Highlight Issue 3 - Lonely At The Top: Why Black Leadership is Difficult, Scarce, and Worth It.

Letter from the Publisher

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his issue of Highlight Magazine focuses on those in positions of power. Having the opportunity to interview these individuals was, itself, empowering. They have been deemed qualified to manage and guide our community in roles that oversee safety, education, accountability, awareness, policies, operations, and leadership, itself. Qualifications matter when organizations select individuals to fill these positions, not race. Thus, I congratulate every single one of them for qualifying themselves to fill these difficult and important roles. After all, they have done so in a society where some only pretend acknowledgement of others’ positions while remaining committed to second guessing their many credentials. Such relentless skepticism challenges the fact that these individuals were chosen to be problem solvers. For example, when it comes to education, I think some forget that when Philip Lanoue was Clarke County School District’s Superintendent, the four year graduation rate was 68.2%. Under current Superintendent Dr. Demond Means’ leadership, in 2019, both Clarke County high schools’ graduation rates surpassed Georgia's state average of 82%. We need more results of this sort, not a culture of entrenched resistance to individuals who can provide it.

We can't continue to place demonstrably capable people in positions of authority and literally constrict their abilities to make decisions for growth and equity in our community-especially not when their predecessors have often failed. In yet another example, Chief Spruill won't be as susceptible to the whims of activists as our previous chief of police. For that, he deserves our support. After all, while activists should be heard, we also see how the blatant disregard for professionalism

and protocol has cost the city millions of dollars.

"Lonely at the top" is a look at those chosen to make decisions that involve a more comprehensive development of our community while often disputed--if not embattled--by many. Each is highly qualified and capable. And if that’s not power--the ability to do work--in itself, then I don't know what is.

The greatest opportunity for constructive representation comes when we apply the principle to our civic structure--our democracy. When I speak of a reflective government, I mean a government that best snails itself of the expertise of credentialed persons of color among our public servants and law makers. We are strongest when our leadership reflects the full range of talent and lived experiences that I know Athens has to offer. However, it’s not about race; it’s about esteeming the experiences of race in our most vital public discourses.

If we are to repair our education system, criminal justice system, or make a more accountable government, we have to value the lived experiences of those seeking to represent us.

In closing, representation matters.

Seeing yourself, your experience, and your people's experiences acknowledged in places and positions the community values most is critical to meaningful civic engagement. It inspires the next generation, providing a greater sense of the possible in an ever more inclusive vision of our shared future.

We need more individuals who know what public school for children of the historically oppressed minorities feels like...more who know exactly what it means to both fear and need the police.

It has been inspiring to meet these individuals and witness their authority to wield or perform power. I hope you, the reader, enjoy. Thank you.

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ContentS Letter from 1 the publisher Demond Means 2 Lakeisha Gantt 4 Cleveland Spruill 6 Charlie Maddox 10 Patricia Barron 12 Valerie Bell 14 Dexter fisher 16 Cheryl Legette 18 Black Magic 20 Troy Copeland splost 2020 24 Letter to 25 publisher Minority Owned 26 Business Directory around town 28

Highlight Magazine Publisher/Editor Ronald Lamon Carson Jr

Contributors

Troy Copeland Writer/Copy Editor

Demond Means What led you to a career in education?

I chose the career path of education because of my deep belief that social studies (the subject I taught) is critical to helping us achieve a better society for all citizens. I immediately knew that I wanted to get into administration because of my belief that public education is the social mechanism to change the world for the historically marginalized of our country.

What are some concerns that you have recently observed in the school district? How does the school district plan to get involved in addressing these concerns?

I am concerned that we have systems and processes that perpetuate inequality for certain students.

Further, I have concerns that there is an institutional perspective that our students are unable to achieve proficiency or beyond because of their home, social or emotional circumstances. Our plan is to improve the instructional quality for every student. Additionally, we are addressing the implicit biases in our institution and with every employee. At the core, I firmly believe that the elimination of institutional and historical inequities starts with the staff charged to serve the students of the Clarke County School District.

The recent turnover in principals and teachers has led some to ask whether your leadership is in a crisis or whether these staff changes are a part of an overall plan. Can you tell us what these changes represent and how it benefits students?

Educators decide to leave school districts for various reasons. We know there is significant mobility of educators across the nation. I do not see the decision of educators to leave the district as a crisis. The vacancies allow the district to be deliberate in hiring educators who are aligned with the district’s core beliefs around equity. This will ultimately benefit students.

Give us some of the logistical and financial benefits of putting a health and early childhood learning clinic at the West Broad Elementary School property?

A great equalizer in addressing chronic poverty in a community is to offer high-quality early childhood education to children in need. We know that a great early childhood center provides the community with a two-generation solution to poverty. Access to highquality early childhood education equips students with the skills needed to be productive in their K-12 educational journey, while enabling families to focus on securing employment without the added burden of finding childcare. A health clinic for our students will allow the district to provide a wraparound service that

Superintendent of the clarke county school districts

supports our commitment to community schooling.

Some believe that your pursuit of equity for poor performing students may come at the expense of growth for above average performing students.

Can you explain whether this is true and why or why not?

Equity work does not require one group to lose services or access in favor of another. The district has a moral obligation to address the needs of our historically marginalized students and their families. At the same time, we must continue to provide quality instruction to our students who have benefited from the current educational system in Clarke County. It is simply not true that the above-average performing students will have their educational experience adversely impacted by our focus on equity. Rather, we aim to provide greater opportunity for all students. The staff and administration of the Clarke County School District is responsible for the prevention of student failure, supporting students’ social/emotional growth and overall organizational improvement. At its core, addressing the historic underperformance of the school district is the reason behind our equity work. It is our responsibility to prevent this failure and continuously improve as a school district.

How do you balance the need for a safe learning environment with minimizing the destructive effects that punitive discipline can have on students?

The district’s Code of Conduct is a thorough document that clearly outlines our expectations for student behavior. Educators must commit to implementing the Code of Conduct fairly while being cognizant of their own implicit biases. It is important to note that professional educators and the organization will always persevere in serving students, even when a student lacks home support, guidance and/or requisite knowledge, fails to exert the expected effort and/or struggles to adhere to the student code of conduct. We must be fair to all students while addressing poor behavior.

What is the need to support social emotional learning? What role does it plays in a child's learning and what is the realistic role of the school district’s involvement in this process?

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is as critical to the growth of a student as learning how to read or effectively solving mathematical equations. The age-appropriate development of our students socially and emotionally is incredibly important to our community and to our students. School districts have a responsibility to provide instruction in this area. Any instruction provided to children related to SEL involves a partnership between the school and our families.

