Augusta, GA

$8M loan provides lifeline for some Ga. Head Start programs during shutdown

Published

2 months ago

October 28, 2025

M loan provides lifeline for some Ga. Head Start programs during shutdown

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – With funding for Head Start programs expected to run out after Friday, the YMCA has secured emergency funding to keep Head Start programs open past Friday.

The programs currently serve nearly 700 children in the Augusta area.

Ut’s an important program for many Georgia families.

Take Heather Morris, who lives in Madison County.

She’s a Head Start teacher, her husband serves in the Army and he’s not getting paid during the shutdown. Two of their children are enrolled in Head Start, receiving speech therapy that’s changed their lives. Now she could lose her paycheck and the care her family depends on.

“Well, yesterday I cried all day,” Morris said.

“You’re looking around your home like, what can we sell or what can we give up? I mean, do you let your children starve? No. Do you pull your children out of school to let them stay with the younger ones? That’s not an option either,” Morris said.

To keep programs like Morris’s open, the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta stepped in with an $8 million bridge loan, buying 45 more days of operations for the YMCA, Sheltering Arms, and Easterseals North Georgia.

“Typically philanthropy does not step up to fill the role of the federal government. But these are really uncertain times,” said Frank Fernandez of the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta.

That loan covers about 5,800 children in North Georgia, but families of nearly 700 children in south Georgia are already being told they won’t have a place to go after Friday.

Impact on working families

About 80% of Head Start parents work at least one job, often low-wage and hourly. Without child care, leaders fear some families may have to pull older kids out of school to look after their younger siblings.

“We need the adult leaders in this country to come to the table and not make the children of our communities suffer,” said Lauren Koontz of the YMCA of Metro Atlanta.

The bridge loan keeps some programs open but only through mid-December. Families and providers say they need more than a temporary fix and need Washington to act.

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Augusta, GA

Law enforcement converges on home in west Augusta

Published

2 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Law enforcement converges on home in west Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – There was a large law enforcement presence Thursday morning at a home in west Augusta near Fort Gordon.

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force were in the area attempting to find a suspect, according to deputies.

Witnesses said around 11:25 a.m. that officers had been surrounding a home at Harper-Franklin Avenue and Covington Court.

That’s in a neighborhood of mostly two-story brick-fronted homes built in the past three or four years just east of Jimmie Dyess Parkway and a couple of blocks north of Gordon Highway.

As noon approached, law enforcement had left.

But a Facebook post from earlier did show a large presence,including marked and unmarked cars, and officers all around the house. A witness said police dogs were on the scene, as well.

News 12 has reached out to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office for information.

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Augusta, GA

Augusta mayoral candidate holds town hall as election season begins

Published

14 hours ago

January 8, 2026

Press Room

Augusta mayoral candidate holds town hall as election season begins

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Steven Kendrick held a town hall on Wednesday at the Henry Brigham Community Center as he prepares to challenge Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson.

Kendrick, who serves as chief deputy tax commissioner for Richmond County, previously ran against Johnson in 2022. The town hall was part of Kendrick’s campaign tour as he seeks to unseat the incumbent mayor.

“Some of the people felt as though we really needed to dig a little deeper and we dug a little deeper,” Kendrick said after the meeting. “But that’s how you gain understanding, where everybody’s not going to agree about everything. Some of them we didn’t agree on. I certainly enjoyed the interaction. I learned some things, and I hope they learned some things as well.”

Multiple Commission seats up for election

The mayoral race is not the only contest facing Richmond County voters. Several Augusta Commission seats are up for election across multiple districts.

District 8 will have a new commissioner because Commissioner Brandon Garrett is term-limited and cannot run again. Michael Cioffi and Evett Williams have filed to run for the District 8 seat.

Districts 2, 4, 6 and 10 are also up for election. Stacy Pulliam currently serves in District 2.

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Augusta, GA

2026 is off to a deadly start, but what’s ahead for Augusta?

Published

1 day ago

January 7, 2026

Press Room

2026 is off to a deadly start, but what’s ahead for Augusta?

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Richmond County deputies are investigating their first homicide of 2026, which occurred early Monday morning on Hines Street just off Laney Walker Boulevard.

The victim was 21-year-old Thaddeus Kirkland. He was found bleeding on scene around 2 a.m. and died a short time later.

Suspect wanted for questioning

Deputies are seeking 24-year-old Bruce Wesby for questioning in connection to the incident. Wesby is known to frequent the Waynesboro area. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call the sheriff’s office.

Crime data shows progress in 2025

The first homicide of 2026 happened five days into the new year, two days sooner than the first homicide of 2025.

According to the sheriff’s office data, violent crime decreased significantly in 2025 under Sheriff Eugene Brantley’s leadership. Homicides dropped 35% year-over-year from 2024 to 2025 to their lowest level since 2021.

Aggravated assaults also dropped 35% to their lowest mark since 2018. Armed robberies fell 36% year-over-year to their lowest mark since crime data for Richmond County was first recorded in 2011.

Law enforcement focused on high-risk areas, including downtown Augusta, to lower response times and keep people safe.

“What they really want is for their families that they’re raising in this area to have safe lives, just like the citizens of Augusta that vote them in,” said M. Steven Fishman, president of Sidney’s Department Store & Uniforms. “They want to be able to go to work, come home, and enjoy their lives with their children, knowing that they’re safe.”

As 2026 gets underway, the sheriff’s office is continuing upgrades for technology and equipment to continue its goal of reducing violent crime. The office sent a statement saying the progress is in large part due to the community and deputies working together.

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