The Catoosa County News
Commonspirit opens state-of-the-art hospital
A new hospital has opened in Catoosa County, marking a major expansion of health care services in North Georgia. Commonspirit Health opened Commonspirit — Memorial Hospital — North Georgia, a 180,000-square-foot facility at 4710 Battlefield Parkway in...
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Rescues press Catoosa over shelter euthanasia
Last month, numerous animal rescues attended the final Catoosa County Board of Commissioners meeting of the year to let commissioners know how unhappy they were with the way the animal shelter was being run. They cited five dogs, including one...
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A big snow seems unlikely, but memories of past storms remain
For lovers of snow, it may be wishful thinking to believe we’ll get a big one this winter. The National Weather Service is leaning away from the chance in Northwest Georgia. But there are always winters past — and memories are not as cold as the real...
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A YEAR THAT RESHAPED CATOOSA AND WALKER
From major development projects and political upheaval to moments of community tragedy, resilience and change, 2025 was a year that left a lasting mark on Catoosa and Walker counties. These stories represent the most significant and widely read events...
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COUNTY RECOGNIZES DECADES OF SERVICE
At a Christmas luncheon on Dec. 11, Catoosa County employees were recognized for benchmarks of employment with the county: five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years. A total of 39 employees were recognized. “I’m the newest commissioner,” Richard...
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NEW HOSPITAL OPENING JAN. 11
What has been referred to for a few years as CHI Memorial Hospital Georgia will be opening on Battlefield Parkway in Ringgold on Sunday, Jan. 11. On the same day, the location in Fort Oglethorpe, in the old Hutcheson building, will close its...
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PUSHING IN THE ‘LATEST AND BEST’
They aren’t Santa’s sleighs (he has more than one, of course — backups), but they’re big and shiny red and people get excited about them almost as much as they do over the reindeer-pulled vehicles. Catoosa County is now home to three new fire trucks...
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HOSPITAL OFFERING COMMUNITY PREVIEW
Memorial Hospital — North Georgia will open its doors to the public next month, offering a first look at the new facility ahead of its January 2026 debut. The community preview is scheduled for Dec. 9 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the hospital’s new location,...
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‘Down-home Christmas’
Ringgold’s “Down-home Christmas” returns Dec. 5 with a parade, lights, tree displays, voting, and free festivities across downtown. The event begins with a Christmas parade, led by Santa Claus, through Sparks, Nashville, Depot, Mountain, and Cleveland...
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STILL INSPIRING AFTER 40 YEARS
Rossville resident Pat Snowden, 67, has been a fitness practitioner and guru for 40 years. Reading over her list of accomplishments feels like a good workout in itself. representative for 15 years, winning three cars for her work, including the pink...
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Family: New purpose through foster care
In 2024, at 52 and 46 years old, Steven Henry, chairman of the Catoosa County Board of Commissioners, and his wife Kristain adopted two girls — Zoey, 16 years old, and Ennslee Jewell, not even 2 years old. FROM EMPTY NEST TO FOSTER HOME The couple...
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Songwriter Showcase bringing top talent
The Ringgold Convention and Visitors Bureau will sponsor a Songwriter Showcase at the Ringgold Depot in November. “The CVB is excited to bring this event to the Depot Stage and invites the Ringgold community to attend the show on Friday, Nov. 21,” CVB...
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LIFT OPENS 2ND YOUTH CENTER
A lot of prominent people attended the grand opening of a second LIFT Youth Center — in Fort Oglethorpe — but the star of the show was a 14-year-old student named KJ who said LIFT has helped change his life. KJ had been going to the LIFT center in...
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Volunteers needed
Volunteers are needed to raise and lower Veterans Day flags honoring the deceased veterans of Catoosa County. This time there will be 2,160 flags and crosses throughout the city of Ringgold. Flags will go up on Monday, Nov. 3, at 9 a.m. They will come...
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LIFT Youth Center invites community
The new LIFT Youth Center in Fort Oglethorpe, in partnership with the Catoosa County Chamber of Commerce, will hold a ribbon-cutting Friday, Oct. 17. The public is invited. The ceremony for the R. Randall Rollins Youth Center will begin at 11:30 a.m....
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Frigh ts
Ringgold’s Haunted Depot returns Oct. 17-31 with a haunted house, hayrides, ghost tours, live music and family fun. Tickets start at $5. The Ringgold Haunted Depot operates from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Oct. 17, 18, 24, 25, and 31, and is located at the...
