Metro Spirit - 06.23.16 by Metro Spirit

Atlanta;Sig Cox;B11931;10x5.375-4c (16Sp-NonPromo)

THE PERFECT NAP Made possible by a Lennox® home comfort system.

For relaxing comfort that saves you money on energy bills, call us today.

Heating & Air Conditioning 706-722-5304 sigcox.com Call Augusta’s only Lennox Premier dealer today!

B11931-16SpNonPromo-10x5.375-4c.indd 1

6/7/16 4:23 PM

Table of Contents

EDIT

June 23, 2016

Amy Christian

Arts Editor/Production Director

Whine Line Ruffin It Augusta Tek Kris Fisher Jenny is Wright

amy@themetrospirit.com

Stacey Eidson Staff Writer

stacey@themetrospirit.com

Molly Swift Staff Writer

molly@themetrospirit.com

Insider 10 Feature 14

CREATIVE Joshua Bailey Lead Designer

joshua@themetrospirit.com

COVER DESIGN: KRUHU

SALES Jim Christian Account Executive

jim@themetrospirit.com 706-414-4059

Paige Wilhelm Account Executive

paige@themetrospirit.com 706-833-1904

4 6 7 8 9

AN HONEST DAY’S WORK

What’s Up Calendar Nightlife Sightings NYT Crossword The Eight Austin Rhodes

19 20 24 26 27 28 30

BUSINESS Joe White Publisher

joe@themetrospirit.com 706-373-3636

Johnny Beckworth circulation manager

johnny@themetrospirit.com

THIS WEEK

Contributors Jenny Wright, Greg Baker, Austin Rhodes, Josh Ruffin, Kris Fisher, Michael Johnson

Metro Spirit is a free newspaper published weekly on Thursday, 52 weeks a year. Editorial coverage includes local issues and news, arts, entertainment, people, places and events. In our paper appear views from across the political and social spectrum. The views do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. Visit us at metrospirit. com.© 15 House, LLC. Owner/Publisher: Joe White. Legal: Phillip Scott Hibbard. Reproduction or use without permission is prohibited. One copy per person, please.

Want to advertise in the Metro Spirit? Call or email Joe at 706.373.3636 joe@themetrospirit.com

I’ve been married to a native of Cleveland for almost five years now, so I’ve heard all the sports stories, none more depressing than the World Series loss to the Braves in 1995. But the most recent addition to the list is the best: the best comeback in NBA finals history. Pg. 8

Former state Rep. Lee Anderson recently proved his critics wrong when he “enthusiastically accepted” Greg Grzybowski’s offer to debate in the July runoff for the state Senate District 24 seat. Many, including former Augusta ﬁrst lady Gwen Fulcher Young, don’t think public speaking is Anderson’s strong suit. Young even compared him to Honey Boo Boo in 2012. Ouch. Pg. 10

Many in the LGBT community aren’t really in a party mood. It’s difficult to blame them after the June 12 massacre at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, an attack that killed 49 and injured 53. Augusta Pride 2016 goes on this weekend, however, with a dance party, parade and festival with the theme Free to Be Me. Pg. 19

V27|NO25

6 7 8 9

OPINION

The Whine Line

To all of you who slept through that day in high school English class: if you count them, it’s fewer; if you measure it, it’s less A week after the Orlando shootings, Republican senators vote to protect Terrorists right to purchase assault rifles.

For 17 years I contributed to whineline. Even the 8 years that I moved to Europe I kept following and sending in whines. For the last 3 months my whines have not been posted. Well its been fun, but fun no more. Rest In Peace metrospirit.

Why on earth does the brain trust at Ga. DOT think it’s a good idea to work on Riverwatch and the Calhoun Expressway at the same time? Why not go ahead and repave Walton Way while you’re at it, and make everyone get to west Augusta via Martintown Road!

Ruffin It Augusta Tek Kris Fisher Jenny is Wright

I am spreading the message about what a Left-WingNut, Democrat paper you hypocrites are publishing. All the anti-gun articles in last Thursday’s edition, yet, there was a full page ad from [name redacted]. You folks sell your souls for a few dollars!!!! You are Democrats and are anti-gun because Democrats commit most murders with guns. Me Tarzan (I mean trump) you Jane, me want your vote, need big help to make better America Great again ....... Me use adverbs to reach voters on 4th grade level ..... Me no give details on how we make great ... Deals, Win, Big, great ...Me sound like “hope and change” .... Me have tiger blood like Charlie Sheen ...me fool you by giving hope No change Recent Whine Lines were quite lengthy - 20 and 24 lines long! That is ridiculous! If you can’t get your point across in a shorter whine, it shouldn’t be included. (Also takes up too much of the Whine Line column!) Three or four sentences are enough!!

My friends say they need guns to protect their family. How does that work? Your wife is at her job, the little one at school, the teen went to the mall, you are at work, and your gun is hiddden in the car. When you get that dreaded phone call “daddy help, he’s walking my way” and you are 27 minutes driving away. When you boycotted Obama, you was signing your family’s death certificates. Columbia County’s lack of an enforced tree ordinance should prompt citizens to unite and be the “watch dogs of their community.” Somebody ought to be nipping at the heals of crooked politicians! Tree huggers unite! Its probably just a coincidence that [name redacted] Church in Evans has not lowered their American flag to half staff, after the tragedy in Orlando, like almost every flag flying in the United States. Every flag I have seen in the Augusta area has been lowered. This is the same church that kicked out a boy scout troop after the Boy Scouts of America quit discriminating against gay members. what makes the world a beautiful place is that we have all types of races, creeds and ethnic groups. Harmony exists as long as one group doesn’t try to dominate another. Is it wrong to require balance and proportion with our immigration policy? Is it bigoted to preserve your culture, identity and have secure borders? Would Saudi Arabia or Mexico accept millions of immigrants into their countries? Of course not. Who at the Metro Spirit newspaper “decides” on what whine’s to print? Donald Trump should change his slogan to “Make America Hate Again” I see smiley Sean Frantom wants to remove the west Augusta members from boards commissions and authorities. Good job commissioner. Let the Ben Hassan and Marion Williams run everything. I am sure the will represent west Augusta. Like they do now. The NRA says everybody has the right to buy assault rifles, regardless if you belong to a terror organisation, and have been arrested by the FBI. As long as you are not a convicted fellon, you are free to buy military style assault weapons. Money talks, BS walks. We condemned Obama, who did not take any away, but allowed record breaking numbers of gun ownership under his watch. People get offended when I say “ America is doomed “. This is not hatred for America. This is sciene. We perish like fools.

WHINELINE@THEMETROSPIRIT.COM Have something you want to get off your chest? Send your whines to whineline@themetrospirit.com. The Metro Spirit reserves the right to edit submitted whines for content, but we will otherwise print them pretty much exactly as you type them… spelling errors and all.

4 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

23JUNE2016

V27|NO25

Concerning church mission trips/ vacations to foreign countries. Whats the matter. Too good to help American kids? Clean up your own back yard before worrying about the children of the world. It amazes me how The Marshall Square tragedy has just been swept under the rug. How is it no one has gone to jail or at the very least fired over this debacle? Oh thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s right, this one of the most politically corrupt parts if the world so I doubt there will every be justice for the Marshall Square fire victims. For the first time in U.S. history we have a woman nominee for president from a major political party. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a big deal. Too bad she had to be a crooked lawyer.

Things Don’t Change Please enjoy, if you can call reading about how depressingly unchanged the world is “enjoy,” this Josh Ruffin column from 2012. IN 1967, literary critic Al Alvarez interviewed maniac poet and Received Pronunciation enthusiast John Berryman in Dublin, during the latter’s Guggenheim-funded sabbatical there. Berryman was, incidentally, using the time to write the “His Toy, His Dream, His Rest” section of the Pulitzer Prize-winning “Dream Songs.” Amidst many cigarettes, drunken gesticulating and snuff-quality audio, Berryman gives probably my favorite quote ever, regarding poetry, socio-cultural interactions or anything else. Discussing a biography he’d written on Stephen Crane, Berryman had the following to say: “Crane’s irony and grotesquerie were forms of response to things so ghastly, that you cannot respond to them directly.” For Berryman, the phrases “hopeless solitude” and “the world as it is” are equitable. Ours is an existence so slap-full of tension and — at the risk of courting melodrama — despair, that direct engagement with these forces is an exercise in futility. Meeting them head-on, we cast ourselves in the role of whetstone to their debilitating potency. It’s why we tell jokes at funerals, and why we let “Saturday Night Live” make fun of our idiot politicians instead of burning them in effigy. We actually tried that a few times, I think, but Newt Gingrich’s effigy took weeks to burn out, Santorum’s smelled awful and everyone within a two-mile radius suffered from OxyContin withdrawals after Rush Limbaugh’s last ember smoldered. Okay, serious face again. With regards to that quote, I had a topic for this week all picked out: Mitt Romney’s safest and/or craziest potential vice presidential picks. I was going to point out the fact that, no matter which direction his campaign goes, it’s going to be totally predictable: the safe route (Pawlenty, Rubio, etc.) reinforces his sickeningly milquetoast image, while a hard left turn (Sarah Palin, Ken Jennings) would only lend credence to the assertion that the Romney campaign is discombobulated, reactionary and is on the level of Scientology with the whole making-shit-up-as-we-go theme. That column was to serve a threefold purpose: 1) I actually planned for it, so it would get me in under deadline for once, 2) I would get a chance to have some fun after a week in which so many of humanity’s turds came bubbling to the surface and 3) I would, again as per the quote, get to lay into something that pisses me off to no end — the fact that Mitt Romney has an honest-to-Odin, albeit slim, shot at becoming our president — with laxity, humor and maybe even a bit of actual wit and insight. And stir-fry was for dinner. All in all, the weekend was looking up. And then Sunday happened. I’m not going to go into details. It’s approaching midnight here on August 5, and by the time this goes to print, you’ll have read everything there is to read about the horrifying incident that took place in Oak Creek, Wisc., not two hours from where my fiancée and I live. The timing presents a dilemma: either do the original column and risk minimizing the impact of the shooting-related installment when it runs in two weeks, or totally scrap the original plans and see where this — a cocktail of shock, numbness, depression and a little boxed malbec — takes me. It has gotten past the point — actually, we’ve long since been past the point — of wondering how we are supposed to keep addressing things like this. I wrote briefly about this in a recent column (regarding the shooting during the “Dark Knight Rises” showing in Colorado), but it bears repeating: Nothing is going to be done about gun control unless someone, from either party, mans the f*ck up and takes some serious, probably controversial, action towards making it a hell of a lot harder for the average

