HELLO EVERYONE AND THANKS FOR JOINING US....I'M LEAH JOHNSON..
AND I'M FRANK MALLOY.
THIS IS EYEWITNESS NEWS AT SIX...
A TRUCK DRIVER FACES THREE CHARGES....AFTER HE APPARENTLY RAN A RED LIGHT....AND HIT A BIBB COUNTY SCHOOL BUS WITH HIS TRUCK.
BIBB SCHOOL SAFETY DIRECTOR DAVID GOWAN SAID 20 PEOPLE WENT TO A LOCAL HOSPITAL....EIGHTEEN OF THEM STUDENTS... BUT NONE OF THE INJURIES APPEARED SERIOUS.
THIS AFTERNOON.... PARENTS STOOD NEXT TO THE INTERSECTION OF GRAY HIGHWAY AND OLD CLINTON ROAD... WAITING FOR ANSWERS AS PARAMEDICS LOADED INJURED STUDENTS ONTO STRETCHERS.
MACON POLICE SERGEANT RICKY WOLVERTON SAID.... THE TRACTOR TRAILER TRUCK RAN A RED LIGHT AND COLLIDED WITH THE BUS THAT WAS TURNING LEFT ONTO OLD CLINTON ROAD.
WE TALKED WITH THE TRUCK DRIVER.
HE WOULDN'T GIVE US HIS NAME BUT SAID HE RAN THE LIGHT BECAUSE HIS BRAKES FAILED.
CRYSTAL SANDIFER SAYS HER 17-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER WAS AMONG THE INJURED.
Crystal Sandifer, Macon: The bus and the truck collided. My daughter said she hit the side of her face and her neck.
Lorra: Have you talked to her?
Crystal: Yes.
What did she say to you: She was just crying and she really didnt' tell me much, just that her face and her neck hurt."
A MACON POLICE NEWS RELEASE IDENTIFIED THE DRIVER AS CRAIG HARRIS...
THEY CHARGED HIM WITH FAILURE TO MAINTAIN A LANE... DRIVING TOO FAST FOR CONDITIONS... AND FAILURE TO OBEY A TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICE.
DAVID GOWAN SAYS THE BUS CARRIED STUDENTS FROM NORTHEAST HIGH SCHOOL AND THE HUTCHINGS CAREER CENTER..
HE SAID THEY WERE RETURNING FROM A FUTURE BUSINESS LEADERS EVENT AT WESLEYAN COLLEGE IN NORTH MACON..
THAT ACCIDENT CAUSED TRAFFIC BACKUPS ON GRAY HIGHWAY.... WHICH LED TO A SECOND WRECK ABOUT A BLOCK AWAY...AND A POWER OUTAGE.
POLICE SPOKESWOMAN JAMI GAUDET SAYS A TOW TRUCK PULLING THREE VEHICLES HIT A POWER POLE... WHICH CAUSED POWER LINES TO HANG LOW OVER THE GRAY HIGHWAY.
A TRACTOR TRAILER TRUCK DROVE THROUGH THE WIRE....PULLING DOWN THE POLL...AND THE WIRES.
THAT KNOCKED OUT POWER TO HALL AND NORTHERN STREETS.
IT COULD GEORGIA POWER CREWS ANOTHER FOUR TO FIVE HOURS TO CLEAR THE ROADWAY.
UNTIL THEN....POLICE SAY DRIVERS SHOULD AVOID THE AREA.
SO FAR...NO WORD ON INJURIES.
THE MAYOR OF COCHRAN....ACCUSED LAST YEAR OF STEALING PIPE OWNED BY THE CITY... HAS BEEN SUSPENDED.
GOVERNOR NATHAN DEAL ISSUED AN EXECUTIVE ORDER... SAYING CLIFFORD AVANT SHOULD STEP ASIDE...UNTIL THE THEFT CHARGES ARE RESOLVED.
AVANT ADMITTED TAKING THE PIPE FROM THE CITY WATER PLANT AND DONATING IT TO HIS CHURCH.
HE TOLD US HE WAS TOLD THE CITY DIDN'T NEED THE PIPE.
DEAL WROTE THAT HE SUSPENDED AVANT... ON THE ADVICE OF A REVIEW COMMISSION THAT LOOKED AT THE CASE.
WE COULD NOT REACH AVANT FOR COMMENT THIS AFTERNOON.
