Health
-
Jackson County EMS Addresses Growing Population
Tim Grice, the assistant director of Jackson County EMS, listens to gentle music on a gloomy Friday afternoon. It’s calm in his office — he’s taking the day as it comes and leaving his remaining tasks for Monday. Jackson County is one of the fastest-growing counties in the country. Grice…
-
Former Georgia Football Coach Now Works to ‘Eliminate the Whisper’ of Addiction
Scott Cochran is an eight-time national champion, winning rings at LSU, Alabama and Georgia. He’s known around the world as “Coach Yeah,” a nickname given to him by former Alabama football coach Nick Saban for his booming voice. It’s a voice that made him “the most famous strength and conditioning…
-
Rural Georgia Struggles with Health Care Accessibility
You are having a health emergency. You call 911. The nearest hospital is an hour away. You are diagnosed with cancer, but it took you months to find out because you don’t have transportation to see the one primary care physician in your county. You finally get an appointment…
-
Classic City Hemp Leaves Town Before New Laws Hit
Georgia Senate Bill 494 takes full effect Oct. 1, placing several new restrictions on the production and distribution of hemp in Georgia. Grady Newsource reporter Christian Andrade went to local hemp shops in Athens to find out how businesses and customers will be affected. Christian Andrade is a…
-
Athens Recovery Warriors: Battling Addiction, Building Community
The audience fell silent as Sarah Corley made her way to the microphone. Corley told the crowd she found meth when she was 12, heroin at 13, left home at 16, and by 18 she was pregnant with her first child. For several years she was suicidal, intentionally overdosing…
-
Fentanyl Found Laced With Powerful Horse Sedative in Georgia
Drug enforcement officials have found that a large-animal sedative known as xylazine, found to be laced within fentanyl, was responsible for 36% of fentanyl-related overdose deaths in Athens last year. Rich McDougald, commander of Northeast Georgia Regional Drug Task Force, stated the sedative was first found in fentanyl back 2021.…
-
Nurturing Connection: Vital Role of ‘The Third Place’ for Gen Z
WATCH: The term “Third Place,” another name for “a home away from home,” is trending among Generation Z, who are looking for ways to build community — and local businesses in Athens are responding. Emily Ezratty was greeted by laughter and the low hum of conversation as…
-
More Than Just an Allergy: UGA Student Shares Social Impacts of Celiac Disease
When Anna Jacobson, a junior at the University of Georgia, was in the fifth grade, she routinely became sick every morning at the same time during class, so her teacher would send her to the nurse’s office. Jacobson said she had always struggled with stomach issues, but she did not…
-
Local Farmer Uses Community Garden to Fight Food Insecurity
Syndey Buffington, the community director of agriculture for Athens Land Trust, is not like most farmers. Now in her 11th year of farming, Buffington made the switch from commercial farming to community farming, hoping to reduce food insecurity in Athens-Clarke County. Food insecurity is defined as the limited or uncertain…
-
Ceasefire Resolution Support Reaches Athens-Clarke County Government
Athens-Clarke County commissioners and pro-Palestinian groups are at a standstill over whether the city should adopt a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas. Mayor Kelly Girtz has suggested other methods to address the conflict such as an open letter supporting an end to the…