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MAY 15, 2019 · VOL. 33 · NO. 19 · FREE

Ultra Normal

New Realms on Display at OCAF p. 15

Roll Out The

Barrels Bid on unique rain barrels painted by local artists and support environmental education in Athens

Thursday, May 23 6:00â€“9:00 p.m. The Foundry 295 E. Dougherty Street

Visit RollOutTheBarrels.org for more information and to learn where you can preview the barrels before the event

F L A G P O L E . C O M | M AY 1 5 , 2 0 1 9

Brought to you by ACC Stormwater and Water Conservation Office for the ACC Green School Program

this week’s issue

contents

NORTHEAST GEORGIA’S

1 INDOOR ROCK CLIMBING GYM!

ATHENS, GA

655 BARBER ST. · 706.354.0038

ACTIVECLIMBING.COM Here’s a widescreen look at Justin Barker’s miniaturized “Basement, 1995,” on view on this week’s Flagpole cover and at OCAF. See Art Notes on p. 15.

City Dope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 NEWS: Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

This Modern World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Ethics Complaint Filed Against CCSD Superintendent

Comment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

MUSIC: Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Threats and Promises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Get to Know This Year’s Chesnutt Award Finalists

Art Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

FOOD: Grub Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Bulletin Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Braselton Restaurant Does Tasty French Food

Art Around Town . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

ADVICE: Hey, Bonita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Flickskinny . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

When Breaking Up Is the Right Option

Classifieds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Sailors and Ships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

The Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Boarding · Digital X-Ray Acupuncture · Chiropractic Laser Surgery · Endoscopy e

f l ag p o l

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Movie Dope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Adopt Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

fa vo

Runner-Up

Puzzles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

1150 Mitchell Bridge Rd. 706-546-7879 · www.hopeamc.com

Pub Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Office Hours: Monday-Friday 7:30am-6pm Saturday 8am-1pm

Local Comics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 NICOLAS HENDERSON

ADVERTISING DIRECTOR & PUBLISHER Alicia Nickles EDITOR & PUBLISHER Pete McCommons PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Larry Tenner ADVERTISING SALES Anita Aubrey, Jessica Pritchard Mangum MANAGING EDITOR & MUSIC EDITOR Gabe Vodicka CITY EDITOR Blake Aued ARTS EDITOR & DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Jessica Smith CLASSIFIEDS Jessica Smith AD DESIGNER Anna LeBer CARTOONISTS Lee Gatlin, Missy Kulik, Jeremy Long, David Mack PHOTOGRAPHER Savannah Cole CONTRIBUTORS Bonita Applebum, Andy Barton, Hillary Brown, Gordon Lamb, Rebecca McCarthy, Drew Wheeler CIRCULATION Charles Greenleaf, Ernie LoBue, Dain Marx, Taylor Ross ASSISTANT AD DESIGNER Chris McNeal EDITORIAL INTERNS Jessie Goodson, Rosemary Scott, Ashlyn Webb

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VOLUME 33 ISSUE NUMBER 19

comments section “I certainly have to wonder how they come up with the annual maintenance costs. It seems like at a cost of 38k a year that they can hire someone who can inspect it for 8 hours a day, every day. And as long as he is there then maybe do some maintenance.”

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5/31/19

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news

city dope

Commissioners Add Poverty Programs to Budget PLUS, THE SCHOOL DISTRICT’S BUDGET AND MORE LOCAL NEWS By Blake Aued, Rebecca McCarthy and Ashlyn Webb news@flagpole.com

already live in Clarke County and use ACC youth development programs to steer children toward careers in law enforcement. A “pocket neighborhood” or “cottage courtyard” in Normaltown also won approval. A style of development that was popular around the turn of the 20th Century (see Addieville off Barber Street), it has recently returned to popularity as a way to boost density in neighborhoods without affecting their character. The development, proposed by Normaltown resident Matt Tingle, consists of seven small-ish single-family homes or cottages centered around a common greenspace on about an acre off Millard Street. Two nearby residents raised concerns about rezoning the property to allow for higher density, its insular nature and lack of pedestrian access to Hawthorne Avenue. But Link and Denson said they heard from many more people who are excited about the project. Tingle went “above and beyond what most developers do” to seek neighborhood input, Denson said. While the $200,000–$300,000 price point may not be affordable for many, commissioners said they think building more housing in Normaltown will help relieve the upward pressure on existing home prices. “If we’re going to get real about our housing needs in the community, we’re going to have to upzone here and there and find pockets where we can add density without impacting the surrounding neighborhood,” Link said. [BA]

