EDIT Amy Christian
Arts Editor/Production Director
amy@themetrospirit.com
Stacey Eidson Staff Writer
stacey@themetrospirit.com
Molly Swift Staff Writer
molly@themetrospirit.com
TableFebruary of Contents 18, 2016
CREATIVE Joshua Bailey Lead Designer
joshua@themetrospirit.com
COVER DESIGN: KRUHU
SALES Gayle Bryan
Senior Account Executive
gayle@themetrospirit.com 706-373-4846
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BUSINESS
Road to the Ring
Joe White Publisher
Page 18
joe@themetrospirit.com 706-373-3636
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.Š 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
Whine Line
4
What’s Up
22
Ruffin It
6
Calendar
28
Jenny Is Wright
8
Nightlife
38
Augusta Tek
10
Sightings
40
Kris Fisher
11
NYT Crossword
42
Insider
12
The Eight
44
Forced to Fight
16
Austin Rhodes
46
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OPINION
The Whine Line
The world would be a much better place if everyone would just learn to.....Roll Tide!
11
10
8
6
Kudos on giving Wright McLeod exactly what Wright McLeod wants: An opportunity to talk about Wright McLeod. During Construction Columbia Rd was stalked by Cops. Now construction has stopped and it’s turned into a free for all. If your not doing 60 you may be pushed off the road. If you pay your water bill late, you pay a penalty. What will Augusta Utilities pay the restaurants that miss several days business due to water contamination? What does it mean to be a Republican in Columbia County? It must mean you are a Liberal. The latest ratings from the American Conservative Union give conservative scores as follows for 2015: Bill Jackson - 50% ( the lowest of any Republican Georgia State Senator), Barry Fleming 38% and Ben Harbin - 33%. Bill Jackson was given a lifetime score of 18%. Many Democrats were rated higher than the entire Columbia County delegation. Stop thinking your farts smell good and get out of the Republican closet. Unless you’re handicapped, get out of the drive thru line and go inside to order. How lazy can you get?! You’re wasting an incredible amount of gas. Why do I care? Because gas prices are determined by supply and demand so you’re costing ME money!
Ruffin’ It Jenny Is Wright Augusta Tek Kris Fisher
Wait...I don’t understand...whose running for President? This is a joke right? Am am I being punked? this can’t be right? Please understand where we’re headed now people as the clowns across America take center stage and the curtain lifts higher...I miss Obama... Wright McLeod’s head and ego is so bloated he tried to unsuccessfully prevent the connection of a public street in his own neighborhood with an adjacent parcel being rezoned for a subdivision because he thought he and his neighbors (the homeowner’s association) owned the roads. Let’s figure this out. Women are now referee’s in in NBA! Soon to be referee’s in the NFL. Why not let women play professional football? I’d love to see these 150 pound plus, get hit by a 350 pound lineman. What do you say ladies? Please reply to this, especially if you are 250 pounds plus! Maybe I can get you a job.
I WAS STANDING in line at the Augusta Municipal Building waiting to go through a security station run by three police officers making one poor lady go the scanner several times until they finally pulled her out of the line and ran a wan over her and decided she wasn’t a security risk. While the “public” waited in line, several county employees and one county commissioner waved their IDs and breezed past us. The whole thing is a joke and yet another waste of our tax dollars. Unless EVERYONE goes through it, as we did in the Navy – including the top brass; it’s a worthless exercise. Hip, Hip, Hooray, Steve the non-traffic engineer Cassell is now the problem of Columbia county. Maybe our great commission will now hire someone who can coordinate the traffic signals with some level of sanity so we can actually go from one end of town to the other without stopping for a mis-managed signal. Not one day goes by when the signals are so screwed up that traffic is backed up on Washington Road. Columbia will soon be as grid locked as Augusta. Everyone freaks out over water bottles being sold out and having to go through the trouble of having to boil your water. Maybe now you have caught a mere glimpse of what it is like to live in all these third world countries, or to have been in the military and have had to shower, shave, brush your teeth and drink all from the same water bottle while in the battlefield. Too many Americans both older and the younger generations are completely dependent on being taken care of by somebody else like our government, and taking things for granted. Now you see how important the loss of what luxury is. I thought people would have learned when they lost their power for a few days during that snowstorm a while back. Yes this Redneck will vote for Bernie Sanders so help me God. I never needed a handout,if I did it would be my own money being given back to me. But you pea size brains are easily fooled. You always scream bloody murder when something that came from the people is given back to the people. Where were you when billions of dollars was given to bailout banks, insurance companies, and Wallstreet ? They got the gun your head, you trying to pull the trigger. Bernie Sanders for President ! It is really a great assurance that Mayor Hardie Davis, Jr and Administrator Janice Allen Jackson believe the Augusta water supply is safe. But what qualifications do they have to make this misleading statement. Are they encouraging persons to disregard the warning posted by qualified professionals? Another example of stupidity by Mayor Hardy Davis and his sidekick! Maybe Hardy Davis should be Mayor of Flint Michigan.
WHINELINE@THEMETROSPIRIT.COM 4 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
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. 18FEBRUARY2016
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Call today to schedule your pre-season checkup. 706.722.5304 www.sigcox.com 18FEBRUARY2016
AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
METROSPIRIT 5
The Inevitability of Trump ON THE HEELS of the last Republican debate (“Electric Boogaloo”), the dominant narrative remains centered around Donald Trump, the darkest and horsiest of dark horse candidates. If we look at the media-constructed narrative arc of Trump’s candidacy, we’re about to slide right into the “sad, slow decline” aspect of his improbable run, making way for the “real” candidates to duke it out. We saw this in the last cycle with Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry and, perhaps most enjoyably, Rick Santorum. Each one of them experienced some period of time in the sun, got a forum to say some delightful, mildly unsettlingly craziness, and then were promptly shown the door by the golem of their own manifested insanity. If most news outlets are to be believed — and why wouldn’t they? — then that’s what we’re seeing with Trump right now. Most of this speculation is due to what is widely regarded as a poor debate performance, where he was reduced to defending himself from attacks by Cruz and Rubio with fourth-grade playground retorts. The attacks themselves weren’t that substantial, but Trump has been less and less comfortable parrying attacks from his opponents as the campaign season has trudged on, as they’ve gotten more and more comfortable finding chinks in his armor. Perhaps Trump’s most egregious misstep was calling out former president George W. Bush for the 9/11 attacks happening on his watch. Bush is still, in pseudo-intellectual neo-conservative
6 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
circles, regarded as something between Ronald Reagan and Chunk from “The Goonies,” but purely ideological voters hold him up as their last great victory. For any other candidate, all the elements are there for a precipitous decline, but Trump is a wholly unique animal in this type of context. He’s gotten this far not because he is the best candidate, the most electable, the most polished or the most
Look at the result of the first two primaries: after he narrowly lost to Ted Cruz in Iowa, he went on a tirade, accusing Cruz and his campaign of “stealing” the primary, and just generally acting like a fat kid who got sent to bed without his third dessert. Days later — in a completely different state, I know — he completely dominated the field in New Hampshire. As of this writing, despite the debate
Bush is still, in pseudo-intellectual neo-conservative circles, regarded as something between Ronald Reagan and Chunk from “The Goonies,” but purely ideological voters hold him up as their last great victory. experienced. He’s gotten this far because he’s a mouthpiece for all the outlandish nonsense that a large contingent of the Republican base wants to say but can’t, and the more defiant and petulant he gets, the more popular he’s going to become. If not that, he certainly won’t take a dip in the polls.
Last year, Rick Perry self-administered the final nail in his campaign coffin when he couldn’t remember the names of the departments he would get rid of as president. He was already on the downslope, but that effectively shut the door for good. If Trump had done that, he’d have shrugged his shoulders, cited it as an example of government departmental overcrowding, and his followers would have chalked it up as a win. Subjectively, Trump is the human equivalent of yogurt mold; objectively, this is a hell of a lot of fun to watch. If Trump comes out on top, as he very well might, it’s a win-win: we bear witness to history, and he then he gets curb-stomped by either Clinton or Sanders while the GOP tries to figure out what ancient moderate Republican burial ground they desecrated.
JOSH RUFFIN is a long way from home,
having moved from Augusta to Middleton, Wisconsin, with his wife, Michelle. He is a selfdescribed 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.
performance, he’s trending for victory in South Carolina. I said earlier that Trump’s opponents have gotten more adept at confronting him, but it’s probably too little too late. It’s impossible, at this point, to learn how to fight a completely different kind of opponent on the fly like this.
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Mr. and Mrs. R. Lionel Prather Preston & Cleveland Wealth Management Queensborough National Bank & Trust Company RBW Logistics Regions Bank Rhodes Law Firm, P. C. Richmond Supply Company Rick’s Paint & Body Southern Lighting Gallery Sprint Food Stores, Inc. SRP Federal Credit Union Stifel Surrey Center The Litchfield Company, Inc. The Sancken Foundation Thompson Building Wrecking Co. Dr. and Mrs. John Thornton Vein Specialists of Augusta Xytex Corporation
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Grating DID YOU KNOW you can turn an old wooden pallet into a dining room table? It’s true. I’ve seen it on the internet. People are making cabinets, couches, towel racks and everything else out of trashed wood. I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if someone’s working out a pallet toilet. I hate it. I’m all for reusing things. It’s good for our carbon footprint. Sadly, most of this stuff looks like junk. I’ve been surprised. When someone with great carpentry skills uses old wood to make a new thing, it can look pretty. There are exceptions, and I’m willing to let them slide. My husband used reclaimed wood from an old tobacco barn to line the inside of our screened porch, and it’s gorgeous. Done well, repurposing works. I like to encourage cleverness and creativity, but this is getting out of hand. Taking a cute antique ladder and using it as a set of shelves is one thing. Ripping the back off of any old chair, hanging it on the wall and calling it a towel rack is entirely different. It doesn’t look like a towel rack. It looks like the back of a chair hanging on your wall. On Facebook lately, there are all sorts of videos showing how you can use different everyday items to fix other everyday situations. Dawn dish soap has hundreds of household uses, like killing fleas on a puppy. Who knew? I tried it. It may tear up your dog’s skin, but the fleas will die quickly. Life hacks, they’re called. For the most part, they’re helpful hints. There are dozens of recipes for homemade laundry detergent. If you need to get rid of the onion and garlic smell on your
I’m not going out to buy paint and a cheese grater to make it an earring rack. If I’m going through all that, I’m buying an earring rack.
8 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
hands after cooking, rub your hands on stainless steel. Works like a charm. One I tested recently, and I never thought it would fly, is shredding cooked chicken with a hand mixer. What seems like an impossibility is a handy little trick. Don’t mix too long, or you end up with a meat paste. Meat paste isn’t nearly the same as shredded chicken. Trust me. Helpful hints that make your life easier and good to have around. I’m a fan. I am not a fan of spray painting a cheese grater and calling it an earring holder. I didn’t make that up. There’s a video, showing just how easy it is to make it happen. You can even paint a sweet little chevron pattern on it, with a few tiny pieces of painter’s tape. While I applaud the designer’s ability to think outside of the box, it’s not for me. First, I need my cheese grater. Second, I’m not going out to buy paint and a cheese grater to make it an earring rack. If I’m going through all that, I’m buying an earring rack. Besides, it doesn’t matter how much paint you put on it, it’s still a cheese grater. Joe (White) loves to take old wood and turn it in to new things. He made wine racks for a while. As a matter of fact, he still owes me one. I’ll have to repurpose it, though. Who has wine that lasts long enough to necessitate filling a rack? Maybe I’ll use it to store my Dawn dish soap instead.
