Shedding light on Prison Reentry Initiative

Carol Chateau, Douglas County’s community coordinator for the Georgia Prisoner Reentry Initiative, gave a presentation during a stakeholders meeting that drew members of the faith-based community, service providers and supervision officers to help returning citizens receive the collective services they need to prevent turning back to crime. Lamario Harris, faith and community partnership coordinator with the Department of Community Supervision, said that the program promotes a holistic method to supervision and should include services to the returning citizen’s family.

Campus carry bill returns to Ga. General Assembly

Rep. Emory Dunahoo, R-Gainesville, who supported the bill last year before its eventual veto by Gov. Nathan Deal, said he is again supporting the legislation. “It’s a shame when you walk out and you meet with young people at Georgia State and Georgia Tech,” Dunahoo said.

BUFFINGTON: Medical cannabis debate returns

The medical marijuana debate will be back again this year in the Georgia Legislature, but the efforts remain a long shot. Rep. Allen Peake has introduced legislation calling for a state constitutional amendment that would allow medical marijuana to be cultivated in the state for medical use.

‘Get up. We’ve got to get out’: Storms kill 20 in the South

Bonnie Collier, right, and her two granddaughters, daughter and daughter-in-law pick through the wreckage of her mobile home trying to find clothes and family photos on Monday, Jan. 23, 2017, near Cecil, Ga. Bonnie Collier, right, and her two granddaughters, daughter and daughter-in-law pick through the wreckage of her mobile home trying to find clothes and family photos on Monday, Jan. 23, 2017, near Cecil, Ga.

Weekend toll from twisters in South at 16

Emergency responders rushed to answer new reports of deaths and injuries Sunday evening in southern Georgia from violent storms already blamed for killing 16 people in the Southeast. A woman holds a child while walking through a farm that was damaged by a tornado Sunday in Adel, Ga An apparent tornado blew through a mobile home park early Sunday in southern Georgia’s rural Cook County, shearing off siding, upending homes and killing eight people, County Commissioner Jeff Lane said.

18 dead amid reported tornadoes, other storms in the South

A severe storm system that spun off apparent tornadoes and left scattered destruction around the Southeast has claimed at least 18 lives on a two-day sweep across the region, authorities said. The enormous system put millions of people in the South on edge during a weekend of violent weather that left crumpled trailer homes, downed trees and other damage in the hardest-hit communities from Mississippi to Georgia.

More deaths reported after 16 die amid Southeast tornadoes

Emergency responders rushed to answer new reports of deaths and injuries Sunday evening in southern Georgia as violent storms already blamed for killing 16 people in the Southeast continued to inflict destruction. An apparent tornado blew through a mobile home park early Sunday in southern Georgia’s rural Cook County – sheering off siding, upending homes and killing seven people, local authorities said.

Nation-Now 28 mins ago 1:02 p.m.At least 11 killed as storms roar through Georgia

Eleven people were killed and more than 20 injured as violent storms rolled through parts of Georgia over the weekend, hours after deadly storms swept through southern Mississippi, authorities said Sunday. Catherine Howden, spokeswoman for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, told USA TODAY that seven people were killed in Cook County and two each in Brooks and Berrien counties.

Georgia lawmakers return to Capitol with focus on schools

Georgia’s General Assembly gavels in a new legislative session on Monday. The opening days of a legislative session typically include more ceremony than legislative action, but the agenda Gov. Nathan Deal is expected to lay out in his State of the State address this week will shape the 40-day legislative session.

Winter storm coats South with snow and ice

A widespread winter storm brought snow, freezing rain and black ice to the Southeastern United States on Saturday, leaving road closures, power outages and dangerous driving conditions in its wake. Nineteen of the lower 48 states were under winter storm advisories, watches or warnings that impacted more than 60 million people, according to the National Weather Service.