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Table of Contents

EDIT

June 2, 2016

Amy Christian

Arts Editor/Production Director

Whine Line Ruffin It Augusta Tek Jenny is Wright

amy@themetrospirit.com

Stacey Eidson Staff Writer

stacey@themetrospirit.com

Molly Swift

4 6 7 8

Staff Writer

molly@themetrospirit.com

Insider 10 Feature 12

CREATIVE Joshua Bailey Lead Designer

joshua@themetrospirit.com

COVER DESIGN: KRUHU

SALES Jim Christian Account Executive

jim@themetrospirit.com 706-414-4059

BUSINESS Joe White Publisher

joe@themetrospirit.com 706-373-3636

MARSHALL SQUARE FIRE: ONE YEAR LATER

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

19 22 26 32 34 36 37 38

12

Johnny Beckworth circulation manager

johnny@themetrospirit.com 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

THIS WEEK

Most people view computers as these mysterious black boxes that seem to do stuff, so when computers don’t provide the desired result, it’s easy to point fingers. It’s time for the people to know the truth. It’s not the computer’s fault.

Pg. 7

The Wildwood Games was created to showcase mountain bike racing, but that is far from the only event the games include and there’s still time to sign up events that happen this weekend as part of the multisport festival.

Craft cocktails: They’re pretty to look at, amazing to drink and these carefully created and lovingly poured concoctions are available at some of your favorite restaurants and bars.

Pg. 19

Pg. 22

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OPINION

The Whine Line Crime is a money-making industry. You may not know it but you’re keeping a bunch of old, white, curmudgeon lawyers and judges high on the hog. Wanna really put it to the “the man”? Get straight and stop breaking the law...

Hey Maverick , It is time to push the ejection button on gooses political career... time to fade away!

How can supposedly educated people support Lee Anderson? Austin Rhodes’ consistent drivel in support of “Illiterate Lee” makes me believe they tried to copy each other’s homework in school. Prove me wrong, Austin, and have “Illiterate Lee” come on your show and read aloud the first page of any novel. Better yet, have him read any recent bill passed by our State Legislature, then ask him to explain it and how it affects the citizens of Georgia. The entertainment value for your listeners would be priceless.

Is the Gregory Hill who just ran for an office the same one who was the 2nd in charge at ANIC? And what became of that investigation?

Ruffin It Augusta Tek Jenny is Wright

Karl Marx is credited with the truncated and paraphrased quote: “Religion is the opium of the people.” That quote will soon go under reconstruction. The new quote will be: “The smartphone is the opium of the people.”

4 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

Understanding the Frustrations, Hardships and Personal Expenses of the couple in “Dreamhome or Nightmare” article. I have been in similar situations with 3 different homes I have purchased. It seems to me that no-one will hold these home builders, realtors, home inspectors legally responsible for what can easily be proven to be their wrong doings.

Anyone who says Augusta is the best place to live has clearly not lived or maybe even not been anywhere else.

I’ve lived many, many places and would take many of them over this town. I don’t even live here. I live in North Augusta where it’s at least quieter and doesn’t feel so run down and sad. I only stay here because my family lives here. Really, venture outside our fair city and you will see some towns have it better. Much, much better. Augusta’s not bad. But the best? You’re kidding yourself.

The problems of the past didn’t get here by themselves.

No one side of the aisle is to blame more than the other.

There is no way to satisfy everyone when our needs are so many and our choices are so few. But we can stop calling names and pointing blame and look at what we’ve allowed our representatives to leave us as choices. Really?

These two candidates are the best America has to offer?

I’ve known school elections handled with more dignity.

Our lives, our freedom, our world is at stake. Yet we treat selecting our President like two boxers trading ‘Dozens’ at the weigh-in? Oh I’m 57 and ‘I need an Adult’! Let me know when one gets here will you? I’m not Republican. I’m not Democrat. I’m not Conservative, Liberal or Independent.

I’m just disgusted!

Whoever makes the comics for the metro spirit should try including a punchline or some kind of joke. That’s usually what comics attempt to accomplish, some kind of humor.

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.

2JUNE2016

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2JUNE2016

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Measure of Greatness IF YOU’RE A REGULAR READER OF THIS COLUMN — nobody does Sudoku anymore and you’ve got to have something to do while you poop — then you might assume that I only think about two things: politics and combat sports. It’s the reason why most of these articles are deliberate, sometimes misguided, attempts to superimpose the generalities of one onto a bit of news involving the other, and also why my browser history looks like that of the world’s laziest, yet most specific private detective.

This column will do nothing to dissuade such assumptions.

Last Saturday night, Stipe Miocic knocked out Fabricio Werdum to become the new UFC heavyweight champion. While not a monumental upset, it was definitely not expected: Werdum had just lifted the title from presumptive long-term champion Cain Velasquez, and, at 36 years old, was believed to be entering the prime of his career, complementing his otherworldly jiu-jitsu with a powerful kickboxing game. He was patient, calculating and complete. Miocic, a better-than-competent wrestle-boxer who earned this shot on the strength of a modest three-fight win streak, was thought to be a minor challenge, a footnote on the path to a Werdum/Velasquez rematch.

Obviously things didn’t turn out that way, or I wouldn’t be writing this. Werdum, perhaps unconcerned with Miocic’s punching power, perhaps caught up in the magnitude of defending the title in his hometown of Curitiba, Brazil, abandoned the strategy I’m sure his team had devised coming into the fight, and waded forward, winging 1-2s at Miocic. Miocic had never been known as a KO artist, though he’d finished several opponents by way of prolonged beatdowns. But these are heavyweights, and when you combine forward momentum with the natural power that comes from being a human built like the granite monster from “A Neverending Story,” you can be sure that someone is going to be woken up with smelling salts, answering every question “Flerp” for the rest of the day.

Miocic, back pedaling, rammed a single straight right hand right down Werdum’s pipe, sending him into the kind of face-plant that belly-flop competition judges might call a “9.5.” The crowd went silent, Miocic and his team went completely bonkers and, somewhere halfway around the world, a butterfly that had flapped its wings six weeks before sat twirling its mustache.

Because fate is a cruel and mischievous bitch, the conversation leading up to this fight centered on how Werdum was primed to become the greatest heavyweight of all time. Such talk wasn’t entirely unfounded; this was the man who finally toppled Fedor Emelianenko, submitting him with a triangle choke in the first round of their Strikeforce fight. He then returned to the UFC and cut a swath through a series of legit heavyweight talent, including a KO of the iron-chinned Mark Hunt, a TKO of Travis Browne and a guillotine submission of Cain Velasquez. His skills were finally all clicking together, and a lengthy reign seemed inevitable.

I say all this to try and get something of a grasp on approximately what “greatness” entails. Best I can tell, it is a composite of actual ability and proven track record in one’s field, propped up with more than a bit of partisan mythology and speculation.

Emelianenko, still arguably the consensus GOAT, certainly did his legacy many favors: defeating Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira three times, dominating Mirko Cro Cop, besting Semmy Chilt and Heath Herring in the infancy of his career, and generally fighting not only two weight classes above where he probably could have if he had just cut down on the ice cream, but against a succession of roid-monsters in the notoriously

6 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

regulation-light PRIDE Fighting Championships. However, he also did himself no favors by taking freak show fights against professional wrestlers and sub-par competition, then capping off his Strikeforce run with three consecutive defeats.

Conor McGregor is another pertinent example. Though he largely built his following and fortune on an outsized public persona, he had the skills to back it up, slicing through the UFC’s featherweight division and knocking out long-time champion Jose Aldo in a scant 13 seconds. He followed that up with an ill-advised move up to welterweight for a fight against Nate Diaz, in which he was knocked out in the second round. Contract negotiations with the UFC have stalled, but McGregor wants to stay busy… …so of course he’s angling for a boxing match with Floyd Mayweather, and the two sides are legitimately trying to make this happen. It won’t, but let’s say for a minute that it does. Let’s further say that McGregor beats, even stops, Mayweather. It would be a massive accomplishment, but would it derail Mayweather’s status as perhaps the greatest boxer of his generation? It’s hard to say. Taint it, perhaps, but complete erasure is another matter entirely.

Believe it or not, there’s a parallel here to current state of Democratic presidential politics. Bernie Sanders, who has done a great deal of good in his role as long-time senator, is stepping up in a big way during this primary. In many ways, he carries with him the same attributes as many all-time great fighters: a solid and consistent record, a series of wins at the highest levels of his chosen field and a quasi-cult following to drive the whole thing forward.

He’s not going to win this primary. He’s just not; the math is against him, and math doesn’t lie. He and his supporters will likely carry the fight all the way to the convention, which is worrisome for Democratic voters as a whole, as Clinton’s camp will have precious few months to woo the contingent of Sanders supporters to a more general cause.

I don’t profess to know how Sanders will proceed when this primary is finally over. He says he’ll do everything in his power to stop Trump from being elected, and I can’t help but believe him. His supporters, however, might be another story, and I understand it — I don’t agree with it, but I understand it.

There is a feeling, I think, among Sanders backers, that if he doesn’t win the nomination, it will somehow cancel out all the good work he’s done, and will render him ineffectual for the rest of his career; that he will be de-legitimized, and so will they. But it’s not like that — it doesn’t have to be. Sanders has done so much good. He will continue to do so much more, and supporting him and his cause is not mutually exclusive from being cognizant of the larger stakes here.

Sanders is smart; he knows this, and it’s time to start planting the notion with his followers that taking their ball and going home is not the answer. He certainly won’t. If his acolytes are true believers, they won’t either.

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.

2JUNE2016

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Bugs Do Not Come From Computers THIS PAST MEMORIAL DAY HOLIDAY, thousands of travelers were stranded in New York due to a reported “computer glitch.” This “computer glitch” apparently started with a “crashed” server that brought down the entire check-in system.

To keep everything from coming to a complete stop, airline agents performed manual check-ins using paper tickets. Eventually, computer operations were restored, but long delays persisted through the remainder of the holiday.

Is it just me, or are you not greatly offended that this entire fiasco was blamed on a computer?

Of course, this isn’t the first time that some sort of disaster was blamed on a computer. The massive power outage that blacked-out the east coast in 2003 is blamed on a computer error. The loss of the Mars Climate Orbiter in 1999 is attributed to a computer data issue.

A faulty network card took the fall for the failure of a U.S. Customs system in 2007 that caused over 17,000 flights to be grounded. In 2012, the responsibility for a Fourth of July fireworks fail in San Diego ultimately fell to a glitch “deep inside the software.”

I think that most people view computers as these mysterious black boxes that seem to do stuff. I’m fairly certain that most people don’t really know how they work. They just blindly go along, tap, tap, tap on the screen, and presto! Instantly delivered is the latest celebrity snapchat or the most recent update from theprepperjournal.com.

So when computers don’t provide the desired result, it’s easy to point fingers. And since computers won’t fight back (they are inanimate objects after all), the computer becomes an easy scapegoat.

It’s time for someone to stand up for the computers. It’s time for the people to know the truth. I know that the truth might be hard for some of you to absorb, but you need to know.

It’s not the computer’s fault.

First of all, think of what that computer had to endure just to become part of our daily lives. Every computer started out as a bucket of components in some far away land. These components were soldered and glued together, transformed into something completely different. And instead of being given the chance to explore their new individuality, they were wrapped in plastic, trapped in a box and shipped around the world. Whether they end up in Lenox Mall or an Augusta Wal-Mart, only fate can decide.

Secondly, a computer cannot perform any task on its own. Since the invention of the ENIAC, modern-day computers only do what we tell them to do. A computer without programming can only transform electricity into heat. A computer with a program can only execute that program. And here’s the part that vindicates the computer… no matter how many times that program is executed, that program will always run exactly as written.

So finally, we have to ask, “Where do computer programs originate?” The answer is clear: software developers. Nerdy, personality deficient, but horribly well-paid, software developers. And interestingly enough, the software developers are generally the first ones to pass the blame to the computer. If you walk into any software development shop in the world, you will hear the terms “bug” and “software defect” thrown around like candy.

My friends, if software is defective, it’s only due to the workmanship. Here’s a better term — “COID.” It stands for “coding error introduced by the developer.”

Okay, I know that I’m being pretty tough on all the developers out there, but I have a purpose in doing so. Software developers have an opportunity in their profession that very few others possess. Developers get to answer the question, “If you can have it any way you want it, how would you have it?” Every new algorithm begins with a blank sheet of paper. No matter how you spin it, if an application is hard to use or impossible to maintain, a software developer created it that way.

Bad software design is a choice. Please GREGORY BAKER PH.D. stop making bad choices. is vice president of CMA

Technology and, yes, is actually a rocket scientist who used his doctorate in aerospace engineering at Lockheed Martin.

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

2JUNE2016

AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

METROSPIRIT 7

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No More Monkeys AS I’M WRITING THIS, there’s a raging debate about the life of a gorilla versus the life of a four-year-old little boy.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s the gist. Mom turns back. Boy springs loose and falls in gorilla pen at zoo. Gorilla is either saying, “He’s mine. I’ll protect him,” or “He’s mine. I’ll eat him.” Zookeepers can’t tell and put kid’s life first, killing the 17-year-old gorilla.

People are freaking out because the mom is a failure. She should be able to keep her eye on her kid every single second of every single day, never ever making a mistake.

Perfect parents have come out of the woodwork, carefully and angrily explaining this to her. She’s a disgrace to perfect moms everywhere.

Everyone else is freaking out, because the gorilla died. The zoo is stupid for protecting the kid, who never should’ve been in there anyway, but his stupid mom couldn’t keep an eye on him every single second of every single day. The zoo should’ve done it this way and that way, say thousands of armchair experts.

If you’re on the side of the gorilla, everyone wants to know why you don’t care about the kid. If you defend the mom, we can’t fathom why you don’t care about the gorilla or all the abandoned puppies and kittens and ferrets in the world.

Let me tell you a story. When I was little, say three years old, my family and I were at the San Diego Zoo, watching the gorillas. They each thought the other was watching me. They walked away, going their separate directions, without their only child. Oops.

My parents are good parents. I was a really well-behaved kid. I cried. They panicked.

The zoo found me, somehow found my parents, and reunited us all. I wasn’t a kid who darted from my mother’s view. I didn’t do things I wasn’t supposed to do. I lied all of two times as a kid, and this wasn’t one of them.

I’ll tell you another story. That same year, the same well-behaved three-year-old leaned over a fountain in a Cincinnati mall in the dead of winter, just to get a little drink.

A few drops. She fell right in. Mom was standing no more than two feet away. In the blink of an eye, her sweet toddler with brown ringlets and a very heavy winter coat was soaked from head to toe.

Now, now. Use your imagination. The gorillas in the San Diego Zoo weren’t in that fountain in Cincinnati. If combined, these two might make one relevant story, but that’s beside the point. The point is, stuff happens. Parents cannot watch their children all 86,400 seconds a day. It’s impossible. The zoo took what they thought were the appropriate precautions.

Trust me. I’m not saying I’m not sad for the gorilla. He didn’t know any better. He was an animal reacting as animals do. I’m not a huge fan of zoos, and I won’t take my children to a circus. However, with the situation at hand, they did their best.

