• Mazzato will be locating at 190 E. Main St. and taking 6,100 sq. ft. of restaurant space. The contemporary Peruvian establishment is expected to open in late June. It will also feature Asian and American dishes.
• Redevelopment plans have been submitted for more retail, restaurant, and residential development in the former Canton Textile Mills by Penn Hodge Properties for the thirty-plus acre site along the Etowah River.
• Construction continues on two additional floors that will add eight new patient beds at Northside Hospital - Cherokee. The expansion is scheduled to be completed by November. After investment in the new beds, plus additional parking, Northside Hospital - Cherokees campus will have a total of 126 beds and around 1,500 parking spaces.
• Progress is underway for the mixed-use development project at the intersection of Academy Street and Main Street in downtown Canton. One of the more visible incoming businesses is Panera Bread. Panera will also feature a drive-thru.

Are you an entrepreneur or know of any entrepreneurs wanting to share their business concept with the community? 1 Million Cups Cherokee is a joint program between the cities in Cherokee County, the Cherokee Office of Economic Development, and Reinhardt University that meets bi-monthly as a platform for entrepreneurs to engage and connect with the community. Please visit 1MillionCups.com/cherokee for more information.

The Reinhardt University Mens Lacrosse team captured back-to-back national titles by defeating the Madonna (MI) Crusaders 8-7 in overtime in the 2018 NAIA Mens Lacrosse National Invitational.

Wow, it doesnt get any better than that! We were down again by four goals in the second half, and my guys refused to lose, Head Coach John Snow said. We continued to fight like we always do and showed the heart of a champion. We always preach play Reinhardt Lacrosse for sixty minutes, and eventually, we will find a way to win. And we did. To come back and win the national championship in sudden death overtime against an undefeated (22-0) team, is epic a total team effort and well deserved. We showed unbelievable resilience and grit, and I couldnt be more proud of my guys!

To celebrate this years recent Garden Week in Georgia, the ladies of the Cherokee Garden Council sponsored a garden tea party for local garden clubs. The event was held at the beautiful Ball Ground Botanical Garden, next to City Hall, in downtown Ball Ground.

The Ball Ground Botanical Garden was started by the Anetsa-Ge-Da Garden Club in 2015 and is supported by City Hall and the Ball Ground community. The Garden consists of many separate sections: a butterfly garden in the shape of a butterfly, a bog garden, a Japanese garden, and many more. The Garden is free and open to the public.

A tour of the Ball Ground Botanical Garden will be held June 9, from 10:00am-3:00pm, to support the Garden. Admission is $15, which includes four special home gardens. Beautiful daylilies and raffle items will also be available. For more information about the tour, contact Diane Smith at 770-630-2486.

The enAble of Georgias 30th Annual Gala - Founders Ball was recently held at The Hotel at Avalon. The event was attended by more than 400 supporters and raised over $280,000 for adults with developmental disabilities who are served by enAble of Georgia and Georgia Community Support and Solutions (GCSS). The event honored the founders who had a dream for independence and inclusion for their childrens future, and they pursued that dream. The enAble of Georgia Founders Ginny Riley, Marian David, Jane Lewis, Kay Briggs, Eleanor Workman, and Becky Willingham, along with GCSS Founder Whitney Fuchs, were all recognized and applauded for their dedication and perseverance.

Gala Chairs Bill and Shirley Abernathy and Mark and Kay Lewington did a wonderful job hosting the event. The nights MC Comedian Derrick Tennant and his sister, Julie, and the Yacht Rock Schooner band were a huge hit.

In 2014, a multi-year operational merger was begun by enAble of Georgia and GCSS, joining these two extraordinary groups that have the same mission of providing quality support to people with developmental disabilities. At this years Gala, GCSS CEO Fuchs took the stage and asked everyone to hold up their glass for a toast to InCommunity the new name for the merged organizations.

The new name, InCommunity, describes our mission as partners, dedicated to enriching and sustaining the lives of individuals who have disabilities, their families, and their communities, stated Fuchs, InCommunity CEO.

