Commercial and Residential Locksmiths in Cartersville

ATLANTA – July 18, 2023 – Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced that Yakult U.S.A., a Japanese probiotic beverage company, will build its second U.S. facility in Bartow County, creating more than 90 new jobs and investing an estimated $305 million in a new beverage production facility.

“With a reliable logistics network that connects Georgia companies with markets across the world, we continue to attract world-class companies like Yakult U.S.A.,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “Northwest Georgia has seen incredible growth since I took office, creating more than 11,000 jobs for hardworking Georgians across the region. We're proud to welcome Yakult as they further that success.”

Yakult U.S.A. was formed in 1990, and its first product manufacturing facility in the U.S. was completed in 2014.

“Yakult was created in Japan in 1935 and has more than 80 years of history. Today, the product is sold in 40 countries, including at major retailers in the United States,” said Yutaka Misumi, President and CEO of Yakult U.S.A. “The State of Georgia meets our business needs in terms of the climate for our production, the logistics for the product distribution, and the positive support from the state and the county. We believe that the new facility will be the main supplier for eastern and central U.S. markets. We are pleased that we will provide more opportunities for our customers in the U.S. with the opening of this new location.”

Yakult’s new production facility will be located at Highland 75 Corporate / Industrial Park, a Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) Certified site, about 45 minutes northwest of Atlanta. The company will be hiring for full-time managers and assistants, including staff positions in human resources, machine operation and maintenance, quality control, and warehouse roles. The facility is predicted to come online in 2026.

The new location is expected to be larger than Yakult’s only other U.S. operation in California. Yakult facilities provide free tours to the public which teach visitors about the benefits of probiotics and how to produce dairy products.

“I am pleased to welcome Yakult to our community,” said Cartersville Mayor Matt Santini. “They will be a great addition to our family of industries bringing quality jobs and investment, along with a business that is part of the evolving part of the food industry.”

“I’m excited to welcome Yakult to Highland 75, adding to the diversity of our industries as we continue to add quality jobs and investment,” said Bartow County Commissioner Steve Taylor. “The decision to locate at a GRAD site shows again that speed to market in a pro-business community is the way we do business in Cartersville and Bartow County.”

“This investment by Yakult U.S.A. in metro Atlanta and Bartow County will contribute to the growth and diversity of our region. We welcome the quality jobs they provide that will help nurture a healthy, thriving community,” said Metro Atlanta Chamber President and CEO Katie Kirkpatrick. “Japanese companies have long been important players in metro Atlanta, and we are grateful for the company’s commitment to our region. Congratulations to the team at Yakult U.S.A. and all of the organizations that supported this decision.”

Project Manager Mellissa Takeuchi represented the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s (GDEcD) Global Commerce team on these projects in partnership with the Bartow-Cartersville Joint Development Authority, Cartersville-Bartow County Department of Economic Development, Metro Atlanta Chamber, and Georgia Power.

“We could not choose a better opportunity to celebrate 50 years of continuous representation in Japan than by adding Yakult to our business community,” said GDEcD Commissioner Pat Wilson. “Georgia’s international offices act as a bridge connecting Georgia to strategic markets to facilitate trade, investment, and tourism opportunities. This news is another example of how the partnerships built by the Japan Office have contributed to job creation in Georgia’s manufacturing, food processing, and automotive industries across the state.”

Japan is one of Georgia's leading investor nations and top trading partners. There are more than 460 Japanese facilities operating in the state, employing over 49,000 Georgians. In 2022, trade between Georgia and Japan totaled more than $9.7 billion, placing Japan as state's 6th top market for total trade.

The State of Georgia has had continuous economic development representation in Japan since 1973 and has assisted hundreds of Japanese firms in locating to Georgia. Japan has maintained a consular presence in Georgia since 1974. Atlanta is also home to the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO).

Georgia is a charter member of the Southeastern United States (SEUS) Japan Alliance, established in 1976, and hosted the 42nd Annual Joint Meeting of the Japan-U.S. Southeast Association and Southeast U.S./Japan Association in Savannah during Governor Kemp's first year in office.

About Yakult U.S.A.

Yakult U.S.A. Inc. is headquartered in Fountain Valley, California, and currently distributes Yakult, one of the world’s leading probiotic beverages, in the U.S. and Canadian markets. For more information, please visit www.yakultusa.com.