Athens-Clarke County commissioners Thornton said. Another public hearing was specifically on Riverbend Parkway; portainformally agreed to add $4 million to scheduled for Tuesday. ble radar speed displays that have proven Mayor Kelly Girtz’s proposed $136 million Link said she’d prefer to vote on the projsuccessful in getting drivers to slow down; budget for fiscal 2020 last week for various ects individually rather than as a package and downtown events like AthFest. And anti-poverty initiatives. to avoid any confusion. “I’d rather put the Commissioner Melissa Link proposed givThe “Athens Prosperity Package” prowhole thing on hold so we can be assured ing small bars and music venues a discount posed by commissioners Mike Hamby and that when the community has this input, on their alcohol licenses to help locally Ovita Thornton includes funding for health everybody knows what’s being discussed owned businesses downtown, which Girtz care navigators, child care vouchers, job and what the segments are,” she said. said he would assign to a committee later training and placement for people getting ACC has about $4.5 million in salesthis summer. [Blake Aued] out of prison, summer jobs and landscaping tax revenue to spend on transportation training for youth, small business assisimprovements in the West Broad area. tance, neighborhood planning units, grant The state Department of Transportation At its May 7 voting meeting, the comwriters and other programs. See Thornton has offered to split costs on a roundabout, mission opted to put off a preliminary and Hamby’s Comment on p. 6 for more. which would calm traffic and allow for decision on a roundabout at the Broad Finance Director David Boyd told comcrosswalks at the Broad-Hancock intersecStreet-Hancock Avenue intersection and missioners at a May 8 work session that tion but could require the closure of The sidewalks in the West Broad neighborhood, his department had found about $2 million Plaza, which Hancock and Glenhaven resifrom revenue sources that are exceeding projections, variously discretionary funds and capital expenses like vehicle replacement that could be redirected to SPLOST. But commissioners opted not to dip into those funds. Instead, they’ll spend leftover money from the current fiscal year that Girtz had intended to put into a rainy day fund. The county currently has about $18 million in reserves, but Girtz wanted to boost that to $22 million. Well-run local governments With a nearly 8 percent generally keep two months increase in property taxes of operating expenses in and $74 million from the reserves—about $22 million, state, the Clarke County in ACC’s case. But under School District administraMayor Nancy Denson, the tion proposed a 2020 balcommission generally rolled anced budget of an estimated leftover fund balances for$165 million at the May 9 ward rather than save them. school board meeting. Girtz warned commisState money goes only so sioners that he wanted to far, so local taxpayers will pay build up reserves because a for 179 paraprofessionals; recession could be coming art, music and PE teachers; in the next year or two. additional social workers, Commissioners disagreed— school psychologists and the time for bold initiatives Protesters demanding recognition of and reparations for slavery at UGA gathered at the Arch last week for another #MoreheadMonday. counselors; and an expanded is now, when the economy school nursing program. $7.2 is good and the tax base is saying that residents need a chance to learn dents are concerned could push cut-through million will cover the staff cost of transgrowing. “If we don’t do it now, we’re never more about the projects and give input. porting children to and from school, since traffic onto their street. GDOT is expected going to do it,” Commissioner Tim Denson Initially, several commissioners—includ- to say how serious it is about the project in the state ponies up only $1 million. said. ing Link, Denson, Allison Wright and Jerry For every grade, Clarke County classJune, ACC Manager Blaine Williams told The package could be re-evaluated next NeSmith—had proposed moving forward rooms have on average smaller populations commissioners. The project is in the very year if it’s not working or the economy with a preliminary design for the roundthan what the state permits, and this ratio early design stages and would have to go takes a downturn, Hamby said. about and sidewalks on Paris Street and will continue. Kindergarten, third grade through several steps of approval before “Let’s try something,” Thornton said. and sixth grade represent the biggest differ“We’re not going to be worse off than we are Henderson Extension while delaying a deci- construction starts. sion on a more controversial Waddell Street ences. Next year will see the addition of a The commission also voted unanimously now. Thirty-eight percent poverty is pretty sidewalk, which would cost over $1 million community support specialist, Communities to allow police officers who live outside of doggone embarrassing.” because of the steep topography and wipe in Schools staff in Gaines and Alps Road eleClarke County to take their cars home. The If commissioners approve the budget out some residents’ yards. mentary schools, an assistant chief of police take-home policy began as an incentive for with the prosperity package June 4, they Although the county has been building and athletic trainers in the high schools. ACCPD officers to live in Clarke County, would decide in June and July exactly how sidewalks around the Early Learning Center but it doesn’t seem to have worked—half There’s also going to be a third-party adminto spend the money. Most likely, it would istrator for substitute teachers and a new still live outside of the county, perhaps take the form of grants to existing agencies, and Career Academy for several years, and an open house was held at Hill First Baptist in-school model for alternative education. because of housing costs or family ties, rather than the government hiring employChurch in March, several people told com$450,000 for an increased number of officials speculated. But it’s been driving a ees to do the work themselves, said Mayor missioners they had just heard about the social and emotional learning staff is prowedge between officers who live in and outPro Tem Jerry NeSmith, who presided over projects. posed to come from innovation funds that, side of Clarke County and hurting morale. the budget hearing. “We should not have people coming to under the charter system, were available to Several commissioners said they’d like to Commissioners also discussed spending us saying they don’t know what’s going on,” see recruitment efforts focus on people who each school to be used as the Local School smaller amounts on protected bike lanes,

Broad Street Roundabout Pushed Back

BLAKE AUED

School District Balances Budget

F L A G P O L E . C O M | M AY 1 5 , 2 0 1 9

Governance Teams saw fit. At Oglethorpe Avenue Elementary, for example, the LSGT received a grant of about $20,000 to staff a Wildlife Summer Camp in 2018, said a team member. The camp provided transportation and a meal and brought kindergarteners and first graders to school for 12 days in July, where they focused on literacy, math and social and emotional development. Teachers who volunteered for the camp received a small stipend. The ratio was one teacher for every six children. Parents, teachers and children all said the camp was a positive experience, and hoped to repeat it this summer—only to learn the fiscal year ends in June and thus, there wouldn’t be money to pay for the camp in July. After learning of Means’ plan for funding additional social and emotional learning staff, board member Greg Davis asked, “Have you brought the LSGTs into the discussions about the innovation grants? Or are they hearing about it the way that we are?” Means said he gave a statement to the school principals about communicating to the LSGTs. He said the use of the innovation grants is “not their purview,” and that the district makes the decision. LSGTs can still apply for grant money—there will be $150,000 remaining. As the May meeting of the Clarke County School Board progressed, it wasn’t clear initially whether outgoing board President Jared Bybee—who is moving to California in June—will be involved in selecting the new president. Greg Davis wanted to hold the election after a new board member from District 5—Bybee’s district—is appointed. At a meeting last week, member John Knox also said Bybee should have no vote in selecting his replacement. Means said “things are not optimal, not just for the board members, but how they trickle down to staff.” He said he’s concerned about the board being as “optimal” as possible. So, on May 16, there will be a called meeting at 5 p.m. in the Heritage Room of the Career Academy to elect a new board president, without the board member from District 5 participating. Thursday’s meeting brought speakers

