Young Harris College to offer 4-year degrees

Young Harris College will soon offer four-year degrees.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools approved the new curricula Tuesday. The college will offer degrees in biology, English, music and business and public policy starting next fall.

Young Harris President Cathy Cox, who also is the former Georgia Secretary of State, said even more new degrees will be offered over the next few years as the college is still in the process of expansion.

(Associated Press)

Georgia chief justice to pay ethics fines

$3,100 will be paid by Georgia’s top judge for violation of state ethics laws. The fines to be paid by Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears are part of a pair of consent orders approved by the state Ethics Commission on Thursday.

The ethics complaints come from her 2004 re-election campaign. The charges included Sears taking contributions above the state’s 5-thousand dollar legal limit--including one of 20-thousand from a law firm. Sears also admitted to some misreporting of campaign finance information.

In other decisions by the Ethics Commission: It found probable cause to look into an parts of an ethics complaint against former Democratic candidate for governor Cathy Cox. The charges involve her 2001 re-election for Secretary of State.