Urban Pro Weekly

UPW URBAN PRO WEEKLY

November 20-26, 2014 VOL. 4 NO. 11

Earl Grey Summers Music, poetry and the miseducation of our children Photo by Vincent Hobbs

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POLITICS

COMMENTARY

6 votes + courage Commissioners have to realize that people need help now.

By Frederick Benjamin Sr. UPW Political Analyst One of the key decisions that city commissioners have to make is to decide whether they are going to make Augusta the best city to live and work in or make it the best environment for businesses to operate.

Unfortunately, you can’t have it both ways — at least not in the short run.

The philosophical divide that has plagued the city for at least the past decade has centered on just that question.

Under the Copenhaver-Russell regime, bond attorneys, architects, construction engineers, consultants (of every variety), and privatization gurus all

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increased their wealth by feeding at the public trough.

Note the gleaming government buildings and the gated residential compounds in the inner city just for starters. The inexcusable excess of the Riverwalk projects, thanks to the Paul Simon - Fred Russell “partnership,” has been reflective of the “pro-business” philosophy that has held sway with city commissioners the past several years.

It hasn’t been that long since finance gurus on the commission such as Jerry Brigham and Joe Bowles and their cheerleaders which included Matt Aitken Joe Jackson, determined the course of city spending.

Their mantra has been “we have to run the city like a busi-

Executive Managing Editor FREDERICK BENJAMIN SR. 706-306-4647 editor@urbanproweekly.com Sales & Marketing 706-394-9411 Contributors VINCENT HOBBS Photography & New Media View Urbanproweekly on Facebook

ness.” In fact, if you were not a business owner, there was very little respect given your opinion.

The impasse at which the city now finds itself was demonstrated very clearly at this week’s commission meeting where the ill-conceived Hyde Park relocation boiled over in an emotional outburst. Hyde Park residents, who have been promised relief from their decades-long environmental disaster caused by a half-century of industrial recklessness, found it difficult to understand how millions of dollars could have been spent on their behalf and with nothing substantive to show for it.

Families are still living and dying while attorneys, bookkeepers, real estate professionals and city bureaucrats continue to flourish on their behalf.

Mayor Deke Copenhaver attempted to placate the irate Hyde Park residents by saying stuff like, “We’ve made a significant investment in Hyde Park.”

Investment.

Investment implies returns. To the mayor dealing with Augusta’s poorest residents is couched in terms of a business transaction.

Citywide, residents must still put up with flooding, overgrown empty lots, dilapidated vacant houses, lack of sidewalks, rising taxes and fees with little

to show for it.

Recently, the “pro-business” chamber of commerce successfully lobbied the commissioners to forget about implementing the “excise” tax that would have produced revenue that the city clearly cannot do without.

The argument at the time was that there was “fat” in the city government that needed to be trimmed first.

More recently, representatives of the Metro Chamber of Commerce have petitioned the city government to “go slow” on its stormwater fee implementation and especially on the city’s stated intention to utilize funds generated from the stormwater fee revenues to address unmet pressing city needs.

Sue Parr, president of the Augusta Metro Chamber closed out a recent communication to city officials by saying, “The enactment of a stormwater fee should be deliberated cautiously and carefully as we look forward to being involved in those discussions.”

Ms. Parr has to realize that the city is in crisis mode. There is no time for “deliberation,” no time for “caution,” and certainly no time for bringing more and more people into the discussion.

Continued on next page

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ON THE RECORD

UrbanProWeekly • NOVEMBER 20- 26, 2014

IMAGES

WELCOME, MADAM ADMINISTRATOR. Tuesday’s raucus commission meeting is as close to a “honeymoon” that new city administrator Janice Allen Jackson will get with the Augusta media and public. Jackson was out of the “line of fire” (for now) as commissioners sparred with department heads, the public and one another. Huge challenges face the city as they must find a way to relocate Hyde Park families, pay for storm water management, service pensioners and keep the government running on dwindling revenues. This week was Jackson’s first on the job as former city administrator Fred Russell’s replacement Photo by Vincent Hobbs

6 votes from page 4 The current city commissioners are in an uphill battle created by years and years of bad decisions made by former commissions in bed with the “pro-business” cartel with the Broad Street address.