who were sometimes emotional. Parent Katrina Evans encouraged board members to drop in at various schools and to talk with teachers, parents and children about schools. She also said “asking tough questions isn’t racist.” Charlie Maddox presented a petition that had circulated online that bore, he said, 900 signatures supporting Means’ plan for CCSD facilities. Presented in November, the plan would pave over the West Broad Farmers Market, where the Athens Land Trust and neighboring residents have been raising food and holding community events for years. Under Means’ plan, the old West Broad School would house early learning classrooms and other facilities. Means has since proposed having an early learning center on the old Gaines Elementary property. The ALT has presented an alternative plan that would keep the garden and use the building for a small business incubator, entrepreneurship classes and other community services. Brent Andrews, a Cedar Shoals High School English teacher, said he would like UGA’s College of Education to have courses that prepare soon-to-be teachers to deal with students who are coping with trauma. UGA education students need to learn about the challenges and barriers school children in Athens face and how best to help them in the classroom, he said. [Rebecca McCarthy]

UGA TA Cleared University of Georgia philosophy PhD student and teaching assistant Irami OseiFrimpong did not violate the university’s Student Code of Conduct, a University Judiciary panel of two students and a faculty member ruled on May 6. The panel found that Osei-Frimpong did not furnish false information or omit facts on his application about his attendance at the University of Chicago or his arrest during a 2011 protest, which a judge later ruled unconstitutional. The Office of Student Conduct launched a three-month-long investigation into OseiFrimpong’s past after receiving an anonymous tip in January that he had lied on his

application to graduate school about his academic history and criminal record. The investigation was launched shortly after recent UGA graduate Andrew Lawrence, who had written an article for a right-wing website on Osei-Frimpong’s racial views that angered conservatives, claimed that a donor had threatened to withhold $2.5 million as a result of OseiFrimpong’s comments. Although UGA’s Equal Opportunity Office had cleared him of violating the university’s discrimination policy because his remarks were made on his own time and protected by the First Amendment, after Lawrence’s tweet, UGA said it was “vigorously exploring all available legal options” with the state attorney general’s office. Osei-Frimpong said the charges were in retaliation for his political activism, which the judiciary panel said it did not take into account in its ruling. “The Office of Student Conduct adjudicated this case like any other, in compliance with all applicable policies and procedures,” UGA Executive Director of Media Communications Greg Trevor said May 7. “We respect the student conduct process and the outcome.” The panel’s report states that OseiFrimpong’s arrest was “indisputable.” However, the panel did grapple with whether his arrest was for a crime—he said it was civil ordinance violation—and whether he was ever charged. “The application for admission specifically asks for disclosure of any charges or convictions of a crime, and since Mr. OseiFrimpong was not charged, the Occupy Wall Street arrest does not fall within the purview of the application question,” the report states. “…The Panel does not reach a conclusion of whether Mr. Osei-Frimpong’s arrest was for a civil or criminal matter; however, the Panel does find that a reasonable person could conclude the underlying action resulting in his arrest was not a crime.” The panel also concluded Osei-Frimpong did not purposely omit his attendance at the University of Chicago, Tufts University and the Goethe Institute, a global nonprofit that promotes the study of the German language abroad. Osei-Frimpong audited classes at Tufts and Geothe but was not enrolled. He was a political science PhD student at the University of Chicago. According to the report, Osei-Frimpong said he thought his attendance there was not relevant to his application for the philosophy graduate school program. “He only thought to disclose his previous attendance at institutions where he had engaged in an educational program related to philosophy,” the report states, adding that the omissions probably did not benefit him. During the case, Osei-Frimpong pointed out his attendance at the University of Chicago was not a secret. One of the individuals who wrote his letter of recommendations to UGA was a former University of Chicago colleague. Investigators did not look at those letters of recommendation. “Therefore, Mr. Osei-Frimpong’s omission of attendance at the University of Chicago from the list of institutions attended did not receive adequate review by the complaining party,” the report states. Osei-Frimpong said the charges were orchestrated by university administration after conservative alumni threatened to withhold donations. He listed those admin-

istrators in an email on May 7 to Flagpole: Alan Dorsey, dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences; Michael Raeber, executive director of the UGA Legal Affairs Office; Beth Bailey, senior associate general counsel of the UGA Legal Affairs Office; Suzanne Barbour, dean of the Graduate School; and Barrett Malone, the investigator in the Office of Student Conduct who put together the case against Osei-Frimpong. “According to the investigative report, all of these people had the discretionary power to resolve this situation months ago; instead, they loaded down a panel of students and one staff person with the responsibility with presenting, adjudicating, and dismissing the Administration’s hastily contrived case.” Osei-Frimpong told Flagpole. “It strikes me that either each one of these people is very bad at his/her job—while fleecing taxpayer dollars—or their job was to hassle me and send a message about how the University Administration retaliates against political speech.” [Ashlyn Webb]

