Driver killed in wreck on interstate
An Alabama woman died Thursday morning after her car slammed into the rear of a tractor-trailer on Interstate 20 in McDuffie County.
She was identified as Brenda Reaves, 47, of Tuscumbia, according to McDuffie County Coroner Rhusha Mack.
The accident happened near the Thomson/Washington exit about 10:20 a.m., snarling traffic for more than 45 minutes, according to the Georgia State Patrol.
Wife charged in husband's injury
An Augusta woman remained in jail late Thursday after police charged her with injuring her husband's private parts during an argument.
Sharon McCall, 44, of the 2300 block of Sumac Drive, is charged with aggravated battery involving her husband, Willie McCall, 54.
Richmond County sheriff's Investigator Tim Rzasa said the couple were arguing in a bedroom about 4:45 p.m., when the woman grabbed her husband and tore away skin from his scrotum area.
A neighbor drove Mr. McCall to Medical College of Georgia Hospital, police said. No other details were available Thursday night concerning his condition.
Mr. McCall, accused of slapping his wife, will be charged with simple battery as well, Investigator Rzasa said.
Former postal worker pleads guilty
A former New Ellenton postal worker has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Columbia to theft of mail.
U.S. Attorney W. Walter Wilkins said in a news release that U.S. District Judge Margaret B. Seymour accepted the guilty plea from Denise Key, 43, on Wednesday.
Judge Seymour will impose a sentence after a pre-sentence report is prepared and reviewed.
From November 2006 through November 2007 Ms. Key, who worked at the New Ellenton post office as a mail clerk, opened mail and removed checks, money orders, cash and gift cards, the U.S. attorney's statement said.
After mail customers reported the loss of money, gift cards, greeting cards and the delivery of opened mail, Ms. Key was identified as the employee pilfering the mail during a sting operation conducted in November, the statement said. Mr. Wilkins said the maximum penalty Ms. Key can receive is a fine of $250,000 and imprisonment for five years.
Meetings to detail tax credit plan
Heritage Academy will hold informational meetings about Georgia's new Student Scholarship Tax Credit Program.
The program allows individuals and businesses to designate part of their taxes for scholarships to send public school students to private schools. A meeting for the public will be from 6-7 p.m. Thursday, and a meeting for school leaders will be from 9:30-11 a.m. Friday.
The new Georgia law allows tax credits of up to $1,000 per year for individuals and $2,500 for couples filing jointly. The meetings will be held at Heritage Academy, 333 Greene St.
Man is held in child sex case
A 41-year-old Augusta man was arrested Thursday on five counts of sexual exploitation of a child after the discovery of a CD showing images of children performing sex acts.
Jimmy Newton Scarborough, of the 3600 block of Deans Bridge Road, was being held at the Richmond County jail late Thursday.
According to a Sheriff's Office report, an employee at the Gordon Motel on Deans Bridge Road said she found the CD last week while going through things left in a room that had been used by a former employee. The disc, labeled "Jimmy's Pictures and Music," depicts young children performing sex acts on an unknown male, according to the report.
"For whatever reason, she decided to pop it in her player and it all went bad after that," sheriff's Lt. Scott Peebles said Thursday.
The employee told police Mr. Scarborough had repeatedly asked her if he could get into the room because he had left items inside. Mr. Scarborough's picture was on the CD, but it did not depict him performing sex acts, the report stated.
Coliseum Authority OKs general manager
Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority members unanimously approved their new management company's recommendation for general manager Thursday.
Authority members approved Monty Jones Jr. on the recommendation of Global Spectrum, which took over operations at James Brown Arena and Bell Auditorium this month.
Mr. Jones has been executive director at VenuWorks/Emil & Patricia A. Jones Convocation Center in Chicago for the past year. From 2004 through 2006, he was event coordinator and director of event services for Global Spectrum at the Colonial Center in Columbia.
Mr. Jones received a bachelor's degree in parks, recreation and tourism management with a concentration in sports management from North Carolina State University in Raleigh in 2002.
-- From staff reports
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