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Mars lands Fox Theatre Institute grant
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Patrick Donahue
Updated: Sep 17, 2012, 11:03 PM
Published: Sep 17, 2012, 11:07 PM

The Mars Theatre is getting a boost from one of Georgia’s most venerable performing venues.


The Fox Theatre Institute has awarded a $20,000 grant to the Mars to spur restoration efforts at the Springfield theatre. Gussie Nease of the Springfield Revitalization Corporation is going to Atlanta on Oct. 10 to accept the check.


“I am thrilled to go,” Nease said. “It’s been a long time coming in the relationship with the Fox.”


With the grant, the city and the Springfield Revitalization Corporation plan to improve the lobby and the bathrooms at the Mars Theatre.


Representatives from the Fox Theatre Institute, an offshoot of Atlanta’s fabled Fox Theatre, have visited the Mars. The Fox Theatre Institute’s aim is restoration and revitalization of historic theatres in the state. It has been involved in the restoration of the Ritz Theatre in Brunswick. The Fox Theatre Institute also has had a hand in the restoration of Rome’s Desoto Theatre and the Grand Theatre in Fitzgerald.


The Fox Theatre Institute also will ensure the lobby and bathrooms are restored to match their appearance during the Mars’ heyday in the 1950s. There is no match required on behalf of the Mars for the Fox Theatre Institute grant.


The city of Springfield is seeking requests for qualifications from firms that may be interested in working on the Mars Theatre. The city will take RFQs until Oct. 15.


“I’m excited about getting the contract, and I’m excited about getting the grant,” Nease said.
Effingham Step-Grandmother Gets Life for Crocker Children Murders
Crocker Case
Elwyn Crocker Jr. and Mary Crocker were discovered buried behind their family’s home in Effingham County in 2018.
Updated: Sep 16, 2025, 6:41 PM
Published: Sep 16, 2025, 6:42 PM

GUYTON, Ga. — The step-grandmother of two Effingham County children whose bodies were found buried in the family’s backyard has pleaded guilty and was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Kim Wright admitted to multiple charges, including two counts of malice murder, aggravated sexual battery, cruelty to children, concealing a death and false imprisonment.

The case drew national attention in December 2018, when investigators acting on a tip discovered the bodies of 14-year-old Mary Crocker and her brother, Elwyn Crocker Jr., who had disappeared two years earlier at age 14. Authorities later revealed the children suffered severe abuse, including beatings, confinement and neglect.

Wright is the fourth of five defendants in the case to plead guilty. Her son, Mark Anthony Wright; her daughter, Candice Crocker; and Candice’s boyfriend, Roy Prater, are all serving life without parole. The children’s father, Elwyn Crocker Sr., is the only suspect who has not entered a plea.