Busy days are ahead for disAbility Link in Rome.  The organization will team with Sign Language Interpreters of North Georgia to offer sign language classes at the Goodwill Career Center on Hicks Drive starting this Thursday, May 17^th and continuing every Thursday for a seven week period thru June 28^th.  Fees are $40 for finger spelling and numbers, $70 for basic American Sign Language and $90 for both courses.  Those with questions are asked to call disAbility Link’s Interim Executive Director Maia Santamaria at (706) 314-0008, extension 104 or email her at msantamaria@disabilitylink.org.

Graduation time is here.  The Forum in downtown Rome is the site of many graduation ceremonies this time of year.  Georgia Highlands College held their graduation there this past weekend.  Rome High School’s graduation ceremony is set for this Saturday, May 19^th at 10 am at the Forum.  All of the Floyd County high schools will hold graduation ceremonies at the Forum the following weekend.  The schedule is as follows:  Friday, May 26^th – Pepperell, 7 pm; Saturday, May 26^th – Coosa at 10 am, Model at 2:30 pm and Armuchee at 7 pm.

An Armuchee man died early yesterday following a single vehicle wreck on Floyd Springs Road late Sunday night.  Joseph Allen Norris, age 28 and of a Gazelle Dew Road address, had been traveling north on Floyd Springs Road about 11:30 pm when his Honda Civic hit a culvert and he lost control of the car.  The car went down an embankment, and Norris was ejected from it.  He had not been wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.  Norris was pronounced dead just after midnight late Sunday night/early Monday.

An authentic brass Noble Cannon produced in Rome will present four firings this Thursday, May 17^th.  According to a release from the Greater Rome Convention and Visitors Bureau, the firings will take place at 9:30 am, 12:30 pm, 5:30 pm and 7 pm at the Rome Floyd Visitor Center.  The GRCVB-sponsored events are being hosted by the City of Rome and are free.

Rome’s Downtown Development Authority is currently working with the Fanning Institute of the University of Georgia to develop a new master plan for the expansion and development of downtown Rome.  The comprehensive study includes a town hall meeting that was held in conjunction with the City of Rome on Tuesday night, along with stakeholder interviews, intercept interviews and an overall evaluation of all aspects of downtown Rome.