Augusta, GA

Local students prep as Georgia standardized testing returns

Published

4 weeks ago

May 17, 2024

Local students prep as Georgia standardized testing returns

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Georgia Board of Regents will require students to take the ACT or SAT to get into four universities in the fall of 2026.

Those schools include Georgia State University, Georgia Southern University, Kennesaw State University and Augusta University.

Test requirements had already been restored for the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and Georgia College and State University — the system’s three most selective schools.

All of this means things are starting to return to how they were pre-COVID.

Both Richmond and Columbia county schools said just because the state put the requirement on hold, preparing students for the tests never stopped.

While the state pumped the brakes on SAT and ACT testing, Richmond County pressed the gas.

“We’ve always offered opportunities to help our students kind of hone in on those skills. We have prep classes at every high school, in addition to other resources that kids can engage in, just to kind of go ahead and maximize their potential on that SAT or ACT,” said Charlie Tudor, advanced studies program administrator for Richmond County schools.

Tudor says they start prepping students in eighth grade.

“All of our eighth graders take the PSAT in October of their eighth-grade year. We look at that data and go ahead and encourage our kids. Some of them are ready to take an AP class in ninth grade, we look at that AP potential there,” said Tudor.

Every year after, the curriculum is woven into their class schedule.

“Those skills and that knowledge are built into the curriculum already. A lot of our schools have SAT and ACT plans in there. There are also Saturday study sessions for certain targeted kids that need that extra support,” said Tudor.

Tudor says they never want cost to get in the way of academics.

“College Board and ACT, ‘ve always provided fee waivers based on your income. Here in Richmond County, if we know there’s a need for one of our students at the school level, we always make sure things happen to make sure there are no barriers or challenges as far as finances go with kids,” said Tudor.

Columbia County says they have been doing things just the same as before the pandemic as well.

All the requirements for ACT and SAT testing are set to start in the fall of 2026.

If you want to sign your child up for extra study classes, leaders say the best way is to contact the school counselor.

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Augusta, GA

Parker's Kitchen Unveils Newest Georgia Location

Published

6 hours ago

June 14, 2024

Press Room

Parker's Kitchen Unveils Newest Georgia Location

The opening marks the chain’s first store in Augusta, Ga.

By Kevin McIntyre | June 14, 2024

Parker’s Kitchen recently hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony at the first Parker’s location in Augusta, Ga. Local dignitaries in attendance included Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson, Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Sue Parr and Columbia County Chamber President and CEO Russell Lahodny.

The new store offers award-winning, Southern-inspired food, high-quality fuel and much more. Located at 3661 Mike Padgett Hwy., the store has been popular with local residents, commuters and visitors since it first opened on May 22.

“Augusta is on the rise and is an exciting place to be,” said Parker’s Kitchen Founder and CEO Greg Parker, who officially cut the ribbon at the company’s new store in Augusta, Ga. “We’re incredibly honored to be part of the community and have received an incredible response from customers in the Augusta area.”

In addition to fresh food served for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the store also features indoor dining, grab-and-go food options and electronic kiosk ordering. Popular items include hand-breaded Southern Fried Chicken Tenders, signature mac ‘n’ cheese, potato logs, the Parker’s Kitchen Spicy Chicken Tender Sandwich, freshly made salads and more.

The entire Parker’s Kitchen menu is handcrafted on-site from fresh ingredients by local chefs.

Additional highlights include bean-to-cup gourmet coffee, freshly brewed sweet and unsweet tea, Fancy Lemonade, 28-degree beer and a wide range of fountain drinks with signature Parker’s Kitchen Chewy Ice.

The inviting store design features signature Parker’s Kitchen Lowcountry-inspired architecture with a modern, contemporary glass-front façade, lime-washed brick, handsome bracketry, designer lighting and clean bathrooms. The new store offers 19 fuel dispensers with regular, mid-grade, premium, diesel, ethanol-free, truck diesel and DEF fuel.

Parker’s Kitchen currently operates 88 retail stores in Georgia and South Carolina and plans to double the number of stores across the Southeast in the next four years. The company is currently in the midst of a major expansion into new markets including Augusta, Ga.; Aiken, S.C.; Myrtle Beach, S.C. and Jacksonville, Fla.

