For many years, Christmas was prime time for Harry Musselwhite , the longtime senior lecturer in music at Berry College and one of the most popular voices in Northwest Georgia. He moved to New Mexico six years ago where he's stayed very busy in the music, acting and the production business as well as becoming a podcast mainstay. On Thursday, we arranged for Harry to join us to update friends in Northwest Georgia on his multiple passions (he filmed an episode of the Peacock Network's new MacGrube...
Dec 17, 2021•20 min
The Knights of Columbus Labor Day Barbecue returns Monday, Sept. 6, to the Rome Civic Center with some key changes to keep guests and volunteers safe. Mel Thomas , the grand knight of the Knights of Columbus Council 4410 of St. Mary's Catholic Church , and barbecue co-chair Jim Powell join Hometown's John Druckenmiller to talk about staging one of Rome's culinary highlights....
Aug 08, 2021•30 min
A quick summary of the impact of the first round of storms at midday Thursday, including hard-hit Cedartown, and a look at what forecasts expect tonight and overnight.
Mar 25, 2021•5 min
The last time we did a podcast, former Floyd County Sheriff Tim Burkhalter and the Rome Ga. Cares crew had boots on the ground in Louisiana helping hurricane victims there. We actually did a "pregame" and "on the ground" series of podcasts which became the most listened to in our first season. And it was a great first season with more than 47,500 "listens." Now we're preparing for season two -- and it will be different . Our goal is to add video for those who prefer to see some faces and maybe s...
Jan 27, 2021•4 min
A caravan of hurricane relief supplies, donated by Floyd County residents for victims of Hurricane Laura, left our area on Monday, Sept. 21, for the hard-hit community of Beauregard Parish. On Wednesday, we talked with Beauregard Sheriff Mark Herford about the storm itself (gusts of 140-145 mph), extensive damage (28,000 structures, minor to major) and the loss of basic power and water services in the storm's wake. Herford says the community is recovering and was so appreciative of the trucks fi...
Sep 23, 2020•7 min
Floyd County Sheriff Tim Burkhalter joins us to talk about the seventh mission of Rome Ga Cares, this time to Beauregard Parish, La., to help the community recover after being devastated by Hurricane Laura. After speaking with Beauregard Sheriff Mark Herford , Burkhalter says the community is in major need of Box fans, tarps, infant care (diapers, food, formula), small toys or stuffed animals for children, and cleaning supplies to fill the buckets we will be taking them. You can drop off those d...
Sep 08, 2020•10 min
Record hospital admissions. Enduring the second deadliest month of the pandemic (with two days to go). Soaring positive test results. And some still want to use our students as political collateral? That choice is yours. Our "leaders" have had six months -- half a year -- to respond to the pandemic. They failed. Do what's best for your child.
Jul 30, 2020•7 min
For five blistering days, most of what we heard about was face coverings -- also known as masks. Yes votes, no votes, "education," "marketing plans," litigation, masks having some imaginary connection to the state's economy and for reasons that should be criminal -- politics as well. All over as simple a thing as trying to save lives -- our own, our friends, our family, our community. By Friday, most of us were numb and confused. The adults needed to take control. They did so in such a way that ...
Jul 17, 2020•6 min
Today's top headlines: Downtown Rome 'special' police unit to patrol for speed, noise and related issues following surprise meeting Wednesday. 16 patients with COVID-19 in Floyd, Redmond, up 2 from Tuesday. A record 2,946 new cases Wednesday in Georgia. Statewide, more than 700 deaths in June. Georgia Health News: As state cases surge, 1,500-plus healthcare workers urge Kemp to require masks in public. Rome committee to discuss naming a citizens panel to study monuments in Myrtle Hill; it is a f...
Jul 02, 2020•6 min
Today's top headlines: 14 patients with COVID-19 in Floyd, Redmond hospitals on Tuesday; 4 others awaiting test results. Second Polk resident dies. Local positive tests jump by 53 from Monday. 2020 season of the Rome Braves -- and minor league baseball -- officially canceled. What Braves' fans need to know. Health: State again rejects Floyd's bid to offer adult open heart surgery. Business: Home sales down 20.5% but prices mixed for Northwest Georgia homebuyers, sellers in May vs. a year earlier...
Jul 01, 2020•9 min
Today’s top headlines: 13 in Floyd, Redmond with COVID-19; state adds 123 more. Monday sees 2,207 new cases in Georgia. Kemp extends public health state of emergency, safety protocol. Cartersville man now faces murder, three other counts following Sunday evening shooting. Politics: District 14 GOP hopefuls John Cowan, Marjorie Taylor Greene in televised debate July 19-20. Floyd Democrats set virtual meeting for Thursday. Business: Prime downtown Rome spot on the market for $450,000 — with parkin...
