The cause of an explosion and residential fire in Camilla is still under investigation. Thanks to the quick and decisive rescue action of two brothers-Russell Florence and Waymon Williams the lives of the occupants Betty Brown, Willie Wimberly and Willie Mae Harvey were saved. Brown and Wimberly were taken to a Gainesville hospital and Harvey was treated locally.
In an update on a story reported on earlier…The two Valdosta Police that came into contact with Ecstasy during Interstate 75 traffic stop were treated for exposure to the drug at South Georgia Medical Center. Last week a local woman reported that her boyfriend had stolen her car and the vehicle’s GPS located it in Florida. The vehicle was stopped on the interstate the next day. Both police officers began to feel ill after exposure to the drug but later tested negative and are back at work.
Bond has been denied to one defendant and another person involved in the assault on a mother and daughter at a Baxley restaurant will go before a grand jury. Eric Smith’s bond was denied in part due to his long history of physical and mental illness. Superior Court Judge Anthony Harrison increased the bond for Eric Smith’s wife LaTasha from $10 thousand dollars to $25 thousand dollars for her brutal role in the beating of Janette Norris and her 15 year old daughter.
Members of the Tift County Board of Education have voted four to three in approving a redistricting plan that is designed to help in attaining charter status. The redistricting plan goes into effect next year and supporters of the plan say that it will decrease the number of schools that students have to attend during the course of their education. Opponents of the plan cite the distances that some students will have to travel and the fact that the historic nature of the education process will change for some as they will not be able to attend the same schools as others in their family have done for years past.
It only took the jury in the trial of Armaster McEady minutes to find him guilty of rape, burglary and other charges in the case that dates back to April 2015…his victim was a 74 year old female. The woman had been badly beaten and DNA evidence helped to convict McEady who had dated the woman’s daughter. Sentencing takes place September 15th at 10:30 am.
Just over $292 thousand dollars is the amount that the court has ordered the family of Kendrick Johnson to pay for the legal fees and other costs associated with the lawsuits filed by the Johnson family. Multiple defendants were accused of covering up the death of Kendrick Johnson whose body was discovered upside-down rolled up in a gum mat in 2013. A state autopsy ruled the 17-year-old’s death accidental. The Johnson family insists their son died of foul play.
When Cook County law enforcement officials spotted a vehicle that had been reported stolen they gave chase. The driver was on Interstate 75 coming into Lowndes County and the chase was joined by county deputies and the Georgia State Patrol with intercept maneuvers. However, the driver exited the interstate and headed down Highway 84 to Brooks County. The chase ended when the vehicle crashed attempting to turn on to James Road. Inside the stolen vehicle were Jeremy Johnson, 34, Jimmy Berrian, 39 and Shamiah Sharp, 29. They were taken to the Lowndes County Jail.
The South Georgia Literacy Festival committee partners with Snake Nation Press for poetry and writing contests, which are open to area high school students and young writers, are wanted. New works and previously published poems and short stories in other contests, books and magazines are accepted and welcome as long as they are original works created by the contest entrant, according to organizers. Submissions may be sent to Snake Nation Press, 110 W. Force St., 31601 or to Brenda Smith, festival director, 2007 Fallingleaf Lane, 31602 the deadline for submissions is August 31st. Entrants must place their name, address and telephone number on their work.
