Homeless pets get a little holiday love

Days before Christmas, homeless animals were treated to a little holiday cheer Saturday at the Hall County Humane Society. Andrea Chandler and Christina Jones, employees at the Gainesville office of A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc., treated the pets to play time and toys with the help of other volunteers. Chandler and Jones both said they are animal lovers and felt that those at the Humane Society deserved a Christmas treat as well.

County’s trash sites to open on Christmas

If you dump your garbage outside a Hall County compactor site on Christmas morning, not only will Santa put you on his naughty list for next year, you also may get a ticket.

’Tis the season to play it safe

Gainesville Police Sgt. Dean Staples calls December "the deadliest time of the year" on local roads. It's a time when holiday parties and their festivities can mean more drunk driving accidents, more injuries and more deaths than any other time, officials say.

Derrer: Bird's-eye view of change

In 1980, Doug Derrer was driving down U.S. 129 in Hall County when he looked to his right and saw a field blanketed with freshly fallen snow. The young Miami-Dade police officer pulled his car to the highway shoulder and stepped out onto the icy asphalt. "I had never seen snow falling," Derrer said, "and I pulled off and thought, 'This is where I want to be.'"

‘I’m like the guy who used to make wagon wheels’

When Jack Hoffman joined the Air Force in 1958, he was assigned to a unit which maintained electronic navigation equipment. It was an ironic assignment for a young man who grew up in a rural Rabun County home where electricity was not available. For the past half-century, he has worked on a wide array of electronic devices, from antennas to Christmas tree angels.

Flowery Branch’s finest walk a store beat

Saturday, some South Hall officers made Christmas a little brighter for the kids in their jurisdiction. The Flowery Branch Police Department held its first "Shop with a Cop" event at the Wal-Mart in Oakwood.

City leaders push to keep Mike Evans on DOT board

Some state officials may be on the road to booting Mike Evans from his post on the Georgia Department of Transportation board, but the Gainesville City Council wants to push them down a different path. Earlier this month, the City Council sent a letter to all members of Hall County's state legislative delegation voicing support for Evans' re-appointment to the DOT board.

Specialist expands treatment options at cancer center

People who are diagnosed with a malignant tumor can generally expect to be referred to at least two specialists: a surgeon, who will try to remove the tumor, and a medical oncologist, who will administer chemotherapy. But women who have cancers of the reproductive organs sometimes see only one doctor: a gynecologic oncologist, who performs both surgery and chemo. There are only about 650 gynecologic oncologists practicing in ...

White County man killed in wreck

A Cleveland man was killed Friday in a car crash on Ga. 11 just north of Cleveland, Georgia State Patrol officials said. Michael Bailey, 26, was driving his Ford F-150 pickup truck northbound on the highway just north of High Meadow Trail when he attempted to pass a Jeep Wrangler driven by 31-year-old Jennifer Crews of Gainesville, officials said. Due to oncoming traffic ...

Attention shoppers: You have three days left to fill your Christmas list

If you've finished buying your holiday gifts, you're in the minority.

Holiday thefts targeted by task force

Several dozen people won't be home for the holidays, locked up as part of a Hall County Sheriff's Office plan intended to ferret out potential gift-stealing grinches in the community.

Teacher thrills students with tale of zero-gravity flight

To say that Tracy Robar was light on her feet doesn't quite describe the experience. The Gainesville High School math teacher was like a kid on a playground, tumbling, floating, falling and getting up to do it all over again.

Rep. Deal pleased with extension of PeachCare

Georgia's PeachCare program is safe for another year and a half, after Congress passed an extension plan that had been pushed by U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Gainesville. "We had introduced a bill early on, when it appeared there would be a stalemate," Deal said. "We felt like the states needed some certainty that they could count on in terms of funding, and 18 months was the most realistic time frame." ...

Police talk to woman from security video in homicide investigation

Hall County sheriff's investigators Friday interviewed a woman who was with a Gainesville man at a car rental center the day before his body was found dumped on the side of an interstate in Louisiana, dead of a gunshot wound. Hall County Sheriff's Maj. Jeff Strickland said the woman called authorities Thursday after recognizing herself in a surveillance camera image that was distributed to area news media outlets. Authorities had ...

Your help needed to identify robbery suspect

Authorities are asking for the public's help in identifying a man who robbed a clerk at gunpoint Thursday night at the Golden Pantry on Ga. 53. Hall County Sheriff's Maj. Jeff Strickland said the man entered the store around 10 p.m. Thursday and pointed a gun at the clerk, demanding money. He then fled with an undisclosed amount of cash in an older-model, red Ford Mustang, ...

Principal Coleman says goodbye to friends and school

Mark Coleman and the late Chris Mance spent the last few years preparing for retirement.

Hall County schools looking at new visitor identification system

Visitors to Hall County schools could have a new security checkpoint to go through beginning next school year.

German tourists learn about diversity

A Wednesday visit to Hall County by several German tourists served to illuminate a reality prominent in the U.S., and increasingly in the forefront of modern Europe - the tide of immigration.

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.