The demise of the proposed sales tax on Election Day topped the list of the top 10 local news stories of 2004, as chosen by staff members at The Augusta Chronicle. It was followed closely by the federal indictments of three local officials:
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Former Senate Majority Leader Charles Walker was indicted along with his daughter, Monique Hall, on federal charges stemming from his business deals. Despite the charges, Mr. Walker won a seat in the Legislature.
Andrew Davis Tucker/Staff
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Former state school Superintendent Linda Schrenko was indicted in November after being accused of stealing more than $500,000 in federal education funds.ation funds.
Associated Press
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SALES TAX DEBATE AND FAILURE: Entering 2004, many Augusta Commission members said their top priority for the year ahead would be to craft and persuade the voters to pass an extension of the special purpose local option sales tax.
That wasn't meant to be.
The ambitious plan, which would have committed sales tax money for a number of years for a variety of civic and infrastructure projects, including a new civic center arena, became embroiled in a series of lengthy and heated debates.
In the end, the commission placed the issue on the November ballot, but the voters - whether leery of the tax commitment or weary of the commission haggling - rejected the sales tax extension by clear margins.
The commission still has another year to come up with a sales tax extension the voters might pass before the current levy runs out.
FEDERAL INDICTMENTS: Federal grand juries indicted three former elected officials in three separate cases.
In June, Charles Walker, a former state Senate majority leader and a candidate for a return to the Legislature, was named, along with his daughter, Monique Hall, in a 142-count federal indictment.
The federal charges contend that the pair used a series of schemes involving various businesses to defraud and steal hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Both pleaded innocent, with Mr. Walker, a Democrat, maintaining that the charges and investigation were politically motivated by rival Republicans.
Mr. Walker's district sided with the veteran politician, returning him to office in November in a race in which he defeated longtime politician Don Cheeks.
In November, a federal grand jury returned an 18-count indictment charging former state school Superintendent Linda Schrenko, of Columbia County, with stealing more than $500,000 in federal education funds.
About half of that money went to Ms. Shrenko's failed bid for the Republican nomination for governor in 2002.
Merle Temple, who served Mrs. Schrenko as deputy superintendent and campaign manager, and Stephan Botes, of Atlanta, also were charged.
All appeared in federal court in Atlanta and pleaded innocent.
In May, former Georgia state Rep. Robin Williams was indicted by a federal ground jury in Savannah. Federal officials said Mr. Williams and his business associates used an Augusta mental health center to funnel millions in health care money to companies that then kicked back money to Mr. Williams.
The 30-count indictment from the grand jury in Savannah charges Mr. Williams with health care fraud and money laundering in orchestrating a scheme to defraud the Community Mental Health Center of East Central Georgia out of $2 million. Mr. Williams later pleaded not guilty.
JURY GIVES RIVERA DEATH: In February, one of the most heinous crimes in area history reached some sense of conclusion as serial killer and rapist Reinaldo Rivera was sentenced to seven life sentences plus 105 years in prison for all of his other Augusta crimes.
Judge Albert M. Pickett imposed the maximum punishment possible for crimes related to the rapes of three women, two of whom were slain afterward.
Judge Pickett officially imposed the death sentence in January, but an appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court is automatic.
Mr. Rivera also faces possible murder trials in Columbia and Aiken counties on similar charges, prosecutors said.
KOLB LEAVES AUGUSTA FOR KANSAS: After several stormy years and frequent clashes with city commissioners, City Administrator George Kolb left Augusta for a similar post in Wichita, Kan.
Although Mr. Kolb was well-liked and respected by many in government and the business community, he often seemed at odds with several members of the Augusta Commission over his response to their requests for city actions.
ED MCINTYRE DIES: Ed McIntyre, Augusta's first and only elected black mayor, died after a long illness. Mr. McIntyre was remembered for a long life of civic and public service, particularly his efforts to promote racial harmony in the city. Many said such efforts far outweighed the negative impact of his 1980s arrest on federal extortion charges while in office.
TAMARA DUNSTAN'S DEATH: In a case that shocked the community and gained national media attention, Tamara Dunstan, a nurse and expectant mother, was killed after she apparently surprised a burglar in her mother's home.
After a three-day search, police said, family friend Ronald Francis Burke led them to Mrs. Dunstan's body in a wooded area. He was charged in her death and abduction, in addition to the death of her unborn child.
The case attracted national media attention for its similarities to other cases involving the deaths of expectant mothers.
In December, Mr. Burke was charged with attempting to break out of the Richmond County jail, where he was being held.
Also this month, an endowment in Mrs. Dunstan's name was set up at the Medical College of Georgia Children's Medical Center to help patients and families.
ELECTION DAY CHANGES: Although Republicans across Georgia continued to show election gains that gave them power in the state's Legislature, the Augusta area appeared to be a Democrat stronghold.
Republican state Sen. Don Cheeks, who had spent three decades in the Legislature, lost a re-election bid to former state Sen. Charles Walker. Despite the cloud of a federal investigation hanging over his head, Mr. Walker handily defeated Mr. Cheeks, who had switched to the Republican Party only two years before.
Two other area Republican incumbents - state Sen. Randy Hall and U.S. Rep. Max Burns - were upset victors in 2002 but this time lost to J.B. Powell and John Barrow, respectively, in their regional races.
JAMES BROWN ARRESTED IN DOMESTIC ABUSE: Little more than a month after passing out Christmas gifts for children, the Augusta area's most popular celebrity, James Brown, was arrested at his Beech Island home on charges of beating his wife.
Mr. Brown, then 70, who received a full pardon in 2003 from South Carolina for 1988 weapons and assault charges, spent the night in the Aiken County Detention Center - while his disheveled arrest mug shot became a staple of national news media attention.
Mr. Brown was bonded out and later paid a fine, and he and his wife appeared to have put the incident behind them.
He recently underwent surgery for prostate cancer.
CHARLES LARKE'S PAYOUT: In February, Richmond County school Superintendent Charles Larke scrambled to explain how he had received more than $94,000 for two decades of unused vacation, giving him a super-size salary of $310,000 for 2003.
The public discovered the salary on the Internet, where the state had posted the school district's audit. School board President Jeff Padgett quickly apologized for the closed-session vote and promised more accountability in the future.
Reacting to public outrage, trustee Marion Barnes held meetings to rewrite vacation policies, force Dr. Larke to take time off and end large payouts for unused days. In November, voters mentioned the vacation payout in connection with the defeat of Mr. Padgett and veteran trustees Andrew Jefferson and Y.N. Myers Jr.
SOUTH CAROLINA COMMISSIONER LINKED TO COCKFIGHTING OPERATION: South Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Charles Sharpe, of Wagener, was arrested on federal extortion and money-laundering charges connected to an Aiken County cockfighting club that was raided late last year.
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford suspended Mr. Sharpe, a veteran Aiken County Repub-lican, who pleaded not guilty to the charges.