Can y’all imagine if the zoo said, “Sorry lady, you shouldn’t have missed those few seconds! Just stand here helplessly while your child is pulverized by this big primate.”

Yeah, right. What would y’all be fussing about then? It would be some of “thank God for the beautiful gorilla,” and a little of “that mom deserved it.” How messed up would that be?

It’d be very messed up. So are the constant accusations from parent to parent on how we can all do better. I have a bit of advice. Wait until someone asks for yours. When you’re perfect yourself, feel free to tell folks how it’s done. I know that’s no easy feat, what with all your free time, spent waiting for the screw ups that never happen.

Be patient with the rest of us, please. We aren’t perfect, but we’ll share our wine anyway.

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.

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Marshall Square Fire: One Year Later

Insider

10 12

news

Some Republicans Offended by Rick Allen This weekend news broke that several GOP members walked out of a meeting last Thursday when Augusta’s own Congressman Rick Allen started reading Bible verses condemning homosexuality.

Just prior to a vote on a bill that would have barred LGBT discrimination, Allen offered a prayer and allegedly quoted Bible passages describing and condemning homosexuality during a Republican caucus meeting, according to Roll Call, a Washington D.C. newspaper.

Allen’s comments apparently caused several of his fellow Republicans to abruptly leave the room after he implied that those Republicans who supported LGBT rights “on the floor last night” went against the teachings of the Bible.

The verses he read were from the books of Romans and Revelations and they denounced homosexuality as “worthy of death,” according to an article written by McClatchyDC. During the meeting, Allen reportedly read verses from Romans 1:18-32.

“And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet,” reads Romans 1:27, which Allen allegedly read.

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them,” read lines 28-32, which Allen also read.

It’s pretty bad when this area’s conservative Congressman allows his religious beliefs to offend some of his own Republican counterparts, but apparently that’s exactly what happened.

“I thought the comments were wildly out of bounds and especially inappropriate given that this was supposed to be a prayer,” Republican Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania told The Washington Post Some Republican’s emotions ranged from being uncomfortable and upset to downright furious, according to media reports.

In fact, a Republican representative who was present for the reading and supported the amendment bluntly told The Hill in Washington, D.C. that Allen’s statements were “f***ing ridiculous.”

The proposed bill sponsored by Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, a New York Democrat who is openly gay, would have implemented a 2014 executive order that prohibits federal contractors from discriminating by sexual orientation or gender identity, McClatchyDC reported.

But the bill was eventually voted down last week.

Following the vote, Democrats on the floor reportedly began changing “shame, shame, shame” when the votes were changed, stopping the bill from passing.

“House Republicans’ thirst to discriminate against the LGBT community is so strong that they are willing to vote down their own appropriations bill in order to prevent progress over bigotry,” Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi told The Hill.

Republicans are openly isolating themselves from the opinions of the majority of the nation, another Democrat said.

“Democrats are being given a huge opportunity to put Republicans on the record on issues that alienate most independent, moderate voters,” Rep. Steve Israel of New York told The Washington Post “Every time that Republicans give us the opportunity, we’re going to take it.”

Now, many Republicans here in Georgia don’t give a damn about what Democrats like Pelosi and Maloney think of Allen’s actions.

But here’s the thing: Allen’s decision to make a political statement during a prayer and offend some of his colleagues once again draws attention to the GOP infighting.

And now conservatives are facing Donald Trump as their candidate for president in the Republican primary.

It’s no secret that Trump has a much more accepting view on gay issues than most Republicans.

In April, Trump shocked some Republicans by telling NBC’s “Today” show that he opposed the North Carolina law prohibiting people from using public bathrooms that do not correspond to the gender they were born with.

Transgender people should “use the bathroom they feel is appropriate,” Trump reportedly said.

Trump has “nurtured long friendships with gay people, employed gay workers in prominent positions, and moved with ease in industries where gays have long exerted influence, like entertainment,” a New York Times article recently stated.

And while he has publicly stated that he believes marriage is between a man and a woman, Trump also openly congratulated singer Elton John and his long-time boyfriend, David Furnish, who got married in December.

“I know both of them, and they get along wonderfully. It’s a marriage that’s going to work,” Trump wrote in a blog. “I’m very happy for them. If two people dig each other, they dig each other.”

Does that make Trump a sinner in Rick Allen’s eyes? If so, where does that leave Allen if Trump becomes president?

Who really knows for sure?

But this week the nation definitely got to know the name Rick Allen, the Republican Congressman from Augusta, Ga. 2JUNE2016

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Get Ready for the July Runoff This week’s elecTion proved that AugustaRichmond County is definitely an entirely different town than it was 20 years ago.

First off, it was a bad week for those with ties to the former political powerhouse and state Sen. Charles Walker.

To many people’s surprise, attorney Monique Walker, who also happens to be the daughter of the former state senator, came in third in the race for the State Court judgeship being vacated by Judge John Flythe.

Most people assumed it would be a runoff between Walker and local attorney Robert “Bo” Hunter III, but Kellie Kenner McIntyre, who is the current Richmond County State Court solicitor general and also happens to be the daughter-in-law of former Augusta Mayor Ed McIntyre, pulled in 33 percent of the votes cast on May 24.

Hunter came in first with almost 37 percent, while Walker received about 30 percent of the votes.

So the July 26 runoff will be between Hunter and McIntyre.

Some voters were amazed that McIntyre was able to come in second place considering she was slammed just a few weeks ago in a lengthy Sunday story published in The Augusta Chronicle about the tremendous backlog in the Richmond County Solicitor’s Office.

The story written by Chronicle staff writer Sandy Hodson said that nearly $1.4 million from fines paid by thousands of residents for minor traffic tickets before Jan. 1, 2014, and some cash bonds that people put up to get others out of jail has been sitting untouched in a bank account for years.

Why? Apparently, that money has been just sitting there because of the backup in paperwork in the Richmond County Solicitor’s Office, according to the Chronicle.

With such harsh criticism being tossed her way right before the election, the question quickly became: So, then, why did so many voters still support McIntyre?

That’s easy.

As corky local attorney and former judicial candidate Chris Nicholson likes to say, “It was caused by the white devil.”

Many people in Augusta, especially those in the black community, feel William S. Morris III, the founder of Morris Communications Co. and publisher of The Augusta Chronicle, is way too heavy handed when it comes to local politics.

“The white devil is Billy Morris,” Nicholson announced during a political forum a few weeks ago. “He went after the black politicians. He went after Charles Walker. He went after other people and he tried to destroy all of the black leadership in Augusta. What I’m telling you is, we need to get rid of the white devil. We don’t need him running our government.”

There is a reason Nicholson received cheers and thunderous applause that night, especially from members of the black community, during the forum.

The truth is, a lot of people don’t trust the Chronicle when it comes to stories during an election season.

The public is always looking for the newspaper’s hidden agenda, whether it exists or not.

Slinging mud at McIntyre a week before the election probably actually helped her more than it hurt her because it ended up ticking off some voters.

And chances are, McIntyre will likely get the majority of Walker’s supporters and, therefore, beat Hunter in the runoff.

2JUNE2016

So, if the Chronicle was hoping to hurt McIntyre right before the election, they messed up.

The newspaper most likely handed her the judicial seat, instead.

And who was the other person connected to Walker that struck out?

Candidate Gregory Hill over in the House District 124 race.

Long-time incumbent Rep. Henry “Wayne” Howard easily beat Hill, the retired Army combat veteran, who also happens to be the former husband of Monique Walker.

Even though Hill isn’t a blood relative of former Sen. Walker, he still was handily beaten at the polls.

Another candidate with political ties that was defeated this week was long-time Marshal Steve Smith.

Here, Smith had served as marshal in Richmond County for 28 years and has been in local law enforcement for almost 40 years, but he still lost to challenger Ramone Lamkin, who was the head of the Traffic Safety Division of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office.

But the race was actually much closer than many people thought it was going to be.

Politicos watching the race initially thought Lamkin was going to beat Smith by more than 60 percent after seeing that the advance voter turnout in Richmond County was overwhelmingly Democrat.

Even though this was a nonpartisan race, the general sentiment was that more Democrats would support Lamkin, while more Republicans would support Smith.

And, believe it or not, that’s not because of the races of the two candidates.

It’s no secret that Smith was once a long-time supporter of Republican and former state Rep. Robin Williams.

Yep. That’s the same Robin Williams who served almost 10 years in federal prison for scheming to steal more than $2 million from the local community mental health center.

So, when folks saw that Democrats killed in early voting compared to the Republicans in Richmond County, many thought Smith was toast.

While he still lost the election, Smith won 48 percent of the votes cast, while Lamkin received 52 percent.

It was a good effort, but Smith still has to walk away from a position he has held for almost three decades.

That won’t be easy.

Finally, over in the race for the District 24 seat in Columbia County currently held by retiring state Sen. Bill Jackson, there will be another runoff.

Five Republican candidates were vying for that position including former state Rep. Lee Anderson; President of Sherman & Hemstreet Real Estate Company Joe Edge; former District 3 candidate on Columbia County Commission Greg Grzybowski; former chairwoman of the Columbia County Republican Party Pat Goodwin; and Realtor and mayor of Bowman, Ga., Peter Gibbons.

But Anderson came in first with more than 40 percent of the votes cast. Greg Grzybowski, a former District 3 candidate for the Columbia County Commission, came in second with about 22 percent of the vote.

The two will face off in the July 26 runoff.

The winner of the Republican primary will run against Democratic candidate Brenda Jordan in November.

So, hang on, folks. This election season is far from over.

AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

METROSPIRIT 11

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Marshall Square Fire: One Year Later

The citizens of Columbia County will never forget the tragic events of July 2, 2015

By Stacey Eidson FOrMer reSidenTS of the Marshall Square retirement community are still haunted by the screeching sound of a fire alarm, smoke filling the hallways and the desperate confusion surrounding the early morning hours of July 2, 2015.

As the residents were evacuated from the three-story building along Ronald Reagan Drive, they sat in metal folding chairs in front of the retirement community, watching the place they called home become engulfed in flames.

The Evans retirement complex burned with an intensity few people have ever witnessed in this area.

Columbia County Commission Chairman Ron Cross has described the fire as “a tragedy that will be remembered for a long time in the county.”

For those still fighting for answers regarding the devastating fire at Marshall Square, it is difficult to believe that its been a full year since the tragedy that killed 91-year-old resident Dorothy Carpenter and displaced more than 80 senior residents.

“Everything that could go wrong, did,” said Sam Nicholson, whose law firm is representing the Carpenter family, as well as former Marshall Square resident Rhetta Cadle, who miraculously survived after being trapped in her third-floor apartment for almost seven hours. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Over the past several months, local attorneys have taken several depositions in the civil cases against the owners and some of the employees of the former $27 million 12 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

Marshall Square retirement community, as well as, mostly recently, some depositions involving employees of the Columbia County Fire Rescue and the fire marshal.

The circumstances surrounding this tragedy have been astounding, Nicholson said.

Earlier this year, Steve Mueller, chief operating officer for the Nebraska-based company Resort Lifestyle Communities that owns Marshall Square, admitted to Nicholson that the company had no fire safety plan or evacuation plan in place prior to the June 2, 2015, fire.

In fact, Resort Lifestyle Communities had not implemented a fire safety plan at any of the company’s facilities across the country, he said.

However, Mueller disputed the claim that Marshall Square had a “shelter-in-place” policy for residents in the case of a fire alarm going off in the building.

In fact, Mueller continued to deny such a policy existed even after he was given a December 2014 memo written by Marshall Square’s property manager, Chris Bryde, that clearly stated, “When the alarm goes off, please do not panic. We have a state-of-the art monitoring system. Please stay in your apartment and wait for the announcement over the intercom.”

“No. It’s never been our policy to tell someone stay in your apartment and wait for an announcement,” Mueller testified.

But then Nicholson asked Mueller to read a paragraph from the resident handbook 2JUNE2016

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given to every person living at Marshall Square.

“In case of a fire, please stay in your apartment, unless that is where the fire is located,” Mueller said, reading from the handbook. “Be aware of the exits closest to your apartment and do not use the elevators. If you see smoke coming in under your door, stay in your apartment.

Emergency response personnel will arrive and evacuate the building, if necessary.”

Even after reading the paragraph himself, Mueller denied that was Marshall Square’s policy.

Nicholson was also shocked by the lack of fire evacuation training among the Marshall Square staff.

“The property manager, Chris Bryde, testified that he had no training in fire evacuation, no fire drills, nothing,” Nicholson said. “When the Marshall Square residents were calling down to the front desk after the fire alarm went off, the night concierge, Zack Freehof, testified that Bryde told him to tell everyone to stay in their rooms.”

In his deposition, Bryde stated that he did not recall giving Freehof such instructions.

Also, the fire alarm was manually silenced multiple times during the first 30 minutes of the fire that began just minutes after 3 a.m.

The staff also waited 17 minutes after the initial fire alarm sounded to call 911 and alert the fire department.

Once Columbia County Fire Rescue arrived on the scene around 3:30 a.m., the sprinklers inside Marshall Square were also manually shut off by Bryde inside the building.

“Now, Bryde said the fire department told him to turn the sprinkler system off,” Nicholson said. “But three minutes after the fire department got there, it is turned off. And not only did Bryde admit to turning off the alarm multiple times, but he also directed one of the residents to turn off the alarm.”

Bryde also testified that he went up to the billiard room twice that morning after the fire alarm sounded.

“There was so much smoke, they couldn’t even see in the room,” Nicholson said of Bryde and Freehof. “But they never went to everybody’s room and knocked on the doors to tell them to get out of there.

Mrs. Carpenter’s room is right next door to the billiard room and Mrs. Cadle is right across from the billiard room. Mrs. Cadle didn’t wake up until 4 a.m. and when she woke up and opened the door, the fire was just billowing out. She couldn’t even see.”

Just last month, Nicholson’s partner, attorney Harry Revell, questioned Resort Lifestyle Communities CEO Breck Collingsworth during his deposition about the company’s policies and emergency plans.

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When it comes to company’s operations, Collingsworth told Revell that the buck stops with him.

Therefore, Revell began by questioning whether Resort Lifestyle Communities’ other luxury retirement communities in states such as Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas typically have several residents in their 80s and 90s, as did Marshall Square.

Resort Lifestyle Communities sold Marshall Square to Columbia County as an “all-inclusive, resort-style community for adults 55 and over.”

“It could be, you know, I don’t study the ages of the residents in each community,” Collingsworth said.

“Would you agree that residents of that age, as opposed to an unrestricted apartment complex, would have different physical and mental limitations and challenges than the unrestricted apartment?” Revell asked.

Collingsworth agreed that could be true.

“When it comes to fire safety, do you believe you have a duty or an obligation to do more than the minimum when you consider the age of those residents and the likely physical, mental limitations they may have?” Revell asked.

Collingsworth said the company simply follows the local building code when constructing their complexes.

“In every municipality that we construct in, we submit a set of plan and they’re reviewed, they’re approved, it’s inspected and we get a certificate of occupancy,” Collingsworth said. “And, you know, we have to comply with what they tell us is proper construction techniques for the use of building that we tell them we’re going to utilize it for.”

