Georgia
Mental health treatment center planned for first responders in Georgia
Compared to the general population, police and firefighters face heightened risks of depression, PTSD and suicide, and they are more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty, according to a 2018 report commissioned by the Ruderman Family Foundation, which advocates for people with disabilities.
At least 33 first responders have taken their own lives in Georgia since 2018, according to First H.E.L.P., a charity that fights mental health stigma. Most were men who held jobs in law enforcement.
Ambitious plans
The Hale Foundation, a nonprofit that helps men recover from drug and alcohol addiction, met with stiff opposition from Augusta residents for years as it sought to transform a former convent into Valor Station. Neighbors said they worried about safety and their property values. Ultimately, the foundation failed to win approval from the Augusta-Richmond County Commission.
The foundation sued in state and federal district courts. After losing those legal battles, the foundation switched to a location closer to Hale House, its addiction recovery center for men in Olde Town Augusta.
In preparation for Valor Station’s opening, Hale Foundation CEO Cliff Richards and a few colleagues checked out the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program, which treats military veterans diagnosed with PTSD. Some of Emory’s patients have also held civilian jobs as first responders.
“I found there are a lot of parallels between what they are doing and being successful at with the military and what we are trying to do here with first responders,” said Matthew Carpenter, a former New York City police officer who serves as Valor Station’s chief administrative officer.
Sheila Rauch, deputy director of the Emory Healthcare Veterans Program, also sees overlap.
“There are a lot of similarities. Both first responders and military populations have high rates of exposure to trauma,” Rauch said.
Valor Station plans to offer some of the same forms of treatment the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department has found effective for military veterans with PTSD.
Among them are individual and group talk therapy and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, or EMDR, in which patients are instructed to discuss their traumatic experiences while focusing on blinking lights and vibrations. Patients from across the United States with and without medical insurance will be welcomed at Valor Station, Banish said.
“We want to open at least two on the East Coast and two on the West Coast, and hopefully have one or two centrally located, so officers don’t have to travel as far to get treatment,” said Jim Banish, the founder and president of the New York Law Enforcement Assistance Program, a nonprofit that aims to prevent PTSD and suicide.
2024 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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A Griffin, Georgia man is now under arrest, charged in connection with a cold case homicide investigation in New Jersey, prosecutors say.
It’s been nearly 37 years since 42-year-old Mauricio Cuadra was shot during an apparent home invasion; now, authorities say 62-year-old Joseph Quiros-Soto is charged with his murder.
Officials say on Aug. 9, 1989, the officers with the Bayonne Police Department responded to reports of a home invasion and shooting at an apartment on the 400 block of Avenue C. Inside the home, they found Cuadra suffering from a gunshot wound. Cuadra died shortly after.
The case remained a mystery until 2024, when Quiros-Soto confessed to the murder to police in Locust Grove, Georgia, saying that he had become a born-again Christian, NJ.com reports.
Police told the outlet that he gave the detectives details of the crime and allowed visiting Hudson County authorities to take a DNA sample, which matched a stain on the victim.
Authorities were eventually able to obtain a warrant for the Georgia man’s arrest. On May 27, 2026, deputies with the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office arrested Quiros-Soto at his home in Griffin, charging him with murder and murder during the commission of a burglary.
Quiros-Soto is being detained in Georgia, awaiting extradition to New Jersey.
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State baseball has made the super regionals in the NCAA Tournament and will face a team its already played four times.
The No. 14 national seed Bulldogs (43-17) are matched up with No. 3 Georgia (49-12). The best-of-three series will take place in Athens, Georgia, because Georgia is the higher seed.
The super regionals run from June 5-8, and the winner will make the College World Series.
MSU is 0-4 against Georgia this season, getting swept at Dudy Noble Field and then losing a fourth time in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals. Georgia won the SEC regular season and tournament championships.
Both teams made it through their regionals without a loss. Mississippi State blew out Louisiana 19-5 on May 31, while Georgia defeated Liberty.
MSU has played Georgia only once in postseason history, losing in the 1990 College World Series.
Mississippi State baseball history in super regionals
Mississippi State has played in 10 super regionals and won five of them. It has won three straight super regionals. MSU is 2-4 as the visiting team in super regionals.
New Mississippi State coach Brian O’Connor is 7-2 in super regionals.
NCAA baseball tournament schedule
- Super regionals: June 5-8
- College World Series: June 12-22
Sam Sklar is the Mississippi State beat reporter for The Clarion Ledger. Email him at ssklar@usatodayco.com and follow him on X @sklarsam_.
Georgia football landed a pair of commitments Sunday for its 2027 recruiting class.
Wide receiver Taurean Rawlins from Mount Vernon School in Atlanta posted on his X account on May 31 that he’s pledged to the Bulldogs.
Georgia also picked up a commitment from offensive tackle DJ Dotson from Hattiesburg, Miss., he posted on his Instagram account.
Both are rated 3-star prospects.
“I loved the support and love they showed towards me and my family,” Dotson said in a text message to the Athens Banner-Herald.
The 6-foot, 175-pound Rawlins is rated the No. 58 wide receiver in the 2027 class and the No. 478 overall prospect.
Rawlins had 67 catches for 1,395 yards and 17 touchdowns last season, according to MaxPreps.
Rawlins and Dotson give Georgia 10 commitments for this cycle.
Rawlins is the first wide receiver commitment. He also had offers from Ohio State, Florida and Michigan.
Georgia signed four wide receivers in its 2026 class: Craig Dandridge, Ryan Mosley, Dallas Dickerson and late addition Tre Shields.
Rawlins’ coach at Mount Vernon is former Georgia star wide receiver Terrence Edwards.
The 6-foot-7, 330-pound Dotson is rated as the nation’s No. 85 offensive tackle prospect and the No. 851 overall prospect.
He picked Georgia over Ole Miss, LSU and Georgia Tech, according to 247Sports.
Georgia also has offensive line commitments in its 2027 class from Kelsey Adams from Langston Hughes, Abram Eisenhower from Lowndes and Ty Johnson from Mount Pleasant, S.C.
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