Class Notes: Gainesville City Schools hosting meal program

Gainesville City Schools will host a summer meal program open to the public through June 28 at Gainesville Middle School. The program is funded through the U.S. Department of Education's School Nutrition Program. Children 18 years and younger are eligible to eat at no cost. Adult charges are $1.50 for breakfast and $2.75 for lunch. People interested in participating may contact Michelle Bell or Louvenia Richardson at 770-534-4237. Flowery Branch High School teacher up ...

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.

Gainesville City Schools adopts tentative budget

The Gainesville City Schools Board of Education tentatively adopted its fiscal year 2014 budget at its Monday night work session.

Tax hike part of Hall schools budget approval

The Hall County Board of Education voted Monday night to OK a tentative $200 million budget for fiscal 2013-14, which begins July 1.

Jones Elementary renovations almost complete

Sylvester B. Jones Elementary School has undergone extensive renovations to prepare for a future when it could be once again at full capacity.

Oakwood business park buzzing with activity

Thurmon Tanner Parkway in Oakwood is continuing to buzz with activity. The city's planning commission voted last month to recommend approval to rezone and annex nearly 11 acres in the 4000 block of the four-lane road for Aerocom to set up offices. The company is moving from leased space in the Oakwood Industrial South Park off Rafe Banks Drive to slightly larger offices - about 12,000 square feet - in the burgeoning Tanners Creek Business ...

Hall County Sheriff’s Office to upgrade aging fleet

A stagnant motor pool at the Hall County Sheriff's Office will soon be invigorated with several new patrol cars.

Jail doctor gives inmates what they need

Physician Linwood Zoller's first stop Monday through Friday is the Hall County Jail. He practices a different kind of medicine than in his private practice.

Thunderstorms blow through area

Rain returned to the area Sunday night and might settle in for much of today. For the past couple weeks or so, residents have gotten a break in the soggy weather that has characterized the area's weather for most of the year. Thunderstorms blew through the area Sunday, dropping more than a third of an inch of rain at Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport in Gainesville. About 1,000 households in Gainesville served by Jackson Electric Membership ...

Woman not injured after home invasion in Buford

Two Hispanic men in their 20s forced their way into a Buford residence and the homeowner into the pantry as they ransacked the house Friday afternoon, according to the Hall County Sheriff's Office.

Square reopened after suspicious package found at Hall courthouse

The area around the Hall County courthouse has been reopened after a suspicious package found nearby led to road closures.

$24,000 in marijuana found at Lula house

A Lula man was arrested Thursday on drug charges, including possession of $24,000 worth of marijuana.

Tropical Storm Andrea bringing heavy rain to area

Rain is in the forecast for the rest of today and into Saturday as Tropical Storm Andrea makes its way up the East Coast.

Sketch released, reward announced in Lula shooting

The Hall County Sheriff's Office on Thursday released a sketch of a suspect in a May 23 shooting at Wayne Wilson Pottery in Lula.

Budget crunch hits corps’ Lanier parks

Faced with shrinking budgets, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is looking at whether it can continue to operate all its recreational areas, including parks.

Flowery Branch discusses how to pay for storm damage

Flowery Branch City Council agreed Thursday to quickly repair damage to its citywide culvert system caused May 19 by heavy storms and flooding.

North Hall rental house destroyed by fire

A rental home on Cleveland Highway in North Hall County was destroyed by fire Thursday morning.

Victim airlifted with injuries after 1-vehicle wreck

One person was injured Thursday and airlifted to an Atlanta hospital after a one-vehicle accident on Cleveland Highway.

Ga. lawmakers seek to block move by Fla., Ala. to limit access to lake

CUMMING - With Georgia's victories in the tri-state water wars aside, and even its legal bills from that entanglement now history, the Gainesville-based Lake Lanier Association now has its eyes on a water reauthorization bill moving through Congress.

Woman not hurt after crashing van into lake

A Cleveland woman was uninjured when her van crashed Wednesday morning into Lake Lanier.

Dawson officials ask for flooding aid

Hall County housing market snapshot: Less construction, fewer foreclosures

Residential and "affordable" housing in Hall County is in short supply because of a decline in construction and strong competition for good deals, Gainesville real estate executive Frank Norton Jr. said.

Dawsonville distillery seeks lawmakers’ help

Driver killed in wreck with dump truck

A wreck killed one just after 9 Wednesday morning on Tanners Mill Road in southeast Hall County.