Kids wear Crocs in the pool…but how clean is it?

Bears in Georgia and South Carolina, a more common sight in spring and summer, are always on the lookout for an easy meal.

Georgia and Ohio are among the states that are part of a national salmonella outbreak that has sent at least a dozen people to the hospital and sickened nearly 400 people. 

The Georgia Department of Labor has been named a national leader in helping unemployed citizens get back to work and for the efficient management of its unemployment insurance program. 

Most folks in Long County know Jerry SMiley for his barbecue.  In the Rye Patch area, he has served it to friends from his home and more recently from The Clubhouse in Rye Patch.  What few people know is that Smiley’s son, Justin Smiley, plays for the Miami Dolphins. 

Lance Cpl. Patrick Paul Pittman Jr., from Effingham County, was wounded by a suicide bomber in Iraq.  When he was invited to the White House, he never thought he’d actually get an audience with the president. 

In spite of a few setbacks, Statesboro High School will indeed open for classes Wednesday morning.

The Navy hopes changes in the way Blue Angels train will help prevent crashes like the one at he Beaufort Air Show two years ago.

Following two shootings at a south-island nightclub last week, Hilton Head Island officials have a strong message:  the intend to hold bars accountable for crimes that occur on their properties.

Zoo Atlanta officials are trying to find a way to turn the PandaCam back on.  The online PandaCam gave close-up views of Atlanta’s panda family.  Officials turned it off December 31st to save money.

Georgians can celebrate a reduction in the state’s gasoline tax as they welcome the New Year.  But it will mean less revenue for transportation projects.

The number of people carrying concealed weapons in Bryan County is going up.  Six hundred and three permits to carry a concealed weapon were issued in the county in 2008, which is double the amount of the 300 permits issued in 2007.

Georgia’s budget woes aren’t stopping the state from ringing in the new year with a hefty tax break for the insurance industry.  The tax break is expected to save insurers millions over five years but could mean high-deductible health plans for you.

Are New Year’s Resolutions staring you down like your 10th grade English teacher?  Here’s some advice to make sense of the madness.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently issued a draft of the newly revised Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM).  The revision will change flood zones—and some local properties are now in them.

Be careful if you celebrate with New Year’s Eve fireworks!

Bacon County Citizen of the Year

Mayor Wayne Williams gets to work.

County Leaders have shifted some polling places which means you may have to vote somewhere new.

January 21, 2008

Escape No Surprise to Bacon Sheriff