Revell asked Collingsworth if he was bothered by the fact that Marshall Square’s property manager, Chris Bryde, testified that he had no training in fire evacuation.

“Well, I would disagree with Chris and say he did have training,” Collingsworth said. “Chris ran the identical same building in Wichita since 2007 and he did undergo training on how to maintain and operate the systems that were there. And he did have some training, I understood, by the company that installed the systems before he took over the building.”

Collingsworth said he felt Bryde was prepared to handle the fire.

“What we teach the managers is when the alarms go off to go to the annunciator panel, to see where the problem is, to go investigate,” Collingsworth said, adding that the the fire department is usually notified by the monitoring company within a matter of minutes.

However, in this case, the monitoring company didn’t receive any word of a fire until hours later.

“My only criticism of Chris is when he realized it was a fire situation, he should not have silenced the alarm,” Collingsworth said, adding that Bryde should have let the fire alarm sound until the fire department arrived on the scene.

Several months prior to the June 2, 2015, fire, Collingsworth said his company was working with Columbia County Fire Marshal Brian Clark regarding the development of a fire safety plan after Clark objected to the alleged “shelter-inplace” policy.

“When we opened our fourth community in Wichita, I remember that the fire marshal there, and I don’t remember his name, he instructed us to say if the fire’s not in the resident’s apartment, have them stay in place because the apartment provides fire protection,” Collingsworth said. “And if we determine that we need to do an evacuation, we’ll start at the point of the fire and work our way out from there.”

But Collingsworth said he was unaware of the fact that Clark had instructed employees of Marshall Square to change the shelter-in-place policy and to produce a fire safety plan.

In fact, Collingsworth questioned why Clark didn’t bring that concern up prior to issuing the certificate of occupancy in late 2014.

“We had a certificate of occupancy and we had spent a lot of time with Brian Clark and it wasn’t important enough for him to mention it to us at the time,” Collingsworth said. “So, you know, I necessarily didn’t understand exactly what was going on other than he had made a request from us and we were diligently working to try to meet what he asked us to do.”

Again, Revell asked whether Collingsworth thought Marshall Square should have focused on developing a fire safety plan, especially considering the age of its residents.

“Particularly given the age of the residents, you don’t think it’s important for them to know what to do in the event of a fire?” Revell asked.

“I think they generally know what to do,” Collingsworth replied. “I mean, they live in that building, so they’re familiar with the surrounding that are there.”

But Collingsworth again pointed fingers at the fire marshal and the Columbia County Fire Rescue.

“We’re still dependent on the fire personnel to come in. No different than if we have a medical situation, we depend upon the EMS,” Collingsworth said.

“Our people are not trained firefighters.

They’re not trained emergency medical technicians. We need the fire department there to give us direction on what to do.”

But Revell pressed on, asking whether Marshall Square had a responsibility to provide clear instructions to residents in

Over the past several months, local attorneys have taken several depositions in the civil cases against the owners and some of the employees of the former $27 million Marshall Square retirement community, as well as, mostly recently, some depositions involving employees of the Columbia County Fire Rescue and the fire marshal.

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Once Columbia County Fire Rescue arrived on the scene around 3:30 a.m., the sprinklers inside Marshall Square were also manually shut off by [Property Manager Chris] Bryde inside the building. the event of an emergency.

“You know that the residents are required to follow the policies and procedures that Marshall Square puts into place, right, as part of your lease agreement?”

Revell asked.

Collingsworth agreed that was true.

“And y’all dictated the policy to shelter in place,” Revell said. “They’re told by Marshall Square to stay in their apartment.”

Collingsworth said that is what the company believed was the “correct course of action.”

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“Don’t you think that it makes it a safer property to have procedures including training, including staff training, fire drills, those sort of things?” Revell asked.

“Isn’t that a safety feature that you were not providing before this fire?”

Collingsworth said Marshall Square had three staff members on the property during the fire at 3 a.m. that morning to help assess the situation.

“We’re reliant on the fire personnel to get there and take over,” Collingsworth said.

“So are you saying it’s the fire department’s fault for this loss?” Revell immediately asked.

Collingsworth said he couldn’t lay blame on anyone, at this point.

“I don’t know enough to know who’s at fault for this,” Collingsworth said. “You know, we learn more about it every day. I don’t know.”

In fact, Collingsworth told Revell he wasn’t even aware that the fire marshal had sent an email to his company regarding the lack of a fire safety plan until the night before his deposition in May. “Really?” Revell replied.

“When I went through the discovery book and I just thumbed through it real quick, I saw that email in there,” Collingsworth said.

Since the fire, Revell asked if Collingsworth and his company have used the tragedy as a “learning moment or teaching moment” at the company’s other retirement communities.

“You know, even if it proves that we didn’t have to do the fire plan that we ultimately put together and we submitted to Columbia County, we’ve gone ahead and implemented it companywide,” Collingsworth said.

As of last month, Collingsworth insisted the fire safety plans have been adopted by all of the company’s facilities and that employees are now using “online training tools” regarding fire safety.

“We’re coming up on a year now,” Revell said. “Has anything been done, any kind of structured way to evaluate what happened, what could have been done differently?”

Collingsworth said the company is still reviewing the events of the fire.

“You know, it’s amazing it’s a year later, and we’re still learning a lot about what’s going on,” Collingsworth said.

“I know they just deposed the fire personnel. So we’re learning more about what happened. So I would say I don’t know yet enough to really look at that.”

Looking back over the past year, Collingsworth said he clearly remembered how he learned about the terrible fire at Marshall Square.

“Usually I sleep pretty good but I had my phone on vibrate,” Collingsworth said. “And I heard the thing buzz and I tilted it up and I saw a text message of a picture of a building on fire. And that was around 3 o’clock, or 3:15, whatever, and it got my attention, obviously, and I got out of bed.”

Collingsworth boarded his private jet later that day and arrived at Marshall Square around 11 a.m.

“The core of the building was burnt, the B wing part was burnt and the fire department was still putting water on it,” Collingsworth testified. “There was definitely still smoke coming out.”

When Collingsworth arrived, he noticed Bryde was being interviewed by an employee of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Afterwards, Collingsworth spoke with Bryde about the fire at the nearby Chili’s restaurant on Ronald Reagan Drive.

“We stood outside, it was a hot Augusta day and it was probably 2:30 or 3 o’clock. Everybody was wiped out, so I was like, ‘Let’s get out of the heat and go over to the Chili’s,’” Collingsworth said. “So we went over there and sat down. And Chris kind of went through quickly 2JUNE2016

what happened. And then he said, ‘You know, when they came, they told me to shut the sprinklers off.’ And I was kind of incredulous, like, ‘They did what?’”

Collingsworth said Bryde told him that the Columbia County fire personnel told him to shut off the sprinklers as soon as they arrived on the scene around 3:30 a.m.

“Then I kind of said, ‘That’s important,’” Collingsworth said, adding that he told Bryde that he needed to tell the ATF agent that information. “I said, ‘I want to make sure that the investigators know that.’”

When Bryde and Collingsworth returned to the scene of the fire, Bryde told an ATF agent that he had shut off the sprinklers.

“Chris says, ‘I just want you to know the fire director had me shut the sprinklers off,’” Collingsworth said, explaining that Bryde was talking to the ATF agent. “And (the agent) said, ‘Yeah, but that was way later.’ And Chris said, ‘No. No. That was at the very beginning.’ And (the agent) kind of stood there with a puzzled look on his face and didn’t say anything else, turned and walked off.”

Revell then asked Collingsworth whether he aware that the two residents, Cadle and Carpenter, were unaccounted for on the day of the fire.

Collingsworth said he was told that two residents had not been located.

“I didn’t witness Mrs. Cadle coming out,” Collingsworth said. “All I think I heard is that somebody said she got out and that she was in good shape.”

He didn’t learn about Carpenter’s death until later in the day.

Revell asked why Collingsworth didn’t make any efforts to reach out to the Carpenter family.

“I wouldn’t have had a clue where to find them or know if they were there or not,” Collingsworth said. “I didn’t know if they lived in Augusta or if they were somewhere else or I had no way of knowing who they were or where they were at.”

While the depositions of the Marshall Square employees helped paint a picture of the chaos surrounding the day of the fire, the testimony of the county staff also, at times, showed a great deal of confusion.

John Price, an attorney for Marshall Square, recently questioned Columbia County Fire Marshal Brian Clark during his deposition.

Price began the deposition by asking Clark about his past education.

“Mr. Clark, how far did you go in school?”

Price asked.

“Ninth grade,” Clark responded.

“Do you have any other educational background or training experience?” Price asked.

“A GED and job-specific International Code Council Certifications for building inspections,” Clark replied.

Prior to being hired in the fire marshal’s office, Clark said he was a car salesman,

worked in insulation and was eventually a jailer and deputy for the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.

“Any other formal education, community college, night school?” Price asked.

“No,” Clark replied, adding that he was hired as a deputy fire marshal in 2004 to do fire inspections on existing and new construction plan reviews.

“What training did you receive to become a deputy fire marshal?”

Price asked.

“It’s an ongoing certification process through the International Code Council of numerous inspector and plan review certifications,” Clark said.

Clark said he received his certification through “sporadically, in-house and onsite training.”

“So you would have been trained by other employees in the fire marshal’s office?” Price asked.

Clark agreed that was true.

“I have approximately 18 certifications from residential building, electrical, mechanical, and plumbing inspector certifications to commercial building plans examiner, fire inspector 1 and 2 levels, fire plans examiner, certified building official, certified fire code official and a certified fire marshal,” Clark said.

However, the public might be surprised that Clark explained that you don’t have to have any firefighter training to become a fire marshal.

“Usually I sleep pretty good but I had my phone on vibrate,” [Breck] Collingsworth said.

“And I heard the thing buzz and I tilted it up and I saw a text message of a picture of a building on fire. And that was around 3 o’clock, or 3:15, whatever, and it got my attention, obviously, and I got out of bed.”

Collingsworth boarded his private jet later that day and arrived at Marshall Square around 11 a.m.

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John Price, an attorney for Marshall Square, recently questioned Columbia County Fire Marshal Brian Clark during his deposition.

Price began the deposition by asking Clark about his past education.

“Mr. Clark, how far did you go in school?”

Price asked.

“Ninth grade,” Clark responded.

“Do you have any other educational background or training experience?”

Price asked.

“A GED and jobspecific International Code Council Certifications for building inspections,” Clark replied.

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“I asked you if you had any background or expertise in firefighting and you said no,” Price said. “Do you have any other expertise about fire response that we haven’t discussed?”

Clark said he didn’t, adding that the basis of his knowledge on how to respond to a fire comes primarily from the International Fire Code and the NFPA 101 Life Safety Code.

“There are some other handbooks and things that I am familiar with. IFSTA is a fire training manual. It has guidelines and some of those procedures,” Clark said.

“It’s basic information for fire inspectors because a fire inspector doesn’t have to be a fireman.”

By July of 2014, Clark said he became the county’s new fire marshal.

Prior to the construction of Marshall Square in 2014, Clark said his office reviewed all of the plans for the building and approved those plans.

The type of facility that planned to be built was classified as a R-2 apartment complex, Clark said.

“Were you aware that it was gonna be an independent retirement living complex?” Price asked.

“The code classification that was submitted on the application, the plans all indicated it was an apartment as an R-2, which is an apartment that can cover several different ages,” Clark said, adding he did not have any concerns about the classification when his office approved the plans.

The building department then issued the permit for construction, he said.

In fact, Clark explained the building department and the fire marshal are under the same county division headed by Paul Scarbary, the county’s director of development services.

“We’re all under the same division,” Clark said. “We all review plans and do field inspections jointly but we’re two separate departments.”

And while the fire marshal’s office occasionally works with Columbia County Fire Rescue, they are not under the same division.

During an inspection of a new building, Clark said the building department is reviewing the plumbing, mechanical and electrical work, while the fire marshal’s office focuses more on life safety systems, sprinklers and the fire alarms.

Clark said his office reviewed and approved all of Marshall Square’s life safety systems.

“When would the building be required to have evacuation routes or maps in place?” Price asked.

“That particular building was required to have fire safety tips, information given to the residents,” Clark said. “They can either placard the back of the door or they can provide the information to the residents.”

After reviewing and approving all of requirements of the fire code, Clark said his office issued a certificate of occupancy on Dec. 12, 2014.

“So this states that the building complies with all the requirements of the fire code; right?” Price asked.

“Yes,” Clark replied.

“Did the fire code require Marshall Square to have a fire safety plan or an evacuation plan?” Price asked.

“No, just the fire safety tips,” Clark said.

However, Clark said he began to questioning whether Marshall Square needed a fire safety and evacuation plan in the beginning of 2015 after Dr. Paul Bilodeau, whose mother lived at Marshall Square, contacted the fire department with concerns about the retirement community’s alleged shelter-in-place policy.

“I am concerned that between the repeated

newsletter instructions and verbal reinforcement by the management staff, what these people are hearing is ‘Stay in your room if the alarm goes off,’” Bilodeau wrote in a Jan. 15 e-mail. “While I realize the chances of failure of the fire suppression system is very low, with the small number of staff in the building (after hours in particular), getting all the residents out could be a challenge in the event of a fire.”

Clark said he met with Chris Bryde, Columbia County Fire Rescue Operations Chief Danny Kuhlmann and several other firefighters in early 2015 to discuss the matter. “(Dr. Bilodeau) was concerned about a newsletter that his mother received telling the residents to stay in their rooms if the fire alarm goes off,” Clark said. “(Deputy Fire Marshal Jerry Baldwin) went the next day and verbally told them to discontinue telling the residents to stay in their room. We did some research, looked in the fire code and I thought that they did have to have evacuation maps and drills and so forth.”

Therefore, Clark e-mailed Bryde about those requirements regarding a fire safety plan.

“Can you explain how you went from saying, ‘I didn’t think they had to have it’ to ‘I thought they had to have it,’ to now ‘I was right before, they didn’t have to have it’?

Price asked.

Basically, Clark said he approved the certificate of occupancy in December 2014 based on Marshall Square being classified as an apartment.

“Apartments generally just have a fire alarm, fire sprinkler system and, if the fire alarm goes off, it’s a common evacuation signal for everybody to get out,” Clark said. “After the conversation with Dr. Bilodeau and Charles (Jerry) Baldwin, I did a little more research, and when I saw that R-2 in the fire code stated it had to have all those procedures, I told them that it was required. And it was later — I don’t remember the exact time — that I realized that the R-2 was only specific for colleges and dormitories.”

So, Price asked Clark to be as specific as possible regarding his thoughts on a fire safety plan.

“So it’s your opinion today that Marshall Square was not required to have a fire safety plan or an evacuation plan?” Price asked.

“Correct,” Clark said.

“And that’s based on your understanding of the fire code,” Price said.

“Yes,” Clark responded, adding that he does not believe Marshall Square violated any provisions of the fire code.

Price then asked Clark about the alleged shelter-inplace policy at Marshall Square.

“We used verbal consultation... talking to the management staff about not telling the residents to stay in their rooms when the fire alarm goes off,” Clark said.

“They acknowledged that they would stop that and they understood, and we took them for their word.”

However, Price asked whether telling residents to stay in their rooms in the event of a fire violates the fire code.

