Blog Topic: In the Community

In the Loop: Road Closures and More Hurricane Irma News

By Blake Aued | September 12, 2017 1:07pm

Photo Credit: NASA

Hurricane Irma over the British Virgin Islands on Friday.

The University of Georgia will be closed today and Tuesday in anticipation of Hurricane Irma hitting Athens.

All classes, campus events and other activities at UGA are canceled. Residence and dining halls will remain open. Campus Transit will run as long as conditions allow. Designated employees are expected to report to work if they can safely travel.

For more information on UGA's closing, visit emergency.uga.edu.

Clarke and Oconee County public schools will be closed today and Tuesday, as will Athens Tech and the University of North Georgia. Athens Christian School, Prince Avenue Christian School and Piedmont College are closed today, but have not announced whether they will be closed Tuesday. Classes will resume at Athens Academy on Tuesday.

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Culture Briefs: Collectors Flock to the Opening of 'Perspectives'

By Barbette Houser | August 28, 2017 11:49am

Photo Credit: Barbette Houser

Participating artists Curtis Stewardson and Geoff Pickett; work by Nancy Green in foreground.

Georgians, apparently, are manic for regional pottery. This was made clear Friday night at the opening of “Perspectives” at the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation. Arriving late, I was lucky to get one of the last parking spots in a nearby baseball field.

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Culture Briefs: Photography Exhibit Highlights Work of Revered Teacher Mary Ruth Moore

By Barbette Houser | August 23, 2017 5:30pm

Photo Credit: Barbette Houser

UGA students Kiara Halls and Shayna Slaughter view Moore's "Birth of the Virgin." To the right is "Mr. Henry's Hands."

The bottles sit on a table in a quiet corner, cloudy with age and dusty from disuse. Light streams through a nearby window. Briefly, the bottles are illuminated. The sun moves and the moment vanishes, but it is not lost. Mary Ruth Moore has born witness with her large view camera. In "Cornered" the light will continue to caress the bottles, define their forms and brush their mottled glass surfaces.

A viewer, like me, will stop in front of that photograph, arrested by the image’s simplicity and quietness. It will feel like a window to other things or worlds.

“Works by Mary Ruth Moore,” currently on view at the Lamar Dodd School of Art, is full of such images and moments. Moore has taught at UGA for over 40 years.

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Culture Briefs: Photos: ACC Library Rewards Summer Readers

By Blake Aued and Richard Hamm | July 31, 2017 1:25pm

Photo Credit: Richard Hamm

Daisy Gerow, 9, celebrates winning a stack of books during a Willy Wonka-themed end-of-the-summer party at the Athens-Clarke County Library on Wednesday, July 26.

Hundreds of Athens-area children received a free book this month, thanks to a $3,000 grant from Zombie Donuts & Coffee via the First Book UGA program.

The Athens-Clarke County Library's Summer Reading program invites children from birth to age 11 to attend special events and fill out reading logs to win prizes. Children who read at least 50 books or log at least 25 hours of reading can choose a book as a prize.

"Super readers"—those who read at least 100 books or 50 hours—also received a golden ticket to a Willy Wonka-themed party July 26. Flagpole contributing photographer Richard Hamm was there.

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In the Loop: Photo Gallery: Independence Day in Athens

By Blake Aued and Richard Hamm | July 5, 2017 4:33pm

Photo Credit: Richard Hamm

In spite of a storm that leveled dozens of trees and left thousands without power on Saturday, the Star-Spangled Classic went on. Entertainment included a fireworks show downtown, and Flagpole contributing photographer Richard Hamm was there:

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In the Loop: Daily Groceries Won't Move Into Larger 100 Prince Space After All

By Blake Aued | June 23, 2017 12:37pm

Photo Credit: Smith Planning Group

Daily Groceries Co-op had plans to move into the ground-floor retail space at the 100 Prince development slated for the former St. Joseph Catholic Church property.

Cobbham co-op Daily Groceries has abandoned plans to move into a much larger 14,000 square-foot space in the upcoming 100 Prince mixed-use development and become a full-service grocery store, its board of directors recently informed owner/members.

According to an email sent out over the weekend:

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In the Loop: Athens Celebrates the Day of Jubilee, When Local Slaves Were Freed

By Kat Khoury | May 5, 2017 1:07pm

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file

There’s a new holiday in Athens, but it’s one that’s been around for 152 years.

For Athens, that day is May 4, the day in 1865 when the Union army arrived and freed the slaves in town and the surrounding countryside, who then gathered with their loved ones at the town hall, hoisting a flag up what they then deemed the “flagpole of liberty.”

While many marches that take place downtown are in protest, Thursday’s vigil and rally marking the “day of jubilee” was one of celebration and honoring ancestors.

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In the Loop: May Day March to End Deportation Draws 150

By Blake Aued | May 2, 2017 2:54pm

Photo Credit: Austin Steele

At least 150 people gathered in downtown on Monday—May Day, or International Workers' Day—to protest the deportation of undocumented immigrants in Athens.

"In our community there have been many cases of deportation," said Beto Mendoza, coordinator of the Athens Immigrant Rights Coalition, which organized the rally. In many cases Immigration and Customs Enforcement has split up local families by arrested and deporting parents, while the children, who are U.S. citizens, stay behind, he said.

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In the Loop: G-Day Isn't Just for Football—It's for Politics, Too

By Blake Aued | April 21, 2017 10:02am

Photo Credit: Joshua L. Jones/file

Yeah, yeah, G-Day is tomorrow, but plenty is going on in Athens for those who are more interested in #resisting Trump than who's gonna be the Dawgs' third-string middle linebacker this fall.

Kick off the day with the Athens-Clarke County Democrats' monthly breakfast at 10 a.m. at First AME Church at the corner of Hull and Dougherty. UGA professor Richard Winfield will discuss universal basic income and publicly guaranteed employment.

Next, if you're still hungry, head to the Athens Economic Justice Coalition's cookoff in support of a living wage from 11 a.m.–1 p.m. at Memorial Park.

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In the Loop: Environmental Nonprofit Brings Tiny House to Athens Tech Monday

By Kat Khoury | April 14, 2017 12:47pm

You’ve seen the tiny house shows, you’ve thought about how cool it would be to pack up and live light, but if you’ve never actually gotten to experience a tiny home, the Creative Animal Foundation will be at Athens Technical College on Monday showing the possibilities of 200-square-foot living and the value of living sustainably.

Classroom talks will start at 9 a.m., and from noon–5 p.m. the tiny house will be open to the public for viewing. You’ll also get the chance to talk sustainability with tour hosts Stephanie Arne, co-founder and board president of CAF, and Tim Davison, co-founder and board vice-president.

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