Gainesville City Council's to-do list

As Gainesville officials spent the past three days at a planning retreat, several issues came to the front of the agenda. Here is a look at some of the items city officials have put on the top of their to-do lists this year:

Second teen pleads guilty in Laurelwood molestation case

The second of two teen defendants in a molestation that occurred at the Laurelwood mental health treatment facility pleaded guilty Friday.

Photo in newspaper helps police nab bank robbery suspect

After allegedly robbing three Forsyth County banks in two weeks without any effort to disguise his face, David Ryan Stone might not have been surprised to see a surveillance camera image of himself when he picked up a local newspaper Thursday.

Pie & politics: Wauka Mountain supper a community tradition

Before he entered politics, Nathan Deal held the post of ticket salesman at the Wauka Mountain Chicken Pie Supper. While Deal doesn't list the job on his extensive resume, he doesn't miss the annual event, which has been held for 83 years.

Truck driver arrested in fatal wreck

A tractor-trailer driver from Butler has been charged with vehicular homicide after a fatal wreck Friday afternoon in Forsyth County.

Local hiker had scary brush with Hilton

Nancy Linkesh will never know how close she came to being Gary Hilton's victim.

Gainesville, Buford school leaders earn top pay

GAINESVILLE -- School administrators in Georgia looking for top pay need only look to North Georgia.

Hall County deputies hurt in pursuit

Two Hall County deputies sustained some bad bumps and bruises, but no broken bones, after they tumbled down a 35-foot ravine while chasing a fleeing suspect late Tuesday. Hall County emergency medical service workers spent about an hour hoisting wounded Hall County Sheriff's Deputy Corey Gilleland out of the ravine in a wooded area near Oliver Road in South Hall after the 11 p.m. incident, using a stretcher and basket ...

Gang members get sentenced to total of 76 years for involvement in drive-by shootings

Ernesto Reyes said he got the wrong house when he fired three shotgun blasts at a home in the Silverwood subdivision off Candler Road last August. Reyes, an acknowledged member of the BOE street gang, will have up to 24 years behind bars to contemplate the mistake.

Gov. Perdue eases water restrictions to give homeowners — and the landscaping industry — a reprieve

ATLANTA - Gov. Sonny Perdue threw a much-needed lifeline to Georgia's nursery and landscaping industries on Wednesday by easing watering restrictions on new landscape plants. Also on Wednesday, Perdue announced that the current moratorium on the filling of swimming pools, banned under the outdoor watering restrictions, will be eased. The state will allow limited filling of pools. The news on pools was welcomed by Melvin Cooper, director ...

Man arrested in ‘grow house’ case

One man has been charged and his son is being sought in connection with the Tuesday discovery of more than 800 marijuana plants growing in the basement of a North Hall home.

State tornado drills put off until Friday

GAINESVILLE - A prediction for bad weather Wednesday morning put off a drill designed to help protect Georgia students from bad weather. Tornado watches and the threat of severe storms canceled the early morning event, which is part of the National Weather Service's annual Georgia Severe Weather Awareness Week. The drill now is scheduled for Friday morning. Residents can see information about topics such as ...

Authorities seek bank robbery suspect

Forsyth County law enforcement officials are searching for a suspect in three Forsyth County bank robberies.

Doctor recounts work on death row

The life of a psychiatrist can be unpredictable simply because he works with patients who may be mentally unstable.

Flowery Branch offices shuffle around downtown

Flowery Branch City Council approved the purchase of two buildings for city use Wednesday.

Ex-bank manager from Murrayville charged in theft

Class Notes: Uzbekistanis visit Lanier Tech

A group of 11 Uzbekistanis, including farmers, businessmen and a representative of the country's Ministry of Agriculture and Water Management recently visited Lanier Technical College to learn about its refrigeration program.

Local political group protests IRS focus

Area residents took to the sidewalk in front of the local Internal Revenue Service office, waving signs and encouraging people driving by to honk in protest of the agency and revelations that some conservative groups have been targeted by IRS agents.

Graduation rates up in local schools

Hall County graduation rates increased in 2012 from 2011.

Fire destroys home; one treated for smoke inhalation

Gene Jones was outside his Commander Drive home cutting his grass when he saw smoke pouring out to the road.

Gainesville awards bid for convention center study

Gainesville City Council approved awarding the bid for the convention center and hotel feasibility study to consulting firms Key Advisors Inc. and the Bleakly Advisory Group on Tuesday evening.

Flood damage costs start to emerge

Flowery Branch officials are estimating $1.4 million in expenses related to Sunday's historic rainfall, and so far it appears that most of the financial burden is falling on the beleaguered South Hall city.

Norfolk Southern says heavy rains overwhelmed Flowery Branch culverts

Norfolk Southern officials said Tuesday that culverts in Flowery Branch were overwhelmed Sunday by the heavy rains that fell overnight.

Local efforts gather help for Oklahoma tornado victims

Syfan Logistics is working to do its part to help victims of the tornadoes in Oklahoma.

Flood causes sewer spill into Flowery Branch Creek

Sunday's historic flood in Flowery Branch has produced another problem for the beleaguered South Hall city - a 200,000-gallon sewer spill into Flowery Branch Creek.

Ridgewood Avenue to close at 9 p.m.

Ridgewood Avenue will be closed at 9 tonight until 4 a.m. Wednesday while Georgia Power does work in the area.

The Local Agenda: Germans to come to Hall to study immigration

A group from Germany will be visiting Hall County on Wednesday, looking to learn about American cultural life and political issues but particularly immigration.

Longstreet Clinic moves into expanded office in Oakwood

The staff at The Longstreet Clinic Family Medicine practice in Oakwood hurried to move into its renovated site Monday, hoping to begin working from it today.

Hall County sheriff proposes buying 12-14 patrol cars

To update its aging fleet, the Hall County Sheriff's Office is looking at spending $550,000 to buy 12-14 new patrol cars and refurbish another four or five.

Crews busy fixing roads after floods

Under sunny skies and no trace of rain, area governments worked Monday to fix roads that had been damaged, some seriously, by fierce storms overnight Sunday.