“No,” Clark said, however, he added “that’s not a good practice.”

But, because the Marshall Square staff was under the impression that a fire safety plan was needed, Clark said they began drafting one.

“Did they ever send you drafts of their fire safety plan?”

Price asked.

“Yes,” Clark said, adding that he was pleased with the draft given to him by the Marshall Square staff, but the plan was not finalized or completed prior to the fire in June.

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“The process began in February, and in June, it was still ongoing?” Price asked.

Clark said that was correct.

“I would have liked it to have been completed sooner,” Clark said. “The last communication was at the end of April where (the Marshall Square staff) said it should be finished up and sent to John Sullivan, the maintenance person at the facility. I just never had a reply.”

Price then asked Clark if Marshall Square was required to conduct fire drills according to the fire code.

Clark said the facility wasn’t required to do so.

“Okay. So that’s another example of something that back in February, after you heard from Dr. Bilodeau, you thought that those things needed to be done, but now you believe that you were actually wrong about that,” Price said.

“Yes,” Clark replied. “Because the table in the fire code that dictates when it’s required does not require it (for an apartment complex.)”

However, Clark said if a fire alarm sounded at Marshall Square, the staff should have known to evacuate the building.

“During your February meeting with Chris Bryde, who was the manager, did you give him instructions on how to manage an evacuation of the building?” Price asked.

“No,” Clark responded.

“Did you expect him to take charge in the event that the building needed to be evacuated?” Price asked.

Clark said he did expect Bryde to evacuate the building.

“But you didn’t give him any instructions about how to do that?” Price asked.

“He said to me he understood everything we were discussing,” Clark responded.

After Price was done questioning Clark, a number of other attorneys also asked him about his experience with Marshall Square.

Tom Mazziotti, an attorney representing Goodman Company, which manufactured the packaged terminal air conditioner that was located in Marshall Square’s billiard room, asked Clark if he would have done anything differently if Marshall Square was being built today “Not necessarily,” Clark began saying, but then changed his mind. “I would have put forth more effort to — yeah, I would have done things different.”

“Okay. How so?” Mazziotti asked.

“I’m not supposed to go above what the code requires, but sometimes I think there needs to be more than what the code requires,” Clark said.

“What would you have asked for that is more than required?” Mazziotti asked.

“More of the evacuation, the employee training, and just general knowledge of what to do in emergency procedures in maintaining a large facility,” Clark said.

Basically, Clark said he believed the codes should require more safety measures in senior living apartment complexes such as Marshall Square.

“Have you done anything internally to change any of your procedures?”

Mazziotti asked.

“No,” Clark replied.

Next, it was attorney Harry Revell’s turn to question Clark.

Revell focused in on Clark’s confusion regarding the requirements of an R-2 apartment complex.

“There’s a fire safety plan required in certain circumstances, there’s a fire evacuation plan required in certain circumstances, and then there’s a fire safety information required in certain circumstances,” Revell said. “And the determination of which of those three are required is based on the classification of the structure; is that right?”

Clark agreed that was true.

“All right. And you, as fire marshal, have the authority to make that classification determination; is that correct?” Revell asked.

Again, Clark said that was correct.

“When the certificate of occupancy was issued by you, what, if any, code reference did you make to determine whether the fire safety plan or evacuation plan were required?” Revell asked.

“At the time, I do not think any of that was required,” Clark said.

It wasn’t until Bilodeau contacted the fire marshal’s office that he began rethinking that requirement of a fire safety and fire evacuation plan, Clark said.

“I thought I might have made a mistake in the beginning to where (a fire safety and evacuation plan) should have been applied to all R-2s,” Clark said. “And, then at some point later, I realized that (requirement) was only for college and university buildings.”

Confused by Clark’s testimony, Revell

All of a sudden, Clark again seemed confused by the very code he used to review and approve Marshall Square.

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asked if there is a difference between an R-2 college and university and R-2 apartment complexes.

“Well, an R-2 is an apartment complex.

As far as fire code designation, it’s either an R-2 or another residential type of use,” Clark said. “One’s a college and university building and the other one is not.”

But Revell pointed out, even if Clark was mistaken in January and told Marshall Square that it needed a fire safety plan in place, the fact that the facility didn’t have one on the day of the fire indicates that they were “not in compliance.” “Yes,” Clark said.

“What prompted you to revisit your opinion as to whether a fire safety plan and fire evacuation plan were required at Marshall Square after the fire?” Revell asked.

“Just going back and looking at what information I had, just for my own curiosity’s sake,” Clark replied.

During the deposition, Revell asked Clark to again look at the code as it applies to R-2 apartment complexes.

Revell said the code states such a complex must “include an emergency evacuation plan for each dwelling unit.”

“And if that applies, you would agree with me that they were, in fact, required to have a fire evacuation plan in place to comply with this code section; correct?”

Revell asked.

“Yes, sir,” Clark said.

All of a sudden, Clark again seemed confused by the very code he used to review and approve Marshall Square.

“Has your opinion changed any today then, based on reading that now, as to whether it’s required or not?” Revell asked.

“Based on that discussion, yes,” Clark admitted. “I would want to look further into it under state modifications and amendments before I gave a definite answer.”

Revell asked again, under this code, whether or not Marshall Square be required to have an evacuation plan.

“It would lead me to believe that it would be a good possibility,” Clark said, “but I would want to do more research before I gave a conclusive answer.”

Regardless, Revell asked if Clark was again changing his opinion about the need for a fire safety and evacuation plan.

“So as we sit here today, your opinion is moving as it’s moved over the months, you would have to say, as we sit here today, you’re uncertain at best?” Revell asked.

“Yes,” Clark admitted.

If such confusion exists, Revell asked Clark who he turns to for a direct answer.

“Paul Scarbary, my division director, or I could call one of the state fire marshals for their interpretation,” Clark said.

“Okay,” Revell said. “But you didn’t do that when you changed your mind after the fire.”

“Correct,” Clark responded.

All of a sudden, the tide appeared to be turning against Clark.

“You were questioned earlier about doing things differently,” Revell said.

“If you got into another situation where somebody’s in noncompliance with the fire code, would you give them six months to bring themselves into compliance again?”

Clark said he would “definitely try to reduce that time.”

“Did Mr. Scarbary express any displeasure in the fact that you had allowed that to happen?” Revell asked.

“Were you disciplined in any way?”

“No,” Clark answered.

“Do you feel like you failed to do your job by not insisting on compliance?”

Revell asked.

“No, sir,” Clark said.

After reviewing the depositions taken over the past several months, local attorney Jack Long, who is representing several former Marshall Square residents including Charles and Margaret Moye, said it is clear that the attorneys for Marshall Square are attempting to lay blame for the June 2 fire on the county’s fire marshal and the fire department.

“The people representing Marshall Square have taken depositions of the fire department and I think they are trying to blame the Columbia County Fire Rescue and say that they are partially responsible,” Long said. “But I think that’s just crap. I think the Columbia County Fire Rescue did a good job.” Instead, Long insists the blame falls on Marshall Square and its owners, Resort Lifestyle Communities.

“We put 98 percent of the blame on Marshall Square,” Long said. “They lied to the county, they tried to blame the fire department for everything and it is not true.”

Nicholson agreed that it would be tough to lay all the blame on the fire department.

“The Marshall Square staff waited all that time, like 17 minutes, before they even called the fire department,” said Nicholson.

“I think the fire safety standards say you are supposed to call within the first three minutes. But they just thought there wasn’t anything happening, so they kept turning off the fire alarm. It’s just terrible.”

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19 22 26 32

What’s Up

Going Wild It’s Sipping Time Calendar Music Listings

GoinG Wild

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

By Amy Christian

the WildWood Games was created to showcase mountain bike racing. Well, one mountain bike race in particular: The USA Cycling National Marathon Mountain Bike Championships.

That race, however, is far from the only event the games include.

“In the past, when we hosted the USA Cycling Road Nationals in 2011 and ’12, that was a five-day event,” said Randy DuTeau, executive director of the Columbia County Convention and Visitors Bureau, “but with the marathon nationals, it’s a one-day, standalone event. So in our discussions with USA Cycling, they had suggested the idea of creating a festival around it.”

this Week

thUrsday The Interfaith Fellowship of Augusta presents a timely panel discussion about immigrants, refugees and “the other” in which the public is invited. Held at the Islamic Center of Augusta at 6 p.m., those interested should RSVP by email at iffaugusta@gmail.com.

Friday

satUrday

Stillwater Taproom is Come find out what all the downtown’s place for a fuss is about at Riverwatch great beer in a laid-back Brewery, which offers atmosphere. Saturday weekend tours on Fridays night, however, it’ll from 5-8:30 p.m. and turn into a ProhibitionSaturdays from 1-4 p.m. era speakeasy, with and 5-8:30 p.m. For $15 1920s-1940s style jazz by ($13 for military and first the Caleb Tokarska Trio, as responders), participants well as prizes in the form get a tour, a souvenir tulip of gift certificates for the glass and six drink tickets. best dressed flappers and That’s enough to try a half vipers. Don’t miss it! pour of each of Brey and Anne Sloan’s four core brews and go back for a full pour of your favorite. Ours is the Cautionary Tale IPA.

sUnday

tUesday

While you don’t want to Daily Grind is a Pittsburghmiss the Parking Lot Party based rock band who at Tin Lizzy’s on Saturday started their career from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. that handing out demos to includes live music, a blood friends at house shows. drive, information on local Now on their third national nonprofits, prizes and more tour and with a debut to celebrate the opening album called “I Did Those of their TLQ barbecue Things,” the band visits the location in the restaurant, Soul Bar tonight. If you love Sunday from 3-7 p.m. is the Incubus, the Black Keys, time for dog lovers to go ‘90s and ‘00s rock, you’ll to this Flex Mex restaurant want to be there. for Yappy Hour, a party on the patio for humans and their canine friends. Max will need an ID if he wants a margarita, though.

For more information on these events, see our calendar of events on page 26.

2JUNE2016

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That was in 2014 and, in the first year, the Wildwood Games featured a mountain bike race and trail running races in distances from a 10K (6.2 miles) to a 50K (approximately 31 miles).

“We already had in the infrastructure in place for the mountain bike race – from the timing team, the course setup and stuff like that – so we thought it would be a good idea to add a trail running race,” he explained.

In 2015, the games featured the mountain bike championship race, the trail running races, an open-water swim and a two-day disc golf tournament.

“And then for this year, we added some more,” DuTeau laughed. “So we’ve got the mountain bike race on Saturday, we’ve got the trail running races on Sunday, plus we’re doing BMX and skateboard over at Blanchard Woods Park on Saturday and then disc golf is just a one-day event this year on Sunday.”

The third annual Wildwood Games, officially called The Wildwood Games Presented

by Zaxby’s, will take place this weekend and will, unfortunately, not include the openwater swim from the 2015 incarnation of the sports festival.

“As of two days ago, we only had nine people pre-registered for the event and it requires so many resources out on the water and it also shuts down the boat ramps out at Wildwood Park for three or four hours,” DuTeau explained. “From a resource standpoint and from a shutting down the boat ramps on the first Saturday in June, it just didn’t make much sense.”

It was a disappointment to cancel an event he had wanted to grow, but adding to the challenge was the fact that there were two other major swimming events in the area on the same weekend, one in Charleston and one in Athens.

“So not having the knowledge of how many people would sign up at the last minute, we just felt like it was in the best interest of all the agencies and all the resources and for the park to go ahead and cancel it, so that’s what we did,” he said.

Like the disc golf tournament, the two new events on this year’s roster – skateboarding and BMX – will be handled by other agencies and “tagged” as part of the Wildwood Games.

“We just thought it would be kind of neat to do a satellite event and, in the case of Blanchard Woods BMX, they could basically handle it turn key and they can sanction it through USA BMX,” DuTeau said. “And I’d already spoken with some folks about a skateboard competition and so these guys are going to kind of handle that turn key as well.”

20 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

“It’s a great unknown in terms of how many people will actually participate, but if we get a few folks out there, it’s a great opportunity to promote the BMX track and the skateboard park,” he added. “It’s an amazing facility and we thought it might be kind of neat, so we’ll see how it fits in this year and, if it makes sense for the future, then we’ll certainly consider it. There is no multisport festival in this area that I know of, so we just thought, ‘Why not try it?’”

DuTeau says it’s events like these, ones that can be managed by great partners like the International Disc Golf Center, the Professional Disc Golf Association and Blanchard Woods BMX, that will lead to the future success of the Wildwood Games.

“With the convention and visitors bureau, you know there are only two of us on staff

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and we’re kind of hitting capacity or beyond capacity as to what two people can manage when it comes to doing the Wildwood Games, but we also have all these other programs that the CVB does,” he said, “so I think for the long-term viability of the Wildwood Games it’s going to be really important for us to find different managing groups for each of the different components. We can help with the marketing and the sponsorships, but then turn over the logistics and the planning and the event management to other groups. That’s kind of what we hope will happen in the future.”

From a participant standpoint, the Wildwood Games are already a hit. The first year, the festival had 250 participants. In 2015, they had 402.

“And right now we’re knocking on the door of 400 with the trail running races and the Mountain bike race alone,” DuTeau said. “So hopefully, we have the potential of seeing 500 participants. That would be really great.”

It’s more than possible, given that registration for most, if not all of the events, doesn’t close until the day before the festival starts.

And not only are participants loving the Wildwood Games, the community has rallied around it too. From the Army Corps of Engineers and private homeowners, who helped when the mountain bike course had to be rerouted, to departments within the Columbia County government, to Fleet Feet, who made the trail running races the end point for a training group that’s been meeting for several months now, people across the area want to be involved.

The latest group to hop onboard is Augusta University, who will have a medical team at the event working in support of Gold Cross.

“We’re seeing constant growth and I think people are really responding to it,” DuTeau said. “People like the idea that it’s homegrown and it’s a sports festival and nobody’s really done anything like that here since, I think, the Georgia Games and that was a long time ago. We hope that if this thing really takes off that maybe in the future we can expand and add live music or something. But right now, the first and foremost is just making sure that the athlete experience is really good.”

