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Canton Marketplace set to open in spring
A regional shopping hub is starting to take shape off I-575 in Canton. Canton Marketplace, a Sembler development, appears on track to open next spring, Cherokee County Commission Chairman Buzz Ahrens said. The shopping center, more than 800,000 square feet, is being built at I-575 and Ga. 20 and will include discount department stores, big box retailers, shop space and outparcels. The project will include a new parkway east of I-575 that will connect Ga. 20 to Ga. 140 south of the project and to Ga. 5 north of the project.
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Cherokee puts off vote on renter law targeting illegal immigrants
The Cherokee County Commission decided Monday night to wait until at least mid-January to consider passing an ordinance that would require all renters to pay a $5 fee and subject themselves to verification that they are in the country legally. The ordinance, Cherokee's second attempt in three years to crack down on illegal immigrants, also would give the county the power to suspend the business licenses of companies that hire undocumented workers. Buzz Ahrens, chairman of the commission, said the board would take the time to further review the ordinance, and to digest feedback it received Monday night at a public hearing.
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Masked thieves steal 40 guns from Bargain Barn
The federal ATF and Jasper police are offering a $5,000 reward after the weekend break-in at a popular sporting goods store and the theft of 40 guns. A video surveillance camera caught three masked men smashing display cases at the Bargain Barn in Jasper early Saturday and, in less than two minutes, escaping with 34 semi-automatic pistols and six rifles. The value of the guns was not immediately disclosed.
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Cherokee seeks to make renters show they're legal
The Cherokee County Commission is making another stab at cracking down on illegal immigrants with an ordinance that makes renters prove their citizenship and threatens to suspend the business licenses of companies with undocumented workers. The commission tried something similar in 2006, with an ordinance on renting that put a bigger burden on landlords. The first ordinance was immediately challenged in court and never enforced, and the same groups that objected to it will be in the audience Monday night when the new ordinance is presented to the public.
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MUST Ministries running out of food
It's another sign of the bleak economic times. The food warehouse at MUST Ministries, a faith-based program with pantries in Marietta, Smyrna and Canton, is 75 percent empty. Resource development coordinator Annette Lee said more people are asking for help and fewer people are donating. The number of families needing help with food is up 30 to 40 percent compared to a year ago and donations are down 25 percent. MUST also gives Thanksgiving baskets to needy families in Smyrna and Canton, and feeds about 1,500 people on Thanksgiving Day at the Marietta location.
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Sanitation worker's leg crushed by car in Woodstock
A 28-year-old sanitation worker had his right leg crushed Monday morning when a car slammed into the back of a garbage truck in Woodstock. The worker was taken to Kennestone Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery, said Woodstock Police Officer Danny Greeson. He is "doing well" and, with the help of "modern medicine," is expected to keep his leg, Greeson said.
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Lower gas prices could mean cheaper traffic ticket
The decline in gas prices isn't just helping the Everyday Joe, it's also bringing down the cost of traffic tickets in Holly Springs. Police Chief Ken Ball said Thursday he has asked the City Council to repeal a $12 "fuel fee" that was imposed last June, when near $3.75-a-gallon gas prices were threatening to break his department's budget. "Now that prices have come down, we're doing what our naysayers said we wouldn't do," Ball said. "We're repealing the fee."
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YMCA offers exercise classes at Reinhardt College
Reinhardt College has teamed up with the local YMCA to make exercise a part of campus life. The college and the G. Cecil Pruett Community Center Family YMCA started offering a free, on-campus exercise program this fall for students, faculty and staff. The program was developed after several surveys showed students wanted the convenience of on-campus classes because of time and financial constraints, said Walter May, Reinhardt's assistant dean of students and director of student activities.
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Woodstock to celebrate Veterans Day Tuesday
Woodstock holds its first Veterans Day celebration Tuesday night. The highlight will be the presentation of the winning schematic for the Woodstock Memorial, which is slated to unveiled on Memorial Day next year. The candlelight ceremonies start at 7 p.m. at Woodstock City Park on East Main Street. In the event of rain, the ceremony will be moved to Woodstock Community Church, across the street from the park.
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Police raid home offering sex on Craigslist
Six people have been arrested for allegedly operating an illegal massage parlor out of a house in Cherokee County. The arrests followed a six-week investigation and a raid Thursday on the house on East Cherokee Drive in the Hickory Flat community, said Sgt. Jay Baker, spokesman for the Cherokee County Sheriff's Department. Charges against the suspects ranged from pimping to masturbation for hire and illegal drug possession.
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Jones wins mayor's race in Waleska
Voters in Waleska decided Tuesday to return to office three incumbent city councilmembers and picked Doris Ann Jones as their next mayor. Unofficial votes showed Jones defeating Jim Bell by 15 votes in the race to succeed outgoing Mayor Marguerite Cline. Waleska only has 206 registered voters.
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Cherokee voters approve bond referendum for parks
Cherokee County voters have overwhelmingly approved plans to invest $90 million in green space and parks and recreation projects. With 44 of 46 precincts reporting, the unofficial results from Tuesday's balloting showed about 62 percent of all voters supported the referendum, which will mean a property tax increase. Taxes will go up by about $60 on a $200,000 house, effective with the tax bills that go out in October 2009.
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Woodstock refuses bond to refinance labor office
The Woodstock City Council has balked at issuing bonds for a Department of Labor office in Kennesaw that serves Cherokee and north Cobb counties. "This was really a refinancing for a group that recently purchased the building," City Manager Jeff Moon said. "We were approached by the building owners, not the state." Council members generally were concerned about the potential long-term impact on the city if the Department of Labor pulled out of its lease, Moon said.
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New school plans scrapped
Cherokee County school officials are scrapping plans for one of five new elementary schools. Frank Petruzielo, the county's school superintendent, blames it on the economy and weak retail sales, which translate into fewer sales tax dollars for the school system. Revenues from the extension of the system's special purpose local option sales tax for education are down 16 percent, or $2.9 million for the first seven months.
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Buford woman dies in Cherokee wreck
A Buford woman died Tuesday afternoon after a two-car head-on collision in Cherokee County. The victim, identified as Bonita Green, 37, was a passenger in a vehicle traveling westbound on Cumming Highway near Water Tank Road, the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office reported. According to a preliminary investigation, the driver of a car traveling eastbound lost control and struck the vehicle in which Green was riding.
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