Etowah County Red Cross Executive Director Heather New says her agency is laundering money. The agency was given bucketfuls of coins from the Gadsden Mall water fountain recently. She says volunteers have been sorting coins and researching ways to clean the coins. Several, she says, have turned up to be quite valuable finds. If you'd like to donate the the Etowah County Red Cross, you can visit their offices at 405 South 1st Street, or call 256-546-8667.

(Gadsden, AL) Your business should be advertising online today. Many businesses are learning that in this tough economy, advertising is not a luxury... its a necessity!

Traditional forms of advertising (print, radio, tv) tend to be too expensive, especially when including the cost of production involved.

Why not enhance your traditional advertising by expanding those products with online advertising? More and more individuals are getting their news from online sources, so why not advertise where they are going?

GadsdenMetro supports online advertising with other promotional efforts, including social media like Twitter and Facebook.

Call GadsdenMetro.com now for information on how your business can advertise inexpensively and intelligently at the same time on Gadsden's newest information website!

GadsdenMetro.com publisher Phillip Swindall says he is tired of seeing pop up and pop under ads on various news organization websites he visits.

So, he's making a promise to ALL readers of GadsdenMetro.com. "I guarantee you, that there will NEVER be a pop up, pop under, slide out, or other type of hidden advertising on our website. We are currently re-evaluating our advertising policies, to modify how we handle some ad placements and design requirements, but we have never, and will never allowed pop up or under ads on our site."

Swindall says he's appalled at the increasing use of ads such as those on other similar news-focused websites. He explains that GadsdenMetro.com was created as a way to provide readers with local news void of all of the "other distractions" available on other sites. "Our advertising is local. Our stories are local. Our workers are local. Our owners are local. We are local, and we will always be local, as long as I am publisher of this news venture," Swindall says.

Gadsden Parks and Recreation Department and several community leaders and wrapping up plans for the Second Annual Smoke on the Falls BBQ Festival at Noccalula Falls. The event, sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society, should be larger than last year's, says PARD Director Kerry Payne. New attractions, more competitive teams, more concerts, and an opened Noccalula Falls Park are all attractions to this state qualifier event.

Gadsden's newest online source for news and information is seeking writers and newsgatherers to help report on news from every neighborhood, community, city and town in Etowah County. If you're interested, click here for more information.