Another candidate is entering the race to fill the vacant seat for House District 119. Marcus Wiedower hopes to replace Representative Chuck Williams who was tapped by Governor Nathan Deal to head the Georgia Forestry Commission. Wiedower’s announcement comes a day after local funeral home owner Tom Lord announced his intent to run to the seat. The race will be decided in a special election in November. House District 119 includes part of Clarke County and most of Oconee County.
In addition to the District 119 seat, voters will also select a successor to Representative Regina Quick, who vacated her House District 117 seat after the governor appointed her to the Western Judicial Circuit Superior Court. Quick replaces Judge David Sweat. So far three candidates have entered the race for that seat. They are Republicans Houston Gaines and Doug McKillip, along with Democrat Deborah Gomez.
One-third of American adults and one in six children are now obese, although an annual report released Thursday by two nonprofit groups found that rates could be stabilizing. The report released by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that West Virginia had the highest obesity rate at 37.7 percent. Mississippi was second at 37.3 percent and Alabama and Arkansas were tied for third at 35.7 percent. The study analyzed CDC data on body mass index, a measure of height and weight. People with a BMI of 25 to 29 are considered overweight; 30 and above is obese. Georgia came in at number 20 on the list, tied with Alaska.
