View a slideshow of photos from Memorial Day observances and celebrations across the nation this weekend.

In just three years of field work, researchers have turned up more than 600 artifacts — from suspender buckles to railroad spikes — at the site of a Civil War prison camp in southeast Georgia that remained virtually undisturbed since it was abandoned in 1864.

And that's only scratching the surface.

Students and faculty from Georgia Southern University have plans this summer to dig deeper at Camp Lawton, a sprawling prison where the Confederate army once held more than 10,000 captured Union troops. But first they're using cellphone chargers and a veterinarian's X-ray machine to help with the painstaking work of cleaning and preserving items already uncovered.

"It's an incredible amount of material they've recovered so far, but I really do think it's just scratching the surface," said Lance Greene, an anthropology professor at the Statesboro campus who's overseeing students' work at Camp Lawton. "We think starting in the summer we'll have a lot more artifacts coming into the lab."

Opened in October 1864 near Millen, 50 miles south of Augusta, Camp Lawton was built to replace the infamously hellish and overcrowded Confederate prison camp at Andersonville. The new camp sprawled over 42 acres, roughly ¼ mile on each side, yet it became a largely forgotten footnote in Civil War history. That's because Camp Lawton lasted just six weeks before its Confederate officers emptied the prison and fled to avoid the advancing army of Union Gen. William T. Sherman.

In 2010, a Georgia Southern graduate student stunned the pros when he found remnants of Camp Lawton's stockade wall. Almost immediately, the site began yielding artifacts that help tell the stories of the soldiers stationed at the camp and their prisoners — a bronze buckle used to fasten tourniquets during amputations, a tobacco pipe with teeth marks in the stem, a picture frame folded and kept after the daguerreotype it held was lost.

Greene estimates between 600 and 700 items have been unearthed at the site during periodic surveys in the three years since its discovery. Many of those treasures are metal items — small buttons, a large hammerhead, spoons and forks — covered in rust that needs to be carefully removed so the artifacts aren't lost to corrosion.

In a lab on campus, archaeology students are giving artifacts a bath in four plastic tubs filled with water, baking soda and a weak electric current from a cellphone charger to get rid of the rust. So much needs cleaning that Greene is running a fifth electrolysis bath at his home.

Meanwhile, a local veterinarian's office is donating use of its X-ray machine for looking inside rust-covered items to see how much of the original metal remains. If some small objects are almost entirely rust, a cleaning would destroy them, said Matt Newberry, a graduate student in archaeology and anthropology who's working on the Camp Lawton project. He said a technician at the vet's office helped the students tinker with the X-ray to find the best settings for examining suspender buckles and other small items.

"Their settings are for dog or cat or bird, so we had to play with it a little bit," Newberry said. "And it turns out the best setting is for a bird."

The cleaned and preserved artifacts will eventually go on display at a public museum the state Department of Natural Resources is preparing at Magnolia Springs State Park, where the prison camp was located. David Crass, director of the DNR's Historic Preservation Division, said the museum should be open by late summer or early fall.

The Georgia Southern crew hopes to finish cleanup work by late June, when the school's archaeology faculty and students will begin five weeks of summer fieldwork at Camp Lawton expected to add many more Civil War artifacts to the growing collection.

For the first time, Greene said, teams will start digging deeper in areas where Union prisoners lived in crude huts and are believed to have abandoned most of their belongings when the Confederacy evacuated the camp. They also plan to search for Camp Lawton's barracks, officer's quarters, hospitals and other buildings that would have been built outside the prison camp's stockade walls .

"There's a lifetime's worth of work here," Greene said. "I can see that I would retire still working there because it's such an incredible site and so well preserved."

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

ATLANTA — Five Georgia state parks will be soon be completely managed by private, for-profit firms.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (http://bit.ly/ZoABCX ) reports that the Florida-based Coral Hospitality will manage the properties.

The state will still own the parks, which are now run by the Department of Natural Resources. But the new setup may involve fees for access and services that are now free. Other commercialized services could be added, such as carts selling cold water along hiking trails. The company hasn't announced immediate plans.

For the employees of the affected parks, it means no longer being classified as state employees, likely with more meager benefits from the private-sector firm.

Amicalola Falls State Park in Dawsonville leads the list of privatized properties. It attracts more than 500,000 visitors a year to an 829-acre forest and the highest waterfall east of the Mississippi River.

