Soaking it all in

Rape and other forms of sexually violent crimes continue to be an ever-present problem that affects hundreds in our community every year. More often than not the victims of these crimes do not report or speak about the incident due to fear, shock, disbelief, denial, anxiety, guilt and self blame. The Rape Crisis Center of the Coastal Empire is well established as a comprehensive agency serving Savannah and the surrounding area. Each year, the Rape Crisis Center reaches approximately 700 victims including adults, children and the family members of victims. Their crisis intervention programs include SART (Sexual Assault Response Team) and SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners), which makes the reporting process much more responsive to the victim. An additional 15,000 people are reached each year with the various prevention programs for all ages, such as Good Touch/Bad Touch, Bullying Prevention, Rape Awareness, and self-defense classes. Through it all the Rape Crisis Center of the Coastal...

Crowder’s file up for parole review Long County case became infamously known as Tomato Patch Murders Patty Leon After serving 14 years of a life sentence Billy Crowder has become eligible and is currently under review by the Georgia Department of Pardon and Paroles Board. Crowder garnered unwanted notoriety during his murder trial held in the summer of 1998 in Long County Superior Court. He, his family and his friend Jason Jordan stood accused of a heinous crime against his grandfather, Thurman Martin. The trial and subsequent series of events placed the small community of Ludowici on the map as events unfolded on the local news and later became a national sensation when a documentary about the family, murder and trial aired on A&E, Court TV and even 20/20. The story involved the alleged abuse of an entire family, a murder and a cover-up; all culminating to Crowder’s verdict and what even some of the jurors called a miscarriage of justice in the sentencing. Crow...

The Frame Gallery on South Main Street The Haunting The former owner of the Frame Gallery store reported hearing noises and footsteps emanating from the second floor. Store merchandise was reportedly being moved around or placed, teetering, on the edge of display tables. A candle holder was thrown across the room, former employees saw apparitions and the activity was describes as being mischievous more so than malicious. The activities increased as the Christmas Holidays approached. This building was investigated by a paranormal group that picked up children’s voices on digital recorders as well as other unexplained voices. The investigators detected the odor of camphor in a certain room on the second floor and captured a few Orbs on camera. The History The building where the Frame Gallery was located was owned by Peyton Way and housed a drug store on the first floor and the first Hospital in Liberty County on the second. Dr. T. W. Welborn (1887-1962), who was a physician...

To say that Derek Sills loves Georgia Southern University and legendary football coach Erk Russell is an understatement. A walk through his home is like visiting a museum dedicated to the iconic coach and a tribute to Eagles football. But Sills does more than simply follow the Eagles. An alumnus of GSU, he sits on the school’s alumni board, the GSU Athletic Foundation board and is a member of the presidential steering committee working on developing new GSU football facilities. What’s more, Sills is president of the Coastal Eagle Club based in Midway, and the Liberty County resident said he is proud his local alumni club is spearheading a project he and many others feel was a long time in coming. The Erk Russell Project was born after a series of events left Sills wondering why the father of GSU football wasn’t recognized by a life-size statue as other coaches have been. Sills said he read an article in Sports Illustrated containing an interview with Urban Meyer. The s...

Despite a few days of slightly lower temperatures, there is little doubt that the extreme heat of summer is just around the corner. Being from Florida I don’t mind the intense heat and humidity that make up the ‘Dog Days.’ I can tolerate the heat much better than I can handle the cold that always seems to creep into my toes and fingers during the winter. As a sports writer for the Coastal Courier, summer time means no high school sports. Sure there are still plenty of local sports to cover but last year I made a decision to try something completely different, a non-traditional sport, so to speak, and ended up covering the Savannah Derby Devil boot camp for the newspaper. It was a great opportunity to introduce a local team doing a local sport that was quickly flourishing across the nation. As most of you know that little adventure turned into a new athletic career for me. My first official bout was on April 2 and although we lost, I’m looking forward to the next bout and I’m complet...