Service marks emancipation

The Augusta Lincoln League's annual New Year's Day service will be held today.

The Emancipation Day service, celebrating the 145th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, will begin at 11 a.m. at Tabernacle Baptist Church, 1223 Laney-Walker Blvd. The public is invited.

The service will feature the church's pastor, the Rev. Charles Goodman, and commemorates President Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

Police are questioning witnesses in the shooting of two people late Sunday in a south Augusta neighborhood.

Herbert Evans, 17, of the 3900 block of Deans Bridge Road, was taken to Medical College of Georgia after being shot in the back, according to a Richmond County sheriff's report. Mr. Evans and a 16-year-old juvenile who was also shot are in stable condition, Investigator Shawn Newsome said.

Mr. Evans told police that a Pontiac Grand Prix had followed him from Butler Manor to Belgrade Court and a handgun was fired at him, the report said.

A man accused of robbing one fast-food restaurant and attempting to rob another was arrested Monday, according to the Richmond County sheriff's office.

Travis Lee Fulmer was charged with robbery by intimidation and criminal attempt of robbery by intimidation, Sgt. Richard Roundtree said in an e-mail. The investigator said Mr. Fulmer attempted to rob the Subway on Walton Way on Monday morning.

Then he went next door to rob Arby's, Sgt. Roundtree said. He had his hand inside his jacket as if he had a weapon and demanded money.

Police responded to a large fight outside Teresa's Mexican Restaurant on Boy Scout Road on Sunday night.

At least six people were questioned and one was treated by medics after being struck in the back of the head with a beer mug, according to a Richmond County sheriff's report.

William Bradley Carroll, of Evans, was charged with disorderly conduct, police said.

Two suspects are being sought after a Monday armed robbery at a Martinez hotel. The holdup occurred about noon at the Georgia Inn, 434 S. Belair Road, when two men entered the lobby and one pointed a handgun at the clerk, said Capt. Steve Morris of the Columbia County sheriff's office.

The two men took an undisclosed amount of cash before fleeing toward Ridge Crossing Apartments, Capt. Morris said.

The National Academy of Sciences will sponsor a series of public meetings in Augusta next month that include an opportunity for the public to tour part of Savannah River Site.

The Jan. 8-10 meetings will be at the Augusta Marriott Hotel & Suites, 2 10th St., and will be open to the public from 1 to 5 p.m. Jan. 8; and from 8 a.m. to noon Jan. 10.

A drive-by site tour open to the public will be Jan. 9. The tour is limited to the first 25 participants on a first-come, first-served basis.

People interested in taking the tour must contact Laurie Posey at (803) 952-8994 by Thursday.

-- From staff reports