The other parks are North Georgia's Unicoi, George T. Bagby in Fort Gaines, Little Ocmulgee in Helena and Georgia Veterans in Cordele, where a state-owned resort and golf club was already privately managed.

State officials say the move is a financial necessity after multiple rounds of layoffs and a hiring freeze. The park system has lost nearly half of its state taxpayer money over several years of tight budgets.

"Our toolbox is limited to really make these facilities thrive," said Georgia state parks director Becky Kelley.

The budget cuts are a national trend. Besides the personnel cuts, Kelley has imposed reductions in operating hours. She's managed to avoid closing sites completely as many states have done.

Now, she said, it's time for "testing new models and trying new partnerships."

Coral Hospitality CEO Lee Weeks said the company's goal is reduce losses, create profits where possible and be good stewards.

"The promise isn't necessarily we're going to turn them into gold," he said. "The change for the public should be little or nothing. All of the things that took place before will be evaluated, and we will work to make it better or, at least, comparable."

Coral Hospitality had already taken over lodge operations at Amicalola and Unicoi. The firm also has operated Lake Blackshear Retreat and, since 2005, Golf Club at Georgia Veterans State Park since 2003 and the Brasstown Valley Resort & Spa in Young Harris.

ATLANTA — A two-year study by the University System of Georgia shows classrooms are empty during most of the week.

The Athens Banner-Herald reports (http://bit.ly/Zmx2x4 ) that of the 440 classrooms at the University of Georgia, the average is used just 18.5 hours per 40-hour work week. When the classrooms are used, just two-thirds of the seats are full. That is a 31 percent utilization rate.

At most schools, the results show capacity for additional courses and for some bigger classes, though higher education leaders say there are many factors to consider when analyzing the numbers.

Georgia Regents University's Summerville campus has 73 rooms. They average 27.2 hours per 40-hour work week of use, and they're usually half empty even when being used. That amounts to a 37 percent utilization rate, according to the study.

At the Health Sciences Center, there's a 28 percent utilization rate: The 26 rooms are used, on average, 13.4 hours per week and they're 82 percent full when used.

The highest overall use rate comes at Georgia Gwinnett College, at 77 percent. That's five times more than the lowest.

System administrators say each school in the system has individual characteristics that affect utilization, and that there's a limit to how crowded a classroom can be.

"While each of these campuses could increase its classroom utilization rate, each also has individual characteristics that affect the components of utilization (time and seat occupancy)," said Alan S. Travis, the system executive who oversaw the analysis.

For example, it could present logistical difficulties to use an empty physics classroom for a humanities lecture class for students who spend most of their time across campus. General-use lecture halls could never be used for labs. And every class simply can't be scheduled in the popular morning or early afternoon time slots.

Another factor is an increased use of online courses.

Still, system leaders say the study highlights ways to reduce costs. Administrators will use the data to help evaluate requests for more space. Renovation, better scheduling or changing the purpose of existing buildings will be options to new construction.

Chancellor Hank Huckaby called for the study in 2011.

ST. MARYS — Three Georgia counties have joined a growing partnership that officials in southeast Georgia say will attract more film and television projects to the region.

The Brunwsick News (http://bit.ly/18unqRs) reports that Libert, McInstosh and Charlton counties will join the Coastal Georgia Film Alliance. They will join Camden and Glynn counties in the partnership.

Barbara Ryan is an executive at the alliance. She highlighted the USA Network's TV series "Royal Pains" recent venture into the region. The show filmed two episodes last year on Camden and Glynn locations. The new counties, she said, will expand the venues that the alliance can offer producers.

Georgia is among several states that have adopted generous tax credits to attract the television and film industry.

An apartment fire Monday in Savannah displaced 11 people, according to the Red Cross.

A fire at 521 W. 38th St. caused major damage to two units, said Robin Wingate, executive director of the American Red Cross Southeast Georgia Chapter. Four adults and seven children were displaced, she said.

Volunteers met the emergency needs of the families, who did not have insurance, by providing money for food and temporary shelter, Wingate said.

TORONTO (AP) -- Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer, Colby Rasmus and J.P. Arencibia each had a two-run shot and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Atlanta Braves 9-3 on Monday night.

Encarnacion went 2 for 5 with five RBIs as the Blue Jays improved to 3-0 in interleague play. Toronto has won nine of 12 against NL opponents dating to last season.

Mark Buehrle (2-3) allowed one run and five hits in six innings to snap a seven-start winless streak and earn his 26th career interleague victory. The veteran left-hander, whose previous win was April 15, is the all-time leader in interleague wins.

