Home Depot Brings Jobs to South Georgia

Several hundred jobs are on the way to south Georgia. Home Depot Thursday announced the opening of a distribution center in Lowndes County. Office and warehouse positions will be created over the next few years at the facility. The Atlanta-based company is the world’s largest home improvement retailer.

Too Soon To Calculate Flood Damage In State

State emergency management officials say it will be next week at the earliest to determine how much damage was done by flooding in Georgia over the past two weeks. Officials with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency say more than 50 counties have been impacted by flooding--with south Georgia especially hard hit. As flood waters recede in Brantley County, federal officials there are evaluating close to 100 homes either damaged or destroyed by high water. In various other counties, officials are still being urged to boil water if their wells were flooded.

South Georgia Deals With Flooding

At least two dozen families have been evacuated, with 30 to 50 homes impacted by flood waters in the Valdosta-area. The Withlacoochee River is still the concern this morning, following multiple inches of heavy and soaking rains over the past 10 days in south Georgia. Forecasters say the river crested over the weekend, but still remains about five feet above flood stage. Buzz Weiss with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency says one concern of state emergency officials is protecting the water treatment plant in the Valdosta-area. However, city officials stress that drinking water is safe for residents. Lowndes County emergency officials say with numerous road and bridge closures, people should not travel unless absolutely necessary.

Major Flooding Concern For Parts Of South Georgia

Several days of heavy rains have brought bad--and good news--to Georgia. Parts of the state, especially to the south, have received well over a foot of rain--a good bit of that over the past 36 hours.

And the immediate concern for those residents today is flooding. At least two sections of major rivers in the region are forecast to reach major flood stage. The Satilla River near Waycross had already hit the 20-foot "major flood" mark by early afternoon. To the west, in Lowndes County near the state line, the Withlacoochee River is also expected to reach "major flood status"—near 25 feet.

Paige Dukes is with Lowndes County:

"Right now I’m sort of right in the middle of the city, and I grew up just a couple of blocks from where we have some of the most significant flooding and it’s been common for the water to come up over a bridge in the area several times over probably the last 20 or 30 years. But, we have a lot of long time residents in the area and everyone’s saying they’ve never seen the water get this high."

Many roads in south Georgia are closed to traffic due to flooding, and about two dozen school systems were closed today.

Meanwhile, the massive rainfall has now busted the drought for most of Georgia. State climatologist David Stooksbury says the southern two-thirds of the state Georgia have now stepped-out out of drought. Earlier this week, Stooksbury removed the drought designation from most of north Georgia. The only exceptions remain the Lake Lanier and Lake Hartwell basins, which are still classified as in moderate drought.

South Georgia Braces For Flooding

The storms that once again brought multiple inches of rain to parts of the state have now given way to concerns over waters rising this morning. An update from Ken Davis of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency:

"What we're seeing is a continued rise in the river and creek levels, particularly across southwest, south-central, southeast, and even central Georgia."

As example this morning, flooding includes the Satilla River in Waycross, affecting residents in Pierce and Ware counties. Moderate flooding is happening now, with major flood stage for that river forecast by this afternoon. Many secondary roads are closed across south Georgia and central portions of the state. For a time last night, a section of Interstate-75 in the Cordele area had to be closed to traffic with water covering the roadway.

GEMA's Davis says there are also 20 school systems, mainly in south Georgia, closed today.

Davis says there were no reports of any tornadoes in Georgia.

More Rain Heightens Flooding Concerns

A new round of rain is forecast for much of Georgia from Wednesday through at least Thursday. But while the state still needs precipitation in the big picture of the drought, the rain is not welcome news for saturated south Georgia. The region is still trying to recover from flooding over last weekend. Earlier this week, Governor Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency in six south Georgia counties.

Because of concerns over flooded roadways, some school systems in south Georgia are closed today: Baker County; Berrien County; Brooks County; Colquitt County; Cook County; Miller County; Mitchell County; Pelham City Schools; Baconton Charter School; and no dual-enrollment classes for Colquitt County High School.

Flooding Prompts State Of Emergency In South Georgia

As a result of heavy rain that fell late last week into the weekend, Governor Sonny Perdue declared a state of emergency for six south Georgia counties. Baker, Colquitt, Miller, Tift, Turner and Worth counties will be eligible for state help in dealing with cleanup and repair efforts from flooding in the region. 800 miles of roads and nearly 100 homes were damaged in the six-county area. Nine bridges in the region also sustained damage. The agencies available to local authorities include GEMA, the Georgia State Patrol, and the Department of Transportation.

South Georgia state prison to close

A south Georgia state prison is set to close. Officials with the Department of Corrections say the 250-bed Milan State Prison in Helena will close the doors on Friday. Inmates will be transferred to other prisons in the state. The 55 workers at Milan will be offered other jobs in the Department. There are no plans yet in place as for what will become of the soon-to-be vacated facility.

New jobs and investment land in south Georgia

50 jobs and an investment of 15-million dollars is on the way to south Georgia, near the Florida border. A plant that will produce wood pellets and chips will be located in Thomas County. Woodlands Alternative Fuels bought a facility formerly owned by Waverly Minerals. Wood pellets will be made for fuel and horse bedding. About 60-percent of the fuel pellets will be made for the export market for use in power plans.

UPDATE-'Fay' affect on southern Georgia

Tropical storm warning is in effect through Friday night for Georgia's coast.

