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A North Augusta teen drowned in Clark’s Hill Lake Sunday evening.

Uriel Diaz, 15, drowned while at West Dam Recreation Area with his cousin and a friend from Grovetown.

A Dearing couple said they saw the teen fall off his float and begin panicking when the float drifted out of reach, according to a Columbia County Sheriff’s Office incident report.

“He was not a swimmer,” Columbia County Deputy Coroner Bonnie Holloway said. “He didn’t know how to swim. The water was not over his head. He panicked.”

Everyone had wondered this spring whether the azaleas would be in bloom during Masters Week. We want the azaleas to be at their peak when the tournament comes to town.

Unfortunately, most azaleas reached the peak of bloom a week or two before the Masters, but there are still varieties that are in full bloom. In fact, there is another species of azaleas that are blooming now: native azaleas.

A program aimed at grooming community leaders is open until April 19 for new class members.

Applications for the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce’s 2012-13 Leadership class must be turned in by April 19, but chamber President Tammy Shepherd encourages those interested to submit them as early as possible.

Grovetown officials expect to approve a plan Monday that might change the look of the city center.

“All the council, they’ve seen the (presentation) and I haven’t heard any negativity out of them whatsoever,” Mayor George James said of an Urban Redevelopment Plan the city council will consider during their monthly meeting.

Grovetown residents were able to view the plan, which city officials developed with the CSRA Regional Commission, during a public meeting last week.