Gainesville State to graduate 280

OAKWOOD - Gainesville State College's graduation ceremonies will return to the campus today in what will be the school's first biannual commencement ceremony. Nearly 280 students who completed their two-year degrees and certificates in the summer and fall semesters of this year are eligible to participate in today's commencement ceremony. For the past 20 years, the school's commencement ceremonies have been held at the Georgia Mountains Center. ...

Multitude of mangers: Church displays 250 crèches

GAINESVILLE -- They are made of every material imaginable - glass, metal, wood, ceramic, fabric and coconut shell. One is even alive.

Legislators hear local leaders’ goals for 2008

The wait was long, as were some of the lists of things wanted.

Gainesville principal returns from education trip to Egypt

Jill Goforth's students couldn't be riding a camel with her in the Egyptian desert, but they could see the pictures she sent back and the descriptions of her exotic trip.

Lt. Gov. Cagle lays state’s water woes at feet of Corps of Engineers

Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle blamed the prolonged drought and mismanagement of the state's river systems by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the state's current water crisis.

School board votes to endorse new fieldhouse

The Gainesville school board voted Thursday to OK a document that endorses proceeding with the design of a new fieldhouse at Bobby Gruhn Stadium, home of Gainesville High School's football team.

Rumored meth lab ‘teacher’ sentenced to 25 years in prison

A Sugar Hill man who authorities describe as a "teacher" for meth lab operators throughout Northeast Georgia was sentenced Friday to 25 years in federal prison. Randall Lane Scott, 49, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Gainesville following a guilty plea to charges of manufacturing methamphetamine and storing chemicals and equipment for the purpose of manufacturing methamphetamine. Scott was arrested in April 2002 by state and local ...

South Hall wildfires may be arson, officials say

The acrid smoke keeps drifting down from the woods bordering Donna and Greg Cash's red brick ranch house on Frazer Road. And the fire engines and Georgia Forestry tractors keep coming out to douse the flames and dig fire trenches.

College taking steps to reduce water usage

DAHLONEGA - North Georgia College & State University is taking several measures to reduce water consumption.

Find out about local history with new book

After months of gathering photos and information from Hall County residents, "The Pictorial History of Gainesville and Hall County" is finally here.

Union County jails man on robbery charges

A North Carolina man was arrested Tuesday in connection with the robbery of Appalachian Community Bank in Blairsville.

Hall rejects 608 homes on 418 acres

The Hall County Commission denied a rezoning request for a 608-unit residential development in northwest Hall opposed by many in the area.

Her loss of locks is another child’s gain

After three long years of waiting, the time for Danielle Richey's haircut finally arrived Thursday morning.

Drought taxes revenue: Public utilities earns less from water sales

Ongoing water conservation efforts, both local and state-mandated, may cause Gainesville's public utilities department to lose its streak of steadily increasing revenue, a financial auditor for the city said today.

Ongoing cleanup effort a ‘super’ idea

As the rapidly shrinking Lake Lanier reveals unprecedented amounts of previously buried trash, the Lake Lanier Association has come up with a new way to tackle the problem. Shore "Super" Sweep is a twist on Shore Sweep, the association's annual lake cleanup that's usually held in September. The "super" sweep is an ongoing effort rather than a single event. "It's just not possible to hold enough organized cleanups ...

The Local Agenda: Gainesville to hold focus group meeting on Wednesday

A 10-member focus group giving input to Gainesville's transportation master plan is set to meet at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Fair Street Neighborhood Center, 715 Fair St.

Barn destroyed, horse killed at Coker Road fire

A horse barn was destroyed and one horse killed in a fire Monday afternoon in East Hall County.

Hall school board discusses maintaining morale with tight budget

The Hall County Board of Education discussed ways to maintain employee morale while working within next year's tight budget.

Oakwood looking at sewer project at apartments

Oakwood City Council voted Monday night to apply for a grant to help pay for a sewer system that would serve an apartment complex where a septic drain field has been failing for years.

Ga. 369 closed in Forsyth after striping truck overturns

Organizations looking for volunteers to make sandwiches

Making a sandwich is easy: two slices of bread, some meat and cheese, and voila.

Hall native studying oyster population

A Hall County native is at the forefront of research into oyster populations, a touchy subject for some Lake Lanier advocates who fret over water releases to protect endangered species in the Gulf of Mexico.

Glades funding application places project cost at $130M

Hall County expects to learn the results of its application to the Governor's Water Supply Program for funding the Glades Reservoir later this year.

Mann settling into role as sheriff’s community service officer

Since taking the helm of the Hall County Sheriff's Office, Gerald Couch has instituted changes both structurally and cosmetically, from streamlined command staff to refurbished patrol cars.

Tri-state water feud plays out in Congress

ATLANTA - The water dispute between Alabama, Florida and Georgia is provoking hardball politics in Congress, where Georgia lawmakers derailed a proposal that could restrict metro Atlanta's water supply.

Eyes on the Road: Resolution gets lukewarm OK from governor

Gov. Nathan Deal signed Senate Resolution 293 last week despite reservations over the renaming of Ga. 347 east of Interstate 985 in South Hall County, his office said.

Fire destroys Cleveland Highway convenience store

Fires in different parts of Hall County on Sunday kept firefighters busy on Mother's Day afternoon.

Kitchen Inspections for April 12-17

April 12

Mother’s Day has special meaning for women who struggle to conceive

Sometimes Allison Zafft said she thinks about the way her family and her life might have turned out if she'd never had her youngest daughter Aleah.

Deal praised for juvenile justice reform

Local legislators and juvenile stakeholders praised Gov. Nathan Deal's signing of a juvenile reform bill.