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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Battlefront Fail ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS I’ve shared with you my personal struggles with Minecraft. While at first Minecraft appears to be innocuous, this simplistic entrée into virtual reality guides the obsessive compulsive to their demise. The clean geometrical concepts urge the builder to push just a little further, until all that rises above the ground is transformed into the complete and adorned. And just when you are ready to walk away satisfied that the job is finished, that’s when you hear it — a call that originates from land of blocks and penetrates your soul… “You must dig more.” So to borrow a phrase, I’ve found that the only way to win is not to play. For the last half of 2015, I shunned our family Xbox. I reallocated my “build” time to my daughters, and we’ve engaged in numerous activities. On one occasion, we enjoyed 4-plus hours of Disney Channel reruns. Another time, we attempted to do homework. (Unfortunately, I think sixth grade Common Core math is meant for someone that is smarter than a rocket scientist.) Add in some trips to get frozen yogurt and a trip or two to the mall, and I think that we really started to bond. And then it all started falling apart. By now I’m sure that every faithful Augusta Tek reader has seen “The Force Awakens” at least four or five times, so you already understand the personal transformation enabled by the continuation of the Star Wars saga. Needless to say, I experienced the awakening, and I’m so pleased that my daughters felt it as well. Over the holidays, we supplemented our experience with numerous Star Wars artifacts. Picture books, clothing, replica lightsabers — all designed to heighten our awareness of a galaxy far, far away. However, one item above all allowed us to immerse ourselves into the Star Wars universe like none other: A first-person shooter video game called Star
presents
Wars Battlefront. Now, for many of you who don’t read this column regularly, I suspect that you might be wondering, “Girls and first-person shooting games?” Regular readers probably realize the fallacy of this line of thought, but let me go ahead and share my experience. Whoever postulated that girls don’t like first-person shooters never meet a Southern Millennial. I can assure you that my daughters have no problem picking up a blaster of any caliber and dispatching Stormtroopers to the digital beyond. In addition, all of their friends and their friends’ sisters are very comfortable wielding an E-11, T-21B or whatever. I don’t know if it’s geographical or generational, but I sure feel sorry for the boy who mistakenly calls one of these young ladies “Honey.” Our initial experience with Battlefront was very similar to my prior experience with online FPSs — spawn, run to battle, die, repeat. Our average lifespan was closely approximated by the amount of time it takes to read this sentence. Over time, we somewhat improved. As we achieved levels, better weapons became available, helping immensely. And every once in a while, we got on a streak, terminating two or three gamers in a row. Inevitably, this streak would suddenly end with rapid fire originating out of nowhere and our health dropping to zero in a matter of milliseconds. Before we can even react, we’re dead, and all we can do is watch D3AxEaTr666 stand over our lifeless avatar, laughing maniacally. You know, I try to keep an even head about these things, but, dang it, sometimes it’s just hard not to take it personally. Couple this with the fact that I can’t seem to rise out of the bottom third of the battle scores, and I find myself questioning my self worth. Granted, I’m probably triple D3AxEaTr666’s age, but I really can’t be that bad, can I? Obviously, this level of performance is not acceptable, so I reenter the game determined to demonstrate my true skills during the Battle of Jakku. And then I heard her. My wife had snuck downstairs. “Greg, really? It’s 3 a.m. Are we doing this again?” And so now, I’m also banned from Battlefront. Thankfully, my daughters continue to play my avatar, adding to its experience and unlocking valuable weaponry. They’ve become pretty good shooting from the hip. One day, I will return to the battlefield. And no doubt when I return, I will continue to feel the pulse of rapid fire ending my avatar. But as long as I have my daughters nearby to avenge me, I’m sure that all will turn out just fine. @gregory_a_baker
At the Imperial Theatre
FEBRUARY
GREGORY BAKER PH.D. 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.
26th & 27th @ 8:00pm 28th @ 3:00pm
18FEBRUARY2016
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California Dreamin’
“CELEBRATING 33 YEARS”
Learn to be an
technologist
It’s just past 10 a.m. pacIfIc tIme, Friday, February 12, and I’m walking through the LA Live Pavilion in Los Angeles, California… past ESPN, past the Microsoft Theater and across Chick Hearn Court to the Staples Center. I filmed a selfie-Snapchat as I walked past the statues of Magic Johnson and Wayne Gretzky. I tried my best to keep my composure, pretending that I wasn’t crawling under my skin with anxiety. After all, I had been here before: American Idol finale week five years ago. Interviewing celebrities is nothing new to me. Who was I kidding? This was Grammy week, leading up to music’s biggest night. I had the opportunity to bring this special moment to my hometown of Augusta and, I’ll admit, I was a bit nervous. In 17 years of radio, I’ve never been to such a spectacle. This was the 58th Grammy Awards and I got to interview presenters, performers, nominees and celebrities for a full two days before the show, all while listening to soundchecks of Adele, Rihanna (who ended up not performing), Sam Hunt and Carrie Underwood and more. Now, I’m a notoriously bad, Chris Farley-esque interviewer. On top of that, I represent the smallest market invited to the event. I see radio crews from Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Philly, D.C., Tampa and Charlotte, just to name a few. There are also syndicated shows from Atlanta and Portland, Pop Crush, Radio One… and then there’s me from Augusta, GA. The intimidation factor was out of this world. Eh, I can fake it, I think. The time came and it was showtime. I figured I would warm up on a couple of upand-coming artists that no one has heard of. There are a plethora of those that come through. Ever heard of “That Poppy” or “Samantha J”? Probably not. But there was no warming up. I got tossed right into the fire. First interview of the first day was Grammy performer and Best New Artist nominee Tori Kelly. Even now, I have no idea what I asked her. It was probably something like, “Who’s your favorite Care Bear?” Still, my two days backstage at the Grammys combined for a moment that I’ll never forget. I hope that at least one or two people in Augusta enjoyed it. I got the opportunity to talk to some really great people: country music star Thomas Rhett, Pitch Perfect 2’s Hailey Steinfeld, The Walking Dead stars, Grammy nominees and more. Some interviews were great, some were not so great. There are moments in every job that stand out, sometimes for the wrong reason. This one will stand out for all the right reasons. I absolutely love my job. I love that I get to deliver these kind of experiences to my hometown. We got some more really cool things KRIs FISHER,Kris Fisher is the midday like this coming down the host and program director for HD98.3 and an Augusta radio staple. He is a husband, father pike for our 10th year on the of three and lover of all things adventurous, air, so this is my shameless as well as activities most people would have plug… stay tuned! outgrown years ago. djkfish.com.
18FEBRUARY2016
U
niversity Hospital’s Stephen W. Brown, M.D. School of Radiography, now in its 33rd year, is accepting applications for classes beginning in July 2016. This 24-month program is accredited through the JRCERT, www.jrcert.org. Applicants must possess a minimum of an Associates Degree in any discipline and an overall grade point average of 2.25. College Algebra and English (or Composition) are also required. After completing
Stephen W. Brown, M.D. School of Radiography University Hospital 1350 Walton Way Augusta, GA 30901-2612 706/774-5010
the program, students receive a Certificate of Radiography and are eligible for the National ARRT Registry Exam. Applications are available online at www.universityhealth.org/clinicaleducation. For information, contact Patty Graham or Nancy Elliott at 706/774-5010, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or write to the address below. Class size is limited. To meet the eligibility deadline, all material must be received by April 15, 2016.
www.universityhealth.org/clinicaleducation
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18
16
Insider Forced to Fight For His Job Road to the Ring
12
NEWS
Goodbye, NBC 26 Today
12 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
WHEN FANS of NBC 26 Today tuned in to see their favorite morning anchors, Barclay Bishop and Jay Jefferies, on Tuesday morning, many Augustans were crushed. There was no smiling Barclay and no joking Jay. The two beloved morning anchors were gone. The news station was immediately flooded with complaints and dozens of comments began popping up on the anchors’ Facebook pages. “How can this happen to our top news team in the CSRA! Makes no sense at all,” one viewer wrote. Another posted, “I was very upset this morning when I didn’t get my Jay fix!!!” So, here is the deal: WAGT NBC 26’s parent company, Schurz Communications, sold its local television station to Gray Television. Gray Television also happens to own the local CBS affiliate, WRDW Channel 12. Upon completion of that sale, Gray Television assumed WAGT’s broadcast signal and programming on Tuesday morning. Therefore, that meant an end to the broadcast of the local NBC 26 Today show. Instead, WRDW News 12 will simulcast its local news broadcasts on NBC 26 throughout the day, including weekday mornings, weeknights at 6 and 11 p.m. and 11 p.m. on weekends, according to a press release from Gray Television. However, the NBC 26 weekend morning and weeknight 7 p.m.
newscasts were also discontinued this week. The weeknight 7 p.m. newscast has been replaced by syndicated episodes of “The Big Bang Theory.” Wow. It’s not like you can’t find that goofy show on almost every other cable TV channel at any time of the day. But, hey, who needs local programming, right? So the big question becomes: What will happen to the anchors, reporters and staff of NBC 26? “The anchors and reporters seen on NBC 26 were not employed by Schurz Communications/NBC 26, but are currently employed by WJBF’s parent company Media General, which until February 16, 2016 had been overseeing the WAGT newsroom,” according to the Gray Television press release. Rumor is that everyone is still currently under contract with Media General, but the truth of the matter is there are only so many anchor slots available at one television station. Therefore, the ball is in Media General’s court to see where everyone ends up. Let’s just say WJBF would be crazy to let go of Barclay Bishop or Jay Jefferies. Since coming to the Augusta area in 1995, Jefferies has earned a reputation as one of Augusta’s most accurate and entertaining local forecasters. Just this past year, Jefferies was named Metro’s Best TV Personality by the readers of the Metro Spirit and Augusta Magazine’s 2015 Best Weather in Augusta as well as Columbia County Magazine’s Best Television Personality in 18FEBRUARY2016
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the January 2015 issue. It was also recently announced that Jefferies was selected as the 2016 recipient of the prestigious Louis Harris Award by members of the Augusta West Rotary Club. As for Barclay Bishop, she joined the WAGT news team in the fall of 2013 as the anchor for NBC 26 Today and has also been recognized by the readers of Augusta Magazine as one of the best female anchors and reporters in CSRA. Prior to becoming anchor at WAGT, Barclay worked for two years as the public relations manager at Doctors Hospital of Augusta and spent three years as a news anchor and reporter at WJBF. At the end of her last broadcast with Jefferies, Barclay was visibly upset that Gray Television assumed WAGT’s broadcast signal and the news program had been abruptly pulled from the air. As Barclay’s voice began to slightly crack and she paused to collect herself, Jefferies quickly jumped in and thanked viewers for all of their support over the years. “There is no place like home right here on NBC 26 Today,” Jefferies said. Both Jefferies and Barclay encouraged viewers to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission by calling 888-225-5322 or go online at https:// consumercomplaints.fcc.gov/hc/en-us. The two journalist also made it known where their loyalty currently stands. “We want to encourage you to go to our sister station, WJBF News Channel 6, so that you can stay up to date with your latest local news and headlines,” Barclay said. “But again, thank you.” Just in case you missed it, that’s a very polite way of saying, “Screw you, Gray Television and WRDW Channel 12.” It’s a sentiment a lot of Augusta TV viewers share.