Contact

Garrison Douglas - Press Secretary Office of Governor Brian P. Kemp garrison.douglas@georgia.gov

Carter Chapman - Deputy Press Secretary Office of Governor Brian P. Kemp carter.chapman@georgia.gov

Jessica Atwell - Communications Manager Georgia Department of Economic Development jatwell@georgia.org

Switch is planning a new data center campus in Bartow County, Georgia.

According to the Developments of Regional Impact filings (DRI, 1-2), Switch is planning the “Switch KEEP 2.0 Atlanta North Campus” in the City of Cartersville.

The 126-acre site is located south of the intersection of Old Alabama Rd and Bates Rd to the Paulding County line within Cartersville. The land is currently owned by Carter Grove (Atlanta) ASLI VI.

In one filing, this phase of the project is described as “a single data center facility approximately 1,620ft (493m) in length.”

The company intends to invest $772 million in the campus. The first phase of the project is set to complete in Q2 2026, with continued build-out to 2046.

Switch is yet to announce the project.

This property that Switch is targeting was reportedly previously part of future phases of the Carter Grove residential community. When work began in the early 2000s, developers planned up to 2,500 homes. There are currently around 400 in the area.

Cartersville City Planner David Hardegree told SoosaValleyNews the DRI is a 30-day public review process that should officially start on Friday. After 30 days, the Northwest Georgia Regional Commission will collect any received comments and create a report. During the 30 days, the City of Cartersville will evaluate a zoning application and a text amendment application. The text amendment is needed because the city does not have an existing zoning district to accommodate a data center campus that Switch envisions for the property.

Cartersville and Bartow County are located northeast of Atlanta.

DigitalBridge-owned Switch operates one of its Prime campuses in Georgia. Switch Atlanta – known as the Keep and located in Douglas County west of Atlanta – offers a total of 150MW across more than 1 million sq ft (92,900 sqm). Plans for the site were first announced in 2017.

Switch operates its other large 'Prime' data center campuses in Reno, Las Vegas, and Grand Rapids. It is building a large data center in Texas, where it also bought Data Foundry for $420 million.

Switch also retains a stake in the SuperNAP facility in Bangkok, Thailand. The company also has an Edge business with Dell building Edge data centers at FedEx locations across the US.

DigitalBridge, alongside IFM Investors, took Switch private in an $11bn deal in December 2022. Australian pension fund Aware Super invested in the company earlier this year.

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. — A family’s Halloween decorations are causing controversy in Cartersville.

Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes was at the home on Cassville Road in Bartow County Wednesday, where a body with brown hands is hanging from a tree with a noose around its neck.

Some people are offended and say it looks like a Black man, and they want it taken down.

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The decoration has an animal skull on its head and it is wearing brown gloves.

Fernandes talked to one neighbor who said it upset her so much that she yanked the body down.

But the family said they have First Amendment rights and hung the decoration right back up.

Fernandes spoke with the homeowner, who said that her family decorates every year and has a lot of fun with it. She said the kids in the neighborhood also love it.

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“Every year, we’ve all decorated as a family,” she said. “They love Halloween. They’re both excited about Mr. Creepy in the tree.”

But the president of the Bartow Chapter of the NAACP sees it differently.

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“I really felt like this was really crossing the line. It was offensive,” Dexter Benning said. “It really just signified and insinuated that it was a person and a person of color. Bartow County has a history of hangings here in this county and to do that is just not appropriate.”

According to the homeowner, who Channel 2 is not identifying, a neighbor came over and took the decoration down herself.

“She said because the thing underneath the mask is black and his shirt is black, she was thinking it’s a Black person. And it’s not,” the homeowner said. “That’s just the spare clothes my husband had that he was gonna throw away anyway. That’s why I picked those. No reason other than that, and the gloves are garbage gloves so...”

A local pastor hopes the family listens to the community’s concerns.

“If you really want to celebrate Halloween and not be offensive, it shouldn’t be a problem for you to take it down,” Randy Livsey said. “Hang it around the waist if you want to or just hang up something different.”

Someone called 911 over the decoration. When deputies got there, they said that the family isn’t breaking the law, so there’s nothing they can do. With Halloween more than three weeks away, “Mr. Creepy” will probably but up for awhile.

Clowns fill this haunted house at Six Flags Fright Fest

The Cartersville Purple Hurricanes have won four state championships in their 110-year history. The Hiram Hornets have won just three playoff games in their 24-year history. If the outcome of tonight’s game were based on history the Hornets wouldn’t stand a chance.

