WGAA 1340AM Cedartown

        The holiday season is a time of giving, and the Tallatoona Community Action Partnership Group has done just that. The group helped to feed over 4100 people on Thanksgiving Day through their event “Feed Polk County.”

        According to Director Tara Payne, over 300 volunteers came out and helped with the event over a two day period. The food was served from Turner Street in Cedartown, the Purks Building in Cedartown, and Morning Star Baptist Church in Rockmart.

        Just over 100 people ate at the Purks Building, but the rest of the 4100 plates were delivered by community volunteers. Payne said that after all plates had been delivered that there were left-overs.

        Over 240 turkeys, 128 Boston butts, 360 boxes of stuffing, and 75 boxes of potatoes were donated to help in the efforts.

        The food was cooked by a number of outlets including Redmond EMS, the Cedartown Fire Department, Hometown Pizza of Rockmart, and the Cedar Hill Senior Living Center in Cedartown.

        Payne said that plans are already being put into place to again “Feed Polk County” next year.

Members of the Cedartown-Polk County Hospital Authority, the Hospital Authority of Floyd County and Floyd Healthcare Management Inc. have signed a definitive agreement through which the Cedartown-Polk County Hospital Authority will lease Polk Medical Center to the Hospital Authority of Floyd County beginning (more…)

The Polk County Police Department’s Narcotics Enforcement Team would like to announce the arrests of 10 individuals that resulted from an investigation into the distribution, sales, and trafficking of methamphetamine.  The arrests were made in Polk and Floyd Counties on the evening of November 17, 2011.  Polk County Narcotics Enforcement Team agents conducted the investigation with the assistance of (more…)

          

Cedartown Students pictured above received "exceeds" on the Georgia High School Writing Test.

  Cedartown High School just received excellent news concerning the Fall Georgia High School Writing (GHSWT) test which is given to all juniors by the Georgia Department of Education.  The school found out this week that CHS had a pass rate of 91 percent for the test! Cedartown High School continues to show a tradition of excellence on the state writing exam.

            The CHS writing test score is up by 12 percent from the 2007 score of 79%.  This is a testament to the hard work of the CHS students, faculty, and staff who worked together in a school-wide writing initiative.  During the first three weeks of school, subject-related writing activities were scheduled in each class at least once a week. 

            Teachers evaluated the work and posted useful commentary on examples of work for students to use as a model in each classroom.  Weekly supplemental activities were provided to the teachers.  These activities included corrections on “internet speak”, examples of good work, how to tell if a paper is on topic and common errors made in writing.

            The initiative was culminated with a practice test that was graded by members of the English Department and then distributed back to the students.  Students in need of extra help were given a faculty buddy to work with until the test on September 27, 2011.    Principal Hal David stated, “I am proud of these outstanding writing scores!  Since 2007, we have had a dramatic improvement in our writing scores.  At Cedartown High School our students, faculty, and staff are focused on academic achievement. “

       The Cedartown Bulldogs traveled to Toccoa, Georgia on Friday night to take on the Stephens County Indians. It marked the first time since 2007 that the Dawgs have been to the state playoffs. Their last two trips were ended by Stephens County, in 2004 and 2007.

       Cedartown was hoping to write a new story this past Friday, but unfortunately the script didn’t change.

       The Dawgs fought to the very end, but couldn’t muster enough offense or get a final defensive stop in the waning moments of the game.

       The Indians jumped out to an early lead after a touchdown run by standout Chaz Thornton. Cedartown would answer back with a touchdown drive of their own, and, after a defensive stop, Zach Chubb gave Cedartown the lead on a 92 yard touchdown carry.

       The score would remain 14-7 until halftime, but in the second half everything turned against the Dawgs. Costly turnovers, lapses in officiating, and an inability to run the ball allowed Stephens County to storm back and put Cedartown away.

       The Dawgs had one final shot to try and tie it, but a dropped pass deep in Stephens County put all chances of a comeback to rest.

       In a way, the dropped pass summarized the game for Cedartown: almost. The throw from Chubb grazed the fingertips of a Stephens County defender and fell right into the hands of a Cedartown receiver. The ball fell to the ground incomplete, and so did the Dawgs season.

       A new era has begun in Cedartown, and, from the looks of things, Dawg fans should expect an annual trip to the playoffs to be a given.

Colleetoe Sanders leads the crowd in "God Bless America." (Blake Dodd/wgaaradio.com)

 The American Legion hosted a Veterans Day memorial service at the Veterans Memorial Park on Friday, at the corner of East Avenue and Greenwood Street.

