Death at Valdosta State Prison investigated 

VALDOSTA – Authorities are investigating a death at Valdosta State Prison. At 5:58 p.m. Tuesday, an inmate was found unresponsive in his cell, according to a Georgia Department of Corrections statement. Prison medical staff administered CPR in an attempt to revive him, and he was transported to the hospital but was pronounced dead at 6:51 p.m, the statement says. The corrections department is conducting an investigation into the death as an apparent suicide, according to the statement. The inmate was serving a 21-year sentence for aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during a crime. 

 

Ameris Bank launches 8th annual food drive

LIVE OAK, Fla. — Ameris Bank has announced its 8th annual Helping Fight Hunger food drive initiative taking place during October.  All Ameris Bank locations, including the branch at 201 Ohio Ave. South in Live Oak, are collecting non-perishable food items to donate to local food banks as part of a company-wide initiative. Helping Fight Hunger is a company-wide project uniting all bank locations, customers and community members to one common cause: to collect non-perishable food items for those in need. A food bank in every town with an Ameris Bank location will receive the donation of goods collected at the local Ameris Bank office, plus a monetary donation from Ameris Bancorp. Last year, Ameris Bank collectively donated more than 825,000 non-perishable food items and a total of $100,000 to local food banks.  Ameris Bank believes in its communities and in the power of giving back. Customers, employees and members of the community can participate by dropping off non-perishable food items in the collection box found inside each Ameris Bank location.  Ameris Bank launched the Helping Fight Hunger initiative in 2010. Results since the inception of the initiative include:

• More than 3.4 million non-perishable food items donated to local food banks,

• More than $555,000 given through Ameris Bancorp donations,

• More than 65 communities impacted throughout the bank’s Southeastern footprint. 

“As a partner to the communities we serve, the Helping Fight Hunger food drive initiative is one way we help to make a difference for those who need it most,” Ameris Bank Market President Kendall Spencer said in a release. “We are proud to see how this project positively impacts families throughout Florida.”   For more information on Ameris Bank Helping Fight Hunger Food Drive initiative, visit Amerisbank.com/HelpFightHunger.

 

Pedestrian hit by car in Moultrie

MOULTRIE, Ga. — A pedestrian struck by a car Tuesday evening suffered apparently minor injuries. Police were dispatched to a reported hit-and-run at around 7:52 p.m. to the 1900 block of Fifth Avenue Southeast where they found James Featherston lying in a driveway. Featherston, of the 7100 block of Old Adel Road, told police that he was walking along the white line on the side of the street when he was knocked to the ground. Officers found a piece of a silver side-view mirror nearby, and a short while later the driver of a silver car arrived on the scene. Bryan James Arwood, of the 500 block of Highway 111, told police that he thought he had struck something in the area while driving in the direction of Veterans Parkway. In his account, he said that he did not see a person and did not veer out of his traffic lane. He thought he hit a mail box or other stationary object and returned to speak with the owner, at which time he noticed emergency vehicles. Police were unable to immediately determine whether Featherston had been walking in the roadway or if Arwood had traveled onto the shoulder. His 2017 Toyota Camry had moderate damage to the passenger side headlight and mirror and front quarter panel. Featherston was treated at Colquitt Regional Medical Center and later released to go home, a hospital spokeswoman said.

 

Milledgeville to be featured on new GPB show

Milledgeville will be among Georgia communities featured Monday on an episode of Georgia Public Broadcasting’s “Hometown Georgia.” Airing at 8 p.m., the show will feature Blue Ridge, LaGrange and Milledgeville. The series, which debuted in January of this year, captures the spirit of towns across the state through the voices of their residents. Highlights of the show’s stop in Milledgeville include remembrances of one of its most famous citizens — Flannery O’Connor — and the city’s standing as the first capital of Georgia. The show will also look at the beauty and economic benefit of Lake Sinclair and take in Derby Day at Rose Hill, a Greek Revival home circa 1852 that serves as the centerpiece of the Lockerly Arboretum. It will also feature Lucious Trawick, the owner of Miss Stella’s, a restaurant named in honor of his grandmother. “Hometown Georgia” will also feature Central State Hospital, the first mental health institution in the state of Georgia, incorporated in 1840, and visit the grounds of the hospital’s cemetery area, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. The program encores at 7 p.m. Thursday and noon Sunday, Oct. 15. Also, as a special treat, GPB will host a Facebook Live conversation with the show producer Sharon Collins at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday.  Viewers will have a chance to ask questions about the show and hear anecdotes about the behind the scenes production. Visit www.facebook.com/gpbmedia to join the conversation.

 

Night of Hope is Saturday in Murray County

CHATSWORTH, Ga. — A Night of Hope, sponsored by Sassy’s Hope, will be Saturday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the old Murray County rec on Green Road. The event will include a cruise-in and concert. Cancer survivors will get a free T-shirt. Pick up registration at Carlton’s Pharmacy or email sassys_hope@yahoo.com. Murraygarocks will be set up with rocks to paint. Admission is free, with food and $1 games available. There will be a sky lantern release at 7:30 p.m. Sassy’s Hope is a nonprofit started in 2015 to help those in the community who are fighting cancer, providing assistance with transportation, wigs, hats and nutrition, as well as taking snack bags to cancer centers in Dalton and Calhoun.

 

Stepping Out 5K to benefit cardiovascular services

TIFTON, Ga. — The Tift Regional Medical Center Foundation (TRMCF) will be holding the annual Stepping Out for Your Heart 5K Run and 1 Mile Fun Run & Walk on Saturday, Oct. 7, at the Northeast Campus of Tift County High School in Tifton. All proceeds benefit the TRMCF Heart Safe Community program, which provides community organizations with automatic external defibrillators and area paramedics with 12-lead EKG machines. The program also financially aids the families of Tift Regional Medical Center cardiopulmonary rehabilitation patients with special needs. The 5K run begins at 8 a.m. and the 1 Mile Fun Run and Walk starts at 9 a.m. There will be a special Champion’s Fun Walk at 8:45 a.m. to honor all heart disease and/or stroke survivors. A late registration fee or day-of-registration fee is $25. All donations are tax-deductible. Participation in the Champion’s Fun Walk is free. All champions, 5K and 1 Mile participants will receive an official 2017 Stepping Out T-shirt. To register or for more information, call 229-391-3310 or visit www.trmcf.com or www.active.com. The TCHS Northeast Campus is located in Tifton at 3021 Fulwood Road.

 

Wiregrass Farmers Market returns to Georgia Museum of Agriculture

TIFTON, Ga. — Carefully curated local produce, meats, and free-range eggs will once again be available to Tiftonites and travelers on Oct. 7 when the Wiregrass Farmers Market at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College’s Georgia Museum of Agriculture (GMA) opens for its seventh fall season. Hand-crafted artisanal goods including goat’s milk soaps and bath products, jams and jellies, baked items and sewn items for the home, along with handmade jewelry will also be available for sale. The market hosts a children’s area with monthly activities, a community demonstration garden and compost bin, and a baby animal pen where the youngest marketgoers can interact with farm animals on a weekly basis. A summer educational series and canning club is also hosted by the market board. A newly installed playground at the GMA Country Store is ready to welcome the market’s kids for fall season. Admission to the Market is always free, and patrons are encouraged to park in front of the GMA’s Country Store. The Market will be open each Saturday from 9 a.m.-noon, with a special Holiday Market to take place on Nov. 18. For questions about the Wiregrass Farmers Market, patrons can visit its website atwww.wiregrassmarket.org  or contact GMA’s Assistant Director and Curator Polly Huff atphuff@abac.edu.  Huff serves as the market liaison.