Good evening.
Thanks for joining us.
I'm Frank Malloy.
And I'm Leah Johnson.
This is Eyewitness News at 11.
Our top story tonight, a Fort Valley man accused of beating another man to death with a piece of wood...has pleaded not guilty.
Robert Gill, Junior, was arraigned in the case surrounding the death of 41-year old Terry Carson.
Prosecutors say the two men met up to fight out their differences.
Carson died two days later from his injuries.
Gill entered the courtroom in an orange jumpsuit... where he met his attorney Nick White at the front of the courtroom.
George Hartwig... Houston County's district attorney... read the charges against Gill which include felony murder... malice murder and aggravated assault.
White says his client was just protecting himself.
White: We saying and standing on the fact that it was self-defense and we have a number of witnesses that will back that. >
DA George Hartwig says he expects the case to come up for trial sometime next year.
There were two more arraignments in Houston County today..
Carmen Collins is the 17 year old who faces charges in the murder of her 12 year old sister.
She pleaded not guilty.
Her defense attorney stated that he thinks there's evidence others were involved.
Also arraigned today, Rachel Rapraeger pleaded not guilty to the mishandling of 12-hundred mammograms.
Of those, ten of them resulted in patients being told they were clean...when the women actually had breast cancer.
The judge in that case says the trial could happen sometime next April. Some job vacancies in Macon and Bibb County will stay open until the consolidated government takes over in 2014.
That's just one of the items voted on today by the task force that oversees the transition.
The transition task force asked the city and county to fill only essential positions over the next 14 months.
Macon CAO Dale Walker says leaving some jobs open will give the new government more room to make its own hiring decisions.
The city's attorney recently resigned... And Walker says that's one job that will be left open.
<the question becomes, do we fill that position or do we allow one of the attorneys to fill the position on an interim basis, and then when the consolidated government gets further along or gets closer to reality, do we determine that we are going to do attorneys inhouse or do we outsource it like the county does with their attorneys or a combination of the two.>
The transition team also approved a 150-thousand dollar contract with the Carl Vinson Institute to help merge the city and county workforces.
And a pension attorney will develop the benefits plan for those employees... that will cost around 12-thousand dollars.
Those numbers factor into the total consolidation budget of over 388-thousand... Which will be split by the city and county.
Walker and County Commissioner Elmo Richardson told me... the real cost comes with buying a new technology system.
An IT consulting firm says new finance and public safety software could run almost 5 million dollars.
Richardson says Bibb County already budgeted for a new system before consolidation passed.
Walker says the city will have to get creative... And possibly use SPLOST funds.
<and the public safety section, we'll use our two and a half million to pay for and that will come a little bit later and so the police and fire, we're going to ask them and say 'can you cut back on some of your equipment that you have out in year 3 or 4? Can we bring it forward and use it for the software instead of equipment, just change some priorities>
The transition team wants the new system up and running before the merger happens in two-thousand-14.
Katelyn Heck 13WMAZ Eyewitness News
The task force also approved a new communications committee to keep citizens informed during the transition process.
They plan to send out a mail-in survey and online survey... Asking what people how they want the transition team to inform them about their progress.
Former CIA Director David Petraeus will testify before the House Intelligence committee Friday...
Petraeus will be questioned about events that led to the death of the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in an attack on the U.S. Consulate at Benghazi, Libya.
That was back on Sept. 11.
Spokesmen for the committee say the hearing will be closed to the public.
Petraeus resigned from the CIA last week after acknowledging an extramarital affair
John Allen, the ranking commander in Afghanistan, has found himself at the center of an investigation into some e-mail communications he had with a Tampa socialite connected to the Petraeus case.
Now, after two days of silence, Allen says he will "fully cooperate" with the investigation.
His lawyer released a statement tonight... saying Allen wants questions in the probe resolved as quickly and completely as possible.
The Pentagon inspector general is looking into emails exchanged between Allen and Jill Kelley.
The inquiry came after Kelley complained about another matter - emails sent to her by the woman identified as Petraeus's mistress.
That affair led to trouble for another General.
John Allen, the ranking commander in Afghanistan, has found himself at the center of an investigation into some e-mail communications he had with a Tampa socialite connected to the Petraeus case.
Now, after two days of silence, Allen says he will "fully cooperate" with the investigation.
