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All content by Laura Corley
Cirrus Academy Superintendent Gail Fowler announces the school met its academic goals for 2021-2022. It is the first time the state charter school met the State Charter School Commissions academic standards since opening in 2016.

Cirrus Academy meets academic goals for the first time in its history

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
March 30, 2023
A two-pack box of Narcan nasal spray pictured on the front desk of the Macon Inn. A Bibb County Superior Court order issued in November 2022 requires that the hotel keep a minimum of 10 doses of Narcan and make it available for guests upon request. The order also required that the hotel post instructions on how to use the live-saving nasal spray in all common areas on the property.

As overdose deaths rise, Georgia Public Health officials respond with Narcan kits in motels, fentanyl test strips

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
March 27, 2023
There are also Macon residents who chose to ignore the signs. A pedestrian is shown after continuing through the roadwork in the rain. Photo credit: Angel Colquitt

Interactive map shows where pedestrians fatalities occur in Macon

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
March 21, 2023
The Boys & Girls Club of Central Georgia is among several nonprofits headquartered in the Buck Melton Community Center at Anthony Road and Felton Avenue.

Macon Housing wants to sell community center

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism
March 13, 2023
Items from a 1973 time capsule are displayed after it was opened at Atrium Health Navicent hospital on Feb. 28, 2023.

Coins, stamps, the Great Snow of ’73: Macon hospital’s time capsules offer a glimpse of the past

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
February 28, 2023
Coroner Leon Jones said Pio Nono Avenue is one of the deadliest roads in Georgia and likely the deadliest road in Macon.

Macon-Bibb County Pedestrian Safety Review Board responsibilities outsourced to private company

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
February 23, 2023
Diane Collins, left, her mother Bernice Smith, center and their friend Tony Fordham, on the porch of Collins Davis Place apartment.

‘We can’t build fast enough.’ Macon Housing Authority is funding, upgrading affordable housing

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
February 22, 2023
Cirrus Academy students work together on an art project.

State charter schools in Bibb County flagged in report

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
February 17, 2023
Imogene Patterson peers through the blinds behind the check-in desk at Economy Hotel on Pio Nono. She said she sometimes holds her breath watching some of the hotel guests trying to cross the five lanes of Pio Nono Avenue to get to the Circle K convenience store.

‘I hate to look.’ Deadly stretch of Pio Nono lacks crosswalk, stoplight as pedestrians keep dying

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
February 13, 2023
Peter Givens stands near the entrance of a pedestrian bridge over Interstate 75 that connects the west an east sides of the Pleasant Hill neighborhood. The neighborhood was severed in the 60s with the construction of Interstate 75.

GDOT promised better in Pleasant Hill after cutting it in half it with I-75. Has the state kept its word?

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
February 7, 2023
A Macon Transit Authority bus arrives at Terminal Station.

Macon’s ‘cheapest ride in town’ is about to get more expensive

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
February 2, 2023
Henry Young III, 64, knows well how deadly Pio Nono Avenue can be for people on foot. He says lowering the speed limit could help because, they treat this road here just like a racetrack.

Macon’s deadliest streets: Two roommates die months apart crossing same busy road

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
January 31, 2023
Bibb County School Board elected Juawn Jackson as its president for 2023. Jackson was elected to the board in 2020 and represents the countys west side.

Bibb Schools’ financial cushion threatened by governor’s proposed budget

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
January 20, 2023
A Bibb County sheriff deputys car with blue lights activated near a pedestrian crosswalk on Jeffersonville Road in Macon.

Macon’s roads are becoming deadlier for pedestrians, but few hit-and-runs are solved

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
January 17, 2023
The Mentors Project of Bibb Countys Executive Director June ONeal takes blankets to a family of 8 living in a south Macon motel room in late 2022. ONeal says her program needs new mentors to fulfill its core goals.

More mentors needed in Bibb County where ‘the streets call the children all the time’

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
January 10, 2023
The Macon-Bibb County Board of Elections awaits a judges ruling on their lawsuit against Mayor Lester Miller and county commissioners over the elections supervisor selection process.

2023 Preview – Part 4: Board of Elections stalemate, downtown improvements, Chamber move, Farmers Market conflict, celebrating Macon’s 200 years

Liz Fabian and Laura Corley
December 29, 2022
Macon Water Authority Chairman Sam Hart began an October called meeting by sharing concerns about a report of possible board member misconduct.

