Blog Topic: Breaking News

In the Loop: Voters Overwhelmingly Approve SPLOST 2020

By Blake Aued | November 5, 2019 11:24pm

Athens voters have overwhelmingly approved extending a local 1% sales tax for capital projects.

Over three quarters of voters approved SPLOST 2020, which passed with 78.4% of 8,978 ballots cast.

SPLOST 2020 will last an estimated 11 years and fund $314 million worth of projects. Big ticket items include a new judicial center to replace the outdated and overcrowded courthouse, an arena at the Classic Center and redeveloping the aging, dilapidated Bethel Midtown Village affordable housing complex. That's in addition to 34 smaller projects, ranging from crowd-pleasers like park improvements to necessities like equipment for firefighters.

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In the Loop: ACCPD Officers Kill Eastside Man in Shootout

By Blake Aued | October 28, 2019 11:14am

Athens-Clarke County police officers killed a man Saturday who they say opened fire on them while they were investigating a noise complaint on the Eastside.

Officers received a call at about 8 p.m. Saturday about a dispute over noise between two neighbors on Royale Road, off Gaines School Road, where one had threatened to shoot the other.

When officers located the man accused of threatening his neighbor—identified as Nan Zhao, 45—and tried to question him, Zhao "produced a handgun and fired several shots at the officers," according to police. The officers returned fire. Zhao was taken to a local hospital, where he died.

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In the Loop: Police Release Video of Latest Officer Shooting

By Blake Aued | October 24, 2019 2:02pm

Body camera video released by Athens-Clarke County police today shows an officer shooting a woman who started to charge at him while holding a knife.

On the morning of Oct. 14, Senior Officer Lamar Glenn responded to a call about a suspicious woman with a knife and a gun on Chalfont Drive, off Tallassee Road.

Glenn arrived and immediately told the woman—later identified as Bonny Thomas, 54—to put down the knife. Thomas repeatedly said no and walked toward Glenn with the knife raised and her other hand under her shirt, saying, "I have a gun and a knife." Glenn backed up and pulled his handgun, and as Thomas started to break into run, shot her once in the chest.

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In the Loop: Cedar Shoals Principal Derrick Maxwell Resigns

By Blake Aued | October 17, 2019 3:04pm

Cedar Shoals High School principal Derrick Maxwell is resigning effective Oct. 29.

Maxwell announced his departure in an email to Cedar Shoals parents and staff today. Sources tell Flagpole he is taking a central office position in Barrow County.

The former Whit Davis Elementary principal was tapped to lead Cedar Shoals through a painful period of dealing with an alleged sexual assault on campus in 2016. But he was passed over for the position when it came time to hire a permanent principal. Last year, the position came open again, and he was hired.

But Maxwell had reportedly gotten on Superintendent Demond Means' bad side. In April board member John Knox met with Means to tell him that Maxwell is widely liked, and the community would be up in arms if he were fired. The meeting resulted in Means filing a complaint with accreditation agency AdvancEd accusing three board members of micromanagement.

Maxwell is the latest of about a dozen principals who have left the Clarke County School District in the past two years.

The Local School Governance Team, made up of teachers, parents and other community members, will choose one to four candidates for principal to send on to Means, who will recommend one to the school board for approval.

The full text of Maxwell's announcement is below:

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In the Loop: ACCPD Officer Shoots Suspect for Fifth Time This Year

By Blake Aued | October 14, 2019 3:51pm

Photo Credit: Blake Aued

Chief Cleveland Spruill briefs reporters on an officer-involved shooting at an Oct. 14 news conference.

An Athens-Clarke County police officer shot and killed a knife-wielding woman Monday morning on Chalfont Lane, in the Westchester neighborhood off Tallassee Road.

The officer was responding to a 10 a.m. call about a suspicious woman with a knife and possibly a firearm, Chief Cleveland Spruill told reporters Monday afternoon.

The officer retreated, but the 54-year-old white woman ignored his orders to drop the knife, instead "rais[ing] the knife in a threatening manner," Spruill said. The officer fired, striking her in the torso. Other officers rendered first aid, but she died.

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In the Loop: Cedar Shoals Student Charged With Making Threat

By Blake Aued | October 10, 2019 5:07pm

A Cedar Shoals High School student was charged with making terroristic threats after, police said, she "became distressed" during class and "made a verbal threat referencing a weapon."

A cellphone video recorded by a student at Cedar Shoals showed the girl saying she would "AR-15" other students, using the name of the assault-style rifle as a verb. The video went viral Wednesday and has been shared on social media hundreds of times, sparking conversations about whether the girl would be disciplined or not because she is white.

After investigating, police issued the student a juvenile complaint.

Cedar Shoals Principal Derrick Maxwell sent a note to parents Wednesdays explaining the incident. Athens-Clarke County police also urged families to talk about the dangers of weapons and using threatening language in school.

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Homedrone: Go Bar to End Late-Night Music, Transition to Restaurant

By Gabe Vodicka | October 10, 2019 4:48pm

Go Bar in 1999.

After 20 years of drag shows, dance parties and noise-rock freakouts, Prince Avenue institution Go Bar has announced plans to transition from a music and entertainment venue to a restaurant, installing a kitchen, covering the outdoor patio and adding daytime hours.

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In the Loop: Police Identify Officer Who Shot Domestic Abuse Suspect

By Blake Aued | October 9, 2019 4:32pm

Athens-Clarke County police and the Georgia Bureau of investigation have identified the officer who shot a domestic abuse suspect on Saturday as Roger Williams. The suspect is Salvador Salazar, a 28-year-old North Carolina resident.

Williams responded to a call about domestic violence at a Baxter Street apartment shortly after 5 p.m. Saturday. When he arrived, Salazar was holding a machete, according to ACCPD.

"Shortly after the initial encounter, the man brandished a knife in a threatening manner toward our officer," police said Sunday. "Fearing for his life, our officer discharged his service weapon struck the male in the torso."

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In the Loop: Clarke County Graduation Rate Tops 80%

By Blake Aued | October 8, 2019 2:47pm

Clarke County's graduation rate ticked up to 81.4% in 2019, just shy of Georgia's as a whole.

Both of the county's traditional high schools, Clarke Central and Cedar Shoals, beat the state average of 82%, with 83.7% and 83.5%, respectively. At the alternative Classic City High, 24 of 46, or 52%, of students graduated within four years.

The 82% figure is an all-time high for Georgia. The state graduation rate has increased by 12 points since the federal government changed the way graduation rates are calculated in 2012.

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In the Loop: Former Athens Judge Blocks Georgia Abortion Law

By Blake Aued | October 1, 2019 4:59pm

Judge Steve Jones.

Georgia's infamous "heartbeat bill" banning most abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy suffered a legal setback today when a federal judge blocked the law from taking effect while it's challenged in the court system.

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