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MARY MARTHA’S OPENS IN RINGGOLD
There’s another new business in Ringgold: Mary Martha’s opened in early September and specializes in jewelry, home décor and unique gifts for men, women, children and babies. Owners Jordyn Cripps and Mandy Long have a lot in common, including their...
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Lafayette native retires from US Coast Guard
On Aug. 29, after 38 years in the U.S. Coast Guard and some dramatic experiences, Lafayette native Rear Adm. Shannon Gilreath retired and chose to settle back home to pursue the next phase of his life. Gilreath’s military career, which is peppered...
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HOME-BAKED
The farmers market season is about over — except for upcoming Christmas markets in both Catoosa and Walker counties, where people are more likely to see baked goods and other homemade foods for sale rather than produce. There’s good news for those who...
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Community unites to help flood victims
Flood waters drove many Catoosa residents from their homes on Aug. 12. More than 100 people could not escape on their own. Homes were flooded, cars were nearly submerged, many people had no place to go. The Catoosa County community — and surrounding...
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Literacy group marks 25 years of service
September has again been proclaimed Literacy Month in Catoosa County to coincide with National Literacy Month. In its proclamation at its Aug. 19 meeting, the Board of Commissioners praised the work of Catoosa Citizens for Literacy (CCL), which...
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Flash floods force local evacuations
Dozens of Catoosa County residents were forced late Tuesday, Aug. 12, to evacuate their flooded homes with assistance from first responders, support agencies, and regional mutual aid partners after storms quickly dropped several inches of rain. All...
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County moves forward on roundabout project
The intersection of Graysville Road and Wooten Road in Ringgold is on its way to becoming a roundabout. Catoosa County commissioners voted Aug. 5 to have Consolidated Technologies Inc. move forward on an agreement to help plan a roundabout. CTI...
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PILGRIM’S TO BUILD $400 MILLION PLANT
Pilgrim’s, one of the world’s leading food companies, will spend $400 million to build a new prepared foods facility in Walker County. The project is expected to create more than 630 jobs when operating at full capacity, with hiring set to begin in...
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2 CHARGED WITH ANIMAL CRUELTY
A Catoosa County man and woman have been charged with multiple counts of aggravated cruelty to animals after animal control officers found dozens of cats and kittens, some deceased, in squalid living conditions inside and outside of a Saunders Road...
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YOUNG FIREFIGHTERS TRAIN AND COMPETE
Sixteen young firefighters-in-training spent a week in Catoosa County practicing rescue techniques: getting “victims” out of confined places, safely breaking in doors and windows, climbing and rappelling, handling fire hoses and ladders...
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MORE THAN 260 DOGS SEIZED
For 14 hours, multiple government animal shelters, as well as numerous rescues and veterinarians, worked to save over 260 dogs from a hoarding situation in Dade County. Catoosa and Walker County animal shelters were among the ones helping. Catoosa...
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Cat rescues take Jordan to new heights
Christian Jordan of Fort Oglethorpe climbs trees to rescue cats for his wife’s nonprofit, Rad Cat. Using gear and care, he safely saved a kitten stuck 35 feet up. Christian Jordan, who lives in Fort Oglethorpe, was born to climb. As a kid he climbed...
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Catoosa retires 300 flags on
About 300 flags were retired by burning on Flag Day (June 14) in a partnership between Fort Oglethorpe Veterans and Citizens Committee and the Catoosa County Fire Department. This marks the second year of a new tradition in Catoosa County. Paula...
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Your guide to local July Fourth events
Locals can celebrate the nation's birthday with food, fireworks and fun at events in Catoosa and Walker counties and in the city of Chattanooga from June 27 to July 5 — all free. This year marks the 249th birthday of the United States. The specific...
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More miles will be paved in Catoosa
“People living along 78 roads in 17 residential subdivisions will see their roads resurfaced by this time next year,” Catoosa County Public Information Officer John Pless said. Pless reported that thanks to more funds becoming available, the Catoosa...
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Ringgold's sea of flags honors fallen heroes
Anyone who drove through Ringgold over Memorial Day weekend or attended 1890 Days Jamboree saw at least some of the 2,129 flags stationed almost everywhere to commemorate deceased Catoosa County residents who served in the United States military. It...
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Catoosa honors its public works workers
Public works employees were honored with a luncheon and drawings for prizes during National Public Works Week, which ran May 18-24 this year. The Board of Commissioners, county officials and employees from other departments gathered on Thursday, May...
