UPDATE: Oakwood cancels Monday swearing-in; SOS office investigating Oakwood election; HCBOC nixes plans for Skelton, Spring traffic safety improvements

*Oakwood officials Friday afternoon announced they have canceled Monday’s swearing-in of city councilwoman-elect Rhonda Wood. This follows Friday morning’s announcement that the Secretary of State’s Office has opened an investigation into the issue surrounding her election that came to light earlier this week. (EARLIER STORY: The Georgia Secretary of State’s Office (SOS) confirmed Friday morning that it will be investigating the March 12 special council election in Oakwood in which 200 people who were not registered to vote in city elections voted. Spokesman Robert Sinners said “Can confirm we have an open investigation. Can’t share anything beyond that.” 97.5 GLORY FM had asked who requested the investigation and what the procedure for it would be.) (EARLIER STORY: State House delegation calls Oakwood election snafu ‘inexcusable’ & ‘serious’ 97.5 Glory FM | North Georgia’s Family Radio Station (wgtjradio.com) )

*The Hall County Board of Commissioners (HCBOC) voted Thursday night not to proceed with planned traffic safety improvements on Skelton and Spring roads, citing opposition from property owners and others. (EARLIER STORY: Skelton, Spring Roads: Safety improvements planned 97.5 Glory FM | North Georgia’s Family Radio Station (wgtjradio.com) )

About the Author

Ken Stanford is Online News Editor for GLORY 97.5, a position he has held since August 2022.

Ken was born in Moultrie, Georgia, and says he knew from the time he was 5 or 6 he wanted to be a “radio announcer.” That dream was realized when he was hired by Moultrie radio station WMTM in 1960 at the age of 15 as a weekend disc jockey. A 1963 graduate of Moultrie (now Colquitt County) High School, he has spent his whole career in Georgia working for stations in Atlanta, Marietta, and Gainesville – most recently as News Director for 40 years at WDUN in Gainesville. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force Reserves.

Ken retired in 2011 but came out of retirement last year to help GLORY, on a part-time basis, beef-up its online news presence.

He is the recipient of many Associated Press awards and is a former judge of state and national Associated Press broadcast news contests. In 2005, he was presented with the Georgia Associated Press Broadcasters Association’s President’s Award for Excellence in Journalism and in 2019 was inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame.

He lives in Gainesville with his wife of 52 years, the former Sandra McKnight of Clio, Alabama, and they have one child, a daughter, Lisa, who lives in Cumming with her family.