athens-clarke county
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Q&As
Q&A: Executive Assistant to Athens Mayor Has Inside View to Government for 30 Years
Editor’s Note: Shortly after this interview, Christine Howard was promoted to the Clerk of Commission after the previous clerk retired after 51 years in that role. Christine Howard is the executive assistant to Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz, and her role consists of performing numerous daily tasks such as…
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Q&As
Q&A: BOE Member LaKeisha Gantt Sees Mayoral Run as ‘Next Step’
LaKeisha Gantt, Clarke County Board of Education former president and current member, is campaigning in the 2026 Athens-Clarke County mayoral election. Q: As someone who has lived in Athens your whole life, what inspired you to run for mayor? A: It wasn’t really one single moment or turning point. It’s…
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Athens-Clarke County
Athens-Clarke Hits Public Safety Milestones Amid Ongoing Reforms
Athens-Clarke County has recorded zero murders through September — a first in the county’s history — according to Mayor Kelly Girtz, who announced the milestone Sept. 23 at City Hall. In addition, there has been a significant decrease in major crimes compared to last year. Aggravated assaults dropped to 420,…
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Q&As
Q&A: Athens-Clarke Mayor Wants Opportunities to Be His Lasting Impact
Kelly Girtz is in his final term as mayor of Athens-Clarke County, which has more than 128,000 residents. Q: Alright, so you’ve had a long history of working in the Athens community, from education to District 9 commissioner. What inspired you to become the mayor? A: I really wanted to…
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Athens-Clarke County
Athens Implements North Thomas Street Crosswalk, Public Safety Measures
Athens-Clarke County will add a pedestrian crossing on North Thomas Street near The Classic Center following two car accidents that resulted in fatalities, Mayor Kelly Girtz said Sept. 23 in a news conference. This project will make the city safer for pedestrians and drivers, Girtz said, while discussing public safety…
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Athens-Clarke County
Elementary School Custodian Named Employee of Month
Sallie Smith, a custodian at Johnnie Lay Burks Elementary, arrived at work in the morning as usual when the Clarke County School District superintendent approached her. “I’m like, she must be here to talk to the kids. Then she called my name,” Smith said. And for good reason: Smith had…
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Athens-Clarke County
Linnentown Descendants Still Wait for Apology from the University of Georgia
ixty years later, Christine Davis Johnson still remembers how the city would send tractors at 1 a.m. to push dirt into walls encircling her house in Linnentown. A historically Black Athens neighborhood, Linnentown was destroyed by urban renewal in the 1960s to make way for University of Georgia dormitories. “The…
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Athens-Clarke County
Adopt-A-Mom Celebrates Single Mothers as Unseen Heroes this Mother’s Day
Every Mother’s Day, The Ark, a nonprofit organization that supports single mothers with financial assistance and educational resources, celebrates them with Adopt-a-Mom. With the help of donations from community members, the program gifts single mothers with flowers, handwritten notes, and this year, a brunch. Supporting low-income single mothers is about…
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Housing
Historic Athens Program Repairs Houses to Make Reparations
Donna Archibald was born and raised in Athens, but when she needed to replace her roof, she found her ability to stay in her home threatened. “I would have had to struggle and pay for it myself because my insurance company turned me down,” Archibald said. “If I had to…
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Athens-Clarke County
From California to Georgia: Importance of Proactive Wildfire Management
The devastation serves as a reality check,” says Jacqueline Gewert, a 21-year-old psychology and biology student at the University of Georgia from Calabasas, California. She is talking about the ravaging California wildfires she witnessed from a distance this past January. Gewert was already back in Athens on Jan. 7, 2025…