Cheer on Special Olympics Athletes Competing at State Indoor Winter Games in Cobb County Jan. 15-17

/PRNewswire/ -- Athletes from all over Georgia will compete in Special Olympics Georgia's State Indoor Winter Games, sponsored by Stadion Money Management, in Cobb County this weekend.

The games mark the first event of Special Olympics Georgia's 40th anniversary. The organization has grown from 500 athletes in 1970 to nearly 23,000 today. Special Olympics will debut red and white scarves knitted by the community. Next year, the organization aims to give every athlete a scarf.

More than 2,000 participants from all over Georgia will compete Jan. 15-17 at various locations in Cobb County. Athletes will compete in basketball, bowling, floor hockey, power lifting, artistic gymnastics and roller skating.

The games, which are free and open to the public, begin Friday morning with basketball competitions at Smyrna Community Center and Opening Ceremony at 7:30 p.m. at Cobb Civic Center in Marietta. Grand Marshalls are Kennesaw State University athletes and Doc Shaw of Disney's Suite Life on Deck and Tyler Perry's House of Payne.

Competitions will continue Saturday and Sunday at various locations, including AMF Marietta Lanes, Brunswick Zone, Marietta Middle School, and Cobb County Civic Center. The full schedule is available at www.SpecialOlympicsGA.org.

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Cobb County: Another SBA Business Recovery Center To Open

COBB COUNTY
Powder Springs Library
4181 Atlanta Street
Powder Springs, GA 30127
Opens: Monday, October 12, 9 a.m.
Hours: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday – Friday

(BUSINESS WIRE)--The U.S. Small Business Administration announces today that a Business Recovery Center in Cobb County is opening Monday, October 12 at 9 a.m. to help businesses impacted by the severe storms and flooding in Georgia that began on September 18, 2009. The Cobb County Center will be located in the Powder Springs Library at 4181 Atlanta Street, Powder Springs, GA 30127. The hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday until further notice.

The disaster declaration covers the counties of: Bartow, Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton, Gwinnett, Heard, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Stephens and Walker in the state of Georgia which are eligible for both Physical and Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the SBA.

Small businesses and most private non-profit organizations in the following adjacent counties are eligible to apply only for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans: Banks, Barrow, Butts, Clayton, Dade, Dawson, Fayette, Floyd, Forsyth, Franklin, Gordon, Habersham, Hall, Haralson, Henry, Jackson, Jasper, Meriwether, Morgan, Pickens, Polk, Spalding, Troup, Walton and Whitfield in Georgia; Cherokee, Cleburne, DeKalb and Randolph in Alabama; Oconee in South Carolina; and Hamilton County in Tennessee.

Businesses and non-profit organizations of any size may borrow up to $2 million for physical losses. For small businesses, and most private non-profit organizations of all sizes, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any physical property damage.

Interest rates are as low as 4 percent for businesses, with terms up to 30 years. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.

SBA’s representatives will be on hand at the Business Recovery Centers to issue loan applications, answer questions about the disaster loan program, explain the application process and help individuals complete their applications.

Disaster loan information and application forms may be obtained by calling the SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the hearing impaired), Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. EDT, (including the holiday, Monday October 12) or send an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Business loan applications can also be downloaded from the SBA Web site at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance. Completed applications should be returned to the Centers or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155. Businesses may apply for disaster loans from SBA’s secure Web site at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.

The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is November 23, 2009. The deadline to return economic injury applications is June 24, 2010.

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Governor Perdue Issues State of Emergency for 17 Georgia Counties

Late this afternoon, after viewing storm damage in Douglas and Paulding counties from the air, Governor Sonny Perdue issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency in 17 counties affected by heavy rain and severe weather that passed through Georgia. The counties are Carroll, Catoosa, Chattooga, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Crawford, DeKalb, Douglas, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Stephens and Walker counties.

“Mary and I are saddened by the human cost the recent storms have wrought,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “We are currently focused on rescuing victims of the storms targeting Georgia and preventing further damage. State personnel and equipment are being deployed to assist effected communities. The Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) is coordinating our response and managing the State Operations Center, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Environmental Protection Division (EPD) are deploying boats, high-water vehicles, and testing water. Other state agencies are deploying manpower and additional resources.”
State agency responses include:

Georgia Forestry Commission- Manpower and debris clearance, water tanker for Douglas County Hospital, water tender strike teams for structural fire support

Georgia State Patrol - Law enforcement for traffic control, road closures, helicopters

Department of Transportation - Road closure signs, bridge inspection, detours

Department of Human Services- Hospital coordination, shelter coordination, boil water advisories

Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Division- Boats, high water vehicles, manpower, water rescue, dam inspections, haz mat spill assistance, water testing
Department of Agriculture- Large animal evacuations and pet sheltering

Georgia Emergency Management Agency - Response coordination, running State Operations Center, damage reports, public information, situation reports, resource coordination, field response

“The Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) will work with state agencies, utility companies and volunteer organizations to coordinate disaster response and recovery activities and serve our citizens,” said GEMA Director Charley English.

