Blog posts by Blake Aued, Editor
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ACC Manager Alan Reddish Is Retiring
Blog: In the Loop
Forget the mayor. Forget the commission. The guy who really runs Athens is Manager Alan Reddish—and he’s retiring.
Reddish’s last day will be Feb. 6, Athens-Clarke County announced today.
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Downtown Is Getting Another Parking Deck
Blog: In the Loop
Nichols Land & Investment Co. has filed plans with Athens-Clarke County to build a parking deck adjacent to The News Building, home of the Athens Banner-Herald.
The 91,830 square-foot, five-story deck will be located at the current site of a loading dock behind the building on Foundry Street and will be accessible from the parking lot on Thomas Street between The News Building and the Classic Center, according to Athens-Clarke County planner Gavin Hassemer. Two stories of the deck will be visible from Thomas Street.
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Ort Doesn't Have to Report to Jail
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: Blake Aued/file
Popular local writer, DJ and town character William Orten “Ort” Carlton won’t have to report to jail today as he awaits the result of an appeal his attorney intends to file in a 17-month battle with Athens-Clarke County over his messy yard.
In a move that took both the defense and prosecutors by surprise, on Monday Municipal Court Judge Leslie Spornberger Jones sentenced Ort to spend the rest of his six-month probationary period—five days—in jail, the Athens Banner-Herald reported.
But Ort’s attorney, Bill Overend, told Flagpole that he has filed an intent-to-appeal notice with the Clarke County Superior Court, which will keep Ort out of jail until the appeal is resolved. Overend said he doesn’t know how long that will take.
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Protesters Disrupt Board of Regents Meeting
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: Freedom University via Facebook
About 40 protestors disrupted a University System of Georgia Board of Regents meeting in Atlanta today demanding an end to the system’s policy barring undocumented students from attending UGA and other public universities.
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Clarke County Graduation Rates Are Way Up
Blog: In the Loop
The graduation rate at Clarke Central rose by 15 points last year.
More than 80 percent of Clarke County School District students graduated within four years in 2015, the district announced Monday—by far the highest mark since the current measurement standard was implemented.
The statewide graduation rate rose from 72.5 percent to 78.8 percent.
The overall graduation rate for the district rose from 63.2 percent last year to 80.3 percent. (That’s an increase of 17 percentage points or 27 percent, not 17 percent as the district stated in its news release.)
At Clarke Central High School, it rose from 68.2 percent last year to 83.3 percent. At Cedar Shoals, it rose from 71.3 percent to 84.2 percent. At Classic City, the alternative school, it rose from 20.7 percent to 50.7 percent.
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The Food Bank Needs Thanksgiving Turkeys
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: Tim Sackton/Flickr
Dozens of Athens families may have to go without a turkey this Thanksgiving unless some generous souls step up.
Bird flu decimated the turkey population this year, which has driven prices up and out of reach of the Athens Area Emergency Food Bank, according to the group’s president, Kim Ramos.
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Jerry Seinfeld Is Coming to Athens
Blog: Culture Briefs
Jerry Seinfeld is coming to the Classic Center. (Best Seinfeld voice) What’s up with that?
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Commission Passes Sewer Plan in Epic Fashion
Blog: In the Loop
As Athens-Clarke County commissioners took a preliminary vote on a 20-year, $240 million plan for water and sewer service Tuesday night, the main issue on their minds was how the plan will tackle the environmental hazard of aging and failing septic tanks in sensitive areas.
As complex an issue as this is, it wasn't nearly as complicated as the parliamentary equivalent of a Benny Hill chase scene that followed. Everyone in Athens now has asthma from the dumpster-fire pollution.
Here’s how it went down (illustrated with GIFs):
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Dodd Ferrelle Is the Next Mayor of Winterville
Blog: In the Loop
Singer-songwriter Dodd Ferrelle was elected mayor of Winterville on Tuesday with 53 percent of the vote.
Running on a platform of citizen involvement, revitalizing downtown, improving WInterville Elementary School and keeping Winterville’s small-town charm while preparing for growth, Ferrelle beat engineer George Chandler (who received 27 percent of the vote) and city councilman Kenneth Hodges (20 percent).
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Stolen Scooter Chase Leads to Arrest
Blog: In the Loop
Imagine the General Lee was a scooter.
An early-morning scooter chase through the Eastside ended with the driver, Jeremy Lynyrd Coon, facing multiple charges.
Athens-Clarke County police officers said they followed the scooter on Barnett Shoals Road around 4 a.m. due to a recent rash of scooter thefts.
The driver turned onto Johnson Drive, and while traveling toward Lexington Road, he crossed the center line, according to police.
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UGA Students Support Food Trucks Downtown
Blog: In the Loop
The University of Georgia Student Senate unanimously passed a resolution last week in favor of easing Athens-Clarke County regulations on food trucks, which is up for a vote tonight. Read it below the jump.
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Athens Power Rankings for the Week of Nov. 2
Blog: In the Loop
Blacknerdninja
Welcome to Athens Power Rankings. In the spirit of sports rating systems, through painstaking analysis, we rank the top movers and shakers in the Classic City each week. Who's hot? Who's not? Find out below.
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General Beauregard's Owners Apologize for 'N*****ita'
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file
General Beauregard’s owners have confirmed that the bartender’s cheat sheet containing a recipe for a shot called a “N*****ita” is real and say the bar will reopen with no changes to its Confederate theme on Monday.