6 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

Joe to obtain firearms. Yes, I’m aware that many criminals acquire firearms and other weapons through illegal channels and means. I’m aware that bad people exist and, were it not for the lackadaisical regulations supposedly curtailing the purchase of dangerous weapons, they would still exist. People, in general, suck. Some just suck graphically, cosmically harder than others. But here’s the thing: after barely a day’s worth of investigation, both shooters — Aurora and Oak Creek — were found to have purchased their weapons legally. The NRA says that “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” but, in the words of one of our foremost social critics (I say that only a quarter-jokingly), Eddie Izzard: “I think the gun helps.” Truly, a dead-eyed, orange-haired lunatic walking into a theater and punching a bunch of people would still be a weirdly jarring, unsettling event, but it would scarcely crack the local headlines. This incident, like so many others before it, raises an intimidating, inconvenient multitude of issues, of which gun control is only one. Preliminary reports tell us that the shooter was not only an active member of various white supremacist organizations, but that he was a former soldier, stationed at Fort Bragg, no less, and was in fact denied a third tour of duty — due to a noticeable degree of mental instability. Where is the rigorous mental health care contingencies that should be provided free of charge for our veterans? Something turned up on this man’s last military-conducted psychological profile that didn’t quite add up. And he was simply cut loose. Just like that. I mean… holy shrieking Jesus. Can we at least get a mandate for a follow-up or something? My dentist schedules me for my next checkup as soon as he’s done cleaning my teeth, and I haven’t had so much as a cavity, ever. Are our military doctors really that much more careless than a fluoride treatment? Most disturbingly, this tragedy once again underscores our hulking desensitization towards these types of events. 9/11’s impact was tremendous, but mostly because it was a direct attack on our home soil from a foreign-based military body, something that had not happened in 60 years up to that point. And I think we may have used up our national empathy reserves on that one, because things like this — Columbine, Aurora and now Oak Creek — are happening on a fairly consistent basis, while our national dialogue goes through the motions of grief and outrage, all the while buying time until the controversy subsides. Politically, I get it. It’s a tricky tightrope, and you don’t want to grossly alienate any one demographic. But my god… when is enough enough? When will we reach the point that mandates actual, difficult discussion on the topic at hand? A high-level political assassination? Another domestic terror attack? Both sides love to crow about the infringement on our national, cultural rights perpetuated by the “other.” And how convenient. The fact of the matter is this: Tragedy in this country is an olive branch made of plastic and wax. It promises, symbolizes multitudes, but delivers nil. It is a symptom of our collective hubris overshadowing a sense of common decency, not to mention the self-evident right to not get shot in the face. We do not, we cannot, engage these things directly. For Berryman, it produced a tortured genius. For the rest of us: torture.

JOSH RUFFIN is a long way from home, having moved from Augusta to Middleton, Wisconsin,

with his wife, Michelle. He is a self-described beer guru, so most of his Twitter posts are about what he’s drinking. While drinking, he enjoys writing poetry and watching MMA ﬁghts… or writing poetry about MMA ﬁghts.

23JUNE2016

V27|NO25

CM or Die FOR THE IT PROFESSIONAL, Configuration Management is probably one of the most despised yet one of the most important functions of the job. Performing configuration management tasks is only a shade more interesting than watching paint dry. Forms, paperwork, documentation — tedious and laborious tasks by any individual’s definition. Most professionals I know would rather have their toenails ripped out. However, a solid configuration management program pays significant dividends. Before jumping into the benefits, let’s start with the basics. What is configuration management? Technically speaking, configuration management is an engineering process used to ensure that a system’s attributes remain consistent with operational requirements. In other words, it’s the process we use to make sure that changes don’t break anything. Believe it or not, most complex systems are not just thrown together; these systems are designed to satisfy a specific purpose. However, nothing is this life is static. Hardware parts become discontinued, new software versions are released and operational needs evolve. All these changes could significantly impact the ability of the original system to perform its function. Hence, the need for configuration management is very real. How does this relate to the world if information technology? Well, I’m sure that most of us have unboxed a new computer and deployed it to a user. We’ve taken care to set all the correct policies. Every application is installed according to the checklist. The new computer runs without a flaw. The user logs on and expresses amazement on how fast their new machine runs. We’ve attained hero status in their eyes. Life is good. Then a week goes by, and we get a call from our new best friend, except they aren’t happy now. The brand new desktop that we delivered last week runs dog slow. The user demands to know why we would give them that piece of trash. Fix it or else! We take the computer back to the shop. It only takes about two minutes to discover the problem — a combination of adware and an unauthorized VM successfully suck up all the resources. Mystery solved. Of course, this is just an example. In the enterprise world, software restriction policies would prevent the installation of new applications, and no respectable IT professional would ever provide local admin privileges to a user. The consumer market is a little more troublesome, but the moral of the story remains valid: Bad configuration management inevitably leads to poor and unpredictable system performance. Perhaps more seriously, system security demands proper configuration management. The system design specifies component configurations that guard against unauthorized access. A configuration management process requires a review of system changes before installation to avoid creating vulnerabilities. In addition, a configuration audit procedure periodically verifies that devices are configured correctly for security and do not provide a path for access. All this said, one truth still remains — performing configuration management tasks are incredibly boring. I’m sorry, but I have no solution to that. All I GREGORY BAKER PH.D. is vice president of CMA can say is that your users greatly Technology and, yes, is actually a rocket scientist who used appreciate your efforts to provide a his doctorate in aerospace stable and secure environment. engineering at Lockheed Martin. @gregory_a_baker

23JUNE2016

In addition to working at CMA, he also serves the community, sitting on several boards in the area.

V27|NO25

The Comeback THE CITY OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, now has another chapter to etch in their long history of sports lore. Although this time, they won’t be the footnote in someone else’s great story, the Washington Generals to someone else’s team, the other team on the Michael Jordan poster, the… well, you get the idea. I’ve been married to a native of the Cleveland suburbs for almost five years now, so I’ve heard all the stories: “The Catch” in 1954, “The Fumble” in 1988, “The Move” in 1998… there are many more depressing stories that I’ve heard over the years, none more so than the reason she can’t stand the sound of the tomahawk chop: World Series 1995. But the most recent addition to the list is the best: “The Win.” It may end up being called “The Comeback” as it is the best comeback in NBA finals history. Even though the Cavaliers aren’t exactly my team, I like them by proxy. It comes with marriage: She supports my teams and I support hers, most of the time. That being said, I must admit, LeBron sullied his rep as far as I’m concerned when he bailed on Cleveland and “took his talents to South Beach”: “The Decision” in 2010. When the rest of sports fans everywhere (outside of Cleveland) rejoiced in “The King’s” rightful trophies, I scoffed. After he won his second in Miami, I said they were tainted victories and the only way to unsully his name would be to return to Cleveland and win three. So, you got one LeBron, better get to work on those other two. I kid. The pure emotion he displayed as the seconds ticked away Sunday night were enough to show me that he feels the difference between winning a championship and winning THIS championship. Cleveland isn’t my favorite team. They never will be. But I cherished that win as if they were. I saw the look on my wife’s face and videos from her friends back home and I couldn’t help but feel like I had been suffering all those years right along with them. I guess it kind of helps that I have been waiting several years for a championship from one of my own favorite teams for quite a while. The wife and I actually argued over who had it worse, having gone so long without a championship. My argument was that she at least had all those titles won in Ohio State, as she is a huge Buckeye fan. Hers was that my favorite baseball team robbed her of a World Series win from her baseball team in ’95. We’re still yet to decide on who’s more pathetic. But she finally gets to cherish this win with her hometown. A championship that they can call their own, won in major part by one of their own: Akron native LeBron James. Now, the pressure is on me as Atlanta is now fifth in major sports cities with a championship drought. Sure, I could hope for the cities of Charlotte, Cincinnati, Minneapolis or Toronto to get their turn, but that’s not the sports fans’ way. So, until the Hawks, Falcons, Braves or Bulldogs are able to reach their respective championship wins, I’ll just keep looking back and cherishing that Braves championship from the ’90s, like Cowboys fans.

KRIS FISHER,Kris Fisher is the midday host and program director for HD98.3 and an Augusta radio staple. He is a husband, father of three and lover of all things adventurous, as well as activities most people would have outgrown years ago. djkﬁsh.com.

23JUNE2016

V27|NO25

Buried in Books

I LOVED READING when I was a child. My nose was always buried in a book. Remember the series from the late ‘80s and early ‘90s? I tried to start a Babysitter’s Club several times. The Sweet Valley Twins, Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield, were the most beautiful girls I’d ever heard of. I wanted to be just like each of them in the Sweet Valley High books. When Waldenbooks had the newest Super Edition, it was like Christmas. They actually had one about Christmas, I think. I loved my mom’s old Nancy Drew books from the 1950s, but the updated ones had faster cars and scarier mysteries. Every single chapter was a cliffhanger. My friend Ashley and I both read nonstop. On Friday nights, between episodes of Full House and 20/20, we’d read, trading books when we finished our own. Our town had a book exchange, called The Book Exchange, where you could take your books for them to resell. I think we got 30 cents for each paperback. If it was brand new or a new release (like one of those Sweet Valley High Super Editions), you’d get a dollar or so. If

23JUNE2016

you saved your store credit, you’d eventually be able to buy a used book. We’d go to the library and spend the day there, going through the card catalog, hoping to find the next best book ever. We’d read old newspapers and magazines on the microfiche, too. Once, I took three friends to my grandmother’s house for a week in the summer. It was the summer before eighth or ninth grade. We all read books the entire week. We’d take a break so play Spades a little, but, for the most part, we read and traded books. I was an avid reader until my babies were both toddlers. I’m not sure what changed, whether it was exhaustion or what, but I stopped finishing books. I’d start this one or that one, recommended by a friend, and lose interest. I was also a part of a great book club for a few years. They chose smart books and had smart discussions. I miss that group. They made me read books. When I got a Kindle, it was the newest way to read, so it was fun again. Briefly. I figured out I’m not an eReader kind of person. I like the pages of a book. I like the smell of a book. My kids weren’t immediately into books. We read to them every day for years. They loved that. The Boy read reference books from the second he learned to sound out words. Much of his early knowledge or the planets, world capitals, and human anatomy came from those books. He was probably four years old when he asked me about ovaries making eggs. He had the child’s encyclopedia open to the detailed sketch of the human body. “Mama,” he said, “so the sperm comes from the testes and a sperm and an egg make a baby?” Yep. He didn’t ask any more questions. His love for reading clicked when, in second grade, he was ready for the first Harry Potter. He read non-stop. As I did as a child, he got caught reading well after lights-out. She was a harder case. She’d rather draw than read. We tried every series recommended by friends, until we realized she liked “old fashioned stories” as she calls them. Little House on the Prairie books sucked her in. This summer, with the lure of screens, I’ve implemented mandatory reading time each day. We’re all doing it. The required 30 minutes has turned into “oh my goodness has it been an hour we need to get moving,” but that’s okay. She’s reading a tattered copy of Anne of Green Gables. He’s into Percy Jackson. I’m about halfway through What Alice Forgot. I can’t put it down. We’re each looking for our next book. What’s on your list this summer? What’s the best book you’ve ever read? JENNY WRIGHT’S humorous observations

on marriage, motherhood and living in Augusta have earned her a devoted following, both in print and on Facebook. When she’s not spying on other parents in the carpool line at school, you’ll probably ﬁnd her with either a camera, tennis racquet or wine glass in her hand.

AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

METROSPIRIT 9

V27|NO25

An Honest Day’s Work

Insider

10 14

NEWS

Lee Anderson Isn’t Afraid to Speak FORMER STATE REP. LEE ANDERSON recently proved his critics wrong. Anderson, who happens to be facing a July runoff against fellow Republican Greg Grzybowski in the race for the state Senate District 24 seat has “enthusiastically accepted” his challenger’s offer of a debate. This, despite the fact that his critics love to point out that Anderson isn’t the greatest public speaker of all time. “From serving on the School Board and County Commission to fighting for our community in the Georgia General Assembly, I’ve dedicated my entire life to public service,” Anderson stated in a recent press release. “I’m proud of my conservative record of effectiveness and look forward to debating Mr. Grzybowski in the days and weeks leading up to the July 26th Primary run-off election.” So, why is this big news? Well, most people will remember back in 2012 when Gwen Fulcher Young, the wife of former Augusta Mayor Bob Young, boldly campaigned for Congressman John Barrow, a Democrat, who was running against Anderson in the 12th Congressional district race. Republicans were shocked that the wife of Bob Young, who was appointed by then- President George W. Bush as the Atlanta Regional Director for HUD’s Region IV, would have the gall to support Barrow over Anderson, the Republican candidate. But Fulcher Young let her feelings be known — loud and clear. “Sending Lee Anderson to Washington would be like sending Honey Boo Boo up there,” Fulcher Young reportedly said, referring to the former reality TV star known for her Southern sass. “It just seems to me that he represents the ignorance that people used to think of when they think of Southerners.” That quote was quickly picked up by the national press and folks ran with it. It worked perfectly with the campaign photos of Anderson riding his tractor and asking voters for their support with his incredibly thick Southern accent. People were making so much fun of Anderson that it got to the point that he refused to debate Barrow. That year, Anderson’s campaign sent out a very odd press release regarding future debates with Barrow. “Lee Anderson will consider sharing the stage with John Barrow once he stands in front of a local television camera and confesses

his politically disastrous secret — he’s voting for Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi,” the 2012 press release stated. “Until that confession, John Barrow is just another professional politician that’s incapable of telling the truth to voters in Georgia’s 12th and doesn’t deserve a platform to further promote his empty campaign promises and tired political rhetoric.” The campaign announcement was widely seen as a weak excuse by Anderson to simply avoid debating Barrow, who was a much more experienced politician and a well-spoken attorney, to boot. But this time around, Anderson seems to feel pretty confident against Grzybowski, the former District 3 candidate on Columbia County Commission. Grzybowski is relatively new to local politics, but he shouldn’t be counted out or underestimated. Sure, he is a “Yankee” who was born in New York and has a difficult last name to spell, but do people really care about that stuff these days? Grzybowski is an enthusiastic speaker and conservative Republican who attended James Madison University in Virginia where he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science, history and military science. Following college, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the United States Army under the Reserve Officer Training Program in 1992. He then served for 23 years as both a military intelligence and acquisition officer retiring at the rank of lieutenant colonel. Those qualifications are pretty impressive, especially in Columbia County. It also doesn’t hurt that Grzybowski has a commanding presence when he speaks. In fact, during one of first public debates last year when he was running for the county commission, several observers commented, “He sounds like he should run for Congress rather than a county commission seat.” Well, Grzybowski isn’t running for Congress, but he hopes to get your vote to represent state Senate District 24 in Atlanta. What will Grzybowski’s biggest hurdles be during this runoff? Two things: Anderson’s name recognition and his endorsement by Columbia County Sheriff Clay Whittle. Those are two strengths that play very well in Columbia County. But once those two candidates get up on stage for a debate, it just might be anyone’s race. Stay tuned. 23JUNE2016

FOR SALE $125,000 67 Stuart Drive– Modoc Shores! Waterfront Building Lot/Dock Included

Grand view of open water from dock upper deck– 10’ X 22’ covered boat slip below

.8 acre lot 165’ road frontage

Big water view upper deck

Title “67 Stuart Dr Modoc” (706) 284 - 8782

V27|NO25

We Didn’t Start the Fire... But We’re to Blame OVER THE PAST YEAR, the Insider has pointed out numerous problems and concerns with not only the construction of the Marshall Square retirement community and the management of the Evans facility, but also Columbia County’s response to the tragic fire of June 2, 2015. At times, it was difficult to even relay the inadequacies of the Columbia County Fire Rescue department, the fire marshal’s office and the management of Marshall Square without grimacing or laughing out loud. But the disastrous actions surrounding the Marshall Square fire aren’t funny. The mismanagement of the fire wasn’t part of some pathetic episode of The Three Stooges. That devastating fire occurred right here in Evans and resulted in the displacement of more than 80 senior residents and the tragic death of 91-year-old resident Dorothy Carpenter. That’s no laughing matter. And nothing illustrates that fact more than wrongful death lawsuit that was recently filed by Barbara Ellington, the daughter of Dorothy Carpenter. In the lawsuit, Ellington’s attorney, Harry Revell, outlines the sequence of events that led to the terrible death of Carpenter in her third-floor apartment located a few doors down from the billiard room, where the fire originated. “On the night of the fire, Defendant (Zack) Freehof was the night concierge in charge of the complex. At 3:03 a.m. the alarm went off at the facility indicating there was smoke in the billiard room on the 3rd floor of the complex,” Revell writes. “Despite knowing there was smoke and fire on the third floor, Defendants Freehof and (Property Manager) Chris Bryde negligently failed to notify the fire department for 17 minutes until 3:20 a.m. During this period of delayed notification to the fire department, Defendants Freehof and/or Bryde inexplicably silenced the fire alarm five times.” All the while, both Bryde and Freehof instructed residents to “shelter in place” or stay in their apartments as they “downplayed and minimized the danger of the fire that was rapidly spreading throughout the Marshall Square complex,” the lawsuit states. Next enters the fire department and the mistakes continue to occur one after another. “After receiving delayed notification of the fire at 3:20 a.m., Columbia County Fire Rescue (CCFR) personnel were dispatched at 3:22 a.m.,” the lawsuit states. “The first responders arrived on site at 3:30 a.m. By 3:32 a.m. there were 12 CCFR firefighters on the scene at the Marshall Square complex.” The firefighters are supposedly trained to follow the established policies and procedures of the department in order to “prevent firefighters from freelancing in their firefighting and fire rescue activities in a scene of uncontrolled chaos,” the lawsuit states. “First and foremost among the established policies is to conduct a ‘primary search,’ which is to be organized by the incident commander,” Revell writes. “This primary search procedure is designed to locate and evacuate victims who may need assistance in their apartments.” The policy is obviously designed to rescue those who are in immediate danger first, Revell states. “Under the established policy, procedure and protocol at CCFR, the primary search is to be conducted beginning 12 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

with the apartments located closest to the fire which, in this instance, was in the third floor billiard room located in the core of the Marshall Square facility,” the lawsuit states. “Under the established policy, procedure and protocol at CCFR the incident commander must ask for and receive an ‘all clear’ report from the primary search team.” That procedure did not occur during the Marshall Square fire, the lawsuit clearly states. “(Capt. Gary) Griffith was one of the first CCFR firefighters to arrive at the Marshall Square fire,” the lawsuit states. “He arrived at 3:32 a.m. and assumed the position of incident commander. Later, (Battalion Chief Jimmie) Paschal relieved Griffith and took over as the incident commander. Both Griffith and Paschal were negligent by not organizing and carrying out a primary search as mandated by established policies, procedures and guidelines.” Not only did the firefighters not search Carpenter’s room on the third floor, they were standing in its close vicinity on several occasions for almost 30 minutes prior to the fire seriously engulfing that floor, the lawsuits states. “CCFR personnel, including some or all of the CCFR defendants, were within a few feet of the door to Dorothy Carpenter’s apartment for more than 25 minutes before it became too dangerous to continue searching for victims,” Revell writes. “During that 25 minute period, (Special Operations Chief Danny) Kuhlmann directed (Lt. Jamie) Champion to conduct a primary search of the third floor core in accordance with the established policy, procedure, and protocol.” Champion failed to properly search the floor. “Despite having ample time and ease of access, Defendant Champion negligently failed to perform his assigned duty to find and rescue Dorothy Carpenter,” the lawsuit states. During their depositions conducted by attorneys representing both Marshall Square and its former residents, members of the Columbia County Fire Rescue admitted they could have saved Carpenter’s life if proper procedures had been followed. “One or more of the CCFR defendants have admitted under oath that Dorothy Carpenter would have been found and rescued if the CCFR Defendants had performed their primary search duties set forth in the CCFR policies, procedures and protocols,” the lawsuit states. That is heartbreaking news for all of Carpenter’s friends and family members. “The CCFR defendants did not recognize and appreciate the extent and severity of the fire before 3:54 a.m. when fire was first discovered in the attic,” the lawsuit states. “Before that time, Defendant Kuhlmann negligently assumed the fire was not serious and was under control. Defying both common sense and the established CCFR policies, procedures and protocols, Defendants Kuhlmann and Bryde actually turned off the Marshall Square sprinkler system at approximately 3:44 a.m., long before the fire was under control.” So, the lawsuit is claiming that both the fire department and the property manager turned off the sprinkler system during the fire at Marshall Square. For a firefighter to shutoff a sprinkler system during a fire inside a retirement community is unfathomable. But then to not properly search the rooms nearest to the fire

is incomprehensible. But the criticism of the fire department doesn’t stop there. The lawsuit also points out that the fire department failed to “call a second alarm by 3:35 when it was readily apparent that additional firefighting resources were needed.” It also failed to “call for more resources before 4:43 a.m. when it was apparent that even more firefighting resources were needed.” All of these actions led to the death of Carpenter in her apartment, the lawsuit states. “Most likely, Dorothy Carpenter never heard the fire alarm sound since it was repeatedly silenced by defendants Freehof and Bryde,” Revell writes. “Even if she heard the alarm, she most likely was abiding by the Marshall Square defendants’ shelter in place policy that required her to remain in her apartment and not evacuate the building.” If she did wake up, it is likely Carpenter was left waiting in her room as the fire began to build up around her apartment, the lawsuit states. “Mostly likely, Dorothy Carpenter was also waiting for the intercom announcement that had been promised in the Marshall Square defendants’ shelter in place policy,” Revell writes. “However, unbeknownst to Dorothy Carpenter, the intercom system at the Marshall Square facility was not even capable of carrying voice announcements, only music.” So, according to the lawsuit, the management at Marshall Square even lied to its residents about the intercom system. “As a result, Dorothy Carpenter tragically remained in her apartment as instructed and waited to be rescued by someone,” the lawsuit states. “No one ever came to rescue Dorothy Carpenter and evacuate her from the unspeakable horror she was left to endure for several hours as her apartment was completely engulfed by fire all around her.” That image of a 91-year-old woman trapped in her apartment as her room rapidly becomes engulfed in flames should keep both the Columbia County fire personnel and management of Marshall Square awake at night. “Dorothy Carpenter suffered unimaginable terror of impending injury, burning and death as the fire raged around her,” the lawsuit states. “Whatever cries and pleas for help she uttered went unheeded amidst the freelancing chaos caused by the negligence of the defendants, individually and collectively.” “Freelancing chaos” is a perfect description of that terrible morning. It is time for Columbia County elected officials to face the music and no longer fear potential litigation. The lawsuit against the county is here and the evidence against the fire department and the fire marshal’s office is staggering. There clearly needs to be some serious changes in Columbia County, starting at the top of the fire department all the way down through the ranks. This is literally a life-and-death situation. Just ask the family of Dorothy Carpenter.

