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Then There Were Two
There were six veteran WUGA 91.7 FM staff members on
board a year ago when the University of 6eorgia gave the sta
tion to Georgia Public Broadcasting as an incentive for GPB to
take over the cash-hemorrhaging television station WNEG-TV.
Four of those staff have jumped, fallen or were pushed over
board. The latest is David Ferguson, the familiar voice of eve
ning classical music. Ferguson applied for the vacant position
of program director at the station but he says his application
was never acknowledged until the new director was announced
at a staff meeting and Ferguson was told that the station man
ager "forgot" that he had applied. When asked about the lapse,
Station Manager Jimmy Sanders said he can't comment on a .
personnel matter.
There is some feeling that Sanders, who inherited the radio
station management along with his television management
duties, has not shown much interest in WUGA, unlike former
manager Steve Bell, who threw himself into the job and fought
for the interests of the university against the attempted
encroachments of GPB until that organization finally took over,
and he was fired.
Ferguson, happily, has landed on his feet He had been
blogging part-time for The Raw Story (www.rawstory.com), an
ontine magazine, to supplement his income because of UGA pay
freezes, and now he'll be writing full-time for The Raw Story at
a considerable pay raise with benefits, working from home.
In regard to his leaving WUGA, Ferguson responded, TU
just say about the university wHat Winston Churchill said about
Americans, that they 'can always be counted on to do the right
thing... after they have exhausted all other possibilities'"
Coincidentally, the man who has been hired as the new
program director at WUGA, Hollis Monroe, is a highly regarded
longtime aficionado of classical music who recently lost his
job in Iowa public radio because of a consolidation of stations
within that system.
Doc WeU Done
For their main fundraiser the Clarke County Democrats are
roasting not com nor a pig, but a corny pig in a poke: a former
commissioner, a former mayor and a former Democrat all rolled
into one: Chamber of Commerce President Doc Eldridge. Yes,
even knowing what a tempting target he will make when con
fronted and surrounded by his former fellow Democrats, Doc is
a good enough sport to stand before the slings and arrows of
outrageous orators and take what they let fly.
Here's how Doc sees it in a recent email to supporters:
"Well friends, I must have finally lost my mind. You see, I have
agreed to allow myself to be roasted by the Clarke County
Democratic Party. Now before you scream and put calls in to
Rush and Hannity, you need to understand that a generous
contribution will be made to the Athens Mentor Program, with
whom we have been dosely aligned for 25 years.
"I had to think long and hard before saying yes, but I
don't plan on running for anything in the future, and I will get
in the last word... At long last I will get to take a crack at the
political party that could never dedde if they liked me or not. .
They always ‘bought I was a Republican in Democratic cloth
ing, and now the Republicans think the opposite."
The roast is Thursday, March 8 and begins with a cocktail
reception at 6:30 p.m. in the Grand Ballroom of the Tate
Student Center on campus. The cost is a Republican-sized $50,
but you get dinner and a ringside seat at the festivities.
Judge Lawton Stephens is Master of Ceremonies, and he'll
have enough quips, bon mots, one-liners, wisecracks and bad
puns to make the show all by himself. But he'll have plenty of
help from Gwen Clooney, former state Commissioner of Labor
Michael Thurmond, Judge Patrick Haggard, radio-personality-
plus Barbara Dooley, old friend Tom Hodgson, former state
Democratic Party Chair Jane Kidd and me.
Buy tickets online at www.clarkedemocrats.com or from Bill
Horton at 706-548-5769 or bishopvill@aol.com. For Democrats
and Republicans alike, this is too good an opportunity to miss.
(If you know of an insult or anecdote concerning Doc that
you want to be sure gets included, send it to me at the email
address below. Doc will appreciate it.)
Pete McCommons editor@flagpoie.com
THIS WEEK'S ISSUE:
NEWS & FEATURES
City Dope 4
Athens News and Views
The Megabus shuttle will now get you to Atlanta and back, but it can’t transport
the Dope from the hell that Athens politics have become.
Athens Rising 7
What’s Up in New Development
Everybody says they want economic growth, but we need a more complex
understanding of what that means.
ARTS & EVENTS
Theatre Notes 20
In Like an All-Star Cast of Lions
The Rose of Athens Theatre will present James and the Giant Peach.
Miscellany 39
Get Your Ath Together
The Videographer’s Hella-Big Show, submissions to Sprockets and more...
MUSIC
Grandchildren 25
World Travel and Electronic Excursions
Songwriter Aieks Martray draws on a wealth of influences and memories.
Cracker/Camper Van Beethoven.. .26
inaugural Camp-In
Three-day festival explores songwriting of “egalitarian misanthrope” David Lowery.
CITY DOPE
....4
CAL1FGW GUITAR TRIO..
..23
CITY PAGES
....5
RECORD REVIEWS
..24
CAPITOL IMPACT
....6
GRANDCHILDREN
..25
ATHENS RISING
....7
CAMP IN
..26
SAFETY FIRST
....8
THE CALENDAR!
..27
ART NOTES
....9
BULLETIN BOARD
..36
ATHENS FAVORITES
...10
ART AROUND TOWN
..37
GRUB NOTES
...17
COMICS
...38
MOVIE DOPE
...18
MISCELLANY
...39
MOVIE PICK
...19
CLASSIFIEDS
...40
THEATRE NOTES
...20
CROSSWORD
...41
THREATS & PROMISES...
...21
STEP SHOW
...42
EDITOR & RJ8USHER Pete McCommons
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR & PUBLISHER Alicia NlckJe<
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Lany Tenner
MANAGING EDITOR Christina Cotter
ADVERTISING SALES Anita Aubrey, Melinda Edwards, Jessica Pritchard
MUSIC EDITOR Michelle Gitzenrat
CITY EDITOR Dave Man
CLASSIFIEDS, DISTRIBUTION A OFFICE MANAGER Jessica Smith
ASSISTANT OFFICE MANAGER Sydney Stotkin
AD Kelly Ruberto. Cindy Jeneil
CARTOONISTS Cameron Bogue, Lee Gatlin, Missy Kulik, Jeremy Long, David Mack, Clint McEhty
ADOPT ME Special Agent Cindy Jeneil
CONTRIBUTORS Caroline Barrett, Christopher Benton, Hillary Brown, Karen P. Chysoweth, ,
Kevin Craig, Tom Crawford, Carrie Oagenhard, David Eduardo, David Fitzgerald,
Chris Hassiotis, Derek Hilt, Melissa Hovanes, John Huie, Gordon Lamb, T. Ballard Lesemann,
Kristen Morales, Jodi Murphy, John G. Nettles, Jessica Smith, Jordan Stepp, Jeff Tobias,
Drew Wheeler, Kevan Williams
CIRCUUnON Charles Greenleaf, Jesse Mangum, John Richardson, Will Donaldson
WEB KStOKI Kelly Ruberto
CALENDAR Jessica Smith .
ADVERTISING INTERNS Fiona Nolan, Amy Chmieiewski
MUSIC INTERNS Carolyn Amanda Dickey, Jodi Murphy, Erinn Waldo
STREET ADORESS: 112 Foundry St., Athens, GA 30601
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NEWS: newsOflagpole.com
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VOLUME. 26
ISSUE NUMBER 8
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