Augusta, GA
AU police speak on campus safety after slaying of nursing student
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Laken Riley’s death has renewed the conversation about campus safety.
At the University of Georgia, there is an online petition for blue call boxes.
Augusta University campus police say those call boxes were removed from UGA’s campus back in 2004.
We talked with Augusta University Police to learn more about how they are improving safety.
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Captain Harry Smith says AU has no intentions of moving those call boxes anytime soon.
Smith said: “Our college students are mostly young people. I have a kid in college myself right now, I worry about his safety,” said Smith.
AU’s police department sits at the entrance to the medical district in downtown Augusta.
“Even if you don’t see an AU police officer, right there, there’s one not too far away,” said Smith. “Throughout our campus, we have the blue light emergency phones. That blue light is a sign of our presence there.”
For the blue light system, you press a button and it automatically takes your call to the campus police department.
Smith says the majority of their calls come through the RAVE Guardian app. The app is designed for students and staff to provide more safety resources.
“The conversations moving forward are about how to best effectively use those programs, those outreach measures, the tools that we as a university community provide,” said Smith.
Smith says AU’s police department recently received a grant from the Department of Justice to bring technology upgrades for safety and security. He says a large piece of that grant is to increase camera coverage on campus.
Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
Augusta, GA
AU’s Healthy Grandparents program holds Christmas party
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
Augusta Men Drop Overtime Thriller to Georgia College and State – Augusta University
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
Richmond County deputies searching for suspect after armed robbery on Wheeler Road
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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