23JUNE2016

TOWNSHIP AUDITORIUM

MISS SOUTH CAROLINA PAGEANT JUNE 25

LEXINGTON COUNTY BASEBALL STADIUM

LEXINGTON COUNTY BLOWFISH VS. USC GAMECOCKS JULY 1

1500 BLOCK OF MAIN STREET

SODA CITY MARKET SATURDAYS 9AM - 1PM RIVERBANKS ZOO & GARDEN WATERFALL JUNCTION

TWILIGHT IN THE GARDEN JUNE 10 - AUGUST 12

COLUMBIA MUSEUM OF ART

BIG & BOLD: SELECTIONS FROM THE COLLECTION MAY 27 - OCTOBER 23

EDVENTURE CHILDRENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MUSEUM

Photo: Kickstand Studios

BLOOMING BUTTERFLIES NOW OPEN

COLUMBIA FASHION WEEK JUNE 21 - 25

V27|NO25

An Honest Day’s Work

Dee Doolittle and his company, Metal Specialists of Augusta, were recently honored by the Georgia Department of Corrections for employing reformed offenders By Stacey Eidson Dee Doolittle is the type of guy who doesn’t like the spotlight. He simply believes in working hard, doing quality work and treating his customers and employees with the utmost respect. So, when Doolittle, owner of Metal Specialists of Augusta, was told by Superintendent Scott Wilkes of the Augusta Transitional Center that his company was recently named one of the 2015 Corporate Sponsors of the Year by the Georgia Department of Corrections, he didn’t know what to say. Doolittle honestly felt like he wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary. “I was somewhat shocked when I found out that I won an award,” Doolittle said, chuckling. “I really didn’t do anything except just carry on with

14 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

the program that was already set up by my dad before I got here. He already had a good working relationship with the Augusta Transitional Center, so I just basically continued on with it.” But Department of Corrections Commissioner Homer Bryson insists Doolittle and his company not only offer jobs to reformed offenders, but they also help provide a solid and successful path towards a new life. “There is a tremendous reward in providing offenders with employment opportunities once they are released,” Bryson said. “The department is thankful for the assistance administered by our corporate sponsors.” Bryson said the four other companies in the state that received the award were South Georgia Pecan of Valdosta, Castoff Pet Rescue

“Some of these guys, they did wrong at some point in their past life, but they are rehabilitated in my eyes.” — Dee Doolittle 23JUNE2016

“The folks who have stayed on mean a lot to me and this business. We depend on them.” — Dee Doolittle of Blairsville, Ga., Quality Service Integrity, Tara Vending of Jonesboro, Ga., and Humane Society Mountain Shelter of Blairsville, Ga. Doolittle said he is grateful for the recognition, but he is merely proud to be following in his father’s footsteps. “The business started out with my father and his business partner. They had been here for about 15 years,” Doolittle said, sitting in the lobby of Metal Specialists of Augusta on Skyview Drive. “Well, I’ve been around this type of work all my life, but I’m a nurse by trade. I was actually up in Pennsylvania and was in anesthesia school when I found out my dad was sick. So I graduated and came back home.” His father sadly passed away in 2011, but Doolittle made the tough decision not to become an anesthetist and keep the Augusta business thriving instead. Since that time, Doolittle said he has never once regretted that decision. “I sincerely love what I do,” said Doolittle, adding that Metal Specialists of Augusta is an advanced industrial and commercial fabrication shop that also provides painting and powder coating of metal components. “We do everything from Grandma’s little lawn chairs to major industrial applications. I really enjoy it. It is much better than anesthesia. I can’t wait to get to work each day.” Doolittle’s enthusiasm for the business is clearly felt throughout the company. While Doolittle expects hard work out of all of his employees, including the handful of reformed offenders that live at the Augusta Transitional Center, he treats each individual with respect. “When these guys come here from the transitional center, I sit them down and say, ‘Look, first off, I’m not your parole officer. You don’t have to ask me to go to the bathroom and if you want to walk to the store during your

break, go. You are on your own. If you leave or break parole, that’s on you. It’s not on me,’” Doolittle said. “So I give them a little freedom and room to do what they want to do. I also try not to raise cain too much because a lot of times they’ll break things or they’ll mess stuff up, but I try to be patient and give them the benefit of the doubt. I respect them and I think they respect me on some level.” Over the years, Doolittle said he’s had about half a dozen former inmates stay on and continue to work for the company after graduating from the transitional center. “We have had people from all over Georgia come here and work while they are at the transitional center. But once they leave or graduate from the transitional center, they can go wherever they want,” Doolittle said. “Several of the guys, when they get out, they don’t want to leave. Instead, they want to stay here and work.” Those former inmates, who have shown a lot of potential and have the skill set that fits the company’s needs, are gladly welcomed to stay if there is work available, Doolittle said. “There are a lot of good guys we’ve worked with,” Doolittle said. “Some of these guys, they did wrong at some point in their past life, but they are rehabilitated in my eyes.” Doolittle said it has gotten to the point that some of the former offenders who were hired on after they graduated from the transitional center have become part of the company’s family. “The folks who have stayed on mean a lot to me and this business. We depend on them,” Doolittle said. “So, if they don’t show up, it sends a shockwave all around here because we work for plants and industries and we have to keep a schedule about when things should be done. They are part of that process of completing projects. We rely on them and they’ve done an outstanding job for us.”

“When these guys come here from the transitional center, I sit them down and say, ‘Look, first off, I’m not your parole officer. You don’t have to ask me to go to the bathroom and if you want to walk to the store during your break, go. You are on your own. If you leave or break parole, that’s on you. It’s not on me.’” — Dee Doolittle

V27|NO25

“Some guys have been in jail all of their life and they honestly don’t know how to work.”

to the transitional center because, at the end of the day, this is a business.” But when it comes to the inmates working for him, Doolittle tries to give everyone a fair shake. “We try to find something for them to do, even if it isn’t but just hole watching,” said Doolittle, explaining that “hole watching” is basically keeping a close eye on an employee who enters an enclosed, confined space to do metal work. “The person sitting there doesn’t let anybody else in the container and he just sits there listening for any signs of danger, like if the guy in the container yells or

— Dee Doolittle The Augusta Transitional Center, which received the Center of the Year Award for 2015 from the Georgia Department of Corrections, has more than 200 inmates at its minimum security facility. Its mission is to protect the public by providing community residential services to inmates prior to their parole from prison. “Augusta Transitional Center has done an exceptional job this past year,” Bryson said. “We are very proud of the strides they have made and continue to make.” Throughout Georgia, there are more than 2,700 inmates housed in transitional centers that boast a statewide graduation rate of about 84 percent, according to Georgia Department of Corrections. Seven days a week, Doolittle said the transitional center brings the residents involved in the program to work bright and early each morning in a van. The inmates range in ages from about 22 to 40 years old and they are generally involved in the work program for six months to a year, depending on the charges against them, Doolittle said. “A lot of times they were arrested for things like armed robbery, stealing a car or taking stolen goods. Things like that,” Doolittle said. “However, I did have one guy who killed a man. But he was a very good worker and we didn’t have any problems with him.” Each and every person involved in the program is different, Doolittle said, adding there is no secret formula for their success. “Some guys have been in jail all of their life and they honestly don’t know how to work,” Doolittle said. “I have got a guy back there now who, when he got here, he did not know the difference between a hammer and a screwdriver. But, you know what, now he is back their blasting and doing a 16 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

really good job and he takes pride in his work. He is a very conscientious employee and that’s something you can’t teach.” Doolittle is known for not easily giving up on the inmates in the program, just as long as they’re willing to work. “Everybody makes mistakes,” he said. “But if you don’t have the skill set to do this job or you don’t want to do it, it makes no difference to me. I’m not judging you. But if you can’t do the job or don’t want to do it, you’ve got to go. Or I will try to find something that you can do until it depletes all of my resources. Then, you have to go back

“We pay them more than minimum wage. We do that because I believe if they know that they are getting a good wage, they will respect their job, respect everyone else around them and act in a more professional manner.” — Dee Doolittle

23JUNE2016

LI V E M U SI C | F R I DAY NI GHTS

2 651 Pe rimet er Parkway Augusta | 706 . 8 5 5 . 8 100

V27|NO25

calls out. So that is pretty simple because the person just has to sit there and listen.” Over the past several years, Doolittle said he was never interested in asking any of the inmates what crimes they had committed in the past because it really didn’t matter to him. But that recently changed after he discovered one of the inmates was a registered sex offender. “Before that, I was not asking them what they did because I really don’t care,” he said. “They are here to do a job and I expect them to come here and do that job. That’s it.” However, because he has female employees with small children who frequent the office, Doolittle said he was uncomfortable with having a sex offender work for him. “I pulled him off the job and sat with him outside and just said, ‘Look, nothing against you, but I can’t have that type of mentality here because these women who work for me bring their kids to the office,’” he said. “I was just honest with him and the man said he understood. He went back to the center and I hired somebody else. But that was the first time I ever sent someone back for the crime they committed.” For the most part, Doolittle goes out of his way to treat each inmate like a regular employee, he said. “We treat them with respect and we pay them more than minimum wage,” Doolittle said. “I do that because I believe if they know that they are getting a good wage, they will respect their job, respect everyone else around them and act in a more professional manner.” Sometimes that is not always the case because an inmate first needs to accept his past mistakes in order to move forward, he said.

18 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

“They are here to do a job and I expect them to come here and do that job. That’s it.” — Dee Doolittle “If somebody is unhappy with their job, you can quadruple their pay, they still aren’t going to be happy the next day,” Doolittle said. “Pay does not relate, in my mind, to happiness. Just look at me. I am really happy at my job now, but I probably would be making more money as an anesthetist. Who knows? But I love what I do and that to me is everything.” Doolittle said he also enjoys watching the transformation of some of the inmates into highly skilled workers. “Some are ready, and you can tell. And some aren’t ready,” Doolittle said. “And I don’t mean ready to get out. But I mean ready to fully understand what they did, accept what they did and have a willingness to change.” Unfortunately, some of the former inmates don’t ever learn, Doolittle said. “The minute they leave here some of them go back and get right back into trouble. So, there is no one formula,” Doolittle said. “It is all about that individual person. If they want to do better, they will. I’ve seen it happen.”

