Local

Family Promise of White and Habersham opened The Promise House in Clarkesville on Tuesday. JULIANNE AKERS/Staff

Family Promise of White and Habersham opened The Promise House in Clarkesville on Tuesday. JULIANNE AKERS/Staff

Family Promise extends efforts

   Family Promise of White and Habersham opened the doors to its new Promise House location in Clarkesville on Tuesday, furthering the nonprofit’s mission of helping the homeless in North Georgia.    Family Promise took over the Habersham Homeless Ministries’ shelters on Ga.
After continued debates on demolition, the old courthouse still stands. ZACH TAYLOR/Staff

After continued debates on demolition, the old courthouse still stands. ZACH TAYLOR/Staff

Courthouse remains standing

 By Julianne Akers and Zach Taylor      The old county courthouse will continue to stand tall over downtown Clarkesville after a vote to tear down the building failed 2-3 at the Habersham County Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday despite multiple failed plans for redevelopment and several...
Tim Sims will become interim county manager on Dec. 28.

Tim Sims will become interim county manager on Dec. 28.

Commission taps Sims as interim county manager

   Habersham County Chief Financial Officer Tim Sims was named interim county manager at Tuesday night’s board of commissioners meeting.    Sims will assume the role Dec. 28, just one day after current county manager Alicia Vaughn’s contract ends after announcing her resignation in September.
Fire engines respond to a house fire in Baldwin in early 2024. ZACH TAYLOR/Staff

Fire engines respond to a house fire in Baldwin in early 2024. ZACH TAYLOR/Staff

Cornelia approves fire consolidation study

   By Hannah Caudell      The Cornelia City Commissioners unanimously voted to approve a resolution agreeing to participate in a countywide fire consolidation feasibility study.
Redshirt sophomore Gunner Stockton, a Rabun County native, was under center for the Bulldogs in the second half Saturday. KEITH BARLOW/Staff

Redshirt sophomore Gunner Stockton, a Rabun County native, was under center for the Bulldogs in the second half Saturday. KEITH BARLOW/Staff

Rabun native Stockton spurs Bulldogs SEC comeback

The Georgia Bulldogs took down Texas Saturday in Atlanta to win the SEC Championship. The Dawgs are now 2-0 against the Longhorns this season - having beaten then-number 1 Texas in Austin in October.
TFS Students Allegra Perry, Piper Prince and Riley McCracken cheer on the Piedmont Lions and reach to catch pom-poms and bouncy balls given away at the game. JULIANNE AKERS/Staff

TFS Students Allegra Perry, Piper Prince and Riley McCracken cheer on the Piedmont Lions and reach to catch pom-poms and bouncy balls given away at the game. JULIANNE AKERS/Staff

Learning on and off the court

   On their first day back from Thanksgiving break, hundreds of local elementary school students cheered on the Piedmont University men’s basketball team on Monday afternoon, while also exercising their mental muscles.
Photo by Recha Oktaviani on Unsplash.

Photo by Recha Oktaviani on Unsplash.

Leaders consider homestead exemption

   Nearly 63 percent of Georgians and 65 percent of Habersham County voters marked their ballots in favor of Constitutional Amendment One, a property tax relief measure that would prohibit local governments from raising residential property assessments in a given year by more than the annual rate...
An aerial view of a farm off of New Liberty Road in Clarkesville. ZACH TAYLOR/Staff

An aerial view of a farm off of New Liberty Road in Clarkesville. ZACH TAYLOR/Staff

Lawmakers work to slow conversion of state farmland

By Julianne Akers and Dave Williams    Tax breaks for farmers, higher weight limits for trucks, and reforming Georgia’s Gratuities Clause prohibiting gifts to individuals or businesses top a list of proposals a legislative study committee issued during Thanksgiving week.
Photo by Bryan Dickerson on Unsplash

Photo by Bryan Dickerson on Unsplash

Schools, county ready for winter emergencies

By Hannah Caudell    As frigid weather moves in, the Habersham County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) and the Habersham County School System are prepared and offering safety tips for the coming winter months.
Tim Sims will become interim county manager on Dec. 28.

Tim Sims will become interim county manager on Dec. 28.

Sims named interim county manager

Habersham County Chief Financial Officer Tim Sims was named interim county manager at Tuesday night's board of commissioners meeting.    Sims will assume the role Dec. 28, just one day after current county manager Alicia Vaughn's contract ends after announcing her resignation in September.