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Some Augustans Are Boiling Mad
AugustAns better prAy that Richmond County never faces a catastrophic emergency after 5 p.m. or this county might be in a world of hurt. To say this past week’s “spike in turbidity” at Augusta Utilities Department’s Highland Avenue Water Treatment Plant and resulting boil water advisory were not handled very well is a huge understatement. Let’s start by clearly pointing out that in no way, shape or form did this past week’s problems at the water treatment plant seriously endanger the health of the public. The Insider is confident in the fact that if Augusta’s Utilities Director Tom Wiedmeier thought for a moment that the cloudiness detected by one of the turbidity meters on Tuesday morning last week had significantly contaminated the water, things would have 14 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
been handled completely different. But here’s the thing: The general public didn’t know whether it was serious or not. That fact should not be taken lightly. The truth of the matter is, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division was concerned enough about the spike in turbidity to call for a boil water advisory for a large portion of the county by Tuesday afternoon of last week. Such an advisory should have immediately meant all hands on deck. Instead, it took more than two hours for the utilities department to begin notifying the public. And how many folks do you know who are signed up for the county’s alert system? When the Augusta-Richmond County Emergency Management Agency finally did
get word of the boil water advisory, it didn’t send out any notifications until after 7 p.m. Most local news stations didn’t have enough information available about the boil advisory for their 6 o’clock news broadcast on Tuesday evening of last week. The Augusta Chronicle didn’t post a story about the boil watery advisory until after 7 p.m. And then, finally, there was an official email sent out to the public just after 9:30 p.m. from Dee Griffin, the public information officer for the Augusta Fire Department and AugustaRichmond County Emergency Management Agency. The email was called, “Augusta Leaders Urge Residents and Businesses to Comply with Boil Water Request.” By that point, what was most people’s
reaction to this urgent email? “Zzzzzzzzz,” as they were snoring in bed. Or if people were still awake and actually saw the notice, they were thinking, “What boil water request?” To make matters worse, the email was written so casually. The headline should have been, “ALERT: Boil Water Advisory Issued to Citizens and Businesses in Augusta.” Instead, it was written like a chamber of commerce press release about “Augusta Leaders Urge Residents...” Come on, folks. Get your act together. Then, Griffin went on to attempt to describe the situation to the public. “At the direction of the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, Augusta has issued an advisory to boil water in 18FEBRUARY2016
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the service area of the Highland Avenue Water Treatment Plant,” the email stated. “This order comes after a brief excursion of turbidity limits at the Highland Avenue Water Treatment Plant. Turbidity is a measure of particles suspended in the water. Samples that were taken today are currently being tested.” Now, if you are writing a press release to notify the public of a potential danger, you need to write it in clear, simple English. “A brief excursion of turbidity limits” might as well be written in Latin for most folks. People read that and their immediate reaction was, “What the hell does that mean? And what kind of particles are we talking about?” Were the “particles suspended in the water” some kind of metal? Or rock sediment? Or fecal matter? People had no idea. Griffin continued, “However, there is no current evidence of contamination and this advisory is being issued in an abundance of caution.” Hmmmm... so no “current evidence of contamination” and this advisory is only as an “abundance of caution,” you say? All of a sudden, hundreds of questions popped in people’s heads: Is this a serious situation or not? Should I run out to Walmart or Kroger and immediately start buying bottled water? Will I get sick if I already drank water tonight? If so, what are the possible symptoms? Can I wash my hands? Can I take a shower? What if my kids drank water after brushing their teeth tonight? Are 18FEBRUARY2016
children more vulnerable to whatever is in the water? Can I use my dishwasher? What about washing my clothes? Griffin’s email didn’t provide any advice or suggestions regarding those concerns. It did, however, describe the areas throughout Augusta that were impacted by the boil water advisory. “This affects people who live and work in East Augusta, Fort Gordon and the area north of Gordon Highway,” Griffin wrote. Holy smokes, Batman... just when you thought this email couldn’t confuse the public any more. It should have clearly stated “This affects people who live and work in downtown Augusta, west Augusta, east Augusta, the Hill area and Fort Gordon.” Why? Because when most local citizens hear “Gordon Highway,” they automatically think of south Augusta. It doesn’t matter if you write “north of Gordon Highway.” A lot of people don’t understand the geography of this county. As the public information officer for the EMA department, Griffin needed to clearly identify the most populated areas of the county that were going to be impacted. Also, as a former WJBF anchor, Griffin clearly knows how to present accurate information. In fact, with an annual salary of $51,000 with the fire department, Griffin needs to fully understand how to effectively get that accurate information out to the public. The EMA department cannot simply rely
on the media to spread the word, especially if the city is trying to notify the public of an emergency event after 6 p.m. In such a case, swift action needs to be taken. Augusta-Richmond County should seriously consider a more effective countywide robocall automated telephone service that will quickly notify local residents. After all, by the time the 11 o’clock news rolls around, most citizens are asleep or not watching the local news. For instance, parents of small children might still be awake, but most of them are tuned into their favorite Netflix shows or catching up on past episodes of the “The Walking Dead” and “Game of Thrones.” They won’t hear about a local boil water advisory. So, when their infant wakes up at 2 a.m. and mom or dad stumbles out of bed to grab a bottle of formula from the refrigerator, they won’t know it could be dangerous. And within minutes, that baby will quickly be sucking down a bottle of formula, which may or may not contain sediment. Therefore, Augusta desperately needs to find a more proactive way of notifying residents of possible emergencies. Now, was this a real emergency? Most will say no. This was a precaution. But it was serious enough to close the local school system for two days and force area hospitals to take extreme precautions. While Griffin’s email stated that EMA “activated its reverse notification system which sent out phone messages to all
residents who are affected by the boil water order,” most people didn’t get a phone call from the city. Instead, many residents were notified by the Richmond County Board of Education between the hours of 9 p.m. and midnight that school was canceled last Wednesday because of the boil water advisory from the city. When most parents heard that message as they prepared for bed, their immediate concern was, “What in the world am I going to do with my child tomorrow while I’m at work? Who can I call at 10 p.m. to watch my kid tomorrow?” It wasn’t until the next morning that many of those parents began realizing there was a possible problem with their own tap water and not just a concern at the schools. And let’s not forget the local businesses that were economically impacted. From restaurants to bars to hotels to dentist offices, these businesses were all disrupted by the boil water order. But in the case of many of the local restaurants and bars, they weren’t aware of the boil water advisory until late Wednesday morning of last week. Many served tap water and ice all evening on Tuesday because they had not been notified of any potential problem with the city’s water. It wasn’t until that Wednesday morning and later in afternoon that inspectors from the East Central Health District began checking to see if restaurants and bars had an emergency plan in place to handle the boil water advisory. Simply put, that’s scary, folks. It is not only scary, but it is potentially dangerous. So, here is the bottom line: Augusta, please learn from this situation. The Insider has brought it up before and it will do it again and again until something changes. This county needs to be prepared. And not just between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. There are way too many potentially hazardous situations in this immediate area for Augusta-Richmond County not to have a highly qualified and competent EMA department. Anything from a possible toxic release from a local chemical plant to dangerous conditions relating to highly flood prone areas throughout this city could spell serious trouble for this county. The fact is, Augusta needs an EMA director who knows what he or she is doing. And it needs one yesterday. Literally.
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Mark Johnson Forced to Fight for His Job By Stacey Eidson AugustA EnvironmEntAl sErvicEs DirEctor Mark Johnson doesn’t appreciate having his job threatened, particularly when he believes he has done nothing wrong. This past week, Johnson presented members of the Augusta Commission a detailed report regarding the questions surrounding the authorization of a $15,860 pay increase he received last year. During the Augusta Commission meeting this week, it was Johnson’s turn to tell his full side of the story. And he didn’t hold back. “This process has criminalized me publicly,” Johnson said as he stood before the entire commission on Feb. 16. “It has hurt me professionally. It has impacted my family and it is based on an investigation that was not thorough nor complete. I’ve been accused of deception, misrepresentation and, at the end of the day, you are questioning my honestly and integrity. And that is unacceptable.” Over the past several weeks, Johnson has been heavily criticized by Augusta Commissioner Marion Williams for pay raises he and a handful of other employees in his department received. Williams insists that Johnson circumvented the proper channels and the raises weren’t officially approved by City Administrator Janice Allen Jackson. “He got this 15 percent raise since July of last year and we didn’t know anything about it,” Williams told the Metro Spirit this week. “My point is, he didn’t get nobody’s approval. He just sent in the paperwork. He had this whole thing orchestrated.” However, Johnson insisted the pay increases were properly approved by the Augusta Commission in conjunction with the city’s new building demolition program. Following his increase in pay, Johnson began earning more than $121,600 a year along with a $600 per month car allowance. But according to his report to the commission, Jackson was fully aware of the increase. 16 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
“Janice Jackson had knowledge and a document that showed the intent of the program, including the raises,” Johnson wrote, adding the very first document provided to Jackson last March had the specific raises listed. “Janice Jackson instructed me to work with (Deputy Administrator) Ted Rhinehart on this project. Therefore, my communications on this project were directed to Ted. Ted represented the administrator’s office form that point forward.” Over the next several months, Johnson worked with Rhinehart and the law department on the development of the program and the necessary paperwork which outlined the specific raises. When the program’s proposal finally reached Jackson’s desk in May, Johnson said Rhinehart was the one who actually drafted the agenda item. Johnson insists that Jackson was provided a copy of the agenda item, which included the wording, “appropriate salary adjustments for the other management staff providing oversight and leadership for this new program.” “Ted (Rhinehart) altered the agenda item to make it sellable,” Johnson wrote in his report to commissioners. “There was still intent to give raises, by utilizing ‘administrative authority,’ for the additional duties of the program.” Rhinehart then presented the information to the Augusta Commission’s committee on May 26 and it was approved by the full commission on June 2. “The commission approved a new demolition program,” Johnson wrote in his report to commissioners. “To the best of my knowledge, the program did include rate of pay adjustments as reflected on the (attachments to the agenda item.) That had been the intent all along.” In all, Jackson received at least seven copies of the program’s details and specified raises, Johnson stated. “Every document provided by me had all of the detailed salary/raise information listed by position,” Johnson wrote in his report. It was his understanding that Jackson was going to utilize
“administrative authority” to finalize the program, Johnson said. The paperwork was then submitted to the city’s human resources department, Johnson stated. Both the human resources department and the finance department reviewed the paperwork regarding the compensation changes and the pay raises were implemented in July. However, six months later, Johnson said he is shocked to hear Jackson now claiming she had no knowledge of the pay increases. “Janice had been given an agenda item on March 20, 2015 which detailed specific raises for four specific people,” Johnson stated in his report.
