WGAA 1340AM Cedartown

The Polk County Police Department shut down Park Street yesterday after the discovery of a possible drug house. According to the Polk County Police Department Narcotics Enforcement Team, two people have been arrested in the investigation. Connie Pendergrass, 49, and Timmy Hall, 40, both of 230 Park Street, were taken into custody and both were charged with two felonies. Pendergrass was charges with possession, manufacturing, and distribution of methamphetamine, and drug trafficking. Hall was also charged with possession, manufacturing, and distribution of methamphetamine, and drug trafficking. Both remain in the Polk County Jail.

Congressman Phil Gingrey will hold a town hall meeting on Wednesday, August 18th from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Cedartown Senior Center on Lynton Drive. The public is invited to attend, and according to sources, the national network CSPAN will also be at the meeting.

Polk County Farm Bureau will host a “Meet the Candidates” forum on August 24th at 7:00 p.m. at the Rockmart Community Center. The main focus for the forum will be for the Georgia State Senate District 31 race. Incumbent Bill Heath (R) will face off against Tracy Bennett (D) in November, and both candidates are expected to attend. District 31 includes all of Haralson and Polk counties, and parts of Bartow and Paulding counties. Questions for the candidates must be submitted at the Farm Bureau office at 121 E. Ware Street in Cedartown. For more information regarding the forum, contact Polk County Farm Bureau at 770-748-5641.

The Polk School District Board of Education voted on several important issues at their monthly meeting last night. The board first passed a policy that will eliminate the “D” from the grading scale. In the past a “D” has been from a 74 to a 70. Now that the “D” has been eliminated, a grade of “C” will be given for a 79 to a 70. The board also passed a policy that raised substitutes pay. This was recommended by Superintendent Williams due to the lengthening of the school day. The board narrowly approved the Fiscal Year 2011 budget. The board voted 5-4 to approve the budget with Jane Holbrooks, Tommy Sanders, Tara O’Neal, and Bettie Fay Lewis voting against approval. The student dress code also passed at last night’s meeting with a vote of 6-3. Those opposing the dress code were Chuck Thaxton, Grady McCrickard, and Tara O’Neal. According to Superintendent Williams, a copy of the approved dress code will be available later today. The board also approved a recommendation by Superintendent Williams to name Judy Alred as principal of Murphy Harpst Academy.

The voters have once again spoken and now the ballots are set for November. Frank “Bud” Lott defeated Ray Barber for the Democratic seat for County Commission District 2. Lott received 55% of the votes and Barber received 44.9% of the votes. Lott will move on and face Republican Phillip Bentley in November.

The runoff election for the July 20th primary will be held tomorrow, Tuesday August 10th. One local race that will be on the ballot will be for the Democratic seat for County Commission District 2. Frank “Bud” Lott, the incumbent will face off against Ray Barber. In July, Lott received 48% of the total votes and Barber received 34% of the total votes. The winner of this race will face Republican Phillip Bentley in the November general election. Bentley ran unopposed in the July primary. Runoffs will also be between Republican Karen Handel and Nathan Deal for Governor. A runoff for the Democratic nomination for Secretary of State has Gail Buckner against Georganna Sinkfield. The state Attorney General will also see a runoff with Republican Preston W. Smith facing Sam Olens. Commissioner of Insurance as well as Public Service Commission District 2 will also see runoffs on Tuesday.

The Polk School District Non-Budgetary Committee met last night, August 2nd, to discuss the dress code for the 2010-2011 academic school year. Extensive debate continued from the previous meeting of the full Board of Education regarding the dress code for students. Most of the discussion was based around the issue of body piercings. Committee members are against allowing students to wear any visible piercings, with ears being the only exception. Some members wanted to also place limitations on how many ear piercings a child could have. The committee did not support the recommendation of Superintendent Marvin Williams to allow teachers and principals to decide what piercings were considered distracting. His recommendation came from a draft of the dress code that was presented to and discussed by the principals throughout the school district. Three principals attended last nights meeting to provide feedback to the committee members. Other issues discussed included hair colors and styles, holes in pants, and visible tattoos. The dress code will go before the full Board of Education at the regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, August 10th. The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the central office.

According to Trey Kelley, President of the Cedartown Exchange Club, and Dan Riley, 2010 Fair Board President, the annual Polk County Fair will be held this year at the Cedartown Fairgrounds from Tuesday, August 3rd through Saturday, August 7th. The very popular Dixieland Carnival will be back again this year with their fun rides and midway. The Animal Farm is also back for the kid’s enjoyment. Livestock judging will award prizes in several classes for hogs, cattle, and lambs. School art contest winners will be displayed along with entries in arts and crafts, clothing, canning, cooking and much more. Fair hours are Tuesday through Thursday 5:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Parking is free and admission price is $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for children and children under 5 are free. For more information about this year’s fair, call 770-748-1309 after August 1st.

The City Manager of the City of Cedartown, Charles Akridge, has resigned his employment. Mr. Akridge stated he enjoyed working with the City of Cedartown, expressed regret for an incident that occurred over the weekend, which caused potential embarrassment to the City, and for which he was truly sorry. He stated that he enjoyed his time with Cedartown, and felt that the City was moving in the right direction and wished the government, and the good citizens of Cedartown, every possible success in the future. He expressed pride in balancing the City budget and helping the City work through very serious financial times facing all citizens and governments, especially with a significant decrease in funding. (more…)

The Polk County Fire Department along with Cedartown Fire Department responded to a house fire on Shiloh Road early Saturday morning. Firefighters from Esom Hill, Blooming Grove, Young’s Station, Prior Station and Lake Creek fire departments responded to the call after the initial call was made to Cedartown Fire. According to fire officials, 911 was unable to make contact with any Polk County fire station, due to a problem with the radio and paging system. County fire officials were notified by phone and contacted their firefighters by phone. The radio system was fixed shortly after fire crews returned to their stations. The house was a complete lose and the cause of the fire has yet to be determined.