Schools honored for improving test scores

Twelve local schools were honored by the Governor's Office of Student Achievement and the Georgia Department of Education on Wednesday.

The schools were recognized under Georgia's Single Statewide Accountability System, which awards schools based on their performance on state curriculum exams and their adequate yearly progress status.

In the greatest gains category, Lake Forest Hills Elementary School earned platinum and Greenbrier Middle School earned gold.

A.R. Johnson Health Science and Engineering Magnet High School and John S. Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School earned the only platinum awards for the area in the highest performance category.

In the same category, Stevens Creek Elementary School, River Ridge Elementary and Greenbrier High School received gold; C.T. Walker Traditional Magnet School and Greenbrier Elementary School received silver; and Westmont Elementary School, Blue Ridge Elementary School and North Columbia Elementary School received bronze.

New principal named for Grovetown Middle

Tom Smallwood was named principal of Grovetown Middle School during a called meeting Wednesday of the Columbia County Board of Education.

After a nearly two-hour, closed-door session in which trustees discussed personnel and student disciplinary issues, the board unanimously approved Mr. Smallwood as the permanent replacement for Carolyn Fries, who retired abruptly in September.

Ms. Fries had been replaced in the interim by Penny Jackson, who has been named principal of Grovetown High School, which is under construction.

Mrs. Jackson will remain at Grovetown Middle for a brief period and then move to the central office to coordinate the completion of Grovetown High, said Deputy Superintendent Sandra Carraway.

Mr. Smallwood is now assistant principal at the new Stallings Island Middle School. The search for his replacement will begin immediately, school officials said.

Fort Gordon's burning ongoing until March

The Fort Gordon Forestry Department has begun controlled burns on post and expects to continue them until March, according to a news release.

The fires help maintain the longleaf pine forests by removing plants that compete with the pines. They also enrich the soil with nutrients.

In the past, the smoke from the fires has drifted across parts of Augusta.

For more information, contact (706) 791-9928.

After items found, man arrested for burglary

A 19-year-old Augusta man was arrested Wednesday morning on a felony charge of burglary after police recovered some items behind Glenn Hills High School.

Jonathan Adriane Brown, of the 3500 block of Kindling Drive, was arrested shortly after 10 a.m., according to jail records. The burglary was reported Monday morning at a home at the 3100 block of Hampton Drive in Augusta, according to a sheriff's office report. The homeowner reported that a door had been broken into and a laptop, rifle, diamond watch, necklace and binoculars had been taken. The computer and binoculars were recovered behind the school.

Man arrested in armed robbery of restaurant

Aiken County sheriff's deputies arrested a man Wednesday in the Nov. 11 armed robbery of a Waffle House restaurant.

Deputies found Timothy L. Lakes hiding in the bedroom of a girlfriend's mobile home, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.

According to police reports, a man walked into the Waffle House at 105 Frontage Road, near the Interstate 20-U.S. Highway 25 interchange, about 3:30 a.m. The man is accused of grabbing a steak knife from a table, jumping over the counter and demanding money.

After getting money from the cash register, he reportedly left the restaurant, dropping the knife on the way out.

Woman reports she was abducted, raped

A Martinez woman told police she was raped Tuesday night by a man who abducted her at gunpoint while her vehicle was stopped at a Martinez intersection. The 21-year-old was responding to a text message on her phone at the midsection of Stevens Creek and Evans to Locks roads about 8 p.m. when a man wearing a ski mask pointed a gun at her and demanded she unlock the car door, according to a police incident report.

The man moved to the backseat of the car and told the woman to drive to a dead end on Stevens Creek Road, where he took her credit cards and ordered her out of the car, police said. He then pushed her into some nearby woods and raped her, according to the report.

The assailant is described as white, 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighing about 230 pounds. He was wearing black gloves and blue jeans.

Murder trial continues in 2006 shooting case

Testimony continues today in the murder trial of an Augusta man accused in a 2006 fatal shooting.

Terrell A. Green, 21, has pleaded not guilty in Richmond County Superior Court. He faces murder and other charges in the July 24, 2006, slaying of John D. Grimes III, 27.

The victim was shot to death as he walked with a friend along Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Two other men have pleaded guilty to aggravated assault charges in the case. Bryant Collier and Alvin L. Scott are each serving 10-year prison sentences.

88-year-old woman escapes house fire

An elderly woman escaped a house fire with second-degree burns Wednesday afternoon, according to the Merriwether Fire Department.

Department Chief Faye Fulmer said the fire began about 2:30 p.m. and destroyed half of the house located at 1450 W. Martintown Road. The homeowner, whose name wasn't released was taken to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center for treatment.