FOLKSTON

Sunday evening ends pleasant before week of rain

Isolated thunderstorms and dangerous temperatures persist Sunday

Isolated rain remains for Saturday evening

The public can now weigh in on a proposed mine in the Okefenokee Swamp.

A new study found that the night sky is growing brighter every year, and the stars are looking dimmer.

A company's plan to mine minerals just outside the famed Okefenokee Swamp and its federally protected wildlife refuge is a big step closer to being approved by regulators in Georgia.

The trial of Corey Binderim — a Clay County contractor who is charged with first-degree murder in the killing of a client, Susan Mauldin — was set to begin Thursday with jury selection, but it has been delayed indefinitely.

A Georgia family reached out to News4JAX, asking for help with horrible flooding.

The Charlton County Sheriff’s Office is looking for suspects after an 11-year-old girl and a 33-year-old woman were grazed by bullets during a party on Saturday in Folkston, the county’s sheriff said.

A vigil was held Monday night to remember a Charlton County High School football player who deputies say drowned last week.

A 17-year-old missing swimmer found dead Thursday evening was a football player at Charlton County High School, the school‘s head football coach confirmed to News4JAX.

Authorities in Folkston, Georgia were sent Thursday night to search for a missing swimmer near Trader’s Hill boat ramp off Tracys Ferry Road.

An 82-year-old pilot was injured Tuesday evening in a small plane crash about a half mile west of an airport in Folkston, Georgia, authorities said.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation ajnd the Folkston Police Department are asking for the public’s help finding a 33-year-old man who they identify as a suspect in the fatal shooting of Javarr Nelson on August 1 at Nelson’s home in Folkston.

A battle over whether to allow mining near the vast wildlife refuge in the Okefenokee Swamp rests with Georgia state regulators after federal agencies declared they no longer have oversight

A grand jury returned an indictment Thursday charging a Clay County contractor with first-degree murder, among other charges, in the 2019 disappearance and death of a client.

A Folkston man was arrested following a shooting Tuesday afternoon in St. Marys that police said stemmed from a verbal argument.

FLEMING ISLAND, Fla. – Susan Mauldin, 65, was last seen alive or heard from on Oct. 23, 2019. One year after she disappeared, two pumpkins remain on the porch of Mauldin’s Fleming Island home -- a daily reminder to her neighbors and friends of her loss. “It’s very disappointing to think those pumpkins have been out there for a year," Joy Strickland said. TIMELINE: How detectives uncovered remains of Fleming Island womanTime hasn’t dulled the pain of Mauldin’s loss. “As time goes by, I am hoping that will disappear.”Flowers and a sign join pumpkins and evidence markers that have been at the entry to Susan Mauldin's Fleming Island home for the last year.

The tropics are certainly busy, meaning now is the time to prepare

There are some items that could help you in the event of an evacuation.

Preparing your car for the hurricane seasonPublished: August 24, 2020, 2:06 pmMeteorologist Richard Nunn joins us from Farmers and Builders of Folkston to tell us how to prepare our car before the storm comes.

Clay County Sheriff Darryl Daniels said in addition to being charged with Susan Mauldin’s murder, Corey Binderim, 45, was charged with tampering with evidence. On Saturday, Daniels revealed that detectives first identified the Rosemary Hill Waste Management transfer facility in Clay County as a place of interest. He said detectives learned it moved waste to the Chesser Island Landfill in Folkston, Georgia, where investigators scoured through 7,300 tons of waste before finding Mauldin’s remains. Jan. 29A Clay County corrections officer comes across what appeared to be a portion of a human skull. Feb. 1The State Attorney’s Office, FBI and Clay County Sheriff’s Office all state that the human remains found during the search belong to Susan Mauldin.

Former Charlton County High School star Champ Bailey poses in front of a plaque on Friday at his high school. FOLKSTON, Ga. - An NFL hall of famer went back to school on Friday. The Charlton County High School icon was honored in front of a packed gym as part of the NFL's Hometown Hall of Fame program, delivering a message that left an impact. Bailey, a 12-time Pro Bowl selection and five-time All-Pro, played at Charlton from 1992-95 and later, at the University of Georgia. He was a three-sport star at Charlton (football, basketball and track), but football is what he'd make a profession out of.

VIDEO: A lightning strike caused the Badcock Home Furniture in Folkston to go up in flames. Copyright 2019 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.

FOLKSTON, Ga. – A lightning strike caused the Badcock Home Furniture in Folkston to go up in flames Sunday night. Some of their personal belongings, as well as all the inventory of the furniture store, was destroyed. Rikin Patel’s gas station and convenience store next door to Badcock was filled with customers when they heard the lightning. Eight people in Clearwater Beach were also injured by a lightning strike over the weekend. READ MORE: At least 8 people hit by lightning in Clearwater BeachOne person was in critical condition.

