Whitfield County names new principals and other news from areas around Chattanooga

Whitfield County names new principals

DALTON, Ga. - Whitfield County Schools officials have announced the placement of five principals.

They are Stanley Stewart at Coahulla Creek High School, Wanda Storey at Eastbrook Middle School, Carla Maret at New Hope Elementary School, Doris McLemore at Valley Point Elementary School and Angela Hargis at Westside Middle School.

Officials also said the school board approved its fiscal year 2014 budget on Wednesday.


Career-oriented courses developed

ATLANTA - State education officials have announced they've developed a new education model geared toward helping students find career paths.

Officials from the Georgia Department of Education said the career clusters framework will allow students to choose one of 17 career pathways based on what they'd like to study in college. The pathways range from business management and administration to world languages and are based on a set of core curriculum and electives.

The General Assembly voted in 2011 to allow the Department of Education to implement the career pathways program. State School Superintendent John Barge said the "new career pathways will keep students engaged and on the road to graduation." He said many students drop out of school because they can't connect classroom experiences to practical applications.


National park has best May ever

GATLINBURG, Tenn. - The mountains were a popular destination last month.

The National Park Service said the Great Smoky Mountains National Park had nearly 886,000 visitors in May -- the most ever in any May. The number was up by 10.5 percent, or more than 86,000 people, from May 2012.

Year-to-date visitation is down by 5.5 percent from the five-year average, however. For the first five months of 2013, the park recorded just more than 2,506,000 visitors. That was 273,000 fewer than in the first five months of 2012.


Rapid reopened after new training

COLUMBUS, Ga. - A rapid that has gained a notorious reputation as part of a new whitewater course on the Chattahoochee River has been reopened after dozens of rafters were dumped.

The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reported that at least 10 of 17 large rafts flipped on the Cut Bait rapid shortly after the course opened in May. More than 70 of the first rafters who traversed the rapid were dumped into the river that separates Georgia and Alabama in the Columbus area.

No injuries were reported, but the rapid was off-limits to paying customers for a couple weeks as guides went through additional training.

Whitewater Express owner Dan Gilbert said the additional training has led to a much higher success rate through the rapid.

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