“This process has criminalized me publicly. It has hurt me professionally.” — Mark Johnson She also had conversations with Rhinehart regarding the compensation in May, he stated. But the next thing Johnson knew he was “under investigation,” according to a Jan. 29 article in The Augusta Chronicle. “Nobody notified me, discussed or communicated that I was under investigation,” Johnson wrote. “I read it in the Chronicle like everybody else.” 18FEBRUARY2016
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“If you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar, you have to pay the price.” — Marion Williams That day, Johnson immediately sent a text to Rhinehart questioning the investigation. “I see that the Chronicle is stating that Mark Johnson is under investigation,” Johnson texted to Rhinehart. “I hope that is an inaccurate statement.” The next day, Rhinehart responded by sending the following text to Johnson, “Janice and HR have been reviewing a bunch of the salary increases that she hadn’t seen paperwork on. I don’t know details as I wasn’t in their meetings. In the meeting on Monday we’ll see what her questions are.” As a result, Johnson met with Jackson and Rhinehart on Feb. 1 to discuss the pay raises. Johnson is claiming that Jackson violated his due process and created a “biased investigation” by including Rhinehart in the room and conducting the interview herself. “Ted was an active contributor during the creation of the agenda items and budget, as well as put all the items into the (agenda system), and presented the program to the commission,” Johnson wrote. Clearly, Johnson feels he was unfairly treated during this investigation. “My due process was violated, and the administrator presented her finding and recommendations based on a tainted, subjective investigation,” Johnson wrote to commissioners. As he stood before the commissioners late Tuesday evening, Johnson was clearly disturbed and dismayed by the accusations against him. “The fox can’t watch the hen house,” Johnson said. “The administrator shouldn’t investigate a process that she is involved in.” Johnson said the entire investigation was “subjective,” not “objective.” “I don’t know another director who steps up and says, ‘Let me solve a personnel action problem for the administrator. Let me bring $1.6 million to the table to solve a demolition program,’” Johnson told the commissioners. “And, at the end of the day, stands before you challenged on integrity.” But some commissioners weren’t buying Johnson’s story. “So the building demolition program was approved one day and the next day he went down to the human resources department and said everything was approved, including the pay increases,” Williams said. “That’s not 18FEBRUARY2016
true. He had no sign off from the administrator. It is just wrong. It is blatantly wrong.” Williams said he was so disgusted by the entire situation that he felt that Johnson should be terminated. “He should be fired,” Williams said. “We have terminated people for a lot less than that. We terminated Vanessa Flournoy, an attorney, for having her personal business on her computer. She didn’t do anything wrong. We fired the EEO director, Jacqueline Humphrey, for who knows why. I don’t know for what reason we fired her. And we fired our former public works director, Teresa Smith, who had been promoted and had received good reviews. But we fired her. So I’m thinking this needs to happen. Johnson needs to be fired.” Otherwise, Williams believes other employees will try to circumvent the process and unfairly receive raises or bonuses. “We need some checks and balances,” Williams said. “If you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar, you have to pay the price.” In her defense, Jackson said the raises were processed without her signature. “I had knowledge of the agenda item and certainly knew he was requesting a raise,” Jackson said of Johnson. “What I did not know was that the raise had been processed. Augusta Commissioner Wayne Guilfoyle said he was completely shocked by the entire process, insisting that Johnson has been the only one who has been totally transparent in this case, and yet his head is on the chopping block. “I am a little stunned at this point right now,” Guilfoyle told his colleagues, adding that all of the county’s department directors are closely watching the manner in which this investigation is being handled. “We have thrown Mark (Johnson) underneath the bus.” Guilfoyle said this investigation proved there’s a problem with the process of submitting employee salary increases, not a concern about Johnson. “If anybody takes 30 minutes out of their time and reads through this (report), you will see that Mark’s name is clear,” Guilfoyle said. “What you will also find is the fallacies within our government.” Mayor Pro Tem Grady Smith wholeheartedly agreed with Guilfoyle.
“We are going to try to barbecue a good employee or crucify him, whatever word you want to use,” Smith said. “Like Paul Harvey used to say, ‘Now you know the rest of the story.’” Smith was also disappointed that Rhinehart was not present at the meeting to discuss the matter. “With something this serious, where is Mr. Rhinehart? Why isn’t he here?” Smith asked. “He is directly involved. We could hear his comments.” After listening to his colleagues’ statements, Smith said he was truly concerned about the future of Augusta-Richmond County. “This is Augusta, Georgia, not Salem, Georgia,” Smith said. Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis seemed very discouraged by the entire tone of the discussion. “This is a sad day for us in Augusta,” Davis said, shaking his head. Augusta Commissioner Sean Frantom said he couldn’t agree more with the mayor. “I have to say I’m so disappointed when you hear this back and forth going on. I mean, why would anyone want to work for this government when they are dealing with what they have to deal with up here?” Frantom asked. “I’m sorry you are having to go through this Mr. Johnson. It is not fair. We have got to protect our department heads. They are the life of this organization.” Frantom said there is clearly no respect for the department heads and their employees. “Frankly, it is disheartening,” Frantom said. As a result, Frantom said all of the accusations against Johnson should be “thrown out,” but that motion failed with a vote of 4-6, with commissioners Mary Davis, Frantom, Guilfoyle and Smith voting in favor of the motion. All of a sudden the discussion began to turn racial. Earlier in the meeting, the Augusta Commission went into an unexpected closed session to discuss a matter that was not on the agenda. When the meeting resumed, commissioners voted 7-3 to rescind Augusta-Richmond County Fire Chief Chris James’ resignation letter after learning in the legal meeting that he had lost his recent job offer as assistant
manager of York County, S.C. As a result, the commission voted to rescind the six-months severance package and unused vacation pay that the fire chief was offered last week. “I ain’t got no problem of going to the real issue of why we ain’t doing what we are doing,” Williams said. “So, if you all want to put it all on the table, let’s put it all on the table. The fire chief we just got to rehiring because some folks wrote letters about him that got rid of him.” Williams accused individuals of writing negative reports about the fire chief that resulted in York County withdrawing its job offer. Williams said he was sick and tired of playing games with “old crazy folks.” “This is 2016. Folks can see and folks can look at your vote and tell how you are thinking,” Williams said. “This is 2016. This ain’t 1816.” In the end, the motion to terminate Johnson failed with a vote of 5-4-1 with commissioners Dennis Williams, Ben Hasan, Sammie Sias, Marion Williams and Bill Lockett voting for the motion. Commissioners Davis, Frantom, Guilfoyle and Smith voted against the motion. Augusta Commissioner Bill Fennoy abstained. Immediately after the vote, Commissioner Marion Williams asked that the item be placed back on the agenda in two weeks. At the close of the meeting, the mayor said the city government cannot continue in this negative manner because it is clearly impacting employee morale. “There has been a lot that has gone on today,” Davis said, explaining that not only did the fire chief appear to have a “new future” in York County taken away from him, but Johnson must return to work after all these accusations have been publicly discussed. “Mr. Johnson is going to go back to work tomorrow and this will hang over his head. Chief James will go back to work tomorrow and this will hang over his head. And for us, as a governing body, to think that it’s okay is wrong.” The Augusta Commission and local government must “do better,” Davis said. “At the end of the day, we have to work together,” he said. “We need to find a way to repair this.” AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
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ROAD TO THE RING By Amy Christian
Cade Dement carries on the family name in first fight this weekend Cade Dement comes from a long line of fighters, but that doesn’t mean the 19-year-old’s road to the ring was an easy one. The first roadblock? Cade just happens to be a girl.
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“I’ve always wanted to fight but my dad never let me pursue it because I was a girl,” Cade said during a break from training last week at Evans Fitness Center. “I wanted to fight so bad. He would let me train with him or hit the mitts every once in a while, but he wouldn’t let me get into it like I wanted to. To him, it’s not a girl thing.” “He,” of course, is her dad, Stevie Dement, who is coaching her in her first muay thai fight against 35-year-old Brande Adams this Saturday night at Conflict 35 at the Bell Auditorium. Stevie, who has more than 100 fights — boxing and kickboxing — under his belt, as well as a bronze medal in the 2011 kickboxing world championships, says his resistance to the idea wasn’t based just on the fact that Cade is a girl. “My first fight was when I was six years old,” he said. “My father was a world champion, my uncle was an Olympian and I was the first grandson in a family of three boxers, so I was just expected to fight. I grew up fighting and I didn’t really know why. I just didn’t want her getting hit. I know how brutal it can be and how painful it can be. I’ve been through the abuse and I didn’t want her to go through it.” 18FEBRUARY2016
Cade started “hardcore training” four months ago, and said she was a little surprised about how quickly her dad booked her first fight. “I didn’t think he would think I was ready,” she laughed. “But I guess once he started really training with me and really working with me, he saw the potential I had and thought I was ready.” Cade, of course, has considered herself ready for a long, long time. Her grandfather and great uncles were boxers, with many Golden Gloves championships among them, not to mention a trip to the 1972 Olympics. Both her uncles were amateur boxers and Stevie, though retired, still teaches. As the only girl in a family full of men who just happen to beat up other men for a living, Cade felt perfectly at home near the ring and in the gym. “My uncles have always said that I was supposed to be a boy,” she laughed. “I’m the closest thing to a boy that a girl can get.” As a little girl, Cade’s first experience seeing her dad fight was Stevie’s first pro fight. What happened? He knocked out his opponent in 30 seconds flat. From then on, Cade was hooked.
“I was probably consuming 6,000 calories a day. I was eating like an NFL player.” — Cade Dement
“I loved it. I wanted to go to all my dad’s fights. All of them,” she said. “I loved the adrenaline rush and watching my dad beat up guys. Of course, I’ve never seen my dad lose in person. I’m sure if I watched that I wouldn’t like it too much. Growing up, my dad never let me go to a fight he thought he was going to lose or one that he thought he was going to get killed in.” For all the years she watched from a ringside seat, Cade tried to no avail to convince her father to help her realize her dream of being an MMA and UFC fighter. It’s only been within the past year that she has been able to wear Stevie down. “My dad and I just had a sit down one day and he said, ‘So you really want to do this?’ and I said, ‘Yes, I been wanting to do this for a long time,’” she said. “So he said, ‘Okay, I’m going to get you a fight.’ So here we are.” That was a little over four months ago and, since that time, Cade has spent three AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
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“If my dad tells me to do something, I do it.” — Cade Dement weeks in Louisiana at a Karate Mafia training camp run by a husband and wife team, both of whom are world champions. There, she trained for 10 hours a day six days a week, stopping only to eat some of her approximately 6,000 calories a day. Training included jogging and sprints, weight training and instruction in muay thai, kickboxing, boxing and wrestling. Training in Louisiana, Cade said, was a great but tiring experience. “Here, I can’t get wrestling like I can there. I can’t get the opportunities here like I can there,” she explained. “I want to eventually get into the MMA, so of course they were more interested in my muay thai and my standup and stuff, but it was a good experience to be able to do all of the classes. I’d be up and going at 8 o’clock in the morning and then in bed by 8 at night for three weeks straight. I was ready to come home because I was so exhausted.” 20 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
Training is a little more relaxed here, especially since Cade is only a few days away from her fight. Last week she was still running, weight training, taking classes from Dement Bros. Fighting Systems and sparring, but this week she’s focused on losing seven pounds before Friday’s weigh in. That means no more sparring, just classes and running, lots of water and a focus on nutrition. “When I was in Louisiana, I was probably consuming 6,000 calories a day. I was eating like an NFL player because I was training so much,” she said. “But now that I’m here, I can’t eat like that. I only eat salads, I only eat nuts, I can’t eat any carbs.” A lot of the time, Cade said she simply turns her nutrition decisions over to her coach. “Like last night we went to the Pizza Joint he ordered for me,” she said, adding that Stevie chose for her a salad with
meat, no cheese and light dressing. “We went to Toki for lunch yesterday, and he ordered for me.” Just as with her nutrition, a lot of Cade’s life, at least for the past four months, has been controlled by her father. That may bother a lot of kids, but she said she’s just learned to look at it in a different way. “I try not to think of him as my dad, but more as my coach,” said Cade, a former softball player. “So, in softball, if my coach told me to walk backwards with my shoes
tied, I’d tie my shoes together and walk backwards. That’s just how it is. So if my dad tells me to do something, I do it. He’s just trying to make me a better fighter. Whenever I thought of him as my dad I was so aggravated from past things and thought, ‘I don’t want to listen to you.’” In fact, Cade explained that having her father coach her has healed what was once a rocky relationship between the two.
