AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and Augusta Fire Department responded to a structure fire early Saturday morning in the 3600 block of Peach Orchard Road.

Emergency crews blocked multiple lanes as they battled the fire, according to a Facebook post from the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.

News 12 has reached out to the Augusta Fire Department to determine the cause of the fire and to inquire about any reported injuries.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Augusta Juvenile Court received a grant of more than $1 million to prevent youth from joining gangs by addressing underlying factors that lead to criminal behavior.

The grant from the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council will allow the court to expand services beyond its current programs and serve a broader population of at-risk youth.

“This allows us to build on the work we are currently doing. It also allows us to serve a different population of youth that we have not been able to serve on such an extended level, so we have additional funds that will serve even more kids and to hopefully assist the sheriff and district attorney in not having youthful offenders become adult offenders that they have to obtain and prosecute,” said Chief Judge Tianna Bias.

Addressing root causes

The funding will target factors that make youth vulnerable to gang recruitment, including poor school attendance and reading difficulties.

“Whether it’s that they have poor school attendance, not reading on grade level. One thing we’ve seen is that when you are not reading on grade level that has an impact on many other areas of your life. It’s really just an opportunity to offer wrap-around support for these kids so we can prevent them from getting into unfortunate situations that they may not end up in front of a juvenile court judge later,” Bias said.

Dr. Audrey Armistad, chief intake officer for the juvenile court, said the court’s goal is rehabilitation rather than detention.

“We put them in programs and services that help them to be able to develop mentally, socially and physically when it comes to kids involved with the juvenile court,” Armistad said.

Expanding services

The juvenile court currently serves at-risk youth through the THRIVE program. The court is also expanding services with a new computer lab set to open next month.

“It helps us to be able to provide instruction to kids getting GEDs, parents wanting GEDs, as well as we provide learning loss instruction to kids enrolled in Richmond County who may need remediation in math and reading,” Armistad said.

A gang prevention expert will meet with the juvenile court team to provide recommendations on how the grant money should be spent.

Bias said success will be measured by fewer teens in courtrooms and more in classrooms.

“We are meant to rehabilitate not to punish and we want to help these parents get kids on track so we can see a better Augusta for everyone,” Bias said.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Augusta University is set to cut the ribbon on a new Student Health Services building on Friday.

The ribbon cutting will be held at 2:30 p.m. at 1465 Laney Walker Boulevard in Augusta.

The event will showcase the field of college health and the role the services have on students’ personal development and academic success.

The clinic relocated to the new space last month to make way for AU’s advanced research and clinical innovation, according to officials.

At the event, there will also be snacks, interactive games and clinic tours.

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