Rachel Hartdegen, Bluffton Today Journalist Profile

Articles

Local Legislators Breakdown The 2025 Legislative Session

1 week ago | northwestgeorgianews.com | Rachel Hartdegen

The cost of childcare is on the rise, school safety is paramount and Georgia tort reform; these are some of the hot-button issues local legislators spent 40 days addressing in this year’s legislative session, according to local representatives. The 2025 Legislative Session began in January and concluded in April. Over those four months, state legislators crafted and fought for hundreds of bills, and in the end, 188 bills were signed into law by Governor Brian Kemp.
Barron Stadium filled with family, friends, well wishers for Rome High graduation

1 week ago | northwestgeorgianews.com | Rachel Hartdegen

Graduation season has come to a close for schools in the Rome and Floyd County area with the Rome High School graduation on May 23. Rome High's graduation was a bright affair where the community celebrated the end of the teenage years and the start of the graduates' next adventure. The Saturday event featured addresses from Principal Parke Wilkinson, Superintendent Eric Holland, and a number of graduates including the valedictorian Liliana Cantrell and salutatorian Samuel Hard.
West End Steps Its Way To A New Basketball Court

1 week ago | northwestgeorgianews.com | Rachel Hartdegen

Over the span of four months, the Rome City Schools community banded together and walked millions of steps in a state step challenge, winning West End Elementary School a new basketball court. With the help of over 40 West End Elementary and RCS staff, and their spouses, the West End Elementary team secured first place in the state’s Jump Shot Health Challenge, logging around 580,000 steps each.
A Head Start: Coosa Student Ends School Year With Two Diplomas

1 week ago | northwestgeorgianews.com | Rachel Hartdegen

Walking across the stage at the Coosa High School graduation, senior Dean White received his second degree in a matter of weeks. The first? That was an associate degree from Georgia Northwestern Technical College. Having started dual enrollment in his sophomore year, White has spent the last three years working to earn his associate degree in business management, putting himself two years ahead on his journey to a bachelor’s degree.
Model High Graduation Brings FCS Graduation Season To A Close

1 week ago | northwestgeorgianews.com | Rachel Hartdegen

Secure transaction. Cancel anytime. Have an account? Log In Account processing issue - the email address may already exist User information * First name * Last name Your real name will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more! * Email Address Your email address will be used to confirm your account. We won't share it with anyone else. * Password Create a password that only you will remember.
Bringing Literacy Into Summer Break

1 week ago | northwestgeorgianews.com | Rachel Hartdegen

In the spirit of strengthening literacy among students in the Rome and Floyd County community, Main Elementary School partnered with the Rome-Floyd County Library to promote the library’s summer reading challenge. The summer reading challenge, titled Color Our World, is an event put on by the Sara Hightower Regional Library System across Northwest Georgia to encourage students in the area to read while school is out.
Darlington's 8th Grade Capstone: A Lesson In Service

2 weeks ago | northwestgeorgianews.com | Rachel Hartdegen

Between serving food and packaging supplies for the needy, learning about pollution in our waterways and reading to children, Darlington School’s eighth-grade class went on a journey of self-discovery and service through the 8th Grade Capstone Project. The capstone project is an eight-week-long project where students learn about poverty, education and the environment, and how these issues impact their community.
BCEMS Graduates A Small But Special Eighth Grade Class

2 weeks ago | northwestgeorgianews.com | Rachel Hartdegen

Berry College Elementary & Middle School celebrated the graduation of its eighth-grade class, one of the smallest classes the school has had, with only four students graduating. Although this year’s class was small, Lynne Reilly, the director of admissions at BCEMS, described the group as good-hearted, hardworking and special students who accomplished a lot in their time at Berry.
Georgia School For the Deaf Sends Graduates Off With a Message: You Are Enough

2 weeks ago | northwestgeorgianews.com | Rachel Hartdegen

“You are enough. You are powerful. You are ready,” DeMarco Pittman signed to a captivated crowd at the Georgia School for the Deaf graduation held on Tuesday, May 20. Pittman, a deaf advocate, informed the class of 2025 that they have an important role in society and explained the power they have in their hands. “You’re not just graduates, you’re trailblazers,” said Pittman, the treasurer for the Georgia Association of the Deaf.
Local Students Succeed In Colleges Across The Southeast

2 weeks ago | northwestgeorgianews.com | Rachel Hartdegen

As the school year comes to a close and college graduations are underway, students from Floyd County attending colleges across the southeast are being celebrated for their accomplishments. Almost 100 students from the area made the dean’s and president’s lists and graduated from their respective schools this month. The University of Georgia graduated 8,000 students at the beginning of May, 38 of those graduates are from the Floyd County area.