The current commissioners need the courage to act on a “pro-people” agenda even as projections of “doom and gloom” are forecast by the downtown media moguls and

their “pro-business” clients.

The new administration that gets to work on January 1 certainly has to “get it right,” but they can’t be afraid of making mistakes.

Decades of making mistakes that has gotten the city to this point. So what if the new administration doesn’t follow in the footsteps of previous administrations. So what if it stumbles and fails ­— at first.

The new regime needs the

time to reassess how business is handled down at city hall.

Arguing about the powers of the mayor has nothing to do with anything.

Six votes. All that is necessary is six votes to begin a new day in Augusta.

Why not millions to improve the everyday lives of the citizens of Augusta?

Why not millions for safe neighborhoods and recreational amenities?

Why not millions for “thinking out of the box” revenue-generating ideas so that the city does not have to rely solely on rising taxes and fees?

Why not millions for small businesses? Why not millions for the creation and nurturing of entrepreneurs?

Six Votes + Courage = Real change in Augusta.

Augusta has great climate, great people and has great future. Why not be pro people?

MCG offers region’s only paramedic training program AUGUSTA The East Central Georgia area now has a paramedic training program.

Twenty-four students have started the 13-month course for these advanced emergency medical care providers with diverse employment opportunities, from first responders on the street to working in hospitals and clinics as part of a health care team.

“We wanted to help fill this need in our community for advanced EMScare providers, particularly on our streets,” said Dr. John McManus, Medical Director of the new course offered by the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University. “Paramedics often remain where they train, and we want to help ensure a strong group for our

region.”

The 13-county East Central Georgia Health District, a mix of urban and rural communities, with a Level 1 Trauma Center at GRHealth and the nation’s largest burn center, the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital, has not had a paramedic training program in the past few years, McManus said.

MCG’s first class includes volunteer and full-time firefighters and working emergency medical technicians, said Jeff Garver, Paramedic Program Manager. The course has built-in flexibility to enable working professionals to continue their jobs as they earn a paramedic certificate.

The eclectic course schedule includes plenty of classroom and ambulance time, clinical experience at GRHealth and the Joseph M. Still

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UrbanProWeekly - NOVEMBER 20 - 26, 2014

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Burn Center, and anatomy and physiology classes, including hands-on experience in the simulation and gross anatomy labs. This type of firsthand education on the human anatomy is rare for paramedic programs, other than those affiliated with a medical school.

Students’ gross anatomy lab experiences include learning to intubate, or establish an airway for patients on the scene or en route to the hospital, Garver said. These types of advanced practice skills, which also include administering cardiac, anti-seizure, and pain medications and reading electrocardiograms, make paramedics good partners for basic EMTs on emergency vehicles.

“We usually want an EMT and a paramedic on every emergency vehicle, but many just have basic first

responders,” said McManus. Ideally, the new program will help improve the mix, he said.

Basic EMTs can do cardiopulmonary resuscitation and start an intravenous line but can’t give most medications or intubate a patient, Garver said. In fact, students must already be certified EMTs to quality for paramedic training. In a clinical setting, paramedics work under the supervision of physicians and nurses.

MCG’s EMS Academy also trains EMTs and Advanced EMTs and already offered critical care specialization for paramedics in critical care emergency management transport, certified flight paramedic review, and pediatric and neonatal critical care transport, see gru.edu/mcg/em/com/ ems.php.

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AUGUSTA You can get some exercise and have a little fun at the inaugural Dance Dash 5K, benefiting the Children’s Hospital of Georgia, the local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.

Beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, in the CHOG circular drive, this 5K with a twist combines dancing, running, and walking to raise funds for the area’s only children’s hospital.

Don’t know how to dance? No problem. Instructors from Pulse Dance Center will teach steps at three stations along the route. At the finish line, participants will combine the moves they’ve learned in a flash mob dance finale.

Registration, which includes a T-shirt, is $35 and can be completed in advance through the dancedash. org website or at the event beginning at 7 a.m. Participants are encouraged to seek donations for the Children’s Hospital and turn those in at the Dash. For more information, contact Catherine Stewart at castewart@gru. edu or 706-721-4004.

