Good evening.
Thanks for joining us.
I'm Frank Malloy.
And I'm Leah Johnson.
This is Eyewitness News at 11.
It was 45 years ago that Macon's own Otis Redding was sitting on the dock of the bay, and wrote a song about it.
Tomorrow is the anniversary of the song which has played on airwaves worldwide.
Candace Adorka spoke with his son, Otis Redding the third, about his father..and his famous song..
That tune turns 45 January 8.
Otis redding the third was only 3 when his father recorded the award winning song.
<my mom actually told me that my sister Karla and I we were in Memphis we were actually running round in the studio >
The song was born in the summer of 67-- redding spent a week in San Francisco performing at the Filmore West Theater. He stayed with a well-known promoter named Billy graham in his boat house in Sausalito Bay.
<sittin on the dock of the bay, watching the tide roll away. Sitting on the top of the bay, wasting time.>
Redding died december the same year, and within a month the song was released.
<He was already at the peak of his career where he was crossing over into a really big market especially in europe and after this came out it just took his career to a whole nother level unfortunately he wasn't around to see it.>
The song was Redding's only hit to reach number one on the pop charts. In 1969, it won a grammy for song of the year, and Redding received a post-humus grammy for artist of the year. Decades later, the song has hit another landmark.
<now we're at 10 million radio performances>
And Otis the third says there'll be countless more because the song speaks to a broad audience, across genres, and even generations.
<I watch CMT, country music, it comes on some times>
<it makes me think you're sitting down youre on the docks you're thinking about living your life and doing things and trying to improve yourself.>
Redding's legacy lives on in a timeless song rooted right here in Macon.
Candace Adorka 13 WMAz eyewitness news.
In November..Redding received another honor...
He joined Elvis Presley, B-B King, Jerry Lee Lewis and other music legends in the inaugural class of the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.
Tomorrow - CBS This Morning will air a feature on Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay..You can watch CBS This Morning from 7 to 9 am right here on 13WMAZ..
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Warner Robins City Council held their first meeting of the new year tonight... And they started the year with an update to a seventy year old charter.
Jennifer Moulliet was there and has more.
The meeting started off with a new addition to the Warner Robins police department.
and a new title for the city of warner robins... America's Promise Alliance... Named the city One of one hundred best communities for young children.
<this is two years in a row Warner Robins in 2011 and 2012 was voted one of the best places in the country for people to live and it's got to do with our public safety, our education, our healthcare. >
Warner Robins Council member... Carolyn Robbins also spear headed an update to a charter from 1943.
<it's something that's been on my mind and I just asked the other council members if they would follow along with me.>
The update... if passed by legislature... will increase the age to run for city council from 18 to 21 ... And require you to live in the city for a year... currently you only have to live in the city for three months to run for city council.
The update would also raise the age to run for mayor to 23.
<I think you need to live in the community a little bit and know what's going on in the community before you can really make the decisions. >
<you've got to know our city and know the history to know where you're going to bring us in the future. >
Robbins says raising the age to run ... Brings more maturity to the office.
In Warner Robins... Jennifer Moulliet 13 WMAZ eyewitness news.
Since Warner Robins council approved an update to the charter... It now goes to legislature for a vote.
Carolyn Robbins says they hope to have an answer by March... Or by the end of the legislative session.
Just in time for qualifying.
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Two men were sentenced today in Houston County Court on child sex abuse charges...
That's according to a news release from the District Attorney's office...
39-year-old Billy Joe Lane will serve 25 years.. after pleading guilty to aggravated child molestation.
Prosecutors say Lane took an underage girl to a motel room.. gave her alcohol and then raped her.
When police were called... investigators say Lane drove off... and tried to sell his pickup.
They say he called the motel to see if officers had gotten there... and offered 50 dollars to the clerk.. not to tell police he had called.
Lane was arrested in Maryland during a traffic stop.
In a separate case...17-year-old Douglas Brown was sentenced to 40 years for repeated abuse of an eight-year-old boy.
Prosecutors say Brown confessed to sexually abusing the child for months.
Both men will have to register as sex offenders.
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We have more tonight on the December 21st fatal shooting outside a Macon supermarket...and the police officer involved.
The Macon police handbook shows that Officer Clayton Sutton's track record would have triggered the department's Early Warning System before that shooting.
According to the current handbook... an officer is placed on 'early warning' after getting 4 or more complaints within six months.
Sutton's discipline record shows he would made met that standard after complaints in April, June, July and August of 2012.
The early-warning list flags officers who may be having job-performance issues so they be counseled, retrained, disciplined or reassigned.
As we reported to you last week, there is no statewide standard for when an officer is terminated ... Each department has its own policies.
In Macon... Chief Mike Burns has the power to terminate an officer.
