Newspaper Page Text
ATHENS FOR ALL OF US
After a long political season, the runoff election comes down
to a referendum on the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce slate of
candidates: the Chamber against the rest of us. And back behind
the public face of the Chamber lurk those who would undo the
progressive initiatives that define Athens as a good place to live
and work.
Make no mistake about it: this election, as usual comes down
to the choice of whether you want our town to fall into the hands
of those bad developers who will pollute our streams, decimate
our tree canopy, destroy our greenbelt, disintegrate our neighbor
hoods, gridlock our traffic and generally despoil our hometown for
their own profit.
T hus would the Chamber and those it fronts destroy the very
business-friendly climate they claim to promote and drive away
those companies that care for the quality of life in the community
where they choose to do business. If the Chamber wins, the sure
result is fewer decent jobs, more poverty, poorer quality of life for
everybody except those who profit from siphoning our common
resources into their own pockets.
Is this what Charlie Maddox wants? Of course not. Charlie wants
to be a good mayor for all the people. But Charlie's campaign is
financed and handled by the
same crowd that always tries
to get its hands on Athens
for its own gain. If they get
Charlie in, they're going to
keep on influencing him. The
same goes for Alvin Sheats in
District 9. Alvin is a great guy, but he proved when he was a com
missioner how ready he is to vote the way the developers want.
And the developers want it all; they don't want any limitations
on their avarice. And our Chamber of Commerce backs them up.
Their mantra is: anything bad for bad developers is bad for busi
ness. Remember that in former Mayor Doc Eldridge the Chamber
and its backers had a mayor who understood where they were com
ing from, who tried to work with them, tried to point out to them
that some limitations to their rapacity were good for the commu
nity. They would have none of it and refused to support Doc when
he ran for re-election.
Heidi Davison and the people who believed this community
could do better beat Doc, and now he has gone over to the other
side. Out of friendship for Charlie, Doc is now in bed with those
developers and the Chamber who wouldn't support him. Alvin
Sheats is in there, too: the very man who pulled the rug out from
under Doc when Doc stood up to the developers.
Meanwhile, we have a very unusual mayor in Heidi Davison. In
spite of the scant powers of her office and the difficulties of cor
ralling a majority on the Commission, Heidi is a can-do mayor. She
was elected by a coalition of citizens who demanded action in sev
eral areas of concern, and Heidi has delivered. The usual pattern is
that we elect a candidate because we want her to do something,
and then, once elected, she turns cautious and doesn't want to of
fend anybody.
Heidi broke that mold; she set out to do the things we asked
her to do, knowing that she would make people mad. She got
things done, and she made people mad. She made the bad devel
opers apoplectic, and they are gunning for her now—shooting
dollars by the thousands, trying to bring her down, led by the
Chamber. If they bring her down, they bring all of us down: they
bring Athens down.
So, once again we are in a fight for the future of Athens. Mayor
Heidi Davison has proven herself as a tough, thoughtful, inclusive
leader who understands our city and has the knowledge and abil
ity to take us where we need to go. The usual forces are arrayed
against her, and this time around they have thrown their resources
behind Charlie and Alvin, because they can't control Heidi and
District 9 Commission candidate Kelly Girti is not in ttieir pocket,
either.
By the time you read this, you can go down to the Board of
Elections office and vote early through Friday, Dec. 1. Runoff
Election Day is Tuesday, Dec. 5, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at your
puling place. If you don't know where that is, call the Board of
Elections at 706-613-3150. Even if you didn't vote in the General
Election, you can vote in the runoff, as long as you're registered
to vote. If you're registered, you can yote in the mayoral runoff
no matter where you live. Voters in Districts 1-4 also vote in
‘’Superdistrict'’ 9.
Maybe soon we'll have better leadership at the Chamber, and
maybe someday the bad developers will wise up and understand
that a healthy community is good for everybody's business, includ
ing their own. Meanwhile, we've got to go to the polls and make
sure we elect Heidi Davison and Kelly 'Girtr. They understand that
Athens belongs to all of us.
Their mantra is: anything
bad for bad developers
is bad for business.
Pftta McCommont Editor & Publisher editor®!lagpole.com
THIS WEEK’S ISSUE:
NEWS & FEATURES
City Pages 6
Local News and More
A landmark downtown comer gets an overhaul, the latest on plans for
the Navy School, and a view of Athens’ past rediscovered.
Children Keep You Humble 8
They’ll Embarrass You Whether They Mean To Or Not
Children aren't all that great unless they’re yours.
