High school SkillsUSA chapter a national finalist in competition

CHATSWORTH, Ga. — The North Murray High School SkillsUSA chapter is one of five national finalists in the Stanley Black & Decker “Show Off Your Skills” contest. The chapter was selected for its initiative supporting Linwood Senior Housing in which cosmetology students gave makeovers to residents. As a finalist, North Murray is guaranteed a $4,000 grant with the opportunity to win a $10,000 grand prize through voting. If North Murray wins, SkillsUSA Georgia will also receive a $2,500 grant. The contest was held in conjunction with the SkillsUSA National Service Week, May 7-11. Nearly 2,500 students and teachers participated nationwide. The challenge required participants to submit a 60-second video showing the personal, workplace and/or technical skills used by the chapter in service to others. To view the North Murray video, go to https://youtu.be/XdvOX6isKGs. Voting is open and ends at 11 p.m. on Thursday. To vote, go to https://bit.ly/2JZJlIg. You can vote once every 24 hours until voting closes.

Leadership Day focuses on ‘Crime Prevention’

LIVE OAK, Fla. — The sixth annual Gary Edwards Leadership Day will focus on “Crime Prevention” on Saturday, led by the Live Oak Police Department.

Registration is available at www.garyedwardsday.com, and is open to students in grades 5-12. The event will last from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the LOPD station, 205 White Ave. SE.

The event will begin with a tribute to remember the life and legacy of Gary Edwards, a Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office deputy who died in 2011. A tribute to Gary’s wife, Robyne, will be presented.

Also, a Gary Edwards Leadership award will be presented to a pillar, mentor and role model in the community that has embodied everything that Gary Edwards stood for in family, faith, education, and developing students.

The 2018 Gary Edwards Leadership award will be presented to Live Oak Police Chief Buddy Williams.

During the event, students will participate in activities such as simulated bank robbery by First Federal Bank, texting and driving with drunk goggles on a golf cart through a cone course, crime scene with identification and trace ability through fingerprint, and other fun activities around crime prevention.

There will also be free food and gift cards for students to win.

Separate shootings injure men with same name

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. — Two men with identical names were involved in separate shootings in Baldwin County last week, authorities say.

The first shooting took place shortly after 1 p.m. at 2424 Sinclair Marina Road last Tuesday, according to an incident report filed by Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Robert Adams.

The victim was identified as 30-year-old Travis Butts.

Adams said in his report that he received a call to respond to the emergency room of Navicent Health Baldwin hospital in Milledgeville in reference to a gunshot victim.

The deputy said when he arrived at the hospital he talked with medical personnel, as well as the victim.

The victim sustained a gunshot wound to one of his legs.

The deputy said Butts initially told him that he had been the victim of a drive-by shooting.

Further investigation, however, later revealed that was not the case, according to Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office Detective Capt. Brad King, who heads the criminal investigations division.

Butts later said he sustained his injury from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his residence.

Meanwhile, in another shooting last Thursday afternoon, a local man with the same name as the victim in the shooting last Tuesday was seriously injured in an accidental shooting in the yard of his residence off Princeton Drive.

In last Thursday’s shooting, 37-year-old Travis Butts sustained a single gunshot wound to the chest.

Personnel with Grady Emergency Medical Services, as well as firefighters with Baldwin County Fire/Rescue worked to stabilize Butts at the scene before he later was taken to Navicent Health at The Medical Center in Macon for additional medical attention, Youngblood said.

Thursday’s shooting was termed accidental.

Multiple charges after wreck, chase through downtown Moultrie

MOULTRIE, Ga. — A Cairo man’s joyride through Moultrie didn’t last long before he wrecked his car and was taken into custody. At about 9 p.m. Friday a Moultrie Police Department officer saw a Honda Civic and a Chevrolet pickup truck involved in a collision on the downtown Moultrie square. The driver of the Honda acted as if he was going to pull over to speak with the other driver, but instead he continued driving. After seeing the Honda heading south a north-bound one-way street, an officer turned on blue lights and started following, police Sgt. Shavarye Anderson said. During the brief chase the driver, later identified as Rydge Logan Clark, ran a stop sign at Second Street and Second Avenue Southeast, and two red lights, Anderson said. “When he tried to make a turn onto Sixth Avenue — going too fast trying to make the left turn — he went over the curb and struck a police (vehicle) in the Presbyterian Church parking lot,” Anderson said. Clark, 29, 493 Darsey Road, Cairo, was charged Friday with reckless driving, fleeing or attempting to elude police officer, failure to stop for stop sign, failure to obey traffic control device, driving wrong way on one-way street, possession of marijuana, duty upon striking fixture, leaving the scene of an accident and failure to drive within single lane.