Latest news, weather and high school sports for Albany and Southwest Georgia

(AP) -- TEXTING WHILE DRIVING
    Texting while driving bill to get further study
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Lawmakers are taking a closer look at texting
while driving legislation proposed last week.
    Representatives on the House public safety committee debated the
bill on Wednesday. At issue was how law enforcement would be able
to determine if a driver is texting or using their cell phone for
another purpose.
    State Rep. Amos Amerson urged his colleagues not to focus on how
the proposed law would be enforced. And supporters of the bill say
its main purpose will be as a deterrent to would-be offenders, who
may be broken of the habit with the threat of a hefty fine and
driving penalties.
    At the end of the hour-long hearing, the bill was referred to a
study committee for further consideration.
   
TAXES
    GOP to push job tax cuts
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia Republicans will push a forward a tax cut
package aimed at creating jobs in the state, where unemployment is
at 10.3 percent.
    State Rep. Tom Graves will unveil new legislation at a state
Capitol news conference Thursday.
    The Republican from Ranger pushed a plan last year that would
have given companies a $500 credit toward the unemployment
insurance tax and a $2,400 income tax credit for each new employee
they hire.
    But Gov. Sonny Perdue vetoed the measure after the state Senate
tacked on a provision to slash the capital gains tax in half over
two years. The governor argued the move would have gutted
recession-wracked state coffers.
   
GEORGIA GUNS
    School officials bristle at gun proposal
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - University presidents and student leaders
bristled at a proposal that would allow gun owners with permits to
carry their concealed weapons on college campuses.
    The hearing Wednesday was the latest development in the
legislative process as lawmakers wade deeper into an overhaul of
gun restrictions.
    The broad new proposal allows permitted gun owners also to carry
their weapons in churches, state buildings and most public
gatherings.
    Supporters say it's designed to clarify a tangle of
contradictory state laws and court rulings, but critics worry it
could give rise to vigilante justice.
   
WIFE MURDERED
    Savannah man indicted in murder of wife
   
    SAVANNAH, GA (AP) - A Chatham County grand jury has indicted a
Savannah man in the Halloween slaying of his wife after a daylong
quarrel.
    The four-count indictment charges 69-year-old Robert Johnson
with felony murder in the shooting death of Mary Ellen Johnson on
Oct. 31.
    The indictment also charged Johnson with aggravated assault on
his wife and a second aggravated assault on a bystander in the same
incident.
    The 66-year-old died of a single bullet fired from a rifle at
the couple's home.
    Johnson told detectives the couple had been fighting "for
40-something years."
   
WORKERS SICKENED
    9 sickened by cleaning fumes
   
    AUGUSTA, GA  (AP) - An employee at Georgia War Veterans Nursing
Home mixing cleaning chemicals Wednesday accidentally set off
noxious fumes that sent nine people to Augusta hospitals.
    Medical College of Georgia spokeswoman Jennifer Hilliard says
nobody suffered serious injuries in the 9 a.m. incident. She says
the fumes filled the first floor of the 192-bed facility, which is
run by MCG.
    Eight employees and a certified nursing assistant complained of
respiratory problems, nausea and dizziness.
    Six went to MCG Hospital and Clinics, where they are all listed
in good condition. She says three walked into University Hospital,
where they were being treated in a minor treatment area. No
patients at the nursing home were affected.
   
MARIJUANA BUST
    Man charged with growing marijuana
   
    LAGRANGE, GA  (AP) - A 53-year-old LaGrange man faces charges
after Troup County drug agents found 50 marijuana plants at his two
homes.
    Authorities charged Francis Scott Allison with possession and
manufacturing of marijuana. Troup County Sheriff's Department Sgt.
Chad Mann says Allison turned himself in at 11 a.m. Monday and
since then has made bond.
    Authorities found the plants, along with four pounds of
harvested marijuana, cultivation equipment and drug paraphernalia
after getting a tip.
    Also discovered were a room setup to grow and cultivate
marijuana with five marijuana plants, growing lights, air purifiers
and other cultivation equipment. A pound of marijuana was also
found inside the kitchen freezer.
   
TURKEY GANG
    Officials put down attack turkeys
   
    ATHENS, GA (AP) - Department of Natural Resources officers put
down two turkeys after complaints that a gang of the wild birds had
harassed residents of an Athens subdivision for a month.
    Residents in the Olde Lexington Gardens neighborhood complained
of being kicked and chased by the birds. One woman says she had to
jump in a car to escape.
    DNR biologist Alex Coley says it's unusual for turkeys to act
aggressively, unless it's breeding season.
    On two previous visits, DNR officers didn't spot the birds. But
they found them Tuesday morning, two toms and four hens in a back
yard.
    Coley reminded residents not to feed wildlife.
   
PLANT EXPANSION
    Textile firm plans expansion
   
    AUGUSTA, GA (AP) - An Augusta area textile firm has planned a
$3 million investment that will bring a few more jobs to the
region.
    Parkdale Mills says the expansion to its Edgefield textile
facility will create 16 more jobs. The company expects to have the
expansion completed by May 1.
    Parkdale Mills has been a producer and supplier of spun yarn for
nearly a century.
    The company plans to begin hiring for the positions in February.
    It's not a lot of jobs. But Edgefield County Council Chairman
Monroe Kneece says it's good news in times like these.

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