Georgia Today: Shooting suspect and father charged; Chattahoochee River pollution suit; Peanut crops

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Friday, Sept. 6. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, both the 14-year-old suspect accused of killing four people at his high school and his father face charges. The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper sues the city of Atlanta over E.coli pollution, and researchers get funding for an idea they think could boost the value of the state's peanut crops. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: The Apalachee High School student accused of killing two fellow classmates and two teachers on Wednesday, appeared in court this morning along with his father. Chase McGee has more from Barrow County, northeast of Atlanta.

Judge Mingledorff: In essence, you are charged with four counts of felony murder.

Chase McGee: The 14-year-old suspect and his father both appeared in front of Judge Currie Mingledorff in Barrow County Superior Court. The juvenile, Colt Gray, was charged with four counts of felony murder. His father, Colin Gray, has been charged with four counts of manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children. The charges stem from his allegedly providing a firearm to his son.

Judge Mingledorff: For a maximum total possible penalty for the charges that you currently are facing of 180 years imprisonment.

Chase McGee: A preliminary hearing was set for both father and son on Dec. 4. For GPB News, I'm Chase McGee in Winder.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: The school shooting this week has put gun policy front and center as Republicans and Democrats campaign for the White House. Speaking at a rally in Phoenix yesterday, Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance said school shootings are "a fact of life" and that the U.S. needs to work to prevent them.

J.D. Vance: We've got to bolster security so that if a psycho wants to walk through the front door and kill a bunch of children that they're not able to. And again, as a parent, do I want my kids school to have additional security? No, of course I don't. I don't want my kids to go to school in a place where they feel like you've got to have additional security, but that is increasingly the reality that we live in.

Peter Biello: Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, as vice president, leads the new White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention and in the past has supported banning sales of the AR-15 and similar rifles. Harris commented specifically on the shooting in Georgia, saying it is outrageous, quote, "that parents have to send their children to school worried about whether or not their child will come home alive."

Caption

A person walks into a mental health clinic.

Credit: File photo

Story 3:

Peter Biello: We generally agree as a society that mental health is important, but in Georgia, behavioral health care is often inaccessible, and this is especially worrisome in the wake of Wednesday's shooting. Parents are worried about their kids and how they're feeling. GPB's Ellen Eldridge has more about the roadblocks to therapy in Georgia. Ellen, thank you so much for speaking with me.

Ellen Eldridge: It's good to be here.

Peter Biello: So why is it so difficult to find mental health care?

Ellen Eldridge: Well, one of the reasons it's very difficult to find mental health care in Georgia — and we're at the bottom of the nation when it comes to accessing mental health care — has to do with insurance plans. I spoke with Tracy Hooper. She's a licensed professional counselor up in Ellijay, and she says one of the problems that her practice is having right now has to do with billing and pay, because she says most of her providers are moving to cash-only payments because the insurance companies are setting the rates based on the client's health plan. And her rates haven't even gone up since 2008. She says she's still accepting Blue Cross Blue Shield, but she's torn about it.

Tracy Hooper: I want services to remain accessible for people. I have a lot of people who, if they couldn't go through their insurance, they would not be getting services. They wouldn't be getting therapy.

Ellen Eldridge: There was a study just out earlier this year that estimates 42% of Georgians are paying out of pocket. That means they're paying cash for their behavioral health care.

Peter Biello: Okay, so — so what are the early warning signs that there's a problem and, you know, kids might be in need of mental health care?

Ellen Eldridge: Yeah, sure. I think a lot of people don't realize how early mental health issues do present themselves. I think a lot of parents don't realize that as their kids are going through physical, developmental, hormonal, developmental, social issues, they can also be developing problems with coping. Some of the more subtle signs that something is going on with your kid: If they're sleeping too much or too little, or if they seem like they're withdrawing, using drugs, becoming violent — those are some of the more obvious kinds of symptoms. And, you know, it's — it's not just recent events and things. The — Hooper says that many of the kids are experiencing ripple effects from COVID. But it's not just COVID. It's also social media.

Tracy Hooper: You know, people are self-diagnosing because of videos they see on TikTok. And there's a lot of psychological terms that are being misappropriated.

