“A graduate of The Citadel, South Carolina’s well-known military college, Will Beattie is an avid outdoorsman and first-generation farmer. He founded Bear Creek Cattle Company with just a few head of cattle and a big dream to produce the finest beef while preserving the environment of his Cohutta mountain farmland for future generations.” Beattie’s introduction […]
Read More »Unadjusted end of year budget for 2019 under by 4 percent
BLUE RIDGE, Ga – Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Robin Gazaway presented the unadjusted budget for 2019, which came in at four percent under. “This is not final just so everyone knows. There are several adjustments that need to be made. Most everything has been under budget. Risk management was a little over. There’s going to […]
Read More »Ralston announces $1.3M in state funds for new Fannin County Public Library
BLUE RIDGE, Ga. – Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) today announced a state grant of $1,383,000 to fund a new Fannin County Public Library. Local government will provide an additional $582,000 for a total project cost of $1,965,000. “This is a tremendous win for our community, and this new library will be an important asset […]
Read More »Doug Collins announces decision to run for U.S. Senate
ATLANTA — Doug Collins appeared this morning on Fox News Channel’s Fox and Friends to announce his decision to run for U.S. Senate in the November special election to fill former U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson’s seat. As a lifelong Georgian, Doug has lived a life of faith, public service and conservative values. Since 2013, he has proudly represented […]
Read More »State Senator John Wilkinson Announces for Congress
GEORGIA NINTH DISTRICT – State Senator John Wilkinson announced today that he plans to run for the Ninth District Congressional seat. This election will be to replace Congressman Doug Collins, who has announced that he will be running for a seat in the United States Senate. Senator Wilkinson, who was elected to the State Senate in […]
Read More »Recreation department to start Pre-K program next fall
FANNIN COUNTY, GA – Recreation Dept. (Rec. Dept.) Director Eddie O’Neal received approval from the board of commissioners to start a Pre-K program for the next school year, 2020-2021. O’Neal has extensively researched the issue and believes it will be of great benefit to the local community. It will be open to three- and four-year-old […]
Read More »Two homes catch fire, one belonging to FCHS wrestling coach
BLUE RIDGE, Ga – Officials looking into how two homes in the county caught fire. The blazes occurred a little over a week apart, and one home belonged to first year Fannin County High School (FCHS) wrestling coach. No injuries reported in either fire. In the early morning hours of Monday, Dec. 23, Fannin County […]
Read More »Fannin County Commissioners set 2020 qualifying fees
FANNIN COUNTY, Ga – The board of commissioners approved the qualifying fees for the 2020 election year during the Jan. meeting. The fees constitute three percent of the base annual salary for each office and qualifying will begin on Monday, March 2, 2020 at 9 a.m. The time ends at 12 p.m. on Friday, March […]
Read More »Man passes away at ExxonMobil station in his car
BLUE RIDGE, Ga – On the morning of Jan. 4, 2020, a local Blue Ridge man unexpectedly passed in the ExxonMobil parking lot. Blue Ridge Police Chief Johnny Searce said the individual went into the convenience store to make a purchase, then left and got into their car. It is presumed that after he entered […]
Read More »2020 Budget Unanimously Approved by Commissioners
BLUE RIDGE, Ga – The $28,564,665 operating budget received full-approval from the commissioners after they tabled it in Nov. 26, 2019 meeting. In the last meeting, Post One Earl Johnson refused to approve the 2020 budget until Chief Financial Officer Robin Gazaway provided an approximated fund balance, to accurately determine the county’s financial standing. “I […]
Read More »ISO update: cities to begin repairing hydrants
BLUE RIDGE, Ga – Fire Chief Larry Thomas delivered his monthly ISO update and confirmed cities will begin fixing any defective hydrants. Fannin County Fire Department (FCFD) recently completed a check of every county hydrant, and now the responsibility falls to the townships to repair any hydrant within its city limits. The out of service […]
Read More »Commissioners and FCFD Protect Firefighters from Carcinogens
BLUE RIDGE, GA – Commissioners approved the purchase of a washer extractor machine to remove carcinogens in turnout gear using ACCG safety grant and SPLOST funds. A washer extractor should assist in removing carcinogens from firefighters’ turnout gear. According to the International Association of Firefighters, 60 percent of firefighters have a chance of dying from […]
Read More »More Parking Coming to Downtown Blue Ridge
BLUE RIDGE, GA – Hawthorne Ventures promised to bring 186 additional parking spots to downtown Blue Ridge as part of the developer’s retail project. The developer purchased the old United Methodist Church site approximately two years ago with plans to bring more retail and parking deck to the downtown area. The entire project is privately […]
Read More »Public Budget Hearing Set for Nov. 26 at Courthouse
FANNIN COUNTY, GA – The 2020 budget must be approved in Dec. 2019. In order to fulfill this duty, the commissioners scheduled a public budget hearing on Nov. 26 at 4 p.m. The commissioners will hear from the public on proposed budgets and place it on the agenda for reading and potential voting in the […]
Read More »GDOT and Commissioners Reach Agreement on Shallowford Bridge
BLUE RIDGE, GA – Commissioners signed a memorandum with GDOT agreeing to keep the existing Shallowford Bridge while GDOT constructs a new two-lane structure. Scheduled to begin construction in spring 2021, the new two-lane bridge will take around a year to complete. Until then, the existing truss bridge will remain in place. GDOT will bear […]
Read More »CASH Environmental Resources accepts glass recycling
BLUE RIDGE, GA – CASH Environmental Resources’ [CASH] Representative Brandie Townsend presented the services that the waste and recycling business can offer the county after the bid it received earlier in the year. These services include glass recycling of all colored bottles as long as they are empty and clean. “We’ll be excepting commercial waste […]
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