropped in December but still topped the national level. For December, the State unemployment rate stood at 4.9% - down from 5.2% in November. The U.S. Rate stood at 4.6% last month.

In the Georgia Mountain District, which includes Stephens County, the unemployment rate in December was 4%. December’s drop in unemployment is contributed largely to seasonal jobs in some industries, such as trade and services, increased while other workers in construction and manufacturing left the job market because of seasonal slowdowns. Georgia only added 12,600 new jobs in December.

A getaway plan failed last week, when the suspect broke his ankle. Stephens County Sheriff’s deputies went to a home on DeFoor Road last week to serve a warrant on a man wanted on probation warrant in Gwinnett County. The homeowner told deputies that the suspect, identified as Jermaine Swift, was no longer at the house. However, a check behind the house found Swift lying on the ground. Swift told deputies he tried to escape by jumping out a back window. When he did so, he broke his ankle. Deputies transported Swift to the Stephens County Hospital.

The Stephens County Boys and Girls Club board of directors will hold its annual meeting this week.

The Club was shut down this past summer when former director Ron Ross suddenly resigned, leaving it in disarray and missing some $400,000 from its budget.

Since then, interim director Ruth Osborne says they have hired new staff and are getting additional volunteer help from Toccoa Falls College students. Club board member Bob Pless says this meeting will be mostly organizational.

They will also have a presentation from Regional Boys and Girls Club director David Rourke and hear from the children themselves about how the Club is helping them. Pless says they are working to get the Club going in the right direction again.

When it closed in August, the Club had over 100 children enrolled in its after-school program. Today it has just 38. This week’s board meeting takes place Thursday at 7 p.m. at the club on Whitman Street.

Stephens County school students are improving every year and so is the quality of education. That’s the assessment in the 2004-2005 Stephens County School System Annual Report. School Superintendent Gary Steppe said he’s most proud of the academic strides students have made over the past three years.

"I really think that's why schools exist, for students to learn, and I think here in Stephens County our students are exhibiting a high degree of learning," Steppe noted. "And I give all that credit to the teachers and administrators who work in the schools and the parents that encourage their children. I think we have a good thing going and I'm really blessed and pleased to be a part of it," he said.

The report says the number of high school students taking the SAT tests has risen from 131 in 1999 to 142 in 2005. The average SAT score has also gone up from 929 six years ago to 993 in 2005. According to the report, Stephens County schools rank second in the Pioneer "RESA" District in Reading and English/Language Arts behind Union County and first in Mathematics. Hall County is at the bottom in all three disciplines.

All grades also have improved in their CRCT test results with at least 50% of the elementary student body meeting or exceeding the state requirement. Steppe also pointed out that absenteeism has dropped over the past several years from 6.5% to 4.3%. Copies of the annual report are available from the School Administrative Offices on Mize Road.

Now that the third floor of Stephens County Hospital has been completed with new rooms and equipment, the hospital authority wants to upgrade the older rooms on the second floor.

Hospital Administrator Ed Gambrell said that the forty year old hospital needs a facelift in some areas.

"This hospital was built in 1967," Gambrell explained. "So we’re getting to the point where portions of the building are almost 40 years old. We need some improvements on the second floor such as modern rooms and upgrading of equipment. We want the finished product to be equivalent to what we have recently done on the third floor."

Gambrell indicated the effort would be the next major project for the authority. No cost estimate was available at this early date.

The Stephens County School system’s Transportation Department will be purchasing five new school buses over the next year. This week, the School Board approved a request from Assistant School Superintendent Myron McClain to purchase two new buses immediately. McClain said the school district has too many old buses and not enough new or newer ones, and the old ones are not being replaced fast enough. He told the Board that Stephens County has fallen behind in purchasing new buses and that has disqualified the County for state funding.

"If you keep your buses current, then you continue to receive that same state funding, and that’s what we're trying to do," McClain explained. "The last few years have been pretty lean and we've cut the number of buses we've ordered down to two each year, where in the past we've been ordering five buses, which kept us within the allotment so we could draw state funding," he said.

