Area News

In what local officials are calling one of the most significant healthcare developments in recent county history, Parkridge Health System has announced plans to build an $18 million freestanding emergency department in Trenton, a project that would bring around-the-clock emergency medical care to a county that currently does not have a hospital. Parkridge Health System,…

At Steel Pioneer Fire Cooking, dinner does not begin with the turn of a stove knob. It begins with flame. There is heat to manage, smoke to watch, food to move at the right moment and a meal that depends as much on instinct as instruction. That is the experience Chef David Hussey has spent…

State environmental regulators have ordered extensive improvements to the wastewater system serving McLemore Resort and temporarily halted new construction that would increase sewage flows after documenting more than 100 permit violations and two untreated wastewater spills over the past four years. The Georgia Environmental Protection Division’s consent order applies to the McLemore Water Reclamation Facility…

Dade County voters are expected to see two local sales tax questions on the November 2026 ballot after county commissioners voted July 2 to move forward with referendums for a Floating Local Option Sales Tax and a Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. The items were approved as part of the consent agenda during…

For Dade County families planning trips later this summer, the July 4 holiday rush may be over, but the travel season is not. Local drivers still have several things to keep in mind before leaving home, including the Slygo Road bridge closure, Chattanooga-area interstate work, changing gas prices and the usual summer safety concerns that…

Robby Ryan won Tuesday’s Republican runoff for the Dade County District 1 Commission seat, defeating Jane Dixon in the final local race left unsettled from the May primary. According to unofficial results from the Dade County Board of Elections, Ryan received 1,073 votes, or 66 percent, while Dixon received 551 votes, or 34 percent. Election…

A former Dade County Jail commander allegedly used $10,000 in jail funds over a three-year period to purchase Copenhagen smokeless tobacco for personal use, according to state investigators. Former Dade County Sheriff’s Office Jail Commander Joseph William Chambers, 52, was charged on June 4 with one count of Theft by Conversion and one count of…

Dade County property owners should begin receiving their 2026 assessment notices this week, and county officials are urging residents to review their notices carefully, check their property information and contact the Tax Assessor’s Office with questions before the appeal deadline. Chief Appraiser Paula Duvall told the Dade County Board of Commissioners at its June meeting…

Testing in Lookout Creek has continued to show normal water levels after last month’s wastewater spill from the City of Trenton’s treatment plant, Mayor Alex Case said. The city will continue voluntary monitoring and waiting for final word from state environmental regulators. Case said the city has been testing the creek after the April spill,…

Dade County school leaders are weighing a tentative budget that would raise the school tax rate by 1 mill while still requiring the district to use about $1.5 million in reserve funds to cover a projected operating deficit. The fiscal year 2027 tentative budget, presented during the recent Dade County Board of Education meeting, lists…