V.A. clinic opens on coast

A new veterans' clinic is open on the coast. The Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in St. Marys will save thousands of veterans long drives for medical treatment and advice about benefits. It will be fully staffed by December with 20 doctors, nurses, lab technicians and a pharmacist. The VA says the clinic will accept veterans from anywhere with no geographical restrictions.

(Associated Press)

Jailbreak in southeastern county

Two brothers are on the loose after escaping from a southeast Georgia jail. Nineteen-year-old Justin Kyle McIlrath and 22-year-old Matthew Robert McIlrath escaped from the Camden County Sheriff's Office substation at Saint Marys on Saturday. Police say the men cut through a fence using bolt cutters shortly after the last head count. Both men are charged with burglary and criminal interference with government property.

Cumberland Island to get more than foot-traffic

Much of Cumberland Island just off Georgia’s coast is only accessible by foot… that may soon change. With the passage of the Cumberland Island Wilderness Boundary Act in December 2004,Congress created a way to give visitors more access.

Currently, walking is only way to get anywhere on the island once the ferry drops people off on the dock. Most don’t have the stamina to hike to some of the well-known historic areas.

Talks on how to implement the plan start this month in St. Mary’s and Atlanta in a series of public hearings. Those dates will be announced this week when a draft proposal plan is released.

St.Mary's doctor gets life in prison

A doctor on Georgia's coast has been sentenced to life in prison for the drug overdose death of his patient and housemate. A St.Mary's jury found Noel Chua guilty Saturday of felony murder, and seven charges of violating the state's controlled substances act.

Sailor arrested for molestation

Authorities have arrested a sailor based at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base south of Brunswick on child molestation charges. Parents of one of the alleged victims complained to the Navy about 36-year-old Steven David Sydor. Authorities believe Sydor gave children ages 10 to 15 alcohol and tried to get them to run around his St. Mary’s house nude. Investigators also removed a computer from his home.