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

(AP) -- ROETHLISBERGER-INVESTIGATION
    Roethlisberger yet to be interviewed by GA police
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben
Roethlisberger has yet to meet with authorities in Georgia who are
investigating a sexual assault allegation made by a 20-year-old
college student.
    Roethlisberger's attorney Ed Garland said late Tuesday that his
client is not in Georgia and has yet to speak with investigators
regarding the allegation filed against him this month in
Milledgeville.
    Garland also says there is no timetable for the interview.
    The student told police that the two-time Super Bowl winner, who
had been out barhopping with friends, assaulted her at a nightclub
in Milledgeville.
    Roethlisberger has not been charged and Garland has said the
quarterback is innocent of any crime.
   
TEACHER CONTRACTS
    New GA law extends teacher contract deadline
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - School districts in Georgia now have an extra
month to decide how many teachers they will hire for next year.
    Governor Sonny Perdue signed into law Tuesday a bill that
extends the deadline for educator contracts to May 15th. The move
is designed to give districts more flexibility as state lawmakers
grapple with the state's sagging economy.
    Many districts complained that the deadline was too early in the
state's budget process, forcing them to sign contracts in April
before they knew how much would be cut from their share of state
funding. State officials are projecting a nearly $800 million
budget hole for next fiscal year, which begins July 1st.
    The law relaxes the deadline by a month through 2013.
   
SLAIN HIKER-HUSTLER
    House OK's ban on crime scene photo release
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia's open records law would ban the release
of crime scene photos showing dismembered body parts or nude
genitalia under legislation approved unanimously in the House.
    The bill was prompted by Hustler Magazine's request for graphic
crime photos of Meredeith Emerson, the hiker whose naked
dismembered body was found in January 2008 in the north Georgia
woods.
    A judge has barred authorities from releasing the photos. House
Speaker David Ralston called the porn magazine's request "vile."
    State Representative Jill Chambers, the bill's sponsor, said
Tuesday that under the bill reporters could still view the photos
but would be banned from copying them or removing them from law
enforcement custody.
    The bill passed during Sunshine Week, when news organizations
promote open government.
    It now heads to the Senate.
   
STREET RACING
    Senate clears way for local street races in GA
    
    ATLANTA (AP) - Senators have cleared the lane for local street
races, touted as an economic development initiative for
cash-strapped Georgia.
    Senate Bill 345, sponsored by Senator Jim Butterworth, passed
41-to-nine on Tuesday. Under the proposal, racing on highways or
streets would be allowed when the race is sanctioned by the county
or municipality and the road is closed to other traffic during the
race.
    Emergency medical personnel would also have to be present at
events and the race would have to be publicized 30 days prior to
the event.
    The Cornelia Republican says such races could be a big tourism
draw for Georgia. Critics derided the proposal as a public safety
issue.
   
TAX DEADBEATS
    House OK's bills to pursue tax deadbeats
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - The House has voted to give state revenue
officials more muscle to collect overdue taxes.
    Georgia is facing a huge budget shortfall and supporters say a
pair of bills that cleared the House on Tuesday could bring in
millions of dollars.
    One bill would streamline the process the state uses to garnish
wages from residents who owe taxes. Officials estimate there are
about 20,000 delinquent taxpayers eligible to have their wages
garnished.
    Another would give eight state Department of Revenue agents law
enforcement powers to obtain subpoeanas and collect late taxes.
    Both bills were sponsored by state Rep. Larry O'Neal, chairman
of the House Ways and Means Committee.
    Each passed narrowly with opponents fretting that the state was
infringing on residents' rights.
   
CHILD SHOT
    3 indicted after child shot dead while sleeping
   
    CHAMBLEE, GA (AP) - Authorities have indicted three people in
connection with a shooting that killed an 11-year-old DeKalb County
boy who was asleep in his bed.
    A spokesman for DeKalb District Attorney Gwen Keyes Fleming says
a DeKalb grand jury returned a 59-count gang indictment Tuesday
against Cody Bauer, Alexander Sidloskas and Stedmund Anthony.
    They are charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated
assault and multiple violations under the Georgia Street Gang
Terrorism and Prevention Act.
    Chamblee Police Chief Marc Johnson says Nicholas Sheffey died
February 15th after being shot in the head by a stray bullet the
previous Saturday.
    Police believe Nicholas' 16-year-old brother was the intended
target of the shooting in retaliation for a home invasion robbery
in December. Police say the suspects fired seven shots through the
brother's bedroom window, but Nicholas was struck instead.
   
PLANE KILLS BEACHGOER
    Mom: Jogger hit by plane was excited to head home
   
    HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) - The mother of a man hit and
killed by a small plane as he jogged on a South Carolina beach says
he was on a business trip and looking forward to heading home for
his daughter's third birthday.
    Authorities in Hilton Head say Robert Gary Jones of Georgia died
instantly when the plane hit him as it made an emergency landing.
It had lost its propeller and the pilot's vision was blocked by oil
on the windshield.
    Jones apparently did not see or hear the plane. His mom, Pauline
Jones of Florida, says he was excited to be going home Wednesday to
see his wife and two children and celebrate his daughter's
birthday.
    He was a salesman for drug company GlaxoSmithKline and traveled
often for business. His mother says he loved fishing, cooking and
sports.
   
PETS-EUTHANASIA
    House bans gas chambers to euthanize pets
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - The House approved a bill that would outlaw the
use of gas chambers to euthanize pets at animal shelters in
Georgia.
    Under the bill -- approved 115-to-46 Tuesday -- animals must be
put to sleep through lethal injection.
    The bill's sponsor, state Representative Tom Knox, called gas
chambers, which use carbon monoxide to euthanize pets, "pretty
gory" and described how animals gasp for air as they die. The
Republican from Cumming said lethal injection is more humane.
    State Rep. Gene Maddox, a veterinarian from Cairo, argued
against the bill saying for wild or feral animals who are not used
to being handled by humans, carbon monoxide chambers are the most
humane way to put an animal down.
    Knox said only 10 or 11 counties still permit the use of gas
chambers.

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