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.
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.
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.
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.
Paulding County School System appointed Dan Nolan to fill the District 6 school board vacancy. The vacancy was due to the departure of Jason Anavitarte, who recently stepped down in order to run for the state Senate.
The District 31 Senate seat is held by Senator Bill Heath R-Bremen, who will retire upon the expiration of his term at the end of 2020. Nolan will represent District 6, which includes Burnt Hickory Elementary School, Russom Elementary School, Shelton Elementary, McClure Middle School and North Paulding High School.
The Paulding County Board of Elections and Staff are excited to offer a secure and monitored Absentee Ballot DropBox for the Voters of Paulding County. The dropbox was installed today, May 1 by the Paulding County Maintenance Director, Jimmy Renfroe, and Maintenance Staff Member Barry Bozeman. The dropbox will be available 7 days a week 24 hours a day and will be closely monitored by... security.
Heading into the election with the exit of 14th District Congressman Tom Graves, voters will have no less than 10 candidates to choose from, including nine Republicans and 1 Democrat. Georgia's 14th Congressional District includes almost all of northwestern Georgia. Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Floyd, Gordon, Haralson, Murray, Paulding, Polk, Walker, Whitfield, and a portion of Pickens counties.
Major Wix began his career in law enforcement with the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office on November 5, 1984. During his nearly 36-year law enforcement career he served under four different sheriffs and had more seniority than any other active employee. Throughout his career, he has served in the following capacities: Jailer, Patrol Deputy, Warrants/Civil Division Deputy, the Chief Jailer, and in the Courthouse Security Division.
Friday, May 1, 2020, Corporal Reece Brown retired from the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an official retirement celebration was unable to occur, but the Deputies in the Courthouse Security Division and other Paulding County Courthouse employees were able to send him away with well wishes from afar. Corporal Brown began his career in law enforcement with the Paulding County Sheriff’s Office on April 23, 1991.
Abbie DeLoach Foundation awards 20 scholarships. The Foundation honors Abbie DeLoach, a Georgia Southern University nursing student who died along with four of her classmates as the result of a tragic accident on April 22, 2015. The scholarships have local and global reach including Abigail Miller and Allison Miller of Dallas, GA.
Richland Creek Reservoir (RCR) dam green-lighted earlier this month, the Etowah River Pump station is operational and water began flowing last week. According to Brown and Caldwell’s Kelly Comstock, managing consultant on Paulding’s RCR project, which had been waiting for final approval after dam inspection had to be postponed more than once due to conflicting weather conditions, was given the go-ahead last week.
Home Hospice of Georgia is excited to announce our new community outreach initiative. The COVID-19 Care Bear Program! This program is specifically aimed to help our senior citizens that have been sheltered in place since the pandemic. We know that times can appear difficult right now. There is a lack of normal human connection, first.