On February 10, 2026 Erwin Vanegas, a 22 year old man from Rossville, pled guilty to Malice Murder for the murder of 71 year old Robert White on December 5, 2024 in the Catoosa County Jail. Chief Judge Brian M. House sentenced Vanegas to serve life in the Georgia Department of Corrections. After the service of 30 years, Vanegas may become eligible for parole. Vanegas’ conviction stems from an assault he committed against Mr. White while the two men were cellmates in the count

Join Twin Ponds at Riverbend on Saturday, March 28th for their Easter Egg Drop. Event will be held from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. with fun activities for the kids, face painting, food trucks and more. Helicopter will drop eggs at 12 p.m. Twin Ponds at Riverbend is located at 922 Riverbend Road SW in Plainville.

Zade Shaw, MD, board-certified neurologist, has joined Hamilton Physician Group – Neurology, part of Vitruvian Health. An Indiana native, Shaw attended Purdue University for engineering, and for several years worked developing helicopters for the military. His interest in becoming a doctor evolved through a friendship. The friend’s father was a doctor, and over time, Shaw became interested in the same path. “After seven years as an engineer, I went back to school and complete

On Friday, February 13, 2026, former Gordon County Commission chairperson Becky Hood and her husband, local businessman Scott Hood, both entered guilty pleas in Gordon County Superior Court concerning their years-long legal battle pertaining to child abuse charges. The case was presided over by Senior Judge Ralph Van Pelt, Jr. of the Superior Courts of Georgia. No local judge from the Cherokee Judicial Circuit, which includes Gordon County, heard the cases against the Hoods d

Randy Clark, RN, recently received the DAISY Award at Hamilton Medical Center (HMC). Clark is pictured (center, back) with additional department associates and leaders Randy Clark, a nurse in Hamilton Medical Center’s (HMC) Emergency Department, recently received the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. The DAISY Award recognizes exemplary nursing excellence and is the highest honor a nurse can receive at HMC.   Clark was nominated for the award based on his kindness, gentle

TOP PHOTO: Anna Adamson, dual executive director of Believe Greater Dalton and the Flooring Capital Development Corporation, and Medina Safic, Career Services Coordinator at GNTC, pose for a picture in front of the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce. BOTTOM PHOTO: Ethan Branch, director of Workforce at the Rome Floyd Chamber; Medina Safic, Career Services Coordinator at GNTC; and Pam Powers-Smith, president of Rome Floyd Chamber pose for a picture at the Rome Floyd Chamber. G

Turner Maternal and Infant Care Center associates at Hamilton Medical Center are pictured. Designed to create an accessible, convenient way for local families to donate life-saving human milk for medically fragile infants, a human milk depot has opened at Hamilton Medical Center (HMC). The milk depot is a partnership with the nonprofit Mothers’ Milk Bank at Austin. The Dalton location is a collection site where approved donors drop off milk that is then sent to be processed a

(From left) Dr. Heidi Popham, president of GNTC; Zac Fager, program director and instructor of Aviation Maintenance Technology at GNTC; Kathi Vroman, scholarship donor; O’Darius Davis, scholarship recipient; Tim Vroman, scholarship donor; and Jon Byrd, executive director of Aviation at GNTC and TCSG State Aviation Advisor pose for a picture in the hanger at GNTC’s Aviation Training Center after Davis was presented with the 2026 Matthew Vroman Memorial Scholarship. Georgia Nor