GEMA is the lead state agency for coordination of emergency and disaster response activities. For more emergency information, visit GEMA's Web site at www.gema.ga.gov. To learn how to prepare for disaster, visit www.ready.ga.gov.
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Georgians must take precautions against "whooping cough" (pertussis)

Several recently reported cases of pertussis (commonly referred to as “whooping cough”) in some Cobb County schools has prompted the Georgia Department of Human Resources (DHR) Division of Public Health (DPH) to remind the public about the dangers of the disease and what they can do to prevent it.

“Pertussis is a highly contagious disease that can occur at any age,” said Dr. Sandra Elizabeth Ford, acting director of the Division of Public Health. “One of the most effective ways to prevent the disease is to get vaccinated – whether you are a child or an adult.”

Pertussis is an infectious disease of the respiratory tract caused by bacteria found in the mouth, nose and throat of an infected person. Pertussis starts like the common cold with runny nose or congestion, sneezing and, in some instances, a mild cough or fever. But after one to two weeks, individuals begin to experience severe coughing that sounds like a “whoop” as they try to catch their breath.

Pertussis is usually spread by coughing or sneezing while in close contact with others, who then breathe in the pertussis bacteria. Infants who get pertussis are often infected by older siblings or parents who are unaware they have the disease.

While pertussis can cause serious illness in children and adults, hospitalization is rarely necessary. However, for infants and those with weakened immune systems or pre-existing breathing problems such as asthma, pertussis can be serious. The disease is rarely fatal, although fatalities have occurred in infants.

According to the DPH and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the best way to prevent pertussis is to get vaccinated. The recommended pertussis vaccine for children is called DTaP. It is a safe and effective combination vaccine that protects children against three diseases: pertussis, diphtheria and tetanus. For maximum protection, children need five DTaP shots: the first at 2 months old, the second at 4 months old, the third at 6 months old, the fourth sometime between 15 and 18 months old, and the final shot at between 4 and 6 years old. Since protection after vaccination or disease only lasts a few years, adolescents should get a Tdap shot sometime between 11 and 12 years old. Adults should be vaccinated as well by getting Tdap, instead of their regular booster, every 10 years.

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Librarians offered free pass for March 6-8 Spring Book Show in Atlanta

/24-7/ -- Here's good news for Georgia educators and librarians looking to make their book purchase dollars go further.

The Spring Book Show, the largest bargain book show in the country, is held annually in Atlanta, and when the show comes to town this year on March 6-8 at the Cobb Galleria Centre at 2 Galleria Parkway SE in north Atlanta, state educators and librarians will once again be permitted to attend free. Normal admission is $75.

The offer extends to librarians of all types - acquisition librarians, reference librarians, school media specialists, college and university librarians, special collections librarians and their supervisors.


According to Larry May, the show organizer, less than 10 percent of the books manufactured in the United States get sold at full suggested retail price. The rest are discounted. Remainders - the books that don't sell out at retail or discounted prices, books that are usually in pristine condition - get sold for as little as 10 cents on the dollar.

The Spring Book Show caters to buyers who purchase 25 or more copies of individual titles from dealers who specialize in remainders. School media specialists, librarians, school superintendents and principals and other public employees who purchase books in quantity will have an opportunity at this year's show to select from more than 50,000 titles - including past Caldecott and Newbery children's book award winners and a wide selection of classics - for far less than retail. According to May, they should easily be able to quadruple the number of books they could buy at retail with the same dollars.

"Any educator in the State of Georgia can come to the show for free - we will gladly waive the registration fee," May said. "I want to extend a personal invitation for the Georgia educators and librarians to register for the show at http://www.springbookshow.com."

May pointed out that, because the show is held over a weekend, attending will not interfere with the normal weekday responsibilities of the educators and librarians attending. He emphasized that remainder dealers from around the country will be offering a huge selection of titles at deep-discount prices.

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