Madison Clemente was recently awarded the Paulding County Master Gardener Extension Volunteers 2020 Scholarship. Madison will attend the University of North Georgia in the fall working towards a degree in Agricultural Communication.

The Silver Comet Trail Heads and County Parks remain open for walking, hiking, running, and bicycling. The facilities at the parks will remain closed and organized sports continue to be prohibited. Braly Sports Complex will remain closed at this time. Social distancing requirements remain in place.

At the county level, there are two Board of Commissioners races. With the exit of Post 1 Commissioner Ron Davis, voters will have two new faces to choose from in that race, James Curtis will face Keith Dunn and two familiar faces in the race for Commission Chairman, Incumbent Commission Chairman Dave Carmichael will face former Commission Chairman Bill Carruth. The primary will occur on June 9, 2020. The general election will follow on November 3, 2020.

DALLAS, GA: Free COVID-19 testing is available to all Georgians who request it, whether they have symptoms or not. The Paulding Health Department, 451 Jimmy Campbell Parkway, Dallas, is offering free drive-up COVID-19 testing from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays, and from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.

Sheriff Gary Gulledge would like to announce the partial opening of the new Paulding County Sheriff’s Office and Jail complex. The new complex which has been under construction for the past several years is officially opening tomorrow morning to the public. Although full Jail operations will begin in the coming weeks, all other law enforcement operations will be conducted out of our new facility which is located at 180 Constitution Boulevard Dallas, GA.

Carroll Electric Membership Cooperative received national recognition as a 2020 Spotlight on Excellence award recipient sponsored by the Council of Rural Electric Communicators (CREC) and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). The cooperative received a Silver Award for its extensive employee communication in its bi-monthly internal publication, the Hardhat Herald.

Acworth, Ga. – May 20, 2020, Despite the additional challenges they faced to complete their college education during a global coronavirus pandemic, 365 Chattahoochee Technical College students have graduated this spring semester. A commencement ceremony honoring their achievement has been postponed until December.

Friday, May 15, 2020, Captain Michele Zachery retired from the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office. Captain Zachery began her career in law enforcement with the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office on November 16, 1989. During her nearly 31-year law enforcement career she served under three different Sheriffs. Throughout her career, she served in both the Jail Division and the Courthouse Security Division. Captain Zachery was also the first black female to attain the rank of Captain at the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office.