Baldwin Protest Goes Peacefully A week after they first sought a meeting with UGA President Jere Morehead about the university’s handling of slave remains found underneath Baldwin Hall, protesters gathered again for what one activist, Imani Scott-Blackwell, dubbed #MoreheadMonday. “President Morehead, what you need to do is listen,” said Linda Lloyd, executive director of the Athens Economic Justice Coalition. “Don’t fight. Listen.” The group of about 50 gathered at the Arch on May 6 before marching through North Campus, waving signs and chanting slogans. They paused briefly at the Administration Building—where campus police threatened to arrest them the previous Monday—but did not try to enter the building. It had remained locked since a confrontation May 2 with a sign posted on the door stating that “expressive activities are not permitted in interior spaces.” The university has not responded to an inquiry about which policy prohibits such activities or how long access at the Administration Building will be restricted. The march ended at Baldwin Hall, where demonstrators meditated in the parking lot that was under construction in 2015 when the remains were found. Organizers emphasized from the beginning that the protest would be peaceful. Two police officers watched the rally from outside the Holmes-Hunter Academic Building, the building near the Arch named for Charlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes, the two students who integrated UGA in 1961. They followed the marchers at a distance from there to Baldwin Hall, then left. The protesters are seeking a meeting with Morehead before the fall semester begins to discuss their demands: a faculty proposal to set up a center on campus to study slavery, an apology to the descendants of the individuals whose remains were dug up, scholarships for black Athens high-school students and a $15 minimum wage for UGA employees. Morehead has responded by defending his decision to reinter the remains at Oconee Hill Cemetery over objections from black community members, and dismissing the protesters as a small group with a personal vendetta that was disrupting work at the Administration Building. [BA] f

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The Prosperity Package COMMISSIONERS PROPOSE ANTI-POVERTY INITIATIVES By Mike Hamby and Ovita Thornton news@flagpole.com We have put forth a proposal that will allocate $4 million for the creation of a bold prosperity package, which will serve as a dedicated fund to begin allocating substantial resources towards reducing poverty in Athens. This fund will impact not only those facing the day-to-day challenges that poverty creates, but also those for whom our economy is strong, as we understand that poverty impacts every citizen in Athens-Clarke County. We are happy for the support of the mayor and commission and the positive comments we have received for the prosperity package. At our recent budget meetings, the commission was united in wanting to create a meaningful program to erode our current poverty level and expressed a strong desire to move forward in doing so at this time. Our property values have increased, and our sales tax dollars are strong—two major sources for financing our general fund and capital projects for our community. While our budget indicates that our local economy is doing well, based on our 38 percent poverty rate, the unfortunate realization is Mike Hamby that prosperity is not reaching many citizens in our community. We’ve heard many concerns about all of the investment we have put into studies and research about the quality of living in Athens, but we have never made enough of a financial investment to make the sustainable changes recommended by these studies. This prosperity package is the direct result of the Athens Pathways to Prosperity by the Network for Southern Economic Mobility, which was presented February 2019. We should also draw upon other past research recommendations to develop the prosperity package. We are fortunate to have $4 million available for a prosperity package. While property values and sales tax revenues have increased, neither the millage rate nor any other tax increases will be needed to balance our county’s budget or for this prosperity package. We are grateful to those who pay property tax, operate a business in our community, shop and eat in Athens, and contribute towards making Athens a quality place to live. We are also appreciative of our county staff, who are good stewards in ensuring citizen revenues are well utilized and mindful of ways to save money. These actions have created conditions that enable us to take bold action today in addressing our poverty rate. If we aren’t going to be bold during favorable conditions, we certainly aren’t going to be bold Ovita Thornton during unfavorable ones—so let’s do something now. We know that even $4 million will not solve our poverty problems, but we are hopeful that it can be a significant start in providing the dollar investment needed to help reduce the number of people struggling to improve their lives. Of particular note is that dollars invested in this poverty initiative can be leveraged to create additional funds for this program through successful grants. Part of our suggested proposal includes funding to employ grants writers to seek the many public and private grant dollars available for efforts such as ours. Any poverty-reducing initiative cannot have just a government solution. This prosperity package is strongly SAVANNAH COLE

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focused on developing partnerships with the Athens business community, existing nonprofits, places of worship and others who want to help with this community effort. Several of our suggestions include assistance with training opportunities and the creation of incentives for businesses which provide employment opportunities for those who have gone down a wrong path and are now seeking a better way to live their lives. People who have been formerly incarcerated oftentimes face difficulty in obtaining a job and, lacking any opportunity, may fall back on habits that have failed them in the past and keep them within our cycle of poverty. We believe everyone committed to seeking a second chance should have the opportunity to find one. A perfect example of a strong economic development initiative and partnership can be found at Green Opportunities, an organization in Asheville, NC. Green Opportunities has created UpStaff Personnel, a social enterprise that provides opportunities for motivated job seekers with a pathway to career-track employment opportunities, while offering a screened, dependable, and diverse workforce for Asheville-area employers. Part of our prosperity package could be used to help get a program like UpStaff Personnel off the ground and, being a social enterprise, it can become self-sustaining. We are also suggesting a focus of the prosperity package should be on finding ways to help our hospitals reduce their $77 million cost of indigent care, an expense that is paid for by all in our community. Creating health care navigators who can help determine health care needs and solutions for people in poverty would be a start. An unfortunate reality about our poverty issue in Athens is that a greater percentage of people of color are most likely to be the ones facing hardships created by it. Therefore, part of a suggested prosperity package is developing partnerships to create a Small Minority Business Center that can offer training and assistance to those who are desirous of starting their own business. By helping to provide economic mobility and opportunities for those who are most impacted by poverty, we can build an economy that works for everyone. These are certainly just a few draft ideas on what a prosperity package could encompass, and we look forward to hearing other ideas as well. However, whatever makes up the final package will be determined with strong input from businesses, nonprofits and citizen participation. Moreover, a final package should be impactful enough to make a positive difference and, of course, be one that can be evaluated and measured for its impact and success. Commissioners Melissa Link and Tim Denson are currently working on a draft vision statement that will be discussed at our next budget session and will highlight our expectations for this investment. We strongly believe that a prosperity package can be a catalyst that will benefit everyone in our community. We are thankful to the mayor and commission, ACC staff and residents of Athens-Clarke County for a shared desire to move forward with a bold initiative whose goal—reducing poverty—will enrich the lives of all of our citizens. f

