Area News

Operators of business and commercial enterprises within Grady County are reminded that on Oct. 1, the total sales tax for all applicable sales in the county is 8 percent, up from 7 percent. According to county officials, no official notice will be issued by the Georgia Department of Revenue, as some have said had been…

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been called in to probe an incident where a Grady County Sheriff’s deputy shot at the driver of a truck that allegedly drove towards the deputy after he had exited his car. The incident happened Tuesday morning, some time before 1 a.m. when the deputy attempted to initiate a…

The Lew Oliver led charrette on downtown Cairo originally scheduled to begin Monday morning, Oct. 5, has been postponed temporarily. The rescheduled date has not yet been determined, according to Cairo Main Street Director Alyssa Blakley, who says the event had to be put off “due to unforeseen circumstances.” Oliver is a renowned urban and…

Drop boxes to deposit absentee ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 general election have been set up by the dozens across Georgia as an option for voters who prefer not to show up in-person at a polling place during the COVID-19 pandemic. The drop box in Grady County is located behind the courthouse house in…

The number of new positive cases of COVID-19 continues to decline in Grady County, although a new death from the disease was announced this week by state health officials. A 72-year-old white male with no comorbidity was listed as passing away from the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. That brings the total number of…

The number two has special standing at Southside Elementary School this year where there are 10 sets of twins enrolled in school, and surprisingly enough, four of those sets belong to just two families. Both the Gilbert and Gwaltney families have two sets of twins. Selina and Benji Gwaltney have four boys who are fraternal…

Citizens only have until next Monday, Oct. 5, to register to be eligible to vote in the Nov. 3 general election. Grady County election officials are predicting a high turnout with the hotly contested race for U.S. president on the ballot, but also a number of other races, including sheriff of Grady County. Grady County…

The Grady County Board of Education and Grady County Commission both met last Thursday in called meetings to set their individual ad valorem tax rates for 2020. The school board led things off with a 7:30 a.m. meeting, which took less than 10 minutes to complete. A school tax rate of 13.60 mills was approved…

Grady County Schools are in their third week of the year, and leaders are cautiously optimistic about educating students in the age of a pandemic. Dr. Kermit Gilliard, superintendent of Grady County Schools, says discipline issues are down compared to normal years, and school leaders are handling matters of quarantine well when they arise. “Everybody…

Information from state resources indicates that those Grady County residents diagnosed most with COVID-19 are in the age group of 35 to 54, trailed next by the 55 to 85-plus age group. Those between the ages of 15 and 34 follow close behind that. According to the Georgia Geospatial Information Office COVID-19 Dashboard, there have…