Executive editor is named to AP board

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Alan English, the executive editor of The Augusta Chronicle , has been named to the board of directors of the Associated Press Managing Editors.

Meeting at AP headquarters in New York City last week, directors selected Mr. English to fill an unexpired term.

His service to the association has included planning and logistics for recent annual conferences.

Mr. English joined The Chronicle in April after five years as executive editor of the Times of Shreveport, La., where he also spent four years as managing editor.

He started as a photographer with the Knoxville (Tenn.) Journal in 1987. He worked as a photo editor for several newspapers, was photo director for Gannett Suburban Newspapers in White Plains, N.Y., and was assistant managing editor for photography at the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, N.Y.

78-year-old robbed in Gordon Highway motel

A 78-year-old man was robbed Friday night while staying at Scottish Inn on Gordon Highway, according to a Richmond County Sheriff's Office report.

The victim said he was in a hotel room with the door open when a black male entered, pushed him onto the bed and took $180 from his pocket before running away.

Officers noted that the victim was intoxicated and unable to give any additional description of the man.

Bloodhounds find man sought in auto theft

A Columbia man has been charged with stealing a vehicle from an Aiken fast food restaurant late Friday.

Samuel Watford, 37, was charged with grand larceny, possession of a stolen vehicle and unlawful entry into enclosed places.

The vehicle was stolen from Krystal's on Whiskey Road about 9 p.m., the Aiken County Sheriff's Office reports.

Authorities say they stopped the vehicle about an hour later on York Street, and the suspect jumped out and ran into a wooded area.

The Aiken Bloodhound Tracking Team tracked the suspect to the Strom Thurmond Vocational Rehabilitation facility, where cloth from a torn shirt and pair of jeans were stuck on a fence. The suspect was found hiding in a trash container next to a warehouse and was taken to Aiken County Detention Center, officers say.

The vehicle was returned to its owner.

Elderly can receive help with power bills

Low-income residents 65 and older will have two days to take advantage of energy assistance provided by the CSRA Economic Opportunity Authority.

From 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, applicants can stop by Carrie J. Mays Center on 11th Street to get financial help with electric bills.

The funds will be available to 300 Richmond County and 50 Columbia County households on a first come, first served basis. All household members must be 65 or older.

Homebound seniors can have an authorized person, with a signed statement and appropriate documents, apply for the energy assistance on their behalf.

Applicants must bring:

- Picture ID

- Social Security cards for all household members

- Income statements and check stubs for all household members

- Recent electric bill

For more information, call (866) 722-4346.

Chili's worker robbed, forced into freezer

A Chili's employee was robbed at gunpoint while leaving the restaurant early Saturday, according to a Richmond County Sheriff's Office report.

The man was walking to his car in front of the restaurant at the Augusta Exchange shopping center about 3 a.m. when he was accosted. The robber, described as a clean-shaven black male, about 5 feet 11 inches and 185 pounds wearing a black baseball cap and white T-shirt, approached with a handgun and told him not to get in his car.

The robber forced the employee back into the restaurant, and another black male, also wearing a black cap and white T-shirt with something covering his face, got out of a vehicle at Tires Plus and was let into the restaurant by the first robber.

After being ordered to give up his driver's license, the employee was forced into the restaurant's office, where the robbers removed cash from a safe.

The employee was then forced into a cooler. He called 911 once the robbers left.

Man, 61, robbed while walking through alley

A 61-year-old man was robbed at gunpoint Friday night while walking through an alley, according to a Richmond County Sheriff's Office report.

The victim was walking in the 1700 block of Meadow Street around 11 p.m. when a 30- to 40-year-old black male approached and hit him in the head with a silver colored pistol and a fist, the report states. The robber grabbed the victim's house keys, $7, a bottle of beer, a bottle of liquor and a pack of cigarettes.

The victim suffered slight swelling to his left eye and two small cuts to his left cheek. Gold Cross EMS responded, but the victim refused treatment.