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“I’m the closest thing to a boy that a girl can get.” — Cade Dement
“My dad and I, in the past, have never been very close. We butt heads a lot because we’re exactly alike,” she said. “This has brought us together. This is the first time in a really long time that my dad and I have been this close and he sees how much I love fighting and how much potential I have and he’s helping me do it. It’s great. It’s actually really emotional because this is the first time my dad and I have really clicked.” And while Cade has no idea what fight day will be like on Saturday, she does know that it’ll be Stevie she’ll turn to when she gets nervous. “I can imagine that it’ll be a little overwhelming,” she admits. “I’ll probably have a little bit of anxiety and my dad will have to talk me down like he does every time I start thinking about it. He’ll tell me to just go out there and do my best and that I’ve done everything I can to prepare myself for this fight. He’ll tell me to do the best I can. That’s all I can do. That’s all anybody can do. I’m not even the main event but I feel like I am because everybody’s been making such a big deal about this fight, which is even more pressure for me. I’ve just got to look past that and remember what I’ve learned and do that.”
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Cade may be looking to Stevie for comfort, but Stevie, not to mention Cade’s mother Dee Dee, is also having a difficult time staying calm. “I’m telling you, when they announced the fight lineup, I thought I was going to have a heart attack,” he said. “And her mother is about to lose her mind.” Complicating matters for Stevie is the fact that he has two other fighters on the card that night. Josh Wesley and Charles “CJ” Howard will both face opponents in MMA fights. Some might think that’s a good thing; that having more than his daughter on the card would help take his mind off his own nerves. Stevie said that would be the case if his fighters weren’t in fights 3, 5 and 6. He had expected Cade to go first, since it’s her first fight, but she’s No. 6 on the card. Despite the nerves that accompany her first fight, Cade said she’s excited about finally being able to get in the ring. “You know, at night, if I really start thinking about it, I get butterflies, but really I’m just excited. I’m so excited. I know this is my first fight, but I think I do have a lot of potential to win,” she said. “If I lose, I’ll just go over the tape and go over the tape and go over the tape to figure
out what I did wrong and figure out what I need to do for next time. If I win? Yay!” Either way, it’s the culmination of Cade’s dream of fighting. Some may not understand why a pretty 18-year-old would want to get punched and kicked, but she has an answer ready. “I smile, of course, and say thank you, but I’ve always been known to be the tough one,” she said. “I never thought of fighting as a boy thing. I thought of it as a sport. And I want to get in there and fight.” ConfliCt 35
Bell Auditorium Saturday, February 20 Doors open at 6 p.m.; fights begin at 7 p.m. $30-$100 877-4AUGTIX georgialinatix.com
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Ending Hunger Together Southeast Meets West Calendar Music Listings
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WHAT’S UP
If you have any questions, or would like to submit an event to our calendar, please email Amy Christian at amy@themetrospirit.com. 22 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
ENDING HUNGER TOGETHER
By Amy Christian
OVER THE PAST 15 YEARS, Empty Bowl has gained a reputation of having one of the best silent auctions of any fundraising event in the Augusta area. This year, however, even those used to its table after table of restaurant gift certificates, jewelry, home décor and more will surely be impressed. “We have added three trips,” said Empty Bowl Chair Susan Steinberg. “One is a $1,000 shopping spree to Bloomingdale’s in Atlanta with a personal shopper and a three-night stay at a Hyatt hotel. The second is a five-day Cancun trip, and the third one is a Samuel Adams brewery tour in Boston.” The trips come courtesy of winspireme.com, a company that caters to nonprofits by providing them with exciting auction items that the organization only has to pay for if they receive a minimum bid on the items. “I figured if we only got the minimum bid on everything, it would still raise $1,500,” Steinberg explained. “It’s worth a shot.”
THIS WEEK
THURSDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
WEDNESDAY
See Athens’ Marie Davon and Andrew Heaton at Sky City when Powerkompany performs their “sexy, cinematic lullabies.” Gomeisa opens. Doors open at 8 p.m. and music begins at 10.
If you haven’t been to Aiken’s Rose Hill Estate, here’s a good excuse. The Main House will be hosting a night of dinner and live music featuring Spirit Fiddle, a duo who will play a wide variety of music, including Southern and Texas swing tunes, waltzes, bluegrass numbers and Parisian musette.
The Battle of Aiken is a two-day event that begins Saturday and continues today from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. It features battle reenactments, a church service, ladies fashion show, a duel and more. Something for everyone!
It’s not too late to sign up for the SRDA Dart League. Just head to The Highlander at 7 p.m. to join the 10-week season in singles, doubles and team formats. Matches are held Monday nights and new players can sign up as a team or individuals can join existing teams.
Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School is an alt.drawing movement that began in Brooklyn in 2005. It features unusual live models, lots of drinking, contests, performances, prizes and more. Be at Le Chat Noir at 7 p.m. for this sure to be raucous event.
For more information on these events, see our calendar of events on page 28.
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Organizers hope the expanded silent auction will capitalize on the momentum from last year’s Empty Bowl, which saw an increase in both participants and money raised for the Augusta Jewish Community Center and the Golden Harvest Food Bank. “We had about a hundred more people come than we did the year before and I think we raised about $5,000 more last year than in previous years,” Steinberg said. “Each organization received about $12,500.” Last year was Empty Bowl’s first in its new Legends Club location. It is being held there again this year, and Steinberg said that while the club was a perfect fit for the event, she and the committee will be busy doing a little fine-tuning before March 6 rolls around. “It was very successful. There was plenty of room in the dining room and we had the whole other smaller room for the bowls and the silent auction,” she said. “We did learn that we need to put the bowl room as you walk in and the silent auction toward the back. We also learned to have all the soups together, up toward where the kitchen is and then put the desserts further toward the back. There were some things we knew we had to tweak and we are tweaking them.” Soup is the reason many in the area attend Empty Bowl and, rest assured, it will be as good and as plentiful as it always has been. Old favorites like Villa Europa’s tomato dill will return, as will newer favorites like New Moon Cafe’s Moroccan chicken. They’ll even feature some new ones, Steinberg said. “We’ve got soups this year from restaurants we hadn’t gotten before. Miyabi is doing hibachi soup and New Ming Wah on Wrightsboro Road is doing egg drop,” she said. “Actually, we used to get egg drop from Shangri-La and Thai Jong and they both closed, so last year we were egg drop soupless.” 18FEBRUARY2016
Jackie M’s will still be among those providing desserts, including her delectable red velvet cheesecake, and the kids food area will still be extensive. Food isn’t the only area that will feature returning favorites. All participants will take home an empty pottery bowl, made by local art students and symbolizing the fact that not all are lucky enough to have food to put in their bowls, much less a choice of what to eat. Storyteller Mary Gene Cotton will also return with the Stone Soup event for kids. Assisting her will be Ladybug the Clown with balloons and face painting. Participants will also have the opportunity to buy an Empty Bowl T-shirt, this year featuring artwork from Butler High senior and valedictorian Rodesha Elam, as well as win a bike from Chain Reaction by purchasing raffle tickets ($1 each or six for $5). For the past 15 years, Empty Bowl has been a fun event where people can socialize over great food, the kids can have fun and everyone has a chance to take home a prize at bargain prices. Those, however, aren’t the only reasons to attend. “No. 1, they get a really good lunch. No. 2, we have all sorts of stuff for the silent auction for them,” Steinberg explained. “But the most important reason is that the two organizations have joined to end hunger together, so by purchasing a ticket and coming they’re supporting that effort of ending hunger.” 15TH ANNUAL EMPTY BOWL The Legends Club Sunday, March 6 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Adults: $20, advance; $25, door Children 2-10: $5, advance; $7.50, door emptybowlcsra.org
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SoutheaSt MeetS WeSt
By Molly Swift the CSRa is home to only a handful of Thai restaurants; in fact, at this moment, my brain’s only recalling three, but I may be way off. Regardless, the number is definitely small when you consider we have at least one Chinese takeout for every 40 people in this town. Sure that might say something about supply and demand, but here’s the thing — as a populous, we are familiar with only so many cultures on a mass scale. We’re down with some Italian, Chinese, Mexican and Japanese. We know what to do with chips and salsa, egg rolls and sushi, and many of us can use chop sticks just fine. But deviate from these and you’ll find many people out of their depth and afraid to ask for guidance. And usually, if we don’t know what we’re dealing with, we are less likely to try it out. So it helps when a small Thai restaurant, like Sawasdee (pronounced sa-wa-dee), brings their authenticity to the table, educates their customers and makes them feel comfortable. Not something I anticipated when my husband and I arrived early on a Saturday evening. Sawasdee took up residence in what used to be home to Matsu Sige on Washington Road, in the strip mall to the front and left of Carolina Pottery. The corner unit offers the benefit of ample parking, but as with all restaurants on any main road in the CSRA, unless you really love asphalt and gaudy signage, you just know there’s no gawping out the window at decent view. Thankfully, once you’re inside, the Augusta we all know just disappears. The space was designed and decorated to welcome the natural light and help customers relax — the walls are a sunny pale yellow and feature wooden inlays and traditional art pieces. The music is totally soothing. There is plenty of seating throughout the various little dining areas, and we were seated immediately. Menus were in hand just a few moments later. We ordered drinks and started trying to figure out what we were going to eat — for me, the stakes were pretty high. I’ve had plenty of Thai food before, but what it was I could not tell you, I just knew it was delicious and I’d be happy putting it in my belly again. I also knew the food was likely to be salty, sweet, sour and spicy all at once, but I had no clue what to do with that knowledge. Plain ass ignorant. The first thing I chose was my drink, a Thai coffee — and that I got right. A Thai coffee is a dark, but not bitter, sweetened iced coffee brewed with cardamom and topped with a thick cream. It tastes better than anything piped out of those logocupped “coffee” shops and at about 2/3 of the price — and it’s served in a large glass with a straw. It’s the cat’s pajamas. My husband’s mango smoothie was ridiculous. Fresh, full of the crushed fruit and ice, creamy and sweet without any cloying aftertaste; I ended up drinking half of it after finishing my Thai coffee, and gave serious consideration to getting another to go. It was that good and I have zero regrets. The food was where I fudged. Mr. Swift ordered the Pad Thai, because duh, that has to happen. And in the end, he won the lottery — it was perfect. He opted for pork, which complemented the spicy noodles, bean sprouts and nuts; he said it was the best he’s had, and though the portions were generous, he could easily eat more. Me, well, I’m an idiot. I went for a stir fry — the Pad Ka-Na — meat and broccoli fried in garlic and the “special sauce,” and chose beef as the meat. I didn’t ask about the special sauce, because all I was thinking was “veggies, beef and garlic!” Can’t go wrong with that! Nope. Thailand is an emerging economy and though their
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staple food is rice, they are heavy on using seafood and fish sauces. As it happens, that includes one of the main ingredients in the special sauce — oyster sauce. The plating is lovely at Sawasdee. Nothing extravagant, but pleasing to the eye. My Pad Ka-Na arrived with a separate rice bowl and platter, and a large plate of beef, carrots and broccoli. All the ingredients were cooked to perfection — the fresh vegetables were still crunchy, and the beef was excellent — but, the sauce made me wonder what I was eating. I kept looking for hidden seafood because I was convinced I could taste something fishy, until it dawned on me that the special sauce was the likely culprit. We were being served by a senior member of the staff — either a manager or an owner — and she was fantastic. When she discovered I was having difficulty finishing my food, I was able to explain that, though there was absolutely nothing wrong with the preparation, my palate simply wasn’t happy with the combo of beef and oyster. Immediately, she firmly and kindly told me she would get me something else and I wasn’t allowed to leave hungry. A few minutes later she set a plate of pastries in front of me, smiled and left me to it. 18FEBRUARY2016
Accompanied by a vinegar-based dipping sauce featuring peppers, cucumber and onion, the pastries were filled with a piping hot curried chicken and potato mixture. As soon as I took a bite I wished I had ordered one of their curry dishes. It was divine — seasoned so well that I am hesitant to guess all that went into it, and that is truly rare. The pastry was excellent — flakey but firm — and the dipping sauce popped on the tongue, adding a bright note to the pungent curry without overpowering the flavor. My Pad Ka-Na regret melted away and I was left feeling like Sawasdee gave a crap, and without hesitation I will return. They really want their customers to be happy — their struggle is to attend to a Western palate without betraying their authentic recipes or offending the locals. In my opinion, with food and service like theirs, and with a willing customer base, they can do it. SawaSdee authentic thai & noodle houSe 3836 Washington Road, #7 762-994-0121 sawsdeeauthenticthaicuisine.com
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registration required. Call 706-922-0171 or visit salvationarmyaugusta.org/kroc-center/.
