Hurricane Irma: Patriots' Day Events Cancelled In Cherokee County

CANTON, GA -- Organizers behind two events in Cherokee County held to honor those who lost their lives in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks have cancelled their ceremonies due to Hurricane Irma's expected move into Georgia early Monday morning.

Cherokee County and the city of Woodstock have called off their respective events slated for Monday, Sept. 11. The county's event was set for 8:30 a.m. at the Public Safety Memorial between the Cherokee County Historic Courthouse and the Cherokee County Justice Center.

Woodstock's commemoration was slated for 6 p.m., and Mayor Donnie Henriques said in a letter that city staff will continue working with the Cherokee County Office of Emergency Management to properly prepare for the storm.

Also See: Georgia Coastal Residents Instructed To Evacuate

The Woodstock City Council is also slated to meet at 7 p.m. Sept. 11. City spokesperson Brittany Duncan said a decision about whether to continue with the regular meeting will be made closer to that time. For its part, the city of Canton has cancelled a tourism meeting that was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12.

According to the Cherokee County Office of Emergency Management, if the current projected path holds steady, the center of the storm will travel along Interstate 75 throughout the state.

"The high concern for our area is that it will place us on the east side of the storm, causing a greater potential for severe weather to include tornadic activity and flooding," Cherokee County Fire Chief Tim Prather added.

Most of the state will begin seeing tropical storm-force winds on Monday, with sustained winds ranging between 25 and 40 miles per hour. The rain forecasts for the county, the agency added, are anywhere between 3 and 5 inches from Monday to Wednesday.

For Floridians seeking shelter from Hurricane Irma, Canton-based Action Church remains the go-to place for anyone in need of assistance (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

"We have cots, showers, food and we also have a huge parking lot where we can park RV/camper if you are bringing those," the organization said Wednesday on its Facebook page. "We run a warming shelter every winter so we are equipped to handle this and handle it quickly."

In the meantime, residents are strongly encouraged to sign up for the county's CodeRED emergency notification system. The system allows residents to choose which alerts they would prefer to receive and can select which method of deliver they prefer: landline, cell phone, email, text messages, TTY or a combination of those options. You can click here to sign up for the service.

For the latest on Hurricane Irma's impact on Georgia, click here.

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