The WildWood Games Wildwood Park and Blanchard Woods Park Saturday, June 4: USA Cycling Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships (Wildwood Park) and skateboarding and BMX competitions (Blanchard Woods Park) Sunday, June 5: 50K, 26.2-mile, 13.1-mile and 10K Trail Run Races and disc golf tournament (Wildwood Park) See website for registration instructions and fees wildwoodgames.com 2JUNE2016

THE BEE’S KNEES

211 10th Street • 706-828-3600 •beeskneestapas.com

BERCKMANS’ QUICKSTEP Fruitland Peach Vodka, Hartley & Gibson’s Cream Sherry, orange bitters, Burnt Hickory General Joe’s Berliner Weisse, muddled peaches, peach and lemon peel STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE Cathead Vodka, house-infused arugula and strawberry syrup, Prosecco top, rhubarb bitters, lemon peel BARREL-AGED NEGRONI House barrel-aged Ballast Point Old Grove Gin, Campari, Dolan Rouge Vermouth, soda, cherry bitters, orange peel and rosemary NEAT PEACH House-Infused Rosemary Espolon Reposado Tequila, lemon, ginger beer, muddled peaches, rosemary sprig MAPLE BACON RYE Yellow Rose Rye Bourbon, Proof Maple Bacon Syrup, walnut bitters, brandied blackberry, lemon peel THE BEE’S KNEES Barr Hill Organic Raw Honey Gin, housemade honey syrup, cloved orange BELLE FIZZ Belle Meade Bourbon, Demerara Syrup, egg white, orange bitters, lavender bud CAI-BEER-INHA LeBlon Cachaca Cane Sugar Rug, muddled sugar, lime, topped with an IPA draft brew CLASSIC DAIQUIRI Blackwell Dark Rum, Demerara Syrup, cherry bitters, bruleed lime GINGER OLD FASHIONED Johnny Drum Bourbon, Demerara Sugarcube, cherry bitters, fresh ginger, house brandied cherries, orange IPECANA Cathead Pecan Vodka, St. Germain Honey Syrup, lemon, Angostura Bitters, topped with an IPA draft brew

IT’S SIPPING TIME Warm weather means creative craft cocktail time in Augusta FOR THE PAST FEW YEARS, craft beer has been all the rage. But while aficionados have been going on and on about all the incarnations that craft beer can take, another trend has been slowly taking root in Augusta’s restaurants and bars: craft cocktails.

No, we’re not talking about margaritas made with the cheapest tequila possible and day-glo colored sour mix. We’re talking liquors infused with fruits, vegetables and herbs. Exotic liqueurs. Syrups made from scratch and flavored with almost anything imaginable. Flavor combinations that are new and exciting.

In short, cocktails worthy of the food they’re served alongside.

Now that summer is here, we thought we’d whet your appetite for something a little different by showing you what’s out there at some of our favorite places around town.

Enjoy!

22 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

THE MODERN Isle of Sky Scotch, Uncle Val’s Botanical Gin, sugar syrup, lemon, orange bitters, orange peel, anisette seasoned glass MOJITO Choice of Rum (silver/dark/mango/spiced) or Nigori Sake, soda, sugar syrup, mint, lime MOSCOW MULE Tito’s Vodka, Fever Tree Ginger Beer, lime NEW YORK SOUR Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey, Malbec wine, sugar syrup, lemon, orange HOUSE SPICY PICKLED VODKA House pickled and infused Bootlegger 21 straight up or in your favorite cocktail. Try it as a Pickle Back: half bourbon and half pickled vodka PIMM’S CUP NO. 1 Pimm’s Spiced Gin, ginger ale, house lemonade, cucumber, lime SPICY GINGER BOURBON Johnny Drum Bourbon, Blenheim’s Spicy Ginger Ale, lemon

HIVE GROWLER BAR

SOLE

HOUSE SANGRIA Can be topped with ginger soda, Prosecco or sour ale

JALAPENO GRAPEFRUIT MOSCOW MULE Grapefruit vodka, jalapeno-infused simple syrup, lime juice and ginger beer (Not a jalapeno fan? Try a Peach Basil or Cranberry Rosemary Mule)

215 10th Street • 706-836-3661 •hivegrowlerbar.com

BOOZY ARNOLD PALMER Lavender-Infused Cathead Vodka, sweet tea tonic, housemade lemonade. Can be topped with ginger soda or wheat ale.

UP TO PAR Basil-Infused Southern Gin, Giffard Crème de Cassis, lemon juice, Dolan Dry Vermouth, lemon peel. Can be topped with dry white wine, wheat ale or ginger soda.

BLUEBERRY MOJITO Mint-Infused Black Roberts Silver Rum, sugar syrup, lime juice, ginger soda, brandied blueberries, fresh mint PINEAPPLE JALAPENO MARGARITA Pineapple-Jalapeno-Infused Espolon Tequila, house sour, triple sec, organ and lime. Can be topped with IPA or pilsner.

1033 Broad Street • 706-432-9898 • solesushi.com

OLD-FASHIONED MULE Woodford Old Fashion turned Mule (Sole style) STRAWBERRY BAIL CAIPIRINHA Sugar muddle with limes, strawberries and basil, topped with Chachaca HONEY DAZE Cathead Honeysuckle, lemon juice, simple syrup with a splash of ginger ale 17-38 1792 bourbon, cranberry, Luxardo, agave nectar and muddled mint STRAWBERRY TOM COLLINS Bristow gin, strawberries muddled in lemon juice and simple syrup PINEAPPLE MOJITO Brugal rum, pineapple mint syrup, muddled mint leaves and limes

ABEL BROWN

491 Highland Avenue • 706-738-6491 • abelbrownaugusta.com BARREL-AGED MANHATTAN #2 Tap 8 Rye, Vya Rouge, Leopold Bros. Maraschino Liqueur, Angostura Bitters

SMOKE ON THE WATER Vida Del Maguey Mezcal, Giffard Crème de Pamplemousse Rose, lemon, Bittercub Bolivar Bitters, club soda ORCHARD OLD FASHIONED 1792 Kentucky Straight Bourbon, housemade orchard bitters AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT Cutty Sark Scotch, Giffard Banane du Bresil, Fee Bros. Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters, lemon MOSCOW MULE OR KENTUCKY MULE Tito’s Vodka and fresh lime with Barritt’s ginger beer or Buffalo Trace Bourbon and fresh lemon with Barritt’s ginger beer 21 ELEVEN Boodles London Dry Gin, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, fresh lemon, club soda TEA HIVE Fuzzy Vodka, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, chamomile tea, orange blossom honey, lemon PEACH SANGRIA Fruitland Peach Vodka, red and white wine, fresh-squeezed orange juice, lemon and lime CHRYSANTHEMUM Dolin Dry Vermouth, Benedictine, Herbsaint Liqueur CORONATION Dolin Dry Vermouth, Carpano Antica Formula, Germain-Robin Apple Brandy, Bitter Truth Apricot Liqueur ARMY & NAVY Boodles Gin, fresh lemon, Orgeat, Angostura Bitters

ROUND THE MULBERRY Boodles Mulberry gin, St. Germain elderflower, lemon juice with mint garnish TIN COUPE (BOOZY) Cathead Honeysuckle, Bristow Gin, Luxardo, pineapple mint syrup and lime juice SHOTS FIRED Jack Fire, simple syrup and fresh lemonade with a fizz

THE HAMMOND’S FERRY LARDER

89 Crystal Lake Drive, North Augusta • 803-341-9273 • hflarder.com EAST SIDE MANHATTAN Bourbon, Canton Ginger Liqueur, dark cherry juice, lemon SOUTHERN SPRITZER Tito’s Hibiscus Infused Vodka, simple syrup, lime, allspice dram BEE 12 Stoli, fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice, cayenne honey, lemon BLACK & SLOE Black rum, Sloe Gin, coconut milk TRUCE Banana puree, pecan-infused rye, vanilla vodka, allspice dram MEXICAN MULE Spiced honey tequila, ginger beer, muddled lime CHAMPS-ELYSEES Cognac, Green Chartreuse, lemon juice, simple syrup, Angostura Bitters

FROG HOLLOW TAVERN

CRAFT & VINE

TEA HIVE Cathead Honeysuckle Vodka, chamomile tea, lemon, honey

LOCAL YOKAL Bourbon, simple syrup, muddled lemon wedges

1282 Broad Street • 706-364-6906 • froghollowtavern.com

SUNBURST Blackwell Jamaican Rum, Grand Marnier, Cherry Heering, lime juice, brown sugar syrup DESERT ROSE Espolon Blanco Tequila, Cointreau, Gurosik’s Strawberry Syrup, lemon juice PIMM’S CUP Pimm’s No. 1, strawberries, cucumber, lemon, Barritt’s Ginger Beer FIVE THIRTY FIZZ Prosecco, housemade pear bitters, sugar cube, lemon twist

1204 Broad Street • 706-496-8442 • craftandvine.com

THE SPAGHETTI WESTERN Los Nahuales Mezcal, Cinzano, Maraschino Liqueur, lemon, grapefruit DEPEACHE MODE Fruitland Vodka, orange juice, Campari, Cointreau, Angostura Bitters ROSIE THE RIVETER St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, Tempus Fugit Violettes, lime BABY’S FIRST BOURBON Bourbon, housemade Orgeat, lemon RAUL BUNYAN Anejo Tequila, Reposado Tequila, Sweet Vermouth, Amaro Braulio, Cointreau

CLUBHOUSE House-infused cucumber gin, Fever Tree Tonic Water TAVERN MANHATTAN Bourbon, Fee Brothers’ Old-Fashioned Bitters, Dolin Rouge Vermouth

BRONZED GOSLING Gosling’s Dark Rum, lime, sorghum syrup ANGRY IKE Scotch, Old Tom Gin, lime, ginger beer, Jamaican jerk bitters

CLASSIC NEGRONI Gin, Dolin Rouge Vermouth, Campari TAVERN ROB ROY Scotch, Fee Brothers’ Old-Fashioned Bitters, Dolin Rouge Vermouth OLD FASHIONED 1792 Small Batch Bourbon, Angostura Bitters, simple syrup RUM OLD FASHIONED Flor de Cana Single Estate Rum, Apple Spice Bitters, rich simple syrup

PINK DOGWOOD Housemade Southern Comfort, Cointreau, lime, cranberry GARDEN CITY COCKTAIL Reposado Tequila, Green Chartreuse, Cointreau, pineapple, lime THE BEE’S PAJAMAS Barr Hill Gin, lemon, honey syrup, Angostura Bitters, pear bitters RED SANGRIA Red wine, brandy, apricot liqueur, blood orange, lemon, simple syrup, soda WHITE SANGRIA White wine, brandy, apricot liqueur, orange, lemon, simple syrup, soda

FARMHAUS BURGERS 1204 Broad Street • 706-496-8771 466 Flowing Wells Road • 706-496-2846 • farmhausburger.com

FARMARITA Reposado Tequila, fresh lime juice, Cointreau, orange juice TEXAS MULE Tito’s vodka, ginger beer, fresh lime juice

ARNOLD PALMER Fruitland Peach Tea Vodka, fresh lemon juice, sweet tea THE BITTER FLORIDIAN Maker’s Mark, orange juice, orange bitters, ginger ale

FARM STYLE SANGRIA Begonia Sangria, Cointreau, orange juice, fresh lime juice, ginger ale

BLOODY MARIA Tequila, Ballast Point Bloody Mary Mix, WOO Sauce, fresh lemon and lime juice, Highland Oatmeal Porter

MOONSHINE MOJITO Devil’s Share Moonshine, mint, fresh lime juice, soda

FARMHAUS CHERRY Ice cream with whiskey, Amaretto, brandied cherries

CHERRY LIMEADE Tito’s vodka, brandied cherries, sour mix, Sprite

GORILLA MILK Ice cream with tequila, vodka, Kahlua

THE CHUCK HAZEL Ice cream with chocolate, spiced rum, Frangelico NANA’S PUDDIN’ Ice cream with banana rum, Irish cream, vanilla wafers THE SODA JERK’S FLOAT Ice cream with vodka and draft Abita Root Beer APPLE CIDER FLOAT Ice cream with Angry Orchard Hard Cider BLACK AND WHITE FLOAT Ice cream with Highland Oatmeal Porter

FINCH AND FIFTH

THE PARTRIDGE INN

CAIPIRINHA Leblon Cachaca, muddled lime and sugar

SOUTHERN BELLE Fruitland Augusta Georgia Peach vodka, lime juice, cranberry juice

379 Highland Avenue • 706-364-5300 • finchandfifth.com

GINGER CAT Rock Town Small-Batch Hand-Crafted Vodka, muddled fresh ginger, lemon, honey and club soda GIN JITSZU Hendrick’s Cucumber-Infused Gin, Jack Rudy small-batch tonic, muddled cucumber, rhubarb bitters and fresh ginger GROUNDSKEEPER Compass Box Orangerie Scotch, Crème de Pamplemousse Rose, old-fashioned aromatic bitters OLD FASHIONED TOMAHAWK Four Roses Bourbon, muddled sugar cube, black walnut bitters, orange bitters and orange peel PEACH HOUND Fruitland Augusta Peach Vodka, ruby red grapefruit juice, grapefruit ribbon PIMM’S CUP Pimm’s liqueur, cucumber, lemon and ginger ale JALAPENO MARGARITA Jalapeno-Infused Espolon Tequila, Stirring’s Triple Sec, pineapple juice and sour mix

THE INDIAN QUEEN

2502 Wrightsboro Road • 706-303-8723 • theindianqueen.com COOL AS A CUCUMBER Muddled cucumber and serrano peppers, vodka, fresh-squeezed lime juice, simple syrup, fresh cracked black pepper OLD FASHIONED Muddled orange and house brandied cherries, whiskey, angostura bitters, simple syrup, splash of soda SEASONAL LEMONADE Muddled seasonal berries, vodka, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, simple syrup MOSCOW MULE Vodka, lime juice, simple syrup, ginger beer TOP-SHELF MARGARITA Tequila, fresh lemon juice, lime, orange juice, agave nectar MOJITO Rum, mint, simple syrup, lime juice, splash of soda SPRING BREAK Vodka, strawberry, cucumber, lemon juice, simple syrup, splash of soda PEACHY KEEN (SEASONAL) Vodka, simple syrup, peach, basil, lemon juice HOT JOHNNY (SEASONAL) Whiskey, hot apple cider, lemon juice, cinnamon simple syrup, cinnamon stick

2110 Walton Way • 706-737-8888 • curiocollection3.hilton.com

BLUEBERRY LAVENDER MOJITO Rum, blueberry lavender simple syrup, mint, lime, soda JALAPENO MOSCOW MULE Vodka, muddled jalapeno, mint peach Syrup, lime juice, ginger beer FRENCH 75 Gin, champagne brut, lemon juice, simple syrup THE BON AIR Rye whiskey, Carpano Antica vermouth, Luxardo maraschino liqueur, Green Chartruese, paychaud bitters OLD FASHIONED Bourbon, lemon peel, orange peel, paychaud bitters orange zest, garnished with sweet Italian cherry ON THE GREEN Gin, cucumber slices, simple syrup DARK KNIGHT Captain Morgan spiced rum, muddled blackberries, cranberry juice, simple syrup AUGUSTA LEMONADE Fruitland Augusta Georgia Peach Tea vodka, simple syrup, lemonade

WORLD OF BEER

2819 Washington Road • 706-922-0146 • worldofbeer.com WHITE PEACH SANGRIA Moscato, house-made Peach-Lambic Syrup and a slice of peach STRAWBERRY CAIPIROSKA Tito’s Handmade Vodka, fresh muddled strawberries and lime THE PERFECT STORMY Sailor Jerry Rum, ginger beer and a house-made Framboise syrup

FRESCA MARGARITA Camarena Silver Tequila, strawberries, cucumbers, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, agave nectar and fresh lime juice SPANISH G&T Hendrick’s gin, muddled cucumber, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, a sprig of rosemary and Fever Tree Tonic IRISH MULE Jameson Irish Whiskey, ginger beer, simple syrup, fresh lime juice and mint RYE OLD FASHIONED Rittenhouse Rye, muddled black cherry, orange bitters and a twist of orange peel

V27|NO22

Mon June 6

3:30pm - 5pm Intermediate Spanish 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 8

10:30am Open Lab Headquarters Branch Library A computer class for those who have already taken others at the library to come in and practice. Pre-registration required.

