5 Things: GHSA Approves New 6A Classification

1. Weather. Sunny skies are in for today, with a high temp near 93 degrees and calm wind between 5 and 10 mph, according to the National Weather Service. Going into tonight, it is expected to be partly cloudy, with a low temp around 63 degrees and west wind around 5 mph.

2. In case you missed it. : Help local area food banks this Saturday by leaving non-perishable food items at your mailbox. Every year in May the National Association of Letter Carriers collects non-perishable goods next to mailboxes for its "Stamp Out Hunger" food drive. Last year, 77.1 million pounds of food were collected. This year's collection date is Saturday, May 14. Check with your local post office to see if it is participating in this annual event.

: Owner Ed Kellam shares what it is like to run a barbecue restaurant.

3. Happening now. Georgia high schools will crown six state champions in each sport next year as the state moves from a Class AAAAA to Class AAAAAA system.

By a vote of 26-24, the Georgia High School Association Executive Committee approved the six classification system Tuesday proposed by former Brookwood High School Athletic Director Dave Hunter. That vote came shortly after the committee overwhelmingly rejected the controversial 4/8 proposal advanced by Executive Committee Chairman Stan Ethridge of Savannah. That vote was surprisingly lopsided with 35 of the 50 members opposed.

The 4/8 system would have divided Georgia high schools into four classifications for the regular season and subdivided them into eight classifications for the playoffs and would thus result in crowning eight state champions in each sport. Some coaches thought that would dilute the importance of winning a state title.

The new Class AAAAAA system will be implemented starting with the 2012-13 school year. GHSA Communication Director Steve Figueroa said once the Department of Education determines the Full Time Enrollment (FTE) at each school, 15 percent of high schools will be placed in Class 6A, 15 percent in 5A, 16 percent in 2A, 3A and 4A and 22 percent in Class A.

Once the GHSA announces the new classifications, the schools will have 14 days to appeal to the organization to be moved up or down in classification.

4. Ahead on Acworth Patch. Keep up with what's making news in your town and surrouding communitys by tuning in to our Daily PatchCast, 6 p.m. weekdays.

5. What about May 11. On May 11, 1995, representatives of 170 countries met in New York City, and decide to extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, a treaty to limit the spread of nuclear weapons, indefinitely and without conditions.