23JUNE2016

Calendar Music Listings

20 24

What’s Up

If you have any questions, or would like to submit an event to our calendar, please email Amy Christian at amy@themetrospirit.com.

JUne has been a rough month for the LGBT community. It may be national Pride Month, but it’s difficult to be in a party mood when the country is still reeling from the June 12 attack at Pulse in Orlando, Florida, where a gunman killed 49 people and injured 53 more. Nevertheless, the area will celebrate Augusta Pride 2016 this weekend, and the theme is Free to Be Me. Events kick of Friday, June 24, from 6 p.m.-midnight at the Augusta Common with Beats on Broad: The Red Party. Billed as Augusta’s largest dance party, the event will feature DJ Kaos and is $7. Saturday, June 25, the party continues with a parade through the streets of downtown at 11 a.m., led by grand marshals Jeff Pullium, Roy Lewis and Leonard Zimmerman, and featuring Mr. and Ms. Augusta Pride Kingston Von Monroe and Claire Storm. After the parade, stick around for the festival at the Augusta Common from noon-6 p.m. that features a full day of entertainment, food, drinks, merchandise and vendors. For more information on these and other Augusta Pride 2016 events, visit prideaugusta.org.

this Week

FRiDaY

satURDaY

sUnDaY

tUesDaY

It’s a day-long event for a good cause at The Backyard Tavern: Noel Rhoads’ Concert to Kill Cancer is from noon-11 p.m. and includes local bands Bethany & the Southside Boys, Hollywood Glampires, The Robbie Ducey Band, Split Rail Fence, the Least Likelys, Shadow Pines, Happy Bones, Wit’s End, Wicked Jack, Nobody’s Fault, Bill S Power Trio and more. The family friendly event also includes an auction and food and is $5 for adults and free for kids 10 and under.

In 1956, Elvis Presley was just coming into national prominence. Join Cody Ray Slaughter at the Imperial Theatre at 7:30 p.m. for a walk back in time as he virtually becomes the future King of Rock and Roll. With VIP tickets, attendees can join Slaughter at a meet and greet beginning at 4:30 p.m. that includes snacks, a Q&A and photo ops. And who doesn’t want their picture taken with the King?

Performers Patricia Childs (soprano), Travis Shaw (bass) and Josef Patchen (piano) will cover a lot of musical ground at a Sunday Evening Concert at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Augusta. They’ll start with Brahms’ classical arias, move on to Broadway show tunes and, after an intermission, play jazz standards. Come at 7 p.m. to have drinks and stay for the concert at 7:30. Suggested donation is $5, which is a pretty darn good deal.

As it does each year, the Evenings at the Appleby Garden concert series comes to a close this Tuesday way too quickly for our liking. The Fort Gordon Signal Corps Band will close out the June run with a sure to be rousing and patriotic performance. If that’s not enough to get you there, this year’s battle for best lawn party decorations has been especially competitive and worth taking a walk around the grounds for alone. Be there at 8 p.m. for the music; earlier to check out the competition.

For more information on these events, see our calendar of events on page 23. 23JUNE2016

AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

METROSPIRIT 19

V27|NO25

Class continues Saturday, June 25, from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Pre-registration required. Call 706-774-2825 or visit universityhealth.org.

Sat June 25

6pm CSRA Veg Monthly Meet Up Earth Fare Visit meetup.com/csravs/.

Mon June 27 6:30pm Reﬁt

Headquarters Branch Library A free cardio dance class. Call 706-8212600 or visit arcpls.org.

HOBBIES Great American Superhero Run Pavillion at Brainard and 36th, Fort Gordon Saturday, June 25 8 a.m. A 5K, 3K and stroller parade in which participants are encouraged to dress up as superheroes. Registration by June 24 required. fortgordonrunseries.com

ARTS Fri June 24

Noon Morris Museum’s Greatest Hits Morris Museum of Art Part of the Art at Lunch series led by museum Curator Kevin Grogan. $10, members; $15, non-members. Catered lunch included. Pre-registration required. Call 706724-7501 or visit themorris.org.

Mon June 27

6:30pm Adults Can Color Too! Headquarters Branch Library Coloring pages, pencils and crayons provided. Pre-registration required. Call 706-821-2615 or visit arcpls.org.

Wed June 29

7pm Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School Le Chat Noir A burlesque live drawing event featuring contests, performances, prizes and more. $10, advance; $12 at the door. Call 706-7223322 or visit lcnaugusta.com.

EDUCATION Mon June 27

10:30am Get to Know Your PINES Account Maxwell Branch Library Call 706-793-2020 or visit arcpls.org.

3:30pm - 5pm Intermediate Spanish 20 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

Friedman Branch Library An adult class led by Edwin Perez of the Asociacion Cultural Hispanoamericana. Call 706-736-6758 or visit arcpls.org.

Wed June 29

3pm Beginner Spanish Aiken Public Library A class for adults. Call 803-642-2023 or visit abbe-lib.org.

6pm - 7:30pm Spanish Conversation

$2; children, $1. Call 706-722-8454 or visit augustamuseum.org.

FLIX Sat June 25

3pm “Zootopia” Aiken Public Library Call 803-642-2023 or visit abbe-lib.org.

Tue June 28

2pm Retro Family Afternoon Movie

Thu June 23

11am Thursday Game Mania Diamond Lakes Branch Library Pre-registration required. Call 706-772-2432 or visit arcpls.org.

Wed June 29

Noon Georgia-Carolina Toastmasters Fat Man’s Mill Cafe Those interested are invited to learn speech and leadership skills in a fun and supportive atmosphere. Call 706-627-2134.

KIDS-TEENS Thu June 23

10:30am Sports Trivia for Teens Appleby Branch Library Pre-registration required. Call 706-736-6244 or visit arcpls.org.

2pm The Bored Games Headquarters Branch Library Board games for kids. Call 706-821-2600 or visit arcpls.org.

2:30pm - 5pm Get in the (Video) Game

Headquarters Branch Library For those at beginner and intermediate levels. Call 317-695-4748.

Appleby Branch Library Featuring “Remember the Titans.” Participants are invited to bring their own snacks. Call 706-736-6244 or visit arcpls.org.

Columbia County Library A teen program featuring gaming on a big screen with surround sound. Call 706-8631946 or visit gchrl.org.

Ongoing

HEALTH

2:30pm Morris Museum of Art Story and Craft

James Brown Family Historical Tour Augusta Museum of History Available each Saturday at 11 a.m. and lasting approximately two hours, this bus tour includes Brown’s elementary school, his childhood home, his statue and more. $15 fee, includes admission to the museum, which houses the largest collection of James Brown memorabilia. Reservations 24 hours in advance required. Call 803-6402090 or visit jamesbrownfamilyfdn.org.

Guided Tours 1797 Ezekiel Harris House Offered by appointment only MondayFriday and Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Last tours of the day begin at 4 p.m. Adults,

Thu June 23

7pm - 9pm Happiest Baby on the Block Doctors Hospital An infant care and sleep class for new parents. Pre-registration required. Call 706651-2229 or visit doctors-hospital.net.

7pm - 8:30pm Infant CPR Class University Hospital Pre-registration required. Call 706-774-2825 or visit universityhealth.org.

Fri June 24

6:30pm - 9:30pm Weekend Childbirth Education Class

Harlem Branch Library Call 706-556-9795 or visit gchrl.org.

4pm Smash & Grab Crafting Aiken Public Library A program for those in grades 6-12 in which participants will create a smash book and T-shirt bag. Call 803-642-2023 or visit abbe-lib.org.

6pm - 7:30pm Archery Class Columbia County Library A drop-in program for those in third grade and up. Call 706-863-1946 or visit gchrl.org.

University Hospital 23JUNE2016

V27|NO25

Fri June 24

10:15am Friday Story Times North Augusta’s Nancy Carson Library Story time are at 10:15 for those ages 0-2 years and at 11 a.m. for those ages 3-5 years. Call 803-279-5767 or visit abbe-lib.org.

2:30pm Friday Afternoon Movie Series Columbia County Library A teen program featuring popcorn and a new movie each week. Call 706-863-1946 or visit gchrl.org.

3pm The Velveteen Rabbit North Augusta’s Nancy Carson Library Call 803-279-5767 or visit abbe-lib.org.

6pm Family Movie Night Kroc Center Refreshments available for $1. Free and open to the community, although members can reserve space up to a week beforehand. Call 706-364-5762 or visit salvationarmyaugusta.org.

7pm Relive the Magic of Harry Potter Barnes & Noble An event that includes activities, trivia, a 3D puzzle and a sweepstakes. Call 706-7370012 or visit bn.com.

Sat June 25

10:30am Family Story Time Aiken Public Library Call 803-642-2023 or visit abbe-lib.org.

11am Extremely Cute Animals Operating Heavy Machinery Story Time Barnes & Noble Call 706-737-0012 or visit bn.com.

Mon June 27

10am Maker Mondays Columbia County Library A teen event in which participants will work on a group project or one of their own using the library’s equipment. Call 706-863-1946 or visit gchrl.org.

10:30am Music & Me Headquarters Branch Library A class for children ages 0-4 in which participants will learn how to chant, sing, play instruments and move to the music. Free, but pre-registration required. Call 706821-2623 or visit arcpls.org.

2pm Movie Monday Headquarters Branch Library A G- or PG-rated movie will be shown in the children’s department. Call 706-821-2600 or visit arcpls.org.

Tue June 28

10:15am Big Kids Story Time 23JUNE2016

Headquarters Branch Library Stories and songs for those ages 3-5. Call 706-821-2623 or visit arcpls.org.

10:30am Therapy Dogs Harlem Branch Library Call 706-556-9795 or visit gchrl.org.

11am Bike Rodeo Aiken Public Library An event that includes safety tips, bike decorating, carwash. Helmets are required. Call 803-642-2023 Pre-registration recommended.

2:30pm Archery with Don Raley Euchee Creek Branch Library Call 706-556-0594 or visit gchrl.org.

Wed June 29

10:15am Story Time for Tots Headquarters Branch Library Stories and songs for those ages 0-3. Call 706-821-2623 or visit arcpls.org.

10am Wacky Wednesday Story Time Barnes & Noble Call 706-737-0012 or visit bn.com.

10:30am A Turtle Tale Friedman Branch Library For those in grades 1-4. Pre-registration required. Call 706-736-6758 or visit arcpls.org.

10:30am Paws to Read Aiken Public Library A program for those in grades K-5 who can read to a therapy dog for 15 minutes. Preregistration required. Call 803-642-2023 or visit abbe-lib.org.

10:30am Triple C Champion Contest Appleby Branch Library A program for those ages 6-12 in which participants will compete in checkers, chess and Chinese checkers. Pre-registration required. Call 706-736-6244 or visit arcpls.org.