Buehrle walked two and struck out six. He retired 11 of his first 13 batters and didn’t allow a hit until Evan Gattis’ two-out double in the fourth.

A freshly placed floral wreath beneath an American flag before rows of uniform white tombstones serving as a backdrop, Jimmy Ray addressed the solemn onlookers gathered beneath oaks and hanging moss Monday morning at Bonaventure Cemetery.

“Today we’re honoring our dead,” said Ray, who served in the Marines. “We’re not honoring grocery store sales. We’re not honoring furniture store sales, clothing store sales or car sales. We’re honoring our dead — those that passed away serving this country.”

The guest speaker and this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade grand marshal told the crowd at the yearly ceremony that the sacrifices of military service members made events like Monday’s possible.

“Everybody that’s in the military today volunteered to serve their country, and they’re serving their country well,” Ray said. “And we’re proud of them.”

The ceremony, put on annually by local American Legion posts, drew about 150 people and featured a changing of the colors and the presentation of a new flag, the laying of a wreath, service branch anthems and a salute with arms by the Savannah-Chatham police department’s honor guard.

Retired Air Force Master Sgt. Jim Vaughan, named the county veteran of the year in 2012, helped place the wreath beneath the flagpole in the cemetery’s American Legion field during the ceremony.

Vaughan, who spent more than 20 years in uniform over a split tour, said it was uplifting that so many people came out for the ceremony.

“It’s outstanding,” the 77-year-old Vietnam War veteran said. “It shows that a lot of people care, and that in itself is quite an honor for us — for the veterans — to see this many people show up.”

Observances on Memorial Day also mean a lot to Jim A. McNear, a former Marine staff sergeant who served in World War II and Korea.

“It gets to my heart, I tell you,” he said.

McNear, who is a member of American Legion Post 184 and the Marine Corps League, was, like Vaughan, impressed by the crowd.

“This is an exceptionally good turnout,” McNear said. “I’ve been here for the last several years, and I think this is one of the better turnouts that we’ve had.”

This year’s ceremony was put on by American Legion Post 154 of Tybee Island.

After the ceremony, that post’s commander, 57-year-old Navy veteran Chuck Bolen, said he was pleased with the recognition shown for service members on Monday and mentioned a simple gesture that goes a long way any time.

“Just shake a veteran’s hand,” Bolen said. “They appreciate it.”

ON THE WEB

Go to savannahnow.com to watch video from Monday’s Memorial Day Ceremony at Bonaventure Cemetery.

24-hour jail bookings for Savannah-Chatham County are now posted. Visit booked.savannahnow.com to view photos and information.

All information has been obtained from the Chatham County Sheriff’s Department.

All individuals posted have not been convicted of a crime and are innocent until proven guilty.

Savannah-Chatham Metro police will be operating radar hot spots along Windsor Road.

Police remind drivers there is zero tolerance for speeding in school zones. 

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Authorities say two men were killed in the crash of a single-engine plane in central Georgia.

The Telegraph newspaper in Macon reports (http://bit.ly/10ZF4pK) that the crash happened Monday night in the Warner Robins area. Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones said the bodies were recovered shortly before 9 p.m. Monday.

Authorities said the men, who are believed to be residents of Greenville, S.C., were flying in a Piper PA-32 aircraft.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said the plane crashed about one mile northeast of Robins Air Force Base at 6:05 p.m.

Bergen said the flight took off with two people on board from Apalachicola Municipal Airport in Apalachicola, Fla., and was headed for Greenville Downtown Airport in Greenville, S.C.

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Information from: The Macon Telegraph,http://www.macontelegraph.com

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Average retail gasoline prices in Savannah have fallen 1.4 cents a gallon in the past week to $3.36 a gallon on Sunday, according to GasBuddy's daily survey of 262 gas outlets in Savannah.

The national average has fallen 2.3 cents a gallon in the last week to $3.65, according to gasoline price website GasBuddy.com. 

Prices Sunday were 1.1 cents a gallon higher than the same day one year ago and are 1 cent a gallon higher than a month ago. The national average has increased 16.8 cents a gallon during the last month and stands  unchanged compared to a year ago. 

 "The best news for motorists is that June typically brings some relief at the pump compared to where prices peaked in May, so for many areas across the country, prices will likely continue to decline," said GasBuddy.com Senior Petroleum Analyst Patrick DeHaan.