Meanwhile... the GBI is continuing to investigate the case and now says they are interviewing witnesses to December's shooting ... They are interviewing people already questioned by police ...And they're seeking more witnesses by viewing police-cruiser and store video.
Sutton remains on paid administrative leave until the investigation is complete.
That is standard procedure when an officer is involved in a shooting.
Chief Burns will not comment on the case.
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More than one hundred out of more than nine-hundred inmates at the Bibb County Jail have a mental illness.
That's according to Sheriff David Davis.
Those inmates cost the county more than half a million dollars a year.
Davis says that's for things like medication and mental health care staff members.
Those designated jail employees have to monitor eating and sleeping habits... And regulate medicine for the mentally ill.
<it is a burden on local governments, local taxpayers, and it's not unique to Bibb County. The county jails all throughout Georgia are really the largest mental health hospitals that exist.>
Davis hopes the state will find a way to help mentally ill patients before they're arrested.
He says Georgia started several programs over the past two years... But he hasn't seen a significant change at the Bibb county jail.
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The families of people killed in last summer's Colorado theater shooting.... sat through emotional testimony today.
Police officers talked about how they tried to save the lives of those wounded.. including one who checked the youngest victim.. six-year-old Veronica Sullivan.
Accused gunman James Holmes sat in the courtroom during the hearing.. and didn't appear to show any emotion.
Investigators say Holmes killed 12 people and injured nearly five dozen others during a midnight showing of the latest Batman movie in July.
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More gun shows in Connecticut and New York have been or are being cancelled in the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting..
The city of Waterbury, Connecticut didn't issued a permit for a show scheduled for this weekend..
A New York-based gun show company also cancelled three shows planned for January, February and March.
The shows were set to be held within 70 miles of Newtown..where 26 people..most of them children were shot to death inside an elementary school last month.
Meantime...New York governor Andrew Cuomo is calling for a ban on assault weapons instead of tougher penalities.
The state senate leader..proposed tougher prison sentences for people who illegally own guns, use them in crimes or bring them to schools.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says one way to deal with guns falling into the wrong hands..is background checks.
<The whole thing takes about 90 seconds, you type in a name, you hit the go button and bang back it comes and says yes or no, cost next to nothing. It would be very easy for private transactions, if you and I had a private transaction, if we had to just go walk into a gun dealer and say we are going to have a private transaction and here, what do you charge us to just enter a name, 10 bucks, 15 bucks, something like that would probably be reasonable. It would work for over the counter sales, it would work for gun show sales, it would work for private sales. >
Vice President Joe Biden heads a task force that's working on gun control recommendations.
Officials who were inside the first meeting of the task force say talk went beyond banning assault weapons..
Ideas included improving the federal background check system and creating a national gun registry.
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The University of Georgia System Board of Regents is expected to give final approval tomorrow to consolidate eight schools... into four.
Here in Central Georgia... Macon State College and Middle Georgia College will combine to form Middle Georgia State College.
The Macon State book store has merchandise with the new name... and outdated apparel has been marked down.
The new Georgia Regents University... a merger between Georgia Health Sciences University and Augusta State is promoting their name on a new website.
The state will also merge Gainesville State College with North Georgia College and State University... and Waycross College with South Georgia College.
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Georgia Power says a plan to shut down more than a dozen generators means the closure of three power plants across the state..
The utility announced today to that it will ask the public service commission to approve closing the units at plants in Putnam, Coweta, Glynn and Chatham counties.
Georgia Power says the decision is based on several factors including economic conditions and the cost of complying with environmental regulations.
The closures will affect nearly 500 workers...Georgia Power says they will be offered retirement or the opportunity to apply for new positions.
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Ten of the nation's largest banks and mortgage companies have agreed to pay eight and a half billion dollars to settle complaints that they wrongfully foreclosed on homeowners.
Federal regulators say the banks including SunTrust..Bank of America and Wells Fargo will pay to end the reviews of foreclosure files that began in 2011.
The banks are accused of mishandling paperwork and skipping steps required steps in the foreclosure process.
Under the settlement.. an estimated 400 thousand people who lost their homes due to wrongful foreclosure could get from a few hundred dollars up to 125 thousand dollars.
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An Oregon man has come up with a way to treat his best friend to his favorite beverage..
Daniel Keeton loves his dog..Lola Jane...and he also loves beer..
Since she can't share a brew with him...Keeton decided to make Lola her own special drink...
He says that Lola loved it so much he decided to market it to other dog lovers..by launching his own company...Dawg Grog.
The canine concoction can be served over dry dog food or by itself as a treat...
Dawg Grog is available online...
The cost is 36 dollars for a six-pack of 16 ounce containers...