Need for Speed video gameFilm brings copter, detours
ROME, Ga. - Filming of a movie in Rome will involve a low-flying helicopter, several road closures and detours and a funeral scene in a local cemetery.
The Rome News-Tribune reported that filming of the Dreamworks motion picture "Need for Speed" was set to begin Thursday and continue through Sunday.
The Greater Rome Convention and Visitor's Bureau said the film stars Dominic Cooper, Aaron Paul, Michael Keaton and Imogen Poots in a story about a cross-country race framed by a massive bounty.
Filming will take place on the Rome bypass, Cave Spring Road and at Myrtle Hill Cemetery, where a funeral scene was to be shot.
Officials say a helicopter will be used for filming and may be flown closer than 500 feet from the ground.
Road section resurfaced today
CATOOSA COUNTY, Ga. - Catoosa County officials have announced Akins Road between Battlefield Parkway and Boynton Drive will undergo resurfacing today.
Appalachian Trail hiker dies
ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. - An Australian who was hiking the Appalachian Trail in eastern Tennessee has died.
Authorities said 71-year-old George Walls Grant, of Collie, Western Australia, fell ill while hitchhiking to a market Monday.
The Johnson City Press reported motorist James Self noticed Grant was having a medical problem and took him to a rescue squad station. An ambulance took Grant to a hospital emergency room, where he was pronounced dead.
Carter County Sheriff Chris Mathes said that, from examining Grant's passport, it appeared he traveled the world to hike.
Mathes said there did not appear to be foul play involved in Grant's death.
Bill HaslamHaslam signs school guns bill
NASHVILLE - Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a bill that allows school districts to let people with police training be armed in schools.
The measure passed the House 82-15 and was approved 27-6 in the Senate.
It allows schools to hire retired law enforcement officers after they meet certain requirements, such as completing a 40-hour school security course.
The measure makes information about which teachers are armed or which schools allow the guns confidential to anyone but law enforcement.
Haslam included $34 million in his budget for local government officials to use on their priorities, which could include security measures.