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Richmond Hill native among victims from D.C. plane crash
sam lilley 1
Richmond Hill native Sam Lilley. (Photo: Facebook)

A Richmond Hill High School graduate was among two pilots killed in Wednesday night’s fatal accident between a U.S. military helicopter and a passenger jet near Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan National Airport.


Sam Lilley was a First Officer on the American Airlines flight, according to his father Tim, who expressed his sorrow and condolences in a post on Facebook:


“I was so proud when Sam became a pilot,” Tim Lilley wrote. “Now it hurts so bad I can’t even cry myself to sleep. I know I’ll see him again but my heart is breaking.”


Sam Lilley went to Richmond Hill High School and graduated from Georgia Southern University.


Mayor Russ Carpenter, who also currently teaches U.S. Government classes at Richmond Hill High School, expressed his condolences in a statement:


“We are saddened by the news of Richmond Hill native Sam Lilley,” Carpenter wrote. “Many people at RHHS have fond memories of him. We are praying for his family and fiancé.”


The midair collision killed all 67 people aboard both aircrafts, according to the Associated Press, and marks the deadliest U.S. air crash since 2001.


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Legislators battle school board on homestead exemption
Local representatives Jesse Petrea (left) and Ron stephens
Local representatives Jesse Petrea (left) and Ron Stephens speaking to the Georgia House of Representatives regarding the homestead exemption for Bryan County schools on February 13. Photo/Georgia House of Representatives Vimeo.
State lawmakers representing Bryan County want the county’s voters to decide whether the floating homestead tax exemption known as HB581 will also apply to the school board. Under HB476, filed Feb. 18, representatives Ron Stephens, Jesse Petrea and Lehman Franklin are calling for a referendum on the exemption to be on the ballot in Bryan County in November.
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