This report has been contributed by Jayla Moody, a student from Mercer University's Center for Collaborative Journalism.

The Georgia Academy For The Blind was launched in 1851 by a group of local citizens in collaboration with Walter S. Fortescue, a graduate of The Pennsylvania Institute for the Blind.

The group took their idea to local legislation and received money and a lot of support for their project, according to a book by Otis Stephens, In Touch with Learning: A History of the Georgia Academy For The Blind,

Today, the academy has up to 100 students. We were just curious about why the academy is located here in Macon.

Former student and professor Thomas Ridgeway knows exactly why.

Ridgeway graduated from the academy in 1962 and returned in 1966 to teach music and mathematics until 1999 and part time until 2010. He told a story that was passed down to him about the group of Macon citizens who wanted to provide a service for people with disabilities.

“There was a child who caught one of those dread diseases,” Ridgeway said. “It looked like the child was going to die with that fever.”

He said the mother of the child prayed and she told God that if he let her daughter live, she would do something to help less fortunate people.

“The girl did live,” Ridgeway said.

She and some friends got together and started teaching some blind students who were here in Macon.

They were reading to them and teaching them music in a small classroom. They gained support from the community, received a charter and eventually, they received money for a building.

“The school for the blind is not always in the capital city,” Ridgeway said. “They’re often in the cities where people stand up for the rights of the disable.”

TENNILLE, Ga. — Three people were shot Friday night in a drive-by shooting in Washington County.

According to Sheriff Joel Cochran, there are three gunshot victims following a shooting at 4000 GA-15 in Tennille.

This happened near Old Savannah Road and Indian Hill Road. Those roads will be closed to all traffic as GBI Crime Scene Technicians and Investigators work the area.

In a Facebook post by the Washington County Sheriff's Office, it says "several subjects are being treated for gun shot wounds by medical personnel."

Cochran says one person is in critical condition, and is being transported to a trauma unit in Augusta. The other two people have non-life-threatening injuries.

This is a developing story.

MACON, Ga. — The Macon District Attorney’s Office held a quarterly briefing Friday, applauding action it's taken since January when DA Anita Reynolds Howard took office.

Multiple members of her administration were at the conference, but she was not there herself.

According to Assistant District Attorney Cindy Adams, the office has indicted over 400 cases and completed two murder trials. The office is also participating in the county’s Macon Violence Prevention (MVP) initiative.

Earlier this week, Arie Calloway was set to go on trail for murder, but Bibb Superior Court was forced to postpone it because not enough jurors showed up.

Reporters questioned Adams and other office administration about Howard's whereabouts, but she would not answer.

“We are here to answer any questions that you have today,” said Adams. “She has a very competent staff. The trials, everything has been conducted as usual, business is going on as usual in our office.”

Adams also showed reporters a magazine that Howard’s office sent to constituents in the judicial circuit earlier in June. It outlines events the DA’s office will be involved in or host, as well as the some of the office’s initiatives over the last six months. 

13WMAZ asked where the office got the money used to produce the magazines. Adams said, “I don’t oversee the money.”

She also said she didn't know if the office would be releasing more issues of the magazine.

Later Friday afternoon, DA Howard sent out the following statement about her attendance at the briefing.

She said, "As women we know balance is important and essential to success and purpose in our lives. On the eve of the first Father’s Day weekend without my father it was important to have the support of friends and family for a short period so I can continue the important work of this circuit. I have full faith and confidence in my leadership team’s ability to operate effectively in all circumstances.”

RELATED HEADLINES

'I can put them in jail': Bibb County judge frustrated over jurors not showing up

'Any intervention right now is better than what we had before': Macon-Bibb County rolls out plan to reduce crime

MACON, Ga. — The Macon District Attorney’s Office held a quarterly briefing Friday, applauding action it's taken since January when DA Anita Reynolds Howard took office.

Multiple members of her administration were at the conference, but she was not there herself.

According to Assistant District Attorney Cindy Adams, the office has indicted over 400 cases and completed two murder trials. The office is also participating in the county’s Macon Violence Prevention (MVP) initiative.

Earlier this week, Arie Calloway was set to go on trail for murder, but Bibb Superior Court was forced to postpone it because not enough jurors showed up.

Reporters questioned Adams and other office administration about Howard's whereabouts, but she would not answer.

“We are here to answer any questions that you have today,” said Adams. “She has a very competent staff. The trials, everything has been conducted as usual, business is going on as usual in our office.”

Adams also showed reporters a magazine that Howard’s office sent to constituents in the judicial circuit earlier in June. It outlines events the DA’s office will be involved in or host, as well as the some of the office’s initiatives over the last six months. 

13WMAZ asked where the office got the money used to produce the magazines. Adams said, “I don’t oversee the money.”

She also said she didn't know if the office would be releasing more issues of the magazine.

Later Friday afternoon, DA Howard sent out the following statement about her attendance at the briefing.

She said, "As women we know balance is important and essential to success and purpose in our lives. On the eve of the first Father’s Day weekend without my father it was important to have the support of friends and family for a short period so I can continue the important work of this circuit. I have full faith and confidence in my leadership team’s ability to operate effectively in all circumstances.”

RELATED HEADLINES

'I can put them in jail': Bibb County judge frustrated over jurors not showing up

'Any intervention right now is better than what we had before': Macon-Bibb County rolls out plan to reduce crime