Augusta, GA
‘Very upsetting’: Families locked out of city-owned cemeteries
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Debris clean-up isn’t just causing issues in our front yards.
Families hoping to visit loved ones at local cemeteries are greeted with chained-up front gates and no answers.
Many have been closed since Helene hit, but there’s no word on when they’ll reopen.
Chained and locked gates are the reality for people with loved ones buried at any of the city-owned cemeteries in Augusta.
“There’s a certain amount of peace in this cemetery,” said Thomasine Deer.
Cemeteries are a place meant to bring comfort.
“We grew up coming down to the cemetery, placing flowers on the loved one’s graves. And that comes naturally to us,” said Mary Gill.
Deer said: “It’s something that we do. I know a lot of people don’t do it.”
But no one can get in right now.
“My mother’s birthday was November 3. My father’s birthday was October 11. I like to come down and just bring some flowers. And, of course, you can’t come in,” said Deer.
Gill said: “My sister-in-law passed away, and her funeral was scheduled for October 12. We have no idea when we’re gonna be able to bury Joan. It’s very upsetting.”
You can look across the city and see the progress with debris pickup. But at local cemeteries, it seems like time is at a standstill.
“Every time I ask, it’s, ‘We don’t know,’” said Deer. “There are a lot of families in here that don’t have any family. And we’re speaking for them as well.”
Because for some, coming to this peaceful place is their way of coping with what they’ve already lost.
“One post I read; a lady said it was the first holiday without her mother. She was just very upset about it. And it just means a lot to a lot of people,” said Deer.
Officials say they will be getting to work on parks and cemeteries soon and they have made provisions for burials.
But their focus is completing first passes in neighborhoods and hard-affected areas.
Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The second annual Juneteenth trail ride took place on Old Waynesboro Road in Augusta on Saturday.
The event featured trail rides with horses and ATVs, a mechanical bull contest and music.
People shopped at vendors, and there was entertainment for kids, including a petting zoo, inflatables and games.
“It’s really a privilege just to be able to have the opportunity to share my space, to share my area, and to share for an event with so much value, to give back to my community and a place to celebrate,” said Davon Wallace, chief of operations at Crimson Hills.
Wallace said they will be hosting more events, with a haunted trail coming in October.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) — The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office has made multiple arrests in a deadly shooting that left one teenager dead and another injured early Saturday morning.
According to deputies, the incident happened June 20, at approximately 12:50 a.m. in the 200 block of Warren Road, where authorities responded to reports of shots fired involving two gunshot victims.
When deputies arrived, they located two 18-year-old men from Augusta.
Officials identified the victims as Eric Markquis Bartley Miller and Joseph Lamar Thomas.
Investigators say Miller sustained at least one gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Thomas was also found with at least one gunshot wound and was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office says the circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under active investigation.
As of Saturday afternoon, three teenage suspects have been arrested and charged in connection with the incident.
18-year-old Dmihjay Collins, 17-year-old Tayshaun Thomas, and 17-year-old Joseph Thomas have all been arrested and charged with Murder, Aggravated Assault, and Possession of Machine Guns. They are all currently being held at the Webster Detention Center.
A fourth teenager, 17-year-old Reante Byrd was also arrested, but investigators have not linked him to the murder case. Byrd has been charged with Possession of a Pistol or Revolver by a Person Under the Age of 18. He is also being held in the Webster Detention Center.
No further details in the investigation have been released.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Students showcased drones they built during a two-week summer camp at Augusta Regional Airport on Friday.
12 junior and high school students attended the camp, where they learned to fly and build drones designed to help others.
Anderson Puryear, a student, said the camp focused on delivering small medical supplies.
“It was focused on delivering small medical supplies like an EPI pen or glucose packet for like diabetics and for people with allergies in need in the real world that could obviously help save lives, and if people are like in a place in a boat or like in the desert or in the forest where they can’t easily access those supplies it can save their lives,” Puryear said.
The airport partnered with Georgia Tech, state troopers and the Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting Department for the Air Edu Summer Camp.
Copyright 2026 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
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