Four Richmond County schools will distribute hot meals next week to help support students and families while schools are closed.

The sites will be open Monday – Friday from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. The food distribution sites are:  

• Glenn Hills Middle School, 2941 Glenn Hills Drive, Augusta, GA 30906 
• Hephzibah Elementary School, 2542 Highway 88, Hephzibah, GA 30815 
• McBean Elementary School, 1165 Hephzibah – McBean Rd, Hephzibah, GA 30815 
• W.S. Hornsby Elementary School, 310 Kentucky Avenue, Augusta, GA 30901 

Each site will provide a hot meal and to-go bag with a cold breakfast. No identification is required to pick up meals and sites are open to the public.  

For more information about RCSS meal distribution, please contact RCSS Nutrition Services at (706) 834-5797. 

The City of Augusta on Friday night announced the boil water advisory was lifted for residents and businesses.

The Augusta Utilities Department lifted the boil water advisory, issued on Monday, noting comprehensive water testing confirmed the tap water meets all regulatory standards and is safe for human consumption, according to a news release.

Affected customers no longer need to boil water for drinking, cooking or making ice – but should flush their lines by opening the cold water faucet and letting the water run for two minutes, according to the release.

“We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience,” officials wrote in the release.

How Augustans coped without water

Many Augusta residents had to find alternative methods of gathering water in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Last week, reporters with The Chronicle watched as Ricardo Ramirez collected water in a trash bag from a street gutter on Aumond Road.

“This is the only way we can [get water], unless we go to the river, but that is too far away,” Ramirez said.

He explained that he was using the water to flush the toilet, but was walking to a nearby creek to bathe.

Aside from being out of water, a large tree crashed through the ceiling of his AirBnB, causing extensive interior damage.

“Our road was completely full of trees – everywhere,” Ramirez said. “A friend [who was in the house] was standing so close to where the tree came through the house, he almost died.”

He added it was difficult to get anywhere because his truck was blocked my fallen trees in his yard, and Augustans were hesitant to give him a ride to the grocery store to get drinking water.

“The Publix is open so we walked all the way there carrying our bags,” Ramirez said. “In Mexico, a lot of people offer [rides to others]. Not here. We are completely on our own.”

Anyone with questions or concerns about the lifted water advisory should contact 311 using the mobile app.

This story was updated to add a video.

Helene live updates from Augusta: Meet ‘Storm,’ an Augusta puppy growing up in the dark

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Two people died overnight in Richmond County in unrelated shootings – Augusta’s second and third homicides since Hurricane Helene struck the city a little over a week ago.

The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office says deputies responded to the parking lot of El Presidente, located at 2 Eighth Street, in reference to a shooting at 7:54 p.m.

Deputies say upon arrival, they located a male who had been shot at least one time.

The victim succumbed to his injuries.

Arthur Braxton, 32, of Aiken, was pronounced dead at 8:45 p.m. on the scene, according to the Richmond County Coroner’s Office.

Deputies say a subject has been detained.

The second shooting happened at Oakview Place Apartments.

At 3:03 a.m. Saturday, the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting at the 3500 block of Oakview Place.

Stephon Jones, 22, who lives at the complex, was shot at least once.

Jones was pronounced dead at 4:10 a.m. Saturday.

The two shootings are unrelated, according to the Richmond Coroner’s Office.

Autopsies have been scheduled for both victims.

The shootings are Augusta’s second and third homicides since Helene.

Last Saturday, a male victim was fatally shot in the chest at 10th and Florence streets.

The shootings come amid an outbreak of violent crime that’s claimed more than 180 lives in two and a half years across the CSRA.

The crime outbreak has affected communities large and small, but as the biggest city in the region, Augusta has been hit especially hard.

Authorities have blamed much of the problem on gangs.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.