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Around Town: Three Area Residents Have a Real Vote on Biden's Future.
Since just after 9 p.m. Thursday, as a hoarse Joe Biden spoke in the first debate with Donald Trump, some began issuing code red alarms on whether the president had the energy to serve another four-year term. You wouldn’t need a poll to assess the assessment among Rome/Floyd County voters. Trump carried 69% to 70% of the vote in the last two presidential elections here and more of the same is forecast for Nov. 5 no matter who’s on the Democratic side. ...
Two Floyd Residents Arrested in 'Operation Etowah Exploits' Sting
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested 14 people, including two Floyd County residents, Monday following months of planning to combat human trafficking. According to the GBI, “Operation Etowah Exploits” arrestees, ranging in age from 22 to 59, traveled from areas around Bartow County with the intent to purchase or sell sex. The investigation targeted sex traffickers and sex buyers in the Northwest Georgia area. It was a multi-agency effort among...
Ga. High Court Allows Case Against Atrium Health Floyd To Continue
The Georgia Supreme Court ruled that pandemic measures, which suspended court filing deadlines, do not bar a case against Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center from moving forward. The lawsuit filed by Jami Lynn Golden alleges that protocol at the hospital for sepsis infection was ignored by staff when she went for treatment in July 2016, leading to a significant sepsis infection. That infection was later treated at another hospital. However,...
Georgia Supreme Court rules COVID judicial emergency extends lawsuit’s timeframe
(The Center Square) — A Georgia Supreme Court ruling has given new life to a Northwest Georgia medical malpractice lawsuit thanks to an emergency order handed down amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Supreme Court reversed a Georgia Court of Appeals decision that a medical malpractice lawsuit filed in October 2021 against Floyd Medical Center, now Atrium Health Floyd, was time-barred and could not proceed. The lawsuit was initially filed in federal court in June 2018 and dismissed without prejudice in 2021; a renewal was filed...
Sustainable Innovation: Rome Rotary Tours Ball Corp. Facility
Combining innovation with sustainability, Ball Corporation’s facility in Floyd County has become the largest manufacturer of aluminum cups in the world. During a Rotary Club of Rome tour, Operations Manager Zach Dixon explained a bit about Ball’s process for creating aluminum cups — a sustainable product created in a safe manner. The plant has now more than 800,000 hours with no lost-time accidents, he said, an enviable safety achievement. Dixon...
Rome Officials To Discuss Millage Rates
Rome officials will discuss millage rates Tuesday morning during a called meeting of the finance committee. The meeting, set for 10 a.m. in City Hall, 601 Broad St., will be the last before city commissioners set the tax rate for this year. The first reading of the final millage rate will be during the city commission meeting on July 8, and the new rate will be formally adopted on July 22 at the city commission meeting. ...
Cave Spring RV Park Moves Forward in Unusual Vote
The Rome-Floyd Planning Commission recommended approval of a new RV campground at 125 Davis Road in Cave Spring in an unusual fashion Thursday, via a failed vote to deny the request. A motion to recommend denial of a special use permit received only three yes votes. Four members voted against the denial which, according to County Attorney Chris Jackson, means the request is automatically recommended for approval. The application now...
Northwest Georgia Continues to See Jobless Rate Climb
Even amid a surge of jobs in May in Rome/Floyd and across the region, area counties reported an increase in both county-by-county and regional unemployment rates. The number was up in all areas vs. April of this year. Only Rome/Floyd matched the May 2023 level while Bartow, Gordon, Polk and Chattooga counties all registered increases. A combined 5,425 people were jobless in our five counties last month as the labor...
Dedicated Medical Assistant Wins BEE Award
Emily Wallace is known for doing what needs to be done when it needs to be done in the Emergency Care Center The medical assistant at Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center was praised by Ashley Davenport, RN, who nominated her for a BEE Award. Wallace was surprised by the award this week. BEE stands for Beyond Exceptional Expectations, and the BEE award nominations are made by nursing peers. Wallace “goes...
Here's How Tax Revenue is a 'Game Changer' for Rome-Floyd Fire Department
For the Rome-Floyd Fire Department, the SPLOST continues to deliver. From a training facility to specialized tanker trucks to bring water to areas where there isn’t any immediate supply, the special purpose local option sales tax has made sure the department is getting the equipment it needs. “SPLOST has been a real game changer for the department,” Deputy Chief Brad Roberson said. “I’m not really sure what we’d do without...
Rome RV Park Being Reconsidered
Plans for a new RV campground at 125 Davis Road are heading back to the Rome Floyd Planning Commission on Thursday. The tract is off Cave Spring Road, across from Cedar Creek RV and Outdoor Center. The Floyd County Commission denied the request for a special use permit in April but agreed it could be resubmitted if the project was adjusted to address concerns. Since then, Anthony Carver has cut the number of proposed campsites and indicated he would fund an upgrade of the narrow...
Murder Charges Filed In Shannon Shooting Death
Murder charges have been filed against two Floyd County men in relation to a fatal shooting in Shannon on Sunday. According to Floyd County police and Floyd County Jail reports: Jayden Patrick Fiorito, 20, and Tyler Michael Zacher, 22, both of a Tency Lane address in the Swan Lake Mobile Home Community, are charged with felony murder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, theft by taking and entering...
Parents of Floyd Travel Gymnastics Program Express Frustration
Parents of several members of the Rome-Floyd Team Gymnastic program expressed dismay at the prospect of the program being canceled during the Floyd County Commission’s Tuesday meeting. “These girls train three to four days a week, year-round,” said Norman Barden, a parent of one of the participants. “They are the most dedicated little girls you can imagine.” The program used to host several competitions each year, Barden said, which generated...
Tax Rate Increase Likely For Floyd County Property Owners
A projected $3.6 million deficit for 2024 is likely to mean an increase in the Floyd County property tax rate to make up the difference. The millage rate for 2024 will be formally set at a Floyd County Commission meeting in July. The board must advertise the proposed rate in the county’s legal organ, the Rome News-Tribune, prior to that vote. “We are required to advertise the maximum that the...
New Albany MAN CHARGED With MURDERING HIS 56-YEAR-OLD MOTHER in Their Home Last Week
A New Albany man is suspected of killing his mother at their home last week. Floyd County Prosecutor Chris Lane and New Albany Police Chief Todd Bailey held a news conference on Wednesday to announce charges against Maxwell Allen Samourian. The 23-year-old was named a suspect in a “possible homicide” on June 19. That is […]
Two sustain gunshot wounds in Shannon Sunday, one dead
Monday, June 24, 2024–9:21 a.m. Floyd County Police are investigating a shooting incident in the Shannon area Sunday evening that left one young man wounded and another dead. According to Floyd County Police Public Affairs Director Michael Bell, police were told that one of the men grabbed a gun...
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