Augusta, GA
‘This is history’: Augusta veterans join forces for last attempt to fund veterans cemetery
Between Fort Eisenhower, the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center, and all the other resources, Augusta is a very military-friendly city. But it’s missing one thing: A veterans cemetery.
About 40 veterans from the area this week jumped on a bus and headed to the Georgia Capitol in Atlanta with the hope of correcting that.
A burial in a veterans cemetery comes with a lot of benefits and a veteran can be buried in any veterans cemetery no matter the location. But currently, the closest ones to Augusta are in Milledgeville and Columbia, South Carolina, both of which are more than 80 miles away.
Bringing this resource closer to the Augusta area’s military families has been a long-time passion project for veterans Don Clark and Bob Young, the former mayor of Augusta.
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More than 200 acres of property have been procured around the East Central Regional Hospital’s Gracewood campus. Once completed, Georgia’s Department of Veteran Affairs will be in charge of its management.
The problem is funding the cemetery’s creation. The price is north of $10 million. The initial plan was to finance it with a federal cemetery grant, but it’s too far down on the grant’s list of priorities.
Their last hope is that the state will cover the cost, and there’s a window of opportunity between now and March when the legislative session for this year ends.
What happens if they miss that deadline?
“Don and I are probably going to fold our tent and go home,” Young said. “The only option after going to the state legislature would be, ‘Hey, City of Augusta, you want to pay for a cemetery for the state of Georgia?’ … I don’t think that’s a question the commission is looking forward to answering and I don’t think it’s an appropriate question.”
So the veterans lobbied in Atlanta, and multiple legislators were supportive.
“We are trying to find a way to honor our veterans by allowing them to be interred in their home community,” said state Sen. Max Burns.
Gloria Frazier voiced her support as a military spouse herself and as a state representative for the more than 66,000 military families in the Augusta area.
“I understand how important it is to make sure that we have our husbands and loved ones laid to rest close to us, so that we can actually visit them.” Frazier said. “A lot of the spouses would like to visit their loved ones a lot more.”
Clark said the trip went amazingly and they were proud to have so many veterans coming together to fight for this cause.
“This is history,” he said. “Bob and I have been working this process for four years going on five. … So to be able to introduce our veterans to the legislative process in motion and in action, and for them to receive recognition at the state capitol level, (I’m) very, very proud.”
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The historic Turpin neighborhood will soon welcome more affordable homes after Augusta Habitat for Humanity was awarded $1.85 million in federal funding this week.
The grant will fund the construction of at least 12 homes in the area.
“Habitat for Humanity applied for federal funding, and they were awarded the funding,” said District 2 Commissioner Stacy Pulliam.
Reviving a historic community
The Turpin neighborhood was once home to professionals, including educators, doctors, and lawyers.
“These big professionals that lived mostly over this way,” one resident said of the neighborhood’s history.
Pulliam described the area’s former prominence as “its grand days of glory, when it was the place.”
The project brings together city organizers and community partners through the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing, or GICH.
“We have so many partners. We have the Housing Authority on board. We have a representative from the Hub on board,” Pulliam said. “There’s so many great partners at the table that’s helping pull all of this together.”
Federal support and future plans
The project received backing from Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.
Habitat for Humanity, with support from GICH, focused its application on Turpin Hill intentionally, as officials say the community had been needing to be addressed for years.
With Habitat for Humanity continuing to advocate for more funds, Pulliam said their motivation could lead to additional housing development in the future.
“We keep going and going and going,” she said. “Now we can do 20. Now we can do multifamily. So it’s fueling our fire to get more housing, but not just housing, to clean up the area.”
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – President Donald Trump said he will sign an emergency declaration to pay TSA agents, as nearly 500 have quit since the shutdown began.
More than 40 percent of Atlanta’s TSA agents did not show up on Wednesday, leading to long lines at Atlanta’s airport and across the country. It is unclear when President Trump will sign the emergency order. TSA workers will miss their second paycheck Friday.
In a statement on Truth Social, President Trump said, “I am going to sign an Order instructing the Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, to immediately pay our TSA Agents in order to address this Emergency Situation.”
The president thanked TSA agents. The Department of Homeland Security as a whole will not be funded at this time. The Coast Guard and FEMA are among the agencies still impacted.
If senators do not reach a deal to fund the department on Friday, they are set for a two-week recess.
Augusta airport prepares for tournament week
TSA workers are a concern as tournament week approaches in Augusta. Security and safety are also concerns after a plane collided with a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport.
Augusta Regional Airport and its fire department are working to keep visitors safe as they fly in for tournament week.
William Kovalchuk, a sergeant with the Augusta Airport Fire Department, operates an airport-specific fire truck.
“There’s a ton of traffic and a ton of congestion. This whole ramp area where I showed you guys a little bit ago, it’ll be completely filled with aircraft,” Kovalchuk said.
Tournament week sees the regional airport become a global hub, with flights in from 13 extra cities and more than 200 private planes parked on the tarmac.
Lauren Smith, deputy director of Augusta Regional Airport, said the airport works closely with the FAA during tournament week.
“During that time, we actually work very closely with the FAA to bring in additional controllers,” Smith said.
Extra controllers keep the airspace and runway safe. Enhanced safety measures are in place inside the terminal as well.
“Overall, everyone brings in more staff. The tenants, the rental car agencies, the airlines, the airport itself,” Smith said.
The fire department stages a second station across the airport to cover every flight.
“The manning will be stepped up quite a bit,” Kovalchuk said. “We don’t want to see anything happen, but we’re prepared for it.”
The airport said the average wait time is still less than an hour to get through security during tournament week.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
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