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Vol. 140, No. 2 - Waynesboro, Ga. 30830 Established in 1882 Wednesday, February 26, 2020 - $1.00
Deputy fired after shooting incident
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
A Burke County deputy has been
terminated following a shooting
incident at his home in Augusta.
According to a report from the
Burke County Sheriff’s Office,
Andra Gardner was off duty when
the 2 a.m. call came in on Thursday,
Feb. 20. The call was Gardner’s
neighbor telling him his front door
was open and a burglary may have
taken place.
The Richmond County Sheriff’s
Office responded to Gardner’s
Caddenwoods Drive residence
around 2:30 a.m. at which time
Gardner told deputies he had bred
his personal weapon several times
at a man jumping his back fence.
He stated he drove to his home after
receiving the call from his neighbor,
arrived around 2:20 a.m. and saw
the front door was open. The report
says he searched both the bottom
and top levels of the home and as
he came back downstairs and out
the backdoor, he saw the suspect
jumping the fence. He also reported
that the suspect was unarmed.
Upon searching the premises,
RCSO deputies found no evidence
of an intruder; BCSO confirmed
that the neighbor, who was outside
during the time of the incident, said
he heard the shots but never saw a
suspect. According to the BCSO,
there were also no footprints found
in the wet ground where the suspect
had reportedly jumped the fence nor
were any deputies or K9 units able to
track anything from the scene.
During a 3:30 a.m. interview with
RCSO and BCSO investigators,
it was noted that Gardner smelled
of alcohol and appeared to be
intoxicated. An alco-sensor test at
4:38 a.m. showed a positive reading
above .12.
Gardner, who was hired on Oct.
21, 2019, was still on probationary
status at the time of the incident. He
was terminated that
afternoon at 2:30 p.m.
“While we do attempt
to work with deputies
SEE
FIRED,
6A
Andra Gardner
Several days of continuous rain led to
flooding across the county last week and
the closure of school for two days. More
than a dozen roadways across the county
were shut down as the rain continued to
fall, pooling in roads, yards and tree lines
and creating hazardous driving condi
tions. As of Tuesday afternoon, several
road portions were still closed until further
notice, including Henry Berol Road, Joyner
Oglesby Road, Hillis Circle Road, South
College Road, Chance Hatcher Road and
Middle Ground Road. Pictured above, the
rains created small ponds all along Middle
Ground Road. At right, water rushes across
the edge of Coleman Young Road.
Jimmy Dixon, civic and
farming leader, has died
ROY F. CHALKER JR.
rchalker@bellsouth.net
Former Burke County Commission
Chairman Jimmy Dixon died
Sunday, Feb. 23. He served more
than 14 years on the panel, including
eight as chairman.
Burke County Manager Merv
Waldrop said this week that, “Jimmy
Dixon was well respected across
the state, having served on the
Association County Commissioners
Of Georgia’s (ACCG) Board of
Managers and also as Georgia’s
representative on the National
Association of Counties (NACO).
Commissioner Dixon was an
advocate for agriculture and rural
counties.
In addition to his service in elected
office, he was active in the civic
affairs of the county through the
Shrine Club and other organizations.
In 1994 Dixon was one of three
Georgians named by Sen. Paul
Coverdell as co-chairmen of a
statewide Agricultural Task Force.
The group provided him with advice
and assistance on matters related to
farming and agriculture.
Dixon was
recognized
numerous
times by
agricultural
groups for
outstanding
farming
practices
and high
yields in
peanuts and
other crops.
In 2016 He was honored for a
lifetime of service to peanut farming
and the peanut industry. He received
the Outstanding Georgia Peanut
Farmer of the Year Award at the 40th
annual Georgia Peanut Farm Show
and Conference at the University of
Georgia Tifton Campus.
At the time of his retirement
from the commission, a reception
was held at Augusta Tech honoring
Dixon for his service on the County
Commission as well as his many
other contributions to the county.
Funeral services for Jimmy Dixon
will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday,
Feb. 27 at Rosemont Heights Baptist
Church in Waynesboro.
JIMMY DIXON
New industry announced
Molly Olson, Executive Director
of The Development Authority of
Burke County, announced Tuesday
that a company has purchased the
50,000 square foot Lamar B. Murray
Speculative Building, located on the
Burke Veterans Parkway.
The firm, Hart Dairy,
headquartered in Augusta, plans to
transform the building into a state-of-
the-art dairy manufacturing facility.
Olson added that, “the company
is known as being innovators in
their industry and we are excited
to see their future growth in the
manufacturing sector. We anticipate
this new operation will have a very
positive and large economic impact
on the region. The Development
Authority of Burke County will have
more details and great news to share
in the coming weeks.”
Man dies in house fire
DIANA ROYAL
jdianaroyal@gmail.com
A Waynesboro man is dead after
being trapped inside his home when
it went up in flames.
The Waynesboro Fire Department
responded to the home, located
at 809 Burton St., around 5 p.m.
on Wednesday, Feb. 19. On the
scene within minutes, firefighters
attempted search and rescue
measures immediately but were
unable to locate a victim due to
deteriorating fire conditions, the
report said. Once the fire was
extinguished and responders were
able to make entry, they located the
deceased victim in a rear bedroom.
The body was transported to the
state crime lab for autopsy and
identification. The name has not yet
been released.
According to Insurance and Safety
Fire Commissioner John F. King, the
59-year-old, 1,188 square-foot home
suffered major interior damage from
the blaze. “Though they cannot be
directly linked to starting the fire,
two space heaters were found in the
bedroom in which the fire started,”
he said, adding that more than
25,000 resident fires and more than
300 deaths are caused each year by
space heaters.
The unidentified man marks the
17th victim to die from a fire in the
state of Georgia in 2020. Sources tell
The True Citizen that the victim was
both blind and on oxygen.
The origin and cause of the fire
remain under investigation.
Assisting the WFD were the Burke
County EMA, the Waynesboro
Police Department and the Burke
County Sheriff’s Office.
I]
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