To say Braselton teen Austin Moore was raised to love no other college football team but the Georgia Bulldogs would be an understatement.
As the high school senior and his mother, Cathy, waited outside the Academy Sports+Outdoors in Buford after the Bulldogs defeated TCU to win its second consecutive national championship late Monday night, Moore was dressed head to toe in red and black.
He wore a Georgia beanie, Georgia sweatshirt and jacket as he waived a giant Georgia flag while waiting in the line to get in the store.
He even wore red contact lenses for the occasion.
Academy stores across the state of Georgia reopened late Monday night to sell UGA fans the first pieces of national championship gear as soon as the title game ended just before 11 p.m.
Louis Bonora, the store director for Academy's Buford store estimated about 300 to 400 people showed up at that location alone between the time its doors reopened at 10:55 p.m. and the time the last customers filed out just after midnight.
Fans who showed up late Monday night after the game were the first to snap up national championship shirts, sweatshirts, hats, beanies, drink cozies, pennants, car window stickers and lanyards.
Moore and his mother were already on their way to the store before the game even ended. It wasn't their first time showing up at an Academy store immediately after a local team won a league title, however.
It's something of a tradition for the family. They did it when UGA won this year’s SEC title, last year’s national championship, and when the Atlanta Braves won last year’s World Series. Many other fans were similarly eager to wait in line late Monday night to get their championship gear. They were even more excited, however, by UGA's dominating 65-7 victory over TCU in the national title game and the fact that the Bulldogs are back-to-back national champions. In honor of the University of Georgia's historic feat, Times-Journal, Inc. is publishing a commemorative championship edition with a special poster page, stories, highlights and photos from the national title game defeat of TCU. The edition will be available for purchase for $3 beginning on Wednesday at the Daily Post offices. Copies can also be ordered online
Gwinnett County police announced on Monday that they have identified and arrested a suspect in the death of a woman who was killed last month at a south Gwinnett used car dealership where she worked. Master Police Officer Hideshi Valle said Lilburn resident Wesley Vickers has been charged with felony murder, malice murder and aggravated assault in the death of Snellville resident Courtney Owens. Police arrested Vickers with help from the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office Fugitive Unit on Friday.
Police have not yet released information on a possible motive for why Vickers allegedly killed Owens.
Owens was shot and killed inside the used car dealership on Centerville Highway on December 9. At the time, police said they thought Owens or someone else at the business may have known the shooter, although they had not identified a suspect at that time.
Vickers is being held in the Gwinnett County jail.
A homeless person was taken to the hospital on Sunday after suffering from smoke inhalation outside a vacant home that was on fire.
Gwinnett County Fire Capt. Ryan McGiboney said crews were called to the home near the intersection of Sterling Hill Drive and Towler Road at 2:59 a.m. One person who reported the fire to 9-1-1 told dispatchers that fire had begun spreading to the nearby woods.
Firefighters arrived five minutes later and found the crawlspace of the home, which had been a single-family dwelling that had at some point been converted to a business, was on fire. They then found the homeless person near the building.
Firefighters removed the plywood from the home's windows, which had been boarded up, to battle the flames before deploying several fire hoses. Crews got the fire under control at about 4:09 a.m.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but the search crews that went into the building after the fire determined it was vacant.
Chloe Brothers broke the Gwinnett County six-dive record Saturday, highlighting Brookwood’s sweep of rival Parkview in swimming and diving.
The Broncos completed an unbeaten regular season under new head coach Willie Hildebrand, and retained the Battle of Five Forks Trophy with victories in the overall points competition, as well as wins in both the boys and girls divisions. The boys won 264-194, while the girls posted a dominant 311-142 victory.
Brothers’ girls county record was 314.90 points to break the old mark of 305.55, set in 2011 by Duluth’s Sarah Haliburton. Brothers also broke the county 11-dive record earlier this season. In addition to Brothers’ victory, Hailey Dopson won two events for the Brookwood girls — the 200-yard freestyle and the 100 backstroke. The other Bronco girls who won individual events were Addison Curtis, Sophie Hamilton, Mary Kate Weitzel and Cameron Pritchett .
Both Kyler Heffner and Nolan Patterson were double-winners for the Brookwood boys. Heffner was first in the 200 free and 100 fly ,and Patterson won the 50 and 100 free. Teammate Baylor Stanton took first in the 100 breaststroke in 58.82, and Ethan Walker gave the Broncos a win in boys diving.
Parkview was led by a pair of double-winners, Landon Plumlee on the boys side and Hannah-Claire Jowers on the girls side. Plumlee was first in the 200 IM and 500 free, and Jowers won the 100 free) and the 100 breast. The Panthers’ Jack Dunbar was first in the 100 back at 52.07.
Georgia officials expect the state will receive more than $181 million after joining national settlements with four companies over allegations they contributed to the opioid crisis.
The Peach State will use the money from Allergan, CVS, Teva and Walgreens to help fund treatment, prevention, reduction and recovery initiatives.
CVS and Walgreens were not defendants in Georgia’s ongoing litigation against opioid distributors, though Teva and Allergan were named in the state’s action targeting opioid manufacturers. According to Georgia officials, CVS and Walgreens proactively approached the state with settlement offers.
Walgreens will make a $58.7 million base payment to the state, CVS will pay $50.1 million, Teva will hand over $44.9 million, and Allergan will pay $27.4 million. CVS will pay $5 billion nationally, while Walgreens will hand over $5.7 billion. Teva will pay more than $4.25 billion nationally, while Allergan will distribute more than $2.3 billion.
Georgia joined the settlements with Teva and Allergan on December 19 and the settlements with CVS and Walgreens on December 21. Local governments have 90 days from when the state joined the settlements to join.
Three Gwinnett County players and two local coaches participated in the prestigious All-American Bowl over the weekend.
Those five helped the East to a 55-17 victory in the annual high school football showcase televised by NBC.
Mill Creek grad Caleb Downs, Buford grad Justice Haynes and Grayson grad Michael Daugherty played for the East, while the coaching staff included Buford head coach Bryant Appling and Meadowcreek head coach Todd Wofford.
Haynes rushed for 87 yards and a touchdown, and Downs had an interception.
Caleb Downs is a 5 star safety signed to play for the University of Alabama. Justice Haynes is a 5 star running back, also signed to go to Alabama. And Michael Daugherty is a 4 star safety, who is signed to go play for LSU.
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