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BIGGER FIREWORKS SHOW IS COMING
Independence Day is coming up and Catoosa County is continuing its fireworks tradition begun in 2020. The county’s sixth annual Fireworks Fest will take place on Saturday, July 5, this year. Catoosa County received three bids for its fireworks this...
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1890 Days Jamboree marks its 50th year
Thousands of people are expected in Ringgold on Memorial Day weekend to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1890 Days Jamboree. This street-fair-style festival runs from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, May 23, and from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday,...
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5 CHARGED WITH ANIMAL CRUELTY
Five people face 16 animal cruelty charges each after authorities found dead and neglected animals in a condemned Walker County house listed for sale. James Delbert Fields Jr., 78; Miriam Fields, 65; Mario Lopez, 42; Melodie Lopez, 40; and Britni...
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Celebrate Dolly Days in downtown Ringgold
The fourth annual Dolly Days, a celebration of country music legend Dolly Parton, who was married in Ringgold, will be held Saturday, May 10, in downtown Ringgold. The event, first held in 2022, includes live music, shopping, a lookalike contest, the...
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BOOKS PULLED, REVIEW UNDERWAY
A Catoosa County school committee will spend months reviewing books in a middle school classroom, following complaints earlier this month that the books contain sexually explicit material, swearing, vulgar language, and racism. “The school's review...
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Catoosa firefighters assist in Ky. flood relief
Ten Catoosa County firefighters who work with Georgia Search and Rescue Task Force 6 set out for Kentucky early this month to help in areas facing catastrophic flooding. The Catoosa firefighters took with them the giant Georgia Search and Rescue truck...
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ANIMAL RESCUE: IT TAKES A VILLAGE
It's kitten season — the time of year shelters and rescues become overwhelmed with baby cats. “We have a long kitten season in the South because of our warmer weather,” Sara Deberry of North Georgia Animal Alliance (NGAA) said. Deberry received a...
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Senior Center springs to life with 700 tulips
It’s worth a ride to swing by the Catoosa County Senior Center to see the hundreds — 700, to be exact — tulips planted there by Transit Director Jason Warren, whose office is in the senior center building. Warren planted the multi-colored bulbs on the...
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Teacher fights bills impacting schools
Catoosa County school teacher Caitlin Nichols Martin wrote a petition she is circulating objecting to three pieces of legislation she believes will deprive the school system of funds: House Bill 30, House Bill 31 and House Bill 754. Martin, who is...
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Tragic end despite protective order
An estranged husband killed his wife and father-in-law, and fatally injured a family friend, before taking his own life in a murder-suicide in Walker County on March 8. Russell David Payne, 54, of Marietta, shot and killed his 54-year-old wife,...
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RUN FOR A CAUSE
Foot races and walks have become increasingly popular activities for people of all ages, and the number of them locally keeps growing. Many of the races benefit nonprofits that help children and families. Very serious racers tend to plan ahead since...
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Ringgold store sells 1,000th book copy
Mccracken Poston's book, “Zenith Man: Death, Love, and Redemption in a Georgia Courtroom,” turned 1 year old on Feb. 20. As if on cue, the next day, a little store in Ringgold sold its 1,000th copy of the book. “Zenith Man” tells the true tale of the...
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PRISONERS BUILD MEMORIAL REPLICA
The public was treated this past weekend to an extraordinary display — a 120-foot-long, 5-foot-high, quarter-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., set up in Rossville. The wall was built by prisoners from the Walker...
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A LOVE STORY
Lafayette residents Norma and Paul Probus knew each other for four weeks before they got married. Sixty years later, they're still madly in love. Norma had been talked into going to an NCO dance to meet a friend's cousin. When she and her friends...
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Wrestling, comics and hope: PEYTON'S STORY
Peyton Lee of Ringgold was born with one kidney and due to a condition he has — Laurence-moonBardet-biedl syndrome — that kidney barely functions. At 23 years old, Peyton has been on dialysis for three years and on a kidney transplant list for about...
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Horner pushes school tax exemption for seniors
Senior citizen homeowners in Catoosa County may end up with school tax relief if state Rep. Mitchell Horner's House bill is approved. Horner, a Republican from Ringgold, has proposed in House Bill 30 that homeowners 67 years and older be freed from...
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Soaring to new heights
Georgia pilot Michael Price recently set an Alabama glider altitude record using natural wind lift from Barwick-lafayette Airport, with more record attempts expected. Just before Christmas of last year, Price chose the Lafayette airport as his...