2023 Preview – Part 3: MWA probes, school planning, going green, new affordable housing and riverfront development plans

Liz Fabian and Laura Corley
December 28, 2022
Dan Anthony Sims, the Bibb County Board of Educations sole finalist for superintendent, visits students at a Bibb County Elementary School on Monday, April 25, 2022.

2023 Preview – Part 2: School enrollment, building boom, road safety, delayed response times and Eisenhower improvements

Liz Fabian and Laura Corley
December 27, 2022
The Macon Bicentennial includes a flame to represent the fire Native Americans took with them on the Trail of Tears and the passion burning within current residents to make the community a better place.

2023 Preview – Part 1: Bicentennial kickoff, $25 million loft project, school sensory rooms, downtown parking changes and new MWA leadership

Liz Fabian and Laura Corley
December 26, 2022
Bibb School Superintendents Curtis Jones and Dan Sims

2022 in review: A look back at Bibb County education news

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
December 23, 2022
Rice Elementary School and Neel Elementary School

Two long-closed Bibb schools could become apartment homes

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
December 15, 2022
Stacy Jones lives in a small blue house at the dead end of Roosevelt Avenue with his 6-year-old daughter and 97-year-old grandmother. He said he feels like Pleasant Hill is being gentrified.

A state authority got millions to reduce poverty in Pleasant Hill. Has it helped?

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
December 14, 2022

Bibb Schools seeks public input on long-range plan for district

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
November 23, 2022
An ambulance is pictured outside the Medical Center, Navicent Health, (then The Medical Center of Central Georgia) in this 2009 file photo. Federal law requires all Medicare-participating hospitals with emergency departments to medically screen and stabilize any patient in need of emergency care.

Hospital authority plans to ask Macon-Bibb for a cut of its tax revenue

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
November 17, 2022
A desire line on Pio Nono Avenue in Macon after it passes under Interstate 75. The spot is one of the most deadly for pedestrians in Macon.

Hit-and-run pedestrian deaths have doubled in Bibb County this year

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
November 16, 2022
The cafeteria at Bibb Countys Rutland High school in 2017.

Bibb Schools enrollment hits five-year high

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
November 10, 2022
Band of farmers cuts ties with groups fighting over market management

Band of farmers cuts ties with groups fighting over market management

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
October 31, 2022
Central High School senior Gabe Deegan watches assistant teacher and parapro Madelynn Washington hold a stream of optical fiber lights in the schools new sensory room on Oct. 25, 2022.

Every Bibb County School will soon have a sensory room. What are they for?

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
October 27, 2022
Gerald and Debbie Miles enjoy time on the porch swing of their Warner Robins home after sharing how their lives changed after Gerald began electroconvulsive therapy to treat debilitating depression. Debbie said they shared their story about the treatment “to help other people” by letting people know about the treatment and removing stigmas associated with mental illness.

Middle Georgia hospital uses electricity to treat depression

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
October 7, 2022
Food Fight: Lawsuit imperils future of Wednesday farmers market

Food Fight: Lawsuit imperils future of Wednesday farmers market

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
October 3, 2022
A look at the inside the Bibb County Librarys new building at 5494 Forsyth Road. Friends of the Library spent months cleaning the building and organizing donated books to be sold.

Bibb County’s newest library branch taking shape

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
September 28, 2022
First responders shut down MLK Jr. Blvd. following the July 7 crash that resulted in a Macon-Bibb County Transit Authority bus landing on top of an SUV.

[Photo] Macon-Bibb Transit strengthens driving policy after July bus crash, violations

October 3, 2022
Bibb Schools Chief Information Officer Kevin Adams informs the school board that more students are enrolled this school year than originally projected.

Bibb Schools enrollment headed in ‘a very positive direction’

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
September 16, 2022
Holly Huynh, talent management coordinator for Bibb Schools, welcomes new teachers at the first monthly professional learning night of the school year Sept. 8, 2022. About 170 teachers attended and all were recent career changers.

Career changers are helping to fill teaching vacancies

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
September 12, 2022

Q&A with Bibb County Schools Superintendent Dan A. Sims

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
August 17, 2022
What do Georgia public schools teach in sex education? It depends on the school system

What do Georgia public schools teach in sex education? It depends on the school system

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
August 10, 2022
Students return for in-person classes on Nov. 9, 2020 at Ingram Pye Elementary in Macon, Ga. They went virtual again a few weeks later.

State test scores set new baseline for Bibb Schools students

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
August 2, 2022
Bibb County Schools Superintendent Dan Sims delivers a presentation to the community in June 2022.

