Following much debate, Columbia County commissioners approved a rezoning Tuesday with specific conditions for about 40 acres in Martinez.
The rezoning allows developers to decrease lot sizes from 30,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet, though developers said they intend to sell 14,000-square-foot lots at the site on Point Comfort Road.
Some area residents argued that such a development would reduce their property values, but developers countered that neighboring properties also are zoned with the smaller lot requirement and one even is rezoned for apartments.

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The Columbia County Convention and Visitors Bureau needs your home to help Hollywood studios make movies.

Columbia County earned a certification from the Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office in December to take part in the Camera Ready program with the visitors bureau acting as the liaison.

The Camera Ready program is a registry of locations throughout the state available for use in commercials, television shows and movies. The FMDE works with film production scouts to locate communities suitable to their particular needs.

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The affect of a standardized test on the final grade in some courses now counts the same for dual-enrollment students in Columbia County as it does for all other high school students.

Earlier this year, the school board voted that the End of Course Test will count for 20 percent of a student's final grade for the courses in which that exam is required. Previously, the test counted for only 15 percent of the final grade.

Three Columbia County high school students were sent to alternative school last week for drug possession.

Including these incidents, 11 students since Sept. 20 were caught with drugs at county public high schools.

The students were sent to the county alternative school in Grovetown following sessions before the school system hearing officer on Oct. 6.

Two of the students attended Greenbrier High and another was at Evans High.