Toddler left in van dies and more regional news

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

JONESBORO, Ga.

Toddler left in van dies

Authorities say a 2-year-old child has died after being left in a van outside a Clayton County day care center.

Clayton County police Lt. Tina Daniel told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the toddler was left in the van for at least two hours Monday after a field trip to a Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant.

Daniel said the toddler, whose name was not released, was taken to Southern Regional Medical Center but did not survive.


DECATUR, Tenn.

Spay-neuter event set Thursday

Citizens for Animal Rights and Education will hold its next spay-neuter day Thursday at the Meigs County fairgrounds in Decatur.

The cost is $40 for cats and $50 for dogs. Other services are available, as well. All animals will be given rabies shots at a cost of $10 unless owners provide proof of vaccination, according to organizers.

To make reservations, which are required, call 423-334-9451.


ATLANTA

Crews restoring electricity

A Georgia Power spokeswoman said crews were working Monday to restore electricity in Northwest Georgia and the Savannah area to customers who lost power in weekend storms.

Georgia Power spokeswoman Carol Boatright said about a thousand customers in the Dalton and Trenton areas still were without electricity early Monday, and several hundred remained without power in Savannah.

Boatright said crews were called in from other states and power was expected to be restored fully Monday.

In Savannah, the American Red Cross opened a shelter at Pulaski Elementary School on Sunday to help people left without power deal with the heat.

About 800 residents in Catoosa, Walker, Whitfield and Murray counties still were without power at 10 p.m. Monday, according to a news release from the North Georgia Electric Membership Corp.

Utility officials anticipated it might be today before all power was restored.


ALBANY, Ga.

Waterways show effects of drought

The U.S. Geological Survey says the levels of South Georgia's waterways have fallen to record lows.

Gauges on the Flint River showed the average depth of the river at 1.31 feet Friday, and discharge from the river was at 606 cubic feet per second. That number compares to a maximum output of 17,500 cubic feet in 1965 and a minimum average output of 715 cubic feet in 2000.

Brian McCallum, assistant director of the USGS Georgia Water Science Center, said data from Friday shows all of the waterways in South Georgia set record lows.

He said the drought in Georgia is becoming more severe.

McCallum said the diminished rainfall does not allow the natural restoration of underground water and forces farmers to use more water from waterways for irrigation.