Will the economic slump allow Floyd County to hold onto it’s designation as the most populous county in the upper Coosa Valley when the government’s Census take place in 2000 ?  New Census data shows 95,980 citizens in Floyd County in 2008, up about 5400 from the headcount in 2000.  Bartow County added almost 19,000 new residents  and is only a thousand residents less than Floyd County.  Whitfield County grew by a little more than 10,200 and is third in the reion with 93,835 residents.  Bartow’s growth was explosive during the first half of this decade and through 2008, was up 24.5%.  Floyd’s growth was similar to the steady rate it has maintained for three decades, at 5.9%.

The murder trial of former LaFayette City policeman Sam Parker, accused of killing his wife Theresa two years ago, has been set for August 17^th.  Rome Circuit D.A. Lee Patterson was called to prosecute the case while Lookout Mtn. Circuit Public Defender David Dunn has been appointed to represent Parker.  The woman’s body has never been found but there is precedent for prosecuting such cases in Georgia.    Judge Jon Bolling Wood has approved a change of venue, and has selected Bartow County as the pool for potential jurors.  Jury selection will commence August 10^th.   Pre-trial motions are set for the week of July 13^th and Judge Wood’s calendar has set aside three weeks for the actual trial, though law enforcement sources indicate that the case would take longer than that. 

Rome police arrested three Romans for possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute in south Rome late Wednesday night.  31 year old Jeffrey M. Cagle of a Green Acre Rd. address, 28 year old Travis C. Choat of a Lady Marion Rd. address and 27 year old Steven M. Gilbert of a Grove St. address in Lindale were all picked up at Myrtle and S. Broad St. a little after 10:00 Wednesday night with a felony amount of marijuana.  Officers have also charged all three with possession within a thousand feet of a park.

Shorter College and Floyd Medical Center will partner to provide a unique nursing education opportunity in this part of Northwest Georgia. Floyd has pledged a $25,000 annual investment in the Shorter College School of Nursing, which will begin offering courses toward the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree in the fall of 2010. The partnership also provides for a portion of the clinical instruction for Shorter's nursing students to be completed at Floyd facilities. Shorter College President Dr. Harold E. Newman described the partnership as mutually beneficial for the two Rome-based organizations. "We greatly appreciate Floyd's investment in the establishment and the continued development of our Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program. "  Floyd President and Chief Executive Officer Kurt Stuenkel said the partnership will benefit Floyd by providing a bachelor's-trained pool of future employees. "We are very fortunate to have so many wonderful nursing education programs in our area. Floyd is proud to support the development and education of the next generation of nurses.”  

An Adairsville family lost everything they owned in a fire Tuesday at mid-day.    Josh Castleberry with the Bartow Fire Dept said the two story 3700 square foot home was a total loss.  Castleberry said it appears the fire broke out in the area of the front porch, however the cause is undetermined.  The Red Cross  is assisting the five members of the Godwan family with other lodging, clothing and necessities.  The blaze broke ot a little before noon and fire fighters were on the scene until 7:00 putting out hot spots.

Anheuser-Busch InBev is selling four of it’s canneries to the Ball Corporation for $577 million.  AB InBev will continue to contract with Ball for production of beer cans and Ball has agreed to retain all of the present employees at each of the four plants being acquired, including the facility in Shannon northeast of Rome.  The Metal Container Corp is a wholly owned subsidiary of Annheuser InBev.   Plants in Wisconsin, Ohio and Florida are also being spun off.   Ball is  based in Broomfield Colorado. R. David Hoover, president and CEO of the Ball Corporation said  "These are well-maintained, high-volume manufacturing assets that are run by very skilled, experienced can and end makers”

A Piedmont log truck driver man died Tuesday when he ran into the rear of a dump truck on US 278 near Hokes Bluff.  49 yr old  James Franklin Beecham, 49  was killed in the wreck  but the driver of the dump truck,  38 yr old Paul Taylor Pledger, of Ball Play, was only slightly injured.  was slightly injured.  The impact caused the dump truck to turn over dumping it’s load of chert.  The logs shifted crunching the cab of the Beecham’s truck and pinning him inside the wreckage.  It's the third wreck in less than two years involving a large truck overturning and spilling its load.  Hokes Bluff Police chief Mitchell Hill said the section of highway is included in the state's next phase of a U.S. Highway 278 four-laning project

A Marietta  man was killed this morning in a wreck at the base of Taylors Ridge just north of Gore.  State troopers say 55 year old Larry E. Barnette was northbound in a pick up truck and lost control of the vehicle.  When he tried to jerk back on the road, he rolled onto the passengers side of the truck and slammed head on into a Lincoln Town Car coming off the  Ridge heading toward Rome.  Barnette was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene. 75 year old Bonnie Montgomery of Summerville was driving the Town Car and had to be  airlifted to Erlanger with injuries that did not appear to be life threatening.

An Aragon Woman was airlifted to Atlanta Medical Center Tuesday morning following a rollover accident on Highway 101 near the Rockmart City limits.  Rockmart Police 25-year old Sundee Rebecca Proctor of Aragon was traveling north in the inside lane and came upon a slower moving vehicle.  She changed lanes in an attempt to pass and came upon another slower vehicle in the right hand land.  She jerked her vehicle to avoid a collision.  The vehicle then hit an embankment and overturned a couple of times.  Proctor was ejected from the vehicle and sustained head injuries.  At last report she was listed in Satisfactory Condition.

On July 1, 2009, Coosa Valley Technical College and Northwestern Technical College become Georgia Northwestern Technicql College.    The merger was approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges in December.  Summer classes for Georgia Northwestern Technical College will begin on July 6.  President Dr. Craig McDaniel said "Students can expect to receive the same excellence in workforce education they came to count on from Coosa Valley Technical College and Northwestern Technical College.  Our focus at Georgia Northwestern Technical College is on the students."  Programs of study include business, health, industrial, nursing, and public services divisions.  Students can earn a degrees, diplomas, or certificates of credit.  Approximately 16,000 people will benefit from GNTC's credit and noncredit programs each year.