LAFAYETTE, Ga. (AP) — A man is hospitalized after he was freed from a northwest Georgia cave -- one of the nation's deepest -- after a nearly 24-hour rescue effort.

The caver was rescued Monday afternoon from Ellison's Cave in Walker County and hospitalized in Chattanooga, Tenn., The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The caver, from Pennsylvania, was in critical condition after being flown by helicopter to Erlanger Medical Center, WDEF-TV reported.

He fell 40 feet down a cave that's considered one of the most difficult to navigate in the country, David Ashburn, who helped coordinate the rescue, told The Chattanooga Times Free Press.

The ordeal began Sunday, when four cavers were deep inside the cave when one of them fell more than 50 feet down a vertical drop, authorities said.

One of the cavers climbed out to call for help while the two remaining cavers in the group climbed down to reach their injured partner and try to stop his bleeding. Ashburn said his injuries included an obvious open fracture of his femur, a large bone in the leg.

"He's got a cut to his head with probably a skull fracture at the base of the skull based on the way he looks," Dr. David Wharton of Erlanger told WDEF. "He got progressively more confused as he was coming out and so we were definitely concerned he could have a bleed in his head that could kill him."

Rescuers gave the man a blood transfusion in the cave to keep him alive while they figured out how to get him out, WRCB-TV reported.

"They took, to a large extent, the emergency room to him and that's why he's in the condition to the level he is right now surviving in this," Ashburn said.

Ashburn said many rescue crews aren't qualified to perform rescues in the cave because of the skill level required to navigate it, so experts from Alabama and Tennessee were requested.

More than 100 experienced cave rescuers from across the region drove to the site to assist in the effort in the hours after rescue crews were called around 6 p.m. Sunday.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

The 200 Club hosted the annual Savannah Mile race in downtown Savannah Saturday morning.

Click here to view photos from the event and see who was Spotted®.

BALTIMORE — For the second time this year, a fire at sea has aborted a cruise ship's voyage. This time, aboard Royal Caribbean's Grandeur of the Seas and the ship's 2,200 passengers were expected back in Baltimore on Tuesday after being flown on charter flights from the Bahamas.

The fire that began at 2:50 a.m. Monday was extinguished about two hours later with no injuries reported. A cause wasn't immediately known but the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board planned to investigate.

The ship, which left Baltimore on Friday for a seven-night cruise, was headed originally to CocoCay, Bahamas. Royal Caribbean said the ship never lost power and was able to sail into port in Freeport, Bahamas, Monday afternoon. The ship launched in 1996 and was refurbished last year.

Royal Caribbean said on its website and through social media that executives met with passengers in port and that the cruise line was arranging flights for all 2,224 guests. Also, passengers will get a full refund of their fare and a certificate for a future cruise.

Aboard ship, the captain announced that passengers needed to go to their muster stations, said passenger Mark J. Ormesher in an email to The Associated Press. Immediately after, his room attendant knocked on the door and told him and his girlfriend to grab their flotation devices. The attendant said it wasn't a drill.

Ormesher, a native of England, who lives in Manassas, Va., said he and his girlfriend smelled acrid smoke as they went to their muster station, the ship's casino. The crew quickly provided instruction.

"This encouraged calm amongst the passengers," he said. Passengers were required to remain at their stations for four hours, he said, and the captain "provided us as much information as we needed to stay safe."

Ormesher, who is 25 and on his first cruise, said the air conditioner had been shut off, and as the hours passed and the ship got hot, bottled water was distributed. The crew and passengers remained calm, and helped those who needed it. Crying babies were given formula and held while their parents used the bathrooms.

Photos show a substantial area of the stern burned on several decks of the ship the length of about three football fields.

Royal Caribbean said all guests and 796 crew were safe and accounted for.Royal Caribbean spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez said in an email that the company was arranging 11 different charter flights.

The company in a statement on its website said it is "deeply sorry for this unexpected development in our guests' vacation. We understand that this may have been a very stressful time for them. We appreciate their patience and cooperation in dealing with this unfortunate situation."

Carnival Corp. also had trouble with fire aboard ship earlier this year.

The 900-foot (275-meter) Triumph was disabled during a February cruise by an engine room fire in the Gulf of Mexico, leaving thousands of passengers to endure cold food, unsanitary conditions and power outages while the ship was towed to Mobile, Ala. It remained there for repairs until early May when it headed back to sea under its own power.

