Henry headlines, school news, photos

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Henry County police are looking for a man who robbed a Bank of America in Stockbridge on Thursday. The man entered the bank at 5505 N. Henry Blvd. around noon and presented a note to a teller indicating that he had a weapon. He didn't show a weapon during the incident, police said.

Voters in two more metro Atlanta towns will be voting on Sunday sales of alcohol. The Henry County towns of McDonough and Stockbridge have approved putting referendums on the November ballot. The McDonough City Council voted 5-0 on Monday to put the issue on the Nov.

Henry County is taking steps to inform residents of severe weather sooner. The Henry County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved funds totaling $366,667, to implement a reverse notification system and to purchase early-warning sirens. County officials say the money includes $275,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Hazardous Mitigation Program, and a partial county match of $91,667.

A Hampton man is accused of  being a peeping Tom. Police arrested James Kelley II after they say they caught him trying to run from the home of a woman who called to report a prowler. On June 14 around midnight, Hampton police received a call about a prowler at a house in the 300 block of Cobblestone Court, according to police Capt.

A 16-year-old Henry County boy was killed Saturday when he was shot in the head by another teen, police said. Two other teens are now in custody while investigators try to determine what happened. The victim, Brian Comer, was with two other teens at a Locust Grove home at the time of the shooting, Sgt.

Hayley Dianne Fowler, a Mill Creek High student who took technical education courses at Maxwell High School of  Technology, will compete at the Health Occupations Student Organization (HOSA) National Leadership Conference in California later this month.

The AMC television series “The Walking Dead,” which has spent most of this week filming in Henry County, will be shooting scenes in the Vinings area of Cobb County on Monday.

A Hampton man has been arrested for allegedly robbing three DeKalb County banks in recent weeks. Ceaser Merckson, 38, was booked into the DeKalb County Jail on Friday, charged with three counts of robbery. According to jail records, Merckson is being held on $25,000 bond on each count.

A zombie alert has been posted for a stretch of Ga. 20 in southern Henry County. That’s right, a zombie alert. Traffic is being detoured off the highway in both directions at East Main Street near the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the filming of the AMC television series, “The Walking Dead.

Moodini, whose real name is Michael Anthony Mooney, feels lucky to be alive. The Atlanta magician's stunt at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Thursday night left him with broken bones -- an ankle, a wrist, a finger and his clavicle, Channel 2 Action News reports.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer faces up to 13 years in prison after being sentenced Thursday for using his position to smuggle guns into Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. Devon Samuels, 45, and his wife, Keisha Jones, 30, were among 14 people arrested last December after parallel investigations turned up $2.

The Henry County Board of Commissioners closed a $15 million shortfall and voted Tuesday night to adopt a $112.4 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1. This was the second straight year the county faced a severe revenue gap.

The federal appeals court in Atlanta on Wednesday upheld convictions against a former Wachovia Bank employee who worked in the bank's exceptions department. Last August, Yolanda Denise Scott, of Hampton, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for conspiring to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

In Henry County, it’s common for residents to treat I-75 as Main Street to get from one town to another. But they must jockey for space with tractor-trailers, daily commuters — and carloads of folks trying to get to Florida or Tennessee. “I avoid the interstate except for work,” said Stephanie Meeks, a server who travels daily from McDonough to the Atlanta Fish Market in Buckhead.

Henry County Schools valedictorians and salutatorians for 2011: Dutchtown High School Valedictorian – Kaitlyn Willingham Salutatorian – Yves Jeffcoat Eagle’s Landing High School Valedictorian – Jessica Tripp Salutatorian – Meselle Jeff-Eke Henry County High School Valedictorian – Jennifer Tran Salutatorian – Jacob McKee Luella High School Valedictorian – Erin Sheffield Salutatorian – Oliver Davis Locust Grove High School Valedictorian – Shavonne Henry Salutatorian – Amber Kelley Ola High School Valedictorian – Ben Appel Salutatorian – Harrison Carroll Stockbridge High School Valedictorian – Adeola Popoola Salutatorian – Candace Swords Salutatorian – Adebisi Adeniyi Union Grove High School Valedictorian – Cayla Sinnemon Salutatorian – Lydia George Woodland High School Valedictorian – Hillary Konken Salutatorian – Zachary Baer

Henry County residents get happy when they see red this time of year. Springtime incites the crimson blooms of geraniums around the McDonough square. The plants that were donated to the city in the early 1980s are the focus of one of the area’s most popular events, The Geranium Festival (9 a.

The Henry County Fuller Center and The Fuller Center of Greater Atlanta  will join forces this weekend to repair a Hampton home heavily damaged by the tornadoes. The tornado relief effort will be held at the home of Bobby and Anita Simpson at 5029 Old Atlanta Road in Sunny Side.

The third of four defendants in a Henry County home invasion case pleaded guilty this week to nine felony counts and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The charges against Dehaven Robin Brown, Justin Oliver Smith, John David Simpson and Benjamin William Palmer included armed robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and possession of a firearm during commission of a felony.

A Henry County state judge has reversed his own decision and will allow a Muslim man to wear his head covering into the courtroom. “The Court finds through its own research that there is a basis in the Quran for both men and women to cover their heads as a religious observance,"  Judge James T.

A DeKalb County man says not being allowed to wear his religious headcovering in a courtroom violates his Constitutional rights. Troy "Tariq" Montgomery, 46, is Muslim and wore a kufi, a tight-fitting cap, on his head when he went to court Thursday morning to defend a speeding charge, his attorney Mawuli "Mel" Davis, told the AJC.

A Henry County grand jury decided there was not enough evidence to warrant prosecution of rapper Waka Flocka Flame on drug charges, according to a media report. Waka, whose real name is Juaquin James Malphurs, was arrested in January after police raided his house in Henry County and arrested two people on charges of possession of marijuana.

Henry County District V Commissioner Bruce Holmes will hold a town hall meeting 9 a.m. May 21 at the Fairview Recreation Center, 35 Austin Road in Stockbridge. The meeting will focus on public safety, and Henry County Police Chief Keith Nichols and Henry County Sheriff Keith McBrayer will present public safety updates to residents.

All Henry County government offices will be closed Monday for a county-wide furlough day. Offices will re-open Tuesday. The only exception is the Henry Superior Court, which is scheduled to be in session on Monday. The county’s juvenile, probate, state and magistrate courts will be closed Monday.