Friday, February 13th

*Today is a dedication day at UGA: Governor Nathan Deal is among the dignitaries who will be on hand for this afternoon’s ribbon cutting at the University of Georgia’s new Veterinary Medicine Center. Other speakers include University System Chancellor Hank Huckaby and University President Jere Morehead. Activities get underway at 2 o’clock at the 300,000 square-foot facility that sits off College Station Road in Athens.

*Another economic outlook luncheon for economists in the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business: they’re at the Columbus Convention and Trade Center for an economic forecasting session that gets underway at 11 o’clock this morning.

The University of Georgia’s College of Education hosts its 2015 Education Research Conference today: it starts at 9 o’clock this morning at the Georgia Center.

A meeting of the University of Georgia’s University Council Curriculum Committee is set for 3 o’clock this afternoon. It takes place at UGA’s New College.

*Ribbon-cutting for the University of Georgia’s newly renovated Foley Field is set for 4:30 this afternoon, just before the first pitch of a new college baseball season: the Diamond Dogs open against Eastern Illinois in a game that starts at 5.

There is a new warden for the Athens-Clarke County Jail: Ray Covington comes to Athens from the Muscogee County Correctional Institute in Columbus.

There are more robberies and burglaries on the Athens-Clarke County Police blotter: homes on East Carver Drive, Spring Valley Road, and Vine Street were hit. Victims tell police they lost cash, computers, and jewelry; also a car reported stolen.

*The high winds that knocked out traffic signals in parts of downtown Athens Thursday afternoon ushered in a cold front that is expected to dominate northeast Georgia weather for the next several days. There's a chance of snow and ice early next week.

It starts today and continues through the weekend: visitors to the Sandy Creek Nature Center are asked to take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count, keeping a tally of the birds they say while in the park on Old Commerce Road in Athens.

*A heads up for drivers in Jefferson: the DOT says Storey Street in downtown Jefferson will be closed through the weekend, reopening mid-morning Monday.  It’s part of work on a project to rebuild the intersection at Highway 82 and the Highway 15 Alternate in Jefferson, a $6.9 million project that is due for completion by September of next year.

*There was a Thursday groundbreaking in Hall County, marking the ceremonial start of work on the new Hall County Sheriff’s Office headquarters. The sales tax-funded facility is going up on Browns Bridge Road in Gainesville. It’s set to open later this year.

They’ve lifted the boil water advisory that has been in place in parts of Clarkesville.

*A Gwinnett County man is arrested in Buford: 28 year-old Laulue Her faces child molestation charges. He's accused of enticing an 11 year-old girl.

A major drug bust in Gwinnett County, where 16 people have been arrested and $2.5 million in drugs confiscated. Gwinnett drug agents say they confiscated cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine, drugs they say were in shipments meant for Miami and New York.

Frightening moments for a middle school student in Atlanta, attacked by a man with a knife at a school bus stop: the 14 year-old girl who attends Martin Luther King Junior Middle School in Atlanta says she was chased by a man who put a knife to her chest. She got away and was uninjured. Atlanta Police were, at last report, still searching for her attacker.

There are reports of a glitch in the pending sale of the property that was once home to the Army's Fort McPherson: Atlanta media mogul Tyler Perry is the pending buyer.

*There was a Thursday memorial service at Clark Atlanta University: friends and classmates of a Craigslist murder victim gathered to pay tribute. Three suspects have been arrested in Marietta, charged in the murder of the student Cobb Police say was killed while trying to buy an iPhone.

Police are looking for a 5 year-old Kennesaw boy who was abducted after his mother was stabbed last night. Cobb County Police say the woman, whose name has not been released, was stabbed multiple times at an apartment complex off Cobb Parkway. There was no immediate word on her condition.

A new report says Georgia is creating solar jobs six times faster than other states.

The Georgia House votes to eliminate the Georgia High School Graduation Test.