Every new-to-industry store provides 25 to 30 jobs for local residents, offering highly competitive salary and benefits packages. Parker’s Kitchen employs 75 to 85 contractors to build each new store in the metro Augusta area.

Parker’s was named the 2020 CStore Decisions Chain of the Year.

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Augusta, GA

Augusta burn center is first ever to use new skin cell technology

Published

13 hours ago

June 14, 2024

Press Room

Augusta burn center is first ever to use new skin cell technology

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The JMS Burn Center is the first in the world to use a new regenerating skin cell technology to help burn and wound patients.

When wounds don’t close on their own, doctors usually use a skin graft to close them. It’s a piece from a patient’s body that is not affected by a burn.

RECELL GO uses technology that allows doctors to spray your own healthy skin cells on your wound or on top of an expanded skin graft.

The system is designed to treat burns and full-thickness wounds.

The technology sets itself apart from past methods by using less of a patient’s own skin cells and automating the process, and improving efficiency in the operating room.

This gives doctors more time to focus on patient care.

It also uses a significantly less amount of donor skin, resulting in less pain for patients.

Patients experience two times greater healing with RECELL GO, along with less scarring.

All of this means less time spent in the hospital.

“What we want to do is just be able to provide the best care to our patients, and take them from something that can be sometimes devastating to bring in a patient not only through the burn but bringing it back and having a good quality of life,” said Dr. Shawn Fagan, JMS Chief Medical Officer.

He also says this can be used for any type of wound or burn, regardless of size.

“We care for a large amount of smaller burns, and smaller burns are just as important as the larger burns in terms of attaining closure and controlling that discomfort afterward,” said Fagan.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp was joined by first lady Marty Kemp in touring the Korean...

The technology will be used daily. The first procedure was done on May 31, and 11 procedures have been done since then, helping heal seven patients overall.

Dr. Nraj Doshi, the principal inventor of RECELL GO, hopes to see this technology implemented across the country.

“The whole point of us developing so that it’s automated, is the fact that it becomes a lot easier to adopt across hospitals in the U.S,” said Doshi.

Initial concepts for the system began just three years ago. Now, the JMS Burn Center has 16 units.

Each unit can be used up to 200 times, helping hundreds of patients right here in the CSRA.

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Augusta, GA

What 911 calls and radio traffic tell us about downtown Augusta shooting

Published

20 hours ago

June 13, 2024

Press Room

What 911 calls and radio traffic tell us about downtown Augusta shooting

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – New 911 calls and public safety radio traffic paint a chaotic scene of Saturday’s shootout in downtown Augusta that sent people running for their lives.

In the calls, you can hear the urgency in the voices calling for help after gunfire rang out in the heart of downtown.

At around 1:13 a.m., a deputy calls into dispatch shouting “gunfire” multiple times. Dispatch repeatedly calls to all units, then shouts “one down.”

DOWNTOWN SHOOTING: TEAM COVERAGE

Roughly around the same time, 911 calls started to come in.

A caller stated they were reporting gun shots around Greene Street, but wasn’t sure exactly where or how many.

As all of this is going on, crowds of people flood to the streets.

“I need everybody on 11th Street to block off. I need 10th Street blocked off. I need the intersections blocked off. The extra units, I need everybody to actually clear everybody on foot. All foot traffic has to go,” said one deputy on the scene.

From left: Amazing Brigham and Seven Whitfield(Contributed)

Deputies and dispatch start discussing how many victims they had.

One deputy asked: “How many victims do we have?”

Another deputy said: “Right now, it looks like we got one. Right here in front of the Broad Axe Throwing Club.”

Deputies continued rushing to clear the area.

LISTEN TO THE 911 CALLS:

“Everybody that is on scene, I need all the foot traffic between 11th and 10th gone,” said one deputy. “Start pushing everybody out.”

Saturday’s shooting has sparked conversations on whether downtown is safe. The Augusta mayor, Richmond County sheriff and some commissioners say yes.

It’s also raised the question about police presence in downtown Augusta. Sheriff Richard Roundtree says there is a presence, but some business owners disagree.

Mayor Garnett Johnson says he’s called Georgia Governor Brian Kemp for help from Georgia State Patrol.

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