7 changes to know about as Bibb Schools students return to class

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
July 28, 2022
Bibb County Board of Education Member Juawn Jackson introduces a policy the state requires the board to adopt on so-called divisive concepts.

Bibb Board of Education: ‘I’m sorry we have to pass this policy’

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
July 22, 2022
Bibb Schools Chief of Staff Katika D. Lovett presents a proposal to contract with consultant company Gallup Inc.

Bibb School Board gives taxpayers a break, new superintendent hires consultants

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
July 22, 2022
Gregory Robert Hogan

Former Middle Georgia schools cybersecurity pro charged with peeping Tom

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
July 6, 2022
A new automated traffic camera outside Rutland Middle School on Skipper Road in South Bibb County.

New automated traffic cameras catch thousands speeding in Bibb school zones

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
June 27, 2022
Incoming Bibb Schools Superintendent Dan Sims presented his vision for the district at a meet and greet in Rutland High Schools auditorium late afternoon June 21, 2022.

Incoming Bibb Schools Superintendent shares ‘#Built4Bibb’ vision

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
June 22, 2022
Katika Lovett was appointed Bibb Schools Chief of Staff by incoming Superintendent Dan Sims.

Bibb School Board approves new chief of staff, bans students use of cellphones in school

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
June 17, 2022
Bibb County Schools Superintendent Curtis Jones is set to retire June 30, 2022, ending his seven-year tenure. The 67-year-old sat down with The Macon Newsroom and Georgia Public Broadcasting for an exit interview at Vineville Academy on June 7.

Q&A with Retiring Bibb Schools Superintendent Curtis Jones

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
June 14, 2022
Macon-Bibb County Commissioner Elaine Lucas, who spearheaded the creation of the Pedestrian Safety Review Board in 2015, speaks at a news conference on Thursday, June 9, 2022.

How safe is it to walk in your neighborhood? Free training teaches how to identify, document hazards.

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
June 13, 2022
Superintendent Curtis Jones, left, secures a Victory in Progress pin to incoming Superintendent Dan Sims coat at the May 10 meeting solidifying Sims as the districts next leader.

Records provide glimpse into the cloistered search for the next Bibb Schools superintendent

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
June 6, 2022
Macon-Bibb Pedestrian Safety Review Board a high risk grantee, state office says

Macon-Bibb Pedestrian Safety Review Board a ‘high risk’ grantee, state office says

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
June 1, 2022
Thelma Dillard, president of the Bibb County School Board, at the May 10, 2022 meeting.

Bibb Superintendent on school closures: ‘I don’t see a way around it’

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
May 25, 2022
Bibb School Superintendents Curtis Jones and Dan Sims

What will Bibb Schools pay its new superintendent?

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
May 24, 2022
Newly elected Bibb County School Superintendent Dan Sims speaks to members of the Bibb County Board of Education after they voted 6-2 to approve his hiring.

Bibb BOE approves contract for incoming Superintendent Dan Sims in a split vote

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
May 19, 2022
Thomas Bemke, 60, walks a mile through knee-high weeds on the shoulder of Gray Highway in 90-degree heat one day early in May 2022 to buy groceries at Dollar Tree. Bemke said he is extra cautious on his trek because of the number and speed of semis on the highway.

Pedestrian safety is their goal but Macon’s deadliest streets are out of their control

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
May 18, 2022
County Health Ranking report: How healthy are Bibb County residents?

County Health Ranking report: How healthy are Bibb County residents?

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
May 16, 2022
Dan Sims hugs his wife, Traci, after the Bibb County Board of Education voted 6-2 to appoint him to superintendent.

Dan Sims to ‘take the baton’ as next Bibb Schools Superintendent

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
May 10, 2022
Dan Anthony Sims, the Bibb County Board of Educations sole finalist for superintendent, visits students at a Bibb County Elementary School on Monday, April 25, 2022.

What makes Bibb Schools’ superintendent finalist the right choice? The school board won’t say

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
April 29, 2022
The BOE meeting was well attended in anticipation of a finalist being named for Bibb Schools superintendent.

Bibb School Board picks finalist for superintendent in split vote

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
April 21, 2022
Bibb School Board considers prohibiting students use of cell phones, personal electronics in school

Bibb School Board considers prohibiting students’ use of cell phones, personal electronics in school

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
April 20, 2022
Bibb County Superintendent Curtis Jones is set to retire in June 2022.