The Annual Flagpole Athens Music Awards Show is designed to honor and celebrate those who make Athens, GA a center of musical creativity, enjoyment & accomplishment. Each year, Music Editor Gabe Vodicka convenes a panel of Athens-music experts, including journalists, promoters, producers and others, to determine a list of nominees for the Flagpole Athens Music Awards. This list represents the local musicians who those judges felt were most active and influential, and whose output was most compelling, during the period of May 2018–April 2019. Don’t agree with our choices in a particular category? Feel free to write in your favorite artist! Winners, as determined by reader vote, will be revealed on Thursday, June 20 at the historic Morton Theatre. The show kicks off AthFest, Athens’ annual music and arts festival.

VOTE ONLINE: musicawards.flagpole.com JAZZ • • • • •

Hot Club of Athens The Hot Hotty-Hots Play on 6 Rootkit Whitehall Jazz Collective

world • • • • •

Athens Middle East Orchestra Bichos Vivos Beto Cacao Clouds Code 706

ROCK • • • • • •

Eureka California Grand Vapids Hunger Anthem Mean Queen T. Hardy Morris Outersea

POP • • • • • •

Calico Vision Futo Locate S,1 Nicholas Mallis Marshmallow Coast Dagmar Vork

ELECTRONIC • • • • •

Robbie Dude Kites With Lights Lambda Celsius Severe Blush Yip Deceiver

JAM/FUNK • • • • •

The Family Recipe Kenosha Kid The Orange Constant Universal Sigh Velveteen Pink

DJ • • • • •

Chief Rocka K.Liente Kountry Boi Reindeer Games Zelium

SINGER-SONGWRITER • • • • •

Ryan Bousquet (The Spookie Moon) Lydia Brambila Claire Cronin Christopher Ingham (CWOHL) Emileigh Ireland

PUNK/HARDCORE • • • • •

Apparition Blue Bodies Deep State Kwazymoto Shehehe

• • • •

Beast Mode Dead Vibes Ensemble Marses Pinky Doodle Poodle Vincas

hip-hop • • • • • • •

Arsenic Caulfield Kxng Blanco Motorhead 2x Seline Haze Squalle The YOD

R&B/SOUL • • • • •

Big C Cheresse Dunn Stella Groove Marco Hull Minnie Lea

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• • • •

Cicada Rhythm Georgia Dish Boys Adam Klein Ty Manning and the Slawdog Biscuits Sylvia Rose Novak

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AVANT-GARDE • • • • • •

Goddess Complex Frank Hurricane Immaterial Possession Annie Leeth Michael Potter Sarah Swillum

Baby Tony and the Teenies Elijah Johnston LB Love My Truck McQQeen Needle Teeth Nuclear Tourism The Pink Stones Rottweiler Thrüm Vision Video

• • • •

Abbey Road Live Bit Brigade The Dookie Brothers Los Meesfits The Proxies

• • • • •

ARTIST OF THE YEAR Write-In!

VOTE ONLINE:

musicawards.flagpole.com

LIVE PERFORMER • • • • • • •

Deep State Double Ferrari Lambda Celsius Linqua Franqa T. Hardy Morris Nihilist Cheerleader Pinky Doodle Poodle

T BESs & e Pric vice! Ser

Dk! CInB Stoc

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Don Chambers: Love of Oblivion Cicada Rhythm: Everywhere I Go Deep State: The Path to Fast Oblivion Eureka California: Roadrunners Family and Friends: Felix Culpa The Glands: Double Coda Kenosha Kid: Missing Pieces Locate S,1: Healing Contest T. Hardy Morris: Dude, the Obscure Sylvia Rose Novak: Someone Else’s War Dagmark Vork: Dagmar Vork

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Superintendent Hit With Ethics Complaint MEANS ACCUSED OF PLAGIARIZING AND OTHER MISCONDUCT By Blake Aued news@flagpole.com

