Men OK after trench collapse

Two men were sent to the hospital and a Martinez road was closed for more than two hours Tuesday after the collapse of a trench in Columbia County.

Hobbs and Sons employees Gil Gilwater and Lee Hobbs were working on sewer lines in a 15-to-20-foot-deep trench on Blue Ridge Drive about 10:30 a.m. when part of the trench collapsed on them, emergency officials said. Mr. Hobbs dug himself out and was treated at Medical College of Georgia Hospital for minor injuries, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Mr. Gilwater remained trapped in knee-high mud for more than two hours before emergency workers were able to free him. He was in fair condition Tuesday, according to an MCG spokeswoman.

The Georgia Supreme Court has rejected the appeals of two Augusta men convicted of murder.

In separate opinions released Tuesday, the court affirmed Antonio Ruffin's conviction in Richmond County Superior Court for the March 2, 1999, shooting death of 29-year-old Michael Young.

The court also rejected a challenge from Danny Williams, who contended his conviction should be set aside because his Richmond County Superior Court jury wasn't sworn in. Mr. Williams was convicted in the May 1996 shooting death of 32-year-old Rex A. Storey.

An Augusta man received a five-year prison sentence Tuesday for not complying with the sex offender registry.

Richmond County Superior Court Judge Carl C. Brown Jr. also ordered Randy L. Newsome, 42, to serve 10 years on probation once he completes his prison sentence.

Assistant District Attorney Adam H. Hatcher said that in March 2007, investigators determined Mr. Newsome was not living in the house he registered as his home.

A federal judge has tossed a sexual harassment lawsuit filed against MCG Health and a former top executive.

In an opinion dated Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood ruled that Sabrina L. Jenkins could not prove that a four-year sexual relationship with Thomas Kelly Jr., a former chief financial officer, was unwelcomed.

A westbound lane of Washington Road, between Flowing Wells Road and Club Car Drive, will be closed from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. today for construction and widening of Washington Road.

A man accused of gunning down two newspaper carriers more than two years ago has gone back on trial, a little more than a year after his first trial ended in a hung jury.

Cornell Tyler is accused of killing Debra Dorch and injuring Joe Brewer in August 2005 after the pair, who were delivering The Aiken Standard to homes in the Union Academy Road area, backed up to a home they had missed on their route. Authorities have said they believe the two were mistaken for rival drug dealers.

Mr. Tyler and others are accused of chasing the two for more than two miles, shooting at them from their car and causing them to crash.

Police are investigating a copper theft that resulted in an estimated $40,000 in damage to an Augusta apartment complex.

Between Friday and Monday, burglars stole about $17,800 worth of copper piping and air-conditioning units from Magnolia Park Apartments at 2133 Vandivere Road, according to a Richmond County sheriff's report. As a result, the entire lower level of Building 15 was flooded with about 2 inches of water, the report stated.

A 30-year-old Army specialist at Fort Gordon admitted during a court-martial Monday that he stole mail from other soldiers while working as a mail clerk for his unit.

Spc. William E. Bland, of the 513th Military Intelligence Brigade, was sentenced to four years in confinement, a dishonorable discharge, a $2,500 fine and a total forfeiture of all pay and allowances, according to Marla Jones, a civilian post spokeswoman.

He also was charged with larcenies, accused of using four soldiers' debit cards to purchase items, Ms. Jones wrote in an e-mail.

Police are searching for four people involved in the armed robbery of a south Augusta gas station early Tuesday.

The robbery happened at 2:50 a.m. at the Citgo Quick Mart at 4706 Deans Bridge Road, Richmond County sheriff's Lt. Scott Peebles wrote in an e-mail.

Police said two black men wearing bandannas and wielding handguns robbed the store, while a third black man wearing an Atlanta Braves hat waited in a white Plymouth Sundance. A fourth suspect, described as a white woman or light-skinned black woman with dark hair, also was in the vehicle. Anyone with information can call (706) 821-1080 or (866) 939-5050.

Traffic snarled to a halt on Interstate 20 on Tuesday morning after two wrecks in Richmond County.

The first occurred about 6:45 a.m. when a sport utility vehicle tried to pass another driver on the Washington Road on-ramp, authorities said. The vehicle reportedly clipped the truck and struck a tractor-trailer traveling westbound on I-20.

Robert Knapp, 21, of Augusta, was charged with following too closely, driving too fast for conditions and failure to yield while entering a roadway. He was taken to the Eisenhower Medical Center and later released.

About 11 a.m., a tractor-trailer driven by Paul Atwood Miller, 50, of Pavo, Ga., struck a car while changing lanes on the westbound side of I-20 near the Warren Road bridge, authorities said. The impact caused the car to spin out of control and stop on an embankment, Maj. Weaver said.

Mr. Miller faces charges stemming from the improper lane change and was taken to Medical College of Georgia Hospital, police said.

School board approves naming facilities

The Aiken County Board of Education approved a policy change Tuesday that could allowed naming rights for new school facilities and additions.

On a case-by-case basis, the administration can recommend the school board approve naming rights for a facility if the donor is willing to put up at least 50 percent of the project cost.

The board hopes the policy change will offset future building costs, where the district currently struggles to build revenue. Superintendent Dr. Beth Everitt also sat in on her first board meeting since joining the school district last week.

-- From staff reports