Kemp declares state of emergency ahead of expected winter storm

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January 22, 2026

Gov. Brian Kemp has declared a statewide state of emergency as Georgia braces for the impacts of Winter Storm Fern this weekend.

The emergency order, which runs through Jan. 29, activates the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency and allows state leaders to mobilize resources ahead of what could be a prolonged and dangerous winter event.

“As forecasts continue to evolve, Georgians should be prepared for freezing precipitation that causes dangerous conditions and the potential for damage and power loss beginning Saturday,” Kemp said. “I have been working closely with state and local officials to ensure we are prepared for all scenarios.”

Kemp said the Georgia Department of Transportation will begin treating roads ahead of the storm and will work around the clock alongside emergency management and public safety teams.

“I’m urging all Georgians to take necessary precautions now to ensure their families and pets can stay safe, warm, and fed over the coming days,” he said.

What to expect

Forecasters say a major winter storm is likely to impact much of North Georgia, especially areas north of I-20. A Winter Storm Watch is in effect from late Friday night through Monday morning, with freezing rain currently the main concern.

Wintry precipitation could begin Saturday afternoon and continue into Sunday evening. Bitter cold is expected to follow, with temperatures dropping into the teens and 20s by Monday morning and remaining very cold into Tuesday. Officials warn that prolonged freezing could lead to icy roads, burst pipes, and power outages, especially with gusty winds lingering into Monday.

State response

The emergency declaration allows up to 500 Georgia National Guard troops to be deployed if needed. It also bans price gouging, relaxes trucking rules for emergency supply deliveries, and temporarily increases size and weight limits for commercial vehicles hauling essentials.

GDOT crews are staging equipment and will focus on keeping major routes and access to hospitals passable. State troopers and other public safety teams will be positioned across Georgia, with additional crews ready to clear debris and assist communities if conditions worsen.

Officials continue to urge residents to limit travel during the storm, prepare for possible power outages, and closely monitor forecasts as conditions and impacts become clearer in the coming days.

NowGeorgia.com is closely covering this developing weather situation and will continue to provide updates throughout the storm.

Winter weather is coming. You know the drill.

By

Daniel Purcell

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January 22, 2026

Every time winter weather is in the forecast, North Georgia responds the same way: together, prepared, and a little entertained.

Here’s what winter weather prep actually looks like across our communities.
For real-time updates and closures, visit NowGeorgia.com.

Still playing to win: White County’s Nick Raptis turns 102

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Staff Report

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January 22, 2026

White County resident Nick Raptis celebrates his 102nd birthday with friends at the White County Senior Center on Jan. 21, 2026. (WRWH.com)

At 102, Nick Raptis still plays to win.

“He is a shrewd Rummikub player,” said White County Senior Center Director Barbara Overton. Her statement draws knowing smiles from anyone who has sat across the table from Raptis playing the classic tile game.

A few years ago, the then-100-year-old fessed up to reporters he only cheats “occasionally.” But he was younger then.

On Wednesday, Raptis turned 102 years old. Visitors at the Senior Center helped him celebrate. There was cake. There were smiles. And there was plenty of laughter as friends paused the day’s routine to honor White County’s oldest living World War II veteran.

WRWH Radio’s Dean Dyer contributed to this report

SEE ALSO

North Georgia’s Mae Edmonson celebrates 100 years

Charles Henry Oglesby

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Now Habersham

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January 22, 2026

Charles Henry Oglesby, age 84 of Demorest, passed away January 21, 2026.

Born in Atlanta on September 13, 1941, Mr. Oglesby was the son of the late Edwin D. and Lottie Flemmings Oglesby. Mr. Oglesby worked U.S. Security and Allied Security, providing service primarily to Fieldale, Inc. and LP Service. He enjoyed the art of a good deal and enjoyed buying and selling cars and motorcycles. Mr. Oglesby enjoyed watching western shows on tv and he attended New Hope Baptist Church. In addition to his parents, Mr. Oglesby is preceded in death by grandsons Michael Alewine and Bennie Carnes.

Survivors include his wife of 65 years Frances Tallent Oglesby of Demorest, sons Charles Henry Oglesby, Jr of Demorest, Edwin Oglesby (Tonya) of Demorest and Thad Oglesby (Deidre) of Mt. Airy, daughters Patricia Anne Alewine of Demorest, Debbie Carnes (Frank) of Carnesville, Jenny Aldrich (Jimmy) of Lavonia, Polly Elgin (Danny) of Bowersville, Charlene Norris (Glenn) of Canon, Frances Massey (Joseph) of Demorest, Jennifer Higgins (Wayne) of Clarkesville, and Elizabeth Robinson (Chris) of Mt. Airy, sisters Betty Jean Mullinax and Cora Lee Whitten both of Atlanta, as well as 24 grandchildren and numerous great grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 PM, Wednesday, January 28, 2026, at Hillside Memorial Chapel. The family will receive friends prior to the service from 12:00 PM until 2:00 PM.

An online guest book is available for those wishing to express condolences by visiting www.hillsidememorialchapel.com.

Arrangements are in the care and professional direction of Hillside Memorial Chapel & Gardens, Clarkesville.

Nicolas Cantero Sanchez

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Now Habersham

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January 22, 2026

Funeral Mass for Nicolas Cantero Sanchez, age 61 of Alto, will be held on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at 1:00 PM at St. Mark Catholic Church. The family will receive friends at the church prior to the service from 11:00 AM until 1:00 PM. Interment will follow the service in Hillside Gardens Cemetery.

Mr. Sanchez passed away on January 20, 2026.

Born in Ixmiquilpan, Hidalgo, Mexico on March 15, 1964, Nicolas was the son of Alfonso Cantero Ambrocio and the late Sofia Sanchez Vasquez. He was a jack of all trades and could fix anything, and especially enjoyed working on old cars. Nicolas was a self-employed welder and mechanic. He enjoyed listening to music and playing guitar, but more than anything, he loved spending time with his family and grandchildren.

Survivors in addition to his father, include his wife Teresa Trejo of the home, sons Leo Cantero (Marta Rodriguez) and Geovanni Cantero, daughters Jazmin Cantero (Luis DeLira) of Demorest, Teresa Cantero (Miguel Lara) and Elizabeth Cantero (Francisco Salazar), brothers Placido, Constantio, Alfonso, and Trinidad Cantero, sisters Bernandina, Gregoria, Marcelina and Aurelia Cantero, and grandchildren Ashly, Angel, Alexander and Adam Cantero, Abigail Cantero, Jonah Edmonds, Mila Cantero, Layla DeLira, and Kendrick DeLira, Xavier and Mia Raya, Isaiah Lara-Cantero, and Fransisco and Christian Salazar.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at HillsideMemorialChapel.com.

Arrangements are in the care and professional direction of Hillside Memorial Chapel & Gardens, Clarkesville

High-speed chase on I-85 ends in violent crash in Northeast Georgia

By

Joy Purcell

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January 22, 2026

(FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ga.) — A high-speed chase that began on Interstate 85 in Franklin County ended in a violent crash Wednesday afternoon, seriously injuring a North Carolina man and disrupting traffic in Banks County.

Authorities identified the driver as 33-year-old Daquieze Davonte Lumar Marshall of Charlotte.

According to the Georgia State Patrol, a Franklin County sheriff’s deputy attempted to stop Marshall around 1:42 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 21. Marshall was driving a black 2022 Kia K5 at 85 mph in a 70 mph zone on I-85 South near the Lavonia exit.

Instead of stopping, Marshall fled. Deputies said he led law enforcement on a high-speed chase down the interstate.

The Kia continued southbound at high speeds, driving aggressively and passing other vehicles by using the grass median. A Georgia State Patrol trooper took over the pursuit between Ga. 63 and the Commerce exit, with Banks County deputies later assuming the lead.

Near Maysville, Marshall drove onto the grass shoulder and traveled the wrong way up the southbound exit ramp. He then turned west onto Ga. 98.

A short time later, Marshall attempted to improperly pass a red Toyota RAV4. The Kia struck the rear driver’s side of the Toyota in the westbound lane.

After the impact, the Kia left the roadway, struck a stop sign, hit a driveway culvert, and became airborne for about 129 feet. The vehicle overturned multiple times before coming to rest upside down in a group of trees off the south shoulder of Ga. 98.

Marshall suffered serious injuries. Deputies and troopers performed life-saving measures at the scene before Jackson County EMS transported him to Northeast Georgia Medical Center’s Gainesville campus.

The driver of the Toyota, 70-year-old Fred Grindle of Gillsville, suffered minor injuries and did not require hospital treatment.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office will handle all charges. Georgia State Patrol Troop B’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team is assisting with the investigation.

