The Buzz of Northwest Georgia:
-Shopping centers: Two in trouble, two (or more) on the way.
-Restaurants: One expansion due, another opens, a third due soon?
-Economic stimulus: The old college try--times three.
-'Rating' the NAIA economic impact numbers (we say they're too low)
-2010 governor's race: Cagle in Gordon, Oxendine in Rome
-Closer look: Cartersville booming as Highlands, civic center grow
-Peaks & Valleys: Foul ball by A-Braves; A-plus for 'indy' schools
Grand opening today for Tellus: Northwest Georgia Science Museum: The public gets its first official chance to tour the new museum beginning Monday at 10 a.m. Museum officials expect more than 150,000 guests by Dec. 31. For more on the museum, hours and membership> Tellus
General Assembly convenes today:
You can track much of the session online, including Webcasts. Your best starting point: Legislature
-For background/bio pages on local lawmakers: Northwest Georgia Links
-For updates, check Georgia Political & Policy Digest> Link
-Closer look at what to expect this session> AJC
-Recommend media: Georgia Public Broadcasting> GPB
Weather Center / Brought to you by Roman Court
-Weather week: Flood warning ends; now get ready for cold blast.
-Sunny today, high of 51, low of 28 tonight. Upper teens by Thursday night.
-Extended forecast: Please click WeatherCenter
-Flood warning canceled; final rivers check.
| River | Feet | Time | Up or down? |
| Oostanaula/Rome | 19.54 | 5:45 a.m. | Dropping |
| Oostanaula/Resaca | 12.0 | 5;15 a.m. | Dropping |
| Etowah/Rome | 19.29 | 6 a.m. | Dropping |
Norman Arey's Sports Roundtable / brought to you by Riverside Toyota
-Best game, biggest flop, best player, teams on the rise and early hot seats For more, click Arey
Sports:
-A banner year for Shorter College athletics: "A national champion, national rankings, All-Americans, conference championships and dozens of post-season honors -- Shorter's teams, student-athletes and coaches can look back and see that the 2008 calendar year has put the college on a high plateau of the NAIA ranks."> Shorter Hawks
Downtown Headlines
-RACA receptions, annual Hot Stove Gathering, Art of Chocolate highlight coming weeks in downtown Rome> Downtown
Three-Dot Buzz . . . :
New CVS at Berry Crossing in a photo shot Jan. 5/Photo by Jack Druckenmiller
Two retail centers down, two on the way up? So this is a recession. We have Etowah I shopping center (former Kroger, East Rome) in foreclosure, Mount Berry Square in receivership and national chains (Office Depot, Goody's) closing stores with one more possible, Circuit City. But there is a flip side: Berry Crossing continues to rise, and quickly, at Martha Berry and the Bypass. The CVS store (above) is going to be a very impressive anchor, especially from an architectual perspective. And we're upgrading the recent Publix/Mathis Building rumor from exactly that to "possible," based on some recent legal documents. Also on the way: a new CVS off U.S. 41 in Cartersville . . .
Something to chew on: Local restaurants also are said to be reeling from the troublesome economy. We've seen a few closings and more are likely. But ... we'll have details on a restaurant upgrade within two weeks and the new Bennett's Steakhouse & Grill is just about open on the Cave Spring square. We're also hearing about a possible restaurant announcement near I-75 as well . . .
Berry's residence halls behind Hermann Hall open in August/Photo byJack Druckenmiller
New stimulus gets the old college try: In the story below on Georgia Highlands, writer Natalie Simms quotes GHC's Dr. Randy Pierce as saying, "One way to spur growth is to have more capital projects." He's hoping that spurs construction of a major addition to the Bartow campus. Two other collegiate projects are under way on the Berry campus: the new residence halls. They literally are flying up with significant progress marked each week as the photo above shows. Also don't forget the tweaking under way at Riverbend Center as it welcomes Shorter's expanding nursing program . . .
Closer look at those NAIA numbers: We believe the report that the NAIA game left a $1.54 million economic impact on Rome/Floyd County last month are low. The problem is: we can't prove it. The reason is we don't have the ratings from the national broadcast from CBS College Sports. For some reason, the ratings folks aren't tracking the CBS cable network, at least in traditional ways. So we have no idea how much of the network's national audience tuned in that Saturday before Christmas. As tangible as the local sales and impact figures are--and they're significant given by the fans spotted across the community Dec. 18-22-- there's a potential bigger impact to come thanks to the extremely postive TV coverage. . .
Campaign 2010 comes to Northwest Georgia, Cagle v. Handel: A vivid 
preview of the 2010 campaign season was laid out last week by Hometown political columnists, Dixon and Clemons.We're adding a sidebar about two chamber annual meeting speakers on Jan. 22. The Republican frontrunner, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, will do the honors for the Gordon County Chamber of Commerce (details). The Greater Rome chamber has Karen Handel, Georgia's secretary of state and presumed to be interested in the title run. What's of special interest: Both will be speaking in what's considered to be "Gingrey Territory" assuming four-term Congressman Phil Gingrey decides to make another statewide run (he flirted with a U.S. Senate bid a few years back) . . .