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Matthew Williams (pen name Earl Grey Summers) has a mission. After witnessing the state of education in this country, the former educator decided to utilize his skills as a writer to challenge the system through a no-holds-barred musical beat-down of the issues facing students and teachers in the 21st century. The end result is an album titled “Here Lies Education�, which takes a hard look at the education-corporate dollar marriage and its destructive effect on the classroom.

Summers, a deeply spiritual man who has taught Sunday school class for the past 13 years, is both troubled, and encouraged, by what he sees taking place in our society. The dichotomy of hope and challenge has fueled this artist to use the unfathomable power of words to make his stand.

Well- known in the Augusta arts scene, Summers also hones in on local rap talent and shares their work through his writings on the international music blog, http://blkdmnds.com.

Author and rap artist Earl Grey Summers poses for a photo in downtown Augusta.

Photo by Vincent Hobbs

FEATURE

Earl Grey Summers Writer, musician and advocate for progressive education INTERVIEW BY VINCENT HOBBS You can be defined as a true “Renaissance Man” – an educator, poet, songwriter, historian and blogger – along with a myriad of other skills and talents. Can you tell us about some of your major influences while growing up?

Like a lot of folks, I was raised in the church, but I was raised between two churches - one that emphasized the Civil Rights Movement and one that emphasized the Bible. I started off very socially-conscious, then became very spiritually-conscious, eventually arriving at a balance between the two.

My mother was an educator and I’ve always valued learning; my dad is retired military who worked hard in factories to provide and I respect hard work and thrift because of him.

Hip-hop definitely played a role in my upbringing. I credit the Dungeon Family - OutKast, Cee-Lo Green, and Goodie Mob with my love for soulful sounds, intelligent lyricism, and staying connected to the plight of my people. And school - school was the thing that put the biggest chip on my shoulder in life. Having to deal with bullying and such made me a little standoffish.

How did you become interested in writing?

I used to write short stories in fifth grade; we had a writing class that was in the basement of Monte Sano Elementary School and I used to love going down there and getting creative. I started writing poetry at Tubman Middle School around sixth grade, but I can’t really remember what made me start doing it; it may have been Black History Month. We studied lots of Langston Hughes and Maya Angelou pieces.

What are some of the books you’ve published so far? Are there any new book projects on the horizon?

The book I have out now is “The Legend of the No. 1 Pencil”, which was published back in 2011.

It’s a book of poetry that follows me through my development as a person and as a writer. I’m always trying to improve myself, like a pencil that spends its entire life inside of a pencil sharpener, so that’s what the title alludes to. I was published

back in 2009 as part of the “Laid” anthology by Shannon T. Boodram. I was writing under the pen name “Jigabod Walker”. I have three more books of poetry that I’ll be publishing this coming year – “Shape Your Own Afro”; “Love Songs and Bad Dancing”; and “Universe, Bar, and Lounge”.

As an educator, you taught history for four years at Hephzibah High School where you received recognition as “Most Inspirational Teacher”, then a year at Butler High School.

How has your role as an educator interplayed with your writing?

Oh man, it’s been both a positive and a negative relationship. On the very negative side, it’s hard to stay creative when everything in the classroom is so standardized and test-driven. As a writer, the classroom experience boxed me in mentally. On the positive side, I’m passionate about education, so witnessing its breakdown firsthand has really motivated me to take my craft in a more aggressive direction. I guess you could say that my pen has a point now.

Your groundbreaking new album, “Here Lies Education”, is an exposé of the push to promote technology as a replacement for solid teaching in the classroom. You address the “unreasonable standards, unreliable test data, and smear campaigns” being waged against teachers and students, with the endgame being a system that churns out cookie-cutter, compliant students who don’t even know how to think. Why did you decide to bring your voice into this conversation on education?

First let me say this, just so we’re clear. Making cookie-cutter students isn’t the endgame; that’s the byproduct. The endgame is making the most money possible and spending the least money possible, because education has become a business.

From slavery to present day, the American business has always been about replacing paid employees with free labor. In education, teachers are the paid employees, computers are the free labor. I call it “The Digital Outsourcing of Education”.

