Interim director recommended

City Administrator Fred Russell has recommended interim Augusta Finance Director Donna Williams for the job on a permanent basis.

Mrs. Williams has served as interim finance director since March 2006 and five times previously when the position was vacant.

She has worked in the finance department of Richmond County and the consolidated Augusta government since 1979. Mr. Russell will recommend her hiring to Augusta commissioners at their meeting on Thursday, Nov. 8.

Congressman John Barrow is sponsoring a series of panel discussions on Augusta's energy, education and economic development issues this morning at Paine College.

The event will begin at 8:45 a.m. in the conference center on the second floor of the school's Candler Memorial Library and is free and open to the public. Each panel will include a time to ask questions.

The education panel from 9 to 9:50 a.m. will include state Rep. Gloria Frazier; Terry Elam, of Augusta Technical College; Dr. Samuel Sullivan, of Augusta State University; Dr. Cheryl Evans Jones, of Paine College; and Dr. Dana Bedden, the new Richmond County school superintendent.

The energy panel meets from 10 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. and includes state Rep. Hardie Davis; Dr. John Plodinec, of Savannah River National Laboratory; Walter Dukes, of Georgia Power Co.; and Dr. Frank Carl, the Savannah riverkeeper.

The economic panel begins at 11 a.m. and includes state Sen. Ed Tarver; Dr. Dan Rahn, of the Medical College of Georgia; Sue Parr, of the Metro Augusta Chamber of Commerce; Stephanie Quattlebaum, of CSRA Regional Development Center; and Jessica Savage, of International Paper Augusta Mill.

A neighborhood cleanup effort will take place from 8 a.m. to noon today for the Turpin Hill, Bethlehem and Nellieville communities.

All neighbors are asked to participate in this Weed and Seed program. Volunteers may meet at the Abraham house at the corner of Seventh Avenue and Grand Boulevard.

Augusta State University students can take 45 classes online this fall through the University System of Georgia's recently launched Georgia ONmyLINE Web site.

The site provides access to distance learning offerings from the 35 colleges and universities within the system.

The Web site, www.georgia onmyline.org, consists of a searchable catalog, allowing students to register and transfer credits among USG institutions.

The Alzheimer's Association will host Memory Walk 2007 - A Family Fun Fair on Saturday, Nov. 3 at Lake Olmstead.

Registration will begin at 9 a.m. in the GreenJackets stadium. The walk will begin at 10 a.m. with a staggered start, 5-K run, then 5-K walk, and finally with those walking one mile. After the walk there will be food, fun and music with Eryn Eubanks and the Family Fold. For more information, to register or volunteer, call (706) 731-9060 or (800) 272-3900.

The Columbia County Humane Society will hold a rabies vaccination clinic for pets from 1 to 3 p.m. today at Blanchard Park. The cost is $5. Blanchard Park is located off North Belair Road with an entrance off Dewey Drive.

The board of Georgia Department of Transportation has approved the Scenic Byway designation for a 15-mile stretch that begins at Jewell on the Hancock County line and continues east on Georgia Highway 16 to Warrenton.

The Scenic Byways program recognizes highways that exemplify our nation's culture. There are 12 such highways designated through Georgia.

The National Science Center's Fort Discovery and The American Chemical Society-Savannah River Local Section will observe the 20th anniversary of National Chemistry Week today with fun and interactive exhibits.

This year's theme is "The Many Faces of Chemistry." Fort Discovery will feature live educational demonstrations of chemistry principles geared toward children between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the riverwalk entrance. There is no charge for these events.

Two men suspected of committing unrelated homicides in Augusta were denied bond Friday.

After hearings in Richmond County Superior Court, Judge Neal W. Dickert ruled that Donald Gamble, 23, and Donald Harmon, 21, must await possible indictment and trial in jail.

Mr. Gamble is accused of fatally shooting 29-year-old Quamaine Rickman on July 14. Mr. Harmon is accused of the Oct. 8 fatal shooting of Sylvester Walker, 20, on Patrick Avenue.

The final man accused of homicide in the July 26 drive-by shooting of an innocent bystander pleaded guilty Friday.

Damon J. Hawes, 21, pleaded guilty in Richmond County Superior Court to voluntary manslaughter for his role in the death of 17-year-old Bon Joshwa Albright on the steps of a Harrisburg home.

Mr. Hawes, who drove the vehicle and provided a gun, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Mark D. Graham, who fired the fatal shot, and Thomas A. Brown, who initiated the plot to seek revenge against a Harrisburg man, were both convicted of murder. They were sentenced to serve life in prison.

Contracting agencies and the public can comment on the National Nuclear Security Administration's contracting structure for nuclear weapons complexes.

Comments can be posted on the Federal Business Opportunities Web site at www.fedbizopps.gov.

- From staff reports