       The service consisted of reading poems, veteran commemoration, reciting of the pledge, and the singing of patriotic songs. The Veterans Memorial service was well attended by the community.

       The guest speaker was former American Legion Department Commander Henry “Butch” Adams. Adams served 12 years in the U.S. Army, serving in Lebanon, Granada, Panama, and in Desert Storm.

       Adams recalled stories of his service, and also told stories of heralded veterans that were integral parts of American history.

       After the keynote address, Colleetoe Sanders lead the crowd in the singing of “God Bless America” to conclude the service.

A crowd gathers to participate in the Veteran's memorial service. (Blake Dodd/wgaaradio.com)

The Dawgs are in the playoffs for the first time since 2007. (Gail Conner/camerachik.com)

       The Cedartown Bulldogs have had a memorable season filled with numerous victories, several heartbreaking defeats, and the visible maturation of a close-knit group of high school football players. However, tonight the real test begins.

       When the ball is set on the tee, Cedartown won’t be playing just another game, but they will be playing the biggest game that any player on the current team has ever played.

       For the first time since 2007, the Dawgs are in the playoffs. Emotions will be running high, but Head Coach Scott Hendrix knows all about high pressure games, as he was the offensive play-caller for the 2001 State Runner-Up team.

       Cedartown will be facing a Stephens County team that is lead by stud running back Chaz Thorton (1,888 yards, 26 td’s) and a stingy defense that doesn’t take kindly to giving up points.

       Cedartown counters with its own dynamic duo, in Sophomore back Nick Chubb (1,508 yards, 24 td’s) and Senior quarterback Zach Chubb (1,142, 9 td’s). The Dawgs defense will look to continue forcing timely turnovers and stalling drives without giving up points.

       Let not your heart be troubled. The Cedartown coaching staff knows all about big time, high leverage games, and they will our beloved Dawgs ready for their first playoff match up in four years.

       Kickoff is slated for 7:30 pm, and you can catch all the action on WGAA 1340 AM.

      The Polk County Board of Education met in regularly scheduled monthly meeting on Tuesday night. The meeting was preceded by a 48 minute public input meeting for questions and concerns about re-districting.

       During the input meeting, former board member Harold Wingfield stood for 33 minutes voicing concerns over reducing down to seven members. Wingfield believed that minority groups would be “left out” by reducing.

       Former board member Larry Dooley spoke of his strong support for reducing and allowing the entire county to vote on each member.

       During the board meeting, teachers from each Polk County school were recognized for the “teacher of the year” award. Joy Hindman, of Youngs Grove, was awarded with the “Polk County Teacher of the Year” award.

       The final action item on the agenda was re-districting. The board voted 6-3 to reduce the number of board members down to seven. Tara O’Neal, Crystal Sproull, Susan Berry, Tim Turner, Andy Fairel, and Chuck Thaxton voted for the motion. Jane Holbrooks, Tommy Sanders, and Grady McCrickard voted to stay at nine members.

       Dr. Harold Wingfield did remind board members, during the public input meeting, that if the seven district map did not provide equal representation to minorities, then he would be forced to take action. 

       There will be a final public input meeting with State Senator Bill Heath on November 15, at 6 pm, to discuss the final vote. The meeting will be at Board of Education on South College Street.

Offensive Coordinator Tony Lundy calls in a play in Cedartown's 46-32 victory. (Gail Conner/ camerachik.com)

      The Cedartown Bulldogs defeated the Ringgold Tigers on Friday night by a final of 46-32, and the win ensured them a trip to the playoffs for the first time since 2007.

       It was a game where the scoreboard didn’t accurately tell the struggle the Dawgs went through to get win number eight on the season.

       Despite being outgained in total yards, passing yards, turnovers, and total plays from scrimmage, Cedartown still somehow found a way to win the game.

       Zach Chubb rushed for 246 yards on only 8 carries, and Nick Chubb had 164 yards on 18 carries while running on a hurt ankle.

       The defense was torched for 290 passing yards in the second half, and at times it seemed like the team would cave in. They never did.

       Perhaps the biggest play of the game was on special teams. Cedartown punter Michael Helms booted the kick from in Bulldog territory and the ball stopped inside the one yard line, just short of the end zone.

       A potent fourth quarter rushing game finally took all the air out of the Ringgold Tigers.

       Cedartown will travel to Toccoa, Georgia this Friday to take on the Stephens County Indians at 7:30 pm. Cedartown also played Stephens County in the first round in 2007, a game that the Dawgs lost. The team will be looking for revenge this Friday night.

The Sports Inferno "Tailgate Party" at the Senior patio before the Cedartown/Ringgold game. (Gail Conner/camerachik.com)