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By Mark Beardsley Not many voters believe everything a candidate says on the campaign trail, but when one reverses her philosophy in 24 hours it leaves a bad taste. After a campaign of calling Nathan Deal unethical, corrupt and telling him to put on his “big boy pants” for months, last Wednesday morning Karen Handel had a new best friend ... [Full Story »] 

The Commerce Police Department announced the following arrests or citations for the past week: •Jack Eugene Garrett, 33, 774 Wilson Cemetery Road, Nicholson, driving under the influence (DUI) of alcohol, leaving the scene of an accident and driving with an expired tag. Garrett was the driver of a truck that struck another truck just before ... [Full Story »] 

Commerce residents can expect some smoother rides in the near future. The city is doing repairs on 15 streets to get them ready for resurfacing that city manager Clarence Bryant said could occur “within two or three weeks.” The city will spend more than $200,000 of its special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) to do about 2.4 miles of ... [Full Story »] 

Jackson County can no longer refuse to allow mobile homes to be located in the county based on age. The board of commissioners amended the county’s unified development code Monday night to address a new state law that prohibits counties from considering the age of a manufactured home. The change comes after the Georgia General Assembly passed ... [Full Story »] 

If you’re ever looking at the perfect example of how schools get away from teaching basic education, there’s no better example than sex education. Right now, the Jackson County Board of Health is considering a resolution requesting the county school system to change its sex education policy to teach not just the benefit of abstinence, but ... [Full Story »] 

Commerce police officers helped Jackson County recover a stolen vehicle and arrest the thief last week, but they also had help from the owner of the truck. An officer responded to a lookout regarding a stolen truck that was traveling on north on Interstate 85 — with another vehicle following it with flashing lights, driven by the owner of the ... [Full Story »] 

Both the Commerce and Jackson County school systems welcomed more students than last as the 2010-11 school year kicked off. The Jackson County School System opened its doors to students for the 2010-2011 school year Thursday. By the third day of school Monday, the district reported that 7,022 students had enrolled for a gain of 117 students — ... [Full Story »]