NASA and families of fallen astronauts mark 40th anniversary of space shuttle Challenger accident

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Marcia Dunn, AP Aerospace Writer

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January 22, 2026

AP26022661346152 — Jane Smith-Wolcott, center, widow of Challenger pilot Michael Smith puts a flower on a memorial during NASA's Day of Remembrance for the 40th Anniversary of the Challenger tragedy at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Families of the astronauts lost in the space shuttle Challengeraccident gathered back at the launch site Thursday to mark that tragic day 40 years ago.

All seven on board were killed when Challenger broke apart following liftoff on Jan. 28, 1986.

At the Kennedy Space Center memorial ceremony, Challenger pilot Michael Smith’s daughter, Alison Smith Balch, said through tears that her life forever changed that frigid morning, as did many other lives. “In that sense,” she told the hundreds of mourners, “we are all part of this story.”

“Every day I miss Mike,” added his widow, Jane Smith-Holcott, “every day’s the same.”

The bitter cold weakened the O-ring seals in Challenger’s right solid rocket booster, causing the shuttle to rupture 73 seconds after liftoff. A dysfunctional culture at NASA contributed to that disaster and, 17 years later, shuttle Columbia’s.

Kennedy Space Center’s deputy director Kelvin Manning said those humble and painful lessons require constant vigilance “now more than ever” with rockets soaring almost every day and the next astronaut moonshot just weeks away.

Challenger’s crew included schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe, who was selected from thousands of applicants representing every state. Two of her fellow teacher-in-space contenders — both retired now — attended the memorial.

“We were so close together,” said Bob Veilleux, a retired astronomy high school teacher from New Hampshire, McAuliffe’s home state.

Bob Foerster, a sixth grade math and science teacher from Indiana who was among the top 10 finalists, said he’s grateful that space education blossomed after the accident and that it didn’t just leave Challenger’s final crew as “martyrs.”

“It was a hard reality,” Foerster noted at the Space Mirror Memorial at Kennedy’s visitor complex.

Twenty-five names are carved into the black mirror-finished granite: the Challenger seven, the seven who perished in the Columbia disaster on Feb. 1, 2003, the three killed in the Apollo 1 fire on Jan. 27, 1967, and all those lost in plane and other on-the-job accidents.

Relatives of the fallen Columbia and Apollo crews also attended NASA’s Day of Remembrance, held each year on the fourth Thursday of January. The space agency also held ceremonies at Virginia’s Arlington National Cemetery and Houston’s Johnson Space Center.

“You always wonder what they could have accomplished” had they lived longer, Lowell Grissom, brother of Apollo 1 commander Gus Grissom, said at Kennedy. “There was a lot of talent there.”

School systems delay closure decisions

By

Patrick Fargason

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January 22, 2026

Habersham School Bus 2 — (Daniel Purcell/Now Habersham)

HABERSHAM COUNTY, Ga. – As forecasters warn that the most dangerous winter weather is not expected to arrive until Saturday, many school systems across northeast Georgia are delaying decisions on closures until Friday or later, noting that students will not be in school when the worst conditions are expected to occur.

Administrators across the region said the weekend timing of the storm allows districts to continue monitoring forecasts and refine plans rather than making early decisions that could change as conditions evolve.

Habersham County

In Habersham County, school officials said no determination has been made regarding potential school closures or schedule changes.

Patrick Franklin, superintendent of Habersham County Schools, said the district will not make a decision until Friday at the earliest because the most significant weather is expected after students are already out of school for the weekend. Any changes to school operations will be communicated through the Habersham Schools First Alert app and the district’s official communication channels.

Hall County

In Hall County, school leaders outlined preparations underway while also holding off on operational decisions.

Hall County Schools officials said they are preparing for multiple scenarios but will not make decisions until a weather event actually occurs. The district serves about 28,000 students and employs roughly 3,700 staff members.

Preparations include coordinating with state and local officials, draining water systems in auxiliary buildings to prevent frozen or damaged plumbing, and working with local contractors to stage snow- and ice-removal equipment and materials throughout the county. District leaders are also coordinating with principals and instructional staff to ensure readiness for digital at-home learning should road conditions require school closures. Officials said that if power outages occur, all school operations would be canceled and there would be no digital learning.

Hall County Schools encouraged families and employees to monitor the district’s website and official social media accounts for updates.

Rabun County

In Rabun County, school officials said they are actively monitoring the forecast and will move quickly as additional information becomes available.

