Augusta, GA
On Valentine’s Day, couples tie the knot for free in Augusta
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Love is in the air, and the ink is just beginning to dry for a series of newlyweds who tied the knot this Valentine’s Day.
Richmond County’s Civil and Magistrate Court staff wanted to help couples this holiday, especially after Hurricane Helene impacted so many hoping to save up for their big day.
So, they held special wedding ceremonies on Friday for free.
The most important promises of the day weren’t sworn in court but instead spoken between two hearts, free of charge.
Everlasting love comes with patience, intimacy and commitment.
“We’ve been together a long time. It’s about 20-something years,” said newlyweds Rebecca and Frederick Dickerson.
Daris and Amber Pinkson said: “I mean pretty much it’s like if you’re gonna do it, just do it, you know. So it all made sense, it all made sense.”
Garrett and Nicole Smith said: “We wanted to get enrolled in the military system as quickly as possible that would allow us to get stationed together in the future. And to do that, you need to be married.”
They come in as two and leave as one.
“We leave Augusta in the next month and a half. The goal is to live together again at some point. So, we got to figure it out, get enrolled in the system and figure out what we can do to make that happen,” said the Smiths.
But as the saying goes, when love is real, it finds a way.
“My sister-in-law sent me a text and told me, and she said, ‘Well it’s time for y’all, y’all need to get down there.’ So, I said we’re going,” said the Dickersons.
Carletta Sims Brown, Chief Judge of the Civil and Magistrate Court of Richmond County, said: “We have military families. Families that have been together for many, many years and are finally able to make this bond without going into the financial burden that weddings can carry, so it doesn’t get any better than that.”
They’re weathering all odds.
While many lives were put on hold after storms, with a servant’s heart, Judge Sims Brown is helping couples start their lives.
“Our staff was slammed and resets and the massive amount of new filings that are coming in. But when one couple said, ‘Are y’all doing the weddings this year?’ Yeah, we’re going to do it this year because the community has seen it, they’re starting to embrace it. And so, we want to. That’s one of the greatest services we can give,” she said.
No better day to bond with those in love than on the most romantic day of the year.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a wanted man.
35-year-old Oniel Gary Cameron is wanted for an incident that occurred on Bridgewater Drive in Augusta Thursday.
Authorities say his charges include:
- Cruelty to children 3rd Degree
- Criminal Damage to Property 1st Degree
- Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon
Cameron reportedly has warrants on file with RCSO and is known to drive a black Toyota Seqoia with a Georgia tag of D-E-E-8-6-7-2.
He is believed to be Armed and Dangerous.
Anyone that comes into contact with Cameron or has any information on his location is urged to call the Richmond County Sheriff’s office at 706-821-1020 or 706-821-1080.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Dr. Lori Myles says Augusta has been running without real accountability, and she wants to change that.
The former educator is one of four candidates running for Augusta-Richmond County mayor. Myles said the city’s most pressing issues are not new — they have just gone unaddressed.
“One of the things that I truly believe that the city of Augusta has gone through is that there was no accountability,” Myles said.
Myles has run for mayor before. She said her first days in office would be spent visiting each commissioner’s district to see what needs attention.
“I wanna go to their best places. I wanna see their dirt. I wanna see those things that need to be fixed in their parts. I wanna see the infrastructure of the city of Augusta, but yet, I wanna see the pride of Augusta in their districts,” Myles said.
Homelessness focus
Myles pointed to homelessness as one of Augusta’s overlooked issues.
“You’re dealing with different entities of homelessness. You’re dealing with them as far as mental health. You’re dealing with them as far as their children, as far as their children going to school. Imagine, and I’m about to quit, darling, but children having to sleep in tents at night behind these trees and then still go to school,” Myles said.
City department management
Myles also takes aim at how the city manages its departments.
“There should be a performance-based structure of leadership, a transformation that has a shared vision, a shared vision for not only the millennials, the, not only the, uh, what is it? Generation Z, but for everyone. It’s not a color, it’s not an option, it is all shall be able to have the best of Augusta in the best of Augusta,” Myles said.
Myles said if elected, she wants to bring Augusta’s city departments under one unified standard of accountability.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
VIDEO: Greek Festival returns downtown
The spring Greek Festival returns to downtown Augusta held this weekend.
Another downtown Augusta hotel is preparing to go vertical four years after the city approved the project.
Augusta has seen a spate of hotel construction and renovation recently. The former Sky City building on the 1100 block of Broad Street has been demolished to make way for an Embassy Suites. In November 2025, interior demolition began at the Ramada by Wyndham Augusta Downtown Hotel and Conference Center at 640 Broad St. to transform it into a distinctive Marriott property called The Conroy.
Now, subcontracting bids are being tendered to construct an extended-stay Residence Inn by Marriott at the corner of 13th and Walker streets. Plan holder Optum Construction of Gainesville, Ga., is accepting bids until 1 p.m. on May 13.
American Concrete successfully petitioned the city in 2022 for a zoning variance on the property to allow the hotel’s construction.
The land was sold in November 2022 to a limited-liability company associated with PeachState Hospitality. The Warner Robins-based company’s property portfolio includes the Residence Inn and the SpringHill Suites at 1110 and 1116 Marks Church Road, respectively, and the Fairfield Inn & Suites at 3023 1/2 Washington Road.
The 2-acre parcel of property shaped like a piece of pie was the former site of local business American Concrete, now on Wheeler Road.
The land had been an industrial site for much of the past century, as the longtime site of Perkins Lumber, then of paving contractor Southern Roadbuilders.
Now the property finds itself amid a downtown revitalization, including improved roads and riverside activities, such as a pedestrian bridge and a planned outdoor activity center featuring a zipline over the Savannah River. The future hotel would sit near downtown, the city’s bustling medical district, and a new entertainment complex taking the place of the former James Brown Arena.
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