Monday's updates

Please click www.bartowheadlines.com

What's ahead in Bartow County:

-March 15: Bartow County and Cartersville boards of education, 6 p.m.> Agenda

-March 15: Bartow Board of Education, business meeting, following joint meeting. Agenda

-March 15: Bartow County Democratic Party meets at 7 p.m. at IHOP, 640 E. Main St. Agenda: Volunteering, lobbying matters in Congress Also: a meet-and-greet. Contact: J.M. Prince, chair, at 770-386-1379.

-March 18: Latest information/open house on 411 Connector: The Cartersville Civic Center once again is site of a DOT open house on the 411 Connector. The hours: 4-7 p.m. Click DOT.

-March 18: Cartersville City Council, 7 p.m. Hear it live on WBHF 1450 AM or Web cast here on Bartow Headlines.

-March 19: Chamber lunch and learn topic--'What Business Owners Need to Know about Commercial Insurance.' 11:30 a.m. The presenter is Steve Molina, ARM, CIC, senior partner of Risk & Insurance Consultants. Complimentary lunch will be provided by C.L. Smith - State Farm Agency. Please click here to register for the event no later than Wednesday, March 17.

The Buzz of Northwest Georgia (click)

-Catching Steak N Shake on the rebound (and others that got away).

-Magick 1360 AM brings urban adult contemporary, Steve Harvey to Rome

-Johnny's opens today in downtown Rome; Arby's due March 22 in Cartersville.

-Chick-fil-A Dwarf House adding outdoor patio.

-Big week ahead at State Mutual Stadium (baseball a month away)  

-Focus: Allergy season here; tips on a 'prevent defense' to make it more tolerable.

-Peaks & Valleys: Steak N Shake's arrival; Lady Hawks' post-season hoops.

Your latest forecast
-Monday: 30% rain chance, high near 56; gusts as high as 20 mph.
-Monday night: Partly cloudy, low around 39.

-Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 58.
-Tuesday night: 20% chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, low around 42.
-Extended forecast> Click  / Regional radar

Norman Arey's Sports Roundtable> Arey

-Dan Houston is off the bench to sub for Norman for a few days this week.

-Dan's topic for today: What a difference a year makes for two storied programs.

Sports/Rome Braves/State Mutual Stadium> Sports

-Rome Braves' single-game tickets go on sale Saturday, March 20: The box office opens at 10 a.m.; ticket prices remain the same: $10, $8,. $6 and $4> Sports

-Braves announced 2010 promotional schedule.

-Redneck  Rummage Sale at State Mutual Stadium March 20> Click

Lady Hawks ready for NAIA championship tournament; play Wednesday afternoon> Details

-Coverage: The Ridge 95.7 FM or view the live Web cast> Click

Catching Steak N Shake on the rebound--and more newcomers.

-The major story line is Rome is finally getting a Steak N Shake after that false start at RiverWalk. But the other story is we finally reeled one in after it got away. By that we mean a chain that had plans to enter our market, only to change course for whatever reason, has found another way. In recent years, we've tracked would-be arrivals of Ruby Tuesday, Beef O' Brady's, Appalachian Grill, the ever-delayed Rome City Market (and Derek Morgan's bistro) and even the vaulted Varsity itself. Some were announced, some were brewing; all got stalled for a variety of reasons. We had Steak N Shake in that category as well until Wayne Robinson, Brooke Temple and others put together a plan to buy the franchise rights. Next up: The removal of the building that has housed Shoney's, Rio Bravo, Up the Creek and Johnny Carino's to make way for the new 3,200-square-foot Steak N Shake, opening in July.

-Johnny's New York Style Pizza opens today: The new restaurant at 233 Broad St. opens a day early after a soft opening Saturday evening.

-In Cartersville, the new Arby's off West Avenue (Ga. 113) opens March 22.

A new urban format, new name for 1360 AM

-By Thursday, you'll be hearing Steve Harvey (right) on the new Magick 1360 AM as the urban adult contemporary radio format comes to Floyd County. In the evenings, you'll hear Keith Sweat . Magick is believed to be the first black-oriented format inside the market. WGJK has undergone several format changes in recent years, from CNN radio to country to Spanish and, most recently, easy listening. It is the latest change from Rome Radio Partners LLP since the ownership and management changes among the local broadcasting group. WRGA 1470 AM has been tweaked; a new morning crew is on Q102; and the FM signal that once carried WRGA has become 93.5 FM Life.

Next on Chick-fil-A Dwarf House's menu: outdoor dining

-Rome's Chick-Fil-A Dwarf House on Shorter Avenue is adding some outdoor seating for the spring and summer season. Assistant Manager Ben Farrer says the new patio area is being added in the grassed area in front of the restaurant and will feature five dining tables with umbrellas. It should be done by early April.