Call 706-821-2615 or visit arcpls.org.

11:30am Brown Bag History Series Augusta Museum of History Featuring Immigration Reflected in the Museum Collection, led by Augusta Museum Registrar Lauren Virgo. Participants should bring their own lunch and the museum will provide beverages. A Q&A session follows the lecture. Free, members; $3, nonmembers. Call 706-722-8454 or visit augustamuseum.org.

Kashmir Bazaar Orientation & Samosa Siesta Kashmir Bazaar Saturday, June 4 6 p.m.

A CSRA Vegetarian and Vegan Society event that includes a store tour and vegan samosas for lunch meetup.com/csravs/.

ARTS Sat June 4

10am - 4pm Artist Workshop: Figure Drawing Morris Museum of Art Led by artist medical illustrator Andrew Swift. $20, members; $30, nonmembers. Preregistration required. Call 706-724-7501 or visit themorris.org.

10am - 1pm Photos to Painting Aiken Center for the Arts $60; pre-registration required. Call 803-6419094 or visit aikencenterforthearts.org.

Mon June 6

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.

CAMPS Sun June 5 - Fri June 10

6pm - 8:30pm Vacation Bible School Fellowship Baptist Church, Grovetown A free event for those ages 3 years old through adults. Call 706-305-5449.

Mon June 6 - Fri June 10 7am - 5pm Youth Horse Camp

Hilltop Riding Stables, Fort Gordon 26 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

For those ages 7-13, who will learn riding, grooming, care and tack, as well as participate in other camp activities. $250, sponsored; $275, unsponsored. Call 706-7914864 or visit fortgordon.com.

8am - 5pm Summer Adventures Day Camp Weeks Activities Center, Aiken For those ages 5-12. Early drop off at 7:30 a.m. and late pick up until 5:30 p.m. available. $70 per week. Call 803-642-7631 or visit visitaikensc.com.

Noon Brown Bag Lunch ‘N Learn TheClubhou.se An event featuring consultants and other experts who will provide information to budding entrepreneurs. Visit theclubhou.se.

Tue June 7 - Thu June 9

1pm - 3pm Anime, Manga and Graphic Novels Camp Tippy Cakes, Harlem A Harlem Children’s Art Camp for those ages 10-15 in which participants will create their own characters for a graphic novel using the manga style. $80. Call 706-231-7199 or 706-556-6656.

EDUCATION Thu June 2

Smith-Hazel Recreation Center, Aiken For those ages 5-14. Early drop off at 7:45 a.m. available. $60 per week. Call 803-6427761 or visit visitaikensc.com.

6pm How Do We Treat the Stranger?

Islamic Center of Augusta An Interfaith Fellowship of Augusta panel discussion about immigrants, refugees and “the other” in which the public is invited.

RSVP required. Email iffaugusta@gmail.com or visit interfaith-augusta.org.

9am - 4pm Camp Kroc Summer Camp

Sat June 4

8am - 5pm Summer Fun Day Camp

Kroc Center For those ages 5-12. Extended care available. $100 a week, members; $125, nonmembers; $5 a day, extended care; $30 a week, swim lessons. Call 706-922-1533 or visit salvationarmyaugusta.org.

6pm - 8:30pm Vacation Bible School Fellowship Baptist Church, Grovetown A free event for those ages 3 years old through adults. Call 706-305-5449.

10am - noon Clipping and Clicking for Savings Maxwell Branch Library Call 706-793-2020 or visit arcpls.org.

11:30am, 12:30pm and 1:30pm A Petersburg Boat Pilot Augusta Museum of History Part of the Voices of the Past series of character monologues. Free with museum admission. Call 706-722-8454 or visit augustamuseum.org.

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

6pm - 7:30pm Spanish Conversation Headquarters Branch Library For those at beginner and intermediate levels. Call 317-695-4748.

Thu June 9

10:30am Getting to Know Your PINES Account Diamond Lakes Branch Library Call 706-772-2432 or visit arcpls.org.

Ongoing

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.

2JUNE2016

Last tours of the day begin at 4 p.m. Adults, $2; children, $1. Call 706-722-8454 or visit augustamuseum.org.

North Augusta Driving Tour Arts and Heritage Center of North Augusta Offered by appointment and includes a 30-45-minute guided tour and admission to the center. Self-guided tours are also available through an iPhone downloadable audio tour or a Google Maps-based tour. Guided tours: $5, adults; $3, students K-12. Call 803-441-4380 or visit artsandheritagecenter.com.

Tours Boyhood Home of President Woodrow Wilson Guided tours, approximately 45 minutes long, are offered Thursday-Saturday on the hour from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Group tours are available by advanced reservation.

Adults, $5; seniors, $4; kids K-12, $3; under 5 years, free. Call 706-724-0436 or visit wilsonboyhoodhome.org.

Historic Trolley Tours of Augusta Augusta Visitors Center Tours aboard the Lady Libby available at the Augusta Visitors Center with 24-hour advanced reservations. Tickets include admission to the Augusta Museum of History. Call 706-724-4067 or visit visitaugusta.org.

EXHIBITIONS Thu June 9

6:30pm Meet the Artist: Brenda Ealy Hire Grounds Cafe Ealy’s work will be on display in the cafe in the month of June. Call 706-650-5760 or visit goodwillworks.org.

Ongoing

Out of Africa Arts & Heritage Center of North Augusta A show featuring more than 80 pieces of African art from the locally owned corporate collection of Tibi Winston Ltd. Will show June 6-August 19 in the main gallery. A reception will be held July 13 from 7-9 p.m. Call 803-441-4380 or visit artsandheritagecenter.com.

FLIX Thu June 2

7:30pm “Rock in the Red Zone” Jabez S. Hardin Performing Arts Center Shows as part of the Augusta Jewish Film Festival. Call 706-228-3636 or visit augustajcc.org.

Sat June 4

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

2JUNE2016

Tue June 7

2pm Retro Family Afternoon Movie Appleby Branch Library Featuring “Air Bud.” Participants are invited to bring their own snacks. Call 706-7366244 or visit arcpls.org.

Thu June 9

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

7:30pm “The Midnight Orchestra” Jabez S. Hardin Performing Arts Center Shows as part of the Augusta Jewish Film Festival. Call 706-228-3636 or visit augustajcc.org.

HEALTH Thu June 2

5:30pm - 8pm Cribs for Kids Safe Kids Office This class will teach caregivers how to provide a safe sleep environment by showing what dangers to watch out for. Families who demonstrate a financial need will receive a portable crib, fitted sheet, sleep sac and a pacifier for a fee of $10 per registered child. Call 706-721-7606 or visit grhealth.org/safekids.

Fri June 3

visit universityhealth.org.

7pm - 9:30pm Childbirth Preparation

Safe Kids Office Appointment required. Call 706-721-7606 or visit grhealth.org.

Tue June 7

University Health A four-week class meeting Wednesdays through June 29. Pre-registration required.

Call 706-774-2825 or visit universityhealth.org.

Child Safety Seat Inspections

6:30pm - 9:30pm Weekend Childbirth Education Class University Hospital Class continues Saturday, June 4, from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Pre-registration required. Call 706-774-2825 or visit universityhealth.org.

Sat June 4

6pm - 7pm Kashmir Bazaar Orientation & Samosa Siesta Kashmir Bazaar A store tour provided by the owner explaining vegetarian and vegan products, how spices are used and regional differences. Vegan samosas will be on the menu for lunch. Visit meetup.com/csravs/.

6pm Weight Loss Surgery and You University Hospital Free, but pre-registration required. Call 706774-8931 or visit universityhealth.org.

7pm - 9:30pm Childbirth Preparation University Hospital A four-session class that continues on Tuesdays through June 28. Free, but preregistration required. Call 706-774-2825 or visit universityhealth.org.

Wed June 8

Child Safety Seat Inspections Columbia County Sheriff’s Substation Appointment required. Call 706-541-3970 or visit augustahealth.org.

Thu June 9

5:45pm - 8pm Car Seat Class Safe Kids Office Pre-registration required. $10; car or booster seat provided to families who meet financial guidelines. Call 706-7217606 or visit augustahealth.org.

6:30pm - 9pm Your Amazing Baby Augusta University Medical Center Pre-registration is required for this baby care class. Call 706-721-8283 or visit augustahealth.org.

7pm - 9:30pm Women’s Center Tour

10am - noon Free Blood Pressure/ Blood Sugar Checks

University Hospital Free, but pre-registration required. Call 706774-2825 or visit universityhealth.org.

Mon June 6

Headquarters Branch Library Call 706-821-2600 or visit arcpls.org.

HOBBIES

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

1:30pm - 3:30pm Look Good Feel Better

6:30pm Refit

7pm - 9:30pm Childbirth Preparation University Hospital A four-session class that continues on Mondays through June 27. Free, but preregistration required. Call 706-774-2825 or

Augusta University Cancer Center An American Cancer Society program that aims to help women in cancer treatment combat the appearance-related side effects of chemo and radiation. Pre-registration required. Call 706-721-0466 or visit augustahealth.org.

Sat June 4

1pm - 4:30pm Daylily Show and Sale Lake Park Baptist Church Fellowship Hall Presented by the Daylily Society of the Greater Augusta Area, this event features a show, sale, instructional presentations and more. Free. Visit ahsregion5.org/augusta.html.

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Wed June 8

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 2

10am Silly Shapes Morris Museum of Art Part of the Mommy and Me series for children and parents in which participants will view Composition 95-22 and create a mobile. Free, members; $4 per participants, non- members. Pre-registration required.

Call 706-828-3867 or visit themorris.org.

10:30am 3D Bookmark Craft for Teens

Broadway Boogie Grace United Methodist Church Saturday, June 4 7:30 p.m.

A presentation of the Columbia County Choral Society and the Augusta Musical Theatre Workshop $15; $12, military, seniors, students and groups of 10 or more columbiacountychoralsociety.org.

Appleby Branch Library For those ages 12-17. Pre-registration required.

Call 706-736-6244 or visit arcpls.org.

2pm Teen Makerspace Harlem Branch Library Call 706-556-9795 or visit gchrl.org.

2:30pm - 5pm Get in the (Video) Game Columbia County Library A teen program featuring gaming on a big screen with surround sound. Call 706-8631946 or visit gchrl.org.

Fri June 3

10:30am Morris Museum of Art Story Time and Craft Euchee Creek Branch Library Call 706-556-0594 or visit gchrl.org.

2:30pm - 5pm Friday Afternoon Movie Columbia County Library A teen program featuring popcorn and a new movie each week. Call 706-863-1946 or visit gchrl.org.

5:30pm Junior Junior Prom Headquarters Branch Library A teen summer reading kick off dance party.

Call 706-821-2600 or visit arcpls.org.

6pm - 10pm Kids Night Out Kroc Center A drop-off program for kids that will include swimming, gym play, inflatables, arts and crafts projects and more. Swimsuit and towel required. Children 4 and younger will not swim. $15, members; $20, nonmembers. Call 706-922-1533 or visit salvationarmyaugusta.org.

Sat June 4

10:30am - 11am Family Story Time Aiken Public Library Call 803-642-2023 or visit abbe-lib.org.

28 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

11am - 2pm Summer Reading Kick Off

821-2623 or visit arcpls.org.

2:30pm Fiddlin’ Dan, Music Man

Headquarters Branch Library Call 706-821-2600 or visit arcpls.org.

2pm - 4pm Movie Monday

Euchee Creek Branch Library Call 706-556-0594 or visit gchrl.org.

11am Summer Reading Triathlon Opening Ceremony

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.

6:30pm Fiddlin’ Dan, Music Man

7pm The Tonight Show-lympics

Wed June 8

Barnes & Noble Call 706-737-0012 or visit bn.com.

12:30pm Double Dutch Forces North Augusta’s Nancy Carson Library Call 803-279-5767 or visit abbe-lib.org.

Sun June 5

North Augusta’s Nancy Carson Library Teens will play some of their favorite Tonight Show games like Box of Lies. Call 803-279-5767 or visit abbe-lib.org.

2pm - 4pm Myth and Magic

Tue June 7

Morris Museum of Art Part of the Artrageous! Family Sunday series, this event features storyteller Jonathan Cook, and participants will create a mythological creature. Free. Call 706-7247501 or visit themorris.org.

10am Big Kids Story Time Headquarters Branch Library Stories and songs for those ages 3-5 at 10:15 a.m. Pre-registration recommended. Call 706-821-2623 or visit arcpls.org.

Mon June 6

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

10am - noon 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 706-

10:30am Fiddlin’ Dan, Music Man

10:30am Nutrition Is the Mission Diamond Lakes Branch Library An eating healthy program for kids. Preregistration required. Call 706-772-2432 or visit arcpls.org.

10:30am Puppet Show Friedman Branch Library Pre-registration required. Call 706-736-6758 or visit arcpls.org.

Columbia County Library Call 706-863-1946 or visit gchrl.org.

10am Story Time for Tots Headquarters Branch Library Stories and songs for those ages 0-3 at 10:15 a.m. Pre-registration recommended.

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 Auggie the GreenJackets Mascot Visit North Augusta’s Nancy Carson Library Call 803-279-5767 or visit abbe-lib.org.

10:30am Design Your Own Medals Appleby Branch Library A craft program for those ages 3-12. Preregistration required. Call 706-736-6244 or visit arcpls.org.

10:30am Illustrating Comic Books Friedman Branch Library A program for those ages 12-15. Preregistration required. Call 706-736-6758 or visit arcpls.org.

2JUNE2016

2pm Baseball with the GreenJackets Columbia County Library Call 706-863-1946 or visit gchrl.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.

Thu June 9

information, contact Kitty Hernlen: 706-7213554 or khernlen@augusta.edu.

LITERARY Sat June 4

10am Author Event Hire Grounds Cafe Author Jeff Blake, Goodwill’s first local executive to establish operations in the CSRA, will begin his book tour in Augusta promoting “Homestretch: This Journey on Grace Street. All proceeds from book sales benefit Goodwill. Call 706-863-3669 or visit goodwillworks.org/cafe.

10:30am Tye Dye Appleby Branch Library A craft program for those ages 12 and up.

Pre-registration required. Call 706-736-6244 or visit arcpls.org.

10:30am Tye Dye Appleby Branch Library A craft program for those ages 3 and up.

Pre-registration required. Call 706-736-6244 or visit arcpls.org.

2pm Afternoon Dance Party Headquarters Branch Library For those ages 8-12. Call 706-821-2600 or visit arcpls.org.

2:30pm - 5pm Get in the (Video) Game Columbia County Library A teen program featuring gaming on a big screen with surround sound. Call 706-8631946 or visit gchrl.org.

4pm Teen Book Club Harlem Branch Library Call 706-556-9795 or visit gchrl.org.

Ongoing

Mayor’s Summer Reading Club Headquarters Branch Library A free program for those ages 18 and young that meets Mondays, Tuesday and Wednesday from June 6-July 13 from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Activities include story times for younger children and silent reading for older ones, as well as cultural enrichment activities featuring surprise special guests.