EDUCATION Thu Feb 18, 2016
6pm Retirement Plans for Business Owners Columbia County Library Pre-registration required. Call 706-863-1946 or visit gchrl.org.
6:30pm Restoring Brightness: Recalling the Life and Work of African- American Community Builders of the Early 20th Century Headquarters Branch Library Historians and historic preservation advocates will lead a discussion on the individuals who played a pivotal role in building a thriving African-American community in Augusta during the early part of the 20th century. Free and open to the public. Call 706-826- 1511 or visit arcpls.org.
7pm Cleve Walker Performs Frederick Douglass
Wet Paint Party and Sale Sacred Heart Cultural Center Saturday, February 20 7 p.m. augustaarts.com
North Augusta’s Nancy Carson Library Call 803-279-5767 or visit abbe-lib.org.
Sat Feb 20, 2016
10am - 4pm Spanish Homebuyer Education Class
ARTS
salvationarmyaugusta.org.
Thu Feb 18, 2016
10am - 2pm Wood Stain Painting
11am Painting on Yard Art Attic Treasures, Harlem A class in which participants can bring their own art or buy on at class. $20, plus $10 for art. Pre-registration required. Call 706-2317199 or email harlemartscouncil@gmail.com.
2pm Zentangle for Adults Aiken Public Library Pre-registration required. Call 803-6422020 or visit abbe-lib.org.
Fri Feb 19, 2016 Noon Art at Lunch
Morris Museum of Art Featuring authors from Story River Books. $10, members; $15, non-members. Catered lunch included. Pre-registration required. Call 706-724-7501 or visit themorris.org.
Sat Feb 20, 2016
10am - 2pm Make It, Bake It, Take It: Part I Kroc Center A pottery class for those ages 15 and up. No previous experience necessary and all supplies are included. $50; pre-registration required. Call 706-922-0171 or visit
Harrison Hall, Church of Our Savior An Artists Guild of Columbia County workshop for teens and adults of all skill levels in which participants will use water-based wood stain to create an art piece. Led by Alicia Cully. $50; all supplies provided. Participants should bring their own lunches. Register by calling 706294-2188 or visiting artistguildcc.org.
7pm Wet Paint Party & Sale Sacred Heart Cultural Center A Greater Augusta Arts Council event that features a sale of art by local artists, live painting, an art raffle, models by Vintage Ooollee, a cash bar and heavy hors d’oeuvres. Admission is by membership and membership can be purchased when RSVPing. Visit augustaarts.com.
Mon Feb 22, 2016
1pm - 2:30pm Cement Yard Art Attic Treasures, Harlem A two-session class that continues Tuesday, February 23, from 1-2 p.m. $30; preregistration required. Call 706-231-7199 or email harlemartscouncil@gmail.com.
5:30pm Camera 1, 2 and 3
Columbia County Library A three-session class that continues Mondays through March 7. Pre-registration required. Call 706-863-1946 or visit gchrl.org.
Wed Feb 24, 2016
7pm Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School Le Chat Noir An burlesque live drawing event featuring contests, performances, prizes and more. $10, advance; $12 at the door. Call 706-7223322 or visit lcnaugusta.com.
Thu Feb 25, 2016
1pm - 3pm Cool Coloring for Grownups Aiken Public Library Call 803-642-2023 or visit abbe-lib.org.
Ongoing Ceramics
Weeks Center, Aiken Classes for those ages 14 and up are held on Mondays at 9 a.m. or 6 p.m., Tuesdays at 6 p.m. and Wednesdays at 9 a.m. Call 803-642-7631.
DANCE Sat Feb 20, 2016
Noon Beginner Hip Hop Dance Kroc Center A class for those ages 14 and up. $30; pre-
Headquarters Branch Library Housing professionals will provide information on budgeting, building credit, down payment assistance, mortgages, home inspections and more. The class is free, with lunch provided. To pre-register, call 706922-8353 or visit 1stecgapartners.org.
Mon Feb 22, 2016
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 Feb 24, 2016
11am Digital Library Workshop North Augusta’s Nancy Carson Library Call 803-279-5767 or visit abbe-lib.org.
Thu Feb 25, 2016
5:30pm Google School Columbia County Library Pre-registration required. Call 706-863-1946 or visit gchrl.org.
6pm Long-Term Care and Estate Planning Columbia County Library Pre-registration required. Call 706-863-
If you have any questions, or would like to submit an event to our calendar, please email Amy Christian at amy@themetrospirit.com. 28 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
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1946, ext. 4, or visit gchrl.org.
wilsonboyhoodhome.org.
Ongoing
Historic Trolley Tours of Augusta
Pre-Kindergarten Registration Online registration in the Richmond County School System will be held through February 26. To be considered for the lottery selection, proof of age and residence must be submitted to Tobacco Road Elementary School or the Richmond County Board of Education’s central office between February 29-March 11, Monday-Friday from 1-6 p.m. and on Saturday, March 5, from 9 a.m.-noon. The lottery selection will be held Saturday, March 12. Call 706-826-1000 or visit rcboe.org.
ESL Classes Columbia County Library Free weekly classes held Tuesdays at either 10:30 a.m. or 6 p.m. Call 706-863-1946 or visit gchrl.org.
Tutoring GRU’s Literacy Center One-on-one tutoring offered to all ages in all subjects and supervised by a certified teacher at all times. Available by appointment Monday-Thursday from 4-8 p.m. at the center at 1401 Magnolia Drive. Call 706-737-1625 or visit gru.edu/lcenter/.
GED Class The Kroc Center A class for those ages 18 and older that meets Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m.-noon. The class is free, but there is a charge for taking the GED exit exam. Preregistration required. Call 706-771-4131 or visit salvationarmyaugusta.org.
Guided Tours 1797 Ezekiel Harris House Offered by appointment only MondayFriday and Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Last tours of the day begin at 4 p.m. Adults, $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 3045 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 803-4414380 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 18FEBRUARY2016
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.
ELSEWHERE Sat Feb 20, 2016
1pm Gallery Tour: REMIX: Themes and Variations in African-American Art Columbia Museum of Art Free with admission. Call 803-799-2810 or visit columbiamuseum.org.
7:30pm - 11:30pm A Silver Screen Affair Columbia Museum of Art A Contemporaries event meant to recreate 1920s fashion and old Hollywood style in preparation for the Academy Awards. Event features a silent auction, live music, food and more. Single tickets; $55, members; $75, non-members. Couples tickets: $100, members; $135, non-members. Call 803-7992810 or visit columbiamuseum.org.
Sun Feb 21, 2016
2pm Gallery Tour: Highlights of the CMA Collection Columbia Museum of Art Free with admission. Call 803-799-2810 or visit columbiamuseum.org.
Mon Feb 22, 2016
4pm Group Fitness Class 480 MLK Jr. Road, Keysville Free to all ages in honor of American Heart Month. Call 706-922-0261 or email tlofton@ mapbt.com.
Wed Feb 24, 2016
8:30am - 10am Blood Pressure Screenings 480 MLK Jr. Road, Keysville Free to all ages in honor of American Heart Month. Call 706-922-0261 or email tlofton@ mapbt.com.
EXHIBITIONS Thu Feb 18, 2016
6pm - 8pm Exhibitions Opening Reception Aiken Center for the Arts Exhibits include Malaika Favorite, Sarah Hott, Dwight Rose, Saundra Smith and Lenny Wooden in the main galleries; Aiken Performing Arts Academy, Lloyd Kennedy Charter School, Arts Center Adult/Youth Students in the Brooks Gallery; and Bill LeMay in the Aiken Artist Guild Gallery. The reception is free and open to the public and the exhibits
show through March 12. Call 803-641-9094 or visit aikencenterforthearts.org.
visit sacredheartaugusta.org.
Exhibits
Thu Feb 25, 2016
6pm - 9pm Exhibit Opening and Book Premiere The Morris Museum of Art Celebrating the opening of “The Wild Treasury of Nature: A Portrait of Little St. Simons Island,” artist Phillips Juras discusses his exhibition and catalog. A reception and book signing will follow. Free, members; $5, nonmembers. Call 706-7247501 or visit themorris.org.
Ongoing
Augusta Museum of History Includes the following: “The Godfather of Soul, Mr. James Brown; “Celebrating a Grand Tradition, the Sport of Golf”; “Augusta’s Story”; “A Community That Heals”; “Into the Interior: A History of the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company”; “Local Legends”; “One Man, Two Ships: Lessons in History and Courage”; “A Quilt Journey”; and “Canteens to Combat Boots”. Call 706-7228454 or visit augustamuseum.org.
FLIX
The Winter Exhibition
Tue Feb 23, 2016
Arts and Heritage Center of North Augusta Featuring the work of Carrie Brooks and Hyunsuk Erickson, this exhibit shows through February 26. Call 803-441-4380 or visit artsandheritagecenter.com.
Aiken Center for the Art’s Brown Pavilion Free, but pre-registration required. Call 803641-9094 or visit aikencenterforthearts.org.
History of African-American Nursing Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History The exhibit shows through February 26. Call 706-724-3576 or visit lucycraftlaneymuseum.com.
Ajibola Exhibition Sacred Heart Cultural Center Also known as Daphne Taylor, this local artist will exhibit her original paintings through February 26. Call 706-826-4700 or
10am “Discovering Dave: Spirit Captured in Clay”
HEALTH Thu Feb 18, 2016
11am Adult Time Out: The Basics of Memory Loss, Dementia and Alzheimer’s Euchee Creek Branch Library Pre-registration required. Call 706-5560594 or visit gchrl.org.
6pm Breastfeeding Class Babies R Us AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
METROSPIRIT 29
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Euchee Creek Branch Library For all ages. Call 706-556-0594 or visit gchrl.org.
Wed Feb 24, 2016
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 Fri Feb 19, 2016 9:30am Kroc Tots
Kroc Center A weekly event for those ages 18 months-5 years and their parents that includes stories, projects and playtime. $1, members; $2, nonmembers. Call 706-922-1533 or visit salvationarmyaugusta.org.
