Augusta, GA
Night to Shine prom experience celebrates special needs teens in Augusta
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Night to Shine prom experience took place Friday night at Warren Baptist Church, celebrating special needs teens with a full prom experience.
The event served 200 honored guests with the help of more than 600 volunteers, according to Brandon Lewis, worship pastor at the church.
“It’s for anyone with special needs, those who are differently abled, but they just get to come and be celebrated,” Lewis said. “They get to come and it’s kind of like a prom. We have a dance that we have and it’s just a time where they have fun.”
Each honored guest was paired with a volunteer buddy who stayed with them throughout the evening. The buddies walked guests through the entire process and served as friends for the night.
“The buddy is a person assigned directly to the honored guest. They stay with them the whole night. They walk them through the whole process. They’re there if they need anything. And they’re just there as a friend throughout the night,” Lewis said.
The event included multiple activities for attendees. Guests received shoe shines, participated in dancing, and had access to makeup and hair services. The experience also featured a red carpet entrance and party bus rides.
“We get to do everything from shoe shine, have dance, they have makeup, hair, red carpet. There’s a party bus that they get to ride on. So all kinds of fun stuff,” Lewis said.
Lewis said his favorite part of the event was the red carpet entrance, where guests walked through doors to find 200 people cheering for them with music playing.
“It’s just being able to get to see people’s face when that door flings open. There’s 200 people screaming for them, music’s pumping, and they just get to walk down and be special,” Lewis said.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The South Augusta YMCA will not renew its lease at the Tobacco Road location, the Y confirmed.
The shopping center is being sold, and the current lease ends in October.
The Y has not announced a final day at the current location. Officials said they plan to announce that date and next steps for South Augusta later this month.
The YMCA said it still plans to serve South Augusta after the lease expires.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A man who was previously wanted for questioning in an Augusta deadly shooting has now been charged with murder in the case, according to authorities.
The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office says Kemfton Quewanaki Kenon, 27, was arrested on Friday in connection to the shooting death of Khyla Rodriguez, of Augusta.
Kenon is booked into the Charles B. Webster Detention Center and charged with murder and possession of a firearm during a crime, according to jail bookings.
Rodriguez, 25, was found dead after deputies received a call about a shooting on May 15 at 1:11 a.m. on Cameron Drive.
The Richmond County Coroner’s Office said Rodriguez was pronounced dead at 2:27 a.m.
Kenon was previously wanted for questioning in the case and was located in Miami-Dade County, Florida. He was interviewed and arrested on an unrelated warrant.
Deputies were also interviewed two other subjects in the case. They were not arrested in the case.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – People who live in South Augusta are raising concerns about the future of the Family Y on Tobacco Road.
Officials say the facility has been operating at a loss for years, and have had a low number of memberships. The location also has a new owner. The cost of the lease is too high and the facility is also in need of renovations, which are said to be costly.
“The reality is we couldn’t afford the current lease that we were in,” said Catie McCauley, president and CEO of Family Y of Greater Augusta. “Over the last 10 years we’ve been subsidizing this lot. So we got to look at a model that we can sustain for the next several generations not just the next couple years.”
The location is set to close in October, but officials say they are working with community members and contractors for a new building that they can move into and are committed to staying in South Augusta.
Photojournalist credit: Gary Hipps
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