On the Royal Caribbean ship, after passengers were allowed to leave their stations, Ormesher said he saw water on the outside of deck 5 and in the hallways. The mooring lines were destroyed he said; crew members brought new lines from storage.

The damage at the rear of the ship "looks bad," Ormesher said; burned out equipment was visible.

Martinez said in a news release that a cruise scheduled aboard the Grandeur of the Seas for May 31 has been canceled so the ship can be repaired.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

JEFFERSON, Ga. — Authorities say an ultra-light aircraft made an emergency landing near the northeast Georgia town of Jefferson.

Jackson County Emergency Services Director Steve Nichols said the pilot was not hurt during Monday's landing in a pasture behind a subdivision north of Jefferson.

Nichols tells The Athens Banner-Herald (http://bit.ly/13fFRG8 ) that the pilot was a local man out for an afternoon of flying who had to land the craft due to some type of mechanical problem.

Few other details were available Tuesday morning.

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Information from: Athens Banner-Herald,http://www.onlineathens.com

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

Brandon Rainer Mackey today was ordered to remain in jail pending a June 20 preliminary hearing on charges of murder and armed robbery in the slaying of 21-year-old Isle of Hope firefighter Wesley Franklin.

Chatham County Recorder's Court Judge Harris Odell Jr. told Brandon that bail can only be set on a murder charge by a superior court judge.

Odell also told Brandon, who was arraigned on a video camera at the Chatham County Jail, that he is charged with multiple counts of forgery and computer theft in a separate case which also will be June 20.

Brandon was returned to savannah from Texas where he was arrested last week on a murder charge.

The suspect was captured May 16 in Watauga, Texas, after information provided to CrimeStoppers and relentless police work led investigators to him, said Julian Miller, Savannah-Chatham police spokesman.

Fort Worth police and Savannah-Chatham detectives found Mackey and charged him with Franklin’s murder and armed robbery in the 2 a.m. incident June 25 outside Deb’s Pub & Grub, when a bullet fired outside the establishment fatally struck Franklin, who was inside.

For nearly a year, investigators researched dozens of tips and eliminated dozens of suspects while gathering accurate information in the case, Miller said. An anonymous tipster eventually led detectives to Mackey.

It was unclear Saturday evening if Mackey had an attorney or when he would appear in court.

When we talk about food in Savannah’s Historic District, more times than not you hear, “Oh, what a great space that is” or “I love that building.” That is part of the charm.

Obviously, with a city as old as this one, there are countless old warehouses that have been converted to this, that or the other. Sometimes, the location is a gift shop. Other times, it’s office space that you never get to see the inside of.

Sometimes, however, there is a restaurant in a particular location that you can walk in, sit inside and enjoy. Enjoy the food, enjoy the history, enjoy charms that Savannah’s history has to offer. Vic’s on the River is certainly one of our most popular riverfront dining spots. In my book, a great meal is obviously part of the deal, but the history in that building undoubtedly is part of the charm.

Belford’s of Savannah is another such space. Built in 1902 for Savannah’s Hebrew Congregation then sold to W.T. Belford in 1913, it was designed by the same man who designed Savannah’s spectacular City Hall. The space went on to become Belford’s Wholesale Food Company. Today, the restaurant sits in one of the best locations for an outdoor meal in the city. Inside the charm oozes out of the original brick walls.

Tourists flock to Belford’s in large part because of that location, but the locals generally shy away. Do we enjoy it? Of course we do. Some of the best breakfasts I’ve had in Savannah I had at Belford’s. The crab cakes are wonderful as well. However, you never hear anyone talk about Belford’s when they are asked about Savannah’s best. They realize that and they are hoping to change public perception.

Chris Adgate tells a great story about his interview at Belford’s. He and his family had been in the Fort Myers, Fla., area. He was working at a country club but wanting to expand his horizons a little bit.

Ironically enough, he’s a Jacksonville native who spent some time coming to skateboard shows at Savannah’s Civic Center in the 1980s. As is usually the case, once you experience Savannah you typically never forget it. He did not, and when he got the call that he’d be brought in for an in-person interview, he was elated knowing just how wonderful an opportunity this could be.

He strung two days off together and flew to Savannah. He prepared a five-course meal at 8 a.m. the next day for his potential bosses and waited to get the word. He was hired on the spot.

His response?

