Augusta, GA
LIST: School closures due to possible impacts from Debby
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Ahead of possible impacts from Debby, some CSRA school districts are announcing closures.
Tropical Depression 4 became Tropical Storm Debby on Saturday night. It’s expected to make landfall Monday morning as a Category 1 hurricane, then move northeast into southeastern Georgia and southern South Carolina. This will bring the potential for lots of rain across the CSRA, but especially in southern and eastern counties.
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School closures
- Jenkins County students in Millen will go to school on Monday, Aug. 5, but the school system will close on Tuesday, Aug. 6, and students will not report back until Thursday, Aug. 8. The school will be preparing a bag of meals for each student to take home Monday with breakfast and lunch for three days.
What’s ahead
Tropical Storm Debby strengthened rapidly Sunday and was expected to become a hurricane as it churned through the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida, bringing with it the threat of devastating floods to the southeast Atlantic coast later in the week.
The storm was likely to become a Category 1 hurricane before making landfall Monday in the Big Bend region of Florida, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
From there, the storm is expected to move eastward over northern Florida and then stall over the coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina, thrashing the region with the potential of record-setting rains totaling up to 30 inches beginning Tuesday.
“There’s some really amazing rainfall totals being forecast and amazing in a bad way,” Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, said at a briefing Sunday. “That would be record-breaking rainfall associated with a tropical cyclone for both the states of Georgia and South Carolina if we got up to the 30 inch level.”
The flooding impacts, which could last through Friday, are expected to be especially severe in low-lying areas near the coast, including Savannah, Georgia; Hilton Head, South Carolina; and Charleston, South Carolina.
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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Shoppers in Augusta will soon lose a longtime retail option, as Lane Bryant’s store inside Augusta Mall is set to close for good this weekend.
Employees at Lane Bryant inside Augusta Mall confirmed that the store will permanently close starting Sunday, April 19.
After the closure, the nearest Lane Bryant location for customers will be in Lexington.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
With deepest and heartfelt sympathy, G. L. Brightharp & Sons announces the transition of Mr. Willie J. Tanksley who entered into rest April 18, 2026.
Mr. Tanksley, a native of Richmond County, was a 1985 graduate of the Academy of Richmond County. He was a member of Greater Young Zion Baptist Church where he served in the Brotherhood Ministry.
Survivors include his wife, Sabrina Tanksley; two daughters, Ashley Tanksley and Taylor Tanksley; siblings, Elise Tanksley of Augusta, GA, Wilhelmina Roland of Atlanta, GA, Terry Tanksley, Tommy Tanksley, Watler Tanksley and Elder Claude (Kimberly) Tanksley all of Augusta, GA; an aunt, Frances Tate; an uncle, James Tanksley; mother-in-law, Sandra Harrison of Beech Island, SC; father-in-law, Jimmy (Elnora) Bing; three sisters-in-law, Fonda Rainey, Nicole Harrison and Nina Bing; a brother-in-law, Eric Bing; a host of nieces , nephews, along with other loving relatives and friends.
Funeral services will be held at 1:00 PM Tuesday, April 21, 2026 at Greater Young Zion Baptist Church with the Rev. William A. Blount officiating. Interment will follow at Walker Memorial Park. Viewing will be held from 4:00 PM until 6:00 PM Monday at the funeral home.
The family will not be receiving visitors at the home. We ask that you continue to pray for them during this time.
Professional Services are under the compassionate care of G. L. Brightharp & Sons Mortuary-North Augusta.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Former Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree’s funeral was held on Friday morning.
The funeral began at 11 a.m. at Good Shepherd Baptist Church, the Rev. Karlton Howard officiating.
WATCH THE FUNERAL
Interment will follow at Noah’s Ark Baptist Church Cemetery in Waynesboro.
A viewing was held on Thursday at Good Shepherd Baptist Church from 2-6 p.m.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Classmate remembers former Sheriff Richard Roundtree ahead of funeral
- Funeral announced for former Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree
News 12 first learned of Roundtree’s passing on April 11. He’d been in a metro Atlanta hospital with serious medical issues.
Several people spoke during the funeral service, but one deputy in particular spoke of Roundtree’s leadership.
“He was more than a sheriff. He was an innovator. He looked for better ways to serve. He led with integrity, courage and genuine commitment,” said the deputy.
Roundtree, 57, was the head law enforcement officer in Augusta for more than a decade − and when he took office in 2012, notably no sheriff had been like him.
He was the first African American elected to the title, something he spent a career working toward.
He was highly visible in the community, where he could frequently be seen in a vest, working a crime scene along with his deputies.
Former classmate Clarence Brown said he was proud of Roundtree for his work.
“I was proud of him for, for actually, you know, getting to that level. But at the same time I realized that that’s a heavy weight, especially being from the community, um, and, and to draw in the community,” Brown said. “And so I wanted him to know that there was somebody in his corner that didn’t need anything.”
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
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