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Lakeisha Gantt List some of the hardest aspects of leadership that you've had to face.

Ha! Everything! But to name a few: Boundaries.

Although I’m on the Board of Education, this is not my primary role. I am a mother, a wife, sister, granddaughter and friend. And I am also me - aside from these things. And so it’s important that I have boundaries with things such as time as well as emotional boundaries so that I can compartmentalize the work and not allow it to spill over too much into other important areas. Not being too far removed from my feelings and not being too far in them. It’s easy to respond emotionally when important topics that people are passionate about are discussed. I try to focus on the message of the interactions with people more than how they are coming across. Not being able to say what I want to say, when I want to say it, and how, I’m very sensitive to being constrained by other people besides myself. However, with my recent experiences this is a practice I’m constantly working on.

Sometimes I just want to be the person to tell someone else the truth about themselves, but that’s not my primary role as leader.

There has been a significant change in leadership at the school, district, and board level over the past two years. What benefits will these changes provide to students? It’s always difficult to predict exactly how and to what extent changes will impact schools and students. I’m hopeful, however, that we are working on sensible change change not just for the sake of change but with targeted outcomes in mind. The district also has a strategic plan that outlines goals, how these goals will be accomplished, and the predicted outcomes that will let us know how we are doing and if these changes are benefiting students. I am hopeful that we will begin to settle some, and focus in on being sure that there is collaboration between the district and schools. When I worked in the district, I always felt that there was such a disconnect between the district, the board, and people in schools - I want that to change.

Is the stability of the board of education at risk? Risk is a part of any relationship. The extent of that risk is really unknown. And right now we have ten people that are getting to know each other better. As a board, we are learning more about each other as well as more about our roles. I believe we’ve spent some time in the storming stage (as well as the others) and that is not a comfortable or pretty stage to be in. But...if we stay the course and continue to be committed to holding on to our strengths, changing in areas that we HIGHLIGHT

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President of the Clarke county board of education

need to, and prioritizing the needs of children, we’ll get through this. As it relates to restoring balance the most important things I can do are: 1) Recognize that I by myself cannot restore balance, but I still play a part and can focus reflecting on my attitudes and actions and working to improve in areas that need to be improved; and 2) Communicate honestly with my colleagues and also encourage group accountability, The team has also done some great work so far at addressing areas of growth for us - around governance and restorative work on relationships. More work will be done in these areas for the remainder of the school year. Lastly, I’ll say this. I choose to focus on the conditions that create some of the tensions we see and not attribute our challenges to the person themselves. Issues such as homelessness, hunger and emotional trauma and/or abuse are just a few of the situations that students have to experience. I have not recently learned this but have been painfully aware of this as I've worked with students. Systemic issues that contribute to these in Athens are often times related to limited access to resources including living wages, job opportunities, social capital, and restructured criminal justice practices, and culturally relevant mental health resources.

These structural issues impact the conditions in which parents/guardians operate. If we can work to create better conditions, I’m hopeful that things will continue to improve.

What is the need to support social emotional learning? What role does it play in a child's learning and what is the realistic role of the school district’s involvement in this process? Social emotional learning is critical to a child’s experience, cognitive development, and academic achievement.

This is not an area that can be traded off or substituted with engagement or rigor.

Children do not stop developing emotionally and socially when they walk through the doors of our schools any more than they stop developing cognitively. To that end, prioritizing healthy contexts for social emotional development is critical. Having available student support resources, mental health professionals as well as learning environments in which students can be human, first, are all important. Having an academic environment in which social emotional learning is optimized depends on other variables as well, like the classroom environment, school environment, the bus environment, etc. Social emotional development intricately shapes who our children view themselves to be - as humans and as learners

Cleveland Spruill You've spent time visiting the community; what are some concerns that you have observed? I learned that ACC has a number of residents who want to be involved, who would like to be heard, and who don’t mind sharing their opinions on how the ACCPD can do a better job.

Athens has recently experienced increases in property crimes. This can largely be attributed to an increase in larcenies and, particularly, larcenies from motor vehicles.

While ACCPD is focusing a number of efforts aimed at reversing this trend, we believe our best opportunity to reduce larcenies from motor vehicles is through education, awareness, and involvement of an informed community.

What new models/efforts has the department implemented in order to build trust and reduce crime in the community? We have implemented the Community Liaison Program. Through this program, ACCPD officers, employees, or volunteers are assigned to one of 75 homeowner, business owner, associations, and civic organizations. These liaisons engage with their representatives monthly, monitor their social media platforms, and attend their monthly meetings. The liaisons share and receive information about crime trends and patterns and quality of life issues affecting the community.

They partner with the community to develop strategies to address crime and quality of life issues. While the program has only been running for a few months, it is already paying dividends. One liaison officer saw that the recreation center in the community he is assigned to lacked computers for their after school youth program.

After seeing this need, the officer used his own money to purchase three computers for the group. When the police work with the community, really good things can happen.

Our officers attended a candlelight vigil after the murder of Auriel Callaway, showing concern for the victim and community and our hope for a reduction in gun violence.

The suspect was identified and located quickly due to the efforts of our department, but also with the assistance of the community and witnesses who provided assistance in the investigation.

What procedures, policies, and actions can you share with us on how the department is preventing property crime? Property crimes such as Entering Auto continue to be a problem and we need the community’s assistance to prevent and solve these crimes. With a high population of college students, tourists, and fans visiting Athens on game day, we realize that we have a target rich environment. Due to this environment, it is important that citizens remain vigilant and become the eyes and ears of the department. One of the most important phrases to remember is,“If you See Something, Say Something.” This is a common sense reminder of how citizens can help reduce and prevent crime. It’s important to remind citizens to call 911 if they are witnessing suspicious behavior.

Do you think offenders are aware of the consequences of their crimes, and if not, what can be done to educate

Chief of Athens - Clarke County police department

them? Most criminals are aware of the consequences of their actions and understand that if they break the law, they can be arrested. In those cases of documented drug addiction, it is better to have an alternative program to get these individuals help. If we incarcerate drug addicts, they may not receive the help they need in jail. We need programs to help end the cycle of drug addiction. The ACC Mayor and Commission have allocated funds for a “prosperity package” to assist these individuals and we are grateful for these efforts. Our mental health corresponding team, comprised of an officer and mental health clinician, understand how to deal with individuals who are experiencing a crisis. We are in the process of getting a second corresponding team online and appreciate the support of the mayor and commission in this effort as well. Jail is not the solution to a person in crisis and our mental health collaboration is working locally and training officers to recognize the symptoms of mental illness. By redirecting these individuals to counseling, we reduce the impact on our local jail and provide short term and long term care. There are some instances where offenders are suffering from the effects of poverty or who need redirection rather than jail. The long-term effects of poverty can help gangs establish a connection with young people. Providing positive experiences for our children in school and in the community can reduce the effects and influence of gangs.

How does the police department balance the need for a safe community while preserving human rights?

Our officers understand they have a great responsibility anytime they take away an individual’s civil rights through detention or arrest. Protecting civil rights versus an officer’s duty to protect the public is a fine line and I think our officers do a great job of maintaining that balance.

We believe in community policing and being engaged in our community. I want the ACCPD to protect human life above all else. We need to be procedurally just, treating all people the same regardless of race, sexual orientation, religious beliefs or other socio-economic statuses. We need to treat everyone with dignity and respect. Our officers should be transparent and have trustworthy motives. As an agency, we need to do a better job of explaining our actions to the community and giving the community an opportunity to provide feedback. It’s important to remember the words of Sir Robert Peele, who in 1829, led the world’s first police force in London and is considered the father of community policing. One of his basic tenets was that the community is the police and the police are the community. This statement reflects my belief that, as an agency, we need the community to be an active participant in our efforts to prevent and report crime. They need to be our ears and eyes. And our officers need to be involved in the community, talking with business or neighborhood groups, and striving together to make Athens-Clarke County a safer community.

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Why SPLOST is a Good Thing Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) has been part of Athens life for many years, but many residents are unsure about exactly what it is or what is does for the community. SPLOST is a program where one penny of our sales tax goes towards beneficial projects around the county.

One of the reasons it is such a great opportunity for Athens is because so much of the sales tax collected in Athens-Clarke County comes from people who do not live here. Our residents reap the benefit of this tax from anyone who buys any item or service in Athens, which includes every UGA football game fan, tourists and shoppers, residents of surrounding counties who work in Clarke County, UGA students, and conference or convention attendees.

All of this money earned then goes towards improvements throughout the county and towards additional projects that draw in tourists, who then continue the cycle of flooding funds into other community improvements.

Continuation of SPLOST, which will be on the ballot November 5 for citizen approval, includes 37 projects that can strengthen our community.

An E-911 phone system upgrade, public safety vehicle and fire department equipment replacement, mobile health services, and sidewalk

improvement are just a few examples of projects that will contribute to making Athens a safer place to live. Youth sports complex improvements, new youth program facilities, an Eastside library, and improvements to some of our public park facilities will all enhance our quality of life. The renovation of Bear Hollow, a Jackson Street Art Walk, Welcome Center accessibility improvements, and the building of a 5,500 seat arena will enhance our community’s cultural standing and will also draw more visitors to the area, which provides an economic benefit to local businesses in Athens.

Environmental sustainability will be enhanced through a renewable e n e r g y program, an environmental mitigation and restoration program, a new recycling facility, and a facilities space modernization project designed to make government services more efficient and accessible.

When you vote for SPLOST you are not voting for a new tax but a continuation of one penny in our sales tax that makes important and positive improvements for our entire community. Please remember to get out and vote YES to SPLOST 2020 on Tuesday, November 5, 2019! When you do so, you are voting for $314 million devoted to projects and improvements to Athens-Clarke County.

Made by Friends of Athens Clarke County SPLOST 2020.

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Charlie Maddox Give us a some positions you've served in your career?

I have been fortunate to serve on many Board of Directors in our community. I served on the initial Board of Directors of the Athens Neighborhood Health Center and the Athens Diversion Center. A mentor for the Clarke County CASA Committee and the Clarke County Mentor Program. I served on the Board of Directors of the Athens Area Habitat for Humanity, the Athens Y.M.C.A., and the Samaritan Counseling Center of Athens. I currently serve on the Board of Directors of the Athens Area Human Relations Council, the Salvation Army Advisory Board of Directors, the Classic Center Cultural Foundation. I am completing the second of two five year appointments to the Classic Center Authority.

I am in the 20th year of serving on the Board of Directors of the Food Bank of North East Georgia. I am completing the 6th five year appointment to the Athens Housing Authority Board of Commissioners, having been appointed by sitting Mayors of the Unified Government of Athens Clarke County.

What led you to lead in the Church?

I have been a member of Hill Chapel Baptist Church since 1954. I attended regular Sunday School, Baptist Training Union (BTU) and other church programs. I joined the Hill Chapel Baptist Church when it was down on West Broad Street and have continued through the years. For many years, church attendance was mandatory in my family and you were expected to attend just as sure as you attended public school. After a brief break from attending church as I got older, I returned when I got married. Trying to present the “Proper” image for my family, I became a drop in member.

In 1988 I briefly left the Hill Chapel family and united with the Clarke Grove Baptist Church, where my father was a member. I was ordained a Deacon there and served there for three years. In 1991, I met a preacher from Montezuma Georgia and after all those years in church, he introduced me to Jesus Christ. I studied under him, reuniting with Hill Chapel Baptist Church and being ordained as a Deacon at Hill Chapel in 1992. On September 14th 1993, I announced my calling to be a Preacher of the Gospel. On October 24th, I delivered my Initial Sermon and entered into the Ministry of Jesus Christ. In November 1996, I was called to Pastor the Twin Oak Baptist Church in Washington, GA. I continued there until 2010. I return to serve at the Hill Chapel Baptist Church and served as the Coordinator of Ministers when the church was without a pastor. The Hill Chapel Baptist Church called Pastor Benjamin E. V. Lett as pastor in 2013 and I was blessed to have him as my pastor and spiritual leader.

In 2016, the White Rock Baptist Church of Rayle, GA, called me as their pastor and I continue there today.

Give us some of the most meaningful lessons you have learned in life?

What are some of the hardest aspects of leadership that you have had to face? I grew up in a family that demanded respect, loyalty, discipline and honor. My father was the greatest influence in my life. He taught me by example that a man must accept responsibilities for his actions. My mother was a

Community leader, Minister, and activist

warm, loving and providing lady who loved unconditionally.

They both instilled in me that if you want something done, you may have to do it yourself. The hardest lesson that I have faced in leadership has been the one of complacency. Many people are content to remain in an uncomfortable situation if it requires something of them. Sometimes you have to fight for change for those who don’t want to change. In all areas that I have been able to serve, it has been with the concept of changing the situation, changing the circumstances and even changing the world. I learned that just because you may start from what appears to be behind, you are the only one who can finish strong and catch up. I learned that if someone gives you something, they can take it back, but if you earn it, no one can take it from you.

Why is the education and support of children in today's society important?

We lack the individuals willing to put the time and talent into becoming informed and involved. A lot of self-promotion and not enough community concern. It is very important for us to provide educational opportunities to the young emerging leaders in our communities so that they can continue to seek positive solutions to our most complex problems: division between the factions in the community and the unwillingness to listen to each other. There is a lack of honest information provided to our community and a lack of desire to know the truth.

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Patricia Barron Chief Magistrate Judge of Athens - Clarke county courthouse What led you to pursue a career as a Magistrate Court Judge? I decided at age twelve that I wanted to be a lawyer. I wanted to advocate for the poor who didn’t have a voice to speak for themselves and I never gave up on that dream. After graduating from law school, I worked for Georgia Legal Services for twenty years representing low income people on different types of civil cases. But I never really pursued a career as a judge. I was working at the law school in 2001 when the Chief Magistrate called and offered me the job. I accepted the job because I thought it would be an opportunity to use my knowledge of the law to help people solve everyday problems.

Give us a few examples of setbacks, lucky breaks, blessings, and opportunities you have experienced in order to get to where you are today?

A setback: A few years ago, a White male litigant asked for a different judge. He didn’t think I would be fair to his case because his opponent was an African American male. I knew I could be fair, but our rules required me to step aside if it appeared I could be unfair. I postponed the hearing to give him time to talk to a lawyer and then I would consider his request at the next hearing. He came back to say he had spoken to lawyers and they recommended I hear his case because I knew more about landlord-tenant law than most other judges. So, it was just a temporary setback. A blessing: To be the first African American female to win a contested county-wide race in Athens Clarke County in 2008. We won 71% of the votes.

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truth or lie. I do believe God gives blessings to those who act honestly and work in the best interest of those around us. I challenge the youth to think, act honestly and do good in this world.

What has been your most enjoyable and fruitful experience during your career?

Helping people understand the law has been the most enjoyable and fruitful experience of my career. As the lawyer, I took the time to explain the law to my clients in a way that fit the facts of their situation. As a law professor, I took the time to explain the law to my students and how they could advocate on behalf of their clients. And even as a judge, I take the time to explain the law to the litigants before me and how the law affects their situations. The law is a powerful tool to make change in our community, but it must be used with knowledge, skill, compassion and wisdom to be effective.

You have almost over thirty years in the Athens Clarke County Unified Government. What are some concerns that you have observed as a Magistrate Court Judge? Give us some insight in addressing these concerns.

The number of young people committing serious crimes is of grave concern to me. As a judge, my limited role in the process is to issue the arrest warrant, set an appropriate bond, if possible, and set conditions of bond. Those conditions could include requiring the young person to continue his/her education or employment, but could also restrict other freedoms. I know, however, there are other organizations, like Chess and Community, Athens Tutorial Program, and Boys and Girls Club, who work diligently with young people to avoid such entry into the criminal justice system. As a community, we should support these organizations.

Valerie Bell What led you to become the director of the Library? I spent most of my career at the Ocean County Library in Toms River, New Jersey. OCL is an award-winning library and one of the largest library systems in NJ with twenty one branches and a service population of over half a million residents. I started as a Branch Manager and ended my career there as the Assistant Director. I moved to Georgia four years ago to help in the care of my aging mother and to spend quality time with her in the later years of her life. Always my “shero,” my mom passed away two years ago. However, I am grateful for the time I was able to spend with her during the last years of her life. That was priceless to me.

How has your family life prepared you for what you do today? I come from a family that is community service oriented. My father was career military, my mother, while predominantly a homemaker, instilled education and giving back to the community as a way of life. So, my older brother is a teacher, my older sister was a social worker and child psychologist, and my twin sister is a Legal Services attorney.

Though most of us have advanced degrees, we were all lead to community service professions.

In an era of technology, why is the library relevant?

I really appreciate technology. I personally believe that technology is a tool, a method, a means to an end and certainly a way of life in the 21st Century. The public library will remain relevant in the 21st century and beyond, because we continue to transform our services and community connections to meet the needs of 21st Century residents and their lives. I see the public library as a community resource, a place where all are welcome to come (either online or in person) and take advantage of the resources and services available to them. As much as technology is driving our communication and interactions, it is important to have a place where people can go and have human contact and interaction. That is viewing the library as the third place--not home, not work/school, but a place where residents can feel welcomed and comfortable. That is how our vision statement “Engaging Communities, Exceeding Expectations” was formed. Public libraries in this century are much more of bustling community centers. There is no one way for community members to use the library. We offer an array of resources and services and library users can decide what and how to utilize those services.

Do any of these programs teach basic computer and internet skills? If so how can readers connect to those services? Among our knowledgeable staff, we have a very talented Technical Assistant & Trainer who offers a monthly series of programs that teach adults of any age various computer skills.

Some of the topics he has covered just in the last 4 months are the entire Google Suite including Gmail, Google Drive, Docs and Photos; all of the Microsoft

Director of athensclarke county library

applications including various and specific aspects of Windows, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access. These classes have included timely information such as: finding employment online, Internet privacy & security, and MAC for beginners. We also recognize that new technologies and online platforms are cropping up every day and our residents want to know more about these technologies. In response to this ever-increasing need, we have developed and conduct tech trainings like Facebook for Beginners; YouTube, Watch. Subscribe, Upload; iPad/iPhone Basics; Airbnb- Book a Room, Find an Experience; and Voice Assistant & Smart Home Devices. We also offer our residents the use or experience of technology without them having to purchase the actual device. For instance, our Digital Media Center offers a wide variety of technologies including graphic design, video production, and 3D printing.

We are about to rollout virtual reality experiences for our patrons. We are currently testing an HTC Vive VR headset and computer system. These are a recent purchase which will allow patrons (during an inhouse program setting) to test out the technology for fun (roller coaster rides) or educational experiences (National Geographic’s). One of the services that we offer, which I’m proud of, is the Book Us!: Oneon-One Tutorials service through the Digital Media Center (DMC), the Heritage Room, and our Computer Classroom. This is another access point that has been created for our patrons. If there is a specific question, training need, or some other difficulty, with technology or genealogy research, residents can contact the library and set up an appointment with one of our knowledgeable staff to try to work through. Keep in mind that the staff will not do the work, but we will try to work with the patron to ensure their questions are answered and the difficulty is eliminated or averted.

What can the library offer to a generation that finds majority of their information online?

An important aspect of the library is that we offer our residents unique and meaningful connections.

Connections with people, groups, and community.

A respite from technology driven communication to face-to-face communication and collaboration.The library offers a wide variety of programs, reading groups, discussion groups, volunteer opportunities and opportunities to give back to the community.

Future programs and events can all be accessed through our website. Technology has made it easier to access books and audiobooks. E-books and E-audiobooks are another great way that the public can access materials through the library, for free.

We currently offer over 6,000 E-books and more than 12,000 E-audiobooks through our RBDigial service.

Additionally, Athens loans over 8,000 E-audio and over 600 E-books for our residents use.

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dexter fisher What led you to pursue a career in education?

I went into education by accident. While I was in graduate school, I got an offer for a job at The University of Georgia and that started my career in education. It was the best decision that I have ever made.

Give us a few examples of setbacks, lucky breaks, blessings, and opportunities you have experienced in order to get to where you are today? I feel really blessed because I don't think that I have any type of setbacks. I have had great people in my life that have served as mentors and advisers that have given me knowledge, wisdom, and foresight to help me reach and gain the experience that helped me get where I am today.

Give us some of the most meaningful experiences you’ve had at the Clarke County School District?

I have only been working at CCSD since April 2019, but if I had to speak about my most meaningful experiences so far, it would be the dedication of our teachers and administrators who are really working hard to make a difference in the lives of our children in the Clarke County School District and also providing a meaningful learning environment for all children.

chief of operations at Clarke county school district

the most misunderstood things about not only our school district but the community is that we have a high poverty rate that prevent our children from learning. And I know that this is not the case. We have outstanding students in our district that are doing great things. I am proud to be a part of this transformation.

You've spent time working in the community; what are some concerns that you have observed? How can the community be involved in addressing these concerns? Some of my concerns are that we don't spend enough time talking with each other face to face; everyone wants to get on social media to express themselves and not take the time to sit down and break bread with one another. I wish we could do more town hall type talks on different topics and let people express how they feel about certain issues in our community, I believe we could get a lot of things out that may benefit the community. Lastly, I am glad to be a part of this community and proud to call Athens my home. I would not want to live anywhere else.

Give us examples of what the school district is doing to operate at a higher capacity?

Are these resources effective and how are they measured? First of all, it starts with our leader Dr. Demond Means. He has set high expectations for all of us in the Clarke County School District. He has put resources and measurement in place in order for the district to operate at a high capacity.

The way that we measured ourselves is through Key Performance Indicators. As district leaders, we have established KPI to measure how we are doing as a department. Also, we have established six Strategic Priorities which are Academic Growth, Organizational Effectiveness, Fiscal Health, Professional Capacity, and Educational Equity.

These standards are effective and progressive.

What are the most misunderstood / meaningful things about the school district? I think one of HIGHLIGHT

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Cheryl Legette

to engage in the community? We have worked with the Athens Housing Authority in the past, they sponsored troops in local housing communities. We have also had troops interview and meet with the former Mayor to discuss community issues. Several of our troops have had activities and service projects at our parks--in fact, one of our Senior Girl Scout’s Gold Award project is still displayed at Sandy Creek Nature Center.

Give us some of the lessons young women learn while going through the Girl Scouts program. How do they apply these lessons in their everyday life as citizens? Girls learn to Discover, Connect and Take Action when addressing an issue. In short, when girls discover an issue that needs resolution, they make the appropriate connections through research (e.g., relationships, resources, make a plan), and take action to address the problem. We believe this approach to problem-solving can be applied to every aspect of their lives.

How do you manage exposure and safety of your scouts while letting them explore new things in the community? We have a published Safety Activity guide that we provide for all volunteers, in addition to training. We also prepare Girl Scouts for what to expect before every activity – and that’s every girl K-12. We want them to grow up learning how to think critically and weigh risks/rewards in all circumstances, because that’s what leaders do. We teach them to think, be responsible, helpful, and service minded; all of that, while having fun!

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What led you to the Girl Scouts USA? A friend sent me a posting for the job as council Executive Director because of my background in youth and community development. Of course, that was when we were Girl Scouts of NE Georgia which served twenty five counties. I am now COO of GS of Historic GA (125 counties) since our merger with five other local councils in 2008.

How has your family life prepared you for what you do today? Growing up, my parents were very involved in my life, as well as the lives of my neighborhood friends. They taught me early on the importance of investing in young people by being interested in their lives and supporting their efforts. As an adult, and the mother of two daughters, I can attest to the unique value of our program.

Give us a few examples of setbacks, lucky breaks, blessings, and opportunities you have experienced in order to get to where you are today? A lucky break landed me this job. As I mentioned, a friend heard I was moving to Athens and forwarded me the job description. I reviewed it and faxed my resume not expecting to hear anything because I wasn’t a Girl Scout as a child. The search firm handling the job opening contacted me the next business day, and conducted a phone interview. I later interviewed in person in ATL. Finally, the first call we received when my phone was connected in our new home in Athens (this was before cell phones were so prevalent) was a board member contacting me for an interview. I interviewed with a team on a Sunday and was offered the job the next day. I called that Providence--the hand of God. I’ve been working for Girl Scouts for twenty years. I have had many opportunities and blessings over the years--some looked like setbacks.

However, I attribute any successes I have had to a strong support system of family and friends, strong work ethic, positive attitude, natural curiosity about the world, and an insatiable interest in people.

What role does the Girl Scouts play in a young woman’s development? Girl Scouts has been the business of developing female leaders since 1912. We are laser focused on ensuring they are prepared to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. Our curriculum is research based and age appropriate. Most people know about our cookie program, but they don’t always recognize the many skills learned by girls who participate. They learn basic business skills like meeting new people and advertising, but they also learn how to plan, budget and handle money. Our product sale is the nation’s premier financial literacy program for girls, millions of young women have been trained by our program which is a $750 million business. Through badge work and other activities, Girl Scouts also learn social skills like how to have healthy relationships, work with a team and build self-confidence. Girl Scouting teaches all these things and more in age appropriate settings, led by trained adult volunteers.

Can you tell us how the Girl Scouts USA partners with the Athens Clarke County Unified Government

coo of girl scouts of historic georgia

Com mitm ent

Black Magic by

“It goes a long way back. . .”

A candlelit stage. A crowded theater. Patrons paying a dollar for the price of admission when, for many, the typical day’s wage is fifty cents. They must see the man—the man who walks through fire but is not consumed, the man whose flesh endures immersion in molten lead. Impossible, right? Yet some have even witnessed him drink boiling metal, wipe his mouth and sigh. That’s how remarkable he is—this man with a complexion itself like brass or gold. He even casts his voice, placing it where he will, as effortlessly and accurately as he hurls daggers. He crawls through solid logs. He dances on eggs without breaking their shells. This turbaned, fastidiously dressed gentleman is Richard Potter. He is a black man—his probable father has formerly been enslaved. His Massachusetts mother, too. Assisted by his strikingly beautiful American Indian wife, he has traveled the young nation, performing to audiences crammed shoulder to shoulder, breast to back—audiences mystified and frightened, baffled and charmed.

I speak of magic, of course. This man’s work is a mill of wonders turned by mystery.

Potter is the first American born stage magician, ventriloquist…hypnotist to achieve celebrity in the United States. Everywhere his feats have earned him wild acclaim. But no performance will be more spectacular or, perhaps, dangerous than this: a black man in the deepest South--Mobile, Alabama—where an exclusively white throng has paid to either approve or disapprove of his craft over twelve evenings of exhibition. Deep in the proverbial lion’s den, he has been denied a room in a local hotel that doesn’t patronize “niggers.” But that’s not shocking. These are the early 1820s, after all—a century and several decades before the Supreme Court will end legal, racial discrimination. No, the flashing bolt is Potter’s celebrity presence in the heart

Troy Copeland

of a region that will become known for its commitment to the right of states’ legislatures to preserve the often brutal but entirely racist enslavement or oppression of black people. He will have to anticipate novelist Ralph Ellison and “live with his head in the lion’s mouth.” He will walk the tightrope of respect and enmity. He will perform his own presence—play the part of himself—as only, perhaps, a magician ultimately can. In the early 19th Century, there is something arcane and mystical about being a “Negro” and a person—a person whose abilities must conform to his audience’s shared experience of “the other” as a phenomenon construed by a web of legal and cultural limitations. In this case, both the Negro and his American Indian wife had better be convincingly more than human even as, to most observers, neither is quite human. They have to strike a fire of the friction between two fictions. In that spark, by that flame, they evoke a glimpse of a truth that enthralls and enchants as it subverts.

Indeed. “What dreams may come…” as black clad Hamlet broods.

More than mere sleight of hand, this is true sorcery.

Against the prejudicial savagery of the age, a literate, articulate, possibly British accented, early 19th Century African American is sorcery. The selfproclaimed “Emperor of Conjurers” fuels much of his fame with popular notions of the primitive essence of Blackness: African-ness, Indianness, Orient-ness…

Otherness. In doing so, he signifies the presumably fantastical worlds believed to have spawned it. I can see Potter entering the stage on a wagon drawn by geese as eyewitnesses claim.

There is something comical about this and marvelous, too. His is a presence hailed by impossibility. I can see him in billowing robes and turban, perhaps alluding to the fiery jinn of Islamic myth and lore. In either case, how does a black man playing the role of a person perform power without satirizing it? How does

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he be without taking himself too seriously by white supremacist standards? How does he avoid seeming unforgivably “uppity”? How does he not be?

Like any good stage magician, Potter masters misdirection. He focuses attention on the office—the role played by the role he plays. After all, “the play is the thing.” And this he must perform to perfection— preternaturally, even. Else the spell breaks, the trance fails, and he is virtually “strange fruit” suspended by the rhetoric of disbelief into which he is born and against which he strives. Consider, though, the irony.

That very disbelief is what compels attendance at this Alabama event. It’s what keeps all eyes focused on his every move. As marvelous as his wizardry is the fact that this rhetorical mask both conceals and mediates his intelligence, his confidence, his refinement…his gall. Meanwhile, the show within the show is so surreal as to normalize, as Baudrillard might say, the equally farcical nature of the “real world” that frames it.

In as much as reality (though arguably not Truth) is perception, magic is a form of power—the ability to effect change or transformation.

And, regardless of its form, no power is greater than that necessary for being creative without irreparably wrecking the means of production. The degree to which a combustion engine resists and channels the very explosion it stokes generates propulsion, for example.

By loose analogy, people who wield such power are leaders. The more incredible or incomprehensible their work, the more magical it seems.

flaws and shortcomings typical of human beings don’t prove that the Black performer is “just a person.” Rather, to too many, they suggest that he or she is, in fact, a bad actor merely pretending to be a person. On the other hand, no matter how impressive, his achievements can be categorically dismissed as happy accidents—luck at best, instinct at worst. Ironically, that’s especially true if he’s so good as to warrant being considered a person “like everyone else,” at all. However, the thing is, if he’s that good, the talented Black is something wholly enchanting, bewildering, stunning if not frightening in his or her implausibility. Definitely a conjurer, his excellence is presumed to be something intrinsic and innate. A force of nature, perhaps, but beyond the rhetorical pale of inclusion in the norm she or he has been denied as a basis for any attempt at comprehension. That makes his or her craft a lot like the lore of sorcery coursing through the roots and drumming in the groves of “dark” continents.

“I am not just a colored man.

I am Richard Potter...”

With that in mind, take a deep breath. Wrap your head in this. Beautiful and wonderful as it can be, there would be no particular significance of black power—black leadership—without the assumption of black impotence.

Whatever his or her race or ethnicity, the leader—the person—is meaningfully “Black” precisely because this shared assumption of incompetence, malice, depravity, etc must be constructively accepted, engaged, and resisted without any real hope of avoiding or escaping it. That’s one thing—the significance of the aforementioned disbelief. Another is that, no matter how smart or talented she or he is, the black performer in government, business, education, art, etc is often tasked with the social responsibility of being unobtrusively and inoffensively “average”--like the typical white person--while doing what no one else can do any better (else someone white, presumably better qualified, and somehow believed to have been cheated of the opportunity, could be expected to have his job). Thus, under the worst of circumstances, the

Still, even in 1820s Mobile, Alabama Richard Potter walks the proverbial tightrope. He earns the contemporary equivalent of over $50,000.00 as a person who owns his own twelve days of labor, directs his own destiny, and seizes his own opportunities. All this under the worst of circumstances, mind you. In 1787, enslaved individuals like Potter’s mother were considered only 3/5th of a person. In 1857, more than thirty years after the success of Potter’s touring, the Supreme Court would infamously decide against the freedman Dred Scott by claiming that no black person had any inalienable rights that white people were bound to respect. So, perhaps, the even greater wonder is that Potter was neither the first nor the last notable person of African descent for his time. After all, self-taught mathematician and astronomer Benjamin Banneker’s work had already impressed a notoriously equivocating Thomas Jefferson and his European associates.

Likewise, during Potter’s Mobile show, titans of oratory and literature like Frederick Douglass, Henry Highland Garnet and William Wells Brown were young, enslaved children.

Sojourner Truth was a young woman still captive in New York, only beginning to understand the potential for greatness in her soul. And dauntless swashbuckler Harriet Tubman was yet to be born.

However, though history was not to remember Potter nearly as well, no one else—black, white, or American Indian--was more widely known in his day.

His craft, in so many ways, presages the various roles that generations of liberator-integrationists and

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liberator-nationalists to come would conjure in the effort to be seen and heard themselves. Wizards all, in time the theater and stage for such magic would be pulpits, periodicals and books, state and federal houses of elected representatives, classrooms and lecture halls, sports arenas, the White House…even, one might argue, the figurative hall of mirrors that has been the evolution of the Modern and Post-Modern mind.

For the exemplary American—the leader—who happens to be of African descent, it may sometimes or often seem that throngs of white supremacist critics (not all of them white) are ever watching, waiting to be proven both wrong and right at once. Again, that makes the real power of Black Magic the ability to both inhabit that paradox and, by doing so, escape it. To be and not to be, one might say--and indulge the significance of the many difficult questions the phenomenon of paradox always implies.

Still, here we are. Crowded into this moment—our moment—shoulder to shoulder, back to breast in an audience increasingly diverse though, perchance, not so much more integrated than any Potter faced. On our stages stand elected officials, judges, educators, entrepreneurs, attorneys, engineers, architects, physicians, scientists, artists, athletes, skilled and unskilled laborers, etc to do what seems impossible—to perform so well as to have their excellence acknowledged in a culture that has historically denied the very personhood upon which that excellence depends. The trick, however, is to “walk through fire”— earn the acknowledgment of that personhood on

the basis of one’s exceptionality. Of course, that’s to the degree that one is more or less fortunate. If one is not, he or she must pass through the fire or consume the molten lead just because she or he can. Just because—to all the skeptics—the unending marvel is itself so “spooky” as to demand the wages that support “a living.”

All that said, whatever else magic is or might be, it performs a kind of power that grants hope precisely because it works, achieves, and accomplishes without plausible explanation. And nothing encourages or emboldens like the demonstrable chance that an utterly and absurdly unjust world operating on fallacious premises may not always require plausibility. Where such a world is otherwise impervious to reason, implausibility may be the notable constant.

For that, I stand with the 20th Century’s Harry Houdini, amazed and impressed by Potter’s legacy. I’ve read that Potter’s version of the “Hindu rope trick” most intrigued and astonished the nigh legendary escape artist. Accordingly, Mr. and Mrs. Potter sometimes ended shows in open air theaters with Richard tossing a ball of yarn into the sky. Catching hold of nothing that was somehow something, the yarn unwound. Then—get this—“the Negro” and American Indian couple climbed that dangling thread into the broad, bright light of day, their audience gazing and gaping all around.

And while the astonished watched, the Potters disappeared.

Vanished.

Just like that.

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Complimentary tickets to the November 3 Athens Symphony Fall Concert will be available to the public on Monday, October 21 at 10 a.m. at The Classic Center Box Office.

The Fall Concert kicks off the Symphony’s 2019-20 season and will begin at 3 p.m. at The Classic Center Theatre. The program will feature compositions by Bedřich Smetana, Charles Gounod, Edvard Grieg, and Modest Mussorgsky.

A public open house will take place before the concert at 1 p.m. on November 3 in the Theatre lobby to view the new Classic Vistas murals that have been installed on the Theatre walls. These murals are the most recent capital campaign of The Classic Center Cultural Foundation and were painted by local artist Jill Biskin.

Patrons wishing to pick up Athens Symphony tickets are encouraged to park in The Classic Center parking deck during their visit. The first 30 minutes of parking will be complimentary, and a parking attendant will be on site for assistance.

Tickets are required for entry and are limited to four per person. Regular Box Office hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday.

For more information on the Athens Symphony, visit AthensSymphony.org.

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Lifelong Learning for those 50+ olli.uga.edu · 706-542-775 HIGHLIGHT 23

2020 splost overview According to the degree that communities acknowledge and esteem the idea of the common good, municipalities succeed or fail. And however one defines success, it pleads for resources and opportunities fairly accessed and distributed. While Georgia’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax Program (SPLOST) may remain the best and most equitable way to finance the structural needs of Athens-Clarke County, we might consider whether it benefits all stakeholders to the degree or proportion of their contribution.

As critics argue that it disproportionately burdens our most vulnerable incomes, exploiting those in immediate need of locally accessible goods and services.

They have a point. For more financially able citizens, the one percent addition to the ACC’s already staggering seven percent sales tax can and often will be more easily avoided.

They can afford to shop elsewhere. Meanwhile, the popular and perhaps only legitimate alternative to a sales tax requires raising property taxes. The property tax shifts the burden to more financially robust citizens, potentially providing for all while particularly rewarding middle and higher incomes with facilities and programs necessary for mediating common prosperity. In other words, if used constructively, property taxes enhance the quality of life for the city, thus elevating the market value of property ownership. This may come close to a demonstrably fair, out-and-out, common good.

After all, it avoids exploiting vulnerabilities while availing strengths. What remains for stakeholders to verify is the degree to which property owners’ share of the proposed good directly or exclusively

benefits them. Conversely, stakeholders should consider the degree to which proposed SPLOST projects will directly or primarily benefit communities providing the larger portion of sales tax funding. If a sales tax will most impact those who spend more money locally, that means the larger portion of it will be provided by the less financially secure—the poor and working classes…the majority of AthensClarke County’s population. So, what percentage of SPLOST’s proposed benefits will directly serve the needs of these citizens? What are the needs of these citizens? In the interest of the common good, whoever endeavors to speak on its behalf is responsible for ensuring that people get out of the city what they put in.

Right?

It’s not that this writer believes that taxing sales is a bad idea, mind you. The concept appeals to the democratic soul— "the better angel” of our shared American heritage. It prevents the more fortunate and privileged from claiming an exclusive stake in defining whatever we mean by “the good” so far as the good requires funding. But the ideal is only as effectively democratic as the distribution of services and access to prosperity is mutual or common. If, upon assessment and reflection, that distribution across class lines and throughout the municipality doesn’t reflect the proportion of needs and benefits enjoyed explicitly and (more or less) exclusively by the more fortunate and privileged, it compromises even the pretense of fairness. We only encourage the reader to investigate, think, and vote. The responsibility of citizenship requires it.

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Letter to the Publisher

"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children."

I was born in 1969. I'm a black American. My mother and father abandoned me after my grandparents refused to return for me after holding me. My mother was a victim of domestic abuse, my father a violent drunk.

more money when they had more children.

Many of the individuals we consider black leaders were present and assisted their new found allies.

They took up the Democratic platform.

Like i said, I'm 50 years of age; I've watched America and the black community get no where since '69.

Every eight years, the very same political topics are presented by the public. These political leaders promise resolutions and each year accomplish nothing. The only thing I see changing is their net worth and never the plight of the people. That's a My grandparents were born in the early 1900s. Black simple fact no one can deny. culture is very different today than it was during those days. Black Americans took pride in their communities.