Jun 30, 2020•8 min
Today's first headlines: Rome musician Lee Shealy joins legendary Atlanta Rhythm Section. ‘We all get along great. It’s just neat to listen to all their stories from years together.’ Business: As first half of 2020 ends, some big minuses but also hundreds of millions of dollars in new investment across Northwest Georgia despite the pandemic. State-record 2,226 new COVID-19 cases since Saturday; Georgia sees 11,282 additional positive tests in 7 days, a 17.1% surge. Reports: Woman dead, man shot ...
Jun 29, 2020•7 min
Today’s top headlines: Rome Police: Teen, 16, facing murder charge, to be tried as adult in shooting death of RHS junior Sincere Javier Estrada-Lopez on June 1. 40th Bartow resident dies from COVID-19; 76th victim from Northwest Georgia; 2,745 statewide. 10 in Rome hospitals. Positive tests: Third day of 1,700-plus new cases. Politics: As Aug. 11 runoff ticks closer, some answers to your questions about who can and can’t vote in the sheriff’s, U.S. House races. Ware Mechanical Weather Center: Mi...
Jun 26, 2020•9 min
Today’s top headlines: Positive tests surge on Wednesday: 24 more in Floyd, state sees 1,703 cases (record was 1,753 on Tuesday); U.S. sets all-time single-day high at 36,358 cases. Floyd Public Defender’s Office closes after positive test there. Jobless drops in May across Northwest Georgia but more than 13,800 people listed as unemployed (vs. 20,800 in April). Creative Flooring Solutions (laminate, wood, luxury vinyl tile) bringing 300 jobs, more than $70 million investment to Calhoun. Ware Me...
Jun 25, 2020•9 min
Today’s top headlines: State’s ‘Hate Crime’ bill needs only Kemp’s signature to become law after passage Tuesday by House, Senate. Business: Two hotels nearing completion in Cartersville — with a pair also due in Calhoun this year. Positive tests: 53 more in 24 hours in NW Georgia; now 1,613 locally; statewide, 67,678 and climbing by more than 1,000 a day. Wade Hoyt III resigns as Floyd County attorney, cites personal reasons. Virginia Harmon named interim county attorney. Ware Mechanical Weathe...
Jun 24, 2020•8 min
Today’s top headlines: COVID-19 patient, 45, walks out of Floyd after 57 days in care both there and at Piedmont. Positive tests: 1,561 in NW Georgia. State death toll at 2,648. Rome City Commission unanimously OKs refunding alcohol pouring license fees to area restaurants for 2 months during COVID-19 shutdown. Combined refund: $41,000. State Patrol: Summerville man faces multiple charges, including 3 counts of aggravated assault against a peace officer, following chase that ends with wreck in A...
Jun 23, 2020•10 min
Today's top headlines: Still growing: High Voltage Prints gets a charge out of a new site. Dr. Stephan J. LaPointe doubles down on Martha Berry. Lobrillio's brings a taste of Chicago to West Rome. Nearly 1,200 resident tests at area long-term care homes. State death toll at 2,605, up 908 in a month. Positive tests at 60,912 in Georgia, including 1,454 here. Health: Harbin Clinic sets moves for Ansley Park, pediatrics to new building off Redmond, Bypass for July. Redmond Regional adds patient hot...
Jun 19, 2020•9 min
The fastest 90 seconds of news in the nation: First-time jobless claims in Northwest Georgia top 25,000 in May -- which is a major improvement compared to April. Our work force did recover last month, the labor department reports. Georgia saw a spike in coronavirus deaths for the week ending June 17, the highest total since late April. Local positive test results continue to climb as well. The building that's home to Jamwich on Broad Street has been sold; no changes planned at the restaurant. Th...
Jun 18, 2020•7 min
A closer look at our headlines today including: A timely meeting between police and local pastors. Those latest coronavirus numbers. Myrtle Hill gets some needed TLC. Bye-bye to jail mug shots. $10K shot in the arm for Bartow merchants -- and customers. OK, we'll leave Romulus and Remus alone. Love these cool mornings? Alas, summer blazes back on Saturday.
Jun 17, 2020•7 min
In addition to the fastest 90 seconds of news in the nation, we rant about: The ACC's great idea to refund alcohol license fees for downtown restaurants as they recover from the shutdown. Some critical local thinking about the coronavirus and 2020-21 school year. Some uneasy numbers about COVID-19 here and across the state. Correcting our slam on the earlier movement of the Forrest statue -- and what about Romulus and Remus? Best commentary on the state of race in America? Try Dan Le Batard and ...
Jun 16, 2020•8 min
The local tourism office describes Myrtle Hill as "one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the nation," sitting above "the confluence of the Etowah, Oostanaula and Coosa rivers." Guests are invited to "come explore its six terraces and rich history – and visit the place where Romans rest." Indeed, some 20,000 people are buried or interred there, now including the mausoleum added a few years ago. Once the site of a fort, Myrtle Hill again is something of a battleground, this time over efforts to ...