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. When asked to list his publications, including dissertations, on his online application, Means listed his doctoral dissertation, “Is the Role of the Superintendent Political?” (He has also referred to the title as, “What Is the Political Aspect of the Superintendency?”) However, the dissertation is not available on any websites, such as ProQuest, where graduate students usually submit their dissertations. A librarian at Georgia State University whom McKee asked for help was also unable to find it. McKee also reached out to the library at Cardinal Stritch, the Milwaukee university where Means received his master’s degree and doctorate in education. A librarian told him Means “finished, defended and graduated,” but that the library did not have a copy. Although university libraries usually bind and keep dissertations, the education department may not have required Means to submit it to the library at the time he received his doctorate in 2005, the library director wrote. The district has never asked Means for a copy of his dissertation, CCSD’s attorney, Michael Pruitt, wrote to Atlanta lawyer Greg Feagle in response to a June 2018 open records request that is included in McKee’s complaint. A Cardinal Stritch spokesperson confirmed to Flagpole that Means did receive his doctorate, and that the university does not have a copy of his dissertation. The dissertation “is not published as represented and may or may not exist in a form Means wishes to be made public,” McKee wrote in the complaint. According to the complaint, Means also violated ethical standards by not disclosing that he had an ongoing relationship with AVID when he recommended last June that the board spend $511,000 to send teachers for training in the instructional method. Means mentioned that he taught a class for AVID in response to a question from a board member last month. When questioned later, Means told Flagpole that he was paid $500, below the threshold in his contract requiring board approval for consulting work. Board President Jared Bybee and Vice President Linda Davis defended Means in an Apr. 29 letter to “CCSD community members,” writing that Means had been clear that he had worked with AVID at his previous district in Wisconsin, and that he left the decision to adopt AVID up to individual schools. Bybee and Davis also wrote that, “for

the sake of clarity,” Means would donate his $500 stipend to CCSD. “Dr. Means continues to act with the highest level of professional integrity in leading our district,” they wrote. Accepting personal payment from a district vendor violates state ethical standards and gives the appearance of a conflict of interest, according to McKee. In addition, the complaint accuses Means of lifting a paragraph in a Mar. 9 letter to teachers districtwide from the 2014 book You Are the Opportunity You Were Waiting For: The Philosophy of Success in 21 Timeless Principles, by Luis E. Romero. “A seventh grade student who submitted such blatantly plagiarized material in a research paper AUSTIN STEELE / FILE

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would be failed for such dishonesty,” McKee wrote in the complaint. “This dishonest conduct cannot be tolerated in a superintendent.” Shortly after Flagpole posted an article online about the ethics complaint, Means sent out an email to CCSD staff admitting that the passage, which he saw online, “was not properly cited.” When asked for comment, CCSD’s communications director, Mary Walsh Wickwire, said that “the information regarding the allegation has been received by the district [but] because it is a personnel matter, the district cannot and will not respond.” However, Means did address the allegations at the May 9 school board meeting, telling the board that “the narrative” has become “toxic” and vowing to continue to work toward equity. He compared himself to Martin Luther King Jr. as “an advocate for the marginalized” and said his critics don’t like seeing a decisive black man in a leadership position. “I’m disappointed that we have a community right now that assumes guilt until proven innocent,” he said. “It makes the work somewhat distracting, but you need to know that you have a superintendent who isn’t going to back down… because some individuals have a perspective.” The 18-member Professional Standards Commission, made up mostly of teachers, has the power to reprimand Means or suspend or revoke his certification. If the commission rules against him, Means could accept its decision or ask for a hearing before an administrative law judge. However, McKee said he isn’t seeking any particular punishment. “We expect the questions would be answered,” he said. f

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music

feature

Super Songwriters Get to Know This Year’s Chesnutt Award Finalists

ow in its third year, the Classic City Rotary’s Vic Chesnutt Songwriter of the Year Award has become a coveted prize among local songwriters. There could be few better namesakes for such an award than the late Chesnutt, a musician highly regarded for his wit, wisdom and lyrical acuity. This year’s five finalists, nominated by fans and peers for a song released in 2018, represent a wide swath of Athens music, their varying backgrounds and writing styles reflecting the richness of the overall scene.

Lydia Brambila

WHO: SONG: “Sirena” WHAT TO KNOW: A guitarist and songwriter

known for her work with local surf band Outersea, as well as for her striking solo material, Brambila is nominated for the sparse, haunting opener from her excellent 2018 album, Migraineur. As she explains, the song is based on an obscure Mexican folk tale she internalized as a child.

Don Chambers

WHO: SONG: “The Last Thursday” WHAT TO KNOW: Chambers, a long-

time Athens-music fixture who has followed his muse over the years from gritty folk to driving rock to ambient moodscapes and back again, reached another creative apex with last year’s smoky, noirish Love of Oblivion. The tune “was written as a theme song for a monthly variety show of the same name [that] I hosted,” says Chambers. “It’s not a very good theme song. It wanted to be a love song. The lyrics generated themselves while I watched a science-fiction silent film… that had Neanderthals and flying machines. I mixed in some autobiographical images and was thinking of Lou Reed’s ‘Perfect Day’ when the melody developed—though it’s far from that.”

KATIE KIM

Lydia Brambila “My cousins told me the local legend of a two-tailed, two-legged Melusine who sang from the rock in the middle of a lake… She would lure men to drown in the water unless women restrained them,” Brambila says. “When I wrote this song a couple of years ago, I tried to both acknowledge and muddle the gender binaries of that story, to weave in elements of the drowned city of Ys story from A.S. Byatt’s Possession, and to incorporate symbols from the Smith-Waite tarot deck.” Brambila says, for her, songwriting is a fundamental tool not only creatively, but intellectually and politically, too. “Writing helps me work out the knots in my thinking about gender and labor,” adds Brambila, “and I’m really honored to have this song recognized as part of this awards ceremony.”

“Mirrors” began “as a call to arms to myself,” says Meredith. “I felt overwhelmed by apathy, and could see nothing more than the darkness around me. I knew I would have to push hard if I wanted to find something different. So, broken down, in front of a mirror, I let out a rally cry for the pursuit of hope, and it transformed into what ‘Mirrors’ is today.” Meredith says the Chesnutt Award nod serves as validation for his time spent chasing his creative dreams. “Being nominated as a finalist for the [award] is such a blessing. The nomination serves as an affirmation that the sweat and tears I’ve put into following my dreams haven’t fallen on barren grounds.”