But then again GPB Sports Football Fridays in Georgia wouldn’t be at Weinman Stadium in Cartersville this evening if that were the case. Instead, tonight’s game is a huge Region 5-7A showdown with the No. 1 Canes (7-0, 2-0) hosting 9th-ranked Hiram (6-1, 1-1). Our coverage starts 7:30 p.m. on GPB-TV Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Up until last week’s 56-35 loss to No. 7 Calhoun, Hiram had won seven in a row dating back to last season and have gone 11-6 over their last 17 games. That’s a far cry from the two years prior when the Hornets struggled through the 2020-21 COVID years going 2-19. That 2021 season is when sixth-year Head Coach Pete Fominaya decided to take his lumps and play his young guys with the belief that they could be something special.

So far that then-sophomore, now-senior class has proven Fominaya’s vision for the program to be prophetic. From a recruiting standpoint (as you will see below) the Hornets have a much bigger college prospect roster than the Hurricanes and most everybody else in 5A.

That’s not to say that the Canes probably wouldn’t still be considered the favorite tonight. Cartersville is still Cartersville. One of the best-built programs in the state regardless of classification. The Hurricanes have won 68 of their last 69 region games dating back to 2011 with that one loss, a triple-overtime defeat at the hands of rival Calhoun last season snapping the Canes streak of 10 straight region titles. The game and broadcast for which our GPB Sports Team won an Emmy Award over the summer.

It should be an interesting match-up between a Hiram team that is the highest-scoring team in 5A at 44.3 PPG and a Cartersville team that has the second-best scoring defense in 5A giving up just 9.1 PPG. But it’s the way this Hornets team has rolled-up it’s impressive offensive numbers that makes this most intriguing.

Hiram runs the Wing-T offense or at least what Coach Fominaya calls a hybrid Wing-T. Hybrid or not, when’s the last time you saw the Wing-T? Once a staple offense in high school football, it has fallen way behind the spread as the offense of choice. So much so it has become a difficult challenge for most teams to prepare for it in just three practice days.

But Purple Hurricanes Head Coach Conor Foster was the defensive coordinator for Coach Joey King’s Cartersville state championship teams before becoming the head coach himself and now his DC is former kindergarten buddy and later Canes teammate J.J. Chatmon. Reunited those two guys do a really good job. But the challenge tonight will be significant and will depend on some complimentary football from the offense. Specifically likely time-consuming drives and no turnovers.

Both teams have outstanding offensive lines full of college prospects. Both teams have tremendous kickers. Should be a lot of fun.

So, that’s the game story. Let’s take a look at the top prospects to watch.

Hiram Hornets

Credit: 247 Sports

Walter Matthews – 6-7, 245, Senior TE, 4.6 40 – Committed to Southern Cal over 37 other offers including Florida – Consensus 4-Star – Highest Ranking: ESPN No. 2 TE in the country – 247 Sports No. 13 prospect in Georgia 2024. Career Stats: 45-793 yards receiving - 17.6 avg - 10 TD. Nephew of former Vanderbilt All-American and Atlanta Falcon Allama Matthews. Coach Fominaya: “Never been around a player with so many tools. If he wants to, we’ll see him on Sundays.”

Chase Tyler – 6-3, 170, Senior WR – Committed to Duke over 26 other offers including Georgia Tech and Tennessee – Highest Ranking: Rivals 4-Star and No. 13 WR in the country 2024. Career Stats: 81-1,290 yards receiving - 12 TD. All-State Basketball player and might get opportunity with Blue Devils basketball team. Plays baseball and high jumps. Only player who starts both ways for the Hornets also lining up at CB and had opportunities on the defensive side of the ball with offers from Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Texas A&M. Coach Fominaya: “Takes pride in everything he competes in.”

Clinton Richard – 6-4, 290, Senior ILB – Committed to Wake Forest over 13 other offers including Ole Miss and North Carolina – Consensus 3-Star – Highest Ranking: Rivals No. 20 IOL in the country 2024. Will also play some DT and DE. Coach Fominaya: “Old school junkyard kid. If you had to go in a dark alley, he’s the guy you want to go with you.”