I once told my mother, “This is what the future of education will look like; teaching to the tests.” I

was right on the money.

What influenced your interest in music?

As a teen, I was drawn to the potent lyrics of OutKast and Goodie Mob, as well as conscious MCs like Talib Kweli, Mos Def, and Common. I particularly liked the sound of Organized Noize Productions because the sound had so much soul and funk to it. I surround myself with music to study and dissect. My ears have become pretty intelligent.

One of the songs on your album, “Optimistic – Think Pink”, is an ode to your mom, Melinda Williams, who lost her battle with breast cancer in 2005. Tell us about the scholarship that has been created in her honor.

The Melinda L. Williams scholarship is given at Hephzibah High School every April in honor of my late mother, who taught at HHS for over 20 years.

It’s given to students who plan to pursue either a social studies or science major in college. Students have to maintain a high GPA and submit an essay in order to qualify for it. Hephzibah High School has been amazing with their HHS United for a Cure campaign, and I love them so much for continuing that scholarship in my mother’s honor.

Tell us about your contributions to the music blog, http://blkdmnds.com, as “The Experienced Listener”. Which local rap groups have your interest right now?

I’ve been writing for BLKDMNDS for about a year. As “The Experienced Listener”, I review hip hop/rap albums and mixtapes as well as provide opinion pieces. My goal is to promote good music that I think is underrated - artists who are unique and progressive, who make quality work and who don’t embarrass the hip-hop/rap genre. I really want to help Augusta’s rap scene come up too, but Augusta has to raise its own bar first. I’ve covered several projects by Truez, who was just signed by the legendary DJ Kay Slay; also Jay Bussie and F.Durty. Lucci says his next project is going to be a lot more lyrical, so I’m excited to see how that turns out.

UrbanProWeekly • NOVEMBER 20- 26, 2014

PEOPLE

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IMAGES PAINE HOOPS

(Above) Paine College head basketball coach Willie Adams (center) huddles with the team during a time-out at their season-opener game against Tuskegee University at the HEAL Complex on Monday (Nov. 17). The Lady Lions crushed the Lady Golden Tigers, 85-53, in the final score.

Photo by Vincent Hobbs (Left) Paine College’s Ashley Watts looks to pass the ball during the season-opener game against Tuskegee University. Watts, the leading scorer in NCAA Division II, racked up 35 points in the game.

Photo by Vincent Hobbs (Right) Paine College head basketball coach Willie Adams instructs the team during a time-out.

Photo by Vincent Hobbs

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Michéle Douglass has earned a Master of Science Degree in IT and an MBA in Marketing.

Currently, she is an adjunct professor at Miller-Motte Technical College in Augusta, GA., where she teaches courses in English, Technology and Business.

Michéle Douglass is the founder of ReadyWriter Communications LLC.

Writer redirects efforts to serve God

“Write for Me,” were the three words that served as the calling and the vision that Michéle Douglass received more than 10 years ago, while working at the parent company of the Augusta Chronicle as a communications specialist and technical writer. Although starting the company, ReadyWriter Communications, was not something she did right away, it was something that lived in her spirit and wouldn’t go away.

“Every professional job I’ve ever had before working at Morris Communications was as a writer,” Ms. Douglass said reflectively. “And every job that I had after that, involved writing,” she continued. “I think that your purpose in life is usually tied to what you love to do, and what you are good at doing. We’re just made that way.”

After graduating from Augusta State University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Journalism, Ms. Douglass worked as a technical writer at the Corporate Headquarters of

Electrolux Home Products. “I started out in the Call Center of the Warranty Department, but was promoted to Technical Writer after three months because they liked the way I drafted a document,” she recalled. “I believe that you’ll always be drawn toward whatever it is you are purposed to do.

Your destiny is already in you.”

After working at Electrolux, Ms. Douglass became the Strategic Writer and Editor of MCGHealth Hospitals and Clinics, now known as Georgia Regents Medical Center. “When I came on board at the hospital, their newsletter was a simple, two-page, text document on colored paper,” she remembered. “I wrote a proposal requesting that the newsletter be redesigned to include photos and other graphics,” she said, “and that it be transformed into a strategic tool to communicate change management and highlight excellence in patient care.” The proposal was approved, and the newsletter was improved and changed to “News of Excellence.”

During the five years that Ms. Douglass worked at Morris Communications, she also worked as a freelance writer and had articles published in newspapers and magazines that were distributed throughout the CSRA. “I loved writing articles for community newspapers like Augusta Focus and The Spiritual Voice, as well as for U Magazine and Hair Essentials Magazine,” she gleamed. “But, I always ended up behind the scenes like the mom with the camera who is never in the family photos,” she said jokingly. “It is a blessing to finally be introduced to the community that I have been serving for so long.”

Now, 10 years after being given the instructions to write, Ms. Douglass is offering her services as a communicator, along with her experience in Technical Writing, Marketing, Public Relations and Advertising through her company, ReadyWriter Communications. “At the time that God gave me the instruction to write

for Him, I was writing newsletters, designing small company Intranet sites, maintaining Web content, creating user manuals, drafting communications for the Chief Information Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, marketing and promoting products, crafting press releases and news articles, and a lot of other tasks,” she said. “God told me that everything I was doing for Morris Communications, He wanted me to do for Him.”

So last month, Ms. Douglass launched ReadyWriter Communications Company, LLC. The company’s mission is to provide writing services for others to whom God has given an assignment or a vision. “We are all made to do something for Him,” she said. “If God has given you a vision, or, if you believe you were created to fulfill a special purpose on this earth, then have faith, step out and do it.

When you follow God’s plan, He will prosper you.”

UrbanProWeekly • NOVEMBER 20- 26, 2014

ReadyWriter Communications LLC

UrbanProWeekly - NOVEMBER 20 - 26, 2014

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UPW FORUM by Nadia Prupus

Ferguson organizers say State of Emergency thwarts civil liberties

I

n the wake of Governor Jay Nixon’s Monday afternoon declaration of a state of emergency in Missouri, activists and civil rights groups are speaking out against a move they say threatens the civil rights of protesters on the ground in Ferguson.

Nixon’s announcement, which came ahead of the grand jury’s decision in the police shooting death of 18-yearold Michael Brown, is “both premature in its application and presumptuous in [its] intention to the hundreds of peaceful demonstrators who have embraced their Constitutional right to protest,” said NAACP president William Brooks.

Anthony Gray, one of the lawyers for Brown’s family, told CNN that Nixon was “preparing for war and not necessarily for peace.”

“Sometimes you can push people into behaving a certain way just by preparing for just that kind of a reaction,” Gray said.

“Governor Nixon’s decision to declare a state of emergency without evidence of violence or danger only threatens to stir up tensions and denigrate the peaceful efforts of countless non-violent activists,” Brooks said.

Hands Up United organizer Tory Russell noted on Twitter that Nixon does not have the authority to declare a preemptive state of emergency, as Missouri law mandates that a disaster of “major proportions” must have actually taken place before such a

LETTERS

declaration can be made. Russell quoted a state General Assembly statute that reads, “The existence of an emergency may be proclaimed by the governor or by resolution of the legislature, if the governor in his proclamation, or the legislature in its resolution, finds that a natural or man-made disaster of major proportions has actually occurred within this state[.]”

Lou Downey, an organizer with Stop Mass Incarceration Network (SMIN), told Common Dreams that Nixon’s “state of emergency—mobilizing the National Guard and authorizing violent suppression of protest—is outrageous, illegitimate, and breaking his own laws.”

“Nixon offers the public lies about ‘protecting free speech’ and steps to peaceful change, combined with the reality of unleashing National Guards, rubber bullets and toxic gas on protesters,” Downey continued. “Be clear, when Nixon says violence won’t be tolerated, he doesn’t mean violence by authorities against people.”

Nixon’s declaration on Monday seems to contradict statements he made after lifting a previous state of emergency he ordered during the first round of protests in August.

