The Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office Interstate Criminal Enforcement team arrested a Florida pair on drug and financial forgery charges Thursday. 27-year-old Jacqueline Sotolongo was pulled over for driving 90 miles per hour on Interstate 75. Deputies found marijuana and drug paraphernalia, along with credit cards, a device for coding the cards, a computer, handgun and a ledger with the social security numbers and birth dates of several people. Sotolongo and her passenger, 28-year-old Timothy Bell, were taken to the Lowndes County Jail.

A high-speed chase on I-75 ended in the arrest of two Florida men Thursday night. The chase began after a Lowndes County deputies spotted a stolen car on the interstate that had been used in the assault of a police officer in Largo, Florida. The southbound chase reached speeds up to 125 mph while occupants of the pursued vehicle tossed counterfeit traveler’s checks out the window. The driver and passenger eventually surrendered in Columbia County. 38-year-old Noble Whitfield and 50-year-old Michael Gopie were arrested and taken to the Hamilton County Jail.

All ramps are now open at I-75 Exit 66 at Brighton Road. Work remains to be done, and the bridge is expected to open next month.

The City of Valdosta will be closed July 4, but the Sanitation Division will collect residential garbage for those who normally have their garbage picked up on Mondays. Recyclables, yard waste and special pickups will be done Tuesday.

A Valdosta woman who lost 100 pounds through a non-profit weight loss support organization is scheduled to appear on NBC’s Today Show this morning. Patsy Casteen lost 100 pounds through the TOPS Club, which stands for Take Off Pounds Sensibly.

A 23-year-old man drowned Saturday in a Decatur County creek. 23-year-old Jarvonte Trevell Jones was in waist deep water in Spring Creek off Highway 84 when he went under. Officials say a swift current runs under a nearby bridge, and Jones may have been unaware of a drop off in a sandbar.