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Authorities search for missing man

Richmond County sheriff's deputies are looking for a man who has been missing for several days and suffers from a medical condition.

Timothy Shawn Bergfield, 33, was last seen Tuesday, Sgt. Richard Roundtree said in a news release.

Mr. Bergfield has high blood pressure, which impairs his vision when elevated, the sergeant said. Mr. Bergfield might be driving a white 2004 Ford Escape with a Georgia license plate number of AJY 5519.

Mr. Bergfield is white, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 210 pounds. Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call the Richmond County Sheriff's Office at (706) 821-1020 or (706) 821-1080.

The Richmond County Sheriff's Office is the recipient of two federal homeland security grants totaling $460,725, according to a news release from Gov. Sonny Perdue's office.

The grants are part of $9.41 million in homeland security grants for communities around the state, the first phase of $44 million in homeland security funding to the state of Georgia.

A $210,725 grant for the sheriff's office is for explosive device response operations, and a $250,000 grant is for law enforcement operations protection measures.

Aiken authorities are investigating a shooting at a nightclub early Friday morning in which one man was shot in the buttocks.

One woman was arrested and charged, but not with the shooting.

Officers with the Aiken Department of Public Safety were called to Club Ohara on York Street shortly after midnight and found 20-year-old David Forrest lying on the sidewalk with a bullet wound, a police report states.

Textile manufacturer Milliken & Co. is scheduled to get $2.4 million to develop longer-lasting military garments at its Johnston plant in Edgefield County, members of South Carolina's congressional delegation announced Friday.

The money is included in the defense appropriations bill that President Bush is expected to sign in coming days.

In all, South Carolina's 3rd Congressional District, which includes Aiken, Edgefield and McCormick counties, received $10.4 million for defense-related projects.

Tickets for the National Barrel Horse Association World Championships go on sale at the James Brown Arena box office at 10 a.m. Sunday.

The championships will take place at the arena in downtown Augusta from Oct. 30 to Nov. 4, according to news release.

Tickets are general admission and cost $30 for all events and $8 per day.

One boy died and two others were injured Friday after a Toyota Camry ran off of a Hephzibah road and struck a tree.

Daniel Nguyen, 15, of Hephzibah, was pronounced dead at the scene by Richmond County Chief Deputy Coroner Mark Bowen.

The accident occurred about 3:30 p.m., as the three teenage boys were traveling east in the 2300 block of Mims Road, said Richmond County sheriff's Deputy Terrell Norman.

A seasonal ban on open burning in Richmond and Columbia counties will be lifted Sunday, according to Ranger William Brantley of the Georgia Forestry Commission's Harlem office.

The ban, which took effect May 1, will expire today, he said. The restrictions are part of a broader effort by Georgia's Environmental Protection Division to reduce pollution and protect air quality in the Augusta metro area.

Although the ban will be lifted, permits for open burning are still required, Mr. Brantley said.

The National Security Agency's Augusta Regional Security Operations Center at Fort Gordon will be authorized to receive $77 million in a defense bill passed late Friday by the U.S. House of Representatives, according to the office of U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.

In a news release, Mr. Chambliss said that the Senate is expected to pass the Defense Authorization Conference Report before Congress adjourns for the November elections. It will move from the Senate to the president for approval.

Two off-ramps on Interstate 520 will be closed next week.

The eastbound off ramp to Georgia Highway 56 will be closed from 9 p.m. Tuesday to 5 a.m. the next day, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation. The alternate exit will be Exit 10 to Doug Barnard Parkway.

Also, the I-520 westbound exit ramp at Exit 7 to U.S. Highway 25 will be closed from 9 p.m. Wednesday to 5 a.m. the next day. The alternate exit will be the Deans Bridge Road interchange.

An Augusta man told police that someone fired five to seven shots at him Thursday evening in the 3600 block of Columbine Drive, according to a Richmond County sheriff's report.

At about 6 p.m., a 22-year-old said he saw two men stop in the street. One fired shots in his direction, according to the report.

Officers found five .380 caliber shell casings at the scene, according to the report.

A 37-year-old woman told police that her purse was stolen Thursday in the 1400 block of Wrightsboro Road.

The woman said a man snatched her purse from her shoulder at about 5:30 a.m. The purse contained $131, she said.

Richmond County sheriff's deputies are still looking for a man accused of shooting a woman in the face and arrested two people in connection with the case early Friday.

Alex Matthew Burnette, 19, with a last known address on Harold Road, is wanted in connection with the shooting that happened at Dogwood Terrace apartments Thursday night, police said.

- From staff reports