The final Columbia County School Board meeting of 2004 is tonight. And it marks the end of a four-year term for one board member.

Former Georgia State School Superintendent Linda Schrenko has been fined $5,000 and forced to account for thousands of dollars in missing campaign money.

Linda Schrenko, Merle Temple and an Atlanta businessman all pled not guilty on Monday before a federal magistrate in Atlanta, and all three are out on bond.

An Evans man has been indicted after an FBI investigation. 48-year-old Johnny Lee Hollis, Jr. faces 46 counts of mail fraud, 26 counts of wire fraud, and 31 counts of money laundering.

The Grovetown Department of Public Safety needs your help to find a missing teenager. 17-year-old Deanna Urgell was last seen on Monday, April 24.

The steady price climb has people looking to find ways to cut costs. One solution? Hybrid cars. They're so popular, some local dealerships don't have any on their lots.

We now know the makeup of the Linda Schrenko jury. The former Georgia state school superintendent is facing dozens of charges that she stole federal education money and put it into her failed campaign for governor.

Gas prices are down a little today, but they're still putting a pinch on people's wallets. Today, gas prices around town are averaging about $2.85 a gallon. News 12 is On Your Side with some ways to get the most of your money at the pump.

Eight children have been removed from an Aiken home after officers say they found them living in filthy conditions. Officers investigated a Hampton Avenue home after finding a 2 to 3 year old child playing in the road.

A fire at Carolina Woodcrafters on Belvedere-Clearwater Road on April 26 damaged some machinery and scrap lumber at that business. It also caused minor smoke damage to the business next door, according to the Belvedere-Clearwater Fire Department.

A father is not allowed back on the property of his daughter's school after allegations that he hit his daughter's softball coach in the face. It's supposed to be competitive fun, but according to an incident report, one parent is accused of throwing the wrong type of pitch.

Two men are still on the loose after a multi-city car chase. News 12 was on scene shooting another story when we noticed this chase. It's a story you'll see Only on 12.

An Oglethorpe, Georgia man is behind bars for stalking and making harassing phone calls. Michael D. Smith is in the Lincoln County Detention Facility.

Today Georgia governor Sonny Perdue signed a bill that tightens the law for sexual predators. House Bill 1059 allows for a minimum 25 year sentence, with no parole and probation for life.

The Jenkins County coroner says a 33-year-old man is dead after a home invasion in Millen. Coroner Henry Young tells News 12 Steven Harley was the victim of a home invasion at around 1:00 the morning of Tuesday, April 25.

Jury selection starts up again the morning of Wednesday, April 26 in the federal trial for Linda Schrenko. The former Georgia state school superintendent is accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars.

A hot topic at Tuesday's Columbia County School Board meeting was a controversial book in elementary school libraries. At the meeting on April 25, parents presented a list of dirty words in a book they say is "vulgar".

A neighborhood is on guard after a man attacked a woman coming home from work. It happened just after 1:00 a.m. Monday, April 24 on Parrish road in west Augusta, right down the street from Westside High School.

After serving six years in the Georgia House of Representatives, Sue Burmeister says she will not seek another term. News 12's Jonathan Martin spoke with her.

One of NASA's newest astronauts is a local boy: Bobby Satcher. Satcher graduated from Demark-Olar High School in 1982. He went on to MIT and later became a doctor.

Four people were taken to the hospital Tuesday, April 25 after an accident on the ramp at Wheeler Road and Interstate 20. Deputies at the scene say that the driver of the silver Jeep ran a red light and sideswiped the Ford F-350.

He was accused of child molestation, a charge that could lock the former Columbia County substitute teacher up for twenty years. But a deal with the court may keep him out of jail.

Jury selection started Tuesday, April 25 in Linda Schrenko's federal trial. The former state school superintendent from Columbia County faces dozens of fraud, theft, and money laundering charges.

36-year-old Michael Baskett was killed in an accident on Highway 25 in Edgefield County this afternoon. Baskett had several warrants for firearms violations.

Monday, April 24, investigators found the drug in 17-year-old Paul Olsen's car on Greenbrier High School property. Friday, April 21, two Columbia Middle School students were arrested for having marijuana in their book bags.