Lunch is provided. Pre-registration required.

Call 706-821-2604 or visit arcpls.org.

Asthma Day Camps Camp Tanglewood, Columbia County Augusta University is sponsoring this camp, for children ages 6-13 with asthma, July 1116. Activities include asthma management sessions, swimming and hiking. Volunteer lifeguards, physicians and respiratory experts will be on hand to ensure illness or injury does not hinder the fun. However, a parent or guardian must attend a brief orientation and education session. Free, but pre-registration required. For more

11am - 3pm Summer Reading Kick Off Book Sale Headquarters Branch Library Featuring children’s books and more, the sale also features a $5 a bag sale from 2-3 p.m. Call 706-821-2600 or visit arcpls.org.

MUSIC Thu June 2

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

7:30pm Reid Arts Concert Series

Augusta Common Attendees are invited to bring their own lawn chairs, blankets and picnics for this live jazz concert. $6. Call 706-821-1754 or visit augustaga.gov.

Mon June 6

7pm Hopelands Summer Concert Series Hopelands Gardens, Aiken Featuring the Aiken Community Playhouse Youth Wing. Attendees can bring blankets, lawn chairs, picnics and well-behaved pets on leashes, but no alcohol. Free.

Call 803-642-7631 or visit facebook.com/ experienceaiken. The rain-out hotline is 803-643-4661.

Tue June 7

8pm Evenings in the Appleby Garden Appleby Branch Library Featuring Motown in the Gardens Night with the CSRA Shag Club. A free event in which participants can bring their own chairs, blankets beverages and snacks.

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

Thu June 9

7pm Music in the Park

of “Hold on to Hope.” Call 706-733-1788.

Fri June 3

4:30pm - 10pm Summer Beach Blast Evans Towne Center Park An event featuring live music from The Catalinas, The Tams and Soul Dimensions, as well as island food, drinks, a sandy shore and kids activities. $10, advance; $15, gate; free, kids 12 and under. Visit summerbeachblast.com.

5pm - 9pm First Friday Downtown Augusta A family friendly arts event that includes musicians, dancers, artists and other vendors. Visit artistsrowaugusta.com.

5pm - 9pm Live From Downtown 600 Broad Street A monthly First Friday event presented by the Augusta Regional Collaboration that features live music, art, food and more. Visit facebook.com/600Broad.

5pm - 8pm Wine Tasting Wine World A drop-in First Friday event. $5; $3 rebate upon purchase of a bottle of one of the featured wines. Call 803-279-9522 or visit wineworldsc.com.

Reid Memorial Presbyterian Church The final concert of this season will featuring Peyson Moss on piano and organ.

Visit reidchurchaugusta.org.

Maude Edenfield Park, North Augusta Featuring Crescent Brass. In case of inclement weather, the concert will be held in the community center. Free. Visit naartscouncil.org.

6pm - 10pm First Friday

Fri June 3

Ongoing

Sat June 4

7pm - 8:30pm Music Cruise Augusta Canal Featuring Jerod Gay performing 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.

Sat June 4

11am - 2pm Saturday Morning Swing 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.

7:30pm Broadway Boogie Grace United Methodist Church A presentation of the Columbia County Choral Society and the Augusta Musical Theatre Workshop. $15; $12, military, seniors, students and groups of 10 or more. Visit columbiacountychoralsociety.org.

Sun June 5

7:30pm - 9:30pm Candlelight Jazz

Independence Day Chorus Saint Paul’s Church Rehearsals for the chorus begin at 7 p.m.

Wednesday, June 8, and will also be held on June 15, 22 and 29 in advance of the Star Spangled Fourth Celebration at 7:30 on Monday, July 4. Those interested in joining the chorus should contact Artistic Director Keith Shafer at 706-722-3463 or info@ riverwalkseries.com.

SPECIAL EVENTS Thu June 2

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

Call 803-293-2214.

5pm - 8pm First Thursday Shops of Midtown, Kings Way at Central Ave. This event features discounts in the shops, hors d’oeuvres and more. The Soul City Sirens roller derby team is the featured organization, Yong Ae Alford is the artist of the month and Anna Seigler will sign copies

Augusta Common A family event that includes a car show, fun zone, vendors and live local entertainment.

Call 706-821-1754 or visit augustaga.gov.

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.

11am – 3pm Parking Lot Party Tin Lizzy’s An event that includes live music, a blood drive with Shepeard Community Blood Center, games and more to celebrate the grand opening on the TLQ barbecue expansion at the restaurant. Local nonprofits will host tables and attendees have a chance at winning VIP family packs to an upcoming Chris Lane concert. Free. Call 706-504-9767 or visit tinlizzyscantina.com.

3pm - 9pm Mudbugabeaux-N-Brew Augusta Common A crawfish boil and craft beer festival that will also include live local bands and more. Call 706-855-5511 or visit frenchmarketwest.com.

Sun June 5

3pm - 7pm Yappy Hour Tin Lizzy’s

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Sat June 4

2pm Rock Dam Trail Extended Hike

Wildwood Park and Blanchard Woods Park A two-day multi-sport festival featuring the following events. Saturday: the USA Cycling Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships at Wildwood Park and Skateboarding and BMX competitions at Blanchard Woods Park. Sunday: 50K, 26.2mile, 13.1-mile and 10K trail run races and a disc golf tournament at Wildwood Park. See website for registration instructions and fees. Visit wildwoodgames.com.

6:05pm Augusta GreenJackets vs.

West Virginia Power

The Wildwood Games

9am - noon National Learn to Row Day Celebration The Boat House An Augusta Rowing Club event that will feature tours of the facilities, ergometer demos, hands-on lessons on the dock and rowing on the Savannah River. The cost to participate is the donation of a non-perishable food item, which will be given to Golden Harvest Food Bank. Visit augustarowingclub.org.

9am Waterside Yoga

2016 Daylily Show and Sale Lake Park Baptist Church Fellowship Hall Saturday, June 4 1-4:30 p.m.

Presented by the Daylily Society of the Greater Augusta Area, this event features a show, sale, instructional presentations and more ahsregion5.org/augusta.html.

Participants are invited to bring their dogs to this event on the patio, 10 percent of the proceeds for which will go to the Dog Networking Agents rescue. Call 706-5049767 or visit tinlizzyscantina.com.

Thu June 9

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

Call 803-293-2214.

6pm - 9pm Swamp Soiree Home of Lelia Barrett A fundraiser for Phinizy Center for Water Sciences that includes dinner by Dye’s Southern Catering, cocktails, live bluegrass, a raffle and more. $50-$90; $10, raffle tickets. Call 706-828-2129 or visit phinizycenter.org.

30 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

SPORTS-OUTDOORS Thu June 2

7:05pm Augusta GreenJackets vs.

West Virginia Power Lake Olmstead Stadium $8-$12. Call 706-922-9467 or visit greenjacketsbaseball.com.

Fri June 3

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.

7:05pm Augusta GreenJackets vs.

West Virginia Power Lake Olmstead Stadium $8-$12. Call 706-922-9467 or visit greenjacketsbaseball.com.

Augusta Canal’s Lake Olmstead Trailhead A class open to those of all ages and abilities. Participants should bring a mat or towel. Free, but donations to the Augusta Canal National Heritage Area accepted. Call 706-823- 0440, ext. 2, or visit augustacanal. com.

9:30am - 11:30am Swamp Saturday Hike Phinizy Swamp Nature Park A guided, 2.5-mile hike. Free, members; $2, non-members. Pre-registration required.

Call 706-828-2109 or visit phinizycenter.org.

9:30am - noon Swamp Saturday Pet Hike Hike Phinizy Swamp Nature Park Dogs must be leashed for this guided, 2.5mile hike. Free, members; $2, non- members.

Pre-registration required. Call 706-828-2109 or visit phinizycenter.org.

10am - 12:30pm Hike & Craft

Mistletoe State Park A moderate to strenuous hike of approximately four miles with two water crossings. $5 parking. Call 706-541-0321 or visit gastateparks.org/mistletoe.

Lake Olmstead Stadium $8-$12. Call 706-922-9467 or visit greenjacketsbaseball.com.

Sun June 5

The Wildwood Games Wildwood Park and Blanchard Woods Park A two-day multi-sport festival featuring the following events. Saturday: the USA Cycling Marathon Mountain Bike National Championships at Wildwood Park and Skateboarding and BMX competitions at Blanchard Woods Park. Sunday: 50K, 26.2mile, 13.1-mile and 10K trail run races and a disc golf tournament at Wildwood Park. See website for registration instructions and fees. Visit wildwoodgames.com.

Mon June 6

6:30pm - 9:30pm Roller Derby Recruitment Night Red Wing Rollerway The Soul City Sirens are looking for skaters, referees, non-skating officials and volunteers. Skaters should bring mouthguard and appropriate workout clothes. Visit soulcitysirens.com.

7:05pm Augusta GreenJackets vs.

Columbia Fireflies Lake Olmstead Stadium $8-$12. Call 706-922-9467 or visit greenjacketsbaseball.com.

Tue June 7

7:05pm Augusta GreenJackets vs.

Columbia Fireflies Lake Olmstead Stadium $8-$12. Call 706-922-9467 or visit greenjacketsbaseball.com.

Mistletoe State Park A naturalist-led one-hour hike followed by a take-home craft. $2, plus $5 parking. Call 706541-0321 or visit gastateparks.org/mistletoe.

7pm Evening Nature Walk

10am - 4pm Open House

Wed June 8

Augusta Sailing Club This event will include short sails on a variety of boats, mock races, dock walks, tours, information on sailing lessons for kids through adults, information on membership, snacks and boat inspections by the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. Visit augustasailingclub.org.

Mistletoe State Park $5 parking. Call 706-541-0321 or visit gastateparks.org/mistletoe.

7:05pm Augusta GreenJackets vs.

Columbia Fireflies Lake Olmstead Stadium $8-$12. Call 706-922-9467 or visit greenjacketsbaseball.com.

SUPPORT Mon June 6

6:30pm Pink Pistols Meeting 2JUNE2016

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A group for women in their 20s and 30s dealing with breast cancer. Call for location.

Call 706-774-4141 or visit universityhealth.org.

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.

AU Professional Building 1 Free, but pre-registration required. Call 706-721-2609 or visit augustahealth.org/ weightloss.

cr@journeycommunity.net.

visit lcnaugusta.com.

Ongoing

Write to Heal

Sat June 4

TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) GA, 110 Augusta

Tue June 7

5:30pm Weight Loss Support Group

Call 706-721-1560 or visit augusta.edu.

St. Alban’s Episcopal Church fellowship hall The group meets Mondays, with weighin beginning at 5:15 p.m. and the meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m. Call 706-790-0391 or visit tops.org.

TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) Pine View Baptist Church The group meets Tuesdays, with weigh-in beginning at 4:45 p.m. and the meeting beginning at 5:15 p.m. Call 706-868-0539 or visit tops.org.

La Leche League

6:30pm CSRA Huntington’s Disease Support Group

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.

GRU Movement Disorders Clinic Call 706-721-2798 or 706-231-2775.

Celebrate Recovery

Thu June 9

12:30pm Breast Cancer Support AU Cancer Center

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

Children’s Hospital of Georgia For patients, family members and caregivers, this program meets the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. Preregistration required. Call 706-721-5160 or email nawilliams@gru.edu.

THEATER Fri June 3

7:30pm “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” Aiken Community Playhouse An Aiken Community Playhouse production. $25; $20, seniors; $15, students and $10, children 12 and under. Call 803-648-1438 or visit aikencommunityplayhouse.com.

8pm xTreme Theatre Games Le Chat Noir First Friday improv comedy by Schrodinger’s Cat. $10, advance; $12, door (if available). Call 706-722-3322 or visit lcnaugusta.com.

10pm Sloppy Seconds Le Chat Noir First Friday improv comedy by Schrodinger’s Cat. $5. Call 706-722-3322 or

7:30pm “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” Aiken Community Playhouse An Aiken Community Playhouse production. $25; $20, seniors; $15, students and $10, children 12 and under. Call 803-648-1438 or visit aikencommunityplayhouse.com.

Sun June 5

3pm “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” Aiken Community Playhouse An Aiken Community Playhouse production. $25; $20, seniors; $15, students and $10, children 12 and under. Call 803-6481438 or visit aikencommunityplayhouse. com.

Ongoing

“Creation” Auditions Enopion Theatre Company Casting by appointment those 18 and older for this musical that will show October 2829 and November 3-5 at the Kroc Center.

Rehearsals begin in June. Call 706-771-7777 or visit enopion.com.

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AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

METROSPIRIT 31

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xxx Alabama, The Charlie Daniels Band James Brown Arena Friday, June 3 7 p.m. $39-$79 877-4AUGTIX georgialinatix.com Thursday, June 2 Live Music

Greenlight Sound Studio - BullMoose, Similar Odds, Musket Hawk, Disparo Maude Edenfield Park - (North Augusta) Music in the Park w/ the John Kolbeck Trio Mellow Mushroom (Aiken) - Live Music on the Patio Soul Bar - The Killing Hours That Place - John Stoney Cannon Tin Lizzy’s - Steely James Wild Wing - Patterson & Nate The Willcox (Aiken) - Thursday Night Jazz w/ 4 Cats in the Dog House

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 That Place - Open Mic Spoken Word, Poetry, Prose and Singer/Songwriters

Friday, June 3 Live Music Dolly Parton Infinite Energy Arena, Duluth Saturday, June 4 $55-$95 infiniteenergycenter.com 32 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

Augusta Canal - Music Cruise w/ Jerod Gay The Backyard Tavern - Third Time Charmers Bar West - Live Music Bell Auditorium - Kirk Franklin Cotton Patch - Live Jazz & Blues Country Club - A Thousand Horses, Phil Vaught Evans Towne Center Park - Summer Beach Blast w/ The Catalinas, The Tams The Highlander - Los Guys James Brown Arena - Alabama, The Charlie Daniels Band

The Loft - False Flag Polo Tavern (Aiken) - The Jim Fisher Band Shannon’s - The Unmentionables Sky City - Funk You & Friends, Will McCranie 3, Caleb Tokarska The Stables Restaurant (Aiken) - Celtic Pub Night w/ Gavin Winship Whole Foods - Music @ the Turn Wild Wing - Kindlin The Willcox (Aiken) - John Vaughn

What’s Tonight?

Chevy’s - DJ Nicky B Soul Bar - First Friday DJ Mix Vera Cruz Mexican Restaurant - Karaoke

Saturday, June 4 Live Music

Bell Auditorium - Jeezy & Friends Cotton Patch - Live Jazz & Blues Country Club - Jared Ashley Coyotes - Chase Thomas Band Eighth Street Plaza - Saturday Morning Swing at the Augusta Market on the River Fox’s Lair - Mr. Jukebox Gerry Petrin The Iron Heights - Invoking the Abstract Shannon’s - Preston & Weston Sky City - No Sir, The Soul Project, Smith Brothers Stillwater Taproom - Speakeasy Night w/ the Caleb Tokarska Trio Wild Wing - Interstate Exiles 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 2JUNE2016

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Sunday, June 5 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 Wild Wing - Will McCranie The Willcox (Aiken) - John Vaughn

What’s Tonight?