Jun 15, 2020•9 min
As state lawmakers assemble in Atlanta next week, all eyes are on mandated budget cuts because of the impact the coronavirus safeguards have had on Georgia's economy. So far at least, those cuts will hit the state Public Health Department and other areas, a move that could wipe out many of the services offered by the Northwest Georgia Regional Cancer Coalition . Erin Hernandez , the president and chief executive officer of the cancer coalition, joined John Druckenmiller of Hometown Headlines to ...
Jun 11, 2020•12 min
Today's top headlines: Floyd results: Absentees push Roberson, Caldwell into Aug. 11 runoff for Floyd County sheriff. No changes to other races. Floyd Commission Chair Scotty Hancock calls out Secretary of State who blamed local offices for election chaos: 'This problem has stemmed from faulty equipment that was provided from your office.' 17th Gordon resident dies from coronavirus; 14 new positive tests in Floyd County in 24 hours; 29 in the region. State death toll at 2,329. Dining: Upon furth...
Jun 11, 2020•8 min
Today's top headlines: Runoff for Greene, Cowan in U.S. House. Floyd to resume count later this morning. Roberson has big lead in sheriff's race. Richardson, Dempsey win new terms. Bartow: Absentee and provisional ballots have yet to be counted but the education SPLOST should pass. Big leads for Sheriff Clark Millsap, Coroner Joel Guyton. Tight races for Board of Education Plus Gordon and Polk results, which appear to be complete. Latest coronavius updates from across Northwest Georgia, the stat...
Jun 10, 2020•7 min
Today's top headlines: Election Day: Precincts open now until 7 p.m.; some rain possible. Be prepared for lines at the precincts; results will be slow tonight because of absentee ballot counting. Public Health’s Voccio on the courthouse outbreak, social distancing concerns. State death toll at 2,208. Courthouse closed until June 22, with some judges, clerks, deputies, staff in quarantine. 7 confirmed cases through midday Monday. Rome Commission defeats open container by 5-3 as chaotic meeting en...
Jun 09, 2020•10 min
Today's top headlines: Floyd County Courthouse closed for two weeks; judges, deputies and clerks in quarantine as outbreak continues. Continuing updates. No virus deaths so far this month in Northwest Georgia but 169 additional positive tests here since June 1. State death toll: 2,180. Huge crowd in downtown Rome Sunday afternoon for 'We Matter: A Peaceful Protest.' City leaders among the speakers. What's next. Politics: With social distancing, masks, sanitizer and new voting machines, Tuesday's...
Jun 08, 2020•10 min
Today's top headlines: Rome's JC Penney among stores being closed in Georgia. Mall owner talks about new direction, what's next. Community hears words of peace, healing as Trinity United Methodist Church hosted an all-faiths ecumenical service. Three rallies set for Rome this weekend. Polk authorities on watch; sheriff doubts claims but says all are ready. Floyd County Schools posts six 'scenarios' for reopening classrooms, currently set for Aug. 6. Each depends on status of the pandemic. Third ...
Jun 05, 2020•10 min
Today's top headlines: Prayer service tonight at Trinity. Also: Rome Police say protests require permit first. Weekend protests set. Polk authorities investigating threats for this Sunday. Funeral services are set for 16-year-old killed in Monday's shooting. Police: Teen wanted for questioning arrested in Cartersville on unrelated charges. Another death in Bartow; 2,123 statewide as of Wednesday. Positive tests, 48,894 in Georgia. Motorcycle procession through Rome on Wednesday escorts former Ma...
Jun 04, 2020•9 min
Today's top headlines: A 'young male' dead following a shooting on Grady Avenue off Calhoun Avenue Monday evening, Rome Police report. Business: Twin pieces of East Sixth Avenue across from federal courthouse on the market. Georgia death toll climbs to 2,089. Positive tests will top 48,000 on Tuesday. Floyd County Judicial Center closed through Wednesday after employee tests positive for coronavirus. Trinity United Methodist Church to host ecumenical service for all Thursday evening. Coosa Valle...
Jun 02, 2020•9 min
Today' s headlines: River rescues on the rise in Floyd, Bartow as more people take to the water during pandemic. What to know about staying safe. Floyd County Judicial Center closed today after employee tests positive for coronavirus. State deaths in May up 44% to 2,053; positive tests climb almost 50% to 47,063. In NW Georgia, 15 more deaths in May; positive tests jumped from 619 to 1,048 (69.3%). Another peaceful protest in downtown Rome Sunday; quiet overnight. Earlier: Updates from Cartersvi...
Jun 01, 2020•9 min
