Cherokee County saw a rise in business licenses over this time last year. There were 108 business licenses issued in May, up from 94 in May 2010.  Many businesses closed last year and few new ones started as the county hit “rock bottom,” Ana Silbernagel, director for the Development Service Center in Cherokee. People seem more optimistic this year, she said.

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Austin Walters died from an overdose in 2021 after taking a Xanax pill laced with fentanyl, his father said. A new law named after Austin and aimed at preventing deaths from fentanyl has resulted in its first convictions in Georgia, prosecutors said. (Family photo)

Credit: Family photo