“We’ve seen here a situation in which that militarization caused exactly the opposite reaction, in my view, as to what it normally should,” he told MSNBC at the time. “Instead

of bringing safety, it brought less safety in this situation because people felt diminished and felt controlled in their own community. I think this is a very clear example of how the proper force strength is important, and I do think we’ve seen a significant trend towards militarization which, if not used correctly with these forces, can have troublesome reactions.”

But on Monday, during a call with reporters, Nixon evaded questions about his authority in police actions and the manner in which law enforcement responds to protests.

One journalist asked, “Given that you’ve declared a state of emergency and you’ve put the [Missouri state] highway patrol on the unified command, does the buck ultimately stop with you when it comes to how any protests are policed?”

Nixon responded, “Well I mean we’re, I, you know, it, it, you know, our goal here is to, is to, you know, keep the peace and allow folks’ voices to, to be heard. And in that balance, I’m attempting, you know, I am using the resources we have to marshall to be predictable, for both those pillars. I don’t, you know, I’m more … I, I, just will have to say I don’t spend a tremendous amount of time personalizing this vis-a-vis me.”

He continued, “I’m trying to make sure that, that we move forward in a predictable, peaceful manner that plans for all contingencies that might

occur, so that people of a disparate group of opinions and actions can be heard, while at the same time, the property and persons, person, persons of people in the St Louis region are protected. So I, it … I, I, prefer not to be a commentator on it. I’m making decisions as, in a, you know, to make sure that we’re all prepared for all contingencies, and I think this is another step, positive, you know, positive, predictable step towards preparing for any contingencies.”

The preemptive response comes as protesters continue to train in nonviolent civil disobedience and establish safe zones, often in churches, that will provide shelter and medical supplies to activists on the ground and serve as communication hubs for organizers.

The declared state of emergency, according to SMIN’s Downey, means protesters “need to recognize how determined those in power are to push forward the vicious program of police terror and criminalization of whole generations of Black and Brown youth.”

“We need to recognize how fearful authorities are of people defiantly standing up to this, exposing the terrible injustice concentrated in Mike Brown’s murder, and exposing this before the eyes of the whole world, and inspiring those who’ve been beaten down and waking up those who have looked the other way,” he added.

School administrators not playing by the rules on overtime

Certain school administrators in the Richmond County School System in Augusta, Georgia do not respect the compensatory time or overtime laws. Compensatory time is paid time off granted to an employee for working extra hours. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) governs the compensation of hourly employees.

Under FLSA employees are assigned to either “exempt” or “non-exempt” status, i.e., those who are exempt from the requirements of FLSA and those who are not. Non-exempt employees

are paid by the hour, exempt employees receive a salary. FLSA mandates that non-exempt employees be paid at the rate of 1.5 times the hourly wage of every hour over 40 worked in a week. Non-exempt employees must be paid in dollars for their overtime and cannot receive compensatory time instead.

Sadly, many school administrators believe they are above the law and their hourly non-exempt employees are beneath the law. This is especially true whenever the school

superintendent wants to curtail overtime. To avoid paying overtime, school administrators default to an in-house compensatory time scheme. The scheme depends on the naiveté of the worker. School administrators hope workers believe they are being legally compensated for overtime worked. For every hour of overtime worked the employee is given one hour time off. In reality, the worker is not being legally compensated.

Fortunately, the non-exempt hour-

ly employees are not as naive as the administrators would like to believe.

They are just afraid. Most realize they are being exploited, yet feel powerless to object. Moreover, they are fearful of losing their job if they speak out against the exploitative overtime practice. Suffering in silence is better than unemployment. Furthermore, since most of the exploited workers are minorities, it’s business as usual in the Deep South.

Kevin Palmer, Martinez, Georgia

WORSHIP

Restoration Church Activities 7 Days of Thanksgiving November 19 – 25 During these seven days we will be thanking and praising God through the study of His Word, sharing the gifts he has given us with others, reflecting on where he has brought us, and meditation on where he is taking us. We will honor those who have gone before us and make a path for those who are coming behind us. Join us on the 7 - Day journey of thanks.

