AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – While golfers drive down Magnolia Lane, patrons have the chance to take a walk through history to see where it all began.

The Augusta Museum of History is seeing increased traffic during golf week.

“We are busy, no doubt about it,” said Nancy Glaser, executive director of the Augusta Museum of History.

The museum features a green jacket, photos and other golf memorabilia.

“What makes it special, the passion or the interest these people have in golf,” Glaser said.

Museums draw international visitors

Glaser said the museum expects a couple thousand patrons and locals to visit during tournament week.

“It’s an exciting time of year because we get, again, meet people from all over the world, come here. And literally they do. I’ve met Australians, English, Germans, Italians, Japanese, you name it, they’re coming through. And it’s just fun to meet people, whether you speak their language or not. Golf is international,” Glaser said.

She said visitors have an opportunity to learn backstories before they attend the tournament.

“The opportunity to share stories is what museums do, and that is our primary focus. We want to share stories. And every chance we get, we are able to share those stories,” Glaser said.

Glaser said the community benefits from the increased traffic.

“And they’re coming not just to the museum, but they’re eating in our restaurants, they’re shopping in our stores. And that’s part of it too. The community is benefiting by all this as well,” she said.

Other museums hosting events

The Augusta Jewish Museum will be open every day next week, from Sunday to Sunday. Visitors can explore the Jewish history in Augusta and notable Jewish golfers. On Friday, April 10, the museum will host a special tournament week event from 5 to 8 p.m.

The Lucy Laney Museum is bringing the history and role of Black caddies to life with the Man on the Bag Experience. Actors will portray notable caddies like Willy ‘Pappy’ Stokes, the godfather of caddies. That event will be April 8 at the Lucy C. Laney Museum from 6 to 7:30

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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A one-time bonus for airport employees was brought up at commission Tuesday, but no decision was made.

Leaders moved to discuss the bonus at the next committee meeting on April 14.

The bonus would give airport employees up to $500 for the extra work they put in during Masters week.

Pickleball court options range from $7,500 to $540,000

Leaders also want to hear from the community about what it wants for permanent pickleball courts at Warren Road Gym.

They discussed the costs of converting the indoor gym’s tennis courts into pickleball courts or building outdoor courts.

If leaders choose the indoor option, that could cost about $7,500 for work and any repairs.

For outdoor courts, that could range from about $140,000 to about $540,000. That depends on whether the outdoor courts will be demolished and redone or just repaired.

No word on when community meetings will be held.

Augusta approves $95,000 for unbudgeted special election costs

Augusta city leaders approved nearly $95,000 in unplanned expenses to cover a special election and a runoff that were not built into this year’s budget.

The city is already working through tight finances and is now forced to dip into reserve funds as voters head to the polls.

The Board of Elections is already working with less. The office, like all city departments, faces a 5% cut this year. That means cutting back on mailers and services to stay within budget.

Commissioners approved about $95,000 to pay for the March special election and the April 7 runoff. More than $30,000 went to poll workers, with additional costs for early voting, equipment testing, security and day-of operations.

Because the election was not budgeted, that money comes from the county’s contingency fund.

“So basically what we were doing today is I mostly have been spending part of my budget to cover the special election and in anticipation of the runoff. So I needed to go back and get funds to put back into the primary account. So now we’ll continue on to pay the bills for the special election,” said Travis Doss, Richmond County Board of Elections executive director.

The funding helps the board reset after covering those unplanned costs as they quickly shift focus to what’s next. Doss said absentee ballots for the May election are already going out, with early preparations underway for the May 19 primary.

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