Local and regional news briefs

Web posted September 22, 1997

From Staff and Wire Reports

Evans man killed in car accident

A 19-year-old Evans man was killed while apparently driving home from college during the weekend, state troopers said Sunday.

Robert Peter Beierschmitt of the 4100 block of Hound Court was driving his 1994 Pontiac Grand Am around 6:15 p.m. Saturday on U.S. Highway 129 near Gainesville when he lost control of his vehicle, Trooper Kevin Thompson said.

Mr. Beierschmitt was traveling south when he ran off the road. When he tried to regain control of the car, he ran across the center lane and another car driving northbound ran into him.

Exact causes of the accident are still under investigation, but investigators don't believe alcohol was a factor, Trooper Thompson said.

A cadet at North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega, the student had been at drill over the weekend, Trooper Thompson said.

Naked man arrested downtown

An Augusta man was apprehended and jailed early Saturday afternoon after he ran around a downtown parking area naked.

Guests at the Travelodge motel got more than an eyeful when the man ran around the Broad Street business with nothing on. Richmond County deputies were dispatched to the motel after they received several calls that the man also was exhibiting lewd behavior.

Officers had to struggle to put clothes on the man, who ``continued to fall all over (a hotel room) and laughing loudly as if he were under the influence of some type of drugs,'' a police report states.

The man told deputies that he'd possibly smoked some bad marijuana, the report said.

James Walter Scott, 50, who listed his residence as the Salvation Army on Greene Steet, was taken to University Hospital for evaluation before being booked into the Richmond County jail on a charge of indecent exposure.

Hall of Fame names inductees

ATLANTA Ä The late Dave Prater of the vocal duo Sam and Dave and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra are among the latest inductees to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.

Also inducted during the Hall of Fame's 19th awards ceremony Saturday were rhythm & blues singer-songwriter William Bell and late country-music television pioneer Dennis ``Boots'' Woodall.

Police don't enforce curfew

ATLANTA -- Nearly three months after it went into effect, Georgia's new curfew on teen-age drivers still isn't being enforced by police across the state.

The restrictions, which went into effect July 1, prohibit 16- and 17-year-olds from driving between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. unless they're heading to or from work or a schoolrelated function. Teen-agers caught driving during those hours lose their license.

So far, no Georgia teen-agers have lost their license under the new law, said Pam Short, an information specialist with the state Department of Public Safety.

Officials tired of interruptions

ROCK HILL -- Rock Hill school officials, sick of interruptions from beepers in the classrooms, say they will destroy the devices if brought to school by students.

School officials had been giving beepers to the school's police officer or to the Rock Hill Police Department, who would sometimes give them back to the children. But school administrators say they're tired of dealing with the telecommunication devices. And police officers say it's too much work to write out a crime report for each beeper.

The Shepeard Blood Center's bloodmobile will be at the following locations this week: