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The county government, Athens Area
Chamber of Commerce, Classic Center and
Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau
partnered on the DOT grant application.
Athens was one of 18 communities selected
out of 57.
With hundreds of new homes planned
for the Westside of Athens and several
elementary schools already overcrowded,
Clarke County School District officials said
they need to prepare for an influx of stu
dents. A developer is also looking at prop
erty near School C, a planned elementary
school in north Athens that’s currently on
hold, according to school board member
Greg Davis.
“It’d be nice to have a plan that looks
at everything,” SPLOST director John
Gilbreath said at a work session Feb. 27.
CCSD needs to be ready to respond to
growth because it takes 12-18 months to
build a school, he said.
Gilbreath also gave a presentation
about athletic facilities at Cedar Shoals and
Clarke Central high schools. CCSD recently
improved the softball and baseball fields
at Clarke Central, and improvements are
planned for locker rooms, the track, foot
ball field and tennis courts as well. Instead
of an artificial turf football field like the
one Clarke Central is getting, Cedar Shoals
requested a new fieldhouse instead. Cedar
Shoals is also getting a new track, gym
bleachers and baseball parking. About $2
million is earmarked for athletic improve
ments at each school.
Another presentation dealt with alterna
tive education. CCSD formerly contracted
with private companies to educate stu
dents who had been expelled or suspended
long-term from middle or high school, but
brought the program in-house last year.
Since then, attendance continues to be an
issue but is improving, Chief of Policy and
School Support Services Dawn Myers said.
“It’s not where we want to be, but I’m proud
of our progress when we look at the data.”
The board also discussed a proposed
policy that would ban members of the
public from speaking at meetings if they
make personal attacks or go over the
three-minute limit. The ban would last for
three months for the first violation and six
months for the second. Board President
LaKeisha Gantt said she is hopeful the rules
will lead to “a better climate and culture” at
board meetings.
Another proposed policy scheduled for
a vote at the Mar. 5 meeting would dis
courage board members from abstaining
from voting unless they have a conflict of
interest.
Antwon Stephens, who was appointed to
represent District 2 in January, participated
in the work session by phone. Stephens
said last month that he was having himself
committed for mental health issues after
news reports revealed that the former may-
oral and congressional candidate is under
investigation for state and federal campaign
finance violations, and that he misled the
school board about graduating from Cedar
Shoals.
Later, the board went into executive ses
sion to discuss personnel matters. A settle
ment with former superintendent Demond
Means, perhaps? Stay tuned.
Athens signmakers almost made a killing
last week, as numerous local package stores
and yoga studios narrowly avoided having
to change their names.
State Reps. Marcus Wiedower
(R-Watkinsville) and Houston Gaines
(R-Athens) introduced a bill to rename
Five Points the Dan Magill Memorial
Intersection, after the late UGA tennis
coach. The proposal was met with much
derision on the neighborhood listserv, with
residents pointing out that the change
would be confusing, another sign would
make the intersection more dangerous,
and Magill has already been honored else
where. (Most notably, the university tennis
complex is named after him.) “A shameless
effort by these two buffoons to curry favor
with Dawg fans,” one person wrote.
Gaines and Wiedower quickly with
drew the bill. No word on whether plans
are in the works to rename Normaltown
Dooleytown or Cobbham Frommham. ©
THIS HtUIH W«ILB
TRUMP MEETS WITH A HIGHLY re
garded specialist: inyisible-hand-
oF-THE -FREE-MARKET MAN!
I'M NOT LITERALLY INVISIBLE,
OF COURSE—IT’S REALLY MORE
OF A METAPHOR—
I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE i
TALKING ABOUT, AND I DON'T
CARE.
YES,
sir;
ALSO—IF A VACCINE BECOMES
AVAILABLE, BIG PHARMA MUST
BE ALLOWED TO TURN A HUGE
profit; under ho circumstances
SHOULD YOU PROMISE THAT IT WILL
BE AFFORDABLE!
•••>::-d Iy
MY GUY AZAR IS AL-
THE PER-
READY ON IT.' HE'S A
fECT man
FORMER PHARMA EXEC-
FOR THE
UTIYEj YOU know;
job, then;
SIR, THE CORONAVIRUS IS A PUBLIC
EMERGENCY! You must TAKE
IMMEDIATE STEPS TO PREVENT
THE CONTAGIOUS SPREAD—OF
PANIC to the MARKETS'.
XX ii
IF THE ECONOMY CRASHES!:
BECAUSE MILLIONS OF
PEOPLE ARE DYING—THAT|
could REALLY Hurt myB
re-election;
by TOM TOMORROW
WELL, IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE
THE CRISIS UNDER COHTROLl
EXCEPT FOR THE PART WHERE
MILLIONS MAY DIE.
DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY
PEOPLE DIE FROM THE
FLU? A LOT! SOME
DOCTOR GUY TOLD ME. 1
I'D SUGGEST YOU HOLD A PRESS
CONFERENCE AND REASSURE THE
PUBLIC, BY WHICH I MEAN IN
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IS FINE! NOTHING TO SEE HERE!
I'LL BLAME THE FAKE
NEWS MEDIA— AND THE
DEMOCRATS! AND I'LL
PUT PENCE IN charge;
THAT WAY I CAN BLAME
HIM IF THINGS GO SOUTH.'
[
ANYWAY WE JUST HAVE TO WAIT
FOR WARM WEATHER AND THIS
WILL ALL GO AWAY—RIGHT?
WELL, I‘M NO
SCIENTIST—BUT
ANYTHING'S
POSSIBLE! I
GUESS.
STUPID VIRUS.' NO
PANDEMIC HAS
EVER TREATED
A PRESIDENT
MORE UNFAIRLY.'
I'M GOING TO GIVE IT A NICK
NAME! I'LL CALL IT THE
CROOKED CORONAVIRUS.'
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