Georgia
Athens Banner-Herald earns journalism awards from Georgia Press Association
The Athens Banner-Herald garnered three first place awards and third place in the General Excellence category at the Georgia Press Association’s 137th annual convention held Friday at Jekyll Island.
Awards were presented in numerous sports, news writing and photography categories in the 2024 Better Newspaper Contest for papers of various sizes. There were 78 daily and weekly newspapers in the state with submissions.
The Banner-Herald competes in daily publications with a print circulation of less than 8,000.
First place in Division B went to the Valdosta Daily Times, followed by the Rome News-Tribute, while the Banner-Herald received a tie for third with the Courier Herald in Dublin.
“I’m very proud of the Athens Banner-Herald staff, not only for the well-deserved awards they accumulate each year, but also for the hard work and dedication they exhibit every day,” said Donnie Fetter, managing editor for the Banner-Herald. “In my 30 years in journalism, I have never worked with a staff who cares more deeply about their community and the readers they serve.”
Other awards won by the Banner-Herald an its staff include:
- 2nd place, News Photo, Joshua L. Jones
- 3rd place, News Photo, Joshua L. Jones
- 2nd place, Sports Photo, Joshua L. Jones
- 3rd place, Sports Feature Photo, Joshua L. Jones
- 2nd place, Feature Photo, Joshua L. Jones
- 2nd place, Photo Essay, Joshua L. Jones
- 2nd place, Best Photo Gallery, Joshua L. Jones
- 1st place, Feature Writing, Wayne Ford
- 2nd place, Feature Writing, Andrew Shearer
- 2nd place, Enterprise Story, Wayne Ford
- 1st place, Sports Coverage, Marc Weiszer
- 1st place, Sports Feature Story, Marc Weiszer
- 3rd place, Business Writing, Andrew Shearer
- 3rd, General Excellence, Staff
Georgia
Co-owner of Yurezz Home Center in Greeneville arrested in Georgia
APPLING COUNTY, Ga. (WCYB) — The co-owner of Yurezz Home Center in Greeneville has been arrested in Georgia, according to a report obtained by News 5.
Earlier this week, News 5 told you about the dealership in Greeneville that abruptly shut down last month.
This has left homeowners with partially built homes and employees without jobs.
It is not yet clear why Richard Altman was taken into custody.
This is a developing story.
Georgia
Georgia Supreme Court upholds convictions of men in deadly shooting during gas station carjacking
Two men found guilty of murdering a man while he was pumping air into his tires at a Georgia gas station will remain in prison, the Georgia Supreme Court has ruled.
Miles Chatezal Collins and Josiah Hughley, Jr. had appealed to the state’s highest court after they were found guilty of felony murder, aggravated assault, violating Georgia’s Street Gang, Terrorism and Prevention Act, and hijacking a motor vehicle, among other charges in 2025.
The men’s charges stem from a shooting on July 10, 2022, at a QuickTrip gas station in Peachtree Corners. According to the Gwinnett County District Attorney’s Office, 30-year-old Bradley Lamar Coleman had stopped at the gas station to fill up his tires when Collins, Hughley, and a third man pulled up beside him and tried to steal his Dodge Charger.
When Coleman tried to stop the men, officials say they shot him and fled the scene.
Authorities say the three men were members of the Blood gang and had tried to steal the car to increase their status.
While their first trial ended in a mistrial due to a comment by the prosecution, a jury found Collins, Hughley, and their co-defendant, David Jarrad Booker, guilty of more than a dozen charges in 2025. They were each sentenced to life plus 145 years in prison.
In Collins and Hughley’s appeal to the state Supreme Court, they argued that there was insufficient evidence to support some of the charges and that the judge in the case improperly admitted certain evidence and committed errors in instructing the jurors.
The justices’ rulings disagreed, finding that their attorneys failed to object to the supposed errors and that the two men’s claims were insufficient.
The judges also found that a claim by Hughley that his counsel failed him by not asserting that a statement made to law enforcement should have been suppressed. With those findings, the Supreme Court chose not to overrule the case, letting the convictions and sentences stand.
“We are grateful for this affirmation from the Georgia Supreme Court,” Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said. “Thanks to the incredible work of our team of trial and appellate prosecutors, and all of the staff that assisted with defending these convictions, two dangerous criminals will remain in prison.”
Booker’s appeal remains pending.
Georgia
Trooper injured in chain-reaction crash on Georgia 400
SANDY SPRINGS, Ga. – A Georgia State Patrol trooper sustained injuries Tuesday afternoon after striking the rear of a stopped vehicle on Georgia 400, triggering a three-vehicle chain-reaction crash.
What we know:
The collision happened around 3:43 p.m. on the northbound lanes just south of Abernathy Road.
A trooper was traveling north on Georgia 400 when traffic in front of the cruiser came to a sudden stop. The trooper was unable to halt in time and struck the rear of a second vehicle, which then slammed into a third vehicle.
All three vehicles sustained enough damage to be towed from the scene, according to the state patrol report. The trooper had visible injuries and received treatment onsite, while medics transported the second driver to a local hospital. The driver of the third car complained of injuries but refused medical treatment at the scene.
What we don’t know:
Officials have not yet confirmed the current medical conditions of the hospitalized driver or the injured trooper. It remains unclear what caused traffic to come to a sudden halt before the chain-reaction collision occurred.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Lt. E. Starling of the Georgia State Patrol DPS Public Information Office, who provided the preliminary crash details in an official statement.
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