Nov 19th - Wednesday Night Prayer & Bible Study 7 pm Nov 20th - Noon Day Bible Study 12 pm Nov 21st – Noon Day Bible Study 12 pm Nov 22nd - Pre-Thanksgiving 2K Run/Walk & Fitness Training 10 am Nov 23rd - Thanksgiving Morning Service 9 am & 11 am Nov 24th - Noonday Bible Study 12 pm Nov 25th – Super Tuesday Bible Study, Turkey Giveaway (while supplies last), & Candle Light Memorial Service (Giving Thanks For Our Deceased Family Members), and Sheila Vassar Bust Dedication 7 pm

Sunday School 8:30 am Morning Worship Services: 9:45 am Evening Worship Services 6 pm (4th Sunday) Bible Study: 6pm (Mondays) Midday Bible Study: 12pm (Tuesdays) Prayer Services: 6pm (Wednesdays) Celebrate Recovery: 6pm (Fridays) and 12pm (Mondays) 2323 Barton Chapel Road • Augusta,GA 30906 706.790.8185 / 706.922.8186 (fax) Visit Us @ www.broadwaybaptistaug.org • Join us on facebook Dr. C. William Joyner, Jr. Senior Pastor

Start your calling today! Mount Olivet Certified Academic Institution 706.793.0091 • 706.793.0335 • www.mocai-aug.org

Good Shepherd Baptist Church

Rev. Clarence Moore, Pastor 1714 Olive Road / P. O. Box 141 (mailing address) Augusta, GA 30903 706/733-0341- Telephone/706/667-0205 – Fax E-mail address: admin@goodshepherdaugusta.org Web address: goodshepherdaugusta.org Rev. Clarence Moore Church Service: 7:45 & 11:00 a.m.

Church School: 9:45 a.m. / Prayer Service: 11:00 a.m. – Wednesday Bible Study: 9:00 a.m. - Saturday / 7:00 p.m. - Wednesday

Everfaithful Missionary Baptist Church

314 Sand Bar Ferry Road Augusta, Georgia 30901 (706) 722- 0553 Church School Sunday 9:25am Morning Worship Sunday 11am Evening Worship 6pm (1st & 3rd Sunday) Midday Prayer 12pm Wednesday Intercessory Prayer/Bible Study 6pm Wednesday

Bishop Rosa L. Williams, Pastor

Radio Broadcast: Sundays • WKZK 103.7 FM at 7:30 a.m.

UrbanProWeekly • NOVEMBER 20- 26, 2014

CHURCH

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UrbanProWeekly - NOVEMBER 20 - 26, 2014

14 Looking to buy a new home? Attend a NACA Workshop The first step in the purchase process is to attend a NACA Workshop which is open and free to everyone. The workshops are offered twice a month on Saturdays. The NACA Workshop will provide you with an overview of NACA’s homeownership program and mortgage options including the NACA mortgage. The focus of the work-

shops is on becoming NACA Qualified, or mortgage-ready. Upon completion of the NACA Workshop, participants can schedule a face to face appointment to meet with a NACA Mortgage Consultant. You may sign up for the homebuyer workshop at www.naca. com. The Augusta, NACA office hours are Monday – Friday, 8:30am – 5:30pm.

One Smile Away Inc.

“Making life better one smile at a time” Tyjuan Williams, DMD • Dentist

4045 Jimmie Dyess Parkway Suite 103, Augusta, GA 30909

706.868.4200 phone 706.868.4717 fax

SAND HILLS URBAN DEVELOPMENT, INC NEW HOME CONSTRUCTION Request for Proposals Sand Hills Urban Development, Inc., a nonprofit development organization, is seeking a licensed General Contractor to assist in building an affordable energy efficient single family home for a low to moderate-income family. The home will be approximately 1500 sq. ft, (4) bedrooms, (2) baths, Hardy plank / Brick exterior and built to ENERGY STAR Standards.

Prospective contractors must: be licensed in the State of Georgia; have workman’s compensation and general liability insurance.

All Sub-Contractors must have Workman’s Compensation Insurance.

Sand Hills Urban Development, Inc. is an equal employment opportunity agency and does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, gender, age, or physical challenges in its hiring practices and access to programs and initiatives.

All bid proposals and responses must include the following minimum requirements: 1.

2.

3.

4.

Name, address, and telephone number of the company.

