News

Healthy and unhealthy: A tale of two Georgia counties

Wednesday, March 20th, 2013, 7:19pm

GRIFFIN, Ga. -- In metro Atlanta, one cannot find a less healthy county than Spalding County, according to a new ranking compiled by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Forsyth County is a prosperous suburban Atlanta county with a median household income of $85,137. It's also the healthiest county in Georgia, according to the University of Wisconsin study.

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How healthy are Georgia's counties?

Submitted by 11Alive News Staff

Wednesday, March 20th, 2013, 12:02pm

ATLANTA (USA Today) -- Residents of the nation's least healthy counties die at twice the rate of those living in their states' healthiest counties, despite a major improvement in the rate of premature deaths, according to a national survey of county health statistics released Wednesday.

In Georgia, Forsyth County ranked the "healthiest" while Clay County ranked dead last.

INTERACTIVE | Georgia County by County Comparisons

The full implementation next year of the 2010 health care law could improve health statistics overall, experts say, but real change in health statistics can come only if Americans start eating better and exercising more.

MORE | Georgia key health findings

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Body of missing boater recovered at Lake Lanier

Submitted by Associated Press

Monday, March 18th, 2013, 9:17pm

Body of missing boater recovered at Lake Lanier

ATLANTA -- Authorities from the Department of Natural Resources have identified the body of a missing boater pulled from Lake Lanier on Sunday morning.

The body was identified as 47-year-old George Marty Counts of Tucker. Counts disappeared Feb. 11 while fishing on the lake, investigators said.

Counts was an avid fisherman and was believed to be operating his boat that evening when it was spotted going in circles with no one aboard, the state Department of Natural Resources previously said. The boat ran out of gas and was on the bank when rangers arrived.

The initial search for Counts lasted several days and involved various agencies.

The body was located near Mary Alice Park.

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USA Today Metro Atlanta Super 25 Girls Lacrosse Poll

Submitted by Sam Crenshaw, 11Alive Sports Anchor

Friday, March 15th, 2013, 8:29pm

ATLANTA-- Game On! The USA Today Metro Atlanta Super 25 Girls Lacrosse Poll is here. A state champion from 2012 is leading the way.

Milton is on top of this week's list with Lassiter, Walton, Roswell, and Centennial rounding out the top five.

Westminster, Chattahoochee, Alpharetta, Mill Creek and Kell complete this week's top 10.

The Metro Atlanta Super 25 High School Polls are computer generated and produced by USA Today High School Sports exclusively for 11Alive and 11Alive.com.

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Southbound Ga. 400 blocked in Forsyth County

Submitted by Gary Franklin, 11Alive Assignment Editor

Friday, March 15th, 2013, 6:13am

CUMMING, Ga. -- Southbound Ga. 400 is blocked at mile post 39 because of an early morning tractor trailer fire.

Forsyth County police say no one was injured, but it will take some time before the burned wreckage is hauled away and the roadway opened.

Police are rerouting traffic around the blockage.

For the latest traffic conditions in metro Atlanta, visit 11Alive.com/Traffic.

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Metro jobless rate rises to 8.7 percent

Submitted by Associated Press

Thursday, March 14th, 2013, 8:56am

ATLANTA -- State labor officials say metro Atlanta's jobless rate rose to 8.7 percent in January, up from 8.4 percent the month before.

That compares to 9.4 percent in January 2012.

In Forsyth County, the unemployment rate was 6.7 percent in January.

The Georgia Department of Labor released the new numbers early Thursday.

State officials said the rate in January rose because of two main factors -- a loss of seasonal jobs and an increase in new layoffs.

Elsewhere in Georgia, metro Athens had the lowest area jobless rate at 6.6 percent.

Metro Dalton and the Heart of Georgia-Altamaha region tied for the highest rate at 11.9 percent.

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2 killed in Forsyth County crash

Submitted by Associated Press

Wednesday, March 13th, 2013, 6:51am

GAINESVILLE, Ga. -- Forsyth County Sheriff's officials say two people have been killed in a crash on Dawsonville Highway.

Forsyth County Sheriff's Deputy Courtney Spriggs says a 42-year-old man driving a 1994 BMW veered into oncoming traffic and hit a 1991 Honda Civic being driven by a 29-year-old woman Tuesday morning.

Spriggs says both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene and their identities have not yet been released. Spriggs says there were no passengers in either vehicle.

Spriggs says Georgia State Patrol is investigating the crash.

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