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people without permits.
Jackson has been encouraging churches,
institutions and offices within walking distance
to campus to operate lots and to keep an at
tendant who deposits money continuously, on
the lots at all times. At about $20 a car, money
will build up quickly, Jackson says.
Jackson says he thinks there will be a lot
of people, who don’t know Athens, looking
for spaces, and he thinks there will be more
cars than spaces available for these people.
On the peak day of Sunday, July 28, at
about 1 p.m., 15,000 vehicles are estimated to
be somewhere in Athens.
Heat
“I’m really kind of concerned about the
heat as much as anything else, because a lot of
these people aren’t going to be used to Geor
gia in July; you know what that can be,” says
Lieutenant Mac McCrary, head of the down
town squad.
A plan to address this very problem has
been drawn up for about a month and a half,
according to Walter Statkum.
As ACOG’s assistant venue logistics’ man
ager, Statkum has been bringing in push pins,
pens, tables, chairs, computers and other ma
terials, and then dispersing them to the loca
tions where they have to go. These locations
include groups such as competition manage
ment and venue management, and areas such
as the media press center and the interview
area in which the athletes will be passing
through. Materials for the club level suites
have also gone through Statkum’s Hands.
“We’ve been making those very nice for
the people who have purchased them,” he says.
If this wasn’t enough, Statkum has been
in charge of taking the plan drawn up for the
heat problem and putting it into place.
The AGOG hydration coordinator says the
most difficult problem to deal wbh will be
manning up rhe stations and keeping volun •
teers staffed at the stations when it gets really
hot.
This ’ncludes many stations right outside
of the stadium that will be handing out water.
About 10 water fountains will be set up out
side the Coliseum. The Salvation Army will
have two canteen sights close to Sanford Sta
dium dispensing free water about eight hours
a day. There will also be announcements on
the P.A. systems throughout the day encour
aging people to drink about eight ounces of
water per hour to keep themselves hydrated,
according to Statkum.
Statkum says that there will be twc heat
coordinators who will try to ensure that all
the stations are manned. They will also have
to make sure all the cups, the coolers and the
ice are there before the events begin. At the
end of the evening, they are in charge of put
ting everything away and closing all the sta
tions up.
“I’ve known for a while that I was put on
this Earth to fight poverty,” Lisa Barrett, the
coordinator of the Northeast Georgia Home
less Coalition, says. “It’s the one thing that
makes me sick to my stomach.
“It’s like a terminal illness in a way. It eats
away at everything that we have when people
are allowed to live in poverty and just get cast
aside.... It could be anyone.
“I think everyone has special gifts and tal
ents.... I believe my gift is to empower people
who are living in poverty. My talent is my ac
ceptance of the fact that I know what it will
cost me to stand up.... The system isn’t work
ing; people are living in poverty, and that’s
wrong. 1 know that to do what I do that I’m
going to make waves; I’m going to make noise,
and I’m going to be unpopular.”
“To deny the problem, and to just turn my
face, and not deal with it, would cost me more
in the long run,” she says.
Barrett has been working with poverty in
the community for 11 years. She has been on
staff at the Northeast Georgia Homeless Coa
lition since January'.
The coalition formed an Olympic commit
tee two years ago.
According to Barrett, r he coalition has
been anticipating two problems; people who
come here looking for housing and employ
ment, finding neither, and not being able to
get back to where they came from; and people
who may go through a crisis such as losing their
money or traveler’s checks.
Barrett says, during The Games, people can
call the coalition at their two hotline num
bers: 546-8293 or 1-800-448-0636.
The two usual homeless shelters in town
will be open (The Athens Area Homeless
Shelter and The Salvation Army). There will
also be an overflow shelter open ?t the comer
of Chase and Boulevard with a capacity of 30
people, according to Lisa.
The overflow is typically just opened dur
ing the winter. In response, some people have
asked Lisa, “Why are you trying to hide the
homeless away when the Olympics come to
townr
Barrett says that's not the point of the over
flow shelter at all. She says they just want to
offer beds to people without a place to sleep
because of the increased numbers coming to
town.
There will also be breakfast at the over
flew shelter. Lisa says getting food and volun
teers has been a challenge and the coalition is
sti*’ looking for meals to feed about 30 people.
Barrett has also put together a pamphlet
i that fits easily into any pocket. It is called
“The Pathfinder,” and it lists the nam. s and
phone numbers of emergency shelters, food, j
clothing, legal aid, police, hospitals and
mental health organizations. ACOG will
have copies. It will be at information booths
and in supervisor’s manuals. It will be
mailed to service providers and distributed
to business owners.
“The main goal is to get the information
to the people who need it," she says.
Barrett says she does not think there will
be a problem. “Athens is not like Atlanta.
We’re not sweeping the streets; we’re not bus
ing people out. We are a community. We in- j
vite people to come to our community, and
we treat them with dignity and respect when
they come.”
She says the coalition has been assured by
the police and the local government that no
harassment or lock-ups are going to happen, t
“This has been a total community effort,”
she says. “That is something that we should
be so proud of.... It’s a very good indication in
my mind that people understand that
homelessness is here; it’s a problem and that
it’s not acceptable.”
Taxi!
Southeast Cabs has added 10 new vehicles,
and about 15 more are coming in, according
to disp;.:. .er/manager Bill Bostick.
As an upbeat blues rhythm plays from the
stereo at the small taxi lot, Bostick says the
company’s cab fares will also be going up.
“Probably about $8 to $ 10 tvgher than they
are now,” he says.
But he says the company is still not sure
what the government is going to allow, and
rl iat they will be keeping the same prices for
locals.
A loud drill operates on one of the taxis in
the Southeast Cab small garage as Bostick con
tinues:
“We know our normal local customers....
It’s repeat business.... If we go pick 10 people
up at the Hampton Inn, then we're going to
know they’re not locals. There’s no reason to
hurt the locals.... We'll end up losing their
business when it's over.’
According to Bostick, the reason for the
high prices is the high amount of traffic the
company expects during The Games.
He says he's been told that because the cabs
are public transportation, they can get into
town.
“But the normal traffic jams like Atianta
Highway and Macon Highway; we’ll just have
to deal with that; leam how to get through it
the best we can,” he says.
He says that during the Olympics “all hell
is going to br ak loose.... We may not even
be able to dispatch; it may be just too much to
handle off the desk. It might be where we just
get flags and pick-ups."
The company will have a ^hurtle to At
lanta and back. The shuttle costs $75 plus $ 15
for each additional person, and it must be pre
paid.
Bostick also says that between security and
the National Guard that are already here, busi
ness has already picked up.
The manager says the company’s Olympic
bright orange vehicles are ready to go.
* * *
Mike Caldwell has been driving cabs for 25
years: “A lot of traffic, a lot of tie-ups. A long
time to be getting places, but it's going to be a
pretty good time. A lot of money to be made for
everybody,” he says. “That’s going to be a mess.
At a ball game you have 25,000 people; you can
hardly move. You have 200,000 people, you
know you ain’t gonna be able to move."
Keith Hurwitz
Lt. Mac McCrary aj
his downtown *ro<x
say they have
things under
c ;ntrc-
JULY 24, 1996
check out the
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