A Columbia County Fire Department employee faces two rape charges in separate cases involving different victims, according to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.
Zander Ean McDade, born in February 2005, was arrested in connection with two ongoing rape investigations. The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office charged McDade with two counts of rape involving different victims at separate times and locations.
What We Know: McDade’s listed employer is the Columbia County Fire Department, according to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office. He faces charges in two separate cases. The alleged crimes occurred at different times and locations with two different victims. McDade is being held at the Charles B. Webster Detention Center.
Take Action: Anyone with information related to these cases can contact the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division at 706-821-1020 or submit an anonymous tip through the department’s tip line. The sheriff’s office encourages people with relevant information to come forward as the investigations continue.
The cases remain under active investigation, according to the sheriff’s office.
How to Read and Understand the News
Truth doesn’t bend because we dislike it.
Facts don’t vanish when they make us uncomfortable.
Events happen whether we accept them or not.
Good reporting challenges us. The press isn’t choosing sides — it’s relaying what official, verified sources say. Blaming reporters for bad news is like blaming a thermometer for a fever.
Americans have a history of misunderstanding simple things. In the 1980s, A&W rolled out a 1/3-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder. It failed because too many people thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If we can botch basic math, we can certainly misread the news.
Before dismissing a story, ask yourself:
- What evidence backs this?
- Am I reacting to facts or feelings?
- What would change my mind?
- Am I just shooting the messenger?
And one more: Am I assuming bias just because I don’t like the story?
Smart news consumers seek truth, not comfort.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
