Shawn Jarrard

Come November, Union County residents will know if their sole commissioner form of local government will be changing to a five-member commission board. District 8 State Rep. Stan Gunter, who resides in Blairsville, has given official notice of his intent to introduce a bill at the Georgia General Assembly calling for an advisory referendum to appear on local ballots in the Nov. 3, 2026, General Election. Read more…

HIAWASSEE – Suspended Towns County Sheriff Ken Henderson has waived arraignment and entered a plea of not guilty to the seven criminal charges he is facing, per court paperwork. His attorneys filed the paperwork with the Towns County Superior Court on Wednesday, Jan. 14, thereby foregoing the need for the formal arraignment proceeding that was scheduled for Monday, Jan. 26, inside the Towns…

This month, internet-based content creators who raise awareness about child sex crimes kickstarted a local investigation by the Union County Sheriff’s Office that resulted in the arrest of a Blairsville man for possessing child sexual abuse material, aka “child pornography.” Joshua Bowers, 35, was arrested on Wednesday, Jan. 14, and charged with eight counts of sexual exploitation of children related to images discovered on his cellphone, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Read more…

Union County Sole Commissioner Harold Collins announced last week that he was paid too much his first year in office, noting that he has corrected the issue for Fiscal Year 2026 and beyond. The correction lowers his salary by close to $18,000 versus 2025. Collins’ actual salary as calculated using a formula provided by the Association County Commissioners of Georgia is $116,339.82, and not the $134,000 he made…

The corridor of Georgia 515 between Blairsville and Young Harris has seen big changes over the last year, with dramatic alterations to the roadside topography as the highway reconstruction project takes shape. And Georgia Department of Transportation District 1 Communications Officer Nathan Johnston says all three phases of the project to widen the corridor to four lanes are on schedule for completion in 2027. Read more…

In a called meeting on Thursday, Jan. 15, Union County Sole Commissioner Harold Collins adopted a resolution enacting an emergency moratorium “on applications for the development of any property on public sewer for the purpose of ordinance review and revisions.” Effective Jan. 16, the application freeze will remain in place for 90 days “or until repealed by the adoption…

Appalachian Mountain Aviation LLC has achieved an important milestone toward bringing flight training, aircraft maintenance and restorations, and aircraft rentals to the Blairsville Municipal Airport, to serve as a one-stop shop that will be a boon to the local economy. In their first meeting of the year on Jan. 6, Blairsville City Council members unanimously approved a 30-year ground lease with the company, which plans to build a 100-by-100 hangar to…

For its first meeting of the year on Tuesday, Jan. 6, the Blairsville City Council conducted the organizational business of swearing in recently elected officials and naming liaisons to the city’s various departments and areas of interest. Usually, the council and mayor meet the second Tuesday of each month, but the city charter specifies that the first meeting…

HIAWASSEE – The past 12 months have been rough for personnel at the Towns County Sheriff’s Office, but Interim Sheriff Anthony Coleman wants people to know that he is working hard to “rebuild” the agency. Since the January 2025 arrest of former deputy Austin Bradburn on charges that he fabricated elements of the December 2024 roadside incident in which he was shot…