Wednesday, August 7, 2013
ATLANTA - Atlanta officials have reached a $19.5 million preliminary deal to buy the property of one of two churches needed to build a new stadium for the Atlanta Falcons, Mayor Kasim Reed said Tuesday.
The agreement to buy Friendship Baptist Church using money from the Atlanta Falcons amounts to a partial victory for stadium supporters. To complete the deal, the Georgia World Congress Center Authority would need to reach an agreement with another church, Mount Vernon Baptist. Those talks broke down Aug. 1. Afterward, the state authority said it would explore a different site north of the current Georgia Dome.
Reed wants the stadium built on a site south of the existing stadium. The Democratic mayor said in a news conference that the originally proposed site would be better served by two public transit stations, alleviating game day traffic jams in the city.
LOUDON, Tenn. - Police in Loudon say a man was walking along railroad tracks behind his home when he was struck and killed by a train.
WATE-TV said authorities identified the man as Kenneth Shea, 34. He was hit about 11:30 p.m. Monday and died from his injuries.
Investigators did not know why Shea was on the Norfolk Southern tracks.
FORSYTH, Ga. - A central Georgia railroad depot dating to the mid-1800s has been added to America’s official list of historical treasures.
The Georgia Historic Preservation Division said three buildings that make up the Forsyth Railroad Depots and Baggage Room have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. They include a passenger and freight depot built around 1850, a second passenger depot dating to 1899 and a separate baggage room constructed in 1917.
The buildings were cited as excellent examples of railroad buildings in Georgia.
NASHVILLE - Police said a man who made an illegal U-turn and caused a rollover crash said his global positioning system was at fault.
WKRN-TV reported Toby Leonard drove past the Nashville International Airport entrance on Donelson Pike on Tuesday morning and tried to turn around. The driver of a Mercedes sedan couldn’t avoid Leonard’s pickup truck and struck it. The car overturned, and the driver was taken to a hospital.
The TV station reported the 29-year-old Leonard told police he turned around because his GPS unit told him to.
Police said they cited Leonard for making an illegal U-turn and having an incorrect address on his driver’s license.