Gainesville designated ‘certified city of ethics’

GAINESVILLE - Gainesville has officially been designated a "certified city of ethics." Along with six other cities in the state, Gainesville received the designation at the Georgia Municipal Association's Mayor's Day Conference on Sunday. The cities of Duluth, Jenkinsburg, Senoia, Tallapoosa, Union Point and Walnut Grove were also designated certified cities of ethics. To become a certified city of ethics, the council must adopt ethics ordinances that are ...

Hall County schools to hold job fair on Feb. 23

The Hall County school system plans to hold its annual job fair 9 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Feb. 23 at the Gainesville Civic Center on Green Street.

In final State of the Union, president threatens to use veto power

With the public's attention already diverted toward the upcoming presidential election, President George W. Bush stood up Monday night and reminded the nation that he is still the person in charge.

Jones fifth-grader wins Hall schools spelling bee

OAKWOOD - Jones Elementary School fifth-grader Parker Ramey won the Hall County School System spelling bee Monday morning at West Hall Middle School. Parker, 10, is the son of Hank and Casey Ramey. Hank Ramey is principal at Jones.

Hall unveils Sardis Connector map

The latest map for the proposed route of the Sardis Road Connector is now available on the Hall County government Web site. Although the map is not a document of the final route for the Sardis Road Connector construction, it is the route the county is pursuing right now, said Jody Woodall, road projects manager for Hall County.

Westminster announces new headmaster

Westminster Christian School has named a new headmaster to begin work July 1.

Nominations due for student 'STARS'

GAINESVILLE - A Thursday deadline is set to nominate students considered deserving to be honored in the Grady Young Foundation's Fifth Annual Memorial Weekend Youth Recognition Banquet on March 15.

Man, 23, taken to hospital after suicide standoff

GAINESVILLE - Law enforcement officials have released the name of a Gainesville man who was involved in a two-hour standoff with police after threatening to shoot himself. Matthew Christopher White, 23, of Gainesville was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center for treatment late Saturday after threatening to commit suicide in his room at the Ramada Limited on Jesse Jewell Parkway. Gainesville police arrived at the Ramada Limited ...

Text of President Bush's 2008 State of the Union address

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Church embraces future: Pastor’s retirement coincides with opening new sanctuary

Jeff Parks was 5 years old when he first met the Rev. Gerald Jordan at Calvary Temple Assembly of God. Thirty-four years later, Parks attended Jordan's retirement party Sunday, which celebrated Jordan's 50 years of Christian ministry. Parks was one of more than 200 people who showed up to honor Jordan. Members of many local Assembly of God churches attended the event and credited Jordan with helping the denomination open ...

After proposal on bended knee, he goes to bridal expo with wife-to-be

After three years of dating, Clay Carlyle got down on bended knee, looked deep into girlfriend Jennifer Reece's eyes and asked for her hand in marriage.

UGA scholarship to celebrate memory of slain hiker

A fund is being set up at the University of Georgia in memory of Meredith Emerson, the 24-year-old hiker who disappeared New Year's Day after hiking on a Union County trail and was later found slain. When fully endowed, the Meredith Hope Emerson Memorial Fund for Study Abroad will be given to a UGA student each year for study in a French-speaking country, with preference given to current and former ...

Stress-relief for a good cause

Some three dozen people spent their Saturday morning not only getting a bit of stress relief, but helping out a local woman.

Road racing goes green

It's not every day that an environmental official asks for a round of applause for an auto racing series.

Chamber marks 100 years of building Hall

Gainesville wasn't exactly a boom town in 1908.

Residents get peek at potential passenger rail service between Atlanta and Charlotte

SUWANEE - Miles Williams is eager to find out whether Suwanee, the North Gwinnett city where generations of his family have lived, will once again be a bustling stop for passenger rail.

Probable cause hearing set for slaying suspect

A probable cause hearing is set for later this month after a Gainesville man made his first appearance Tuesday in Hall County Magistrate Court on murder charges.

Motion denied, trial date set in 2012 boating deaths

A Hall County Superior Court judge Tuesday denied a motion to dismiss the case against Paul Bennett, who is charged with eight counts of homicide by vessel in a Lake Lanier accident that killed two Buford boys.

Gainesville City Council faces more opposition to at-large voting at meeting

Gainesville has an ugly history of discrimination and the city's at-large voting system is violating the federal Voting Rights Act, a speaker said at Tuesday's City Council meeting.

Hall County's tax digest drops

Hall County's 2013 final tax digest is down 1.51 percent from last year, according to final numbers from the Tax Commissioner's office, making the county's 2014 proposed budget short by $560,000.

Class Notes: Gainesville City Schools hosting meal program

Deal ‘ready to spend’ state funds to deepen harbor

Gov. Nathan Deal said Tuesday he's willing to use state money to start deepening the Port of Savannah's busy shipping channel without waiting for funding from Washington as long as the federal government promises to pay its share of the $652 million project later.

Blood drive to honor disaster victims

The Hall County Sheriff's Office is teaming up with the North Georgia Detention Center and the American Red Cross to host a blood drive to honor victims of natural disasters both close to home and hundreds of miles away.

Suspect charged with murder in fatal shooting

A man was shot and killed Monday evening in the parking lot outside the Peppers Market off E.E. Butler Parkway in Gainesville.

Flowery Branch named fastest growing city in Hall County

Flowery Branch is Hall County's fastest-growing city, expanding 2.7 percent between July 2011 and July 2012, according to recently released census statistics.

An eXtreme eXperience: Summer camps focus on career offerings

"Do you feel nourished?" That's what rising seventh-grader Christina Antoci asked Adrianna Silva after wiping toner from her face Monday.

The Local Agenda: Gainesville City Council has full agenda

City Council members are scheduled to consider several items at their meeting this evening. On the agenda are raising city water and sewer prices, adopting a West Gainesville-Hall County opportunity zone, setting the 2014 property tax rate for the Gainesville Board of Education and changing the ordinance on annexations initiated by the city.

Taxi driver shot in hand during fight

A Gainesville man was charged with using a gun with a filed-off identification number after a man was shot in the hand outside the J&J Foods on Jesse Jewell Parkway just before midnight Saturday.

Kitchen Inspections for April 12-17

April 12

Hot weather health tips

Here are some tips to help you deal with the summer heat wave.