Graduate programs at UGA ranked in top 10

ATHENS --- Thirteen University of Georgia graduate programs ranked among the top 10 in the nation in the third annual Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index.

The assessment is a ranking of graduate programs at research universities based on what is purported to be the first objective measurement of per-capita scholarly accomplishment.

Seven doctoral programs in the College of Education and six more from other UGA colleges were recognized.

Private well owners might sell to county

WATKINSVILLE --- Four Oconee County well owners soon are expected to be in the business of selling water to the county government.

County commissioners last week authorized commission Chairman Melvin Davis to negotiate lease agreements that would let the government pump thousands of gallons of water each day from a handful of high-flow private wells into the public water system.

One of four counties that share the depleted Bear Creek Reservoir, Oconee County made the long-term decision this year to partner with Walton County for a new reservoir at Hard Labor Creek.

Couple charged with cruelty in death of son

BRUNSWICK --- A North Carolina couple faces child abuse charges in the case of the 3-month-old boy found dead in a Glynn County motel room, police said.

April Schultz, 21, and Michael Wood, 22, both of Randleman, N.C., were arrested Thursday afternoon on single counts of first-degree cruelty to children in the death of their son, Christopher Teague, said Sgt. Keith Stalvey of the Glynn County Police Department.

The child was found Wednesday "extremely malnourished," dirty and kept strapped in a child's car safety seat on the bathroom floor of his parents' room at the Super 8 Motel in Brunswick, Sgt. Stalvey said.

Police came to the hotel Wednesday morning after receiving an emergency call about the baby.

Although the Georgia Bureau of Investigation conducted an autopsy on Thursday in Savannah, the medical examiner has withheld a ruling in the child's death pending the results of toxicology and other tests, county Coroner Jimmy Durden said.

Ex-official accused of using money for flight

COVINGTON --- The former director of the McDonough Hospitality and Tourism Board is accused of taking $6,000 in city funds to purchase airline tickets to Hawaii, Georgia Bureau of Investigation officials said.

Leslie Chrysler, 25, of Covington, has been charged with theft by taking, said GBI spokesman John Bankhead.

She is accused of using $6,000 from the board's checking account to purchase Delta Air Lines tickets to Hawaii, Mr. Bankhead said.