Washington

Wholesale Observations: Washington, Georgia

Published

2 years ago

August 22, 2024

Wholesale Observations: Washington, Georgia

About 40 miles east of Athens, GA (home to the state’s most prestigious University, UGA – “Go Dawgs!”) on U.S. 78, is the picturesque small town of Washington, in the heart of Wilkes County. I have been through it many times.

On one such trip, many years ago, coming back from a visit with friends in Athens over Thanksgiving, I decided to (finally) stop at the “Washington-Wilkes Historical Museum,” housed in a huge old two-story columned house on the downtown main street. I had been by there many times, but never stopped in before to see what they had. (The Robert Toombs house is two houses away.)

I picked up their brochure and took the self-guided tour, staying maybe about an hour. When I got home, and later read the brochure, I discovered to my surprise that the original portion of the house had been built by a distant relative, Albert Gallatin Semmes!

So the next time I went to Athens, six months or so later, I made a point to stop back by on the way home, again. This time I went to find the curator, a white-haired lady named Doris Martin, held out my hand, introduced myself, then asked for the keys!

When she looked up at me in surprise, I explained about my earlier visit, and discovering upon my return to Savannah and reading their brochure, that the original owner was a relative! Whereupon the kind woman undertook to give me her personal guided tour, and explained what she knew.

The original house, she said, was what was now the ground-level basement, later used as the kitchen, and the two upper floors were added later, along with the east and west wings. She showed me the second story’s western wing, and pointed out the six-inch drop from the floor of the main house to the floor of the wing.

We don’t know if that was due to a lack of proper measuring, or the weight of the addition sinking into soft soil,” she told me. “So you have to watch your step.”

She said that the surrounding ~100 acres or so were part of the original farm, but had been sold off by later owners, and were now residential areas. And that the original owners had apparently gotten spooked by a yellow fever epidemic in 1857, so sold the property, packed up everyone and everything, and moved back to Mississippi!

She directed me to the nearby county (Carnegie) library, and told me to ask for the woman in charge of their special collections section, who could show me the various cemetery records (city, church and family) to see if I could find any relatives buried there. I did go by, looked through all of what was there, but couldn’t find a one! So apparently my ancestors “got out while the getting was good,” and didn’t lose a soul in the process.

The other remarkable thing about that second trip was that the curator had the same name as a long-time Savannah dance and theatre icon, Doris Martin, who ran a dance studio for young girls for many years, and choreographed many Little Theatre summer musicals.

She and her husband Harris also served on the LT Board of Directors. I knew them both well from my LT days.

Another recent discovery I made, at an antiques shop in downtown Savannah, down the street from a BBQ joint I sometimes go for lunch, was a book on this very topic.

One of their window displays was a three-level bookshelf with a variety of old books; and a slender green volume at one end of the second shelf caught my eye: “The History of Wilkes County, Georgia.”

I was unaware of such a volume, so of course had to go inside and look at it.

I told the young man who pulled it off the shelf for me that I only needed to “look at it for a minute, and would give it right back to him.”

“Unless, of course, you want to buy it!” he said with a smile. “Of course,” I replied, cheerfully but doubtfully.

Then I turned to the index, and found to my surprise at least half a dozen entries under the name “Semmes.”

“OK, I’ll take it!” I told him. “That was quick,” he said. I told him I’d found what I was looking for, but hadn’t expected to find.

So, five minutes and $62 later, I walked out with it in my hand.

All I’ve had time to do so far is put post-it flags on all the pages referencing Semmes family members.

I will eventually scan those pages, and the introduction to the volume – which is a story in itself – and send them to family members.

One small note: This apparently was a Protestant branch of the family, unlike mine, which was long Catholic. But then, I don’t think there were many Catholics in Georgia back then, unlike Maryland, where my branch of the family comes from. So that may have been more to do with necessity than conviction.

Life is full of surprises!

Rafe Semmes is a proud graduate of (“the original”) Savannah High School and the University of Georgia.

He and his wife live in eastern Liberty County, and are long-time Rotarians. He writes on a variety of topics, and may be reached at rafe_semmes@yahoo.com.

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Washington

North Dakota National Guard heading to Washington duty

Published

1 hour ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

North Dakota National Guard heading to Washington duty

BISMARCK — About 60 North Dakota Army National Guard Soldiers will be sent to help the District of Columbia National Guard under a joint task force starting in April.

Most soldiers are from the 131st Military Police Battalion, which is headquartered in Bismarck, according to a release.

The support will be given as part of the effort that began on Aug. 11, when several states activated members of their National Guard to support local and federal law enforcement in Washington under the President Donald Trump’s

executive order 14333,

which declared a crime emergency in the nation’s capital.

The support is a federal mission under the command of the D.C. National Guard, which supports civilian agencies and local law enforcement to reduce crime and minimize property damage.