There’s currently $105,000 in the budget for new buses and another $150,000 from the state is expected by the end of the fiscal year. McClain advised purchasing three more school buses with the additional funding before the end of 2006 because the price of new school buses is expected to go up next year.

Helping children make the right choices in life is something most parents are concerned about. That’s why the Stephens County School System is partnering with Vocational Rehabilitation to present an information forum this evening at Stephens County High School. Parents, students, educators, guardians, and the community are invited to come out tonight and find out how to help students prepare for their future.

Partners and resource guides from local technical colleges, as well as Piedmont, Truett-McConnel, and Gainesville colleges will present information to help families. There will also be information available on financial resources for post secondary education, social security benefits, and vision impaired resources.

The forum begins at 6:30 p.m. in the high school media center and is free.

A Habersham County man and his female passenger are behind bars in the Stephens County jail on drug charges. A routine traffic stop Tuesday led to the arrests. Stephens County Sheriff’s deputies pulled a vehicle over on Highway 365 near the South Carolina line.

24-year-old Suesan Maeshae Jones of Oakwood Lane in Toccoa and 32-year old Rudy Daniel Bardinelli of Demorest face multiple charges. Jones is charged with possession of methamphetamine and drug related objects. Bond was set at $16,000.

Bardinelli is also charges with possession of methamphetamine and drug-related objects. In addition, he was charged with giving a false name. Bond was set at $19,000, but he is also being held on a probation hold out of Habersham County.

Police are looking for a suspect in connection with a theft at the ABC Package store. It happened Tuesday morning. A store employee told police he walked outside the store with a telephone man and when he came back inside, he noticed the store’s moneybag was missing. The grey First Citizens Bank bag contained $768 in cash. So far, police have not made any arrests.

Watchful neighbors are being credited with helping to catch a burglar. It happened last Friday at a home on Skyview lane. A witness told Toccoa police she saw a man, identified as 41-year old Stephen Watson, allegedly enter the house through the back door and remove a stove.

Police discovered entrance to the home was made by breaking the glass out of the back door. The witness told officers Watson was accompanied by a black male. Watson was arrested later after officers spotted him at a local gas station. Watson was charged with burglary and taken to the Stephens County jail.

An Eastanollee woman told Stephens County Sheriff’s deputies someone has been forging checks from her account. The victim said at least one forged check had gone through her bank. She had notified the bank and gave deputies the name of a possible suspect.

Two hunting dogs are missing from a home in Martin. Chad Fletcher of Avalon Road told deputies his dogs were in their pen last Wednesday night, but were gone the next morning. The dogs are described as Brittany spaniel, liver and white, wearing an orange collar with a nametag. And a black and white English Pointer also wearing an orange collar and tag. The dogs are valued at $500 each.

Fletcher told deputies he had heard a diesel truck in his driveway the night before but didn’t think much about it.

And a call that sounded official apparently wasn’t. A Toccoa man told deputies he received a phone call last Friday from a woman who claimed to be an official with his bank. The woman told the victim that his debit card had been used in Florida to purchase luggage.

She then asked him for some personal information, including the debit card number. The victim became suspicious and began asking her questions and the woman hung up.

There may soon be a more high-tech way to inform parents about whether there is school on bad weather days. Last night, the Stephens County Board of Education approved a request from School Superintendent Gary Steppe to try out a computerized phone service that would automatically call parents. Steppe explained the phone calls start going out once he records a message.

"With one phone call we can access databases that will access every parents phone number in the Stephens County School System. Within five minutes after I make the call, they will call every parent and tell them school is cancelled or anything like that," Steppe explained. "It can also be subdivided into other databanks that will let parents know about PTO meetings, if a group is going to be late after a ball game one night or a breakdown of a bus or something like that. As soon as we're able to get our databases in order, I think it will be a real asset towards improving communications between the schools and the parents," he said.

