Things to Consider

By Mike Reynolds

A high performance, energy-efficient home may include features like geothermal heating, wind power, and solar panels, but these are not the defining features of green living. They come in second, and some you can even do without. A green home starts with being well designed, well insulated, and if possible, it will have glazing oriented to the south for passive heat gain.

Energy Efficiency, Insulation, and

Quilter's Handdmade Blankets Honor Son's Memory and Give Back

By Hannah Olson

When her twenty-two-year-old son died, Wanda Richardson looked for a way to honor his memory and restore her mind. That is when she took up quilting with her mom and sister. Together, they took local quilting classes as a meaningful way to spend time together. Since then, Richardson has made hundreds of quilts for family, friends, and neighbors.

“Quilting is not just having a blanket,”

By Farris Yawn

There are certain events that are so momentous that they are forever burned in our memory. For those old enough to remember Pearl Harbor or the JFK assassination, they can tell you exactly where they were and what they were doing the moment they heard the news.

More recently, the attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and United Flight 93 on 9/11 is an event most will “Never Forget.” For three local Cherokee County residents, that dark day hit

By Sheriff Frank Reynolds

The Cherokee Sheriff’s Office (CSO) Canine (K-9) Program is recognized as one of the most professional and capable units throughout the state of Georgia. With a team of five handlers and canines, the CSO K-9 Unit is capable of a wide variety of tasks including narcotics identification, evidence recovery, explosives detection, and patrol.

Not only are our K-9 teams looking for bad guys and illegal drugs, but they are one of our most popular

By Meghan Quinlan

“Don’t tell me women are not the stuff of heroes,” Qui Jin, Chinese Revolutionary (November 8, 1875 – July 15, 1907).

There are countless female heroes in Cherokee County’s past and present — pioneers, business owners, educators, nurses, and community leaders. Throughout history (and even today), being a woman meant always being in an uphill struggle for recognition or to have their voice heard. Women have shaped civilization in

By Michele Ice

Women have been represented in fire service for almost 200 years. However, firefighting remains a male dominated field. The United States currently has over 6,200 full-time female career firefighters, representing about 6% of the firefighting community. In the Cherokee County and in north Fulton departments, women make up about 3% of the firefighter population. There are over 22 female firefighters in the area. What draws these women together is their love

The Best Choice for Solicitor-General, Todd Hayes Leads with Experience and Integrity

By Cyndi Braun

“As Cherokee County continues to grow, so will the caseload in state court. Todd has the experience and knowledge to handle the challenges ahead. He has established working relationships with our judges and the entire court staff. He will be ready on his first day to lead the office into the future,” said Jessica Moss, current Solicitor-General for Cherokee

Ian’s Friends Foundation (IFF) was founded in 2006 by Phil and Cheryl Yagoda after their thirteen-year-old son, Ian, was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor at the age of two. In the months following Ian’s diagnosis, the Yagodas visited doctors and hospitals across the country in search of answers for their son’s treatment. When they learned how little funding was being allocated to research projects conducted in the field of pediatric brain tumors, Ian’s Friends Foundation was started

Supporting and Celebrating the Trades

In 1979, Holly S. Hill was a teen living in northern New Hampshire with her parents and five siblings. Holly’s father, Fred, owned a local business with his brother, Bob, that provided heating fuels, furnace installations, plumbing, and other services. As a child, Holly admired her father’s ability to fix just about anything, and she often accompanied him when he was “out on a call.” Today, she reflects gratefully on how her father made sure

By Sheriff Frank Reynolds

We have all had that dreaded feeling when you see the police cruiser sitting on the side of the road, and you look down at the speedometer and realize, “Oops.” Although many of us have been pulled over at some point, many have not. So, what should you do if the police stop you?

1. Don’t panic.  
Some drivers abruptly stop in the middle of the road, creating a traffic hazard. Others may focus on their rearview

Things to Consider When Planning Your Destination Wedding

By Julie Senger

So, your honey recently popped the question, and you’re excited to begin planning your future together! You want your wedding to be as unique and meaningful as your relationship is, so you decide to have your special day in a romantically beautiful place that has sentimental value to the both of you — but that place happens to be hundreds or even thousands of miles away from where you, your

By Jessi Fearon

The average college graduate’s student loan debt is $37,172. It will take the average person ten years to repay this debt — an entire decade! At this rate, many college graduates will barely have their student loans paid off before their own children start college.

When money is tight, saving for college can be a challenge. However, completing college debt-free is possible. The following strategies will help families prepare their finances so that

Helping You Look Your Best

By Cyndi Braun

It’s a new year, and time to take a good, long look at … yourself.

Remember a few years ago when you noticed those tiny lines on your face? Are they not so tiny anymore? Or, did you lose a lot of weight recently (hooray!) but need help losing that excess skin? Do you have some other body feature that has always bugged you?

Now is the perfect time for a change. Whether you seek a subtle change or major

Silly Name, Serious Band

With exceptional musicianship, powerhouse vocals, high-energy performances, and more than 100 years of combined professional music experience, the members of Fantabulous know how to get wedding, corporate event, festival, and club crowds on their feet and keep them there. Playing songs from the 60s to today — including pop, rock, country, R & B, rap, funk, and jazz music, their song catalogue has something for just about everyone. A sampling of the

By Jessica Asbell

Little Fires Everywhere is about the seemingly perfect community of Shaker Heights. But this utopia isn’t quite as perfect as it seems. The Richardsons are the perfect family with Lexie heading to college in the fall; Trip, the jock who excels at sports; Moody, the shy, quiet one; and Izzy, the black sheep of the family who causes her mother much consternation. But, they live in a great house, on a great street, and go to great schools until Mia and Pearl

North Georgia Pregnancy...

Relationships, sexuality, and the value of life are increasingly confusing topics. Teaching relationship integrity and Biblical truth is considered antiquated and bigoted. Is it any wonder that so many suffer from relationship related problems like high STD and teen pregnancy rates, high abortion rates, high divorce rates, and high child poverty rates?

Into this confusion, the North Georgia Pregnancy Center carried a new vision

By Sheriff Frank Reynolds

As you may imagine, working in public safety is a tough business. However, it’s not always the work that’s tough; it’s often the sacrifices you might not expect. Missing ballet recitals, little league baseball games, and anniversaries are common practice in our profession. You see, I believe most people who put on the uniform and badge do so because they feel the need to serve their communities. They certainly don’t do it to get rich, well, not in the

By Laura Mikszan

It’s a new year, and many individuals are searching for the “Emerald City” of health and wellness. People wake up after the tumultuous twister of the holidays, and they realize they are “not in Kansas anymore.” The pounds have packed on, and they need a path to follow — much like the "yellow brick road."

Like Dorothy, many begin the path alone, staring across a strange land of fitness and nutrition, unsure of how long the road will stretch out before them.

By Maria Harrison, LMT

The use of essential oils is rising dramatically, as more people discover alternative health treatments and age-old remedies for feeling better. With all the buzz out there, you may have questions about using essential oils. What are they? Are they new? How do I use them? Is there a difference in quality? Are there any dangers? There are so many details and historical uses; let’s take a closer look.

So, what exactly are essential oils? Essential oils

The Place to Go for Body Work

By Cyndi Braun

Motor vehicle accident? Fading paint? Restoration of a classic? Whatever your car needs, Howard’s Auto Body specializes in bringing it back to its prior glory.

Quality body work is something Howard Vallimont has been doing for forty-some years, starting when he was a teenager. In 1996, he set up shop on Marietta Highway in Canton. Since then, the business has grown to include five body shop technicians and a