ARTS <§s EVEWTS
Ho! Ho! Holidays! 14
Open Houses and Xmas Sales In Athens and Beyond
Flagpole’s annual rundown of where and when to buy cool stuff by local artists—and more!
Theatre Notes 19
The Fat Man in Red Comes Early
New theatre group Rose of Athens presents The Complete Word of God (abridged)
and ALPs does Dickens' other Christmas story.
Look Away, Dixieland 27
Phosphorescent's Matthew Houck Is Leaving Athens,
So Flagpole Interviews... His Dog?
And what’s the story behind that Christmas-lights-laced cowboy jacket ot his?
Dreaming A Highway • 29
Thoughts On The Career Of Songwriter Gillian Welch
Carving her own niche, Welch is a talented performer who also easily lends her songs to others.
Comment 30
Lucero’s Forced Blue-Collar Costume
Rebels. Rogues and Smn Brothers stands as a restament to
white-trash-chic fashion more than as successful art.
LETTERS
4
ABCOATL
25
CITY PAGES
6
PHOSPHORESCENT
27
CHILDREN KEEP YOU HUMBLE...
8
GILLIAN WELCH
29
BOOK REVIEW
9
COMMENT
30
OUT THERE!
....10
RECORD REVIEWS
31
HOLIDAY SALES
....14
SPOTLIGHT
32
MOVIE DOPE
...16
THREATS & PROMISES
33
MOVIE PICK
...18
COMICS
34
THEATRE NOTES
...19
REALITY CHECK
3b
ABC
.... 20
CLASSIFIEDS
36
COVER DESIGN by Kelly Ruberto
featuring pottery by Andy Nasisse on
display at Good Dirt Gallery
EDITOR l PUBLISHER Pete McCommons
ADVERTISING DIRECTOP l PUBLISHER Alicia Nickles
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Larry Tenner
MANAGING EOITOR Margaret Moore
ADVERTISING SALES Anita Aubrey. Mtimda Edwards. Jessica Pritchard
MUSIC EOITOR Chris Hassiotis
CITY EOITOR Ben Emanuel
CLASSIFIEDS, DISTRIBUTION l OFFICE MANAGER Emily Waldron
AO DESIGNERS Ian Rickert. Kelly Ruberto
IliDSTIUTOftS Jason Crosby, Patrick Dean
CARTOONISTS Cameron Bogue, Jake Hebert. Jacob Hunt, Missy Kulik, Jeremy Long. Clint McElroy,
Drew McKercher. Joe Rice
ADOPT Ml Special Agent Cindy Jerrell
ABC Chns Hassiotis, Ben Emanuel
WRITERS Michael Andrews, Michael Barthel. John Dicker, David Eduardo, Coy King, Gordon Lamb, Chns McKay.
Chad Radford, Beth Sale, Jeff Totxa,. Brandon Waddell, Drew Wheeler, Elise White
CIRCULATION Charles Greenleaf, JoJo GJidewell, Rcy Coughlin, Clayton Aucom, Zack Haas, Lee Sarrell
WEB DESIGNER lan Rickert
ADVERTISING INTERNS Brian McBrearty, Ashley Alien
EDITORIAL INTUN Catherine Reagan
OFFICE I MUSIC INTERN Evan Levine
CONTACT US:
STREET ADDRESS: 112 S. Foundry St.. Athens. GA 30601
MAILING ADDRESS: P.0. Box 1027, Athens, GA 30603
EDITORIAL (706) 549-9523
ADVERTISING: (706) 549-0301
FAX: (706) 548-8981
ADVERTISING: ads®flagpo!e.com
ARTS IEYENTS: outthereOflagpole.com
COMICS: comicsOflagpole.com
EDITORIAL editorOflagpoie.com
LETTERS: lettersOflagpoie.com
MUSIC: musicOflagpole com
MUSIC LISTINGS: abcOflagpole.com
WEB SITE: www.flagpole.com
VOLUME 20
ISSUE NUMBER 47
Flagpole. Ik. publishes FlNgpede Mgirlw $mk*y and distributes 17.000 copies
trie at over 2/S locations around Athens, Georgia Subscriptions cost $65 a year,
135 for ia mcnthi O 2006 Flagpole. Inc. All rights reserved.
®oo
NEWS & FEATURES I ARTS & EVENTS I MOVIES I MUSIC I COMICS & ADVICE I CLASSIFIEDS NOVEMBER 29,2006 FLAGPOLE.COM 3