Local

Newborn black bear cubs are born blind with fine fur and weighing 0.5 to 1 pounds.

Newborn black bear cubs are born blind with fine fur and weighing 0.5 to 1 pounds.

Almost time for that long winter’s nap ...

The shadows are long, the air is cool and the trees have given up their last leaves. It is almost time for the Appalachia Georgia black bears to go into den for their long winter nap. Our bears generally den from late December through April.
Times-Courier

Times-Courier

Gilmer County dams rated poor

An interactive map shows 10 percent of Georgia’s high-hazard dams in poor condition are located in Gilmer County. “Georgia led the nation with nearly 200 high-hazard dams in unsatisfactory or poor condition, according to the AP’s analysis,” read an Associated Press story by David A.
Times-Courier

Times-Courier

Stolen water authority equipment recovered

A piece of heavy equipment stolen from an Ellijay-Gilmer County Water and Sewerage Authority job site is back in possession of the water authority, but it first had to be repurchased from the local utility’s insurance company.
The 2014 Chevrolet Cruze driven by Robert Barrett is shown the night of the wreck on Highway 382 on July 11, 2015. Richard Joseph Burnette left a Ford Ranger pickup abandoned in the roadway without lights or emergency signals, according to documents.

The 2014 Chevrolet Cruze driven by Robert Barrett is shown the night of the wreck on Highway 382 on July 11, 2015. Richard Joseph Burnette left a Ford Ranger pickup abandoned in the roadway without lights or emergency signals, according to documents.

Vietnam vet gets new trial

Robert Barrett is getting a new trial, and he can thank the Georgia Court of Appeals. But he is not the defendant in the civil suit.
Zachary Walls holds a copy of his first book, Apple Ancestry: The Rise of a Fall Phenomenon.

Zachary Walls holds a copy of his first book, Apple Ancestry: The Rise of a Fall Phenomenon.

Georgia’s apple history explored

The first of several books a young man with local ties hopes to write blossomed from the author’s familial connection to Gilmer County’s apple-growing trade.
Gilmer Family Connection Director Merle Howell Naylor, second from left, accepts a donation check for the nonprofit’s Christmas Campaign from Faith, Hope and Charity Recycle Store representatives Jerry Below, Rita Odom, Bonnie Greene, Marcia Phillips, John Hamrick and Edith Warren.

Gilmer Family Connection Director Merle Howell Naylor, second from left, accepts a donation check for the nonprofit’s Christmas Campaign from Faith, Hope and Charity Recycle Store representatives Jerry Below, Rita Odom, Bonnie Greene, Marcia Phillips, John Hamrick and Edith Warren.

Family Connection Christmas Campaign now underway

The local Family Connection office has moved since last year’s Christmas Campaign took place, but applications are still being accepted for the long-running program that provides Christmas gifts to families in need.
Times-Courier

Times-Courier

Next steps for a TSPLOST

If Gilmer County is to pursue the option of adding a sales tax to improve roads, the next step is to talk to the cities of Ellijay and East Ellijay. A series of town hall meetings were held this month to talk about roads.
Times-Courier

Times-Courier

East Ellijay council talks future paving work

SPLOST and grant funding will be used to get some paving done, probably within the coming year, members of the East Ellijay City Council heard while meeting Tuesday, Nov. 19.