Currently, InCommunity has more 650 employees who provide all levels of support in the community to people with a variety of needs including residential support, employment services, respite care, family support, in-home care, and day programs. To date, InCommunity has provided support and service to more than 10,000 Georgian community members.

The Cherokee County Sports Hall of Fame recently honored a dozen top Cherokee County School District student athletes as part of its annual banquet.

The event recognized this years Hall of Fame inductees as well as the Most Outstanding Senior Athlete male and female honorees from each CCSD high school.

Celebrated the first full week of May since 1985, Public Service Recognition Week (PSRW) is organized annually to honor the men and women who serve our nation as federal, state, county, and local government employees. Cherokee County uses this week to honor its employees efforts and express gratitude for their exceptionalism and commitment to serving the county.

In lieu of organizing an employee appreciation day or picnic that not all employees are able to attend due to the broad spectrum of services Cherokee County employees provide to citizens, which demands a variety of schedules, the county uses this week to bring appreciation to every department by supplying a meal of their choosing. Its a great time to allow each team to take a break together and enjoy some camaraderie.

This is the countys second year celebrating PSRW, and it is anticipated to grow each year. The county hopes to spread this tradition to neighboring cities and counties, as county employees have been extremely receptive to the recognition; just one more reason Cherokee County is a great place to live, work, and play!

Three Cherokee High School (CHS) team members and five Sequoyah High School (SHS) team members are headed to the 2018 National Speech and Debate Tournament in Ft. Lauderdale, FL from June 17-22.

CHS Junior John Peterson won third place in Congressional Debate at the regional Georgia North Mountain District meet and will compete in this category at Nationals. He also won third place overall at the State competition for Lincoln Douglas Debate. CHS Juniors Anne Greer and Sean Howell were selected at the regional event to compete in the World Schools Debate at Nationals, and both won top speaker awards at the State event. Anne also was recognized as one of the top eight Lincoln Douglas Debaters in Georgia. The CHS team is coached by teacher Jamie Wills who was named the 2018 Georgia North Mountain District Coach of the Year after leading the team to be recognized as a Leslie Watkins School of Excellence for its success in qualifying students for State competition.

SHSs Noah Campbell won first place in Big Questions Debate and will be competing in this category at Nationals. SHSs Rebekah Carnes and Maddie Doerr won first place for Duo Interpretation and will be competing in this event at Nationals. Rebekah Carnes also won first place for Humorous Interpretation. In addition, SHSs Jack Forbes and Andrew Doerr were chosen as delegates for the World Schools Debate team and will compete in this event at Nationals. Coaches Matt Bartula and Katie Maher lead the Sequoyah Speech and Debate Team.

The team won out over the 31 6A high schools that participated in the 2018 competition, which featured events in Dramatic Interpretation, Extemporaneous Speaking, Boys Quartet, Solo, and Girls Trio.

Members from the Sequoyah HS team, which is coached by teacher and choral director Josh Markham, placed in all categories in which they competed.

Jace Nichols, Patrick Fagan, Daniel Tye, and Aaron Whittle won first place for Boys Quartet; and Max Frye won first place for International Extemporaneous Speaking. Corinne Wallick, Maddie Bends, and Kelsey Bryant won second place for Girls Trio; and Corinne Wallick won second place for Girls Solo. Patrick Fagan won third place for Boys Solo; Tori Turk won third place for Dramatic Interpretation; and Ashley Adams won fourth place for Argumentative Essay.

The team recently took home the big trophy from the statewide Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl competition held at the University of Georgia. This follows a second-place win at State last school year.

Team members are Caitlyn Bergey, Gillian Brown, Caitlin Canfield, Jack Eno, Abigail Gallagher, Grace Godwin, Megan Halverson, Kelsey Henson, Alex Kaye, Emily McGhee, and Victoria Padgett. Anne Thiers and Liana Howard coach the team.