Jameson Riggs – 6-5, 290, Senior OL – Committed to Georgia Tech over 30 other offers including Clemson and Auburn – Consensus 3-Star - Highest Ranking: ESPN No. 23 IOL in the country 2024. Wants to be an aerospace engineer. Coach Fominaya: “I think he’s the best OL in the state. The anchor of our team.”

Josiah Pope – 6-3, 205, Junior LB – Offered by FAU and Austin Peay. Season Stats: 40 TT - 3 TFL - 3 QB sacks - 1 FR. Coach Fominaya: “Next big name coming out of Hiram.”

Oliver Castaneda – 5-9, 155, Senior K- Offered by Memphis. Georgia has shown interest – Highest Ranking: Kohl’s 5-Star Kicker. Season Stats: 10-12 FG with long of 47. 50 of 53 kickoffs have been touchbacks. Coach Fominaya; “Might be our greatest weapon. Ball sounds different when he kicks it.”

Cartersville Purple Hurricanes

Caption

Malachi Tolliver, Cartersville

Credit: 247 Sports

Malachi Tolliver – 6-6, 310, Senior OT – Committed to Georgia over 20 other offers including Auburn and Louisville – Highest Ranking: Consensus 3-Star OT. Coach Foster: “6-6 with incredible feet and great bend. I see him as 4-Star interior OL. Think he’ll play guard or center at Georgia.”

Jamauri Brice – 5-11, 180, Junior WR/CB – 22 offers including Vandy, Louisville, Cincinnati and Oregon. Career Stats: 69-1,122 yards receiving - 9 TD. Nephew of former Clemson Tigers star LB and Atlanta Falcon Vic Beasley. Coach Foster: “Been a warrior and already played a lot of snaps. We’ve got to get him some more touches. He’s been so selfless. Tremendous teammate blocks his tail off.”

Langston Hogg – 6-2, 250, Sophomore OL – Six offers including Vandy and Oregon. Coach Foster: “Just a pup but nasty football player. Tad undersized and will play inside the next level.”

Luke Surrett – 6-4, 305, Senior OL – Committed to Richmond over seven other offers including East Carolina.

Khristian Lando – 6-1, 195, Senior RB/LB – Five offers including Georgia State, Coastal Carolina, and Charlotte. Career rushing stats: 172-1,072 yards - 20 TD.

Connor Brasfield – 6-2, 220, Senior LB/TE – Offered by Sewanee. Season Stats: Team-leading 55 TT - 4 QBS - 12 TFL - 2 FF - 1 FR - 1 INT. Coach Foster: “Throwback player. What our program is all about.”

Richard Houston – 5-10, 195, Senior LB/RB – Offered by Sewanee. Season Stats: 43-271 yards rushing - 6.3 avg - 2 TD. Defense: 24 TT – 3 TFL – 1 SAF

Cole Crawford – 6-3, 205, Freshman LB/TE – Season Stats: 17 TT, 6 TFL. 4-54 yards receiving. Son of former Houston County Head Coach Ryan Crawford who is now running Cartersville’s eighth-grade program. Considered one of the top baseball catchers in the country in the Class of 2027. Coach Foster: “He’ll be one of the top college football prospects in the country by the time he’s a senior. Can be a lot like Brock Bowers for us.”

Ryan Johnson – 6-3, 170, Senior Kicker/Punter – Season Stats: 40.8 punting average is No. 3 in 5A. 30 of 33 Kickoffs have been touchbacks. Committed to Georgia baseball as RHP with 91 MPH fastball. Coach Foster: “Think he can kick at the next level.”

Andrew Purdy – 6-2, 195, Junior QB – Back-up to sophomore starter Nate Russell. Committed to Alabama baseball. Rated the No. 6 shortstop in Georgia in the Class of 2025 and the 15th overall player.

So, join Wayne Gandy, Jon Nelson, Hannah Goodin, and me for our Emmy Award-winning Football Fridays in Georgia Game of the Week as the Cartersville Purple Hurricanes host the Hiram Hornets starting at 7:30 p.m. Remember at halftime Hannah will highlight this week’s Make That Kid an Offer nominees.

You can watch Football Fridays in Georgia in so many ways. You have traditional TV (GPB), online at GPB.org, GPB Sports app, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Twitch.

Now if somehow, you miss it live or just want to watch it again, don’t worry, we replay the entire Football Fridays in Georgia Game of the Week at 11:30 p.m. or you can watch it on demand anytime at GPB.org.