Peter Biello: What can a teenager or someone who is worried about a teenager do?

Ellen Eldridge: Call 988. That's — that's really the — The whole idea is prevention, early access to help, finding those resources. Anyone of any age can call 988. They can text. It's available in Spanish, and they can just talk to somebody about what's bugging them. It doesn't have to be, you know, a suicidal crisis or a homicidal crisis. A teenager could just call up and just talk to somebody about, you know, bullying or whatever. And, you know, we know in the first month of 988 going live that Georgia, in emergency rooms, we saw almost a 24% increase in 5- to 11-year-olds. And then for the 12- to 17-year-olds, we had 31% increase in these kids showing up in emergency rooms after 988 rolled out. So that could be indicative of a couple different things. But it's definitely help.

Peter Biello: What is being done in Georgia to improve access to mental health care?

Ellen Eldridge: We agree, and we know pretty widely that suicide is the second-leading cause of death for young people between 10 and 24. And you know, when the incident — when the school shooting in Winder happened, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, they sent out a news release and they reminded people on their social media to call 988. You know, in Georgia, we actually had a head start because we had our own crisis and access line in place before 988. So we already have local resources and people who know what's going on answering those lines in Georgia. And then, you know, additionally, the governor and the state legislature has put more money toward the Apex Mental Health school programs as well. So there's never enough money for programs like that, but they are out there.

Peter Biello: GPB's Ellen Eldridge is our senior health care reporter. Ellen, thank you very much for speaking with me.

Ellen Eldridge: Thank you for having me.

Peter Biello: GPB has gathered resources that parents, caregivers and teachers can use to help students process tragic events. You can find it at GPB.org.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: Campaign surrogates for Vice President Kamala Harris stopped in Savannah yesterday as part of a multi-state Reproductive Freedom bus tour focusing on the issue of abortion rights. GPB's Benjamin Payne reports.

Benjamin Payne: Among the speakers campaigning for Harris was Savannah pastor Candace Hartnett. She says she used to identify as a, quote, "pro-life conservative," but eventually her views changed. Hartnett and her wife sought fertility treatments in order to have a child. She says she worries a second Trump administration would end reproductive health care options.

Candace Hartnett: They will continue to undermine and eliminate our fundamental rights to make our own decisions about our bodies and our futures. Clearly, they think that it's their place to dictate if, when and how we grow our families. And frankly, I don't trust them with that decision.

Benjamin Payne: Other stops on the bus tour include Macon and Atlanta. For GPB News, I'm Benjamin Payne in Savannah.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: The Harris and Trump campaigns are both trying to appeal to small business owners in Georgia. GPB's Sarah Kallis reports.

Sarah Kallis: Vice President Kamala Harris announced Tuesday a tenfold expansion of tax relief for new small businesses. State Rep. Long Tran owns a coffee and boba shop. He supports Harris's plan.

Long Tran: This will help people who are looking to start a business have a more financially stable ground to start one with.

Sarah Kallis: Meanwhile, at an event in Braselton on Tuesday, some small business owners heard the Trump campaign's pitch for why his plan, that includes reduced fuel costs and bureaucracy, is better. Daniel Ketchum owns a liquor store in Brazelton and is hopeful a Trump presidency will curb price increases.

Daniel Ketchum: In the past three years. I've been handed price increases that are five and six pages long, three and four pages long, and they're all kinds of different brands.

Sarah Kallis: Both candidates will have the chance to compare policies when they debate later this month. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis in Atlanta.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper has sued the city of Atlanta for allegedly polluting the Chattahoochee River. The Chattahoochee Riverkeeper says the Clayton Water Facility is discharging illegal levels of pollution. In March of this year, E.coli bacteria in the river was traced back to the facility. Chattahoochee Riverkeeper Executive Director Jason Ulseth says the city of Atlanta has allowed operational and maintenance failures at the facility to compound over time, failing to follow through on even the most basic equipment repairs. In a statement from the Atlanta mayor's office, the city says improvements to the system have prevented unpermitted levels of E.coli since March and has maintained compliance with discharge requirements established by the state.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: According to the latest Census, 1.2 million people under 65 years old in Georgia do not have health insurance and that includes children. Now, stakeholders from across the health care spectrum are being asked to recommend better ways to get people covered. As GPB's Sofi Gratas reports, they have a long way to go.