WARNER ROBINS POLICE SAY THEY'VE ARRESTED 13 PEOPLE FOR ILLEGAL GAMBLING... AND PLAN TO BUST MORE.
POLICE SERVED WARRANTS AT 11 STORES ON FRIDAY... AND CHARGED PEOPLE THERE WITH A FELONY...COMMERICIAL GAMBLING.
CANDACE ADORKA SPOKE WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS WHO SAY THE PROBLEM IS PREVALENT IN CENTRAL GEORGIA.
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THE 13 PEOPLE ARRESTED LAST WEEK WERE CLERKS AND OWNERS OF STORES THAT HAVE VIDEO GAMING MACHINES LIKE THESE ONES... SEIZED IN JONES COUNTY LAST YEAR.
POLICE SPOKESWOMAN TABITHA PUGH SAYS HAVING THE MACHINES ISNT ILLEGAL ...
"However when a person wins a jackpot or wins one of the games because of the machines, and they are goven cash money, form the clerk or the owner, somebody that owns the business, that's when it becomes illegal."
WARNER ROBINS POLICE EXECUTED SEARCH WARRANTS AT 11 STORES... INCLUDING THIS ONE ON ELBERTA ROAD.
PUGH SAYS THE ARRESTS RESULT FROM MONTHS OF WORK BY THE NARCOTICS UNIT.
"It does take several months for investigators to gather their evidence as well as create a solid case."
BIBB COUNTY CHIEF DEPUTY DAVID DAVIS SAYS IT'S NOT JUST IN WARNER ROBINS... THE VIDEO GAMING STORES ARE PERVASIVE IN BIBB COUNTY AND BEYOND.
"A lot of times these gambling machines are really in neighborhoods where people can least afford to play the machines so you're really playing a losing game when you do that."
BIBB COUNTY HAD A LARGE COMMERCIAL GAMBLING BUST IN 2010... AND DAVIS SAYS SINCE THEN... BIBB COUNTY DEPUTIES HAVE STAYED BUSY.
"We've made some small cases since but we've done a lot of warning, we've done a lot of going in and talking to the convenience store operators."
PUGH SAYS THE NARCOTICS UNIT IS PLANNING MORE ARRESTS BASED ON THOSE 11 SEARCH WARRANTS AND SHE SAYS THEY HAVE SEVERAL MORE STORES ON THE RADAR.
CANDACE ADORKA 13 WMAZ EYEWITNESS NEWS.
>> COMMERCIAL GAMBLING IS A FELONY AND PUNISHABLE BY UP TO 5 YEARS IN PRISON OR A 20-THOUSAND DOLLAR FINE.
POLICE CONTINUE TO INVESTIGATE AN EARLY SUNDAY MORNING SHOOTING... OUTSIDE A MILLEDGEVILLE CLUB...
THEY SAY FOUR PEOPLE WERE INJURIED AT LEVEL THREE LOUNGE... THAT'S ON EAST WALTON STREET.
BRITTINY BARBER SPOKE TO THE OWNER... WHO SAYS IT'S DISTURBING THIS HAPPENED OUTSIDE HIS CLUB...
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NATS OF TALKING
DARRELL WILSON SAYS HE'S OWNED LEVEL THREE LOUNGE IN MILLEDGEVILLE...FOR NEARLY TWO YEARS.
Wilson: "It's shocking to us really. This is the first time this has happened"
SUNDAY MORNING BULLETS FLEW OUTSIDE HIS BUSINESS... LEAVING FOUR PEOPLE INJURED...
HE'S SAYS SEVERAL MEMBERS OF HIS SECURITY STAFF WERE OUTSIDE.. WHEN SHOTS RANG OUT...
Darrell Wilson: "They heard the first couple of shots. They went for cover because i trained them the fact that you know, look do your best to get to get near something. Don't be in the line of fire, and they did that and that's why they, we can't identify who the people that got shot.
Brittiny Barber: "PoliCe say four men between the ages of 19-22 were shot outside of this club off of north jefferson street in Milledgeville. Police say they believe it started off as a fight inside the club that then spilled outside."
THEY'RE NOT RELEASING THE NAMES OF THE MEN INJURED... BECAUSE DETECTIVE WANDA HOLSEY SAYS THEY MAY ALSO BE SUSPECTS...
SHE SAYS THREE OF THEM HAVE BEEN RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL... THE FOURTH REMAINS IN SERIOUS BUT STABLE CONDITION...
