Augusta, GA
Hurricane Helene contractors give update on debris status
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – As concerns grow from residents about the ongoing debris clean-up status, we’re digging deeper into what the city’s plans are and where they stand right now.
We’re officially on day 50 of clean-up in Augusta and Richmond County.
Crews are comfortably picking up and grinding down 35,000 cubic yards per day.
It’s a process they say they’re almost ready to transition to the next phase of clean-up.
The biggest question on everyone’s mind is when all the debris will be picked up in Augusta.
Steve Cassell with ISM Engineering is in charge of the operation in Augusta.
He says despite what you still see on the roads, they are about halfway done.
“We got about 135 trucks here, and it’s going well. But I will say this, everything’s going to be picked up before we go,” said Cassell.
Crews collected and grinded 1.2 million out of the estimated 2 million they’re expecting to bring in.
Cassell says he understands residents’ confusion about trucks being inconsistent in locations.
But he says that’s due to unexpected circumstances that come with this scale of an operation.
“There’s still a lot of utilities down. You know, they’re abandoned utilities, basically, they’re lying in the piles. So, they can’t pull those out. They can’t pull those piles if there’s utilities in it, because it could pull a pole down or something like that,” he said. “We’ve talked to all the drivers. Say you want to get on the street and style the street, there are monitors well, but each truck has a monitor. They’ve got assigned areas that they’re supposed to move through as they go. But you know, they’re also these trucks that are breaking down. They have hydraulic issues at times. So, we’ve had several of them go down.”

It’s a long process crews will need to revisit communities several times depending on what crews face.
“Typically, the stumps would be the last thing we pick up. There’s a special truck for that, and we do have some stump crews that are going around and picking those things up,” said Cassell.
It’s a job bigger than your average garbage route pick-up.
It will be hard to put a definitive timeline on yet, but they’re getting closer to finding out what the end looks like.
“We’ll be finishing up the first pass in a lot of these areas over the next couple of weeks and going to the second pass. So that’ll really determine what our final volume will be,” said Cassell.
Cassell says another challenge for them is the rainy conditions workers are starting to battle through.
Thursday’s weather caused crews to pick up about 10,000 less debris than normal.
But they say they are still on pace with hitting their 90-day clean-up goal to get 100% federal reimbursement.
Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
Augusta, GA
Kai Trump hangs with Bryson DeChambeau at Masters as mom’s boyfriend Tiger Woods enters rehab
Kai Trump made a trip to the Masters Tournament after the public fallout from Tiger Woods’ DUI arrest.
Trump’s mom, Vanessa, who is the ex-wife of Donald Trump Jr., is dating Woods — and publicly supported the five-time Masters champ after he announced that he’s seeking treatment.
Taking to her Instagram, Kai shared a carousel post Thursday, showing her posing for a photo with LIV Golf star Bryson DeChambeau and his caddie Greg Bodine at Augusta National Golf Club.
“What a special place 💚,” Kai — who will be playing college golf at Miami — wrote with a green heart emoji.
Her grandfather, President Donald Trump, and DeChambeau are friends.
It’s unclear if Vanessa made the trip to Augusta, Ga., as the 50-year-old Woods undergoes treatment abroad following his rollover crash in Florida on March 27.
A Florida judge granted the Woods’ request to travel outside of the U.S. to seek treatment away from media and public scrutiny.
Afterward, Vanessa publicly supported Woods, writing “Love you” in an Instagram Story post, which included a photo of the pair.
Woods said he was working toward a potential Masters return just days before his DUI arrest.
Woods, who blew zeros on his breathalyzer test, told an officer he took his prescription meds earlier in the day, according to an arrest affidavit by the Martin County Sheriff’s Department (Fla.).
Two hydrocodone pills were found in his pocket during a search.
Woods was “sweating profusely,” and his movement was “lethargic and slow” while he was being interviewed by police, deputy Tatiana Levenar wrote in the affidavit — adding that his eyes were “bloodshot and glassy” and his pupils were “extremely dilated.”
In video footage from the arrest, Woods can be heard saying that he called President Trump before he was handcuffed.
Woods plead not guilty to the DUI charges.
His private jet was seen arriving in Zurich, Switzerland last Friday, where two of the top treatment centers — Paracelsus Recovery and Kusnacht Practice — are located.
Both facilities are known for exclusivity, privacy and a hefty price tag.
Augusta, GA
Why scoring at Masters will get tougher at Augusta National thanks to the weather
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Watch out.
Things look like they’re going to get tricky at this Masters, thanks to the perfect weather.
There’s a sentiment among the players that Augusta National conditions might be a handful by the time the weekend arrives. For the first time in years, there will be no rain during Masters week, which allows the course to firm up and play hard and fast.
The forecast the rest of the week is temperatures in the 80s with abundant sunshine.
“I think this could be the toughest Masters we’ve played in a while,’’ Shane Lowry said after shooting 71 Thursday to trail first-round leaders Rory McIlory and Sam Burns by four shots. “You look at the forecast. They can do whatever they want with the golf course this weekend.
“Over the last few years, we’ve had a day every year where it’s been raining or it’s been heavy rains. It’s kind of helped us a little bit, but I think before the week is out, it’s going to get very, very crusty around here.’’
Justin Rose joked that “you might get a yellow jacket if you win,’’ referring to the possible Sunday color of the greens.
Patrick Reed said the course “definitely has the teeth in it to make it really, really tough.’’