Sofi Gratas: Georgia's uninsured rate has gone down, but it's still higher than the national average. Yet most uninsured adults are eligible for some kind of coverage through the state's Medicaid program, which comes with work requirements or through a subsidized marketplace plan. Grant Thomas, with the Department of Community Health, told the new commission Thursday the agency is spending millions on marketing these programs, but —

Daniel Ketchum: There's always going to be people who do not apply for and enroll in health insurance coverage despite it being offered to them for whatever reason that may be.

Sofi Gratas: People from outside Atlanta said the commission should consider a lack of providers and technology as possible barriers, especially in rural Georgia, where need is highest. The commission will meet for two years. For GPB News, I'm Sofi Gratas.

Caption

Rich Homie Quan

Credit: Photo by Brad Barket/Invision/AP

Story 8:

Peter Biello: Atlanta rapper Rich Homie Quan, who burst into the national hip hop scene in 2013, has died. Atlanta police say they found the rapper, whose real name is Dequantes Devontay Lamar, unresponsive at his home yesterday. His 2013 song "Type of Way" helped launch him into the national spotlight. His cause of death is unknown. He was 33 years old.

Story 9:

Peter Biello: Researchers at the University of Georgia's College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences are looking to boost the value of Georgia's peanut crops by developing high-oil peanuts. Most of Georgia's peanut crop is used for foods like peanut butter, roasted snacks and baking. But peanut oil is a lucrative crop, and the domestic market for it is small. A nearly half-million dollar grant will fund the development of a high-oil peanut variety bred to withstand Georgia's climate. The researchers say, by diverting some acreage to peanut oil, demand and price for edible peanuts could rise.

Story 10:

Peter Biello: The group promoting pedestrian safety in the Buckhead neighborhood of Atlanta, is getting a $10 million grant to build an elevated pedestrian bridge over a busy street. The Buckhead Community Improvement District's president says the group is grateful for the support from the U.S. Department of Transportation and Georgia's congressional delegation. The pedestrian and bike bridge will cross Lenox Road and create a mile-plus-long pedestrian-friendly corridor between the Lenox MARTA station and Piedmont Road. The bridge itself will be about two-thirds of a mile long. The project is expected to be complete by January 2028.

Story 11:

Peter Biello: In sports, Reynaldo Lopez pitched a solid six innings and struck out 11, but the Atlanta Braves couldn't muster enough run support and the Braves lost to the Rockies 3 to 1 last night. Rockies starter Austin Gomber when eight innings, giving up one run and striking out five. Braves outfielder Michael Harris II says Gomber did a good job of changing pitch speeds and keeping batters off balance.

Michael Harris II: Normally you adjust during the game, but I think he did a good job of ramping up when he needed to and then going back down when he — when he had to. So, yeah, I think he just did a good job of mixing.

Peter Biello: With the loss, the Braves dropped to a tie with the New York Mets for the final wild card spot. The Braves open up a three-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays tonight at Truist Park. In the NFL, for the Atlanta Falcons, $180 million man Kirk Cousins has been handed the keys to the offense as the NFL season opens against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Atlanta. Even coming off an Achilles tendon injury that cut short his final season with the Vikings, Cousins sure seems like a major upgrade over his predecessors. In college football, No. 1 Georgia plays its home opener against FSC school Tennessee Tech tomorrow afternoon. Tennessee Tech has yet to score a point against Georgia. When the teams first met in 1943, the Bulldogs romped 67 to nothing and in their only other matchup, Georgia cruised to a 38 to nothing victory in 2009. Georgia Southern faces Nevada tomorrow. Georgia Tech faces Syracuse and Georgia State hosts Chattanooga.

Peter Biello: And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. Thank you so much for tuning in. It's been a tough news week. A lot of stuff that's been hard to hear, but we appreciate you tuning in and we hope you will follow updates at our website: GPB.org/news. If you haven't subscribed to this podcast yet, highly recommend you do it now. We'll be back in your feed on Monday afternoon with all the latest news from Georgia. And if you have feedback, we would love to hear from you. Send us an email. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening and have a great weekend.

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For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news