HELLO EVERYONE AND THANKS FOR JOINING US....I'M LEAH JOHNSON..
AND I'M LORRA LYNCH JONES
FRANK MALLOY HAS THE NIGHT OFF.
THE GEORGIA BULLDOGS WRAPPED UP THEIR SEASON THIS AFTERNOON IN TAMPA BAY... IN A NAIL-BITER MATCHUP AGAINST MICHIGAN STATE IN THE OUTBACK BOWL...
GEORGIA WAS HOPING TO END THE YEAR ON A HIGH NOTE... WITH AN 11-AND-3 RECORD...
THE BULLDOGS LED 16-0 AT HALFTIME... BUT MICHIGAN STATE CAME BACK.
IN THE 3RD QUARTER... TWIGGS COUNTY GRAD DARQUEZE DENNARD (DAR-QUEZ DEN-URD) INTERCEPTS AARON MURRAY AND RETURNS IT 38 YARDS FOR THE TOUCHDOWN.
THE SPARTANS WENT ON TO TAKE A 20-19 LEAD.
IN THE 4TH QUARTER... MURRAY FOUND BRANDON BOYKIN FOR A 13 YARD TOUCHDOWN.
THE BULLDOGS WENT FOR TWO... TO GO UP 27-20... BUT A LATE M-S-U TOUCHDOWN FORCED OVERTIME...
IN TRIPLE O-T... GEORGIA DOWN A FIELD GOAL... BLAIR WALSH GETS HIS KICK BLOCKED... THAT SEALS IT FOR THE SPARTANS
GEORGIA ENDS THE YEAR WITH A TRIPLE-OVERTIME LOSS TO MICHIGAN STATE... 33-30.
SOME CENTRAL GEORGIANS TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THEIR DAY OFF TO CATCH THE GAME AT A SPORTS BAR.
JENNIFER MOULLIET SPOKE WITH SOME FANS WHO CHEERED ON THE BULLDOGS AT WILD WINGS CAFE IN MACON.<<
nats
BRENDA HAULIK SAYS SHE'S HERE FOR ONE THING.
Brenda Haulik, Macon: "The Georgia Bulldogs who else."
SHE SAYS SHE CAME TO CHEER ON HER TEAM THE ONLY WAY SHE KNOWS HOW... BY DOING THE FUNKY ROOSTER...nats... A CHEER SHE SAYS EVERY BULLDOG FAN SHOULD KNOW.
Brenda Haulik: "They do it at the dawg walk every week every game they play."
nats
THE TABLES WERE PACKED WITH FANS WEARING THEIR GLORY TO OL' GEORGIA GEAR... BUT JAMES COX WORE A HAIR RAISING CHRISTMAS GIFT FROM HIS DAUGHTER.
James Cox: " I was told I couldn't wear it anywhere except to Georgia games or somewhere Georgia was playing."
HE SAYS HE'S BEEN A GEORGIA FAN FOR OVER FORTY YEARS.
James Cox: "my team I was raised in a georgia house."
A TRADITION BETSY FITZGERALD ALSO FOLLOWS.
Betsy Fitzgerald: "It's been inbedded in my blood and my family we spent years going to football games, tailgating in Athens."
SHE SAYS SHE WAS GLAD TO HAVE THE DAY OFF TO CHEER ON HER TEAM... BUT THE NOISE WAS DOWN FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THE GAME... UNTIL THE END OF THE SECOND QUARTER WHEN THE DOGS FINALLY SCORED THE FIRST TOUCHDOWN OF THE GAME.
nats
BOTH TEAMS WENT BACK AND FORTH... NOT WHAT SOME GEORGIA FANS HAD IN MIND... BUT TENA DOMINY SAYS NEXT YEAR WILL BE BETTER.
Tena Dominy: "We're going to do some great recruiting and end up number one next year."
HAULIK SAYS WIN OR LOSE SHE'LL ALWAYS BE A BULLDOG.
Brenda Haulik: " if you're a supporter you're a supporter you can't be a fair weather friend you have to be a fan all of the time."
AND HAULIK SAYS YOU'RE NOT A TRUE FAN UNLESS YOU DO THE FUNKY ROOSTER
nats
JENNIFER MOULLIET 13WMAZ EYEWITNESS NEWS.
>> BUT AGAIN... DESPITE ALL THE BULLDOG PRIDE... THE DOGS FELL 33-30 IN TRIPLE OVERTIME.
THE NEW YEAR BRINGS BIG BUCKS FOR DODGE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL...
TOMORROW THE SCHOOL WILL RECEIVE A 100-THOUSAND DOLLAR CHECK FROM A-T AND T.
BRITTINY BARBER TELLS YOU HOW THE SCHOOL USES THE MONEY TO HELP KIDS GRADUATE.
<<
nats: This is an easy way to showcase what are kids our doing."
FOR DODGE COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT MELINDA DENNIS... INVESTING IN STUDENTS IS KEY...