JASON THRASHER

By Gabe Vodicka music@flagpole.com

Chambers reflects on having his work associated with the famously attention-averse Chesnutt. “Up in the heavens among the pantheon of gods, Vic Chesnutt is keeping Leonard Cohen, Hoagy Carmichael and Woody Guthrie in black-humored stitches,” he says. “I am honored and a little red-faced to be nominated for an award with Vic’s name on it. I hope he gets a good laugh out of it.”

Carly Joy King

WHO: SONG: “Just Listen” WHAT TO KNOW: Performing under the name The

Little Strong, local multi-instrumentalist Carly Joy King cites influences such as Regina Spektor, Ingrid Michaelson and Chance the Rapper, and her music is at

F L A G P O L E . C O M | M AY 1 5 , 2 0 1 9

Ross Shapiro

WHO: SONG: “Possibilities” WHAT TO KNOW: The frontman for

beloved local indie-rock band The Glands died in 2016, but his legacy was bolstered by a batch of 2018 releases from New West Records, including Don Chambers reissues of The Glands’ initial two LPs and a first pressing of a third, Double Coda, a collection once warm and challenging, contemporary of various rarities and unreleased gems. and bold. Her Run With the Lions EP was an Among the many standouts on Double Coda unjustly overlooked 2018 gem. was “Possibilities,” a quiet but striking track “I wrote this song in a fury of words and that ranks among Shapiro’s most disarmemotions after spending a holiday with ingly tender compositions. family,” King says. “I was inspired to write a “I really don’t have much knowledge song where I could say as much as possible about the writing of ‘Possibilities,’ and in a short amount of time. I sat down at a therefore not much insight,” says Glands Wurlitzer organ I had at the time and was member Joe Rowe, who will perform the piddling around, playing simple chords, song at Thursday’s show with bandmate and cranked out a chorus. In my restlessDoug Stanley. “It was just another brilliant ness, I took my journal to a coffee shop and song that Ross threw on the get-back-tospent the next hour spewing out all of my it-again-sometime-later pile of songs, but thoughts, trying to acknowledge pains, but probably never really did.” also seeking forgiveness.” Rowe notes that Shapiro and Chesnutt All melodious uplift and radical kindwere kindred spirits when it came to both ness, “Just Listen” is a feat of songwriting. music and fame. “Ross probably would “This song has become a powerful landmark have called this award ‘The Vicys,’ as he to me of stating that I have a voice, that we liked to call the Flagpole Music Awards ‘The all have a voice, and that we all deserve to Flaggys,’” says Rowe, recalling his bandbe heard without judgment, but with love mate’s sense of humor and distaste for and openness,” says King. industry insider-ism. Still, he adds, “We are honored and humbled to be in such good company all around with this award.” f

Greg Meredith

WHO: SONG: “Mirrors” WHAT TO KNOW: An Athens guitarist who often

builds layers of acoustic loops in the process of constructing his emotionally charged, spiritually searching alternative folk, Meredith’s work is both doggedly bombastic and unapologetically bare. A tale of struggle and redemption,

WHAT: Vic Chesnutt Songwriter of the Year Award Ceremony WHERE: The Foundry WHEN: Thursday, May 16, 6 p.m. HOW MUCH: $10 (adv.), $12 (door)

music

feature

Musical Voyager

Athens’ ‘Town Drummer’ Steps Out From Behind the Kit

By Andy Barton music@flagpole.com

ere’s a little lesson in rock and roll economics: Pretty much everyone wants to play the guitar. Everyone has their own reasons, but whatever the case, this imbalance in instrumentation choice creates a dire demand for reliably solid drummers. As a case in point, see longtime Athenian drummer Jeremy Wheatley. Wheatley’s kept time for a wide variety of acts over the roughly 20 years he’s lived in town, recording and performing with the likes of Blue Blood, Cracker, Crooked Fingers, Ruby the Rabbitfoot, Palace Doctor, Purses… you get the picture. When you position yourself as the go-to town drummer, your own songwriting tends to take a backseat. Yet after years of carving out time to write and self-record, Wheatley has managed to prepare the first full-length album of his solo career, for his project Sailors and Ships. “It feels good to not play drums,” Wheatley says with a laugh, in between sips at The Old Pal. He’s just walked over from his house in Normaltown, where he was testing out a guitar pedal that North Carolina transplant and Crooked Fingers bandmate Eric Bachmann had brought over.

“We talk about music stuff a lot when we travel together,” he says, before providing some backstory for his new musical outlet. The idea for Sailors and Ships came to Wheatley about 10 years ago. As a songwriter, he played sporadically in town, either solo or as a trio with Thayer Sarrano and pedal steel aficionado Matt “Pistol” Stoessel, but it wasn’t until last year, when he experienced a creative burst and started to get more comfortable with home recording, that the project began to take focus. “I had all these old songs, and I would frequently go back and listen to them,” Wheatley recalls. “Then, I just kind of hit a little bit of a burst of writing, where the other half, or the other three quarters, of this record just kind of started happening pretty fast, and I liked them.” Wheatley grew more and more excited about the material he was working on, often wanting to come straight home from work at UGA’s College of Engineering to plug into his interface and hit record. With new songs coming along quickly, Wheatley took another listen to those he wrote at the advent of Sailors and Ships to develop a framework for the album. “I kind of culled back through some older stuff,” Wheatley explains. “There’s probably