10am - noon Arbor Day Learning Adventure Mistletoe State Park For children up to age 12, who will learn about different trees and help take care of them. $10; pre-registration required. Call 706-5410321 or visit gastateparks.org/mistletoe.
10am - noon Play 2 Learn North Augusta’s Nancy Carson Library A drop-in activity for young children. Call 803-279-5767 or visit abbe-lib.org.
11am STEM Class: Math Game Day Euchee Creek Branch Library For children in grades 1-4. Call 706-5560594 or visit gchrl.org.
6pm - 8pm Family Movie Night
Bernie Bus Stop Humanitree House Thursday, February 18 Noon-2 p.m. 706-364-2518 humanitreehouse.com Free, but pre-registration required. Call 706774-2825 or visit universityhealth.org.
6pm - 9pm CHIC Columbia County Exhibition Center An after-hours celebration for women that includes shopping from local vendors, food, beverages, fashion, free health screenings and more. Visit universityhealth.org.
Fri Feb 19, 2016
6:30pm - 9:30pm Weekend Childbirth Education Class University Hospital Class continues Saturday, February 20, from 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Pre-registration required. Call 30 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
Kroc Center Refreshments available for $1. Free and open to the community, although members can reserve space up to a week beforehand. Call 706-3645762 or visit salvationarmyaugusta.org.
7pm All About Frogs 706-774-2825 or visit universityhealth.org.
augustahealth.org.
Sat Feb 20, 2016
Thu Feb 25, 2016
Doctors Hospital A weekend childbirth education class that continues Sunday, February 21, from 1- 5 p.m. Pre-registration required. Call 706-6512229 or visit doctors-hospital.net.
Doctors Hospital Pre-registration required. Call 706-651-2229 or visit doctors-hospital.net.
9am - 4:30pm Short and Sweet
Wed Feb 24, 2016
9:45am - noon Car Seat Class Safe Kids Office Pre-registration required. $10; car or booster seat provided to families who meet financial guidelines. Call 706-721-7606 or visit
6:30pm - 9:30pm Breastfeeding Class
7pm - 8:30pm Infant CPR Class University Hospital Pre-registration required. Call 706-774-2825 or visit universityhealth.org.
HOBBIES Sat Feb 20, 2016
Noon Saturday Chess Club
Reed Creek Park An indoor/outdoor program for those ages 5 and up, along with their parents. Free, members; $2 per child, non-members. Preregistration required. Call 706-210-4027 or email kbyne@columbiacountyga.gov.
Sat Feb 20, 2016
11am Peter Rabbit Story Time Barnes & Noble Call 706-737-0012 or visit bn.com.
1pm - 4pm Hidden Gem: Family Geocache Day Mistletoe State Park $5, family of four. GPS unit rental, $2. $5, parking. Pre-registration required. Call 706541-0321 or visit gastateparks.org/mistletoe. 18FEBRUARY2016
“Utterly ingenious and completely inane in the manner of most 1920s musicals... part farce, part stylish spoof, part dance extravaganza and part edgy commentary.”
TICKETS
Civilians: $53 Seniors (65& over), Retirees, DA Civiians, Active-Duty E7 & above: $50 Active-Duty E6 & below: $40 Show only: $30
MENU
– The Chicago Sun Times
Grilled London Broil with Horseradish Sauce, Chicken Piccata, Crab Stuffed Filet of Sole, Glazed Carrots, Squash Casserole, Roasted Red Potatoes, Rice ash C & e Pilaf, Spring Mix Salad with Assorted Hous Dressings, Yeast Dinner Rolls with Butter, Coffee/Iced Tea, Deluxe PRODUCED IN COOPERATION WITH THE ARMY ENTERTAINMENT Dessert Table
, 19 8 1 , 17 :00 PM , 2 1 11, / Show 8 0 PM , 0 1 5, r 7:00 PM tly at 6:0 , 4 e h nigh Dinn n e p Marc Bar o DIVISION AND MUSIC THEATRE INTERNATIONAL, N.Y, NY.
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Mon Feb 22, 2016
5:30pm YA Game Night Euchee Creek Branch Library Call 706-556-0594 or visit gchrl.org.
Tue Feb 23, 2016
10:30am Toddler Tuesday Kroc Center Parents are invited to bring their toddlers for 30 minutes of playtime and a story, followed by an hour in the pool splash pad area. Parent must remain with their child throughout the program. Free, members; $5, nonmembers. Call 706-9221533 or visit salvationarmyaugusta.org.
Wed Feb 24, 2016
Euchee Creek Branch Library A class for those under 2 years and their parents that meets each Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. Call 706-556-0594 or visit gchrl.org.
Thu Feb 18, 2016
Euchee Creek Branch Library Stories, songs, dancing, crafts and more for all ages that meets Tuesdays at 4:15 p.m. and Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m. Call 706-556-0594 or visit gchrl.org.
Columbia County Library Featuring a discussion of “The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared” by Jonas Jonasson. Call 706-863-1946 or visit gchrl.org.
Child Enrichment Harlem Branch Library Stories, songs, dancing and crafts for all ages every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. Call 706-556-9795 or visit gchrl.org.
Story Times
Barnes & Noble Call 706-737-0012 or visit bn.com.
North Augusta’s Nancy Carson Library Toddler story time is each Wednesday at 10:30 a.m., while pre-k story time is at 11:15 a.m. Call 803-279-5767 or visit abbe-lib.org.
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 803-426-1284 or visit therecingcrew.com.
Ongoing
Creek Freaks Phinizy Center A Georgia Adopt-a-Stream team of middle-and highschool students that meets regularly to monitor the health of Butler Creek. Call 706-796-7707 or visit naturalscienceacademy.org.
Loud Crowd A supervised after-school program for those ages 4-12, is Monday Friday from 3-6 p.m. at the following community centers: Warren Road, Blythe, Garrett, Diamond Lakes and McBean. The program follows the Richmond County school calendar. $85, monthly; $25, weekly; $10, drop-in. Visit augustaga.gov.
Toddler Time Columbia County Library For children ages 2-3. Meets Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10:15 each week. Call 706-863-1946 or visit gchrl.org.
Preschool Time Columbia County Library For those ages 3-5. Meets Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at 11 a.m. Call 706-863-1946 or visit gchrl.org.
Baby and Me Columbia County Library Meets Tuesdays at either 10:15 a.m. or 11 a.m. Call 706-8631946 or visit gchrl.org.
Afternoon Adventures Columbia County Library Stories, songs, dancing, crafts and more for all ages of children. Meets Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. Call 706-863-1946 or visit gchrl.org.
Baby & Me 32 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
LITERARY
Child Enrichment
10am Wacky Wednesday Story Time
4:30pm - 6pm Alley Cats
by a parent. It meets Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:3011:30 a.m. Call 803-642-7631.
Story Times Aiken Public Library Baby story time is each Friday at 10:15 a.m., toddler story time is each Friday at 11 a.m. and preschool story time is each Friday at 11:45 a.m. Call 803-642-2023 or visit abbe-lib.org.
Moms Club of Augusta A nonprofit group that has weekly playgroups and other activities for stay-at-home moms. For more information, visit momsclubaugusta.org.
Moms Club of Grovetown
11:30am Brown Bag Book Discussion
Sat Feb 20, 2016
10am - 2pm Meet Local Authors Columbia County Library Call 706-863-1946 or visit gchrl.org.
Tue Feb 23, 2016
7pm - 8:30pm Tragic Affairs Abroad Book Talk Aiken Public Library A discussion of “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Call 803-6422023 or visit abbe-lib.org.
Wed Feb 24, 2016
6:30pm - 8pm Book Club Kroc Center Open to anyone ages 25 and older interested in a fun, dynamic discussion. Books are selected by members and cover a variety of topics. Free. Call 706-922-0171 or visit salvationarmyaugusta.org.
Thu Feb 25, 2016
10am - noon Morning Book Club
A group that accepts any mom who stays at home with her children regardless of parenting style, religion or ethnicity. The group meets for a variety of activities and dues are $20 a year. Visit momsclubofgrovetown.weebly.com.
Maxwell Branch Library Discussion will be on “The Pluto files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet” by Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Call 706-793-2020 or visit ecgrl.org.
Mothers of Advanced Maternal Age
10:30am On the Same Page Book Club
A group for women with children who are age 35 years or older. Call 706-394-1293 or email hoopnhollar2@yahoo.com.
Euchee Creek Branch Library Book to be announced. Call 706-556-0594 or visit gchrl.org.
Homeschool PE Time
MUSIC
The Kroc Center For kids ages 5-12 and meets Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 9:30 a.m. Members, free; nonmembers, $2 per visit. Activity follows the Richmond County school calendar. Call 706-364-5762 or visit salvationarmyaugusta.org/kroccenter/.
Youth Advisory Board Members Needed The city of Aiken needs board members in grades 7-12 to help develop youth programs. The board meets once a month at the Smith-Hazel Recreation Center. Call 803-6427634.
After-School Program Smith-Hazel Recreation Center, Aiken A program for those ages 5-13 that includes homework help, games, snacks and more. It meets Monday-Friday from 2-5 p.m. and follows the Aiken County Public School calendar. Call 803-648-3197.
Toddler Time Weeks Center A weekly program for those ages 5 and under, accompanied
Thu Feb 18, 2016
7:30pm The Wonderful Wizard of Song: The Music of Harold Arlen Etherredge Center, Aiken $40, general; $15, students at the box office with ID. Call 803-641-3305 or visit etherredge.usca.edu.
Fri Feb 19, 2016
7:30pm Neave Piano Trio Concert Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre Presented by the Harry Jacobs Chamber Music Society. $25, general admission; $5, students with ID; free, AU students, faculty and staff. Call 706-667-4100 or visit augusta.edu/maxwelltheatre.
Sat Feb 20, 2016
7:30pm Mozart’s “Jupiter” First Baptist Church of Augusta Part of Symphony Orchestra Augusta’s Symphony Series. $20.37-$43.52. Call 706-826-4705 or visit soaugusta.org.
18FEBRUARY2016
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Sun Feb 21, 2016
and those with disabilities. Call 706-9220171 or visit salvationarmyaugusta.org.
Morris Museum of Art Part of the Music at the Morris series. Free. Call 706-724-7501 or visit themorris.org.
Fri Feb 19, 2016
2pm The Dubber
Tue Feb 23, 2016
Noon Tuesday’s Music Live Saint Paul’s Church Features The Warp Trio. Lunch afterwards requires advance reservations. Call 706-7223463 or visit tuesdaysmusiclive.com.
11:30am Know the 10 Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease Columbia County Library An Alzheimer’s Association class. Preregistration required. Call 706-863-1946 or visit gchrl.org.
Ongoing
AARP Tax Aide Kroc Center Helping for seniors in filing out tax returns will be available Tuesdays and Saturdays, February 2-April 12, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., as well as Thursday, April 14, and Friday, April 15, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Call 706-364-5762 or visit salvationarmyaugusta.org/kroc-center/.
AARP Tax Help Columbia County Library Help provided on a first-come, first served
basis Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays between 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Call 706-863-1946 or visit gchrl.org.
AARP Tax Help Euchee Creek Branch Library Help offered on a first come, first served basis every Monday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Call 706-556-0594 or visit gchrl.org.
Senior Citizens Club Smith-Hazel Recreation Center
7pm Richmond County All Elementary School Choral Festival Sacred Heart Cultural Center Free and open to the public. Call 706-8264700 or visit sacredheartaugusta.org
7:30pm - 9pm Augusta University Choral Ensembles Concert Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre $5, general admission; free, AU students, faculty and staff. Call 706-667-4100 or visit augusta.edu.
