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Operation Sandbox looking for volunteers
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Miranda Sain
Published: Apr 10, 2012, 11:12 PM

Operation Sandbox, the local charity organization which sends care packages to American troops overseas, is accepting applications for volunteers.

Each week, volunteers will be expected to meet every Wednesday to prepare the care packages to send overseas.

The care packages include snacks, hygiene and food items.

The organization also collects encouraging letters to include in the care packages.

Volunteers could also do paperwork or sort through donations. Operation Sandbox began as a one-time venture to send 32 Christmas stockings to a Marine unit in Iraq.

Today, Operation Sandbox has reached more than 85,000 service members.
April 3 crash kills two young adults, injures third
Newton County Sheriff Car---WEB
Kate Verity
Published: Apr 4, 2025, 10:29 PM

NEWTON COUNTY — Around 10 a.m. on Thursday, a head-on collision on Highway 212 left two young adults dead and a third hospitalized.

Joe Navarro, 21, was driving the vehicle and Breanna Smith, 18, was in the passenger seat. Katie New, 20, sat between them.

According to the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, the vehicle lost control while going around a curve and crossed the centerline, where it collided head-on with a box truck. The crash report shows that their vehicle traveled another hundred feet after impact before coming to a stop. It spun, ended up facing the opposite direction on the shoulder of the opposite lane.

Navarro and Smith were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. New was airlifted to Grady Hospital. Her current condition is not known. 

Navarro, Smith and New were not believed to be wearing seatbelts when the collision occurred.

The driver of the box truck was not reported to have suffered any injuries.

This is an ongoing story. The News will post updates as they are made available.