Blog Topic: Breaking News

In the Loop: Mayor Girtz Names New Athens-Clarke County Attorney

By Blake Aued | June 5, 2019 12:53pm

Judd Drake, not to be confused with Judge Dredd.

Mayor Kelly Girtz has named Macon-Bibb County Attorney Judd Drake the sole finalist to replace Bill Berryman, who is retiring, as Athens-Clarke County attorney.

Drake has served as the attorney for Macon-Bibb County since it unified in 2014. He also served as Macon's senior assistant city attorney and interim city attorney, and interim manager for Macon-Bibb.

Prior to moving to Macon in 2011, the Metter native had a practice in his hometown for 11 years, focusing on local government, education and real estate law. During that time, he also served as the attorney for Candler County and the Candler County Board of Education, and as chief magistrate judge and state court judge in Candler County.

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Homedrone: RIP Athens Musician Jeff Walls

By Gabe Vodicka | May 29, 2019 9:57pm

Remembrances poured in on social media Wednesday as friends and fans learned about the death of Jeff Walls, a longtime Athens musician known for playing in The Woggles and Guadalcanal Diary, among other well-loved bands.

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In the Loop: LaKeisha Gantt Picked as Clarke County BOE President

By Blake Aued | May 16, 2019 7:52pm

The Clarke County Board of Education chose LaKeisha Gantt as its next president at a called meeting Thursday.

Gantt, who represents District 7, replaces District 4 representative Jared Bybee, who is resigning from the board at the end of the month because his wife, UGA law professor Mehrsa Baradaran, has taken a job in California.

Gantt will serve out the remainder of Bybee's term as president, which runs through the end of the year. Much as it did earlier this year to fill Vernon Payne's District 2 seat, the board will choose a new District 4 member once Bybee resigns.

Gantt is a psychologist and former CCSD employee who now runs a small private practice and teaches at Piedmont College. She is relatively new to the board, having been elected in 2018.

The board chose her over District 3 representative Linda Davis. She remains the vice president.

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In the Loop: Ethics Complaint Filed Against CCSD Superintendent Demond Means

By Blake Aued | May 8, 2019 4:59pm

Photo Credit: Austin Steele/file

Clarke County School Superintendent Demond Means.

An ethics complaint filed against Clarke County School Superintendent Demond Means alleges that he plagiarized part of a letter to colleagues, accepted an inappropriate gift and may have lied about his dissertation on his job application.

Patrick McKee, a Newnan lawyer, filed the complaint with the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, which certifies educators, on May 3. McKee formerly represented the PSC as a senior assistant attorney general and currently is general counsel for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, an accrediting body.

McKee told Flagpole that he “represents a group of parents and taxpayers” in Athens, but would not say who. “At some point, the group will become more visible,” he said.

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In the Loop: UGA Says Removed Protesters Were 'Disruptive'

By Ashlyn Webb | May 3, 2019 5:51pm

Photo Credit: Joe Lavine

A video still shows UGA police moving students aside so they can close and lock the Administration Building doors.

Protestors who sought to enter the Administration Building on Thursday to seek a meeting with President Jere Morehead about Baldwin Hall and slavery were barred by police because they had been disruptive at a previous protest on Monday, according to a statement University of Georgia spokesman Greg Trevor released today.

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Culture Briefs: Organizers Cancel Athens Spring Fling

By Gabe Vodicka | May 3, 2019 10:50am

The Athens Spring Fling, scheduled to take place Saturday at Southeast Clarke Park, has been canceled by organizers due to the threat of bad weather, according to a post on the event's Facebook page.

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In the Loop: Protesters at UGA Threatened With Arrest

By Ashlyn Webb | April 30, 2019 2:39pm

Photo Credit: Savannah Cole

A crowd of nearly 60 protestors, some with shovels in hand, marched Monday from the Tate Center Plaza to the Administrative Building on North Campus as part of the March to Recognize and Redress UGA’s history of slavery. The group demanded President Jere Morehead and a representative of the Board of Regents meet with them before the beginning of the fall semester.

However, protestors did not get a welcoming response from administration. Instead, five protestors were warned they would be arrested on the grounds of criminal trespassing, and dozens were refused access to the Administrative Building.

The group’s hope is that the university will agree to their three demands laid out in an open letter delivered to Morehead on Apr. 10.

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In the Loop: Athens Teacher Charged With Sexually Assaulting Student

By Blake Aued | April 30, 2019 9:52am

A Clarke Central High School math teacher was booked into jail on a sexual assault charge this morning after being accused of an "inappropriate incident" with a student.

Athens-Clarke County police obtained a warrant Monday for Kara Elizabeth Coalson, 23, after investigating "a potentially inappropriate incident" between a teacher and a student, according to an ACCPD news release.

Coalson was booked into jail at 1:26 a.m. and charged with sexual assault by a person with supervisory/disciplinary authority. Bond was set at $10,000 for the felony charge.

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Homedrone: Of Montreal, Linqua Franqa, The Whigs, More AthFest Performers Announced

By Gabe Vodicka | April 30, 2019 4:12pm

Photo Credit: Stacey-Marie Piotrowski

Linqua Franqa

Following the recent announcement of this year's outdoor AthFest headliners, the festival has revealed more of the performers who will take the stage during the 2019 event, scheduled for June 21–23.

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In the Loop: John Barrow Will Run for Georgia Supreme Court

By Blake Aued | April 29, 2019 11:51am

Former congressman John Barrow of Athens will run for an open seat on the Georgia Supreme Court, he announced today.

“An appellate court depends on the combined experience of its judges to arrive at decisions that are fair and just,” Barrow said in a news release. “When Justice [Robert] Benham retires, the Supreme Court will lose almost as much experience as the rest of the Court combined. That’s why I’m running—to offer my experience to help maintain the kind of balance we want in our Supreme Court.”

Barrow's father, James, was a Superior Court judge in Athens and oversaw the desegregation of the local school system.

John Barrow graduated from UGA and Harvard Law School, and clerked at two federal appeals courts before opening a private law practice in Athens.

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