cherokee-chamber.com

August Green Tip

Paula — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 19:08:26 +0000

Did You Know?

We should do everything we can to conserve energy as we keep cool during the hottest days of the summer. That means treating our air conditioners the same way we treat other energy-demanding appliances: by using them wisely and keeping them running efficiently.

Use an enery-efficient air conditioner.
If you’re buying a new air conditioner, choose one for maximum energy efficiency. New air conditioners come labeled with an Energy Efficiency Rating (EER), a standard that lets you calculate how much electricity the air conditioner will consume. The higher the EER, the less it will cost you to operate the appliance to achieve the same level of cooling.

Avoid overcooling.
Don’t use or buy more cooling equipment capacity than you actually need. If you decide on central air conditiong, select the most energy-efficient unit that will cool the size space you have. Bigger is not better. A larger unit than you need will cost more to run and may not remove enough humidity from the air, the feature that some consumers like most about air conditioners.

Keep your cooling system well tuned.
Have it professionally maintained, and ask how the energy efficiency of the system may be increased.

Install a whole-house ventilating fan.
This can be put in your attic or in an upstairs window to cool the house, even if you have central air conditioning. According to Consumer Reports, a big fan working under the right conditions can cool and ventilate an entire house for about the energy cost of running an air conditioner in one room.

Set your thermostat as high as possible.
78 degrees F. is often recommended as a resonably comfortable and energy-efficient indoor temperature.

www.Earthshare.org

Visit CherokeeChamber.com/green.htm for more useful links & resources

Park Pediatric Dentistry of Woodstock

Paula — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 16:31:51 +0000

Ribbon Cutting

September 1, 2010

Park Pediatric Dentistry of Woodstock Ribbon Cutting

1816 Eagle Dr
Suite 200-C
Woodstock, GA 30189-8274

http://www.pediatricwoodstockdentist.com

Dentists (Pediatric)

www.CherokeeChamber.com

No Rezoning Requests, But Cherokee County Economy Showing Signs of Recovery

Paula — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:22:15 +0000

8/26/2010
www.11Alive.com

Just a few years ago, many were complaining that development was out of hand in Cherokee County.

So out of hand, that several slow growth candidates took over the county commission.

Current Chairman Buzz Ahrens was one of them.

“We had some 25,000 to 30,000 homes already permitted and ready to be occupied basically, 3 & ½ years ago,” Ahrens told 11 Alive News on Thursday.

Then the bubble burst and the booming economy wilted.

Many of those homes remain unbuilt or unsold.

Many new retail spaces remain empty or vacated.

Right now no one is even asking for any rezoning permits in Cherokee County and yet, there is a bright sign in the county’s development department.

Building permits are on the rise again.

“I think that’s really good news,” says Commission Chairman Ahrens.

“We’re talking 20 to 30% mix of residential and commercial, both kind of balance and that’s really good news,” he adds.

While many remain cautious, some businesses, like bicycle retailer Trey Richardson, say sales are starting to pick up.

“The traffic out here has been increasing,” Richardson tells 11 Alive News, “We’ve seen some growth and we’re starting to see more of that come into our store.”

Cherokee County’s Chamber of Commerce saw memberships drop off from a high of 1,300 a few years ago to about 1,000.

They also reduced their 250 new member goal to 175 this year.

But now they say those memberships are on the rise again.

“We’d like to think as an organization that is, of course, pro business, that business is still on the upswing and the economy is heading in that direction here in Cherokee County,” says Chamber President Pam Carnes.

But she also admits some business people may be joining the Chamber to increase the possibility of networking, which they may not have thought was as important when times were better.

Everyone we interviewed said a big concern remains the difficulty of getting financing from tight-fisted banks.

They are also wary about talk of another possible double-dip recession and the uncertainty of the November elections.

But Commission Chairman Buzz Ahrens says when the recovery comes, Cherokee County expects to be ready.