Georgia Highlands' Bartow campus, adjoining sites ready to boom
By Natalie Simms
With current enrollment figures projected to triple within the next six years, Georgia Highlands' officials are planning more growth at the Bartow County campus. With almost 200 acres off Ga. 20 in Cartersville, there are lots of possibilities.
"Our master planning process is ongoing now for a draft of the proposed campus by the year 2015," said Dr. Randy Pierce, GHC president. "It is really like a ball of clay that is not formed; the possibilities are endless."
Opened in August 2005, GHC's growth plan calls for a clone of this complex. GHC photo.
Up next: a second building adjoining the 100,000-square-foot complex that opened in August 2005. "It will be a mirror image of what is there now with half of the building for academics and the other half housing a student center," says Dana Davis, Director of College Relations.
Current plans call for a 2011 groundbreaking but Pierce says the timeframe could be moved up if Gov. Sonny Perdue passes his own "stimulus" package.
"One way to spur growth is to have more capital projects," Pierce says, "and if he (Perdue) did that, it could move this project up."
The building would open by 2012, just in time to provide the space needed for the estimated enrollment increase.
"Based on the projections we have for the Cartersville campus, there will be 6,000 students by 2015 in that campus alone," Pierce says. Last fall, enrollment was 2,373 at the Cartersville campus, a 34 percent increase over last year. The campus opened with 1,200 students.
"That campus has really exploded and far exceeds Rome right now," Davis says. Enrollment at the Floyd Campus last fall was 1,595, which was a 10-12 percent increase over the previous year.
The I-75 Effect
Officials attribute the Bartow increase to overall growth of the I-75 corridor.
"While both of our campuses (Bartow and Floyd) are experiencing growth, Cobb, Bartow, Cherokee and Paulding counties are growing at a higher rate than Floyd County," says Pierce. "A lot of students are coming our way because Cartersville is going against the Atlanta traffic. It's easier to get to."
Another project that is expected to bring more growth is the construction of the new Bartow County Civic Center that will be across Ga. 20 from the campus. (See map from Google)
"Bartow County has 25 acres to construct a civic center," Pierce says. "The synergy that is being created by that space next to the campus has lots of possibilities." There could be joint activities between the campus and civic center, he adds.
Voters approved the $20 million SPLOST project as well as a new public safety complex on the site.
'The Highlands' and GHC
Rendering from Henderson Properties Inc.
Also, developers of the other land adjoining GHC would like to create their own "village" around the college.
"Henderson Properties is under contract with the property and they would like to create a 'live, work and play' model community using the campus," Pierce says. "They have tree-lined medians and shops planned… a very different area."
The one issue hindering this model community is the heavy traffic from I-75. "Highway 20 is a main artery to I-75. If they build the 411 Connector, that would take some traffic off Highway 20 and allow us to create a very different area," Pierce says.
Henderson's Web site details a "planned, traditional neighborhood development featuring a variety of commercial, residential and civic activities in a mixed-use setting."
The wild card in all of this is the economy. Pierce says the college has not experienced "a direct impact" and he's not sure what to expect.
"Right now, we are growing and that lessens the impact on us because our enrollment is higher than projected," says Pierce. "If we maintain our growth, I think we will be fine."
PEAKS & VALLEYS: The highs and lows of Northwest Georgia
Valley to the Atlanta Braves organization. Ron Zook only thought he had it bad on the Internet when angry Gator fans launched www.fireronzook.com. Now comes Frank Wren who is being blistered for failing to re-sign Atlanta Braves icon John Smoltz. There are a dozen "Fire Frank Wren" groups on Facebook and other Internet sites already. We understand that baseball is a game of dollars and sense but to fumble so badly on Smoltz? Injuries or not, he's worth $5 million a year just to have him on the payroll. (Photo courtesy of Mills Fitzner, shot during Smoltz's rehab stint with the Rome Braves last season. More photos> Click)
Peak to Rome/Floyd's independent schools: On Jan. 25, an "Independent School Fair" featuring representatives from Berry Elementary and Middle schools, Darlington School, St. Mary's Catholic School and Unity Christian School will hold a group information fair at the Rome Civic Center (1-4 p.m.) This is a wise idea by the independent educators and, we hope, another key step in mutual assistance among them. It baffles us that the community's secondary and collegiate education options don't receive the same star status as our local health institutions. Rome and Floyd are lucky to have both solid education and health foundations.
Peak to Chanceley Book and Rebecca Moye: The student and administrator at Unity Christian School were featured in an article from Focus on the Family's Citizen Magazine. It profiles the American Heritage Girls troop organization and, in particular, the work Chanceley and friends at UCS do for the Rome Pregnancy Center. For more, click Article.
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