Name of the principal owner and/or officers and the primary contact person.

Price, cost proposal and proposed scope of services Copy of business license and insurance policies.

Copies of the Plans may be purchased (non refundable) from Augusta Blueprint located at 512 Reynolds Street, Augusta, GA, 30901, 706-722-6488.

All bid proposals must be received by December 1, 2014 at 4:00 p.m. and submitted directly to Augusta Housing & Community Development (AHCD) at its office located at 925 Laney Walker Blvd., 2nd Floor, Augusta, GA 30901. All proposals submitted after this date will be returned to the sender and not considered. A mandatory conference for all prospective respondents will be held on November 25, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at the 3nd floor conference room located at 925 Laney Walker Blvd. Bid openings will be held on December 2, 2014, 11:00 a.m. at the AHCD conference room located at 925 Laney Walker Blvd., 2nd Floor, Augusta, GA 30901. Please call Tim Wilson at 706-733-3999.

COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION OF RICHMOND COUNTY

INVITATION TO BID

Sealed proposals from contractors will be received for the Morgan Road Middle School Additions and Renovations Project B-13-019-0184 by the County Board of Education of Richmond County at the address below until 3:00 p.m. local time, on Thursday, December 11, 2014, at which time the bids will be publicly opened and read. No extension of the bidding period will be made.

A Pre-Bid Conference will be held on Tuesday, December 2, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. local time in the Media Center Conference Room, Morgan Road Middle School, 3635 Hiers Blvd, Hephzibah, Georgia, 30815.

Drawings and project manual on this work may be examined at the Department of Maintenance and Facilities, Richmond County Board of Education, 1781 15th Street, Augusta, Georgia 30901.

Bidding documents may be obtained through the office of the architect: 2KM Architects, Inc., 529 Greene Street, Augusta, Georgia 30901, (706) 736-3333.

Applications for documents together with a refundable deposit of $300.00 per set should be filed promptly with the architect. Bidding material will be forwarded (shipping charges collect) as soon as possible. The full amount of deposit for one set will be refunded to each prime contractor who submits a bona fide bid upon return of such set in good condition within ten (10) days after date of opening bids. All other deposits will be refunded with deductions approximating cost of reproduction of documents upon return of same in good condition within ten (10) days after date of opening bid.

Contract, if awarded, will be on a lump sum basis. No bid may be withdrawn for a period of thirty-five (35) days after time has been called on the date of opening.

Bid must be accompanied by a bid bond in an amount not less than 5% of the base bid. Personal checks, certified checks, letters of credit, etc., are not acceptable. The successful bidder will be required to furnish performance and payment bonds in an amount equal to 100% of the contract price.

The Richmond County Board of Education (Owner) reserves the right to reject any and all bids and to waive technicalities and informalities.

BID LIST: The Richmond County Board of Education maintains a bid list for many categories that are let for bid each year. Contact Amy Bauman in the Business Office (706) 826-1298 or at baumaam@boe.richmond.k12.ga.us for additional information concerning the bid list.

To promote local participation, a database of sub-contractors, suppliers, and vendors has been developed by the Program Manager, GMK Associates. Contact Jeanine Usry with GMK Associates at (706) 826-1127 for location to review and obtain this database Bids shall be submitted and addressed to: Dr. Angela D. Pringle, Superintendent Richmond County School System 864 Broad Street Augusta, Georgia 30901 Attention: Mr. C. Gene Spires, Controller

Stress Physical Inactivity Family History of Cardiovascular disease Obesity Diabetes High Blood Pressure High Cholesterol Cigarette Smoking HEART ATTACK • BRAIN ATTACK • PREVENT ATTACK East Central Health District Hypertension Management Outreach Program

Richmond County 706.721.5800

UrbanProWeekly • NOVEMBER 20- 26, 2014

ARE YOU AT RISK?

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UrbanProWeekly - NOVEMBER 20 - 26, 2014

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THE LAW OFFICE OF

Frails & Wilson

ATTORNEYS AT LAW

Experienced Representation

Randolph Frails

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211 Pleasant Home Road • Suite A1 • Augusta, GA • 706-855-6715 • www.frailswilsonlaw.com