Steppe said the service would also notify the administrative offices of any wrong numbers or recordings it receives, which will help keep their student database current. The school system will test the service for six months. Total cost of the service for one year is $15,000 plus a $2,000 set up fee. That money would come from a 21^st Century Community Schools grant. Steppe says he learned about the service from other school superintendents involved in the Georgia Association of Schools.

Stephens County seniors now have a new way to get to the Senior Center on Rose Lane. The new Senior Center van was delivered December 18, and Tuesday, the Center began using their new van, according to Senior Center Director Haley knight. "So what we've been doing is getting it covered by insurance and actually practicing driving it because it's a lot different from the van we used to drive - it's much bigger than what we've been driving in the past. Today was actually our first day to have it out on the road so we picked seniors up and brought them to the Center today for activities and everybody just loves it," Knight said.

Knight and members of the Senior Center have been working for the past two years raising money for the van, and by last summer had raised over $34,000. Total cost of the bus was about $40,000. Last month, County Commissioners voted to fund the remaining balance.

Knight says there is a big difference between the new bus and the two 20-year old vans they were using.

"The thing that is much different from the van we were using is this type of vehicle is geared more for seniors," Knight explained. "It has the rails that you use to go up and down the stairs. Of course, it sits much lower so it is easier for seniors to get into so they do not have to step so far. The seats are adjustable, they move in and out, they recline more and they sit up more. And you can actually stand up straight in this vehicle, which is good for seniors because it's hard for them to slump over and move around in just a little bit of space," she concluded.

Other amenities on the new van include heat and air conditioning – something the old vans did not have.

One of the community projects sponsored by the local Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4346 is the Voice of Democracy contest. The contest is for students in the 9^th through the 12^th grade who are given a theme and voluntarily write a speech on that theme. Stephens County High school has had several district winners and a state winner in the past.

The local VFW Post held a meeting Tuesday night in which this year’s winners were announced. A contest for students in grade 6 through 8 is also held and the winner receives the Patriot Pin Award. Polly McMinn with the VFW Ladies Auxiliary, was chairman of this year’s project. She said that the Patriot Pin contest had very good participation this year. "We had over 300 entries from the Stephens County Middle School and going through all of these entries was a pretty hard job," she said. "However, I want to say a special thank you to Zec Austin who helped me in this project. He did a really good job. We narrowed the entries down to the final 30 and from there it was pretty tough."

The winner was 7^th grader Michael Ritcey, son of Mr. and Mrs. David Ritcey.Michael receives a $200 savings bond. Second place went to 8^th grader Mathew Yeargin and third place went to 8^th grade student Adrian Hulin.

This year’s Voice of Democracy winner in the high school was senior Ashley Simpson, the daughter of Mr. And Mrs. Ronnie Simpson. Ashley said that her speech was based on the theme of "freedom". "I was in history class and though about all of the freedoms that we have." Ashley explained. "There is freedom of speech, freedom of religion and other freedoms that our men have been fighting for and I just wanted to put that in my paper."

The Stephens County High School senior also finished third in the 9^th District Voice of Democracy competition. Ashley wins a $1000 bond for the local contest and $100 from the District competition. Second place in the Voice of Democracy contest went to Molea Bowers, who won a $500 bond and third place went to Jeannie Graham, who won a $250 bond.

The students and their parents were treated to a dinner in the VFW dining hall following the meeting.

Toccoa detectives are looking into a number of weekend burglaries. In the first, homeowners on Stephens Drive told police they had a number of items taken from under their house. Both victims gave police the name and address of two suspects.

In the second incident, police were called to Canberg & Co. on Elberton Street. Owner Paul Rollins told police an assortment of power tools were taken from his business sometime on Monday. Rollins also gave authorities the name and address of a possible suspect. So far, no arrests have been made in either of those cases.

Another burglary happened Sunday at Watson Tires on south Alexander Street. Storeowner Fred Watson called police Sunday night after finding his store had been broken into. Officers discovered entry to the building had been made by removing the window air conditioner.

They soon found a suspect near the building with what they say were some of the stolen items in his possession. Arrested was 26-year old Philip Reid Alexander of North Pine Street in Toccoa. Alexander was charged with burglary and is being held in the Stephens County jail without bond due to an outstanding warrant.

