WGAA 1340AM Cedartown

A south-facing window was replaced Tuesday afternoon at Jim and Jean Lankford’s antique store on Main St. in Cedartown after vandals reportedly threw rocks through the glass. The Lankfords assume that the incident occurred late Sunday night. When the Lankfords arrived for work Monday morning, they noticed the broken window closest to the railroad tracks and two rocks inside the store. Jim and Jean Lankford also own Lankford motors, located on Main St. as well. Police are investigating a string of several recent acts of vandalism all over Polk County.

Rockmart police are investigating a rash of vandalism incidents occurring over the weekend in which approximately 27 cars suffered damage. Police Chief Keith Sorrells said most of the incidents were in the Goodyear Village, specifically Clearwater Street, 1st and 3rd Avenues. However, he said others reported similar damage in North Marble, Hogue and Pearl Streets. The first report came in around 3:20 a.m. Friday. Other reports indicate that some are throwing canned food items at windows to break them and Sorrells said there was one case where someone poured salad dressing into a gas tank. The latest round of incidents featured paint being stroked, splattered and poured on cars. The police chief said nothing was taken from any of the cars. Sorrells said police are theorizing that the damage is being done by juveniles out of school with nothing better to do. However, he is quick to say they don’t know that for sure. The police chief said the vandals would face some serious consequences if they were caught. Sorrells asks that anyone with any information call 770-684-6558 or 911 to assist in the investigation.

A local resident returned from vacation to find his house broken into with numerous items taken valued at almost $3,000. Cedartown officers were dispatched to the Fairview Ave. residence after the complainant entered the burglarized home. Police reported that the residence was in total disarray. The point of entry appeared to be a screen door to a back porch that had been cut. The back door to the home was also damaged and appeared that it was kicked in. Items stolen from the house were a 42 inch television, a DVD player, a Playstation 2, a .22 Magnum revolver, four cell phones, as well as numerous other items. The complainant called police back to tell them it appeared the suspects had driven his Honda Accord. The complainant reported damage on the driver’s side rear bumper area, and noted that the battery was dead also. Police were able to lift fingerprints from the driver and passenger sides of the car. In total, 37 items were inventoried with a listed value of $2,896.

10th Annual Cedartown 5K

Hundreds of residents turned out Tuesday to witness history in the making. The running of the 10^th annual Cedartown 5K Road Race fired off just after 6 pm. Nine countries were represented as 36 athletes competed in the fastest 5K in the world. Results from the 5K include winners in several different categories. In the Men’s Open Division, Switzerland’s 22 year old Marcel Hug took first with a time of 10 minutes and 13.1 seconds. Savoy, Illinois native 23 year old Amanda McGrory came in first in the women’s open division. She finished with a time of 11 minutes and 31.3 seconds. In the Men’s Masters, Scott Parson of California finished first, along with New Zealand’s Matthew Lack in the Junior’s race. The athletes will be honored at a luncheon today before they continue their training camp in Cedartown until they depart for Atlanta on Friday to prepare for the Peachtree Road race on Saturday.

Two men were killed in the crash of an ultra light aircraft in Polk County Thursday afternoon. According to Polk County Police, the bodies of 44 year old John Alan Keith, 657 Valley Road, Cedartown, and 46 year old John Francis Edgeworth, of Bowden, were located around 9:30 a.m. Friday. Police said the men apparently took off from the Polk County airport Thursday afternoon. Family members became concerned when the men did not return home and contacted law enforcement officials around 6 p.m. A search by authorities turned up the wreckage in a rural area close to the Collard Valley Road, Fish Creek Road, and Railroad Road area. Polk County Deputy Coroner Tony Brazier told WGAA News that a bulldozer from the Georgia Forestry Service had to clear a path to the scene. Brazier went on to say that it appeared that there was no fire in the aircraft, but was not sure of the cause of the crash. The plane was described as a 2009 ultra light trike plane. Kathleen Bergen, with the Federal Aviation Administration, further described the plane as a Quikr model that was registered to Atlanta Sport Aviation Inc. of Cedartown. The wreckage reportedly was not visible from any roads. The National Transportation Safety Board is currently investigating the scene.

The Cedartown City Commission met in special session at 6 Thursday evening. Items on the agenda include discussion of a proposal to continue public transit in the City of Cedartown which was approved. The countywide transit system ends effective June 30. The city was required to let its transit system expire because the Polk County government started up its own countywide transit system. The commission voted to hold a public forum on a proposed new contract with the Georgia Department of Transportation. The public hearing will be held preceding the regular monthly meeting of the commission, which is 7 p.m. Monday, July 13. Also on the agenda is the status of a long-delayed paving project on Davis Road, which the city decided to enter into with the county. The commission also heard a request from Larry Tolbert, who is planning to hold a “Tea Party” in Cedartown. The “Tea Party,” or “taxed enough already party,” will be held on July 4 from 11:30 to 12:30 in the afternoon. The commission approved Tolbert’s request during their called meeting Thursday night.

Rockmart Police Department officers were knocking on doors early Friday morning with bad news: several car windows were smashed in a spree of vandalism. The damage took place either late Thursday night or early Friday morning. The damage appeared to have been random. Cars were hit while parked on streets in front of homes. At least one damaged vehicle was parked almost directly beneath a security light. It made no difference. Among the neighborhoods hit was the Goodyear Village area of Rockmart.

A funeral for fallen Georgia National Guard 1st Sgt. John Blair will take place next week. Services will be 2 p.m. Wednesday, July 1, at Trinity Baptist Church in Calhoun, according to John Banks, a friend of the family. Blair’s body will arrive at the Calhoun Airport at approximately 10:30 a.m. Monday, June 29, Banks said. He said a planeside service for family and close friends will take place, after which Blair’s body will be transported down U.S. 41 to Max Brannon and Sons Funeral Home in Calhoun. Visitation will take place before the funeral Monday and Tuesday evenings from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Trinity Baptist Church, Banks said. Blair will be buried in the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton. Banks said the route the funeral procession would take to reach the cemetery is still being finalized. He said the family members are still keeping things private, but that they are doing as well as can be expected.

The bodies of two people were discovered Friday morning in Polk County in the wreckage of an ultralight aircraft that apparently crashed Thursday afternoon. The victims were found near the intersection of Old Fish Creek Road and Wyatt Road. Officials did not release their names. The ultralight took off from the Polk County Airport Thursday afternoon. Check back on wgaaradio.com for more on this developing story.

The May jobless numbers show some ups and downs in Northwest Georgia vs. April 2009. Once again, all five counties reported unemployment rates of 10 percent of more with Chattooga coming in at 13.2 percent. That actually was good news: April’s jobless rate was 13.4 percent in Summerville, Trion and other parts of the county. Bartow, Gordon and Floyd counties saw their respective jobless rates climb month over month while the percentage dropped in Polk County. But the numbers to watch is the number of people unemployed in May 2009 vs. May 2008. Thirteen months ago, 1,271 people were out of work in Polk County vs. 2,279 last month, a 79.3 percent increase. May’s 9.7 percent jobless rate in the state of Georgia set another record.