2pm Bunny Trail, Meet Reggie Reader Columbia County Library Call 706-863-1946 or visit gchrl.org.

2pm Kumihimo Bracelets, Part I Harlem Branch Library Part II of this program will be held July 6. Pre-registration required for both events. Call 706-556-9795 or visit gchrl.org.

2pm Sand Art Headquarters Branch Library Pre-registration required. Call 706-821-2623 or visit arcpls.org.

4:30pm - 6pm Alley Cats Strikehouse Bowl, Aiken Part of the Aiken Recreation Department’s Buddy Sports program for those with

physical and/or intellectual disabilities, this class is for those of all bowling abilities. $12 a month; pre-registration required. Call 803426-1284 or visit therecingcrew.com.

LITERARY

on the Petersburg Boat. Participants are invited to bring snacks and beverages. $25; $23, seniors, military and students. Preregistration required. Call 706-823-0440, ext. 4, or visit augustacanal.com.

Tue June 28

Sat June 25

Aiken Public Library Featuring Lillian Powell Benson, author of “Savannah River Meanderings.” Call 803642-2023 or visit abbe-lib.org.

Eighth Street Plaza Live music from local jazz artists and performing arts groups during the Augusta Market. Call 706-627-0128 or visit theaugustamarket.com.

7pm Book Talk/Signing

MUSIC Thu June 23

7pm Music in the Park Maude Edenfield Park, North Augusta Featuring Fabio Mann & Friends. In case of inclement weather, the concert will be held in the community center. Free. Visit naartscouncil.org.

Fri June 24

7pm God Bless the USA St. Teresa Catholic Church Parish Life Center, Grovetown Presented by the Columbia County Orchestra and Powell Baptist Church. Free, but donations accepted. Visit columbiacco.org.

7pm Music Cruise Augusta Canal Featuring The Kelley Family Band performing

11am - 2pm Saturday Morning Swing

7:30pm Soiree: Jazz + Wine Jessye Norman School of the Arts Featuring classic live jazz and wines selected by the host. $7. Call 762-233-5299 or visit jazzsoiree.com.

Sun June 26

7pm Brahms, Broadway and Jazz Unitarian Universalist Church of Augusta A Sunday evening concert that begins with drinks at 7 p.m. and the concert follows at 7:30 p.m. Featuring soprano Patricia Childs, Travis Shaw on bass and Josef Patchen on piano, the concert will feature classical arias and Broadway selections before moving into jazz standards after an intermission. $5 minimum donation suggested. Call 706504-6763 or email yorkiegal129@gmail.com.

7:30pm Candlelight Jazz AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

METROSPIRIT 21

V27|NO25

Augusta Common Augusta’s largest outdoor dance party kicks of Augusta Pride 2016’s weekend, whose theme is Free to Be Me. Music is by DJ KAOS from Club One in Savannah. $7; free, 13 and under with parent. Visit prideaugusta.org.

6pm - 10:30pm Hops and Hogs Downtown Aiken An event that includes live music from Delta Cane, local barbecue and regional craft beer. Free admission. Call 803-649-2221.

Sat June 25

8am - 2pm Augusta Market at the River 8th Street Plaza, Reynolds Street The event features vendors of all kinds, activities, live entertainment and more. Visit theaugustamarket.com.

10am - 1pm Last Saturday in the Park North Augusta’s Living History Park Featuring living history demonstrations. Call 803-279-7560 or visit colonialtimes.us.

Mon June 27

7pm Hopelands Summer Concert Series Hopelands Gardens, Aiken Featuring the Fort Gordon Garden City Brass. Attendees can bring blankets, lawn chairs, picnics and well-behaved pets on leashes, but no alcohol. Free. Call 803-6427631 or visit facebook.com/experienceaiken. The rain-out hotline is 803-643-4661.

Tue June 28

8pm Evenings in the Appleby Garden Appleby Branch Library Featuring the Fort Gordon Signal Corps Band. A free event in which participants can bring their own chairs, blankets beverages and snacks. Those with the best 22 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

lawn party decor can compete to be the Appleby Garden Party Winner of the Week. Call 706-736-6244 or visit arcpls.org.

SPECIAL EVENTS Thu June 23

5pm - 7:30pm Farmers Market in the Alley Downtown Aiken This weekly event includes fresh goods, food vendors, artisans, ﬂowers and live music. Call 803-293-2214.

6pm Berry Center Art Show Lake Olmstead BBQ Pit A fundraiser for the Berry Center that will include food, drinks, music and a silent auction. $10. Call 706-738-6792 or email berrycenter3017@gmail.com.

Fri June 24

6pm - midnight Beats on Broad: The Red Party

participants are encouraged to dress up as superheroes. Registration by June 24 required. Visit fortgordonrunseries.com.

9:30am - 11:30am Stream Explorers Phinizy Swamp Nature Park For those ages 8 and up, participants should wear long socks and bring water. Waders provided. Free, members; $2, nonmembers. Pre-registration required. Call 706-828-2109 or visit phinizycenter.org.

10am - 3:30pm Adaptive Water Skiing Pointes West Army Resort, Appling A free event for children and adults with physical and/or cognitive disabilities that will include water skiing, tubing and kayaking. Children’s times are 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m., followed by Sconyers BBQ lunch at 12:30 p.m. and adult times from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Free, but pre-registration required. Visit cmfa.us.

10am - noon Candle Making

11am Augusta Pride 2016 Parade

Mistletoe State Park Pre-registration required. $15 plus $5 parking. Call 706-541-0321 or visit gastateparks.org/mistletoe.

Broad Street, Downtown Augusta Visit prideaugusta.org.

Mon June 27

11am - 4pm Homegrown Festival Big Red Barn, Aiken This festival will feature food, bands, local breweries, lawn games and inﬂatables, with The Whiskey Gentry headlining. $10; free, those 5 and under. Visit cumbeecenter.org.

Noon - 6pm Augusta Pride 2016 Festival Augusta Common A free event featuring food, drinks, merchandise and vendors. Entertainment will include CeCe Peniston, David Hernandez and Lazaro from Amzerican Idol, Dylan Michael and the Family, False Flag and Stink Bamboo. Visit prideaugusta.org.

7pm - 11pm The Southern Soiree Big Red Barn, Aiken An evening of dinner and dance with farmto-table cuisine and music by the Jim Fisher Band. $75. Visit cumbeecenter.org.

SPORTS-OUTDOORS Fri June 24

10am - noon Friday Summer Fun Mistletoe State Park Kid-friendly activities in the park led by a Naturalist. $5 plus $5, parking. Call 706-5410321 or visit gastateparks.org/mistletoe.

Sat June 25

8am - 1pm Great American Superhero Run Pavillion at Brainard and 36th, Fort Gordon A 5K, 3K and stroller parade in which

7:05pm Augusta GreenJackets vs. Asheville Tourists Lake Olmstead Stadium $8-$12. Call 706-922-9467 or visit greenjacketsbaseball.com.

Tue June 28

7:05pm Augusta GreenJackets vs. Asheville Tourists Lake Olmstead Stadium $8-$12. Call 706-922-9467 or visit greenjacketsbaseball.com.

7pm - 9pm Evening Canoe Mistletoe State Park Pre-registration required. $10 plus $5 parking. Call 706-541-0321 or visit gastateparks.org/mistletoe.

Wed June 29

12:05pm Augusta GreenJackets vs. Asheville Tourists Lake Olmstead Stadium $8-$12. Call 706-922-9467 or visit greenjacketsbaseball.com.

Ongoing

Fencing Classes Augusta Fencers Club Classes for children as young as six, as well as teens and adults, meet ﬁve nights a week. New 10-week Introduction to Foil Fencing classes for adults and kids as young as 13 start Monday, June 27, at 7 p.m. $180 includes all competitive equipment. Call 706-722-8878 or visit 23JUNE2016

V27|NO25

augustafencersclub.com.

SUPPORT Sun June 26

11am Meditation Moments Ronald McDonald House An open support group for those in crisis or experiencing loss. Call 706-721-2929 or visit augusta.edu.

Mon June 27

6pm Cancer Share University Hospital For those with any type of cancer. Call 706774-5946 or visit universityhealth.org.

Tue June 28

10:20am Moms Connection Augusta University Medical Center This free weekly support group for new mothers meets in the Terrace Dining Dogwood Room on the second ﬂoor. All new moms and their babies are welcome and an international board certiﬁed lactation consultant/educator/perinatal nurse will answer questions and offer resources. Call 706-721-8283 or visit augustahealth.org.

6pm CSRA Parkinson Support Group

The program will review commercially available devices and equipment that can be used by Parkinson patients to overcome some of the effects of the symptoms. Free and open to the public. Call 706-364-1662.

Ongoing

La Leche League A breastfeeding support group. For more information on meeting dates, times and locations, visit them on Facebook under La Leche League of Augusta or at lllaugusta. wordpress.com.

Celebrate Recovery Journey Community Church This Christ-centered recovery program meets every Monday night at 7 p.m. The meetings last two hours and childcare is provided. Pre-registration suggested. Visit cr@journeycommunity.net.

Adult Sexual Assault and Rape Support Group Provides group counseling at University Hospital for those who have experienced sexual assault, incest, rape or childhood sexual abuse. Call 706-724-5200 or visit universityhealth.org.

THEATER Thu June 23

7pm “One Man, Two Guvnors” Fort Gordon Dinner Theatre Dinner begins at 7 p.m., and the show starts at 8 p.m. $48, civilians; $45, seniors, retirees, DA civilians, active-duty E7 and above; $35, active-duty E6 and below, students; $28, show only. Call 706-793-8552 or visit fortgordon.com.

Fri June 24

7pm “One Man, Two Guvnors” Fort Gordon Dinner Theatre Call 706-793-8552 or visit fortgordon.com.

7:30pm “Kiss the Moon, Kiss the Sun” Aiken Community Playhouse An Aiken Community Playhouse production. $20; $17, seniors; $12, students and $7, children 12 and under. Call 803-648-1438 or visit aikencommunityplayhouse.com.

Sat June 25

7pm “One Man, Two Guvnors” Fort Gordon Dinner Theatre Call 706-793-8552 or visit fortgordon.com.

Sun June 26

3pm “Kiss the Moon, Kiss the Sun” Aiken Community Playhouse An Aiken Community Playhouse production. $20; $17, seniors; $12, students and $7, children 12 and under. Call 803-648-1438 or visit aikencommunityplayhouse.com.

VOLUNTEER Ongoing

CASA Volunteer Training 8pm Tales from the Box Le Chat Noir Comedy and improv by Schodinger’s Cat. $10, advance; $12, door. Call 706-722-3322 or visit lcnaugusta.com.

Child Enrichment Inc. Those wishing to be an advocate for abused children by becoming a CASA volunteer can attend training that runs July 18-28. For more information, call 706-737-4631 or visit childenrichment.org.

St. John Towers dining room

Speed up your operations without adding more stuff. You don’t need a room full of oversized, outdated gear to run your operation efficiently. At CMA Technology, we can consolidate and save you valuable time and space.