Police have arrested another Toccoa man on shoplifting charges. It happened at the Sav-a-Lot on Collins Road last week. A store manager called police when a male suspect ran from the store with a case of tobacco. The suspect jumped into a red Ford Ranger pick up and sped off.

Officers spotted the truck going down Big A road and pulled it over. Inside the vehicle, officers say the passenger had 12 packs of tobacco stuffed in his pockets. The store manager was called to the scene and identified Richard William Pierce as the suspect who took the tobacco. Officers arrested Pierce, issued him two citations for shoplifting, and returned the tobacco to the store.

A Toccoa woman is charged with carrying a concealed weapon into Wal-mart on Big A Road. It happened Sunday afternoon. Police say 39-year old Theresa Gail Gotts of Craig street had previously been barred from the Wal-mart.

The store’s loss prevention associate spotted Gotts inside the store and notified police. After her arrest, officers say they discovered Gotts had a Derringer pistol and a knife in her possession. Gotts was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, carrying a pistol without a license, criminal trespass, and carrying a weapon at a public gathering.

Investigators have caught up with a Toccoa man wanted for a year on drug charges. 27-year old Quinton Calier Mayfield of Sisk Road in Toccoa was taken into custody last Thursday on Ridgecrest Drive.

A warrant was taken out August 15, 2005 by the Piedmont Northern MANS Unit. Agents say Mayfield was seen allegedly selling cocaine at the Currahee Package Store in January 2005. He was transported to the Stephens County jail without incident.

A case of trespassing turned into two drug arrests for Toccoa Police. It happened last week at the Toccoa housing authority on Wood Street. Police say Quentin Parrott of Tugalo Street in Toccoa had been barred from the housing authority.

When officers arrived to remove him, they say they also discovered the parrot was carrying a cache of marijuana. Parrott was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and criminal trespass. Also charged was with marijuana possession was Brandon Stag of Stephens Drive.

Toccoa City and Stephens County Commissioners will meet tonight for an informal dinner meeting at Quincy’s. The purpose of these quarterly dinners is to give both commissions a chance to discuss inter-governmental issues.

Tonight, City Commissioners plan to talk to County Commissioners about the County’s need for a countywide sewer system. Water capacity is the primary stumbling block to growth in Toccoa and Stephens County, according to a study by a Stephens County Development Authority Sewer committee.

Recently, City Commissioners agreed to a request by Development Authority president Bob Defenbaugh and Authority Executive Director Mitch Griggs to apply for a permit with the State Environmental Protection Division to expand the City’s water/sewage capacity by an extra 500,000 gallons for a total of 2-million gallons a day.

However, only the Meadowbrook and Hayestone-Brady Industrial parks have sewer service. Tonight’s dinner meeting takes place at 6p.m. at Quincy’s and the public is invited to attend.

Stephens County Hospital seems to be bucking the trend of struggling hospitals in Georgia.

At a recent seminar, it was revealed that in 2004, sixty five per cent of hospitals the size of Stephens County’s facility were financially in the red. Seventy two per cent of all rural hospitals were struggling to make ends meet.

Meanwhile, here in Stephens County, the hospital continues to grow and to provide outstanding services for local residents and patients from other counties who choose to come here, rather than go to another area hospital.

Hospital Administrator Ed Gambrell says that trend has been going on for about three years. "We were extremely busy here at our hospital for the past three years and I can’t really explain the reason why." Gambrell stated. "And from all indications, since we’re three months into this fiscal year, we’re going to have another very busy year coming up."

Last year, the emergency room at Stephens County treated over 22,000 patients. There were over 500 births at the hospital in 2005, 56 births in the month of December.

Dr. Louis Fernandez is the new Chief of Staff at Stephens County Hospital. He was introduced at the hospital’s authority meeting Monday afternoon.

Dr. Fernandez is an OB-GYN at the Toccoa Clinic and will be Chief of Staff for the next two years.