AS THE INVESTIGATION CONTINUES... WILSON SAYS HE PLANS TO TAKE EXTRA STEPS TO ENSURE HIS PATRON'S SAFETY.
Wilson: "We're going to put extra security out here and make sure these guys are safe coming inside this building.."
AND POLICE SAY THEY'RE WORKING HARD... TO FIND OUT WHO PULLED THE TRIGGER OUTSIDE LEVEL THREE.
BRITTINY BARBER 13WMAZ EYEWITNESS >>
DETECTIVE WANDA HOLSEY SAYS POLICE INTERVIEWED SEVERAL WITNESSES TODAY...
INTERIM POLICE CHIEF DRAY SWICORD SAYS THEY COULD MAKE AN ARREST... AS EARLY AS TOMORROW...
SEARCHERS IN ALABAMA ARE GOING DOOR-TO-DOOR LOOKING FOR PEOPLE TRAPPED IN THEIR HOMES BY FALLEN TREES AFTER A STORM THAT KILLED TWO PEOPLE AND INJURED AT LEAST A HUNDRED.
TODAY... PEOPLE IN THE DAMAGED AREA STARTED CLEANING UP.
A SPOKESMAN WITH THE JEFFERSON COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE SAYS THE TWO VICTIMS WERE A 16-YEAR-OLD GIRL AND AN 82-YEAR-OLD MAN.
THE STORMS SWEPT THROUGH NORTH ALABAMA... THE SAME REGION HIT BY A DEADLY STRING OF TORNADOES IN APRIL.
THE SYSTEM THAT CAUSED SO MUCH DAMAGE IN ALABAMA WEAKENED AND MOVED THROUGH PARTS OF CENTRAL GEORGIA AS WELL.
OUR TEAM OF METEOROLOGISTS HAS BEEN WATCHING THE SYSTEM ALL DAY.... AND CHIEF METEOROLOGIST BEN JONES JOINS US FROM THE WEATHER CENTER WITH MORE ON THAT AND YOUR FORECAST FIRST THREE-DAY FORECAST.
GEORGIA'S SECRETARY OF STATE SAYS THE UNCERTAINTY IN THE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY RACE COULD MEAN A BIGGER ROLE FOR THE STATE ON SUPER TUESDAY.
BRIAN KEMP SAYS THAT'S BECAUSE GEORGIA HAS 76 DELEGATES UP FOR GRABS... THE MOST OF ANY STATE HOLDING A PRIMARY ON MARCH 6TH.
IN THE FALL... GEORGIA CONSIDERED MOVING ITS PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY UP... A MOVE THAT WOULD HAVE STRIPPED IT OF HALF ITS REPUBLICAN DELEGATES... BUT DECIDED AGAINST IT.
KEMP SAYS HAVING ALL OF ITS DELEGATES WILL LIKELY MAKE GEORGIA THE FOCUS FOR CANDIDATES AND ELECTION WATCHERS ON SUPER TUESDAY..
BUT BEFORE THE SUPER TUESDAY CONTESTS IN MARCH... COMES THE FLORIDA PRIMARY ON JANUARY 31ST.
MITT ROMNEY HIT THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL RUNNING AFTER HIS DEFEAT IN SOUTH CAROLINA THIS WEEKEND.
HE ATTACKED RIVAL NEWT GINGRICH'S HISTORY WITH FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC.... SAYING THE FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER SHOULD GIVE BACK MONEY HE MADE FROM WORKING WITH THE COMPANIES.
"But in part because of the mistakes of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, and those associated with those ah entities, as well as, people in Congress, and Wall Street, and bankers and mortgage bankers and in some cases- speculators. We see a crisis which has an enourmous human toll. And so I'm calling on Speaker Gingrich again to do two things. Again, release all of the work product that's associated with his work at Freddie Mac, and also return the funds that he made from Freddie Mac."
MEANWHILE... GINGRICH SAYS HE'S COMFORTABLE WITH RELEASING DETAILS OF HIS CONTRACT WITH FREDDIE MAC... AND HIS LAWYERS ARE WORKING ON IT.
ON THIS WEEKEND'S EDITION OF C-B-S' "FACE THE NATION" WITH BOB SCHIEFFER... GINGRICH ALSO SAID THE FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR HAS PROBLEMS BEING CANDID WITH VOTERS.
