Author: MJ Kneiser

Testimony continues today in the civil trial of Lavonia pastor the Rev. Jonathan Ayers.  Ayers was shot in September 2009 by undercover drug agents with the Mountain Judicial Circuit at a gas station in Toccoa.  He died later after surgery at Stephens County Hospital.  His widow, Abigail Ayers, claims in her lawsuit that the officer who shot her husband, Billy […]

Franklin County Commissioners are balking at the proposed cost of expanding the Franklin County Detention Center.  Sheriff Stevie Thomas said the current jail was built to house 78 inmates, but he needs room to house 98 more with separate areas for women and non-violent offenders.  At their regular meeting Monday night, the board heard from architect Tom Wright of Wright, […]

A new piece of proposed legislation is gaining more and more support at the state’s capital.  House Bill 885 is a medical cannabis bill, also being called Hailey’s Law.  “The proposed legislation will be narrowly drafted to allow doctors to prescribe cannabis oil, a marijuana derivative, to treat seizure disorders in children,” said Rep Alan Powell of 32nd District in […]

Now that tax filing season is underway, the Internal Revenue  Service is reminding moderate to low-income tax payers they may be eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit.  The Earned Income Tax Credit is a work incentive for individuals and families who earn less than $51-thousand dollars a year.  IRS spokesman Mark Green said, however, many taxpayers who are eligible […]

Sen. John Wilkinson (R- Toccoa) and Lt. Governor Casey Cagle welcomed Rev. Wayne Marcus of Tom’s Creek Baptist Church in Martin, Ga. to serve as the Chaplain of the Day on Monday, Feb. 3,  in the Georgia State Senate. As Chaplain of the Day, Rev. Marcus lead the Senators in the daily devotion before the work of the Senate got […]