“Safeguarding the citizens, federal workers and elected leaders in our nation’s capital is a matter of national security, and we appreciate these Soldiers volunteering for this important mission,” said North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong in a release. “We know they will represent our state with the skill and professionalism that military leaders everywhere have come to expect from the North Dakota National Guard.”

The battalion is expected to be in Washington for about three months.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

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Washington

Brothers shot Park Police officer who arrested one of them the day before, documents say

Published

2 days ago

March 25, 2026

Press Room

Brothers shot Park Police officer who arrested one of them the day before, documents say

Charging documents reveal the U.S. Park Police officer who was shot Monday in Southeast D.C. had arrested one of the suspects the day before and was following that suspect at the time.

The suspects are brothers, 22-year-old Asheile Foster and 21-year-old Darren Foster, of Southeast. They appeared in federal court Wednesday afternoon.

Court documents state the Park Police officer who was shot had arrested Asheile Foster on Sunday on suspicion of dealing drugs. The officer said he followed Foster after he was released from jail on Monday and came to Park Police headquarters to get his personal belongings.

According to prosecutors, Foster told police he knew he was being followed by a white Tesla, and he confronted the officer on Queens Stroll Place SE, jumping out in front of the Tesla before the officer swerved around him.

Then, dozens of gunshots went off, the officer told police. He said in charging documents he was shot in the shoulder as he kept driving several blocks to the intersection of Benning Road and Southern Avenue SE, where police found him. A helicopter then took him to a hospital. According to charging documents, the officer was treated and released the same night as the shooting.

A U.S. Park Police officer who was shot in Southeast D.C. on Monday is recovering from what authorities say was likely a targeted attack. Multiple law enforcement sources tell News4’s Mark Segraves that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday.

Photos in the charging documents show the brothers firing at the officer’s Tesla, according to prosecutors.

The shooting drew a massive police presence to the Southeast neighborhood near the D.C-Maryland border Monday night.

Shell casings littered the middle of the street. Police said they recovered two weapons: a Glock 9 with an extended magazine and an AR-15.

Prosecutors said that when the officer was shot, he was investigating a shooting that occurred in Anacostia Park on Friday. No one was injured in that shooting.

Darren Foster was located and stopped shortly after the shooting, D.C. police said. Asheile Foster was found on Tuesday.

The brothers were charged with assault on a federal officer, assault with intent to kill and weapons charges. They could face up to 60 years in prison if they’re convicted.

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Washington

Washington passes new AI laws to crack down on misinformation, protect minors

Published

3 days ago

March 24, 2026

Press Room

Washington passes new AI laws to crack down on misinformation, protect minors

Washington just became the latest state to regulate artificial intelligence.

Under a pair of bills signed by Gov. Bob Ferguson Tuesday, companies like OpenAI and Anthropic will have to include new disclosures in their popular chatbots for Washington users.

Ferguson asked legislators to craft House Bill 1170 to crack down on AI-generated misinformation. When content is substantially modified using generative AI, that information will now have to be traceable using watermarks or metadata. The new law applies to large AI companies more than 1 million monthly subscribers.

“ I’m confident I’m not the only Washingtonian who often sees something on my phone and wondering to myself, ‘Is that AI or is it real?’ And I feel like I’m a reasonably discerning person,” Ferguson said during the bill signing. “It is virtually impossible these days.”

RELATED: WA Gov. Bob Ferguson calls for regulations on AI chatbot companions

House Bill 2225 establishes new guard rails for AI chatbots that act like friends or companions. It applies to services like ChatGPT and Claude, but excludes more narrowly tailored chatbots, like the customer service windows that pop up when visiting a corporate website.

Chatbots that fit the bill will have to disclose to users that they are not human at the start of every conversation, and every three hours in an ongoing chat. The tools will also be barred from pretending to be human in conversation with users.

The rules go further if the user is a minor. Companies that operate chatbots will have to disclose that the tools are not human every hour, rather than every three hours, if the user is under 18. The bill forbids AI companions from having sexually explicit conversations with underage users. It also bans “manipulative engagement techniques.” For example, a chatbot is not allowed to guilt or pressure a minor into staying in a conversation or keeping information from parents.

“AI has incredible potential to transform society,” Ferguson said. “At the same time, of course, there are risks that we must mitigate as a state, especially to young people. So I speak partly as a governor, but also as the father of teenage twins who grapple with this as a lot of parents do every single day.”

Under the law, AI chatbots will not be allowed to encourage or provide information on suicide or self-harm, including eating disorders. The companies behind these tools will be required to come up with a protocol for flagging conversations that reference self-harm and connecting users with mental health services.

The regulations come in the wake of several high-profile instances of teenage suicide following prolonged interactions with AI companions that showed warning signs. Many more AI users of all ages have reported mental health issues and psychosis after heavy use of the technology.

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