Augusta, GA

Augusta Pride celebrations bringing more than a good time to the CSRA

Published

2 years ago

June 23, 2024

Augusta Pride celebrations bringing more than a good time to the CSRA

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Hundreds of people cheered on numerous floats and participants at the 14th annual Augusta Pride Parade.

The parade was held downtown on Saturday.

The parade started at the James Brown Arena and it was followed by the pride festival.

The streets were filled with kids throwing candy, an array of decorations, colors and people out having a good time dancing to music.

Caleb Hawkins said Saturday’s Augusta Pride Parade and festival marked five years for him.

He said every year encourages him more.

“Every year the parade gets bigger. Last night was amazing. The parade this year has been amazing, versus my first year where it was kind of like, you know, pride, but this year, it’s like, everybody’s coming out. You know, it’s not just the LGBTQ+ community. It’s also allies, which I really love that,” said Hawkins.

It was Megan Barlow’s first pride event and she said she could feel all the heart from the community and people who traveled to this event.

“All of the love and support like people just handed out so many things like we got so many stickers and pins and just just a surreal feeling of just just how happy and pleasant everybody was, ” said Barlow.

Organizers like James Mintz said it’s really about representing the LGBTQ+ community and remaining visible to our peers.

“We’re part of your community where your neighbors, your friends, family members, friends, colleagues, and we just want to be a visible part of the community. Because if they believe that you don’t exist, they’ll try and take away your rights,” said Mintz.

Hawkins hopes for more community engagement where these events can continue to flourish, but in the meantime, he said he likes where things are so far.

“I always think that there can be more representation, you know, with our community. But when it comes down to it, like I said, I feel supported, I feel I trust my community to you know, have my back,” said Hawkins.

After the parade, people gathered at the Augusta Common to continue the celebration for the festival.

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Augusta, GA

Structure fire blocks multiple lanes on Peach Orchard Road

Published

8 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Structure fire blocks multiple lanes on Peach Orchard Road

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and Augusta Fire Department responded to a structure fire early Saturday morning in the 3600 block of Peach Orchard Road.

Fire truck shortage forces local departments to wait years for equipment

Emergency crews blocked multiple lanes as they battled the fire, according to a Facebook post from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.

News 12 has reached out to the Augusta Fire Department to determine the cause of the fire and to inquire about any reported injuries.

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Augusta, GA

Finding Solutions: Augusta Juvenile Court receives grant for gang prevention

Published

20 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Finding Solutions: Augusta Juvenile Court receives grant for gang prevention

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Augusta Juvenile Court received a grant of more than $1 million to prevent youth from joining gangs by addressing underlying factors that lead to criminal behavior.

The grant from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council will allow the court to expand services beyond its current programs and serve a broader population of at-risk youth.

“This allows us to build on the work we are currently doing. It also allows us to serve a different population of youth that we have not been able to serve on such an extended level, so we have additional funds that will serve even more kids and to hopefully assist the sheriff and district attorney in not having youthful offenders become adult offenders that they have to obtain and prosecute,” said Chief Judge Tianna Bias.

Addressing root causes

The funding will target factors that make youth vulnerable to gang recruitment, including poor school attendance and reading difficulties.

“Whether it’s that they have poor school attendance, not reading on grade level. One thing we’ve seen is that when you are not reading on grade level that has an impact on many other areas of your life. It’s really just an opportunity to offer wrap-around support for these kids so we can prevent them from getting into unfortunate situations that they may not end up in front of a juvenile court judge later,” Bias said.

Dr. Audrey Armistad, chief intake officer for the juvenile court, said the court’s goal is rehabilitation rather than detention.

“We put them in programs and services that help them to be able to develop mentally, socially and physically when it comes to kids involved with the juvenile court,” Armistad said.

Expanding services

The juvenile court currently serves at-risk youth through the THRIVE program. The court is also expanding services with a new computer lab set to open next month.

“It helps us to be able to provide instruction to kids getting GEDs, parents wanting GEDs, as well as we provide learning loss instruction to kids enrolled in Richmond County who may need remediation in math and reading,” Armistad said.

A gang prevention expert will meet with the juvenile court team to provide recommendations on how the grant money should be spent.

Bias said success will be measured by fewer teens in courtrooms and more in classrooms.

“We are meant to rehabilitate not to punish and we want to help these parents get kids on track so we can see a better Augusta for everyone,” Bias said.

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