Amy York Pruitt, Director of Communications for Rabun County Schools, said a decision regarding school operations for Monday, Jan. 26, will be made as early as possible as forecast confidence increases. Updates will be shared with families through ParentSquare and the school system’s social media channels.

Pruitt said student Chromebooks will be sent home with primary and elementary students on Friday, while middle and high school students already take their devices home daily.
Rabun County High School also announced an athletics schedule change tied to the forecast. Junior varsity, girls and boys basketball games originally scheduled for Saturday at East Hall High School have been rescheduled to Thursday, Jan. 22, beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Stephens County

In Stephens County, school officials said they are monitoring forecasts that indicate the potential for winter weather and widespread power outages this weekend.

Stephens County School District said no decisions have been made at this time and that any actions regarding school closures would be based on weather conditions and the safety of students, staff and families. Families were encouraged to follow the district on social media and watch for updates through official email communications.

Lumpkin County

In Lumpkin County, school officials said they are planning for several possible scenarios as the county remains under a Winter Storm Watch.

Lumpkin County Schools officials said they are working closely with local and state officials and have not made any final decisions regarding school operations. If weather conditions make travel unsafe but widespread power outages do not occur, the district may implement virtual learning days. If power outages or other conditions make virtual learning impractical, alternative plans will be communicated.

Families were told that any changes to school operations, schedules or activities will be shared promptly through messaging alerts, the district website and social media.

Hart County

In Hart County, sources with the Hart County Charter System told Now Habersham that a decision on potential school closures will likely be made Friday at the earliest, citing the weekend timing of the expected storm.

School officials across the region urged families to continue monitoring official communication channels as forecasts become clearer and conditions change.

Last local Winn Dixie store to close in Columbus

By

Robbie Watson

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January 22, 2026

The last local Winn Dixie store located at 6770 Veterans Parkway in Columbus is scheduled to close February 15, 2026, or sooner if they sell out of merchandise. Grocery items are currently discounted 30% off the regular price.

Southeastern grocers, LLC (SEG) parent company of Winn Dixie announced several store closings including the Columbus location last October. According to a press release SEG has made the difficult decision to transition ownership of most of its locations outside of Florida. Winn Dixie in Opelika, Alabama is also scheduled to close. Renfroe’s Market bought the Winn Dixie in Eufaula, Alabama.

Delta encourages customers to adjust travel for winter storm

By

Mitzi Oxford

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January 22, 2026

Delta deicing plane — Deicing Delta plane at the Atlanta airport. (Credit: Delta Air Lines)

Weather forecasts predict impactful winter weather, including freezing rain, sleet, and ice accumulation across Texas, the Southeast, including Delta’s Atlanta hub, and into the Northeast over the next several days. Delta is offering flexibility to customers with existing bookings to change their travel with no fees. The airline is closely monitoring forecasts to determine necessary schedule adjustments.

If you would like to adjust your travel, visit Delta.com or the app. As always, if a flight is canceled or a delay causes a misconnect, Delta will work to rebook customers on the next available flight.

Delta encourages customers to watch their flight status closely for the latest information. Customers can have updates sent directly to their mobile device or by email. Delta will provide customers with as much notice as possible about changes to flight schedules.

Several blocks of 8th Street to close

By

Robbie Watson

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January 22, 2026

8th Street Road Closure — 8th Street to close for project (Columbus Consolidated Government)

Beginning January 26, 2026, portions of 8th Street between Front Avenue and Veterans Parkway will be intermittently closed as part of the 8th Street Improvements Project. Motorists are encouraged to use alternate routes and anticipate rough pavement conditions during construction.

The project is expected to last approximately 120 days. Please proceed with caution if traveling through the area.

Piedmont University suspends classes due to winter weather

By

Staff Report

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January 22, 2026

DEMOREST, Ga. — Piedmont University will suspend all on-campus and online classes Friday, Jan. 23, and Monday, Jan. 26, at its Demorest and Athens campuses because of anticipated severe winter weather, university officials said.

Assistant Vice President of Public Affairs Renee Fargason said faculty will assign take-home work for students to complete on both days.

The Demorest and Athens campuses will remain open for faculty and staff until 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 23. Campus operations will be fully suspended Monday, Jan. 26, Fargason said.

Campus Police, Residential Life, and Facilities staff will remain on campus to serve students. Chartwells plans to continue cafeteria operations on a modified schedule.

“This is a significant weather event, and we expect widespread extended power outages,” Fargason said. “We urge all students who are able to go home to do so.”

University officials said additional updates will be provided as conditions change.