A bill is making its way through the Georgia House of Representatives that would require all public schools to have at least two personnel trained in diabetes care.

State House Bill 879 was drafted in response to rising percentages of students with Type 2 diabetes.  The Center for...more Disease Control in Atlanta says around 13 thousand people under 20 are diagnosed nationwide each year.

Under the bill, non-medical staff members would receive basic skills training to help them recognize diabetic emergencies and help administer medications and insulin to students.

On Eyewitness News Mornin' Wednesday, Stephanie Susskind and Randall Savage shared comments from Democratic State Representative James Beverly of Macon on why he supports the legislation. 

Julie Deese, a Diabetes specialist with the Medical Center of Central Georgia's Diabetes HealthWays also talked with us about the special needs a student on insulin faces in the school environment.

The Mulberry Street Art Festival will still happen this spring, but it will not be an official Cherry Blossom Festival event.

Cherry Blossom Festival CEO Karen Lambert says the Middle Georgia Art Association, which puts on the annual art festival, has decided not to be a sanctioned...more event this year.

She says sanctioned events are featured on the official festival schedule. To be a sanctioned event, the organization must pay a $250 fee and give the Cherry Blossom Festival 10% of the gross income from the event.

Lambert did not have numbers available for what that income was last year.

The two-day art festival will still take place on March 24 and 25, which is the second weekend of the Cherry Blossom Festival.

Lambert says she is telling anyone who calls in reference to the art festival, to contact the Middle Georgia Art Association.

She says the only difference festival-goers will not notice will be not seeing the art festival

Bibb County students Thursday descended on the Board of Education Office to address their concerns over superintendent Romain Dallemand's plan to bring sweeping changed to the system.

School board administrators would not allow the protesters inside, but Risk Management Director David...more Gowan came out to the sidewalk to hear their concerns and act as a liaison.

The group was led by Tanner Pruitt and Brett Felty, both seniors at Central High School.  The pair questioned Gowan, telling him they felt they were still being shut out.

They said they've been trying to get a meeting with the superintendent for a while, and didn't hear back until everything unfolded in the media. The pair said they still want to meet with Dallemand in person, and have been given no assurance that it will happen.

Gowan said the administration has been going into the schools on a regular basis and meeting with students and teachers, but Felty and Pruitt said they don't see

Heart disease is the number one killer among Americans, according to the American Heart Association.

On Thursday, Coliseum Heart Institute will host "A Healthy Heart Affair," offering free screenings and workshops throughout the day to teach you more about your heart...more health.

They'll offer Ankle Brachial Index and EKG screenings, as well as blood pressure and body mass index tests from 8 a.m. until noon.

Workshops continue through the afternoon until 4 p.m., on topics including diet and exercise.

The event takes place at Mathews Athletic Center at Wesleyan College. To register, call 478-746-4646. You must register ahead of time for the ABI and EKG screenings. 

Dr. Gary Daniel at Heart of Georgia Cardiology, along with other physicians, will perform the screenings.

Dr. Daniel says the Ankle Brachial Index, or ABI, can help determine if you show signs of Peripheral Arterial Disease. It tests your blood pressure in both arms and

Macon Police Chief Mike Burns says if his department was in charge of the investigation into an alleged rape at Northeast High School earlier this month, he would have notified parents about it.

Chief Burns made that comment on Eyewitness News Mornin' Tuesday.

He says Macon...more Police responded to the incident, and joined Board of Education Police officers at the hospital.

At that time, he says, they were told the BOE would retain jurisdiction to handle the case, because it was on a school campus.

The chief says that surprised him.

"In the past, anything like this, or violent crime, we've been asked to take over and BOE would assist us," he said.

Burns says his department offered assistance to the BOE police more than once, but was turned down.

The Bibb County School District still hasn't released a police report on the incident.

The district also did not notify parents about it.

According to warrants,

The Cherry Blossom Festival has announced Rodney Atkins and Digital Underground will headline the 2012 street party event.

Festival spokeswoman Stacy Campbell says tickets go on sale February 15 for the March 24th show.

Country star Rodney Atkins will headline the Cherry...more Plaza stage, and Digital Underground will be the main feature on the Gateway Plaza stage.

Tickets are $12 in advance or $20 at the gate.

Stevens Layne and the Gasoline Brothers will open on the Cherry Plaza stage, and Nappy Roots and Bo Ponder will open on the Gateway Plaza stage.

Rodney Atkins has six number one hits from his first three albums, with the most recent being "Take a Back Road," according to his website.

Digital Underground has sold more than 10 million albums and is best known for the song, "The Humpty Dance."

This is the festival's 30th anniversary.

Macon police say a Macon man who reported being shot while walking down the street Wednesday night actually shot himself.

Police spokeswoman Jami Gaudet says a man called police and told them his name was Deanthony Jones.

She says Jones told officers that he was walking down...more Bailey Avenue when he passed five men standing in the street.

Jones said one of the men started shooting at him and hit him in the foot as he ran away.

Gaudet says officers didn't believe Jones' story was plausible because of the wound's location.

When they investigated, Gaudet says they found that Jones had given an incorrect name and birthdate.  When they entered his real name--Deon Jones--into the National Crime Information Center database, they found several warrants in his name.

Gaudet says investigators decided the wound was self-inflicted.

She says Deon Jones has probation violation warrants in his name, including DUI and speeding, DUI and

Wednesday on Eyewitness News Mornin', Representative James Beverly, a Democrat representing District 139, visited the studio.

He sat down with 13WMAZ's Randall Savage and Stephanie Susskind to discuss Macon and Bibb County consolidation, and where the bill stands at this time.

Rep. Beverly explained why the legislation has been stalled, and what he expects going forward.