Community Corner

Regional Roundup: Bank Employee Charged With Forgery, Department of Labor Consolidating Offices, and Bridge Painting and Cleaning on I-85

A look at top Patch stories from around Georgia.

 

– East Cobb Patch

An employee of a Northeast Cobb bank was arrested Monday, accused of using customers’ account information to cash phony U.S. Treasury checks.

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Tasha Lynette Goodson, 29, of the 1500 block of Terrell Mill Road in East Cobb, is being held in the  in lieu of $150,000 bond on one felony count of fraud using a computer and 12 felony counts of forgery. She is accused of using information from 12 Chase customers to cash fraudulent Treasury checks worth $2,000 to $12,000 each.

 

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-- Athens Patch

The Georgia Department of Labor is closing some of its offices to save money, and employees from Elberton and perhaps Monroe will be moving to the Athens Career Center, the department announced Thursday.

According to news releases, nine employees working in Elberton will shift to Athens, and employees in Monroe will move either to Athens or Covington effective July 1.

The labor department's increased online presence and its ability to offer services such as unemployment insurance claims electroniclly will lessen the impact of the office closures, the announcements said.

The deparment also offers monthly online chats which have been posted to Patch, on topics including , and .

In addition to Elberton and Monroe, the labor department plans not to renew office leases in Blairsville, Camilla, Eastman, Kings Bay, and Northwest Georgia in Ft. Oglethorpe.

 

-- Dacula Patch

Dacula commuters should expect lane closures and traffic pacing on I-85 as crews clean and paint the Gravel Springs Road/State Route 324 bridge.

Lane closures and pacing will take place in the northbound and southbound lanes over the next two weeks. The Georgia Department of Transportation advises I-85 from milepost 117 to exit 120 (Hamilton Mill Road exit) will be affected.

Lane closures and pacing will take place nightly through April 24 with one lane and the shoulder of I-85 northbound and southbound closing at 8 p.m. and remaining closed until rush hour. Pacing will begin at midnight and will occur four to five times before the morning rush hour according to the GDOT.

The bridge project is expected to be completed by May 31, 2012. The $11.2 million project is being funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).


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