“This is great! But my airport shuttle is picking me up at my hotel in 15 minutes. I gotta go!” Like Cinderella at midnight he raced to his room, threw his stuff in a bag and made his way back to Fort Myers, already making plans in his head to move to Savannah.

“They told me they wanted to step things up” Chris says about the vision and direction management at Belford’s shared with him. “Savannah’s culinary scene is growing, we all know that. There is so much potential here with this location and this staff.”

Now it’s a matter of putting things in place.

As is the case with any new executive chef, they see some things they like on the menu and others that they don’t. They are sometimes told what is an “untouchable” on the menu (in Belford’s case, it’s the crab cakes) and they begin a process of putting their paw prints on the operation.

Chris has been doing that for a few months now. A complete new menu is expected in late July.

“We are going to roll some dishes out as specials here and there,” he tells me. “We are going to get the staff up to speed on the proper way to be efficient with these dishes before we go to the full-blown new menu.”

Hard to argue with that. Yes, I did ask Chef Chris to throw me a bone.

“What can we expect?” I ask. “Well, I’m still kind of working on things.” (Of course he is….) But he did mention a “Tuna with avocado salsa, jasmine rice cake” as something we might see soon.

At the same time, Belford’s is getting a makeover. No, Robert Irvine isn’t coming in with his band of merry sledgehammer-wielding marauders, but there are enhancements on tap. There is talk of changing some sight lines and underscoring the location’s strengths. It’s already a beautiful space, but a little polish never hurt anything now did it? All of these changes should be coming together in the next few months.

Looking forward to Eating and Liking.

ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks have named longtime Spurs assistant Mike Budenholzer as head coach.

General manager Danny Ferry called on his past experience with San Antonio to select Budenholzer to replace Larry Drew as coach. Drew’s contract expires in June following three seasons as coach.

The Hawks have scheduled a news conference for Budenholzer today in Atlanta.

The Hawks lost to Indiana in the first round of the playoffs. It was the team’s sixth straight appearance in the playoffs, but Ferry is expected to continue his dramatic makeover of the team after trading Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams in his first year as general manager.

The Hawks say Budenholzer will continue serving as the Spurs’ top assistant through the NBA finals. The Spurs completed a four-game sweep of Memphis in the Western Conference finals on Monday.

Ferry came to the Hawks last year after two years as vice president of basketball operations for the Spurs. With Budenholzer, Ferry now has his own coach after inheriting Drew.

“He has an incredible basketball acumen and has a keen awareness of the league and what it takes to be successful,” Ferry said Tuesday. “His experience and four championships over the last 17 years provide a tremendous foundation for his leadership of our team.”

Budenholzer, 43, spent 19 years with the Spurs, including 17 seasons as an assistant. He was the top assistant for coach Gregg Popovich the last six years.

“I have been extremely fortunate to be a part of the San Antonio Spurs organization for the last 19 years,” Budenholzer said in a statement released by the Hawks. “I knew it would have to be a tremendous situation for me to leave and clearly coming to Atlanta as the head coach of the Hawks is perfect for me.”

“Ownership’s commitment to taking this organization to the next level and creating a unique and special culture, partnering with a general manager like Danny Ferry who I have great respect for, and building a roster that has terrific potential because of the existing core and the ensuing flexibility presents a rare and uniquely positive opportunity.”

Budenholzer began his time with the Spurs as the team’s video coordinator for two years before being named an assistant coach.

Budenholzer will leave the Spurs with Popovich’s blessing.

“I couldn’t be happier for Mike for many reasons,” Popovich said. “As anyone who’s been part of this program knows, he has been more of a co-head coach than an assistant for a long time. His knowledge of the game as well as his ability to teach and develop relationships with players are all special. I will miss him a great deal both professionally and personally and am confident that he and Danny will make a great team as the future unfolds.”

Savannah-Chatham police are investigating after a man was found stabbed Saturday night in the parking lot of Memorial University Medical Center.

The 37-year-old man, identified by police as an inmate at the Coastal Transitional Center, was found by passersby in the hospital’s parking lot just after midnight, said Julian Miller, police spokesman.

The victim, who said he’d been stabbed during a robbery attempt, was rushed into surgery, Miller said.

Violent Crimes detectives are looking for information on a silver crossover style SUV that was seen in the area, he added.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Crimestoppers at 912-234-2020 or text CRIMES (274637). Tipsters remain anonymous and may qualify for a cash reward. 

A confidential Tip Line also is open directly to investigators at 912-525-3124.