He told the authority board Monday that he has asked his staff to make a list of their top five issues they face everyday and he said the issues and goals are attainable. "We have discussed with the hospital medical staff to make us aware of their top five priority issues they would like addressed in the next year." Dr. Fernandez said. "Those have been brought to me and they have been compiled and we’re looking forward to working with the board to accomplish some of these goals. Some of these goals we almost everyday take for granted, like improvements in some of the physical plant and communications."

The physician said that one might think there would be a huge amount of areas where the staff indicated some attention was needed. To the contrary, many of the staff had the same issues. "Most physicians on the medical staff have the same basic concerns," he added. "And they all focus around patient care and out authority board members are also concerned with patient care, so it should be a good relationship, working with this board to solve these issues and move on the next five issues next year."

Dr. Fernandez is a former hospital authority member in Elbert County as well as a former Chief of Staff at Elbert Memorial Hospital.

County Commissioners say it may be F2007 before the County can help fund the Stephens County Recovery Academy. The Academy lost its funding through the federal "No Child Left Behind" program at the end of 2005. For the past several months, director John Gailor has been looking for new financial aid, but has not been able to secure any grants. Gailor says the problem is that most foundations will not consider the Recovery Academy because it gets no help from the local government.

Last week, Commissioners discussed Gailor’s request for monetary help, but Commissioner Rex Anderson said there is just no money in the budget. "It's not in our budget and I just don't know that we can stand that much pressure at the present time," Anderson said. "Even though I realize it's a good thing or it appears to be at least, I think it needs to be looked at a little more in depth and we revisit this a little closer to budget time," he said.

However, the Recovery Academy cannot wait that long and is in desperate need of financial assistance now, according to County Administrator Darrell Hampton. "The way it was represented to us by Mr. Gailor is that if they were to wait for the grant applications in April or they waited for the July budget cycle they would be out of business and they would have to start anew and again and they're trying to bridge that," Hampton noted.

It takes about $30,000 a month to operate the Recovery Academy, which helps students who have been expelled from school get their lives back together. Gailor says donations from private citizens and local businesses have given them enough money to stay open through the end of January.

Once again, Trinity CME Church was the location of the 15^th Annual Interfaith Service yesterday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior.

The Fortson sisters provided music for the service, which attracted local citizens and leaders alike. In opening remarks, Mrs. Shelby Gober told the congregation the Martin Luther King Junior holiday was not a day to relax but to act. Gober said we should all ask ourselves, "Where do we go from here?"

"Dr. King wrote in 1967 to the SCLC asking that very question, ‘Where do we go from here?’" Gober said. "So, it's important that as each of us sit here today and listen to the speeches and everything that takes place that when we leave here when we look at our education system we ask, ‘Where do we go from here?’ When we look at poverty and prosperity, we ask the question, ‘Where do we go from here?’" she said.

The Reverend Dr. Henry Fields, pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church in Toccoa said the work of Dr. King should never be forgotten. "I do not want the young people to forget where all this came from," Rev. Fields explained. "I grew up, as many of you did, in a segregated society where what you're doing today would never be possible if it were not for the leadership of a man who said, ‘It's time to tear the wall down,’ and he did," he said.

This year’s guest speaker was the Reverend Dr. Anthony Alford, pastor of the Butler Street CME Church in Atlanta. After the service, citizens marched for peace from the church on Franklin Street to the steps of Toccoa City Hall where the winner of this year’s oratorical competition read his speech. Bradley Manse told the crowd Dr. King’s message of non-violence is for all races. "He felt that blacks and poor whites were natural allies not enemies and could work together. This ideology demonstrated that Dr. King was a man of great wisdom, a man of great courage and a man chosen by God to do His will," Manse concluded.

Yesterday’s service and march concluded two weeks of events sponsored by the Black Christian Men’s Association and Auxiliary.

Today is the only day you can make a reservation to meet personally with the Governor. Governor Sonny Perdue will hold his next "Saturday with Sonny" this weekend in Atlanta. Citizens will have five minutes with the Governor to share their thoughts, discuss an issue or ask a question.