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Police Are Looking for a Hit-and-Run Driver
Blog: In the Loop
Athens-Clarke County police are asking for help in locating a vehicle that hit a cyclist on Danielsville Road Tuesday.
The cyclist was riding north on Danielsville Road near the Smokey Road intersection shortly after 5 p.m. when he was hit from behind by a gold or tan SUV. The victim was taken to Athens Regional Medical Center for life-threatening injuries, according to police.
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General Beauregard's Is Closed
Blog: In the Loop
We don’t know whether it’s permanent or just until the PR crisis blows over, but the Old South-themed downtown Athens bar General Beauregard’s is closed.
An anonymous tipster told the website Death and Taxes that the bar—which came under fireafter an image purported to be a recipe card circulated online showing a shot called a “N*****ita”—was closed on Tuesday night.
Flagpole reporter and photographer Joshua L. Jones went by late Wednesday night and confirmed that it is indeed closed.
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Jody Hice Bucks the Tea Party, Backs Paul Ryan
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file
Jody might want to put some Hice on that when the tea party gets through with him.
Rep. Jody Hice, the Walton County Republican who represents Athens, told the AJC on Tuesday that he intends to support Rep. Paul Ryan for speaker in today's Republican caucus election and Thursday's floor vote.
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Offensive Drink Name Sparks Anger at General Beauregard's
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file
It appears that the Confederate-themed downtown Athens bar General Beauregard’s offers a drink with a name that includes a censored racial slur, outraging local social-media users after an image of a recipe sheet was posted to Facebook on Monday.
The sheet includes a shot called a “N*****ita” (the asterisks are part of the name), which includes two parts tequila, one part watermelon liqueur and a splash of sour mix.
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Educator and Civic Leader David Nunnally Has Died
Blog: In the Loop
The Rev. David Nunnally, an Athens educator and civil rights leader, died Oct. 17 at age 86.
The Rev. David Nunnally, an Athens educator and civil rights leader, died Oct. 17 at age 86.According to an announcement from Fred Smith, Nunnally, one of 14 children, was born in Athens in 1929 and graduated from Tuskegee University. He was a teacher, school administrator, scoutmaster and assistant pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he worked with youth.
In the 1960s, Nunnally was the first African American to run for office in Athens since Reconstruction, narrowly losing a city-council race. He founded the Human Relations Council, a group aimed at fostering understanding among races, in 1979.
He was elected to the Clarke County school board in 1992. He stepped down in 2012 for health reasons.
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UGA Officer Exonerated in Alcohol Amnesty Lawsuit
Blog: In the Loop
Jay Park.
A former UGA police officer who claimed he was fired for obeying an alcohol amnesty law hasreached a $325,000 settlement with the Board of Regents.
UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson fired Jay Park last September after Park refused to arrest underage drinkers because they sought medical treatment for alcohol poisoning. Williamson said that Park was fired for insubordination.
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You Can Stop Boiling Your Drinking Water Now
Blog: In the Loop
Photo Credit: Jeff Montgomery
Athens-Clarke County lifted a boil-water advisory for western Clarke County Monday night after testing showed that the water is safe to drink.
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latest stories
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In the Loop | November 13, 2015 12:05pm
ACC Manager Alan Reddish Is Retiring
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In the Loop | November 12, 2015 3:33pm
Downtown Is Getting Another Parking Deck
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In the Loop | November 10, 2015 4:28pm
Ort Doesn't Have to Report to Jail
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In the Loop | November 10, 2015 2:43pm
Protesters Disrupt Board of Regents Meeting
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In the Loop | November 10, 2015 11:03am
Clarke County Graduation Rates Are Way Up
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In the Loop | November 9, 2015 12:52pm
The Food Bank Needs Thanksgiving Turkeys
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Culture Briefs | November 6, 2015 11:36am
Jerry Seinfeld Is Coming to Athens
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In the Loop | November 4, 2015 4:33pm
Commission Passes Sewer Plan in Epic Fashion
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In the Loop | November 3, 2015 10:12pm
Dodd Ferrelle Is the Next Mayor of Winterville
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In the Loop | November 3, 2015 2:02pm
Stolen Scooter Chase Leads to Arrest
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In the Loop | November 3, 2015 8:57am
UGA Students Support Food Trucks Downtown
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In the Loop | November 2, 2015 11:02am
Athens Power Rankings for the Week of Nov. 2
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In the Loop | October 31, 2015 1:08pm
General Beauregard's Owners Apologize for 'N*****ita'
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In the Loop | October 30, 2015 11:58am
Police Are Looking for a Hit-and-Run Driver
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In the Loop | October 29, 2015 11:01am
General Beauregard's Is Closed
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In the Loop | October 28, 2015 3:26pm
Jody Hice Bucks the Tea Party, Backs Paul Ryan
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In the Loop | October 27, 2015 11:48am
Offensive Drink Name Sparks Anger at General Beauregard's
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In the Loop | October 25, 2015 4:52pm
Educator and Civic Leader David Nunnally Has Died
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In the Loop | October 23, 2015 12:01pm
UGA Officer Exonerated in Alcohol Amnesty Lawsuit
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In the Loop | October 20, 2015 11:31am
You Can Stop Boiling Your Drinking Water Now