Bibb Schools Superintendent search nears an end as finalists are slated to be named

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
April 20, 2022
Macon-Bibb County E-911 dispatcher Christine Wilson takes a call at her station equipped with a monitor showing a map with the locations of emergency responders displayed. The maps are just part of the the new Computer Assisted Dispatch E-911 system. (File photo from April 2016)

‘I waited and waited’: Did 911 response times prompt big changes at Macon-Bibb E-911 center?

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
April 8, 2022
A man who was hit by a car on Gray Highway was lying in the road for about 25 minutes as he waited for an ambulance, patrol car and fire truck for help.

17 pedestrians died on Bibb County roads in 2021. How long did they wait for help?

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
April 8, 2022
Jerry Dewayne Houston

2 suspects identified, 1 sought in 2021 pedestrian hit-and-run deaths in Bibb County

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
March 22, 2022
Bibb County school board reconsiders Bring Your Own Device policy

Bibb County school board reconsiders ‘Bring Your Own Device’ policy

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
March 18, 2022
Bibb County Superintendent Curtis Jones is set to retire in June 2022.

What kind of person should lead Bibb Schools? The public has spoken.

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
March 11, 2022
Middle Georgia State University third year teaching students, from left, Myah Anderson, Raven Moffitt, Emily Dent and Hannah Nichols work through techniques to teach fourth grade students the basics of fractions. Their final year in the MGA program will see them teaching full time in an area school.

Teachers in short supply as educator pipeline slows to a trickle in Middle Georgia

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
March 2, 2022
Bibb schools launches online survey seeking public input as 33 applied for superintendent job

Bibb schools launches online survey seeking public input as 33 applied for superintendent job

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
February 24, 2022
Bibb school board mum on search for new superintendent

Bibb school board mum on search for new superintendent

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
February 18, 2022
Dozens of vans, trucks, cars and buses parked at Hawthorne and Third streets parked in a county-owned lot downtown have government-issued tags. The vehicles are not owned by the county or any agency of the county. They belong to a private nonprofit called the Macon-Bibb County Economic Opportunity Council Inc.

Public money, private business: oversight limited at Macon-Bibb Economic Opportunity Council

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
February 18, 2022
Chiquita Dinkins teaches a unit on photosynthesis to students at Northeast High School in Macon. Dinkins, who was head cheerleader at Northeast as a student in the 1980s, is one of 18 alumni teachers at the school.

Bibb teachers have wish lists. The school district now has a way to fulfill them.

Laura Corley, Civic Fellow
February 1, 2022
Alicia Mays of UGAs Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, teaches Southwest High School boys healthy eating habits.

Bibb schools to offer optional hybrid schedules at high schools

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
January 20, 2022
A mix of pre-k and other students arrive at Ingram Pye Elementary School in Macon in November 2020.

Demand high in Bibb County for pre-K, but space limited in public schools

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
January 20, 2022
Stanley Stewart implores the Bibb County Board of Education to consider maintaining the vacant Appling Middle School building in a regular meeting in December 2021.

[Photo] 22 things to look for in 2022 in Bibb County

December 21, 2021
The Bibb County School Board stands together for a photo during the last meeting of 2021. School Board President Daryl Morton, center, holds a Quality School Board certificate from the Georgia School Board Association.

Bibb Schools to hire more virtual teachers amid shortage

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
December 17, 2021
A July surge in COVID-19 patients has Macon hospitals hustling at near capacity with cases that are markedly different from the virus emergence in spring.

No answers from Atrium Health Navicent on executive pay changes, hospital authority appointments

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
December 7, 2021
Bibb Schools welcomes applications for new superintendent

Bibb Schools welcomes applications for new superintendent

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
December 3, 2021
Students return for in-person classes on Nov. 9, 2020 at Ingram Pye Elementary in Macon, Ga. They went virtual again a few weeks later.

Fewer students attend Bibb County schools. What will it mean for the future?

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
November 23, 2021
Some Macon residents choose to risk the walk across the busy road instead of heading in the oposite direction just to reach the sidewalk. “I don’t have much of a problem but I can see how someone who walks a little slower might,” said Mary Smith, who had just crossed the road on her way to the bus stop.

Walking safety audits planned in Bibb County neighborhoods

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
November 17, 2021
Bibb School District Superintendent Curtis Jones explains items included in the 2020 ESPLOST sales tax referendum to the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce at its September meeting.

Nationwide search for new Bibb schools superintendent is underway

Laura Corley, Civic Journalism Fellow
October 25, 2021

No One Eats Alone: school bullying, social isolation combated in Bibb County

Laura Corley, The Telegraph
February 22, 2019
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