Across the area

Merry to appeal ruling on panel

A community activist who had claimed victory in his legal challenge of how Augusta's commission conducts business has filed notice that he will appeal.

Woody Merry filed a notice of his intention to appeal the judge's ruling in his Richmond County Superior Court petition.

Mr. Merry originally asked the court to define commissioners' abstention votes and remove Commissioner Marion Williams from the mayor pro tem office.

In March, Judge J. Carlisle Overstreet reasoned he could not make a commissioner vote yes or no, nor define what an abstention vote meant.

And he also ruled there was nothing illegal about Mr. Williams' continuing as mayor pro tem "for a reasonable period of time."

The judge, however, ruled that the mayor has the authority to count abstentions, often used to prevent six-vote majorities, as no votes.

Vintage weapons to be fired at Heritage Day

A Civil War Heritage Day will be from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Augusta Canal Interpretive Center at Enterprise Mill on Greene Street.

Re-enactors from the E. Porter Alexander camp of the Sons of the Confederacy will demonstrate period weapons, including cannons. A re-creation of a field hospital also will be erected.

The event includes Petersburg boat tours along the canal near Sibley Mill and the site of the Confederate Powderworks that once occupied the banks of the canal where Sibley Mill stands today.

There will be live firings of vintage weapons as the boats pass the powderworks chimney, a monument near the front of the mill.

For more information, call the Canal Authority office at (706) 823-0440.

5-year-old girl killed when ATV flips over

A 5-year-old Monetta girl died Sunday after the all-terrain vehicle she was riding on flipped over, authorities said.

Natalie Shuler, of the 100 block of Railroad Avenue, was pronounced dead at Palmetto Health Richland Hospital in Columbia of head injuries, Aiken County Coroner Tim Carlton said.

Natalie was riding in front of her aunt Karen Cato on a 1998 Yamaha ATV at about 7 p.m. Authorities said they thought the little girl might have pushed the throttle forward, causing the ATV to overturn, Mr. Carlton said.

Ms. Cato, of Cromer Road, where the accident happened, was in fair condition Monday at Palmetto Health Richland Hospital, he said.

Man is charged with sexual assault of girl

Police have arrested a 21-year-old Augusta man who is accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl in November, according to officials.

Joshua Kameron Farmer, of the 700 block of Dunn Rover Road, was arrested Monday and charged with one count of child molestation.

Richmond County sheriff's Lt. Jimmy Young said the girl told investigators that Mr. Farmer took her into a wooded area near home so that they could smoke marijuana. She said she passed out and awoke to find him on top of her with his pants down.

The lieutenant said the 15-year-old apparently hadn't reported the incident sooner because she was afraid.

Man is given maximum sentence for robbery

An Augusta man was given the maximum sentence Monday for a violent armed robbery.

Paul Counts, 41, pleaded guilty in Richmond County Superior Court to armed robbery and a weapon charge and was sentenced to life plus 15 years in prison.

Mr. Counts admitted that he pistol-whipped a man on April 1, 2005, when the victim didn't hand over his wallet fast enough, said Assistant District Attorney Parks White.

The victim needed 13 stitches to reattach an ear, Mr. White said.

Mr. Counts' prior convictions include a 1990 armed robbery and two drug cases in 1999. He was last released from prison in 2004, Mr. White said.

Sawed-off shotgun is found; man arrested

Authorities charged a 23-year-old Augusta man with possession of a sawed-off shotgun.

John Edward Blanton, of the 400 block of East Boundary Street, was arrested Sunday.

According to a Richmond County sheriff's report, officers went to the home because a domestic dispute had been reported.

When they arrived, they reportedly found Mr. Blanton lying on his bed, playing a video game with the shotgun on the floor nearby.

Sex offender faces trial in 2004 attack

Trial begins this morning for a registered sex offender accused of attacking a woman in the fall of 2004.

Paul C. Hampton, 47, has pleaded not guilty in Richmond County Superior Court to charges of aggravated sexual battery and kidnapping.

He is accused of knocking a woman unconscious and assaulting her Aug. 3, 2004.

Mr. Hampton has prior convictions for kidnapping, attempted rape and aggravated assault.

Walton Way Extension will be closed tonight

Walton Way Extension will be closed to traffic tonight in the area of Spring House and Traditions apartments so that crews can move a sewer line in conjunction with road construction there, according to a Department of Transportation news release.

The closing will be from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Man found injured by gunfire in shooting

Police investigated a shooting Monday evening in the Hill area of Augusta.

At about 6:30 p.m., authorities responded to the 2300 block of Gardner Street after getting a call about gunshots being fired in a neighborhood off Johns Road, said Richmond County sheriff's Investigator Tim Rzasa.

Upon responding to the scene, deputies found a man had been injured by gunfire. The unidentified man was taken to Medical College of Georgia Hospital, said Investigator Rzasa.

2 men shoot through garage door in robbery

Two Augusta men told police they were standing in a driveway in the 3100 block of Bellemeade Drive after 11 p.m. Sunday when two men tried to rob them, according to a Richmond County sheriff's report.

Franklin Dunn and Lawrence Hansboro said that when they ran into the garage and closed the door, the men began firing through the door.

Mr. Hansboro said he was struck in the eye, and the men got away. A spokeswoman at Medical College of Georgia said there was no information available on Mr. Hansboro.

Vintage weapons to be fired at Heritage Day

A Civil War Heritage Day will be from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Augusta Canal Interpretive Center at Enterprise Mill on Greene Street.

Re-enactors from the E. Porter Alexander camp of the Sons of the Confederacy will demonstrate period weapons, including cannons. A re-creation of a field hospital also will be erected.

The event includes Petersburg boat tours along the canal near Sibley Mill and the site of the Confederate Powderworks that once occupied the banks of the canal where Sibley Mill stands today.

There will be live firings of vintage weapons as the boats pass the powderworks chimney, a monument near the front of the mill.

For more information, call the Canal Authority office at (706) 823-0440.

Holocaust program will be at Fort Gordon

Fort Gordon will hold its Holocaust remembrance program at 1:30 p.m. April 20, a post news release states.

The program will be at Alexander Hall on Chamberlain Avenue.

The speaker will be Sylvia Wygoda, chairman emeritus of the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust and executive director of the commission and the Thomas B. Murphy Holocaust Teacher Training and Resource Center. She serves as chief spokesperson for Holocaust education in Georgia. She is the daughter of Hermann Wygoda, a Holocaust survivor.

This year's theme is "Legacies of Justice," in honor of those who testified during the war crimes trials of Nazis after World War II, and the precedents those trials established.

Wreck on Berckmans Road hurts 3 people

Three people were injured in a two-car accident Sunday night just after the Masters Tournament.

Janice M. Coley, 45, of Thomas Drive, was charged with driving under the influence and other offenses after police said she made an illegal left turn while driving a 1993 Ford Explorer on Berckmans Road, said Richmond County sheriff's Maj. Richard Weaver.

Ms. Coley was traveling north on Berckmans Road when she turned onto Heath Drive in front of a southbound 2000 GMC Jimmy, driven by Samuel Hardy Jr., 23, of Brentwood Place, police said.

The two drivers and a passenger in Mr. Hardy's vehicle were taken to Medical College of Georgia Hospital, police said.

On Monday, an MCG spokeswoman said they had been discharged.