(706) 860-1997

23JUNE2016

| cmaaugusta.com

AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

METROSPIRIT 23

V27|NO25

New Edition Bell Auditorium Thursday, June 23 8 p.m. $52-$87 877-4AUGTIX georgialinatix.com Thursday, June 23 Live Music

Bell Auditorium - New Edition Evans Towne Center Park - Little River Band, ARS, Firefall Maude Edenfield Park - (North Augusta) Music in the Park w/ Fabio Mann & Friends Mellow Mushroom (Aiken) - Live Music on the Patio Stillwater Taproom - Phillip Lee Jr. and Michael Baideme That Place - John Stoney Cannon Tin Lizzy’s - Matt Rogers Wild Wing - Matt Acosta The Willcox (Aiken) - Thursday Night Jazz w/ 4 Cats in the Dog House Wing Place (Aiken) - The Ands

What’s Tonight?

Bar West - Open Mic Night w/ Jonathon Flowers Carolina Ale House - Trivia w/ Mike Sleeper (9 p.m.) Chevy’s - Karaoke Cotton Patch - Old School Thursday w/ DJ Groove Fox’s Lair - Trivia, Soup and Suds Helga’s Pub & Grille - Trivia The Highlander - Butt Naked Trivia Joe’s Underground - Trivia The Loft - Karaoke MAD Studios - Open Mic, Spoken Word Pizza Joint (Downtown) - Trivia w/ Mike Sleeper (7 p.m.) Shannon’s - Karaoke w/ David Doane Somewhere in Augusta - Poker for Fun

Friday, June 24 Live Music

Augusta Canal - Music Cruise w/ The Kelley Family Band The Backyard Tavern - Noel Rhoads’ Concert to Kill Cancer w/ Bethany & the Southside Boys, Hollywood Glampires, The Robbie Ducey Band, Split Rail Fence, the Least Likelys, Shadow Pines,

24 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

Happy Bones, Wit’s End, Wicked Jack, Nobody’s Fault, Bill S Power Trio and more Bar West - Live Music Cotton Patch - Live Jazz & Blues Country Club - Chris Rogers Downtown Aiken - Hops and Hogs w/ Delta Cane The Highlander - Hound of Goshen The Iron Heights - Vices & Vessels, Jynx Joe’s Underground - Me Bad Eye, Vilai Harrington, Oh, Pilgrim The Loft - Wise Eyes Shannon’s - Soul Play Sky City - Almost Kings Somewhere in Augusta - The Unmentionables The Stables Restaurant (Aiken) - Jazz w/ Jimmy Easton Stillwater Taproom - Hard Rocket Whole Foods - Music @ the Turn Wild Wing - Black Cat Sunshine The Willcox (Aiken) - John Vaughn

Shannon’s - Perfect Picture Somewhere in Augusta - All Bets R Off Stillwater Taproom - Sibling String Surrey Tavern - FrazierBand Wild Wing - Sabin Sharpe The Willcox (Aiken) - John Vaughn

What’s Tonight?

The Backyard Tavern - Karaoke Bar West - DJ Fugi Chevy’s - DJ Nicky B Helga’s Pub & Grille - Bluegrass Brunch (11 a.m.3 p.m.); Trivia, nights The Highlander - Karaoke Joe’s Underground - Ladies Night, Singles Night

Vera Cruz Mexican Restaurant - Karaoke

Sunday, June 26 Live Music

Aiken Speakeasy and Eats (Aiken) - Live Jazz Augusta Common - Candlelight Jazz Concert Series Mellow Mushroom (Aiken) - Brunch w/ Mike Frost and Lauren Meccia Unitarian Universalist Church of Augusta Brahms, Broadway and Jazz Concert Wild Wing - Chris Ndeti & Co. The Willcox (Aiken) - John Vaughn

What’s Tonight?

Augusta Common - Augusta Pride’s Beats on Broad: The Red Party Chevy’s - DJ Nicky B Vera Cruz Mexican Restaurant - Karaoke

Saturday, June 25 Live Music

Augusta Common - Augusta Pride Festival w/ CeCe Peniston, David Hernandez, Lazaro, Dylan Michael and the Family, False Flag, Stink Bamboo, Miss Augusta Pride Claire Storm Bird Dog Grille - Angwish Cotton Patch - Live Jazz & Blues Country Club - Trea Landon Eighth Street Plaza - Saturday Morning Swing at the Augusta Market on the River Imperial Theatre - Elvis ‘56 w/ Cody Ray Slaughter The Iron Heights - Dylan Michael & the Family, BullMoose Jessye Norman School of the Arts - Soiree: Jazz + Wine

Classic Rock Meets the Classic South w/ Little River Band, ARS, Firefall Evans Towne Center Park Thursday, June 23 5 p.m. $25, general; $80, VIP evanstownecenterpark.com 23JUNE2016

V27|NO25

Twisted Burrito - Trivia w/ Mike Sleeper

What’s Tonight?

Wednesday, June 29 Live Music

Monday, June 27 Live Music

The Book Tavern - Me Bad Eye Hopelands Gardens (Aiken) - Hopelands Summer Concert Series w/ Fort Gordon Garden City Brass Metro Coffeehouse & Pub - Blues Monday w/ Famous Last Words

What’s Tonight?

Joe’s Underground - Poker Shannon’s - Karaoke w/ David Doane Somewhere in Augusta - World Tavern Poker Wild Wing - Trivia Wing Place (Aiken) - Trivia

Tuesday, June 28 Live Music

Appleby Library Gardens - Evenings in the Appleby Garden w/ Fort Gordon Signal Corps Band The Iron Heights - The Funeral Portrait, The Ivory Joe’s Underground - Open Mic The Willcox (Aiken) - Hal Shreck

What’s Tonight?

Bar West - Trivia The Cotton Patch - Trivia Limelite Cafe - Bottom’s Up Trivia Mellow Mushroom (Aiken) - Trivia Shannon’s - Karaoke w/ David Doane Somewhere in Augusta - Big Prize Trivia

Chris Robinson Brotherhood

- Sky City July 22

Shannon’s - Karaoke w/ David Doane

The Monkees

- Bell Auditorium July 24

The Highlander - Open Mic Night Shannon’s - Shameless Dave Wild Wing - Adam Harris Thompson

Maxwell

What’s Tonight?

- Bell Auditorium October 6

The Backyard Tavern - Karaoke Bar West - Karaoke Chevy’s - Karaoke Cotton Patch - Trivia and Tunes The Loft - Karaoke Mi Rancho (Downtown) - Karaoke Mi Rancho (Washington Road) - Karaoke Pizza Joint (Evans) - Trivia w/ Mike Sleeper The Playground - Krazy Karaoke w/ Big Troy Polo Tavern (Aiken) - Karaoke w/ Tom Mitchell Sky City - Wednesday Night Conspiracy w/ DJ Knightmare Somewhere in Augusta - The Comedy Zone w/ Ricky Reyes and Andy Forrester Stillwater Taproom - Pub Quiz Surrey Tavern - Trivia w/ Christian and Mickey

- Bell Auditorium August 6 I Love the ‘90s Tour w/ Salt N Pepa, Vanilla Ice, Coolio, Kid N Play, Rob Base, Tone Loc, Color Me Badd ZZ Top

- Bell Auditorium October 26

Elsewhere The Cure, Twilight Sad

- Lakewood Amphitheatre, Atlanta June 24 Sinbad

- Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Atlanta June 25 Steely Dan, Steve Winwood

- Chastain Park, Atlanta June 26 Barenaked Ladies, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Howard Jones

- Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre, Alpharetta June 28 Slipknot, Marilyn Manson, Of Mice and Men

Upcoming

- Lakewood Amphitheatre, Atlanta June 29

Independence Day Celebration w/ Cole Swindell

Demi Lovato, Nick Jonas

- Fort Gordon June 30

- Philips Arena, Atlanta June 29

False Flag, Lost Boy

Vans Warped Tour

- Sky City July 9

- Lakewood Amphitheatre, Atlanta June 30

David Lee, The Ultimate Elvis

Bad Company, Joe Walsh

- Jabez S. Hardin PAC July 16

- Chastain Park, Atlanta July 1

Steve Miller Band

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds

- Bell Auditorium July 19

- The Tabernacle, Atlanta July 1

Pride in Your Health. Pride in Yourself. Want to quit smoking? Call 1-800 QUIT NOW for free help and a customized Quit Kit. www.scdhec.gov/quitforkeeps

REAL PEOPLE REAL DESIRE REAL FUN.

Try FREE: 706-434-0108 More Local Numbers: 1-800-926-6000 Ahora español Livelinks.com 18+

Meet sexy new friends

FREE TRIAL

706-434-0112

V27|NO25

SIGHTINGS

Michael Johnson | mejphoto.photoreflect.com

Whitney Still, Natalie Paine, Angelica Tran and Betsy Hartley at the Partridge Inn Bar and Grill.

Allen Melcher, Olivia Hart and Porsha Jackson at the Atlanta Braves game at Turner Field.

Arielle Hunter, Khalilah Wright and Fredricka Roberson at World of Beer.

Stu Baker, Taylor Bingham, Sam Baker and Alex Powell at Friends with Benefits Fund’s An Evening with Jason Mraz at the Jessye Norman Amphitheater.

Clay Boardman and Kathy Marks with Casey and Matt Loyal at Friends with Benefits Fund’s An Evening with Jason Mraz at the Jessye Norman Amphitheater.

Kyle and Nicole Meeks with Mary Alice McBurney and Dylan Bonselaar at World of Beer.

Courtney Baker, Genevieve Balogh and Halley Badger at Friends with Benefits Fund’s An Evening with Jason Mraz at the Jessye Norman Amphitheater.

Rachel Pendergrast, Melissa Blanco and Elizabeth Worboys at Friends with Benefits Fund’s An Evening with Jason Mraz at the Jessye Norman Amphitheater.

Debbie Kleinbub, Shannon Bush and Berkeley Teston at Whiskey Bar (Kitchen).

26 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

23JUNE2016

ATTENDING PHYSICIANS By Finn Vigeland/Edited by Will Shortz ACROSS 1 Jump to conclusions 7 Off-guard 12 Medium 19 Has reservations 20 It may be waved from the top of a pyramid 22 Olympic group in red, white and blue 23 Result of shaking a soda too hard before opening? 25 Parts of many modern addresses 26 In ____ (gestating) 27 Homecoming giveaways 28 Herbert of the Pink Panther films 30 Limited 31 5 is a high one 32 Busy Apr. workers 34 Noted sexologist, in her infancy? 36 Yahoos 38 Common tidbits in fried rice 40 “Is That All There Is” singer Peggy 41 Any day now 43 Daniel ____ National Forest 44 Stocking stuffer 45 Heroine of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” 47 Strike caller 48 “The paternity results are in … it’s the protagonist of a long-running BBC sci-fi show!”? 51 Bury 53 Masseuse’s stock 54 Messages you don’t want to send to your parents accidentally 55 Nosy person’s request 57 Watson’s creator 58 Element of one’s inheritance 59 Go to ____ 60 Cousins of gulls 62 Maiden name of Harry Potter’s mother 64 1970s-’80s Sixers star and friends? 68 Take out to dinner 70 Area with R.N.s 72 Disorder that the Ice Bucket Challenge benefited, for short 73 Certain Facebook reaction button 75 Collar 77 One of Spain’s Balearic Islands 79 Ones fully agreeing with you, metaphorically 81 Kind of pick 82 “P.U.!”

