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Sheriff Woodruff welcomes a new
deputy to the force. Page 2A
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Serving the Hogansville-Grantville Area Since 1944
By ANDY KOBER
In what has become an annual
event, Santa Claus will be visiting
the HogansviUe Police Department
to visit with children.
By special arrangement, Santa
will be bringing some of his elves
to join in the festivities.
The special event has been
scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m
Thursday Dec. 19, at the police sta-
tion.
with their children.
THE ANNUAL visit with Santa
is sponsored by the Hogansville
Police Department and was insti- Those with questions regard-
Parents are urged to bring their tuted by Police Chief Moses Ector ing the visit from Santa are urged
children to visit with Santa and they as.part of his community policing to call the police department at 706-
will receive a free photo of Santa program. 637-6648.
The Hogansville Police
Department is located at 117 Lincoln
Street.
By ROB RICHARDSON
Unemployment rose slightly
in west central Georgia during
October.
Despite the increase, the
regional rate is still better than it
was a year ago.
Troup County recorded a 8.7%
jobless rate in October, up from
8.4% in September.
In October of 2012, lYoup had
a 9.6% jobless rate.
Some areas, such as
Meriwether, are also substantial-
ly bctter off than they were just
three months earlier.
Meriwether's jobless rate was
9.9.% in October, for example, dra-
matically better than the 15.2%
figure recorded for July.
The averaged October jobless
rate for the four-county region was
8.3%, compared to 8.0% in
September.
A year ago, the four-county
area's average was 8.9%.
Some 5,305 persons were job-
less, compared to 6,953 three
months prior.
Meriwether's 9.9% rate was
up slightly from the 9.7% rate tab-
ulated for September.
In October of 2012,
Meriwether had a 10.7% rate.
Harris County once again had
See JOBLESS, Page 2A
' By Andy Kober
SHARING A SMILE - After last Friday's Christmas Parade, Santa Claus took time from his
bus scheduleto visit with those children wanting to seen him. Shown with Santa is four-year
old Maddie Billings. Maddie is the daughter of Lacey and Josh Billings, of Hogansville. The
visit from Santa was sponsored by Dongwon Autopart.
Sheriff's Dept. Nabs
Robbers Within 24 Hrs
By ANGELA BROWN
Two Pine Mountain men
have been arrested and charged
with the armed robbery of a
Troup County store.
Troup County Sheriff's
Office Investigators tracked
Kbitti Adams, 47, ta d Kermit
2urry, 39, back to their home-
,town where their weapons were Adams
}found along with stolen proper-
According to Deputy
Stewart Smith of the Troup
County Sheriff's Office, both
Adams and Curry were both
found and arrested in less than
24 hours after the robbery hap-
pened on Thursday, Dec. 5.
: Smith said neither Adams
Curry were wearing masks Curry
when the robbed the Summit
Store on Hamilton Road.
"By them not wearing masks it helped us
out a lot, along with help from Pine Mountain
Police Department and Harris County Sheriff's
Office," Smith said.
See ROBBERS, Page 2A
Sheriff Wams of
Holiday Scares
Troup County Sheriff James
Wobdruff would like to remind
everyone, especially during this
holiday season, to be very mind-
ful and cautious of who you give
your bank and personal infor-
mation to.
Some thiefs will call you on
the phone telling you your
account has been compromised
and then ask for that very infor-
mation. Never give it out unless
you know for certain who you
are talking to!
Educate yourself
Use strong passwords
Be careful when clicking--
Don't click on links in messages
from people you don't know, and
use a URL expander to know
what site you are going to before
clicking on a shortened URL.
Stay suspicious--Like morn
said, be wary of any offer that
sounds too good to be true.
Practice safe surfing
Practice safe shopping--
Make sure you stick to rep-
utable e-commerce sites that
l ave been verified as safe by a
trusted third-party, like the
McAfee SECURETM mark. Also
look for "https" at the beginning
of a site's URL, which indicates
that the site is using encryption
to protect your information.
By Andy Kober
EVERYBODY LOVES A PARADE - These four children were spored at Calvin Hipp Veterans Memorial
Park anxiously waiting for the Hogansville Christmas Parade to begin last Friday evening. From left to right,
they are: Kaydon Pike, 6; Jace Bartlett, 18 months; Mollee Bartlett, 7; and Brendon Pike, 7. They e e the
children of Amanda Pike and Jeremy Bartlett of Hogansville. See Parade Coverage Page 6A
By ANDY KOBER
While area residents gathered
to celebrate the Christmas Parade
on Friday, Dec. 6, few knew that
city employees had just cleared
what could have become a very bad
problem.
City Manager James Woods
reported that earlier in the 'after-
noon the city began experiencing
a tremendous backup in the sewer
system.
The problem came to light when
area residents began calling city
hall and complaining about sewage
problems.
City employees immediately
began seeking the problem which
was located near the Huntcliff sub-
division.
Woods said that a three-foot
plug comprised largely of accu-
mulated cooking grease that had
been dumped into drains caused
the problem.
The problem was discovered at
4 p.m. and the drain was cleared
by 5 p.m shortly before the start
of the city's Christmas Parade.
The prompt action was attrib-
uted to Mike East, Mark Hammond
and the city work crews.
- Jl
