Moving On Up: Chattahoochee Tech Police Chief Rounds Out Command Staff Two Chattahoochee Tech Campus Police Officers are moving up in rank, bringing an additional wealth of law enforcement knowledge and experience to the departments already skilled command staff. Wayne Bennett, CTCs executive director of Facilities Management and Public Safety, recently announced the promotions of Jeffery Youngkin and Robert McDowell to the rank of sergeant. Sgt. Youngkin will supervise the Marietta, Paulding, Mountain View and Austell campuses and Sgt. McDowell will oversee the Appalachian, Canton, Woodstock and North Metro campuses. Sgt. McDowell joined CTCs Department of Public Safety as a part-time police officer in August of 2010 after retiring from the Cobb County Police Department, where he served as a patrol officer and as an investigator in felony crimes against persons, as well as internal affairs. McDowell, from 1998 to 2005, also worked as a departmental polygrapher, conducting more than 700 polygraph tests. He additionally served as a member of the Cobb County Police Crisis Negotiation Team from 1994 to 2010. Sgt. McDowell rose up the ranks at Cobb County Police, serving as a sergeant and supervisor over uniform patrol.
Political Forum: Meet and Greet The Cherokee County Farm Bureau, along with the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce Governmental Affairs Committee, will sponsor a Political Forum/ Meet and Greet on Tuesday, May 3, 2016, at 6:30 pm. The forum will be held under the wooden pavilion at Cagles Family Farm, 362 Stringer Road, Canton. All local, state and national candidates running for office in 2016 will be invited to attend. If they have opposition, they will have two minutes to speak followed by written questions from the audience. Attending elected officials will be introduced. Everyone will have time to meet and greet the candidates and elected officials before and after the forum. There will be homemade ice cream served by Boy Scout Troop #465. Sodas, water and peanuts will be provided by the Farm Bureau. The forum is open to the public. To RSVP to attend, please call Cherokee County Farm Bureau at 770-479-1481, ext. 0.
Leadership Cherokee Class of 2016 Named This 28th Anniversary Class was chosen following participation in a nomination, application and interview process. The 23 class members traveled to Brasstown Valley Resort for their retreat. The group participated in both indoor and outdoor team building exercises that enabled them to learn not only about each other, but also about themselves through a look at personality types and communication styles, said Katie Wise with LGE Community Credit Union and the 2016 Chair of Leadership Cherokee. Over the next nine months, the Leadership Cherokee Class will participate in a broad range of sessions that will focus on a variety of topics such as economic development, infrastructure, government, justice, education, recreation, tourism, public safety, healthcare and social/human services. Following the nine months of leadership training, the Leadership Cherokee Class of 2016 will graduate during a ceremony in September. For information on the Leadership Cherokee Class of 2017, contact the Chamber office at 770-345-0400, or visit CherokeeChamber.com.
Canton Resident Improves Heart Health in Womens Day Magazine Challenge Nicole Wechter was one of 5 women chosen last June by Womens Day magazine to participate in their Live Longer and Stronger Challenge. With the guidance from Joy Bauer (from the Today Show) and the Womens Day team, she worked to improve her overall heart health. Nicole is featured in the March issue of Womens Day magazine, and was also featured on a segment of the Today Show. In addition, she got to be one of the honored guests at the Womens Day final reveal at the Red Dress Awards in NYC. Nicole lost 76 lbs., cut her cholesterol medicine in half and completely eliminated her blood pressure issues. With a strong history of breast cancer on both sides of her family, she got tested for the BRCA mutation and tested positive. She then had her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed and will have a double mastectomy this year, so she will no longer be at risk for breast/ovarian cancer.
3 Cherokee County Cities Rank in Top 25 Safest Cities in GA SafeWise has released its list of the safest cities in Georgia, and three Cherokee County cities rank in the top 25. Holly Springs comes in at number 15 on the list, followed by Canton (21), and Woodstock (25), respectively. The safest cities are ranked by reviewing the most recent FBI Crime Report statistics from 2014, which is the most recent data available for a full calendar year. Cities with less than 4,000 residents or that dont submit crime data to the FBI are not considered for inclusion on the list. The list is further narrowed by reviewing the number of reported violent and property crimes in each of the cities.
