Georgia State School Superintendent Richard Woods is pushing for additional funding for safety in schools. Wood wants a school resource officer and a crisis alert system in every school in the state. State Representative Mike Cameron said $109-million was included in this year’s budget for school safety, including funding for resource officers, safety equipment, and technology. Cameron said the superintendent’s plan can be done with planning between school and state officials. Cameron also added the there are plans to crack down on school threats in Georgia, as well, citing a possible increase in penalties for terroristic threats towards schools. Cameron told Local 3 News recently that Georgia lawmakers are getting ahead of the coming legislative session to continue school safety measures.
The average price of gasoline per gallon in Georgia is down from even a week ago. AAA reports Georgians pay an average of $2.97 per gallon for regular unleaded gasoline. A report released Monday indicates the state’s average is 9 cents less than a week ago, 27 cents less than a month ago, and 47 cents less than last year. It costs drivers an average price of $44.55 to fill a 15-gallon tank of regular gasoline. Georgians are paying $4.05 less to fill up at the pump than a month ago. AAA states that gas prices in Georgia haven’t dipped below $3.00 since January of this year. They attribute the decrease to lowered crude oil prices. It’s good fortune that we live in the area of Georgia where gas prices are the lowest. AAA reports Dalton at an average of $2.81 a gallon, while the Catoosa-Dade-Walker area is at an average of $2.71 per gallon. Drivers are encouraged to use AAA’s Fuel Price Finder for the best deals. It is on their website at AAA.com.
A drug trafficker from Northwest Georgia has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. A Chattooga County jury found Larry Dale Dooley guilty on one count of trafficking in methamphetamine and one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. According to a release from the District Attorney’s office, the evidence at trial established that the defendant, Dooley, a five-time convicted felon, was arrested in the course of a sting operation conducted by the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force. Brian Tucker, the deputy commander of the task force, spearheaded the operation, which commenced when agents flipped two low-level drug users into informants. Chief Judge Kristina Cook Graham sentenced the defendant to thirty years’ imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
If you have travel plans that will take you toward Calhoun in the next couple of days, you might plan for delays coming back. The Georgia Department of Transportation has two resurfacing projects that may cause delays for you. GDOT is resurfacing a portion of I-75 that will call for the closure of the two left northbound lanes near Resaca in Gordon County. The work is being conducted between mileposts 319 and 321 beginning at 7pm and lasting until 4am. Additionally, similar work is being conducted in Whitfield County, just south of Dalton between the 325 and 327 mileposts. This work is also northbound. Weather permitting, the work on both projects is scheduled to be completed by Friday morning.
