The Great Smoky Mountains National Park's distinctive natural mist rises in Walland, Tenn.Millions visited area state parks
NASHVILLE - A report shows more than 8 million people visited Tennessee's national parks last year, spending $530 million in the process.
The report released last week by the National Park Service also shows that the parks supported more than 7,600 jobs in 2013.
The national parks in Tennessee are Shiloh National Military Park, Fort Donelson National Battlefield, Stones River National Battlefield, Andrew Johnson National Historic Site, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The peer-reviewed visitor spending analysis was done by U.S. Geological Survey economists. On a nationwide basis, the report shows $14.6 billion of direct spending by more than 273 million park visitors in communities within 60 miles of a national park.
In Georgia, more than 7 million people visited Georgia parks in 2013 and had an economic benefit of about $348 million, officials said.
A National Park Service report said visitor spending supported nearly 5,100 jobs in Georgia in 2013.
Georgia's national park sites include the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park and more.
National Park Service officials said visitor numbers are lower than in 2012, partially because of the 16-day federal government shutdown in October.
Two charged in food stamp fraud
LEBANON, Tenn. - A former state employee and an alleged accomplice have been charged with running a food stamp fraud operation in Lebanon.
The Tennessean reports that 43-year-old Tracey Deshaye Timbs and 31-year-old Michael Nichols have been indicted on charges including food stamp fraud, identity theft trafficking, records tampering and fraudulent receipt of temporary assistance.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says the Department of Human Services learned of fraudulent food stamp accounts being created and sold out of its Lebanon office, where Timbs worked as an eligibility counselor.
Authorities say Timbs tampered with government records and created at least 40 false accounts with more than $150,000 in benefits, including some exchanged for cash and drugs.
DHS has fired Timbs.
Breastfeeding campaign begins
ATHENS, Ga. - An Athens group is working to make the city's restaurants more accommodating to breastfeeding mothers.
The Athens Banner-Herald reports the Community Breastfeeding Coalition recently launched a campaign to offer local restaurants opportunities to list themselves as breastfeeding-friendly online. Restaurants that pay for the listing can post a sticker in their window to show support.
Ann Sears of the Northeast Public Health District said officials want to help normalize breastfeeding and to reduce the anxiety some mothers have about feeding their baby in public settings.
Sears said women had been blogging and talking online about which restaurants are accommodating to breastfeeding and which ones aren't. Sears said organizers hope the campaign better educates the public about breastfeeding.