three on there that are around that old, and then this other stuff on [the album], some of it was written [in 2018],” he says. With the exception of two tracks recorded with his old friend, Ken Hinsley— “All Is Undone” and “Pass the Nickel,” the only two songs on the album featuring a full drum kit—Wheatley recorded the album on his own, with additional backing vocals from Avery Leigh Draut and mixing assistance from Andy LeMaster. On an album of 11 songs written over almost as many years, there is a lot of ground covered. Movement and water imagery are a bedrock of the self-titled record, as evidenced clearly in the name of the project, its title track and the deceptively sunny “Mass Migration,” which finds Wheatley crooning, “It’s feeling like a mass migration/ Everyone’s leaving town,” with a mild drawl. Elsewhere, the album is more overtly melancholic, grappling with anxiety (“Rooftop Sleeper”), loss and Wheatley’s own battle with oropharyngeal cancer (“Cave In”), which was diagnosed in 2013. “Fortunately, with excellent treatment, everything is fine now,” says Wheatley. As Wheatley’s album-release house show approaches, where he’ll be playing as a trio

with Phillip Brantley and Zack Milster (see Calendar listing for contact), he expresses a pride and joy tempered in reality. He acknowledges how fortunate he’s been to get chunks of time off from his day job for touring, but doesn’t go so far as to indicate that happening with Sailors and Ships. For now, Wheatley says he will stick to playing around town, with an occasional regional performance in Atlanta or Charleston to round things out. “This is the first thing for me, and I’m busy with other stuff. I take it seriously, obviously, but I see it more as, right now, a recording project,” says Wheatley. “There’s no reason for me to do a two-week tour somewhere where nobody knows who I am.” In other words, fret not, guitarists in need: Though he’s likely not anywhere near done proving his chops as a songwriter, this in-demand drummer isn’t hanging up the sticks just yet. f

WHO: Sailors and Ships WHERE: Contact for Location WHEN: Sunday, May 19, 7:30 p.m. HOW MUCH: FREE!

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threats & promises

Panic Book Series Winds Down PLUS, MORE MUSIC NEWS AND GOSSIP By Gordon Lamb threatsandpromises@flagpole.com THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD: The newest volume of author Larry Acquaviva’s book series comes out Thursday, May 16. It’s titled Nobody Cares Who You Are: The Panic Years, Part Two. In this volume, he goes deep into the last two-and-a-half years of his tenure with Widespread Panic. Acquaviva describes this time as the point where the band had begun to really pick up speed, the work was becoming a bit more rote, and the original sense of togetherness had been somewhat lost. Instead of seeing the boys in the band all the time, he writes that he often only saw them when they hit the stage. Also, he was itching to start

a hot minute since I’ve seen any of ’em at all, so I can’t really tell you who lives where. I can tell you, though, that this appearance is part of a tour, during which they’re launching a fundraiser to complete the entire first season of this series. So, if you dig it, throw some bucks at ‘em. Sign up for more info at culturesport.tv. CLICK HERE: Longtime Athens musician Bill David (Squalls, Supercluster, Bob Hay and the Jolly Beggars) suffered a stroke back in February, and he and his wife Laura, after initially not wanting any fundraising done on their behalf, have decided to let friends ANDREA ACQUAVIVA

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Larry Acquaviva

following his own dreams of making music, and while his love for Panic never faded, he knew it was time to move on. It’s a tale well told, full of bright descriptors and incredible storytelling, which shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone already familiar with his work. Acquaviva’s band, The Honey Sliders, are also performing at Flicker every Thursday in May, and the 16th is no exception. So head down, grab a copy and rock out. For more information, see face book.com/LarryAcquavivaBooks. HOMECOMING: Artists, musicians and scene dudes Joe Kubler, John Michael Boling, Jason Coombs and Greg O’Connell are screening the debut episode of their animated series Thursday, May 16 at Go Bar. The overarching project name, which you may have already seen floating around social media, is Culturesport. The first episode is titled “Rotterdam 1995,” and is set in Rotterdam during the birthplace of that locale’s hardcore techno scene and scored by—who else?—Rotterdam artist Rotterdam Terror Corps (RTC). Additional music comes courtesy of Jake Merrick, Javier Morales, Kubler and O’Connell. During the Athens show, there’ll be live music from the various contributing composers, but I’m fairly certain RTC won’t be in attendance. At any rate, some of these guys now live in Brooklyn, NY, but it’s been

help them out. To this end, a fundraiser is taking place as we speak at gofundme. com/help-heal-bill-david. When you click through, you can read the story of David’s pretty incredible progress. Although this will most assuredly be a very long road with multiple hardships and frustrations, Bill’s already-demonstrated determination to participate as fully as possible in his own recovery is really encouraging and amazing. Please consider giving what you can. THE PILGRIMAGE HAS GAINED MOMENTUM: Artist2Artist, Avid Bookshop and Foundry Entertainment will host a release party for author Robert Dean Lurie’s latest book, Begin the Begin: R.E.M.’s Early Years, at The Foundry Sunday, May 19 at 6 p.m. (Lurie’s other titles include books on David Bowie and The Church.) The event begins with a book signing by Lurie, then a reading. Then, at 8 p.m., R.E.M. cover band Dead Letter Office will perform. This event is a benefit for Artist2Artist’s veteran suicide prevention program, which provides emotional support animals to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. This event is all ages, and advance tickets are $10 until May 17, after when they go up to $15. For tickets, see foundryathens.com, and for more information on Artist2Artist and Lurie, see facebook.com/athensA2A and robertdeanlurie.com, respectively. f

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