Shannon’s - Karaoke w/ David Doane

Monday, June 6 Live Music

Hopelands Gardens (Aiken) - Hopelands Summer Concert Series w/ the Aiken Community Playhouse Youth Wing 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 7 Live Music

Appleby Library Gardens - Evenings in the Appleby Garden w/ A Band of Kelleys Joe’s Underground - Open Mic Soul Bar - Daily Grind 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 w/ Gorman Twisted Burrito - Trivia w/ Mike Sleeper

Wednesday, June 8 Live Music

The Highlander - Open Mic Night Shannon’s - Mike and Walter Wild Wing - Adam Harris Thompson

What’s Tonight?

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/ Burpie Alsop and Tommy Torres Stillwater Taproom - Pub Quiz Surrey Tavern - Trivia w/ Christian and Mickey

Upcoming Chris Ndeti and Company

- Stillwater Taproom June 9

Moniker, Caleb Tokarska

- Sky City June 10 Rye Baby, Josh Powell

- Stillwater Taproom June 10 Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons

- Bell Auditorium June 17 Scott Low and Southern Bouillon

- Stillwater Taproom June 17 Steve Miller Band

- Bell Auditorium July 19 Chris Robinson Brotherhood

- Sky City July 22 New Edition

- Bell Auditorium June 23 LIttle River Band, ARS, Firefall

- Evans Towne Center Park June 23 Hard Rocket

- Stillwater Taproom June 24 Steve Miller Band

- Bell Auditorium July 19 The Monkees

- Bell Auditorium July 24 Maxwell

REAL PEOPLE REAL DESIRE REAL FUN.

- 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

- Bell Auditorium October 6 ZZ Top

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More Local Numbers: 1-800-926-6000

- Bell Auditorium October 26

Elsewhere Toni Braxton, Bill Bellamy

- Fox Theatre, Atlanta June 2 Jimmy Buffett & the Coral Reefer Band

- Infinite Energy Arena, Duluth June 2

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706-434-0112

V27|NO22

SIGHTINGS

Michael Johnson | mejphoto.photoreflect.com

Corlie Creech and Chris Wheeler with Jaime and Paul Sullivan at the Thirsty Thursday After Party at the Country Club.

Jessi Carver, Jennifer Kensey, Emily Williams and Ashley Rosser at the Thirsty Thursday After Party at the Country Club.

Ken and Julie Koblinski with Susie and Jeff Palgut at Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que Music Festival at Evans Towne Center Park.

Rick Steadman, Alex Lozano and Anne Sloan at Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que Music Festival at Evans Towne Center Park.

Ashley and Jeff Fehrman with event founder Betty Pond at Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que Music Festival at Evans Towne Center Park.

Kevin Garner, Berkley Hancock and Jennifer O’Shields at Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que Music Festival at Evans Towne Center Park.

Justin Hart with Jonathan and Jena Hart at Papa Joe’s BanjoB-Que Music Festival at Evans Towne Center Park.

William Billue and Sarah Reese with Mountain Faith’s Summer McMahan and Savannah Reese at Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que Music Festival at Evans Towne Center Park.

Cassie Hayden with Hatcher and Dylan Johnson at Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que Music Festival at Evans Towne Center Park.

Halley Badger and Katherine Sheetz with Beth and Tyler James at Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que Music Festival at Evans Towne Center Park.

Ryan Johnson, Peter Frisina, Mary Swan Lamar and Boohoo Ramber’s John Clark Ashton Cornelius Farmer at Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que Music Festival at Evans Towne Center Park.

Terri and Matt Flynn with Sarah and Stoney Turnage at Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que Music Festival at Evans Towne Center Park.

34 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

2JUNE2016

V27|NO22

Chris Yonce and Heater Snips with Kerry and Donald Carledge at Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que Music Festival at Evans Towne Center Park.

Westly Varnadore, event co-founder Cathy Pond Varnadore and Daniel Hattaway at Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que Music Festival at Evans Towne Center Park.

Melissa Malek, Dawson Morris, Lauren Emerson and Courtney Prouty at Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que Music Festival at Evans Towne Center Park.

Shane Walker and Justine Davis with Brittany and Joshua Berry at Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que Music Festival at Evans Towne Center Park.

Dan Lawson, Chelsea Rexroad, Mary Taylor and Doug Varner at Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que Music Festival at Evans Towne Center Park.

Vic Markwalter and Traycie Pittman with Amber and Chris Ashe at Papa Joe’s Banjo-B-Que Music Festival at Evans Towne Center Park.

RISE AND FALL

By Victor Barocas and Andy Kravis/Edited by Will Shortz ACROSS 1 “Hooked on Classics” record promoter 5 Japanese electronics giant 10 Swell locale?

13 Director Apatow 17 View from the Uffizi Gallery 18 Polo in the 13th century 19 Unyielding 20 Annual event at Pebble Beach 22 Like a well-off señora 23 Greek philosopher who wrote, “Man is the measure of all things” 25Tomato trouble 26 Harrison ____, last person to set foot on the moon 28 Round of applause 29 One on a talk show couch, say 31 Argentine aunt 32 Like some brownies and towelettes 35 Brings out 37 Still 38 Country named for one of its patrons 40 Basic material 41 ____ Day (Nov. 19, in Brazil) 42 Identify, as in a Facebook photo 43 It’s never free of charge 44 Coin issued in values of 1 to 500 45 Tongue, anatomically 47 Largest labor union in the U.S. 49 Does a certain dog trick 52 Some iPods 54 “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” instrument 58 Howard Stern rival 61 “Jeez!”

65 “L’____ del Cairo” (unfinished Mozart opera) 66 Prefix with lingual 68 With full attention 69 Gooey stuff 70 Classic song with the repeated line “If you need me, I will be nearby” … shown symbolically in this puzzle 75 Ewoks’ home in sci-fi 76 Upstate SUNY campus site 77 Regret 78 Filbert, for one 79 Woman’s floral nickname 80 Common plastic base 82 Vocal cats 85 Part of Polynesia 87 It’s least palatable when raw 89 Little twisted part of us all?

90 Egg, for one 93 Bygone cable inits.

96 Main ingredient in a Tom Collins 98 Wenders who directed “Buena Vista Social Club” 100 Santa ____ (some winds) 101 Close with a knot 104 Good thing to get from Moody’s 108 Disaster area, so to speak 109 Marked down 110 Six-time All-Star Garciaparra 111 Prefix for a revived style 112 French mime 115 Go off course 117 Use as a conclusion 119 Insurance giant 120 Find out about 124 Prefix with -plasm 125 Subject of an annual festival in Holland, Mich.

126 French buds 127 Instrument at Rick’s Café 128 With 132-Across, place to get a date 129 Spew fire and brimstone, say 130 Dusk-____-dawn 131 Animal sought in 2016’s “Zootopia” 132 See 128-Across DOWN 1 Limestone areas with sinkholes and caverns 2 One of the Nixons 3 Captivate 4 Rich soil 5 Caveat ____ 6 Final installment of “The Hangover” 7 Sign of theatrical success 8 Fall mo.

9 Title biblical character played by Russell Crowe 10 Hit from “Songs in the Key of Life” dedicated to Ellington 11 End of an ____ 12 Dutch beer brand 13 Compressed-file format 14 Language that gave us “cummerbund” 15 They impart an innocent look 16 Maidens 19 How good times are remembered 21 Country singer Kathy with the #1 “Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses” 24 Mother and wife of Uranus

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27 Google heading 30 Churchill gesture 33 Supercilious sort 34 Muscular 36 Shaped like a tube 39 Long, flowing locks 41 In a luxurious manner 46 Untethered 48 Lead-in to boy 50 More bloody 51 Caught 53 Refugee’s request 54 Rising star 55 Money-saving brand prefix 56 Extols 57 Melodic passage 59 Galaxy rival 60 “True Life” airer 62 “Now We Are Six” author 63 Love, in the Louvre 64 Pond wrigglers 67 Establishes 71 They may keep you awake at night 72 Reward for Fido 73 It may take a toll: Abbr.

74 Certification for eco-friendly buildings, for short 81 Minneapolis-St. Paul suburb 83 Direction of progress 84 “Hold it!”

86 “Same here” 88 Chinese dynasty of 1,000 years ago 90 React to, as a shock 91 Like PETA 92 Bob Ewell’s daughter in “To Kill a Mockingbird” 94 Uselessly, after “to” 95 Texans, e.g.

97 “Oh yeah? Give an example!”

99 Subcompact 102 Because 103 A limerick has 13 105 Sought, as office 106 Irk 107 Order to a pest 113 It can come in sheets 114 A.T.M. printout: Abbr.

116 Certain tow job, for short 118 Shed tears 121 Bygone record label 122 Sauced 123 Back muscle, briefly

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PREVIOUS PUZZLE ANSWERS C O A S T

A N G L E

R O G E R M C R U U N D B A D

L E A K

S I D L E

A L B I O N

C R O C

H I V E

A C I D

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R E S I Z E R O S T P A A T R E T A N N E I N G O H N E E D

C A R C E A V E R N V A T E D S R E S S O D O S K S N T A R A T A C K T E L L O U P A C T C H Y H E R O U S T P A R K A A T L A S R K S L A M E O F A D Y O U C A R N O L E A N

M E A S I S M A P T H E W K E L G I L A T I T A R R E A N D S

P L A T H

A L L I E

A T L I E A I V O R T E S T E E

C E C I L A S W A N

A S E T T R N G A A R T E U S A M O T R M B E A O P T I T A T E V A L O P W H O S C K E I N A F E N S E S

H A I R

A B L E

W O E S

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D I S A R M

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S E L I G

THE EIGHT

BOX TOPS Not a great weekend at the movies. Hollywood blames the nice weather; we blame the movie choices.

RANK TITLES

WEEKEND GROSS TOTAL GROSS WEEK # LAST WEEK

1

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE

$65,769,562

$65,769,562

1

-

2

ALICE THROUGH...

$26,858,726

$26,858,726

1

-

3

THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE

$18,769,491

$66,422,800

2

1

4

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR $15,395,723

$372,871,672

4

2

5

NEIGHBORS 2: SORORITY RISING $9,354,380

$38,590,960

2

3

In Theaters June 3

ACTION

“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows,” rated PG-13, starring Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Tyler Perry, Laura Linney. “The Turtles return to save the city from a dangerous threat,” is how the plot synopsis reads. Gee, thanks for all that information. Substitute “turtles” for other proper nouns and you just described every action movie in the history of the world.

COMEDY

“Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping,” rated R, starring Andy Samberg, Imogen Poots, Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph. Comedy trio The Lonely Island is probably best known for its SNL musical sketches like “I’m on a Boat” and “Lazy Sunday.” In this movie they take on pop stars like Justin Bieber in a story about a former boy band member whose solo album isn’t selling so he has to resort to other methods to maintain his celebrity status.

DRAMA

“Me Before You,” rated PG-13, starring Emilia Clark, Sam Claflin. This one, about a girl who falls for a recently paralyzed guy she’s caring for, seems tailor made for teen girls, who are sure to be sobbing before the end of the opening credits.

Bring lots and lots of tissues to this adaptation of Jojo Moyes’ novel, because you know he’s going to reject her in the name of saving her from the fate of being with someone so unlovable. We predict lots of emotional speeches

V27|NO22

Trump Needs a Team and a Defined Agenda… Quick The way Donald Trump “jumped up and bit” the gathered media contingent in their collective fannies at his Tuesday press conference was enough to make me want to hug the man around the neck.

Conservative politicians have been targeted and maligned by left-wing media types as far back as I can remember and none of them, and I mean none of them, ever stood up on their hind legs and fought back the way Trump did this week.

It made me want to grab a beer bottle, bust it at the neck and charge screaming, Sharpie in hand, into the gathered fourth-estate regulars.

You know, the ones who want to discuss and dissect Trump’s “misogyny” but have no questions for the likely Democratic nominee who empowered and excused more skirt chasing and sexual harassment than any woman in the history of Washington, D.C., whose last name wasn’t Kennedy.

Trump is tired of the one-sided coverage and he let them know it. With both barrels.

That kind of fight and spirit goes a long way in winning over doubters when it comes to Trump’s chances of beating the Democratic nominee in November, but he needs more tangible ammunition in the battle if he hopes to prevail.

As unconventional as Trump has been up to this point, it seems unconscionable that he would decide to take a sedate and mundane route to the GOP confab this summer. If he wants to give rank and file conservatives a reason to get behind him and join the populist wave of newcomers that has elevated him as the party’s nominee, I have some suggestions the man should take to heart.

So far Trump has been hesitant to name a possible vice presidential nominee, but it seems the only reason he cites for the decision is “conventional wisdom.”

C’mon Donald, don’t go traditional on us now!

Not only should The Donald name his VP, he should go ahead and detail his wish list for every cabinet and staff position, just like he did with his list of prospective federal judicial nominees.

After he does that, he could really set the world on fire with a co-authored list of measures that GOP congressional members are ready to submit for his signature and approval as federal law, in the first 60 days of his presidency.

Since we will have an election that will serve as the mandate for these specific laws to be enacted, the Republican congressional leadership should commit to suspending the usual committee hearings and filibuster tactics on those items only, so that a simple majority approval in both chambers will immediately move the specific bills on for presidential approval. We can even call it “The Trump Mandate.”

You want to settle this transgender bathroom thing once and for all, show the American people what the GOP intends to do about the issue and tie it to Trump.

Enforcing existing U.S. border laws would be a tremendous rallying point, and eliminating “sanctuary” cities would also be positive step to reassure lifelong conservatives that Trump is a man they can work with. Set it in stone, and let the debates begin now.

You want Obamacare reform? Specifically target trouble spots with particular remedies and lay them out for the American people to see. Every conservative this side of the Canadian border has been clamoring for major tax reform as long as I have been alive, and yet no one has come close to delivering it. Write a plan out, and submit it with the Trump Mandate.

For the Second Amendment supporters out there, a federal concealed carry permit, good in all 50 states, that for a fee (because it would be expensive) allows citizens to circumvent restrictive state and local anti-gun legislation if they so desire. Set the bar high (training, testing and automatic eligibility reviews), and if individuals object to it, allow them to use the systems already in place for them at their respective state levels.

38 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989

For those concerned about integrity in voting, government financial transactions, weapons purchases, health insurance and medical care, and other official business, develop and implement Real ID technology for all American citizens. Many of us are already involved in using some form of that, whether it is a chip embedded credit card or a smart phone based biometric ID. The only folks who seem to be steering completely clear of the technology are criminals, tax cheats and illegal aliens. We can fix that, quickly, if we make it part of the Trump Mandate. Such a move would permanently end suspicions that Democrat inspired voter fraud is going on and that Republicans are attempting to suppress voter participation by requiring ID. It would be the law that every American man, woman and child have such an ID. Take as much of the mystery out of what a Trump presidency would look like, while at the same time shoring up congressional and senate races around the country. There are all kinds of things we could make part of The Mandate, and we will have the voting majority of the American people backing it up with such a win.

Controversial and unconventional, perhaps, but what has milquetoast convention given us in the last few years? 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.

2JUNE2016