Augusta, GA
‘Attacked and slandered’: Augusta preservation chief quits
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Two days after the Augusta Historic Preservation Commission came under fire from city leaders over its treatment of a property owner, the chairwoman of the panel has resigned in a sharply worded letter.
The preservation panel’s members serve at the pleasure of the Augusta Commission, but Tara Conway fired back at commissioners in her exit letter.
“It has become clear that many of the City of Augusta Commissioners and the city staff do not respect preservation or the commission tasked with preserving the city’s legacy,” she wrote. “I will no longer tolerate my name and character, as well as the reputation of HPC and its volunteer members, being attacked and slandered.”
Her exit was effective immediately, she said in the letter that came to light Thursday.
The preservation panel was under scrutiny at the Augusta Commission meeting Tuesday over its treatment of Joe Edge, a local real estate figure who owns the historic Old First Baptist Church building.
In 2020, Edge outlined plans to renovate the iconic building for office and residential use.
However, the building has continued to decay by some accounts as Edge fights break-ins by homeless people as well as vandalism.
Recently, he filed a certificate of appropriateness to demolish the structure.
Last month, the preservation commission took him to task in a meeting that made it seem more like he was on trial, according to one Augusta commissioner.
“That attorney grilled the owner of that building like it was a courtroom,” Commissioner Catherine Smith Rice said. “What I saw that night, I felt like it was personal and I thought to myself, ‘Who else has gone through this?’”
Like Rice, Commissioner Tina Slendak was at the January meeting of the preservation panel.
She said she was “disappointed” at how Edge was spoken to.
“Both sides probably have room for improvement as far as talking back to each other,” she said. “He was literally being interrogated.”
A lot of people are blaming the decay on Edge “when it’s just decades of neglect,” she said.
“He’s fighting a losing battle down there,” she said.
She doesn’t want to see the building demolished, “but it’s going to take millions of dollars to make it functional again,” she said.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta University’s Healthy Grandparents program had its Christmas party Sunday.
Santa is continuing his trip across the csra and was at the party to give presents to the kids.
The program was started in 1999 to support grandparents raising their children.
They help with necessary services like food assistance and transportation.
We spoke with one of the grandparents about the program.
“My grandchildren love it. They do a lot of things going on the year, like summer camp and all that stuff, book bag, getaways,” said Carolyn Thompson.
The program has helped more than 660 families, 900 grandparents, and 1,300 grandchildren.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
Augusta, Ga. – In a game that saw 19 lead changes, Georgia College and State prevailed over Augusta 99-91 in overtime Saturday at Christenberry Fieldhouse. The Jaguars fall to 2-2 in Peach Belt Conference play and 6-7 overall. The Bobcats are now 3-0 in conference play and 6-2 overall.
C.J. Jones of GCSU was the star of this one as he poured in 42 points to lead all scorers and also grabbed eight rebounds in the win.
The Jaguars fell behind midway through the second half, but with just one second left in regulation, T.J. Baker hit a three-pointer to send the game into overtime. But in the extra period, GCSU outscored AU 18-10 for the winning margin.
Luis Nonfon, who had another double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds, started the scoring in overtime and gave the Jags the 83-81 lead. GCSU then rattled off five straight points to take the lead, one they would not surrender.
The Jaguars had five players in double figures led by Elías Pálsson who tallied 22 points while grabbing eight rebounds. T.J. Baker and Tobias Prall each had 18 points while Charlie McBeath scored 13.
Augusta hit on just 35% of their shots from the field while GCSU hit on 52.5%. The Bobcats outscored Augusta 46-22 in the paint and went 8-18 from three-point range while Augusta finished 10 of 29 from deep. From the foul line, both teams went 29-36.
Other than Nonfon grabbing double figures in rebounds, Pálsson eight rebounds and was a perfect 12-12 from the foul line.
Next up for the Jaguars will be a battle with Reinhardt University on Thursday at 11 a.m., part of Columbia County Education Day.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Richmond County started a search for an armed robbery suspect Saturday evening.
They started the search on the 3700 block of Wheeler Road after an alleged armed robbery at an SRP ATM.
The suspect is described as a 40-year-old black male, wearing all black, a face mask and a camouflage jacket.
The suspect fled the area on foot in an unknown direction.
The sheriff’s office used K9 Units, along with the drone unit, to search.
This investigation is in its early stages, and no further information is available at this time.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
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