FOLKSTON, Ga. - Fire crews responded to a fire at Badcock Home Furniture & More at 220 1st Street in Folkston Sunday night after a lightning strike hit the building. According to comments in a public Facebook group, Brantley County Fire Department and Camden County Fire Rescue were at the scene to make sure no other structures caught fire. Firefighters will be monitoring the family owned furniture store overnight. There is still a lot of smoke coming off the building. Copyright 2019 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.

Fire crews responded to a fire at Badcock Home Furniture &more at 220 1st Street in Folkston Sunday night. According to comments in a public Facebook group, Brantley County Fire Department and Camden County Fire Rescue are on the scene to help make sure no other structures catch fire. The Brantley Scoop Facebook page posted that the fire started after the family-run furniture store was struck by lightening. This story will be updated as more information becomes available. Copyright 2019 by WJXT News4Jax - All rights reserved.

FOLKSTON, Ga. – Three women were shot outside the American Legion post in Charlton County early Sunday morning minutes before two men were shot a mile away at a Flash Foods store, the Georgia Department of Law Enforcement said Monday. The second shooting took place 15 minutes later at the convenience store at the intersection of Martin Street and Highway 301. The GBI said the victims of the second shooting had been at the American Legion post earlier in the evening. According to the Charlton County Herald, about 100 people were at a party at the American Legion when the first officers arrived. Anyone with information about either incident is asked to contact the Charlton County Sheriff’s Office at 912-496-7321, the Folkston Police Department at 912-496-2563 or the GBI at 912-729-6198.

FOLKSTON, Ga. – Fire crews battled a blaze Wednesday afternoon at a mulch supplier business in Folkston after a large piece of equipment caught fire, Charlton County Fire Rescue said. Fire Chief C.L. Lewis said a horizontal chip grinder caught fire about 3 p.m. at the Margo State Line Bark and Mulch plant just off Okefenokee Drive. The grinder was engulfed in flames when Fire Rescue arrived, but crews were able to contain the fire to the equipment and extinguish the blaze, Chief Lewis said. Fire Rescue said no one was injured.

FOLKSTON, Ga. – A Georgia state park inside the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is being closed to visitors as a wildfire burning in the swamp poses a growing threat. Leland Bass of the Georgia Forestry Commission said Stephen C. Foster State Park was closed to new visitors Friday, while campers already in the park were being allowed to stay until Saturday morning. PHOTOS: West Mims FireAs of Friday, forestry officials said 385 people from all over the country were helping battle the West Mims Fire. A community meeting was held Friday evening in Charlton County so people who live near the fire could find out how forestry officials plan to keep them safe. According to forestry officials, trigger points have been set up, and if the flames reach them, they will evacuate the residents.

FOLKSTON, Ga. – Police in southeast Georgia are looking for more possible victims after several women accused a former therapy assistant at a Folkston, Georgia, rehabilitation facility of groping them under the pretense of treatment. At least four women have come forward so far, saying Nichols sexually battered them by grabbing their private parts during treatment -- sometimes while other patients were in the room. “During the massage part, Mr. Nichols sexually assaulted me by going down into my bra. I grabbed his hand and said, 'I don’t think that’s part of my therapy,'” said the woman, who asked not to be identified. Nichols still has an active physical therapy license in Georgia with no complaints listed on it.

FOLKSTON, Ga. – Early next year a government contractor will open 780 beds for U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement detainees an existing facility in Folkston. The facility, which will be called the Folkston ICE Processing Center, will be located next to the privately owned D. Ray James Correctional Institution, and house immigration detainees under a five-year agreement between Charlton County and ICE. The center is expected to begin accepting detainees during the first quarter 2017 to help ICE's increasing need for detention beds. The facility is expected to create an estimated economic impact of about $42 million for the Folkston area, U.S. Rep. “We are very appreciative of the continued confidence placed in our company by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with this important contract,” said GEO's CEO, George Zoley.

FOLKSTON, Ga. – The 34-year-old Charlton County woman who disappeared on Monday wandered into a man's yard Wednesday night. "She made it around to the steps, but she couldn't get up the steps and I had to help her." Family members alerted police Monday after Campbell didn't show up to either of her jobs in Folkston. When the news began spreading Wednesday night that Tesheka Campbell was found alive, family members posted relieved messages on Facebook:"She's here she's here she's alive," wrote Crystal McCulloch. "If you see someone needs help, help them.

FOLKSTON, Ga. – Charlton County beat Gordon Lee 3-1 in eight innings today to win the Georgia Class A Public Schools championship. This time the Indians came home with their first state championship. The Indians took the lead for good when L.J. Talley singled to center and Jacob Baxter came home with the go ahead run. Talley and Baxter teamed up for the final out in the bottom of the inning.

FOLKSTON, Ga. – The district attorney's office has confirmed a high school math teacher has been charged with multiple counts of having sex with seven of her students at Charlton County High School. The charges are in connection with having sex with one boy younger than 16, and six boys older than 16, which is the age of consent in Georgia. The law, however, says having sex with a student is a crime. The superintendent of Charlton County schools says the district is cooperating with the Sheriff's Office investigation and Wilson will not return to campus. The grandmother of one of the victims called this, "The most disgusting thing I ever heard in Charlton County.