Augusta, GA

Augusta leaders decide fate of Old First Baptist Church

Published

1 year ago

January 17, 2025

Augusta leaders decide fate of Old First Baptist Church

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Augusta Historic Preservation Commission decided on the future of the Old First Baptist Church building on Thursday.

The organization is giving the property owner 10 days to take action in repairing the building.

We spoke with officials about the building’s structural issues.

After testimonies from people with code enforcement, neighboring businesses and Historic Augusta, the Preservation Commission decided that the owner wasn’t making routine repairs and maintenance to keep the property safe and up to code.

That means a potential legal battle if the ball doesn’t get rolling soon.

One of the biggest pieces of downtown Augusta’s history is in danger of structurally failing.

The Augusta Historic Preservation Commission says after hearing testimonies and gathering evidence of the state of the building, they’re concerned for the future.

“It is on the endangered property list for historic Augusta but is on the state endangered property list. So, we’re not making up that it’s there’s a problem. There is a very serious problem with this building,” said Tara Conway, chair of the Augusta Preservation Commission.

The city’s code enforcement says the building is breaking several code violations, including making Augusta’s blight list dating back to 2021.

The property owner, Joe Edge, says he’s spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs to keep the structural integrity of the church stable, like installing a new roof on the back of the building to prevent it from collapsing.

Things were slow on the morning of July 19 at the Augusta Regional Airport as a global cyber...

“We’ve secured the front keeping the homeless out. We’ve had to secure not just put salt on. We’ve had to install wrought iron fencing around the basement to keep vagrants out of there,” said Edge.

However, code enforcement says there are no permits pulled for almost all of the projects Edge claimed there was work done.

It’s an issue historical stakeholders say they’re glad action is being taken because you can’t just rebuild historical markers.

George Bush with the Preservation Committee Historic Augusta said: “This is not just a local building. This is where the Southern Baptist Convention started. This is a national asset, and we are just trying to save it, and we’re doing everything we can.”

The city will now issue a notice to Edge for him to file a Certificate of Appropriateness, or COA, which is a permit with the city to allow him to start making external repairs.

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Augusta, GA

Get medical care at several health events in Augusta

Published

7 hours ago

January 27, 2026

Press Room

Get medical care at several health events in Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Several health events in Augusta on Tuesday are offering help to those who need medical care.

Department of Public Health mobile clinic

The Department of Public Health mobile clinic will be at Christenberry Fieldhouse on Tuesday.

Officials say the clinic makes it easier to receive care for those who don’t have transportation.

The clinic will be at the 3109 Wrightsboro Road from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

You can receive sports, work and school physicals, diabetes management, WIC referrals, vaccines and more.

The mobile clinic offers private exam rooms, wheelchair-accessible lifts and modern medical equipment.

For more information on the mobile clinic and what stops it will take, visit www.ecphd.com/wego.

Annual Horizon Truckers Clinic

The fourth annual health fair for bus and shuttle driver employees with Horizon Motor Coach will be held on Tuesday at Julian Smith Casino, 2200 Broad Street.

This event will start at 11 a.m.

In partnership with the Augusta Lions Club, the Augusta University’s College of Nursing, Georgia Prevention Institute, College of Allied Health Sciences, the Dental College of Georgia and the Georgia Cancer Center make the event possible.

The health fair is designed to help prevent and identify health issues as well as providing mock DOT exams, dental examinations and nutrition advice.

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Augusta, GA

Anderson County victim flown to Augusta after bedroom fire

Published

19 hours ago

January 26, 2026

Press Room

Anderson County victim flown to Augusta after bedroom fire

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – An Anderson County victim was flown to the Augusta burn center after a bedroom fire Sunday night.

The Pendleton Fire Department said the victim was unconscious and was found in the kitchen area of the home.

A victim was injured in a bedroom fire in Pendleton, officials with Pendleton Fire Department said.(Pendleton Fire Department)

The bedroom door was closed during the fire, so the rest of the home was not damaged, according to officials.

The victim’s current condition and the cause of the fire are unknown.

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Augusta, GA

Actor with Augusta ties hospitalized, ‘fighting for his life’

Published

1 day ago

January 26, 2026

Press Room

Actor with Augusta ties hospitalized, ‘fighting for his life’

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – An actor with Augusta ties is “fighting for his life” after he was hospitalized, according to reports.

Quinton Aaron is known as the gentle giant who brought Michael Oher to life in The Blind Side alongside Sandra Bullock, according to a GoFundMe page.

TMZ reports Aaron was hospitalized last week in Atlanta after he was walking up stairs when his legs suddenly stopped functioning, causing him to collapse.

The GoFundMe says Aaron on life support due to a severe blood infection.

His manager told TMZ doctors are running tests and evaluating Aaron’s condition, but there is no word on what caused the fall at this time.

Aaron was born in Bronx, NY, but grew up in Augusta, according to the Greater Augusta Art Council’s website.

Aaron made his film debut as Q in “Be Kind Rewind”, starring Mos Def and Jack Black.

Aaron has also made debuts in “Law & Order” and “The Baby Pact”.

In 2010, he was nominated for the Black Reel Awards, the BET Award, the NAACP Image Award, the Teen Choice Award and the MTV Movie & TV Award. In 2017, he also received the International Christian Film Festival Award.

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