Dennis: "the thing that makes me the proudest is the fact that it's positively impacted children's lives."
SHE's TALKING ABOUT THE SUCCESS CADRES PROGRAM...
FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS... 20 AT RISK TEENS EACH YEAR HAVE JOINED...
Dennis: "This group of student, most of whom failed two grades before they came to high school, and research indicates at that point that student are on track to drop out.
DENNIS SAYS THE GOAL IS TO CHANGE THAT..... AND A 400- THOUSAND DOLLAR GRANT FROM A-T- AND T HELPED TARGET THOSE STUDENTS... BY FOCUSING ON MATH.. READING AND STUDY SKILLS....
Dennis: "It has helped us with faculty and staff. We've had a teacher and a par-professional who have been specifically able to work with these children."
BEGINNING IN 2009.. THE SCHOOL HAS RECEIVED A 100-THOUSAND DOLLAR CHECK EACH YEAR... AND WITH EACH CLASS MORE STUDENTS IN THE PROGRAM HAVE GRADUATED....
DENNIS SAYS EVEN THOUGH TUESDAY MARKS THEIR LAST INSTALLMENT OF THE GRANT... THEIR WORK WITH STRUGGLING STUDENTS WON'T END...
Dennis: "We're going to continue some sort of investment in at risk students for that we can continue to impact our graduation rates
HELPING THOSE DODGE COUNTY INDIANS WHO NEED IT MOST... AND BY GIVING THEM A SHOT AT A BETTER EDUCATION...
BRITTINY BARBER 13WMAZ EYEWITNESS NEWS.
>> A-T AND T EXECUTIVE TERRY SMITH SAYS THE MONEY CAME FROM THE ASPIRE INITIATIVE... WHICH THE A-T AND T FOUNDATION LAUNCHED TO COMBAT THE DROPOUT CRISIS.
A MACON MAN DIED AFTER LOSING CONTROL OF HIS MOTORCYCLE LAST NIGHT.
MACON POLICE SAY 35-YEAR-OLD DEXTER GREEN LOST CONTROL WHILE TURNING LEFT ON WHITFIELD DRIVE SUNDAY.
THAT'S IN WEST MACON.
ACCORDING TO POLICE... GREEN WAS THROWN FROM HIS BIKE.
BIBB COUNTY CORONER LEON JONES SAYS GREEN WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD AROUND 6PM LAST NIGHT AT THE MEDICAL CENTER OF CENTRAL GEORGIA.
THE NEW YEAR FESTIVITIES MAY BE OVER... BUT THE HOLIDAY TRAVEL PERIOD CONTINUES FOR A FEW MORE HOURS.
LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THE TRAFFIC FLOW ON INTERSTATE 475 USING OUR D-O-T TRAFFIC CAMERA.
THE GEORGIA STATE PATROL WANTS TO REMIND YOU THAT OPERATION ZERO TOLERANCE CONTINUES TONIGHT.
TROOPERS WILL BE ON PATROL... WITH EXTRA EMPHASIS ON IMPAIRED DRIVERS... DRIVERS AND PASSENGERS NOT WEARING SEAT BELTS... AND SPEEDERS.
THERE'S AN OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT TONIGHT FOR ATLANTA BRAVES HEAD TRAINER JEFF PORTER.
HIS WIFE DIED IN A CAR CRASH AS THE FAMILY WAS HEADED TO THE CHICK-FIL-A BOWL SATURDAY.
IT WAS A STATE TROOPER... RUNNING LIGHTS AND SIRENS... WHO HIT THEIR S-U-V.
DUFFIE DIXON WITH OUR GANNETT SISTER STATION W-X-I-A IN ATLANTA HAS THE LATEST ON THE INVESTIGATION... AND QUESTIONS LIKELY TO BE RAISED BY THE ACCIDENT.
Atlanta Braves Head Trainer Jeff Porter facing the new year without his wife, Kathy, after a tragic car wreck involving a state trooper at the intersection of Memorial Drive and Capitol Avenue.
(sot 8:26) He was running lights and sirens.
According to the Georgia State Patrol Trooper First Class Donald Crozier was on his way to help with a chase on I-20..when he struck the Porters SUV sending it into a light pole.
(standup 7;05;17) You always hear a lot of talk about whether an officers light and siren were running when they went through an intersection but keep in mind that does not give law enforcement carte blanche when it comes to red lights. That means a lot of hard questions will be asked.
Something officials on the scene alluded to hours after the crash.
(sot 8:42) you still have to have to exercise due regard when you pass any kind of intersection
but he was going against the red light.
(sot :06) this is a double tragedy for both sides.
Defense attorney William Head has taken an interest in the case..and not just because he's handled hundreds of traffic cases.
(sot 2:51) I happen to know the trooper, I know Mr. Porter through being introduced to him by a friend on the braves. It's a double tragedy because Crozier is a great trooper. Everybody will tell you he's a hard working person. I'm sure he's as torn up about this as the family is except the fact that they lost a key person in their lives.