What I've watched is the black community be We worked together to protect the innocence of their programmed to be ashamed and to hate. I watched as children while raising them with strong moral values academic institutions made the atrocities of American and pride. Contrary to what academic studies teach slavery the cornerstone of studies in public schools. If in public schools, the black communities of the 50s you are a black American, you may never have heard and 60s looked no different than Caucasian suburbs. of another enslaved race, and they never let you forget Men respected themselves and their women. The "you" were a slave. As a result, most American blacks community was held to this standard by community only know that blacks were the victims of slavery, thus leaders who dealt harshly with those who would driving a wedge between Americans. Whose idea mislead the flock. was it to do that from a psychological perspective? It was bound to affect the public negatively. Democrats People today don't know how many black communities use that hate every eight years to get your votes. And became the "hoods" and "ghettos" with which they then, when they have them, they do nothing. are familiar. They have no idea of the glory of their ancestors. They only know the atrocities blacks faced I look to black leaders, then look to their communities as Americans. or their districts. The conditions are deplorable. But your leader wears a $5,000 suit and lives in a nice, We who were witnesses as the cultural revolution suburban home. Their kids go to private schools while of the 60s--the human rights period--occurred saw yours fight drug dealers and gangs for an education. the tragedy unfolding. We looked to black leaders locally and nationally for help. However, we didn't I was asked to write my opinion on black leaders. find the old guard. What we found were soothsayers There are none. Only private interest groups. We have and montybanks willing to use and abuse public trust. a lack of leadership. Your shepherds are corrupted.

They allowed their communities to become aligned They have lead the flock astray. Your weakness is with the same political group that founded the klan falling for the oldest trick in the world. If it walks like a and established Jim Crow. The Democratic Party--the duck, looks like a duck... same political party that passed social reform policies that crippled black communities.

The black communities of America must hold them accountable. We have a free for all. There is no

Black men stripped of their pride became leadership, only profiteers. I hope and pray you learn statistics carted off to prison. The epidemic facing the difference. their communities were drugs and the disassembled black family. Women were left to raise children alone Submitted By: James Howard and the only help was a government which gave them

Submit your letter: Highlightathensga.com/projects HIGHLIGHT 25

Minority Owned Business Directory Athens has a 35% poverty rate and that has to change. Sadly it won’t change overnight. With this directory, Highlight Magazine intends to help support Black and other minority businesses. Providing a marketplace where start-up businesses can promote, test, and sell their businesses. Stimulate economic development and increase diversity. Athens is full of entrepreneurs. Call them, tell them Highlight sent you, and see what deals they have to offer. Contact us at www.highlightathensga.com to find more local businesses or if interested in registering a business to the directory.

Business Name

Aaron Locksmith LLC Barnett Taekwondo Academy Blink With Elegance

Specialty

Location

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Locksmith

Athens, Ga

(706) 765 - 8445

Personal Fitness Center

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(706) 543 - 9966

3D Mink Eye Lashes

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(706) 333 - 2362

Chalises Heavenly Inspired Deans Barber Shop

Luxury Bath & Body Products

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Barber / Beauty Shop

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(706) 372 - 9843

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Southern Barbeque Catering

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(706) 389 - 0846

Wedding Services

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(706) 380 - 9062

Shopping & Retail

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(706) 612 - 4305

Transportation Services

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(706) 352 - 3638

Custom Fashion

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(706) 224 - 6514

Auto Repair

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(706) 850 - 9298

Clothing and Accessories

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(706) 224 - 1944

Ice Cream Shop

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Internet Radio

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Engineering

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(706) 552 - 3911

Cleaning Services

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(706) 248 - 4601

Financial Advisor

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(404) 901 - 7503

Flawless Beauty Give Her Shoes Grizzly Delivery Her Fashion House Jimmy's Automotive Repair Lavishlee Uniques, LLC Lil Ice Cream Dude MEU Radio Payne Construction Commercial Peachy Green Clean Co-op Peerless Financial Group Prominence Hair Company Rashe's Cuisine Real Good Car Wash Sebastian Salon Spiffo Made It Studios Trend'Setta Kutz Troy Copeland Val's Daughter

Hair Vendor

Athens, Ga.

prominencehairco.com

Catering Services

Athens, Ga.

rashecuisine.com

Car Detailing

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(404) 397 - 7238

Hair Salon

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Audio Production

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Mobile Barber

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Copy Editing / Script Writing

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troyofathens36@gmail.com

Southern Meal Prep/Catering

Athens, Ga

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Building Careers and Relationships in Athens since 1979. www.bosstaff.com BOS_HighlightsAd_7.45x2.25_FINAL.indd 1

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2/1/19 4:53 PM

Fred Sewell The Realtor

BUY INVEST SELL BUILD www.fredsellsathens.com c:(706) 461-8712

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AROUND TOWN

Athens - Clarke County Police Training Program Class of 2019 Graduation Athens Police Department welcomed 9 new officers that completed the Basic Police Officer Training Program and graduated from the Georgia Public Safety Training Center. The graduation ceremony was held at the classic center on September 20th, 2019. Special Congratulations to native Athenian Sadiki Mcbarnett.

Partial Photo Credit: Athens Clarke County Police Department

Envision Athens Summit: Celebrating One Year of Envisioning

On September 24th, 2019 Envision Athens hosted a summit in celebration of one year of community involvement, collaboration, and progress. The summit showcased Envision's work and the presentation of the Good Neighbor Awards to Kirrena Gallagher, Sean Seay, and Dr. Grace Bagwell Adams. 250 plus neighbors gathered for the event. Java Joy, Rashe's Cuisine, Lil' Ice Cream Dude, Taziki's, ICOOK_IEFORYOU, and the Community Career Academy Culinary Arts students prepared the nights meal. Notable guest were Mayor Kelly Girtz, Assistant City Manager Deborah Lonon, and Chess and Communities Life Laroche.

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53rd Classic City Championship Cedar Shoals vs. Clarke Central

On Friday October 4th, 2019 the Cedar Shoals Jaguars hosted the Clarke Central Gladiators for the 53th Classic City Championship. The Gladiators overcame the Jaguars 34 - 10. O'Brien Barnett was declared the most valuable player. With three scores, 141 rushing yards, and 62 receiving yards totaling 203 yards for the game. Central regained the champion title after loss to Jaguars in 2018.

Athens Housing Authority , Athens Mayor & Commission Approve Bethel Redevelopment On October 2nd, 2019 the Athens Housing Authority met with the Athens Clarke County Mayor & Commission to approve the Bethel Midtown redevelopment project, where it currently stands, what to expect, and how community members are able to be involved.

Rick Parker director of the AHA welcomes community members of Bethel Midtown for input on how the housing authority can help in addressing the needs of its residents. Highlight encourages Bethel Midtown residents to voice needs and wants. Readers can find more info about the AHA at www.athenshousing.org/.

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