Katelyn Heck

Feb 20, 2024 | 13wmaz.com | Katelyn Heck

HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — With the rising cost of childcare, some parents are choosing to start their own home learning centers to stay home with their kids and bring in extra income. Charla Gregory made that choice nearly three decades ago while her husband served in the military. "I was stationed at Eglin and wanted to stay home with my boys, so I started family childcare. Then we went to Yokota Air Base, Japan, and I continued it.

Feb 19, 2024 | 13wmaz.com | Katelyn Heck

HOUSTON COUNTY, Georgia — Daycare costs across the country are skyrocketing, and it is causing many families to answer tough questions and come up with some creative solutions. A new report from the Economic Policy Institute shows Georgia joins nearly three dozen other states where childcare is now more expensive than some college tuitions. According to their numbers, parents in the peach state spend an average of $8,530 dollars a year on childcare per child.

Nov 15, 2023 | 13wmaz.com | Katelyn Heck

ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. — The JSTARS mission has been a staple at Robins Air Force Base and for the nation's military for decades. "The world has changed, and the threats have changed, and this airplane has gotten really old," says Colonel Chris Dunlap, Commander of the 116th Air Control Wing. With the retirement of the JSTARS comes four new missions at Robins. "We're in a digital age," says Colonel Adam Shelton, Commander of the 461st Air Control Wing.

Nov 8, 2023 | 13wmaz.com | Katelyn Heck

ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. — Colonel Chris Dunlap knows the E-8C jet like the back of his hand. He's been flying with the JSTARS for more than two decades. "It was exciting for me because I knew it was a new mission. I knew it was an important mission for the future." When the 116th Air Control Wing took over the JSTARS mission in the early 2000s, he was there.

Nov 7, 2023 | 13wmaz.com | Katelyn Heck

ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. — There are now no more JSTARS jets left at Robins Air Force Base. Over its lifetime, the STARS provided immeasurable support to the country's military troops, not with bombs or missiles, but through surveillance and reconnaissance missions. Their work has been described as a 911 center in the sky. It is all highly classified work, and because of that, 13WMAZ has rarely gotten a chance to look inside the plane until now.