Enjoy your Football Friday in Georgia!

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. – Lottie Moon was in a worship service at what’s now First Baptist Church when she heard God’s call to missions, prompting her to leave Cartersville for China 150 years ago.

The 4-foot, 3-inch firebrand would go on to become a giant in the world of international missions, inspiring countless Southern Baptists to take the Gospel to the nations while at the same time anchoring this Georgia community’s commitment to share the Gospel globally.

“I don’t know that anybody has had as big an impact on missions as Lottie Moon,” said Lauren Sullens, president of the Georgia Baptist Woman’s Missionary Union. “She has inspired so many people to either go into full-time mission work or to support full-time mission work around the world.”

Perhaps nowhere is Moon’s legacy so profoundly felt than in and around Cartersville on the northwest edge of the Atlanta metropolitan area where she heard God’s call “as clear as a bell.”

As the sesquicentennial of the start of Moon’s 39-year missionary career quietly passes, her legacy is still impacting lives in a city that has changed dramatically since 1873 when she left to deliver the Gospel to the nations.

Now, the nations are coming here.

Once largely homogeneous, the Cartersville area is becoming a melting pot of nationalities. At last count, 44 languages were being spoken in the area.

“God is bringing the nations to us,” said David Franklin, mission strategist in the Bartow Baptist Association based in Cartersville. “Lottie Moon left Bartow County years and years ago to take the Gospel to the world. Now, God has the world coming to Bartow County.”

The entire state of Georgia, with its robust job market, is drawing immigrants from around the world. More than a million current Georgia residents were born in other countries, according to the Washington-based Immigration Policy Institute. With that in mind, the Georgia Baptist Mission Board has put a major emphasis on sharing the Gospel with immigrants through its Mission Georgia initiative.

Mission Georgia funds a multi-faceted approach to evangelizing the state. That includes helping immigrants learn English, find jobs and acclimate to the culture.

In doing so, Georgia Baptists are shining the light of Christ into the homes of many families that had never seriously considered Christianity.

Tens of thousands of refugees have come to the U.S. in recent months, including some 1,500 who settled in Georgia. Within the Bartow Baptist Association, churches responded with hospitality and generosity to the newcomers.

“There’s a big team of people here helping them to find homes and jobs, to learn English, to get driver’s licenses, to get their kids enrolled in school,” Franklin said. “People from multiple churches are involved. This is bigger than one church.”

Franklin said he’s thrilled that his churches have ministered to immigrants just as Moon would have expected them to.

“It goes back to the DNA of Bartow County,” he said. “The mission of our churches has been to not just touch the state, not just to touch the nation, but to touch the world.”

Franklin credits Moravian missionaries, who arrived in Bartow County in the early 1800s to share the Gospel with Native Americans, for initially setting the community’s spiritual temperature.

“They created a heritage that has lived on to today,” Franklin said.

The spiritual flames were further fanned in 1870 when then-Cartersville First Baptist pastor R.B. Headden fell under conviction, realizing that he hadn’t been doing enough to reach other cultures with the Gospel. He began preaching about the importance of “winning the heathen” to Christ.

Moon was among the people listening to Headden’s sermons, and her life was forever changed in a way that has impacted the world with wave after wave of missionaries following in her footsteps.

The U.S. Census Bureau has reported that more than 350 languages are now being spoken in the U.S., making it one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the world.

“If we win these people to Christ, they can bridge back to win people to Christ,” Franklin said. “So, missions are no longer just about sending; missions are also about receiving.”

Sullens said people who come to the U.S. and become followers of Christ tend to be very effective missionaries when they return to the countries of their roots.

“They have fewer barriers to overcome,” she said. “They know the culture. They understand the context. And they’re more likely to be received by the communities they return to.”

Churches in Bartow County, Franklin said, are keenly aware of the stakes. That, he said, is why they have joined together in prayer and cooperative ministries to get the Gospel to immigrants.

They’re helping immigrants learn English. They’re teaching them to drive in a country that has very different traffic laws. They’ve even created a community garden and opened a soccer field and park for them.

Franklin said the churches in his association, like Lottie Moon herself, are willing to do whatever they can to shine the light of Christ for all to see. “There’s a different spirit in this community than any other place I’ve lived,” he said.

“It’s not that other communities are bad, but here we’ve been working together in significant ways for a long, long time.”

This article originally appeared in The Christian Index.