WINTER WEATHER-GA
    Wintry weather closes some N. Georgia schools
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - The National Weather Service says what it calls a
good area of snow flurries was reported early Wednesday in extreme
northwest Georgia. Flurries also were seen in metro Atlanta.
    Temperatures in the low 20s and strong winds hit the Atlanta
area, and some roads were icy.
    At 6 a.m., the Weather Service reported flurries in Marietta and
in Rome. Forecasters say no significant accumulations are expected.
    Schools were closed in Union and Towns counties. School
officials in Gilmer County delayed the start of classes until 10
a.m.
    The weather service says high winds downed trees in Rabun
County, where one tree fell on a power line and started a small
fire late Tuesday.
   
PERSONAL CARE HOME-FIRE
    2 die, 4 hurt in GA care home fire
   
    DECATUR, GA (AP) - DeKalb County officials say two people are
dead and four others injured as the result of a fire at a personal
care home that served special-needs elderly people.
    DeKalb fire spokesman Capt. Eric Jackson says one person died at
the scene Tuesday night and a second person was taken to a hospital
and died of injuries.
    Jackson says four other people were injured in the fire at the
two-story home in the Tucker neighborhood.
    Authorities say seven or eight people lived at the home.
    The names of those who died have not been released.
   
MAN FREEZES
    Missing GA man found dead from exposure in SC
   
    WALHALLA, S.C. (AP) - A Georgia man missing for three weeks has
been found dead in South Carolina.
    The Anderson Independent-Mail reported the body of 75-year-old
Jack Franklin Hawks Sr. of Eastanollee, Ga., was found Monday in a
field near Westminster.
    Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis said Tuesday an autopsy showed
Hawks died of hypothermia.
    Hawks had been reported missing by his family and had last been
seen near Salem on Jan. 16.
    Addis says Hawks' pickup truck was found about 200 yards away in
some woods. The coroner says it appears Hawks had hit a tree. He
says there was evidence Hawk had built small fires around the
vehicle, apparently trying to keep warm.
    The man was wearing a tee shirt and shorts when he was found,
though a long-sleeved shirt, jacket and blanket were nearby.
    The death as been ruled accidental.
   
HANDEL-FURLOUGHS
    Handel's office didn't take furlough
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Republican gubernatorial hopeful Karen Handel
declined to have her staff in the secretary of state's office take
furlough days.
    House Appropriations Committee Chairman Ben Harbin said Tuesday
that if prison guards, teachers and other state employees are being
forced to take the unpaid days off, the secretary of state's office
should as well. He said Handel's office had found savings in her
office spending which she argued made the furlough days
unnecessary.
    Harbin said Handel's office was apparently the only one in
Georgia government to skip the furlough days. Handel stepped down
at the end of 2009 to pursue her GOP bid for governor. Her
successor, Brian Kemp, is ordering staff to take six furlough days.
    Handel's campaign office did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
   
MOVIE THEATER SHOOTINGS
    2 killed outside GA movie theater
   
    LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) - Police in Lawrenceville say two people
died of gunshot wounds outside a movie theater, and they say it's
likely a murder-suicide.
    Lawrenceville Police Capt. Greg Vaughn say the department
received a call Tuesday evening that shots had been fired outside
the Town Center Cinemas.
    He says that when police arrived, they found a man and a woman
dead on the sidewalk.
    Vaughn called the shootings a possible domestic situation. He
said police are not searching for a gunman, and that a weapon was
recovered at the scene. The names of those killed have not been
released.
   
HEATING BILLS
    Heating bills surge across GA
    
    ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia Power says it's dealing with an avalanche
of customer calls after a colder than usual January left many
Georgians with higher bills.
    Georgia Power spokesman Jeff Wilson says the average temperature
for January was 39.5 degrees, about six degrees lower than average.
    The utility estimates it was the coldest January in Georgia
since 1985 - and it left Georgia Power customers using 23 percent
more electricity compared to a year ago.
    Early February temperatures have been closer to normal, but
Wilson pointed out that cold weather is moving in again. It's
unclear whether Georgia Power customers are in for another month of
super-high bills because of the cold weather.
   
HABITAT-HAITI
    Habitat has 'bold goal' to help Haitian families
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Habitat for Humanity is planning a "bold goal"
in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti.
    Habitat chief executive Jonathan Reckford says the nonprofit is
planning to improve the living conditions of 50,000 families who
were affected by the devastating temblor.
    He says it's a "bold goal for Habitat for Humanity, but the
level of destruction and the number of families affected demands a
bold response."
    It begins with the distribution of 10,000 emergency shelter
kits. Habitat workers will also help families remove debris and
repair homes. And they will build permanent houses that are
resistant to earthquakes and hurricanes.
   
SENATE-DAVIS
    Davis newest state senator after special election
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Hardie Davis is the newest member of the Georgia
Senate after winning a special election.
    Davis replaced Ed Tarver of Augusta, who resigned in November
after he was confirmed as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern
District of Georgia. Davis joined the Georgia House in 2007 and
represented District 22, which includes parts of Richmond County.
    Davis, a pastor and business owner from Gracewood, was elected
Feb. 2 and was welcomed by the Senate on Tuesday.
    Davis was replaced in December in the House by Earnest Smith of
Augusta.