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Director taps local talent for horror film
Ringgold-based writer and filmmaker Kenyon Henry is producing a new movie — a horror film called “Sanctus House,” an allegory of the Garden of Eden and Satan's entry into the garden and his stealthy theft of humanity's innocence and relationships with...
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A STEP CLOSER TO OPENING
CHI Memorial Hospital Georgia, under construction on Battlefield Parkway in Ringgold, is a big step closer to its goal of opening by December 2025. Hospital officials held a public “topping out” ceremony on Tuesday, Jan. 7, at which a steel beam was...
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Local residents reflect on Jimmy Carter's legacy
Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States, died Sunday, Dec. 29, at 100 years old. His life was full before, during and after his presidency. We asked local citizens to share thoughts regarding their experiences and opinions about the president...
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Fort Oglethorpe ice skating open through January
Last year, the ice skating rink in Fort Oglethorpe saw 4,519 skaters. This year, folks still have the opportunity to skate through the entire month of January. The cost is $10 per skater and that includes the skates. Food vendors are on site (not...
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2024: THE YEAR IN REVIEW
To bring 2024 to a close, the Catoosa County News and Walker County Messenger have counted down the Top 10 stories of the year in the Catoosa-walker area. The top story this year in Catoosa and Walker counties has been about local attorney Mccracken...
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COMING TO NETFLIX: `THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT'
The 855 black women of the 6888th Women's Army Corps (WAC) during World War II — women who trained in Fort Oglethorpe then went on to accomplish an amazing feat — are the subject of a film coming to Netflix on Dec. 20. “The Six Triple Eight,” starring...
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CATOOSA LITERACY EFFORTS Empowering families, boosting grad rates
One of the most beautiful sights Shirley Smith said she has ever seen was a mother standing in the parking lot at the Catoosa County Library reading a book to her child. “It was at the Trunk or Treat event in October,” Smith said. “Catoosa Citizens...
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Courage under fire
Four Catoosa County firefighters were seriously injured trying to save two people from a burning house in March. Two firefighters suffered severe second-degree burns and are still dealing with the consequences of their injuries. Fire Chief Daniel...
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CHARGING AHEAD
Students from Ringgold Middle School built an electric car and took second place with it at Volkswagen's Chattanooga Green Prix on Nov. 9. The 15 seventh- and eighth-grade mix of boys and girls from RMS teacher Valene Roelf's enrichment class raced...
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GEORGIA LEADERS PRAISE `ZENITH MAN'
Ringgold attorney Mccracken Poston's book, “Zenith Man,” about the trial of Alvin Ridley who was falsely accused of killing his wife, has sold many thousands of copies. BOOK MAKES ROUNDS OF GEORGIA POLITICAL CIRCLES One of the book's more recent...
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Bringing community, businesses together
Ninety-five businesses and organizations, including 14 food vendors, spread out their wares and services — and their free samples and information — at the annual “Showcase Catoosa Business Expo” at the Colonnade in Ringgold on Nov. 7. The purpose of...
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RESIDENTS OBJECT TO SHOOTING RANGE
Noise, lead leaching into water, lack of a buffer, scaring off wildlife, interference with a right-of-way road, declining property values and quality of life are all reasons why citizen are protesting a proposed clay-shooting range on Lookout...
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BEYOND BATTLES
One thing about loving history as much as Louis Varnell does, is the past is the limit — and there's lots of past to pick from. Varnell, who owns The History Company on Lafayette Road in Fort Oglethorpe, just a couple of blocks north of the...
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Local quilters sending 43 quilts to North Carolina
Kathleen Mcmullen, a Ringgold resident, is what in today's parlance would be called a creator. She's also a giver. Mcmullen's favorite form of creating is making quilts. She's made hundreds of them, on her own and as part of quilting groups. Some of...
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Firefighters aid Coffee County after Helene
When 10 members of the Catoosa County Fire Department arrived in Coffee County, 300 miles southwest of Catoosa, the day after Hurricane Helene, they were met with “total devastation,” said Fire Chief Daniel Walston. Coffee County had been hit with...
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ADREAM
Rocky Face resident Danielle Keith was unemployed in 2011 when the tornado hit Ringgold. Four potential jobs had fallen through for her. She had time on her hands so she decided to volunteer with tornado relief. Keith and her brother started helping...
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‘PAY IT FORWARD’ TEEN HONORED
A bridge in Walker County has been named in honor of Cameron Scroggins, a remarkable young man who died from cancer at the age of 16 in 2013. Travis Q. Middleton coached Cameron in youth sports and his daughter attended school with Cameron from...
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