Across Georgia

ALBANY - The Georgia Peanut Commission has appealed to Congress for emergency money to help growers survive a drought disaster and record-high energy costs.

The U.S. Agriculture Department has already designated 155 of Georgia's 159 counties as agricultural disaster areas because of the drought, making farmers eligible for low-interest loans.

But the commission's board said in a letter to Georgia's congressional delegation and to key lawmakers from other states that low-interest loans are not a solution because many farmers already are strapped with bills.

WOODBINE - An arson unit is investigating a house fire that killed two young children, state Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John Oxendine said.

Rescue workers were called to the two-story home Monday morning, where they found the house already in flames.

After getting the blaze under control, firefighters found the bodies of Sebastian Skyler Vensel, 4, and his younger brother, Caleb Brennan Vensel, 2.

The two boys were apparently sleeping in an upstairs bedroom when a neighbor called to report the fire, said Lt. William Terrell, a spokesman for the Camden County Sheriff's Office.

The boys' grandmother escaped with no apparent injuries, Lt. Terrell said. The children's mother and her boyfriend were not home when the fire began.

ATLANTA - A chemical spill forced the evacuation of the Parmalat Dairy in southeast Atlanta.

Capt. Byron Kennedy, a fire department spokesman, said 33 employees were evacuated Wednesday from the dairy. No injuries were reported.

He said a 55-gallon drum containing hydrogen peroxide mixed with another chemical and caused a reaction.

The Fire Department brought out a hazardous materials team to the dairy and closed traffic in both directions on the street where the dairy is located.

SMYRNA - A four-hour standoff ended with police killing a man suspected of robbing a woman and trying to carjack another man.

The incident began at about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday when a woman was robbed at a shopping center.

The suspect, whose name was not released, was confronted by police at a gas station. He then fled through a back door and tried to carjack a man who was leaving an apartment complex behind the gas station.

When SWAT officers arrived, they fired beanbags at the man, knocking him down. But the man got back up and pointed his gun at police, who then opened fire.

- Edited from wire reports