Having given up three touchdowns in its opening state playoff game, an angry North Gwinnett defense made a statement Friday with a 24-0 shutout of Woodstock.With Camden County defeating Lowndes 10-7, North Gwinnett and Camden will have a coin flip at 10:30 a.

A 12-year-old Cherokee County boy who brought a gun to school earlier this week now faces charges for allegedly pointing the weapon at someone and making a terroristic threat.The Dean Rusk Middle School student was arrested Tuesday after a classmate reported seeing the gun, according to Mike McGowan, spokesman for Cherokee County Schools.

An inmate in the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center who attempted to take his own life Saturday has died.James Silva, 43, of Woodstock was pronounced dead shortly after 10 a.m. Wednesday morning at Atlanta Medical Center after being taken off life support, said sheriff’s office officials.

The government is still waiting to hear from almost 20,000 flood victims in Georgia who picked up applications for Small Business Administration loans but have not returned them yet.The deadline is Monday, Nov. 23. "We need them postmarked that day," said Richard Daigle, a spokesman for the SBA.

A 12-year-old boy brought an unloaded handgun and ammunition to his Cherokee County school on Tuesday.School officials at Dean Rusk Middle apprehended the child, who was not named. He faces a felony possession charge for having the weapon."He showed it to a buddy who reported it to school personnel," Mike McGowan, spokesman for Cherokee County schools, told the AJC.

An inmate from the Cherokee County Adult Detention Center in Canton was on life support Monday afternoon after allegedly trying to kill himself. The inmate, James Silva, 43, of Woodstock was found hanging in his cell about 8 p.m. Saturday, the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office reported Monday afternoon.

A Woodstock restaurant was the site of an illegal gambling operation, law enforcement officials said Friday.Friday afternoon, detectives, members of the agency’s VIPER Unit, and Cherokee County Marshals executed a warrant at the Buffalo House.There they found numerous gaming machines and an undisclosed amount of cash, said officials.

The first phase of Garland Mountain Horse and Hike Trails will open to the public Nov. 21 with a ribbon cutting and ride out ceremony at 2 p.m. Cherokee County commissioners and other dignitaries will mount horses and ride out on the 6.5 miles of wooded trails in Waleska.

Within two months, Woodstock residents and others receiving some city benefits will have to show that they are legal U.S. residents. The Woodstock City Council Monday night okayed participation in the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements program.

Picture three college students making a television show about three college students making a television show.On the show, every idea proposed just falls flat.  But in reality, Alex Middleton, Steven Walker and Thomas Yungerberg have quite a hit on their hands.

Cherokee County authorities on Tuesday identified the man killed in a Monday afternoon collision between a bicycle and a van in Woodstock.Andres Martinez, 27, of Woodstock died of head trauma in the 4 p.m. crash on Main Street just south of Ga. 92, Cherokee County Corner Earl Darby said.

Inside a pavilion at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton last week, another veteran was laid to rest.

Police say a man was injured in a hit-and-run crash in Woodstock Tuesday.Paramedics rushed Steve Bodi, 56, to Kennestone Hospital, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Lt. Jay Baker said. He remains in stable condition, a hospital spokesman said Tuesday afternoon.

A Cobb County police officer stopped in his patrol car near a construction scene was hit by a man who apparently didn't see the flashing lights.Both men were transported to Kennestone Hospital, where they remained in stable condition Saturday evening.

Two people were arrested after an overnight SWAT standoff that Cherokee County authorities said stemmed from a dispute over a cab fare.The incident began around 10 p.m. when a taxi driver dropped a man and woman off at a home on Seminole Way near Acworth.

The state Department of Transportation is ditching its only active privately-funded toll road partnership, according to state and county officials.  That completes a 0-for-5 record for proposals in the program so far -- or, DOT officials say, lays the groundwork for its rebirth.

MUST Ministries in Cobb and Cherokee counties received $2 million from the federal Homelessness Prevention and Rapid Re-housing Program. The money is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It will be distributed over two years to those qualified by factors such as income, children, danger of eviction or mental illness.

The Woodstock City Council has approved two contracts aimed at revamping city facilities downtown.

The rain that doused metro Atlanta on Tuesday tapered off overnight, leaving patchy dense fog for Wednesday's morning commute.

Cherokee County authorities say they've arrested eight people after a three-month investigation into a Mexican drug trafficking organization.The county's Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad conducted six searches in Cherokee, Fulton and DeKalb counties. Agents seized five pounds of methamphetamine, one and a half pounds of cocaine, seven handguns and $40,000.

Scarred by the drought, and fearful of a permanent reduction in water levels, homeowners, boaters and marina operators on lakes Lanier and Allatoona are pushing Washington to raise the reservoirs.For Lanier, the goal is 2 more feet of water year-round.

Mike O’Brien knew he wasn’t in Valdosta any more when he lost a game and didn’t come home to find a “for sale” sign in his yard, he once said.Jokes aside, O’Brien insists he takes no satisfaction in Valdosta’s latest turmoil, the ousting of Rick Tomberlin, Valdosta’s third coach in seven seasons.

The Woodstock City Council on Monday will consider commissioning a detailed study aimed at moving City Hall operations back into the downtown area.The $17,900 contract with architectural firm BRPH would cover the proposed conversion of the 1913 Woodstock Community Church sanctuary into city offices.

Workers in eight Georgia counties have until Monday to file initial claims for federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance to compensate for loss of income directly resulting from severe storms and flooding last month.DUA is a federal program established to help workers whose primary income is interrupted due to a disaster.

The annual Cherokee Pignic has become a victim of the 2009 flood. The combination barbecue cook-off and old-fashioned county fair was supposed to have been this weekend at Canton’s Heritage Park. However, event hosts from the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce decided to cancel after the park was flooded in September.