CCSD Winners Headed to Georgia PTA Reflections Competition Cherokee County School District winners now are headed to the 2015-16 Georgia PTA Reflections competition. The annual contest gives students in all grades and abilities the opportunity to create original works of art in various categories for the opportunity to earn recognition at the school, county, state and national levels. This years theme was Let Your Imagination Fly, and more than 1,900 CCSD students in kindergarten through 12th grade submitted entries in the six categories of dance, film/video production, literature, music composition, photography and visual arts.
Project SEARCH Graduates Train at Northside Hospital-Cherokee Six interns recently graduated from Project SEARCH, a nine-month program for young adults with disabilities that provides hands-on and classroom work-related skills. Project SEARCH is a partnership with host business Northside Hospital-Cherokee, Cross Plains Community Partner, Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency, Cherokee Navigator Team and the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities to develop daily job tasks for the interns. The uniformed interns reported to Northside Hospital-Cherokee five days a week and participated in a variety of jobs called rotations. Job rotations for each intern are 3-10 weeks throughout the course of the program. Interns begin their day at 8:00 am in the classroom, where they learn business soft-skills; they then report to their job and complete their day around 2:00 pm in the classroom. Project SEARCH employs two employment specialists to assist interns and hospital staff for the entire day. The interns meet the high work standards of the host business, are dependable, hard- working, determined and positive, said Elizabeth Hunter, supported employment manager for Cross Plains Community Partner. The ultimate goal is to use the skills they learn to gain competitive employment within the community. Project SEARCHs new class of interns will begin building their skills in May.
Community Donations Used to Purchase New Fire Engine Cherokee County Fire & Emergency Services received a check for $110,000 from the volunteers with the Hickory Flat Volunteer Fire Department. The funding, with additional monies from the county, was used in the purchase of a new fire engine that will be used at Station 23 in the Hickory Flat Community. According to Chief Larry Berry, The funds came from donations obtained from the people within our community. Cherokee County Commissioner and former Fire Chief, Raymond Gunnin, accepted the check from Chief Larry Berry, with HFVFD Rookie of the Year, Alex Stice, HFVFD Firefighter of the Year, Jack Tuszynski and HFVFD Board member, Jim Hubbard. Cherokee County Fire Chief, Tim Prather, Assistant Fire Chief, Eddie Robinson, Field Operations Chief, Greg Erdely and firefighters from Station 23 were also in attendance. Chief Tim Prather said, The Hickory Flat Volunteer Fire Department has been an important part of our county for 40 years now. Still, to this day, they are committed to helping their community by providing quality fire service protection. Hickory Flat volunteers also serve parts of Canton and Woodstock. The Hickory Flat Volunteer Fire Department is recruiting for new membership. If you or someone you know is looking for an exciting and rewarding way to serve your local community, consider volunteering and being part of your local volunteer fire department.
CCEF Raises $29,000 at 3rd Annual Golf Classic The Cherokee County Educational Foundation scored a hole-in-one at its Third Annual CCEF Golf Classic by raising a record $29,000 to support schools, teachers and students. The nonprofit CCEF, which raises funds and awareness for the Cherokee County School District, recently held the tournament at Woodmont Golf & Country Club with presenting sponsor, Northside Hospital-Cherokee. The trophies, as has become a CCEF Golf Classic tradition, were designed and crafted by art students at all of CCSDs high schools. Each schools art department was presented with an honorarium donation by CCEF in appreciation for their work.
Farm Bureau Seeks Entries for Art Contest Students in 9th through 12th grade are invited to enter the Georgia Farm Bureau Art Contest. The artwork should be drawn in black ink or dark soft lead pencil, on an 8 1/2 x 11 inch piece of white paper. The artwork should be camera ready. The winner of the Cherokee County Farm Bureau Art Contest will receive: First Place County Winner $100 Walmart gift card, and Second Place County Winner $75 Walmart gift card. Each First Place and Second Place School winner will receive a $50 Walmart gift card. Drawings will be judged on how well the artwork represents modern agriculture found in Cherokee or Georgias agriculture industry and artistic merit. To enter this contest and view other contests and scholarship opportunities available, students should contact the Cherokee County Farm Bureau for an official entry form and contest rules (770-479-1481 ext. 0), or visit GFB.org/programs/aic for more information. All entries must be received at the Cherokee County Farm Bureau office by Friday, February 12, 2016.