*A Gainesville construction company reports an $18,000+ loss after the theft of a check. “Check stolen in transit, cashed at a bank,” Gainesville Police spokesman Kevin Holbrook wrote in an email Tuesday morning. The loss totaled $18,216 and the theft was reported four days ago.
*The state patrol reported nine traffic fatalities over the three-day New Year’s weekend. There were none reported in northeast Georgia, which also escaped the Christmas four-day weekend with no fatalities.