The meeting this Saturday will take place from 2p.m. to 4p.m. at the State Capitol in downtown Atlanta.

You must call to reserve an appointment in advance by calling the Governor’s Constituent Services Hotline at 404-656-1776. The five-minute meetings are not open to media or registered lobbyists.

The 2006 tax filing season has begun and the Internal Revenue Service is sending 17.7 million 1040 tax packages out to taxpayers who have previously filed paper returns. That’s fewer than what has been sent out in the past. IRS spokesman Eric Erickson tells WNEG more and more taxpayers are opting to file their returns online via e-file. Some of the new and improved features on the IRS.gov Web site this year include:

For 2006 there’s some other good news. You get two extra days to file your return because April 15 falls on a weekend this year. Tax returns do not have to be posted until midnight, April 17.

In celebration of the Dr. Martin Luther King Junior holiday, the 15^th Annual Inter-Faith Service is being held at Trinity CME Church at noon today. The service caps off two weeks of special events in Toccoa sponsored by the Black Christian Men’s Association and Auxiliary.

Guest speaker will be the Reverend Dr. Anthony Alford, pastor of the Butler Street CME Church in Atlanta. The Fortson Sisters will provide music. This year, special awards will be given to Joe Wilkes for his community service and to L.J. Harrison who will receive the president’s award.

Following the service, there will be a March for Peace from the church to the steps of Toccoa City Hall where the winner of the oratorical contest will read their speech.

In addition to today’s events in Stephens County, Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs has a week of events planned. The theme of this week’s events is, "Embracing Others." Today, the college will host a student-led worship service at 11 a.m. at the Franklin Springs Pentecostal Holiness Church. The theme is "The Call of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."

A cross-cultural service will be held tomorrow evening at 6 p.m. at Taylor Chapel as well. Then on Friday, a group will drive down to Atlanta to visit the Martin Luther King Center, and the MLK Historic Home site and Dr. King’s grave.

Next Monday, the events finish with the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Junior college convocation at 10 a.m. in the Swails Center.

A new pre-k program will be starting soon at Eastanollee Elementary school. Stephens County School Superintendent Gary Steppe tells WNEG they anticipate receiving extra state funding to add the additional program.

If final approval is granted, Steppe says the program is expected to start in early to mid-February. Funding is based on the number of underserved four-year old children in Stephens County. Therefore, children who are not presently attending any public or private pre-k program will receive first priority. Right now, three of the four elementary schools in Stephens County have a pre-k program.

In order to register your child, they must have turned four on September first 2005. Your child must also have a birth certificate, a social security card, immunization record, and proof of residency to register.

Registration will take place from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Eastanollee Elementary school from January 18 through January 25^th.

Sacha Taylor, the wife of Lt. Governor Mark Taylor will be back in her home town of Lavonia this evening to speak to the Franklin County Democratic Party. Mrs. Taylor is in the area stumping for her husband, who is running for governor this year.

Franklin County Democratic Chairperson tells WNEG they plan to have at least one local and state democratic candidate at their meetings each month until the elections in November.

The Lt. Governor’s wife was in Toccoa last June on a fact-finding tour just prior to her husband announcing his candidacy for governor. At the time, Taylor says one of the problems her husband will be focusing on during his campaign is keeping the HOPE scholarship alive.

One of the problems he believes with the HOPE scholarship is rising tuition and other fees. Taylor blames the shortfall in the HOPE scholarship funding on colleges and universities who take advantage of the scholarship monies by raising their rates in order to collect more money from the state program.

The public is invited to hear Taylor tonight at 7 p.m. at the La Cabana Mexican Restaurant on Highway 17.

Georgia’s initial unemployment claims rose in December, according to the State Department of Labor. Last month, 44,222 laid-off workers filed first-time claims for unemployment benefits.

That’s up 23% from November.

In Stephens County, 355 workers filed for first-time benefits in December, up from 273 in November. State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond tells WNEG much of the increase was largely due to seasonal lay-offs in the construction and agriculture industries.