So you end up with a guy who is, I think, a very good salesman, very much wants to sell. But he has a really weak product. I think he's been dancing on eggs trying to figure out how to find a version of Romney that will work. And I think the more he dances the more people go, you know, give me -- I have flaws. I have weaknesses. I've had a long career. But the fact is what you see really is what you get.
ROMNEY... GINGRICH... RON PAUL AND RICK SANTORUM MEET TONIGHT FOR THE FIRST OF TWO DEBATES BEFORE FLORIDA'S PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY NEXT TUESDAY.
MEANWHILE... MITT ROMNEY SAYS HE PLANS TO RELEASE HIS TAX RECORDS THIS WEEK.
LAST WEEK... HE ESTIMATED THAT HE PAID ABOUT FIFTEEN PERCENT IN TAXES.
SOME EXPERTS SAY THAT'S LOW COMPARED TO MOST AMERICANS.
SO TODAY'S 13WMAZ DOT COM WEB POLL ASKS... DOES IT MATTER TO YOU THAT MITT ROMNEY PAYS A LOW RATE OF FEDERAL INCOME TAX?
SO FAR 72 PERCENT OF YOU SAY YES.
AND 28 PERCENT SAY NO.
CAST YOUR VOTE... LOOK FOR THE QUESTION ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF OUR HOMEPAGE AT 13WMAZ DOT COM.
SOME OF YOU ALSO SHARED YOUR OPINION ON TODAY'S WEB POLL... BY JOINING OUR FACEBOOK DISCUSSION.
PAM WROTE... "MAYBE IF HE WERE TO BECOME THE NOMINEE HE'D GET US ALL LOWER TAX RATES. THAT WOULD BE THE IDEAL THING."
DONICA COMMENTED... "YES, IT DOES MATTER. HOW CAN HE RELATE TO THE 31 MILLION AMERICANS WHO MAKE (WAAAAAY) LESS THAN HIM BUT PAY MORE IN TAXES? HE CAN NOT UNDERSTAND THE "BELT-TIGHTENING" THAT IS GOING ON."
KIM REPLIED... "WHY DO PEOPLE ASSUME THE WORST ABOUT RICH PEOPLE? THERE ARE CROOKS EVERYWHERE!! THE GREAT THING ABOUT THIS COUNTRY IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BETTER YOURSELF AND BE SUCCESSFUL.
DON'T PUNISH THOSE WHO WERE ABLE TO! IT IS PURE JEALOUSY! IF YOU COULD HAVE THAT MUCH MONEY YOU WOULDN'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT."
MICHAEL WROTE... "INVESTMENT INCOME SHOULD BE TAXED AS THOUGH IT WERE REGULAR INCOME - WHY DO RICH GET THE BREAKS?"
AND BUDDY SAID... "NO, WHAT I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH, IS ALL THE PEOPLE THAT GET ALL THE FREE STUFF FROM THE PEOPLE THAT ARE PAYING FOR THE FREE STUFF. MAYBE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE GETTING ALL THE FREE STUFF SHOULD PAY THEIR SHARE OF THE TAXES."
JOIN THE CONVERSATION... JUST VISIT FACEBOOK DOT COM SLASH 13WMAZ.
IN APRIL....ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE IS HOLDING A PARTY...AND EVERYBODY'S INVITED.
IT'S THEIR AIR SHOW....FEATURING ALL SORTS OF AIRCRAFT... FROM THE F-15... TO WORLD WAR 2 MODELS.
IT'S BEEN THREE YEARS SINCE ITS LAST AIR SHOW... WHICH FEATURED THE U.S ARMY GOLDEN KNIGHTS PARACHUTE TEAM.... AND THE AIR FORCE THUNDERBIDS.
TODAY....AIR SHOW DIRECTOR LT. COL. DWAYNE GRAY ANNOUNCED THIS YEAR'S BIG DRAW IS THE NAVY'S BLUE ANGELS.
GRAY SAYS WITH OVER 100 THOUSAND PEOPLE EXPECTED TO ATTEND... THEIR NUMBER ONE CONCERN IS SAFETY
As far as safety, we have an exercise of February third where we've invited all the emergency assets in the community from the sheriff's department to all the hospitals al the way up to Macon. And we're gonna sit down a do a table top of the scenario and what to do if it happens.
THE SHOW WILL TAKE PLACE APRIL 28 AND 29... AND WILL RUN FROM 10 A.M. TO 6 P.M.
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.