NW Georgia Dogfighting Ring Busted

A suspected dogfighting operation has been busted in Rome. Two men were charged with cruelty to animals, and 15 adult pit bulls and six puppies were impounded after a raid on a residence in NW Ga. Floyd County authorities say the dogs had been tethered to the ground with logging chains attached to car axles. They say many of the dogs were scarred. A police official says one of the dogs bore scars consistent with dog fighting.

Cave Springs Soldier Dies

A Georgia soldier has been killed in combat. Jeffrey W. Jordan died in Afghanistan following an ambush. No date of death has been reported. Jordan was raised in Floyd County and lives in Cave Spring.

(Hometownnews.com)

State Jobless Claims Up 174 Percent

"Stunning and sobering" is how Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond described December's job numbers.

There were over 125 thousand initial claims in Decmeber 2008, compared to just under 50 thousand the same time last year.

In Northwest Georgia, initial claims are up one hundred percent. Over three thousand claims were filed in Floyd county alone.

(special hat tip to druck at www.hometownheadlines.com)

No Charges for Comic Book Store Owner

Floyd County prosecutors have ended a multi year case against Legends Comic Book Store owner Gordon Lee. Officials say Lee had distributed obscene material to minors.

On Halloween night three years ago, Lee handed out over twenty two hundred comic books to costumed children. One of the comics was about Pablo Picasso, and in one of the panels, the famed artist appeared nude.

That comic ended up in the hands of two small children. Their parents brought the comic to authorities, and in all, nine charges related to obscenity were brought against Lee.

The comic book store owner found out he was cleared this Friday.

“We finally got a call from our attorney and he said it’s over. We were just ecstatic that it was finally over, just trying to put it behind us.”

Lee had to postpone his wedding to fight the charges, which cost over one hundred thousand dollars in defense fees. Free speech advocates and the comic industry paid much of that bill. Lee issued personal apologies to the family as part of the deal.

Oxendine: Over $150 million in Atlanta storm damage

Click here for the latest National Weather Service update.

People get out and survey the damage in Atlanta's Cabbage Town neighborhood. At least 27 people were hurt Friday night, though no injuries were believed to be life-threatening. (AP Photo/John Amis)

State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine estimated damage from Friday night's storm at $150 million to $200 million.

Tens of thousands of basketball fans at two Atlanta arenas were perfectly safe, officials insisted Saturday, even though the crowds apparently weren't warned about an approaching tornado — one that would ravage skyscrapers and injure dozens.

About 18,000 people were watching the Southeastern Conference men's tournament Friday night at the Georgia Dome when its fabric roof began rippling, the catwalks above the court started swaying and chunks of insulation rained onto the players.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning about eight minutes before the twister hit, but it wasn't clear when or if that alert was passed on to fans, said Katy Pando, a dome spokeswoman. Fans claimed they never heard or saw one.

Another 16,000 fans watching an NBA game at Philips Arena, in the same complex as the dome, weren't told of the weather, either. The arena apparently sustained little damage, Atlanta Hawks spokesman Arthur Triche said.

Governor Sonny Perdue and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin declared a state of emergency in several areas in Atlanta.

A sign rests atop four cars in a downtown Atlanta parking lot after a tornado touched down Friday evening, pictured Saturday March 15, 2008. (AP / Ron Williams)

The tornado, with wind up to 130 mph, cut a 6-mile path through downtown Atlanta, smashing hundreds of windows in and around the CNN Center, blowing furniture and luggage out of hotel rooms and crumbling part of an apartment building.

A cab sits in the debris in front of CNN Center in downtown Atlanta Friday, March 14, 2008.
(AP Photo/Dave Martin)

At least two people died in Polk and Floyd counties from the storms. A third is reported in critical condition.

Click here for more GPB News coverage of the storm damage in downtown Atlanta Friday evening.

Click here for tornado and severe weather alerts from the National Weather Service for the Atlanta area and statewide.

(The Associated Press)

Five drug gang members convicted in Rome

Five men were convicted Monday in Rome for their part in a violent drug gang that was responsible for five murders, attempted murder and kidnapping in northwest Georgia. A federal prosecutor says the ring was based in Cedartown, and had a hand in half of the murders in Polk and Floyd counties in 2003.

The five men, all in their 30's, were convicted of conspiring to engage in a racketeering enterprise from March 2000 to December 2006. They were also found guilty of conspiring to distribute and distributing methamphetamine and cocaine. The five will be sentenced in May--15 others have pleaded guilty in the case, while another 10 await trial.

Total burn ban in NW Georgia

Severe drought conditions have forced state forestry officials to extend a burn ban throughout northwest Georgia, just as the fall leaf-burning season begins.

The summer restrictions on burning were lifted for much of Georgia. However, for 15 northwest counties, officials had no choice but to turn restrictions into a total ban--no burning of any kind, no exceptions.

Mike Brunson is chief ranger for the Georgia Forestry’s Floyd County unit. He says the lack of rain is the worst he’s seen in his 24-year career.

"It’s going to have to be some kind of major cold front that comes through and covers a large area. Or, what sometimes happens this time of year...we get the leftovers of a hurricane that drops a significant amount of rainfall".

Some counties in northwest Georgia have significant rainfall deficits. Floyd for one, is more than 25 inches below normal for this time of year.

Officials will revisit the indefinite ban with the next big rainfall.

10 Gang Related Arrests in Floyd County

Last week, 10 Gang related arrests were made in Floyd County after a fight broke out in a parking lot. All were teenagers claiming to be members of a new gang known as the Riverside Boys.

The Floyd County Police Department has a very tuff policy on any possible gang related activity.

Mark Corbin is an investigator with the Floyd County Police Department.

Young members in high school want classmates to know they’re part of a gang so they are easy to spot, said Corbin.

“It travels around the school pretty fast. And they you get on a few on em’s my space and it don’t take long at all to discover what they are doing or where they are going to be at,” said Corbin.

Three of the arrests were made in the days following the fight because members of the Riverside Boys posted their involvement on their myspace website.

Heat wave claims third victim in Georgia

A third heat-related death has been reported in Georgia. Authorities in Albany say 76-year-old Jesse June Irvin was found collapsed on the back patio of her home Friday. This follows the deaths of a Floyd County man and Atlanta woman in the past week due to heat-related causes.

Several Georgia cities hit triple digits again on Wednesday--the high was 104 in Macon. Forecasters expect temperatures to remain in the mid 90's to low 100's into the weekend.

Second heat-related death reported in Georgia

There has been a second heat-related death reported in Georgia. Authorities say 65-year-old Charles Holcomb was found dead in his Floyd County mobile home Monday.
The air conditioning in Holcomb's home was not working. This follows the death of 87-year-old Ruby Cofer of Atlanta--Fulton County officials confirm she died as a result of the heat in her apartment.