Initial claims are considered to be a leading economic indicator because they measure newly laid-off workers.

A program announced this week by Governor Sonny Perdue to crack down the growing methamphetamine problem in Georgia is getting bi-partisan support. However, State Representative Jeanette Jamieson says the one million dollars Perdue is proposing to set up a special GBI task force is a bit shortsighted.

"I'm delighted at that," noted Jamieson. "However, a million dollars will not touch what needs to be done to try to and control the meth problems and drug problems in our state. We’re experiencing the same situations in Georgia they’re experiencing nationwide and so many of our families now have family members that are addicted to either drugs or alcohol. Because of their addiction, they steal and they end up in jail and then we need to either house them in the county jail or we have to house them in the state prison. The governor is proposing 4300 new state prison beds and a part of the reason for that is to try and empty on a more current basis our county jails of state prisoners, which will be grand for jails such as Stephens county," she concluded.

Perdue is asking$42-million dollars to add 3,700 new prison beds for inmates. Jamieson, meantime, will be discussing these and other issues being addressed in Atlanta tomorrow at the Democratic Party breakfast at 8 a.m. At the Maryland fried chicken restaurant on Mize road.

It’s not clear how a Hart County man, who was under arrest managed to shoot himself. It happened late Wednesday night. Hart County Sheriff Mike Cleveland tells WNEG the man, identified as 59-year old James White, was being transported in a police cruiser to the Hart County jail.

That’s when, Cleveland said, white pulled out a small caliber pistol he had hidden and shot himself.

Officers immediately transported him to the hart county hospital where he died a short time later.

The Georgia bureau of investigation was called in and is conducting a routine investigation into the death.

It is not known at this time if the officer involved faces any action.

A Lavonia man is charged molesting a 14-year old teenager. It happened over Christmas, according to police chief randy Shirley, who says the girl’s mother called police on Christmas Eve. "After the interviews with the Power House for Kids in Toccoa, we arrested Jeff Watkins of Lavonia. They had somewhat of a relationship that developed last summer and escalated, so as a result of his interview and the interview with powerhouse for kids, we arrested him for child molestation," Shirley said. Watkins faces two counts of aggravated sexual battery and two counts of child molestation.

Meantime, a South Carolina man accused of molesting three girls from Seneca remains in the Franklin County jail. Shirley says he expects 25-year old Billy Paul Cobb to go before a judge later this month.

There’s a bond hearing on 27 January and I believe it's going to be in Madison County. If the judge grants him a bond and his bond is fulfilled in Georgia, he will immediately be extradited to Oconee County, SC where he faces kidnapping and child molestation charges.

Cobb allegedly took the girls, ages 11, 12, and 13 from their home in Seneca on December 28. An Amber Alert was put out and the girls were discovered in a Lavonia motel room with Cobb the following night.

Stephens County Sheriff’s investigators are looking into another report of a mail scam. A woman on DeFoor Road told deputies she received a check in the mail for more than $3,000 from someone she did not know.

The woman said she called the 800-number and was told she had won $100,000. She said she was told all she needed to do to claim the hundred-thou was deposit the $3,000 check and send back $2,500.

The woman told deputies she refused to do that fearing it was a scam and reported it to authorities.

County and City of Toccoa offices will be closed Monday in observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King Junior holiday. That means City garbage pick up for Monday will be done on Tuesday, but Commercial garbage pickup will remain on its regular schedule Monday. Fire and police departments will be working their regular schedule on Monday, and the Pines Golf Course will remain open as usual.

There are a number of events going on this weekend and next week in observance of the Dr. Martin Luther King Junior holiday. Here in Toccoa - Stephens County, the annual MLK Talent and Fashion Show will be held tomorrow evening at 5 p.m. at the Schaefer Center and admission is free.

Sponsored by The Black Christian Men’s Association and Auxiliary, producer Juanita Johnson says over 16 acts have signed up so far, some coming from out of state. "I think we have a comedian coming out of South Carolina and I know we do have Miss Valerie Brown Stevens, internationally acclaimed athletic tra