School news

The West Hall High School Band of Silver recently received overall superior ratings in the Southern Star Invitational Marching Festival and Competition at South Gwinnett High School. The band, drumline, auxiliary corps and drum major all received this rating, which is the highest a band may receive.

Good news

The Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia in Sautee has been awarded an American Institute of Architects Honor Award for Excellence in Architecture.

Good news

Lynn Nix of Oakwood made a quilt out of T-shirts given to her husband Ray each time he donated blood at LifeSouth Community Blood Centers in Gainesville. When Lynn got the 20 shirts she needed, she started the work and, eight months later, had the quilt ready for donors and employees at LifeSouth to see.

Good news

Lanier Village Estates, an ACTS Retirement-Life Community in Gainesville, recently collected 722 pounds of food for The Community Helping Place in Lumpkin County. Lanier Village Estates and other ACTS communities raised about 13 tons or 26,000 pounds of food that was distributed to 13 different food banks in six states.

Uniform news

Spec. 1st Class Gordon Spears recently received the recruiting award at the armory in Gainesville from Army recruiter Staff Sgt. David Spurgeons. Spears works at the Regional Training Institute for the Army National Guard in Atlanta as an infantry instructor and full-time as a lieutenant at Lee Arrandale State Prison in Alto. He has served 28 years, six deployments and three combat missions.

Good news

Family T.I.E.S., formerly Prevent Child Abuse-Gainesville, recently received a $500 donation from Jim and Crista Partlowe of Jim Partlowe State Farm Insurance. Crista Partlowe serves as one of the board members for Family T.I.E.S. The nonprofit group is dedicated to teaching and supporting families in Gainesville, and it offers free parenting classes.

School news

The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded the East Hall Middle School media center with the Picturing America award. The grant provided a collection of 40 high-quality reproductions of American art along with a teachers resource book. The goal of the grant award is to introduce students to American history and culture.

Good news

Gainesville Mayor Myrtle Figueras signed a proclamation presented by the Col. William Candler chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution designating Sept. 17-23 as Constitution Week. The event is in observance of the 221st signing of the U.S. Constitution, which took place Sept. 17, 1787.

School news

Gainesville High School debate team members recently placed at a debate tournament at Grady High School. Shelley Farmer placed second in Prose/Poetry, Megale Sewell and Brian Williams placed third in Duo Interpretation and Joseph Summer placed third in Original Oratory. Christi Conti is their sponsor. Eleven members of the team attended. Mallory Emma McCord, daughter of Emmett and Sherry McCord of Gainesville, has been awarded the Southern States Cooperative Scholarship awarded by the ...

School news

Flowery Branch High School crowned senior Chelsea Doyle its homecoming queen on Sept. 26. Doyle is the vice president of her class, secretary of the Future Business Leaders of America, plays soccer and is a varsity cheerleader for the school.

School news

Gail Ingram received The Third Diamond Key Award in forensics in May. Ingram's students have earned more than 60,000 points in competition, with first place in each round of a competition usually earning between 24 and 30 points. She is one of only two active coaches in Georgia to hold the award.

School news

Amanda Lathem of Gainesville recently graduated summa cum laude from Young Harris College in Young Harris. She is the daughter of Deborah and Charlie Lathem of Gainesville.

Good news

Hall County 4-H Horse Club members recently participated in the state 4-H Horse Judging contest. The contest, held May 3, was at the University of Georgia Animal Science Instruction Arena. Participants included Bethany Cantrell, Courtney Woodard, Alyssa Ransom, Haley Woodard and coach Tanya Woodard.

Good news

Anna Ruby Falls Scenic Area celebrated Smokey Bear's 64th birthday Aug. 9. The program included a visit from Smokey Bear, nature programs and a fire program by Georgia Forestry Commission staff. Staff from the Cradle of Forestry Interpretive Association, U.S. Forest Service and Georgia Forestry Commission were in attendance along with many visitors.

School news

Kevin Taylor of Flowery Branch has been named to the dean's list at Auburn University in Auburn, Ala. To be named to the dean's list, students must have a 4.0 grade-point average.

School News

Three local students honored at Young Harris College event

YOUNG HARRIS - Young Harris College is pleased to announce Kendra Lynne Cowart of Murrayville, Mason David Mitcham of Bremen and John Howard Ross of Gainesville received awards April 21 at the 2013 honors ceremony at Susan B. Harris Chapel on the YHC campus.

Hall County seniors earn GeorgiaBEST certification

Exactly 120 Hall County seniors participating in the Work-Based Learning Program at their respective high schools have earned their GeorgiaBEST (Business Ethics Student Training) certification.

Good News

Kangaroo Express operated by The Pantry Inc., recently announced its Florida and select Georgia and South Carolina stores have raised more than $453,000 for Give Kids The World Village, a 70-acre, nonprofit "storybook" village in central Florida that provides cost-free, weeklong vacations for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.

Marketing students recognized at international conference

Students from Chestatee, East Hall, Flowery Branch and the Lanier Charter Career Academy recently attended the International DECA Conference in Anaheim, Calif. More than 16,000 students from around the world competes in marketing-based events.

School News

Hanh Nguyen, a 2013 graduate of West Hall High School in Oakwood, has been awarded a scholarship from the Baldor Electric Company Foundation for the 2013-14 school year.

Dean's, President's and Merit List honorees for fall 2012 semester

The following local students completed courses with exemplary marks and made the President's and Dean's List for 2012 fall semester at Gainesville State College in Oakwood.