History center exhibit highlights 9 presidential visits to the county

The next time you drive down Bradford Street in Gainesville, or take a stroll around the square, look down.

Gainesville wildlife artist Jay Kemp to be honored at Charleston event

Lying on the ground in the northernmost part of the Rocky Mountains, Jay Kemp found what he was looking for.

Local churches offer course to help those in need of money management training

Several Gainesville churches are preaching a message of peace. That is, financial peace. Northside Family Worship Center, Northlake Baptist Church, Lakewood Baptist Church, all in Gainesville, are currently helping people learn to manage their finances with Financial Peace University. Other churches including Gainesville First United Methodist Church, Lanier Hills Church North Campus will be offering the course in the coming months. Financial Peace University is a nine-week course designed by personal money-management expert and radio ...

Lyman Hall students aim to help build wells for families in Africa

Most elementary students don't have to think about where they'll get water to drink; it's down the hall and comes out of the fountain.

Gainesville WWII veteran honored for his service during his 90th birthday celebration

At 90 years old, Frank Downing's class of peers is a small one. As a World War II veteran, the numbers become even more elite. For his recent birthday, Downing's children were on a mission to make this celebration the best yet by going to great lengths to ensure that his military service was properly recognized. Based on the happy tears glistening in his eyes throughout his party, one could speculate they made the Purple ...

Performance tackles the fear, challenge of battling cancer

Cassidy Elliott paused for a moment, took a deep breath and stood motionless as her muscles trembled. A tiny bead of sweat formed on her forehead. She only had one thing on her mind.

'Lincoln' tops Academy Award nominations

Around the Home: Off the menu and off the hips

Yes, it's possible to make smart dining out choices. Some restaurants now post nutritional information such as calorie content on their menus. More in-depth information is usually available in pamphlets at the location or on their websites. The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension offers these strategies that may help you make better choices: If you know what the healthier choices are, plan what you'll order before leaving for the restaurant. Then, if possible, order before ...

From soil to plate, minus the chemicals

Cooking with farm fresh ingredients isn't exactly a new idea. People have doing it for centuries.

Pediatrician offers ways parents can head off childhood obesity

New Year's resolutions aren't just for grown-ups; kids benefit from healthy changes, too.

Scholar with Gainesville family leads quest to decipher Rhode Island founder’s mysterious text

Lucas Mason-Brown has always had an interest in puzzles and mathematics. So it stands to reason the Brown University senior math major would be interested in joining a team of undergraduate students as they attempted to solve a centuries-old Rhode Island mystery. Mason-Brown is from Belmont, Mass. His father, Roger Brown Jr., grew up in Gainesville and graduated from Gainesville High School in 1974. The family returns to Gainesville several times a year to visit ...

Life for Haiti uses school bus as shipping container

Obviously, buses are great at transporting a lot of people at once, but they're pretty handy when it comes to transporting a lot of stuff, too.

Winter treats for visiting birds are a needed source of food

The birds at our house thrive on a gourmet diet - pretty much year-round. There's a meal worm feeder for bluebirds, nut feeder for woodpeckers, thistle feeder for finches, safflower feeder for cardinals and black oil sunflower seed feeder for everyone. Overripe blueberries, chopped apples, orange wedges and banana slices are placed in a fly-through feeder, and nut- and fruit-enhanced suet goes out when the temperatures drop into the 30s. All feeders are caged or ...

Churches burn away baggage and pray for the new year

Most people make New Year's resolutions that focus on improving the physical and material aspects of life.

Food pantry closing after 26 years of meals, prayers and inspiration from its founder

Vickie Baker sat back in her chair as a friend held up a camera. The friend asked the 89-year-old woman to smile. Baker grinned for the photo, though she said she didn't actually want to. She said she didn't feel very happy; she felt a little sad. Baker and several supporters of More Than Enough food pantry gathered on Christmas Eve in a beige office building off Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Gainesville. But ...

Residents rediscover edible roots

By eight o'clock Saturday morning, Bill and Latrelle Thomas had already sold all of their beets.

Contra dancing in Sautee-Nacoochee

One Saturday night a month, the old gym behind the Sautee-Nacoochee Center in White County comes alive with the sound of mountain music and swirling of dancers following a contra dance caller. Contra dancing is a blend of folk and square dancing and is practiced all across the country.

Father, son trek to nation's capital

When Harry Scroggs was serving his country in the U.S. Army during World War II, he saw trucks loaded with fallen soldiers who paid the price of freedom with their lives as they were shipped home from the battlefield.

Two are teams place in Odyssey of Mind contest

Aaron Turpin could only watch as his team of fourth- and fifth-graders from World Language Academy tried to turn on a waterwheel.

Gainesville girl on a medical mission

Erica Granger expected to see a different way of life when she went on a mission trip to Uganda. But she didn't expect the trip to change her view of her life after returning home.

Area home's backyard deemed a ‘hidden jewel’

From the road, Jim and Mary Beth Tharp's home is a pleasant sight with a green, manicured lawn and garden. A small sign by the road hints more artistry may be involved than one would notice on first glance.

Moonshiner makes his final batch

After spending nearly a century in the mountains near Canton, one moonshiner is preparing his last batch in Dawsonville.

U.S. flag is a symbol of a nation

Two hundred years ago this summer, Maj. George Armistead commissioned a flag maker by the name of Mary Young Pickersgill in Baltimore, Md., to sew two flags for Fort McHenry at Baltimore Harbor. One of them would be 30 feet by 42 feet, large enough the British could see it from a long distance across the water as it loomed over the star-shaped fort.

Artifacts found in North Georgia cornfield

On the surface, an old cornfield in North Hall County is just another place to grow feed for livestock. But 2 feet under ground, it's a 1,500-year-old time capsule.

Mormon church sees boost in female students

Sister Tara Reese, 20, and her companion, Sister Britteny Breinholt, 19, ride their bicycles six miles each day around the neighborhoods in the Oakwood area attempting to share the gospel with people they meet.

Staking tomatoes brings benefits, responsibilities

A month from now, don't say I didn't warn you.