Today's top headlines:

• Rome's JC Penney among stores being closed in Georgia. Mall owner talks about new direction, what's next.


• Community  hears words of peace, healing as Trinity United Methodist Church hosted an all-faiths ecumenical service.


• Three rallies set for Rome this weekend. Polk authorities on watch; sheriff doubts claims but says all are ready. 


• Floyd County Schools posts six 'scenarios' for reopening classrooms, currently set for Aug. 6. Each depends on status of the pandemic.


• Third employee with the Floyd County courts system tests positive; another being retested.


• Coronavirus: 2,147 deaths in Georgia since first fatality on March 5. Positive tests will top 50,000 today. Locally: 1,140 positive tests with 37 new reports Thursday.


• Final day of advance voting for Tuesday's primaries; absentee ballots due by 7 p.m. June 9. Statewide turnout tops 1 million already.


• Ware Mechanical Weather Center:  Highs in the upper 80s to 90 through Sunday; some rain, storms possible.


• Truett's Chick-Fil-A Sports Report:. 'Hometown Heroes' tennis tournament set. Owen's sporting goods reopens Monday.

Rant of the Day: Remembering a star-spangled Georgia legend.

It was on a random trip to Blue Ridge by way of Ellijay years ago when we discovered Col. Oscar T. Poole.

 An official Kentucky colonel, the founder of Poole's Bar-B-Q also was a man of the cloth and a statesman as well. A staunch Republican, he often wore his patented yellow suit and Uncle Sam hat onto the floor of GOP conventions. He drew national and international attention and, in turn, made friends across the nation and the world.

Oscar knew what he was doing with his suit and hat -- drawing attention. But once he had that journalist or camera crew or temporary strangers on the hook, there was no letting go. By sheer personality, Oscar won them over.

And then there was the barbecue palace itself. Many rising Georgia politicians knew they needed to make the pilgrimage to Poole's Bar-B-Q to get Oscar's blessing. A few presidential contenders stopped by as well. It was like the days in Rome when The Partridge was a requirement for those on the campaign trail.

On Wednesday, there was another gathering at Poole's Bar-B-Q as friends and family watched a horse-drawn carriage escort the casket of the man who grew from his Central Florida roots to become a Georgia legend.

Yes, it was out of respect for their friend. And perhaps to say thank you for all he did.