85 Controversial TV personality’s magical sidekick? 88 “I’m not overwhelmed” 89 Overwhelms, as with humor 91 Ironically, small Starbucks size 92 “Two thumbs up!” 93 “Quién ____?” (“Who knows?”: Sp.) 95 QB’s try: Abbr. 96 “Primal Fear” star, 1996 97 Rimes of country 98 Hurt a Bond villain? 101 A little progress, idiomatically 102 Quick smoke? 105 Loving, as eyes 106 Inits. at Grand Central Terminal 107 Feds 109 Fanny ____, Barbra Streisand role 111 Quickly 113 Sign on Lucy’s “Peanuts” booth … or a hint to this puzzle’s theme 116 Broccoli pieces 117 Four Corners tribe 118 What’s played mainly for kicks? 119 Mid-Long Island community 120 Rahm Emanuel’s post-White House title 121 Not onboard, say DOWN 1 Make sense 2 “Ish” 3 Sports bigwig every February 4 Alternative to a cab 5 Resort area in northeast Pa. 6 12-Across’s skill 7 “____ moi le déluge” 8 Big name in audio equipment 9 Audio equipment 10 Jump-start of sorts, in brief 11 Eucalyptus lovers 12 Our Children magazine org. 13 Release 14 The P.L.O.’s Arafat 15 Just below average 16 Resolve a dispute in a modern way 17 Has the lights off, perhaps 18 Detective’s assignment 21 “Butt out!” briefly 24 Certain airline alerts, for short 29 Knight’s greeting 33 Continues forward 34 Topless? 35 Plead not guilty

37 ____ and aahs 38 Moue 39 Good listeners 42 “Ask Me Another” airer 43 Suborn 44 Directed the rowers 45 Matchmaking site that asks, “Do you keep kosher?” 46 Land in South America 48 “You sure got me pegged!” 49 Strong appetite 50 Latin love 52 Bird so named because of its call 56 Frequent James Franco collaborator 58 Rock whose name sounds good? 59 Certain notebooks 61 Where “The Princess Diaries” is set 63 & 65 Technological escalations 66 “The Hunger Games” star, in tabloids 67 Pattern for a forensic scientist 69 Future dealings? 71 Chip material 74 Financial ____ 76 Dickens nom de plume 78 Beat 79 Department head 80 In fine shape 81 Yemeni seaport 82 Baseball V.I.P.s 83 Like many uneditable files 84 “Cry me a river!” 86 Tabloid twosome 87 Stereotypically rowdy dudes 90 1961 Michelangelo Antonioni drama 94 Awards won by Stephen King and Agatha Christie 96 Successor to South Carolina’s Thurmond in the Senate 97 Time to give up? 99 Kentucky Derby winner’s wreath 100 Abbr. on a cover sheet 101 Furnishings 103 More dangerous in the winter, say 104 Comedy, e.g. 105 Loopy little films? 107 Down Under greeting 108 Bad thing to lose 110 Rolling in it 112 Superlative finish 114 Longoria of “Telenovela” 115 She-bear: Sp.

32 36

64 71

94 98

67 73

69 75

92 97

100

101

106 112

107 113

116

102

108

114

109

103

110

115

117

119

111

68 74

105

42 47

72 78

118 120

121

PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWERS A W N U R H I N F O L L S E E A C L O S Y O O H R O M E U M P S S S A B S P A S T A L W E E K E R A S E E N P O S T A R E L I I C A N P O S T

T O O D L E O O H E C K L E O B E S E

S S W I T S O T O O P C H U E T W E S Y F I F F E T V E E E R N

41 46

34 38

B O N A

A R G O

S I S I

I O U S

H A R E

O D O R

M O V I E N I G H T

E R E

E E G R G A

O O R R I C E M N E T R H Y

A Y E A S A A X E D

C L I M B

S E T

J A W B E F O B U N A B L E N D N A S Y A O U A N F E O W N E R H A R T E P H E A D E S A L A T T O N A T S R A S

U S H E R

V E N D O R

S T O L E

T R O L L

M A X I M S

E L A T E

D S E O F X E A O T B E I D

T H A T S T H A T

N O W I D E P E E O C C U L T

N I C E T Y

G O A D S

M I A M I

A L B U M

E L I S E

M I R A

S N G U P G S

104

V27|NO25

THE EIGHT

BOX TOPS Largest opening weekend for an animated feature? Not bad, Dory! RANK TITLES

WEEKEND GROSS TOTAL GROSS WEEK # LAST WEEK

FINDING DORY

$135,060,273

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE

$35,535,250

THE CONJURING 2

$14,880,050

$71,055,136

NOW YOU SEE ME 2

$9,373,379

$41,085,908

WARCRAFT

$7,241,430

$38,432,955

In Theaters June 24

SCI-FI

“Independence Day: Resurgence,” rated PG-13, starring Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Brent Spiner, Judd Hirsch, Vivica A. Fox, Liam Hemsworth, Jessie T. Usher. Holy crap, you guys: It’s been 20 years since Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum and crazy Randy Quaid fought off an alien invasion. The aliens and a lot of the original cast are back, but Will Smith decided to sit this one out. We’ll still go, if for nothing else than to ﬁnd out why Dr. Okun isn’t dead. Seriously: Didn’t he die in the ﬁrst one?

28 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

DRAMA

“The Shallows,” rated PG-13, starring Blake Lively. This one, about a surfer who’s attacked by a great white shark and has to struggle to get back to shore, may hit a little too close to home for summer beachgoers.

DRAMA

“Free State of Jones,” rated R, starring Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Keri Russell. This is a true Civil War story about a white Confederate Army deserter who takes over Jones County Mississippi and declares it an independent state where there is racial, gender and economic equality. McConaughey’s Newt Knight was just a little bit ahead of his time, no?

HORROR

“The Neon Demon,” rated R, starring Elle Fanning, Christina Hendricks, Keanu Reeves. Talking about hitting the viewer over the head with an idea, this horror movie is about a young model who moves to Los Angeles to make it big, and is instead devoured by the industry. Literally.

23JUNE2016

Wholesale Changes Coming to Roundtree’s Leadership Team Richmond county SheRiff Richard Roundtree may not have serious opposition in the upcoming election, but several of the key players that helped shape his first term in office are apparently not long for the department. It appears Major Scott Peebles, his former chief rival for sheriff, and the man Roundtree eventually named as his own chief of investigations, is going to be joining Ramone Lamkin when Lamkin takes over the Marshal’s Department in January. There are reports Lamkin could be taking a half dozen or more other sheriff’s officers with him. Also soon to be breaking ties with Roundtree’s agency is Lt. Lewis Blanchard, who has been stymied in his attempts to attain higher rank in Richmond County. He won’t have that problem as the likely new Sheriff of Burke County, Alphonzo Williams, is expected to hire Blanchard as part of his own leadership team in January. Williams’ departure as chief of the Richmond County BOE Public Safety Office also has a number of Roundtree’s current staff interested in that position as well. Stay tuned as the interest in that position heats up accordingly. media GeneRal’S love foR Jay JeffeRieS iS Put to the teSt In one of the more ironic developments involving the recent Channel 12/ Channel 26/Channel 6 ownership battle, it looks as though Channel 6’s owner (Media General) will get to show the world just exactly how much they really hated parting ways with weatherman Jay Jefferies. As the winner of the last two Augusta Magazine “Best of Augusta” awards for Best TV Weatherman, Jay was a heartbreaking casualty of the fight that saw a number of familiar TV faces left off the air when the dust settled. Jay’s former Channel 26 morning show partner Barclay Bishop slid right into an open reporter position at Channel 6, which she parlayed into Chris Kane’s recently vacated anchor chair. The opportunities for TV weathermen in this market are pretty hard to come by, and he has been officially out of the business for a few months now. Interesting news, though, this week as Channel 6’s five-year weatherman, Ed Bloodsworth, announced he was soon leaving for parts unknown. While 6’s veteran No. 2 weatherman John Lynn is said to be interested in taking Ed’s spot, that would leave John’s shift open and a perfect chance for Jay to make a comeback. Right? Since Media General reportedly gave none of their former staff permission to break their non-compete clauses, certainly that meant they were hoping to re-hire them at some point if possible, right? Why would MG keep folks from working in TV if they had no need for them, or any desire to put them into the next available spot that came open? Only a real turd would do that. So we anxiously await word that Jay will be rejoining his former colleagues and take his rightful position (in some capacity) as a Channel 6 weatherman. If that move is not made, there are sure going to be a lot of angry folks. Or so the public outcry involving Jay’s unavoidable departure a few months back would make us believe.

A sample of their handy work to get you started: “Since the start of his selection as the 14th President of Paine College, George C. Bradley, as President, and his wife, Tina Marshall Bradley, as Associate Vice President Academic Affairs, have presided over Paine College in a manner that has brought unprecedented mismanagement to the College’s financial and fiscal affairs, and intimidation and threats to faculty, staff, and students. The Bradley administration ushered in a downgrade of the College’s status with the school’s accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) with the announcement that the school will now be placed on probation. Those of us who understand the urgency of the situation have decided to create this website as a tool to inform and alert the stakeholders of Paine College to the facts and circumstances of the need for dedicated and committed advocacy on the part of those who care about the continued existence of Paine College. We want the interested parties, i.e. alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends of Paine College to make their voices known to those in power and with the means to effectuate change in the leadership at Paine College, namely, the Board of Trustees of Paine College and the U.S. Department of Education. These two entities have the power to bring about change in the leadership at Paine College.” Bradley’s incompetence is detailed in all its unmitigated glory, and it is a sight to behold. Check it out and remember, it was not one or two “bad years” that put Paine on the brink of extinction, it was intellectually bankrupt leadership that went on for quite a while. auStin RhodeS

A long-time radio talk show host who can be heard weekdays on WGAC from 3-6 p.m. The views expressed are the opinions of Austin Rhodes and do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher.

don’t foRGet about the Paine PRoJect! As the leaders of Paine College make a last ditch effort to save the beloved local institution, and no doubt appeal to the generosity of local taxpayers in the form of a bailout, it would be a huge mistake to lose track of exactly how the school got itself into the “deep pit of financial doo-doo” it sits in as we speak. Some anonymous folks did a hell of a job laying it all out a few years ago in a website called The Paine Project. (thepaineproject.net) There have been no new entries to the site since 2014, but the history lesson the site provides is quite timely. 30 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

23JUNE2016