His lawyer released a statement tonight... saying Allen wants questions in the probe resolved as quickly and completely as possible.
The Pentagon inspector general is looking into emails exchanged between Allen and Jill Kelley.
The inquiry came after Kelley complained about another matter - emails sent to her by the woman identified as Petraeus's mistress.
As the country nears what's become known as the Fiscal Cliff... President Obama is calling on Congress to extend tax cuts for middle class Americans... and let them expire for those making more than 250 thousand dollars.
This afternoon, the president held his first news conference since his reelection eight days ago.
He said voters agree with him.
But Republicans argue raising taxes is not the answer.
<president: What I am not going to do is extend further a tax cut for folks who don't need it, which would cost close to a trillion dollars.
McConnell: Additional revenue should be tied to the only thing that will save the country in the long run, and that is reforming entitlement.>
The president also talked about immigration reform.
He said, that'll be his top priority in his second term.
Some Georgians think they have another answer to the country's woes.
Leave it... without ever changing their address.
Thousands of people have signed a petition to turn Georgia from a state to its own country.
A secession petition on the White House website now has more than 28- thousand signatures ... 3 thousand more than the minimum needed for the administration to issue a response.
some people we spoke with in Wrightsville said their unhappiness with the election and the economy led them to support the idea. Others we spoke with believe actually seceding from the union would be the wrong way to go.
<it's like they said, united we stand, divided we fall. And that's exactly what's going to happen if all you states start pulling away. I mean the United States is going to completely divide up after a while, and that's going to be it. You know, we're going to have war. >
Around 20 other states have similar petitions on the White House website...
Community Health Works in Macon wants you to feed your neighbor while you support your farmer.
That's the slogan for the mulberry market holiday food drive.
The push to collect non-perishable food kicked off today at the farmers market, and runs through Christmas.
Chris Kiker, the market manager says the food goes to the Mentors Project.
<there's tons of hungry families right here in our back yard, so we're collecting food each week here at the market. We're going to businesses and collecting food and we're taking it into families' homes. Theyre doing good work there at the mentors project.>
The mentors project started in 1990. It now connects hundreds of Bibb County students with volunteer mentors. They also find resources for families in need.
The twilight frenzy comes to a fever pitch tomorrow night with the premiere of Breaking Dawn part two, the final movie in the series.
Candace Adorka found one central Georgia group that's sinking its teeth into the opportunity to help save lives.
From her head down to her fingers,
<I have my bella ring, my husband gave it to me last anniversary.>
Sheila McDaniel is a Twihard--- the most ardent fans of the vampire series.
<I saw the first movie and I got hooked. I've read the books numerous times, I have a twilight bedroom.>
So on Thursday night-- the premiere of the final twilight movie-- she's teaming up with fellow twihards to celebrate, but also do some good.
<this is one of the fleeces we're giving away during the breaking dawn blood drive>
Anyone who gives blood at Houston Lake Stadium cinemas Thursday and Friday can get free
<all over the united states there were twilight groups that started doing blood drives to kind of tongue in cheek say ok vampires need blood, we need blood too.>
<I think that is the cutest idea in the world. I think it's a good cause number one and it brings light to the movie and I think it's very very humorous.>
Crystal Hooks already picked up her tickets for a 12-hour marathon of all 5 movies, but she says she remembers McDaniel's breaking dawn blood drive from last year.
<they had all these tables set up and they had all kinds of memorabilia and prizes, it was all really exciting>
<last year we had to turn people away unfortunately. We had one van, and it was freezing cold and people didn't get to give blood in time for the movie to show>
But this year, she says they're prepared with two large Life South vans and protection against the cold.
<we'll give chocolate and coffee to the blood donors and its just gonna be a great way to end the finale of a series that has gone world wide.>
Candace Adorka 13 WMAZ eyewitness news.
McDaniel says they're hoping to double the one hundred blood donors they had last year.
You have two chances for your free ticket... Tomorrow from 1 to 9:30 p-m, and Friday from noon to 6 pm.
Both days are at Houston Lake Cinema in Warner Robins.
For millions of New Yorkers, it signifies the start of the holiday season...
The iconic Rockefeller Center Tree has arrived and is ready and waiting to be decked with tens of thousands of lights and ornaments big enough to do the thing justice.
The Rock Center Tree comes from a different location every year...
This one didn't have to travel far...it came from a tree farm in New Jersey.