>Dwarf House also is hosting a special Relay for Life Spirit Night on Monday, March 15, from 5-9 p.m. with 10 percent of all proceeds going to benefit the Floyd County Relay for Life. --Natalie Simms

A four-bagger at State Mutual: St. Patrick's Day, chamber, rummage sale, tickets: You'd think opening day was already here based on the expected traffic this week at State Mutual Stadium, home of the Rome Braves. This week's scorecard:

-Wednesday: St. Patrick's Day party, starts at 4 p.m. with happy hour, food and drink specials, karaoke DJ, green beer and Guinness specials. No cover. Click

-Thursday: Chamber's Business After Hours, sponsored by Allied Waste, Three Rivers Club, State Mutual Stadium, 5:30-7 p.m.> Chamber

-Saturday: Redneck Rummage Sale, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Click

-Saturday: Single-game tickets for the 2010 Rome Braves' season go on sale starting at 10 a.m.> Tickets

-Home opener day is April 16: The Friday night game is against Savannah SandGnats starting at 7 p.m. The Braves open the season April 8 with four games in Kannapolis followed by four games in Greenville.

Attention, allergy sufferers: The season is here. Your best defense is a good offense: medication, air filters, even masks all help

By Natalie Simms

natsimms76@gmail.com

Since we turned our clocks ahead over the weekend, the official start of spring is just around the corner (Saturday) and so is the start of pollen season. With pollen counts already in the 400s, now is the time for allergy sufferers to prepare before the peak of the season in a couple of weeks.

"Pollen season has actually already begun since we had a 400 count last week. Any count over 30 can cause symptoms," says Dr. David Carlton with Rome's Atlanta Allergy & Asthma Clinic office. "The peak of the tree season is usually the end of March, first of April and continues through the end of April; followed by grass pollens that start in April and go through early June."

The best thing allergy sufferers can do is start taking their preventative medicines early to help prevent Hay Fever symptoms from wreaking much havoc on daily life.

"They need to start preventative medicines early, at least several days to a week before the peak of the season," Carlton says. "Nasal sprays are usually very helpful. Most medicated sprays are only available by prescription, so patients need to get their prescriptions renewed as soon as possible. The nasal sprays need to be used regularly through the pollen season."

This clinic chart tracks pollen

counts each weekday.

 0-30 = Low
31-60 = Moderate
61-120 = High
120+ = Extremely High

>Click Pollen Count

>Get Pollen Count E-mails

Carlton says there are several over-the-counter antihistamines such as Zyrtec and Claritan that will help with "same-day" symptoms but the most helpful are the medicated nasal sprays. Contact lens wearers also may begin to experience some trouble from pollen. There are several over-the-counter and prescription-strength eye drops available.

"People also need to wear face masks when they are outside mowing the lawn," he says. "This will cut down about 50 percent of exposure to pollen. It is also a good idea to change your clothes and shower after coming in from outdoors, especially at bedtime so that the pollen from your hair doesn't get onto your pillow."

One indoor change you can make to prepare for the onslaught of the pollen is to clean all filters in your house.

"You need to make your home as filterable as possible," Carlton says. "Make sure all your AC/return filters are changed and your HVAC equipment outside has been rinsed off."

This is something Larry Alford, CEO of Servicemaster by Twins, highly recommends to get rid of pollen that builds up in your home.

"Pollen not only builds up in your carpet, fabrics and furniture but also in the air ducts," he says. "A lot of pollen builds up in air ducts, especially in a new home because you also have dust and sheetrock mud … it's sometimes as bad as an old house."

Along with cleaning your air ducts and HVAC system, Alford recommends cleaning all fabrics inside the home, including furniture, draperies and carpet.

"Vacuuming often will help but unless you have a HEPA filter inside your vacuum, the pollen goes airborn gets into the central heat and air and circulates back through the air," he says. "It's nice to open the windows, but the pollen just comes in and fills the house up quickly."

Alford recommends you go ahead and change the return air filters in your home and replace them with HEPA filers.

"They are a little more expensive, probably about $20 each, but it is well worth it if you have allergies," he says.

Servicemaster by Twins offers a complete HVAC cleaning that includes cleaning the air handler, return, all duct work and vents in each room. Cost is $160 per unit plus $27 per vent. Discounted rates are available for adding multiple services such as carpet and fabric cleaning. For more information, call Servicemaster by Twins at 706-232-0522.

PEAKS & VALLEYS: The highs, lows of Northwest Georgia

Peak to the pending arrival of Steak N Shake: We can't remember a more welcome story hitting the Web site on a dreary Friday afternoon. Here's hoping the forces behind those other sought-after chains--and say it with us, now--Publix and Target--aren't too far behind. 

Peak to the Lady Hawks: Shorter's women's basketball team is headed to the NAIA championship tournament and starts play this Wednesday. The Lady Hawks, 22-9 this year and marking three straight seasons of 20 or more wins--meet sixth-ranked Oklahoma City University (29-3) beginning at 2:45 p.m. DST Wednesday in the first round at the Oman Arena in Jackson, Tenn.