“The greens are already getting firm, crusty, and bouncy,’’ he went on. “I actually broke one tee on the (17th) hole trying to fix a ball mark. You already know it’s going to get crusty. You know it’s going to get fast, and it’s going to take a lot of patience.
“With what the weather looks like it’s going to be — really hot, sunny — they could make this place really, really hard if they wanted to. I wouldn’t be surprised. We have the best players in the world here. Why not? Challenge us and make it difficult.’’
Ryan Gerard, whose father, Robert, is from Oyster Bay on Long Island, shot an even-par 72 in his debut Masters round.
When asked to grade his day, he delivered the line of the day when he said, “I give the front nine (3-over par) an ‘F’ [and] I would probably give the back nine an ‘A.’ Overall, a ‘C,’ which would get a [college] degree in some places.’’
Fred Couples, the oldest player in the field at 66, was 2-under par through 14 holes, looking ageless. And then, 15, 16 and 17 happened.
Couples took a quadruple-bogey 9 on the par-5 15th and then doubled 16 and 17 to tumble to 6-over par and finish with a 78. He played the last four holes in 8-over par.
Bryson DeChambeau entered the week as one of the tournament favorites, having won his last two starts on LIV Golf. But a disastrous back nine may have foiled his chances of winning a first green jacket after he posted a 4-over-par 76.
His round imploded when he took a triple-bogey 7 on the par-4 11th hole after he’d made the turn in even par. It took him three shots out of a greenside bunker to extricate himself.
“The bunker was softer than I anticipated,’’ he said afterward.
DeChambeau wasn’t the only LIV player to struggle Thursday. In fact, all 10 of the LIV Golf players in the field this week combined for a cumulative 32-over par with not a single one of them under par.
Sergio Garcia is even par and the rest are over par.
Jon Rahm, a past champion, struggled to a 6-over-par 78, second worst among the LIV players after only Carlos Ortiz’s 80.
Collin Morikawa has been on pins and needles all week, wondering whether his balky back was going to hold up. He practiced sparingly all week, not wanting to push it. Since he withdrew from the Players Championship when a practice swing wrenched his back, Morikawa hasn’t been able to practice at full speed.
He opened with a 2-over-par 74 and called it “probably the toughest round I’ve ever played.’’
“I’m just fighting,’’ he said. “Like, it’s a battle. It all started when I woke up. I’ve never felt this nervous, like, in my life. I think it’s a trust factor. When it happened out on the course at the Players, you know, there’s a certain doubt factor of, like, is this going to happen (or) is this not?
“I’ve been hitting balls for the past week and a half, but not comfortably. When I teed it up on Tuesday I honestly didn’t know if I was going to make contact.’’
Brandon Holtz, a 39-year-old real estate broker from Illinois, shot a 9-over-par 81 in his opening round.
“It was tough,’’ the U.S. Mid-Am winner said. “Definitely not what I wanted to do on the golf course today, but I had a lot of fun. I’ve kind of already won. I’m 39, chasing a dream and here we are. But at the same time, I’m not happy with how I played, you know. But we got tomorrow so let’s see what happens.’’
This year is the 40th anniversary of Jack Nicklaus’ sixth and final Masters victory, at age 46. It remains one of the most memorable in the 90-year history of the tournament.
“I don’t know whether it changed my life, but it was a nice way to finish a career,’’ Nicklaus said Thursday. “It looked like I was pretty much done with playing golf when I won the U.S. Open and PGA in 1980, and I really wasn’t, you might say, expecting to win anymore.
“All of a sudden, I found a little lightning in the bottle, and it was kind of fun to find that.’’
Nicklaus called that ’86 victory his “No. 1’’ favorite Masters memory.
“I love them all, but obviously ’86 was the one that I wasn’t expected to win,’’ he said. “I was over the hill and the whole routine, and I won. So that was very special. It happened to be the most special to me, absolutely.’’
Augusta, GA
Schauffele’s drive appears to land in a viewer’s merchandise bag. It didn’t stop him from making par
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Maybe gift shopping really is out of control at the Masters.
Xander Schauffele’s tee shot on the par-5 eighth hole Thursday at Augusta National appeared to come to rest in somebody’s merchandise bag, just a few feet to the left of the fairway. Schauffele used a tee to mark the spot, removed the ball and then handed off the bag to a woman in a pink and white outfit.
He was able to play on without penalty and made par.
Schauffele finished the front nine in 1 under, but he had his shaky moments. His tee shot on the par-4 ninth ended up in some pine straw and his second shot found a bunker. Then he splashed out to within inches of the hole.
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Copyright 2026 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
-
Atlanta, GA6 days ago1 teenage girl killed, another injured in shooting at Piedmont Park, police say
-
Education1 week agoVideo: We Put Dyson’s $600 Vacuum to the Test
-
Movie Reviews1 week agoVaazha 2 first half review: Hashir anchors a lively, chaos-filled teen tale
-
Georgia3 days agoGeorgia House Special Runoff Election 2026 Live Results
-
Education1 week agoVideo: YouTube’s C.E.O. on the Rise of Video and the Decline of Reading
-
Pennsylvania4 days agoParents charged after toddler injured by wolf at Pennsylvania zoo
-
Education1 week agoVideo: Toy Testing with a Discerning Bodega Cat
-
Milwaukee, WI4 days agoPotawatomi Casino Hotel evacuated after fire breaks out in rooftop HVAC system