Flash flood and flood watches in effect for southeast, south-central and southwest Georgia through Friday night.

Wind advisories are in effect for much of central and southeast Georgia through Saturday night.

Rainfall amounts across south Georgia could reach 10 inches in some areas. Wind gusts this morning have been reported to be hitting the 30 mph range.

School closings for Friday:

- Camden County schools
- Glynn County schools
- McIntosh County schools
- Valdosta city schools
- Benedictine Military School

Tropical Storm Fay could hurt Georgia farmers

As Tropical Storm Fay makes its way through South Georgia, farmers there are doing the best they can to save their crops.
Farmers in Southwest Georgia ran combines through the night to get their corn out of the fields. Tropical Storm Fay is bringing heavy winds and rain to the area. High winds can topple corn stalks and heavy rains can cause plants to rot in the fields.
With higher corn prices brought on by ethanol production, Georgia farmers planted over 300-thousand acres this year. A cool spring and a hot, dry summer has already hurt this year's crop. A flood could make the situation much worse.
This years crop could bring in more than 200-million dollars for Georgia's farmers, and much of that crop is grown in South Georgia.

Fay's outer bands affecting south Georgia

Tropical storm Fay is bringing rain, sometimes heavy, to many portions of south Georgia this morning. Forecasters warn of winds gusting up to 30-40 mph from Fay’s outer bands, as the storm makes its slow trek through north-central Florida into the panhandle. Depending on the area of southern Georgia, rainfall amounts could tally above five inches.

Thieves hit south Georgia storage units

South Georgia authorities are working to solve a string of burglaries. According to the Turner County Sheriff's office, over the past six months thieves have hit storage units in Turner and Tift counties. One tip recently led authorities to the recovery of thousands of dollars in stolen goods. Two people were arrested with additional arrests expected.

South Georgia gas pump investigation resolved

A lawyer for the owners of two south Georgia truck stops says the facilities did not rig gas pumps that shorted customers gasoline. Last month, state agriculture officials stepped-in to close two Cisco Travel Plazas on Interstate-95. Officials said customers were getting a quart less for every five gallons bought. The truck stops' lawyer says vandalism to gas pumps is the reason customers got less gas than what they bought. The station owners paid the state 250-thousand dollars in fines--other fines will be waived if there are no problems for two years.

Brunswick family identified in VA plane crash

A couple from Georgia and their teenage daughter have been identified as the victims of a single-engine plane crash just outside the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia in Thursday.

Authorities identified the dead as 46-year-old pilot Lawrence Frederick Chapman the Third, of Brunswick, Ga.; his wife, 45-year-old Robin Dee Chapman; and 16-year-old daughter Katie M- Chapman.

The 1964 Piper fixed-wing plane departed from Georgia bound for Winchester and went down in a wooded area near Syria, which is about 15 miles west of Culpeper, Virginia. The plane was registered out of Florida.

State police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said on Saturday that authorities were still removing the wreckage from the remote area.

Police said Federal Aviation Administration authorities called state police after they lost contact with the aircraft at 9 pm. Thursday.

The Civil Air Patrol joined state police searching for the plane. Officials detected the aircraft's emergency location transmitter at 10 am Friday and discovered the wreckage about two hours later.

The National Transportation Safety Board and state police are investigating the cause of the crash.
(Associated Press)

Albany tops state sweat level

Sunset in a hazy sky over Albany's Lake Loretta.
(Photo: Dave Bender)

Albany topped the state's record-breaking heat wave Tuesday. The whopping 110-degree temperature index broiled the city like an electric blanket.

One billboard thermometer in town registered 96 degrees -- and that was at seven thirty in the evening.

Skies were hazy, and humidity hovered around 40-percent throughout most of the day.

Albany resident and jogger Andrew Peterson has his own prescription for beating the heat:

“I drink a lot of water. I stayed inside all day and came out around seven o'clock, when the sun kinda' went down, and it got a little cooler – it's still a little warm outside.”

“Did you know that it was up to 110 here with the heat index?”

“No sir, I did not know that. If I'd have know that I'd probably wouldn't have been outside.”

More sweltering weather is expected through the week.

More GPB coverage of the statewide heatwave is here, here and here.
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Severely beaten south Georgia judge dies

A south Georgia judge who was severely beaten two weeks ago has died. 74-year-old Glenn Thomas Jr. succumbed to head injuries he suffered in an attack at his Jesup law office. Thomas was being treated at Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah. Authorities now expect to file murder charges against Bobby Rex Stribling. He's been in jail since his arrest a day after the June 25th beating.
Police say Stribling attacked Thomas in his office, beating the judge multiple times in the head with a blunt weapon, then taking his wallet and stealing his truck.

Thomas was a Recorders Court judge and served as district attorney for 30 years in the Brunswick Judicial Circuit.

Wildfires to burn at least another week officials say.

Officials say a wildfires that has been raging for 2 weeks is 70 percent contained.

The largest wildfire in Georgia history has consumed over 82-thousand acres of forest and swampland in South Georiga’s Ware county.

Georgia Foresty officials say a few families remain evacuated across U-S Highway One where smaller spot fires ignited this weekend. Firefighters continue to patrol the affected 16-mile stretch of highway. 2 more wildfires broke out early yesterday in nearby counties, but they were not related to larger blaze

Officials say strong winds gusting to 15 miles per hour and extreme drought conditions in south Georgia with no rain in the forecast mean the fire will continue to rage for at least another week.