Augusta, GA

Hurricane Helene contractors give update on debris status

Published

1 year ago

November 16, 2024

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.”

High winds from the remnants of Helene could cause power outages.

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.

Source link

Augusta, GA

Augusta man missing off Georgia coast as search continues

Published

9 hours ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

Augusta man missing off Georgia coast as search continues

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Coast Guard and McIntosh County Fire Department continued searching Friday for an Augusta man who went missing off the Georgia coast, as a body was found Thursday.

Roman Waldera’s daughter spoke about the last conversation she had with her father before he disappeared while fishing.

“I actually spoke to my dad in the morning he went missing. We talked back and forth a little bit and then he told me, well, I’m on the boat. I’ve got to get going. We’re going to start fishing. And I was like, all right, we’ll be careful. I love you,” she said.

The Coast Guard called her after Waldera went missing.

“After we got the call, my first goal was to get down there and start searching the island of Blackbeard,” she said.

Community joins search efforts

Shellman’s Fish Camp and other local boat owners joined the search in Sapelo Sound.

“I mean, everybody in the area who had a boat, they were on the sound, and it ended up, I was coordinating with the Coast Guard this whole time,” Waldera’s daughter said.

She said her father’s teachings motivated her to take action.

“So my dad raised me and my grandparents to get it done. Don’t wait around. Don’t sit around. Don’t wait for someone else to do the work. If someone’s going to make it happen, it’s going to be you. And I just, I thought, what would my dad want? He’d want me down there and he would want me looking,” she said.

She described what she would do if reunited with her father.

“I think I just hugged him. I think he just hugged me because I think he knows that I was down there. I was all alone doing that, looking for him all day long. I slept in his room. I think he knows. I think he knows everything, and I don’t think there need to be any words. I think we just love each other,” she said.

The Coast Guard asks anyone with information about the disappearance to call 843-453-1261. Officials said crews not part of the official search can create unsafe conditions and hinder response efforts.

Source link

Augusta, GA

Former WWE stars involved in ‘Wrestling for a Cause’ event in Augusta

Published

21 hours ago

December 21, 2025

Press Room

Former WWE stars involved in ‘Wrestling for a Cause’ event in Augusta

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The community wrestled for a cause at the Georgia-Carolina fairgrounds Saturday night.

Famous wrestlers from the WWE came to the CSRA for the show.

Silent Fights raised money for a local family that lost their home to a fire, as well as former WWE star Toni Rose, who is battling cancer.

Former WWE stars like Johnny Swinger and Heath Slater made appearances.

We spoke with these headliners and CSRA Championship Wrestling about the event.

This is definitely the biggest card of the year. WWE star here, Heat Slater, myself, TNA, WWE, all the major organizations. And we got some good young up and coming talent here that’s going to go out there and tear it up and do the best that we can,” said Swinger.

Source link

Augusta, GA

Is weed legal in Georgia after Trump signs order to reclassify marijuana?

Published

1 day ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

Is weed legal in Georgia after Trump signs order to reclassify marijuana?

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday, Dec. 18, reclassifying marijuana as a Scheduled III narcotic, a drop from the more severe Scheduled I narcotic it had been classified in for nearly 6 decades.

Since 1970, marijuana has been classified as a Schedule I drug, the same category as heroin, LSD, methaqualone and ecstasy. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) describes Schedule I substances as having no “medical use and a high potential for abuse.”

A review by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found “scientific support for its use to treat anorexia related to a medical condition, nausea and vomiting, and pain,” Trump said in the executive order.

That review came after former President Joe Biden suggested his administration take a look at reclassifying the drug in 2023. The Department of Health and Human Services also recommended that year that marijuana be reclassified based on widespread use of medical marijuana across 43 U.S. jurisdictions for more than 6 million registered patients to treat at least 15 medical conditions, the EO said.

Is marijuana now legal in Georgia?

Not yet. In fact, it’s only in the infancy of review at the federal level. Lawmakers in Georgia will have to decide if it will allow marijuana at a state level.

Many states, however, 24 to be exact, have already legalized marijuana before Trump’s order, although Georgia remains on the sidelines.

While 24 states have adopted laws allowing adults to purchase and consume cannabis for non-medical use, Georgia continues to prohibit it.

But what does the Peach State allow medically?

Has Georgia legalized recreational marijuana?

No, Georgia does not allow adult-use of cannabis.

According to NORML, possession for personal use, even under an ounce, is punishable as a misdemeanor with up to 12 months in jail or up to a $1,000 fine.

Possessing more than an ounce is a felony, carrying penalties of 1 to 10 years in prison and up to a $5,000 fine.

Does Georgia allow marijuana medically?

Georgia allows marijuana for medical purposes only, and exclusively in the form of low-THC oil (5% THC or less). Registered patients can possess up to 20 fluid ounces.