First Gold Rush: Cities Dispute Each Other's Claim

The city of Dahlonega in northern Georgia banks on being known as the site of the first U-S gold rush. They draw millions of dollars a year from the tourists who flock there.

But now officials of a city just west of Atlanta Villa Rica claims it’s home to the first gold rush.

Local mine owner in Dahlonega Tammy Ray isn't buying it. "They might have been the first place that found gold, but they’re not the biggest gold rush. I mean, because they can’t prove they were the first."

While Villa Rica has street signs boasting its claim, Carl Lewis who works at the city owned gold museum is quick to downplay any rivalry with Dahlonega. "We ain’t in competition with them at all. I would rather ours be called the Georgia Forgotten Gold Rush."

The Dahlonega mine owner says she's not worried about losing tourists to Villa Rica.

Army medic pleads guilty to arson

An Army medic has pleaded guilty to setting fire to a strip club while stationed in Georgia. Sandeo Pablo Dyson was stationed at Camp Frank D. Merrill in Dahlonega when he set fire to Club Onyx in Atlanta last January. He faces at least five years in prison.

'Mohawk' announces another Georgia plant closure

There is more pain in the north Georgia job market. Mohawk Industries says it is closing its Dahlonega plant. The move will put 366 people out of work in June. The Calhoun-based carpet and flooring manufacturer has about 36-thousand employees worldwide, and is one of the largest employers in northeast Georgia. The announcement continues a run of bad news in the midst of a housing slowdown. In September, Mohawk said it was closing plants its Mohawk Home plants in Dalton and Calhoun. The company said it was getting out of the woven throw, decorative pillow and woven bedspread business.