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Top Stories - Topics from December, 2012

Pike County courthouse changes

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Sunday, December 30. 2012

What a difference a year makes.

The historic Pike County courthouse will have a fresh new look for 2013 along with an additional 5,600 square feet of office space. All major construction projects have been completed inside and outside the building. Finishing touches will be completed after an upcoming meeting with all department heads involved. [Full story »]

Peace and good will

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Walter Geiger

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Monday, December 24. 2012

By Walter Geiger

As we celebrate the Christmas season, our world is a troubled one.

There remains, despite all our societal, agricultural and technological advances, starvation around the globe.
[Full story »]

Wreck requires lifeflight

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Rachel McDaniel

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Sunday, December 23. 2012

Highway 19 north of Zebulon was shut down temporarily Sunday afternoon after a wreck. Two vehicles were involved in the wreck which happened at the intersection of McKinley Road and Highway 19. [Full story »]

Missing girl's body found

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Walter Geiger

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Friday, December 21. 2012

Spalding County officials on the lookout for a missing nine-year-old girl found her body early Saturday morning. [Full story »]

Zebulon reduces staff; Birney out

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Rachel McDaniel

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Thursday, December 20. 2012

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By Kay S. Pedrotti

Zebulon city finance and special projects administrator Kathleen Birney's job has been eliminated as of 2013 by unanimous vote of the city council. Birney has worked with the city for 15 years. [Full story »]

School district lawsuit dismissed

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Rachel McDaniel

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Monday, December 17. 2012

A lawsuit filed by four local residents against the Pike County school district, elections superintendent Lynn Brandenburg and newly elected school board member Walter James “Jim” Brooks has been dismissed by judge William Ison Monday, Dec. 17. The four plaintiffs, Robert E. Adams Jr., Patricia Beckham, Martha O’Neal and Betty Willis, have argued the county’s school district map should have been redrawn after the county received results from the 2010 census showing a significant demographic change. [Full story »]

Tax assessors board chairman steps down

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Walter Geiger

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Friday, December 14. 2012

By Sherri Ellington

Pike County tax assessor chairman Matthew Tomarchio has stepped down, leaving the position open. His term was to have ended in 2014.

In addition, the assessor’s office is seeking part-time help with one of its staffers about to go out on maternity leave. Both vacancies are to be advertised. [Full story »]

Red Cross reaches out after Superstorm

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Rachel McDaniel

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Wednesday, December 12. 2012

When disaster strikes, American Red Cross volunteers from across the country and beyond rush to offer services – from fresh water, food, clothing and shelter to home repair, cleaning supplies and health care. As residents of areas hit by Hurricane Sandy surveyed the damage from flooding and high winds, Red Cross volunteers stepped up to help, including Pike County’s Red Cross coordinator Teri Totten.

“It was quite an experience. The pictures and video on TV didn’t do the destruction justice,” she said. “When you pull up and see all the damage first hand, it stops you in your tracks.” [Full story »]

Child's murder still under investigation after 26 years

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Walter Geiger

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Thursday, December 6. 2012

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By Rachel McDaniel

Allison Renee Smith, 8, was killed in April 1986. The second grader’s death was determined a homicide by the GBI but no charges were ever filed in the case and it remains an open investigation 26 years later.
[Full story »]

Elderly woman dies in house fire

Posted by

Walter Geiger

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Wednesday, December 5. 2012

An elderly woman was killed in a house fire Tuesday. [Full story »]

County to upgrade bridge

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Rachel McDaniel

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Tuesday, December 4. 2012

Ryan "Hoot" Wilson didn't get to celebrate his birthday with his family but his family celebrated when Pike County commissioners voted unanimously to spend $13,000 to improve the bridge where he wrecked and lost his life. The decision was made at the Nov. 27 meeting, on what would have been Wilson's 23rd birthday. [Full story »]

Blood donors needed Monday

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Rachel McDaniel

in Top Stories

Saturday, December 1. 2012

A blood drive sponsored by Kiwanis Club of Pike County will be held Monday, Dec. 3 at senior citizen center on Highway 19 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. The American Red Cross is the nation’s largest blood collection organization, supplying more than 40 percent of the blood and blood products used in our country. During winter months, blood donations drop, causing a critical need for donors. [Full story »]