Rita evacuee shelter closes

An American Red Cross shelter set up at Wesley United Methodist Church for Hurricane Rita evacuees was to officially close Tuesday afternoon.

Pam Tucker, Columbia County's emergency services director, said in an e-mail that the evacuees would spend one night in an area hotel after the shelter's closing and then move to another shelter in Georgia until being allowed to return to their Texas homes.

Perdue makes three regional appointments

ATLANTA - Gov. Sonny Perdue has appointed former Columbia County lawmaker Bill Jackson to the state Board of Corrections.

The appointment of Mr. Jackson, 72, of Appling, was one of three regional appointments the governor's office announced this week.

Jesse C. Stone, 49, of Waynesboro, was named 12th Congressional District representative to the Georgia Council for the Arts.

Margaret D. Evans, 72, the mayor of Sylvania, was appointed to the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council.

Teacher is hit while breaking up fight

An East Augusta Middle School teacher who tried to prevent two pupils from fighting got hit herself, according to a Richmond County school tribunal report released Tuesday.

Teacher Patricia Schad told an 11-year-old pupil to go outside to cool down after she got mad at another student, but instead the pupil punched her upper left arm and chest.

The pupil was sent to the Alternative Center for the remainder of the semester and will be on probation the rest of her middle school career, the report said.

Attacker receives 7-year prison sentence

A young man who caused permanent nerve damage in a fight was sentenced to seven years in prison Tuesday.

A Richmond County Superior Court jury convicted Joseph Evans Jr., 18, of aggravated battery in July. A year earlier, Mr. Evans and Etheridge A. Brown attacked two other young men.

Mr. Evans hit Michael A. Martin Jr. in the face and chest with a bottle, causing deep cuts and nerve damage.

Defense attorney Brendan Fleming asked for probation. He pointed to Mr. Evans' youth and the fact that his sister, Catrina Evans, was killed last month.

Judge Neal W. Dickert, noting Mr. Evans' extensive juvenile record that began at 11, sentenced Mr. Evans to prison, followed by three years probation. Mr. Brown was sentenced to three years in prison earlier this year.

Man hit by car in 1998 admits drunkenness

A man hit by a vehicle on an Augusta street seven years ago pleaded guilty Tuesday to reduced charges.

Eddie Lowe Jr., 38, who is serving a two-year prison term for obstruction of a law enforcement officer and a weapon violation, was brought back to Richmond County Superior Court to face criminal charges. Hugh Hadden, of the public defender's office, said Tuesday that Mr. Lowe was drunkenly walking on Wrightsboro Road when he was struck by a car driven by an off-duty police officer Dec. 11, 1998.

Mr. Lowe pleaded guilty to being a pedestrian under the influence of alcohol.

He was sentenced to serve nine months, the same amount of time remaining in his prison sentence.

Man admits taking teenager from store

A south Augusta man accused of kidnapping a teenage grocery store worker pleaded guilty Tuesday.

Daniel A. Fulmer, 19, was sentenced in Richmond County Superior Court to a 15-year prison term for armed robbery, kidnapping, theft, battery and a weapon violation. The charges stemmed from two incidents.

Mr. Fulmer and his stepbrother were accused of kidnapping a 16-year-old from Winn-Dixie on the Gordon Highway on March 14, 2004. Shannon W. Stavely, 28, has pleaded not guilty. In a second case, Mr. Fulmer was charged with biting his ex-girlfriend and stealing her car on May 3, 2004.

Pizza delivery worker robbed, carjacked

A pizza delivery worker told police he was the victim of a carjacking and robbery Monday night.

Shannon D. Spradling, 23, of Augusta, told police he was delivering pizzas in the 2600 block of Drayton Drive and was approached by about seven men at about 10 p.m.

One attacked Mr. Spradling from the back and wrapped a shirt around his throat, he told police.

The Papa John's employee said that after he struggled to free himself, another man struck him in the face while others snatched his wallet and car keys. They ran off with pizza, and another man stole his 2003 Ford Focus.

A money bag containing cash, personal checks and credit card receipts was inside the car, Mr. Spradling said.

71-year-old woman robbed while walking

An elderly woman told police she was the victim of an armed robbery while walking in an Augusta neighborhood Monday night.

Elsa Lisa Church, 71, said she was walking in the 2500 block of Wheeless Road at about 8 p.m. when she was approached by a man holding a gun who had just exited a small white vehicle, a Richmond County sheriff's report stated.

The man told her, "Give me the purse or I'll shoot you," she said.

After giving the man her purse, she was pushed to the ground, causing a leg injury, the report said.

Tractor driver dies in pickup accident

A Hephzibah man was killed late Monday when the driver of a pickup slammed into his tractor on a rural Burke County roadway, according to officials.

Georgia State Patrol Trooper First Class Bruce Rowell said Terry Lou Reese, 47, died in the accident.

Mr. Reese was reportedly driving on Bates Road at about 9:30 p.m. when Edward Williams, 70, of Waynesboro hit him from behind, ejecting Mr. Reese from his tractor.

Trooper Rowell said the state patrol is still investigating the accident.