According to the GSP Trooper Crozier was responding to a call of an officer on I-20 trying to pull over several motorcyle riders who wouldn't stop.
Later a clarification that Crozier quote... "was not involved in a chase but going to assist another trooper."
(sot 3:32) it's all a matter of weighing which factor is more important. with the heavy
traffic downtown that day this situation is going to come down to what was the speed, what was the necessity and was this really the best use of the officers discretion of what speed to be going to get to this location.
Some of those answers could come in the accident report due later this week, but both the GBI and the Fulton County Da's office are also looking into the crash.
In Atlanta Duffie Dixon , 11 alive news.
JEFF PORTER AND TWO OTHER PASSENGERS WERE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL... AND LATER RELEASED.
THE TROOPER WAS EXAMINED... AND ALSO RELEASED.
THE PROSPECT OF CHILLY TEMPERATURES LED MANY OF YOU TO COMMENT ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.
DARREN WROTE... "BITTER COLD IN GEORGIA LASTS A WEEK. I WILL TAKE THAT OVER A HUNDRED DEGREES... 80 PERCENT RELATIVE HUMIDITY ANYTIME. YOU CAN WEAR GLOVES AND A COAT IN THE COLD. WHEN IT'S HOT... IT'S A-C OR BAKE. GIVE ME THE CHILLY STUFF ANY TIME!"
CRISSIE COMMENTED... "I JUST HATE GEORGIA WEATHER. IT'S HOT ON CHRISTMAS AND UNBEARABLY HOT IN THE SUMMER! YOU NEVER GET TO TRULY ENJOY DOING THINGS OUTSIDE AROUND HERE!"
BARBARA REPLIED... "I LIKE IT THE WAY IT'S BEEN FOR THE LAST FEW DAYS! I COULD LIVE IN A CLIMATE LIKE THAT ALL YEAR LONG."
DANIELLE SAID... "I LOVE COLD WEATHER JUST WISH GEORGIA HAD SNOW MORE OFTEN. I LOVE IT....I HATE BEING HOT SO THE COLD IS FOR ME.
AND DENISE WROTE... "THIS TYPE OF WEATHER IS GOOD FOR HOMEMADE CHILI, SOUPS AND CURLING UP ON THE COUCH WITH A GOOD BOOK."
JOIN THE CONVERSATION... JUST VISIT FACEBOOK DOT COM SLASH 13WMAZ AND BECOME A FAN TO MAKE YOURSELF HEARD.
ALONG WITH A NEW YEAR COMES NEW GOALS AND ASPIRATIONS.
WE TALKED TO SOME PEOPLE IN MACON ON WHAT THEY HOPE TO ACHIEVE FOR 20-12.
Earnest Brown Macon "My goal is to be a stronger man for my life and the lord and my family"
Shamani Shikwambi Macon " I have a Number of goals for the new year but the two that are top on my list, One catch up with a long list of moives that I have not been able to watch secoundly catch up on my reading list so just lost of reading"
Lamondre Melton Jones County"well my goals for the new year is to go in to the new years for a better year, for the econmoy to get better, to do better in school, let my grades stay up and for my familly to rejoin and for us to have a good time"
AND WITH THE NEW YEAR AND THE NEW RESOLUTIONS AND GOALS... WE WANT TO KNOW WHERE YOU THINK YOUR COMMUNITY STANDS GOING INTO 2012.
SO TODAY'S 13WMAZ DOT COM WEB POLL ASKS... DO YOU FEEL YOUR COMMUNITY IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK OR THE WRONG TRACK FOR 2012?
SO FAR 65 PERCENT OF YOU SAY YOUR COMMUNITY IS ON THE WRONG TRACK.
35 PERCENT FEEL YOUR COMMUNITY IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
VOTE NOW... LOOK FOR THE QUESTION ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE HOMEPAGE AT 13WMAZ DOT COM.
IF YOU GOT A NEW CAMERA AS A PRESENT... YOU MIGHT BE TAKING EVEN MORE PHOTOS THAN USUAL... AND WE WANT TO SEE THEM.
HERE'RE A COUPLE YOU'VE ADDED TO OUR PET PALS GALLERY.
HERE'S HARVEY AT THE FRONT DOOR ASKING "CAN I PLEASE COME IN?"
AND BLAZE IS LOOKING OUT THE WINDOW AT THE SUN.
SEND US YOUR PHOTOS...LOOK FOR *PHOTO GALLERIES* UNDER FEATURES IN THE MENU BAR ACROSS THE TOP OF OUR HOMEPAGE...
THANKS FOR JOINING US.... WE'LL BE BACK TONIGHT AT 11.
BUT REMEMBER...THE NEWS IS ALWAYS ON AT 13WMAZ.COM !
THE EVENING NEWS IS UP NEXT.
HAVE A SAFE NIGHT EVERYONE.