Wed Feb 24, 2016
7:30pm A Patriotic Salute The Etherredge Center, Aiken A presentation of the Aiken Women’s Heart Board. $25. Call 803-641-3305 or visit etherredge.usca.edu.
Thu Feb 25, 2016
7:30pm A Patriotic Salute The Etherredge Center, Aiken A presentation of the Aiken Women’s Heart Board. $25. Call 803-641-3305 or visit etherredge.usca.edu.
7:30pm - 9pm Augusta University Orchestra and Wind Ensemble Concert Maxwell Performing Arts Theatre $5, general admission; free, AU students, faculty and staff. Call 706-667-4100 or visit augusta.edu.
7:30pm - 9:30pm Beethoven, Beethoven, Beethoven! First Baptist Church, Aiken Featuring violinist Vadim Gluzman and the Aiken Symphony Orchestra. Call 803-6447394 or visit aikensymphonyguild.org.
SENIORS Thu Feb 18, 2016
10:30am Seniors Golden Games Appleby Branch Library Call 706-736-6244 or visit ecgrl.org.
1pm Got 30 Minutes? Kroc Center Conducted by the Area Agency on Aging, this workshop provides an overview of services available to caregivers, the aging, 34 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
“The Me I Like” Judith Simon Drama Studio, Augusta Mini Theatre Saturday-Sunday, February 21-22 3 p.m. 706-722-0598 augustaminitheatre.com
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Games for Seniors H.O. Weeks Center Include Mahjong each Thursday from 1-4 p.m., Bridge each Friday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Bingo each Tuesday 9-10 a.m., Pinochle each Tuesday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; Canasta on Tuesdays from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and on Fridays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.; and board games on Thursdays from 5-9 p.m. Call 803642-7631 or visit cityofaikensc.gov.
Senior Basketball H.O. Weeks Center Leagues for those ages 50 and up. Practice is held Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 a.m. Call 803-642-7631 or visit cityofaikensc.gov.
SPECIAL EVENTS Thu Feb 18, 2016
10am - 6pm Wee-Peats Spring and Summer Consignment Sale 3119 Washington Road Visit weepeatsconsignment.net.
Noon - 2pm Bernie Bus Visit
Sat Feb 20, 2016
9am - 9pm The Battle of Aiken 1210 Powell Pond Road, Aiken In addition to battle reenactments, activities include a ladies tea, dance demonstrations, a formal dance and more. $12, adults; $6, ages 6-12; free, under 5. Visit battleofaiken.org.
9am - noon Wee-Peats Consignment Sale Dollar Dash
SCRAP
TIRE EVENT
RECYCLE SCRAP TIRES IN FEBRUARY!
7pm “Follow the Drinking Gourd”
Here is how it works:
Dupont Planetarium, Aiken Weather permitting, the observatory, housing the Bechtel Telescope, will be available for viewing after each show. $1-$5.50. Call 803641-3654 or visit rpsec.usca.edu.
9am - 4pm The Battle of Aiken 1210 Powell Pond Road, Aiken In addition to battle reenactments, activities include a church service, ladies fashion show, a duel and more. $12, adults; $6, ages 6-12; free, under 5. Visit battleofaiken.org.
3119 Washington Road Visit weepeatsconsignment.net.
SPCA Albrecht Center, Aiken A benefit for the center’s low-cost spay and neuter program. $8, advance; $10, door. Call 803-648-6863 or visit letlovelive.org.
6pm - 9pm Spayghetti Dinner
Wed Feb 24, 2016
6pm - 9pm Wednesday Night Tastings Rose Hill Estate, Aiken Weekly featured wines will be paired with house-made hors d’oeuvres. Call 803-648-
E
Individuals can RECYCLE UNWANTED SCRAP TIRES, FREE OF CHARGE during the quarterly scrap tire event
Must provide proof of Richmond County residency
Tires may be on or off the rim
Tires will not be accepted from those in the tire business
RECYCLING EVENTS WILL BE HELD ON A QUARTERLY BASIS AT THE LANDFILL
STIONS
?
Dupont Planetarium, Aiken Weather permitting, the observatory, housing the Bechtel Telescope, will be available for viewing after each show. $1-$5.50. Call 803641-3654 or visit rpsec.usca.edu.
Tue Feb 23, 2016
18FEBRUARY2016
QUARTERLY TIRE RECYCLING EVENT
Augusta Marriott An American Heart Association event that includes a cocktail reception, silent and live auctions, dinner, dancing and more. $200. Call 803-341-9735 or email csraheartball@heart.org.
10am - 6pm Wee-Peats Spring and Summer Consignment Sale
5pm - 8pm Wine Not It’s Friday
McDuffie Woods Community Center A Black History Month program featuring guest speakers and special performances. $2, ages 5 and up; $1, seniors; free, 4 and
6pm - 11pm Heart Ball 2016
Sun Feb 21, 2016
Heritage Academy Hosted by the Augusta Recreation, Parks & Facility with Heritage Academy, this event will feature speakers, tree plantings, gifts of tree seedlings and more. Call 706-842-2680.
6:30pm - 8pm Reach One, Teach One
Barnes & Noble An event that includes movie trivia, party games, prizes and entertaining tips. Call 706-737-0012 or visit bn.com.
5pm - 8pm Third Thursday Tasting
1:30pm Arbor Day Celebration
Diamond Lakes Branch Library An event that includes classic games like Bingo, Checkers, Chess and more. Pre-registration required. Call 706-772-2432 or visit arcpls.org.
2pm Awards Party
8pm “Explorers of Mauna Kea”
Fri Feb 19, 2016
11am Thursday Game Mania
3119 Washington Road Visit weepeatsconsignment.net.
Humanitree House Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders’ Bernie Bus will bring representatives of National Nurses United for a lunch meeting and open discussion. Call 706-364-2518 or visit humanitreehouse.com. Wine World A drop-in event that features a wine or beer tasting. $5; $3 rebate upon purchase of a featured bottle. Call 803-279-9522 or visit wineworldsc.com.
Thu Feb 25, 2016
FIRST QUARTER RECYCLING EVENT CA
1
H.O. Weeks Center Silversneakers Classic Classes offered Mondays and Wednesdays at 9 a.m. and Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 11:15 a.m., while Silversneakers Yoga is offered Mondays and Wednesdays at 11:15 a.m. at the Weeks Center in Aiken. $27, members; $52, nonmembers. Call 803-642-7631 or visit cityofaikensc.gov.
1181 or visit rosehillestate.com.
LL 3
1
Silversneakers
Whole Foods A $5 wine tasting in which participants get five 3 ounce samples of featured wines. Call 762-333-0259 or visit wholefoodsmarket.com.
QU
Meets Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m.-noon. Call 803-642-7634.
Recycle your scrap tires at the following locations.
SATURDAY, FEB 20th AUGUSTA - RICHMOND COUNTY LANDFILL 4330 Deans Bridge Road Blythe, Georgia 30805 from 9am – 2pm
2016 : SCRAP TIRE EVENTS
Saturday, May 21st Saturday, Aug. 20th Saturday, Nov. 19th
at the Augusta-Richmond County Landfill www.AugustaSolidWaste.com AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
METROSPIRIT 35
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CHIC Columbia County Exhibition Center Thursday, February 18 6-9 p.m. universityhealth.org.
under. Call 706-771-2656.
SPIRITUAL Sun Feb 21, 2016
5:30pm Evensong Service Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church Featuring the choir of Saint Paul’s in a service that is almost entirely sung and has no sermon. Childcare will be available and a reception will follow in Tyler Hall. Free and open to the public. Call 706-724-2485 or visit saintpauls.org.
SPORTS-OUTDOORS Sat Feb 20, 2016
9am - 1pm Canal Clean Up Day Enterprise Mill Volunteers will help clean up the canal (supplies provided) and then meet back at Enterprise Mill for a free cookout. Pre-registration required. Call 706-823-0440, ext. 8, or email support@augustacanal.com.
1pm Protection Outside the Home Firearm Safety Seminar Cabela’s Free. Call 762-444-6500 or visit cabelas.com/augusta.
7pm Conflict 35 36 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
Bell Auditorium A Conflict MMA event featuring a night of fights. $30-$100. Call 877-4AUGTIX or visit georgialinatix.com.
Mon Feb 22, 2016
7pm SRDA Dart League Sign Up The Highlander All skill levels are welcome to join the league’s 10-week season in singles, doubles and team formats. Matches are held Monday nights and new players can sign up as a team or individuals can join existing teams. For more information, call 706-414-7525.
Tue Feb 23, 2016
6:30pm Home Firearms Safety Cabela’s Free. Call 762-444-6500 or visit cabelas.com/augusta.
Ongoing
Fencing Classes Augusta Fencers Club Classes for children as young as six, as well as teens and adults, meet five nights a week. Call 706-722-8878.
Augusta Sports Leagues This organization offers adult sports leagues and social
events, including kickball, soccer, flag football, softball, basketball, indoor and sand volleyball, cornhole, and more for coed and men’s leagues. For more information, visit augustasportsleagues.com.
Guided Tours Phinizy Swamp Nature Park Call to schedule custom tours of the park for organizations, kids groups or private parties. Tours included hiking, bicycle or golf cart tours and more. Call 706-828-2109 or email info@phinizycenter.org.
Daily Canal Tours Augusta Canal Winter Season hours, through March, include Heritage Boat Tours at 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. The Civil War boat tour is daily at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $13.75 for adults and $11.75 for seniors, military and students. All tickets include admission to the Canal Discovery Center, which costs $6 for adults and $4 for seniors, military and students without a boat tour. Pre-registration encouraged. Call 706-823-0440, ext. 4, or visit augustacanal.com.
SUPPORT Thu Feb 18, 2016
6pm Bariatric Surgery Support Group 18FEBRUARY2016
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University Hospital Call 706-774-8931 or visit universityhealth.org.
or childhood sexual abuse. Call 706-724-5200 or visit universityhealth.org.
Tue Feb 23, 2016
Tue Feb 23, 2016
Alcoholics Anonymous
Aiken Community Playhouse The production shows in April and May. Call 803-648-1438 or visit aikencommunityplayhouse.com.
10:20am Moms Connection Augusta University Medical Center This free weekly support group for new mothers meets in the Terrace Dining Dogwood Room on the second floor. All new moms and their babies are welcome and an international board certified lactation consultant/educator/ perinatal nurse will answer questions and offer resources. Call 706-721-8283 or visit augustahealth.org.
6pm - 9pm CSRA Parkinson Support St. John Towers dining room A panel of local caregivers will share insights into the best practices and behaviors for interacting with Parkinson patients, as well as those that should be avoided. Free and open to the public. Call 706-364-1662.
Holds several meetings locally. For a current schedule, visit augustaaa.org/meetings.pdf.
Narcotics Anonymous Trinity Hospital of Augusta Meets Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 7 p.m. Visit na.org.
Beyond the Bars A support group for those with incarcerated loved ones. Call 706-855-8636.
Families Who Have Lost a Baby Support Group For more information, call 706-721-8299 or visit grhealth.org.
THEATER
Ongoing
Fri Feb 19, 2016
St. Alban’s Episcopal Church fellowship hall The group meets Mondays, with weigh-in beginning at 5:15 p.m. and the meeting beginning at 6:30 p.m. Call 706-7900391 or visit tops.org.
Aiken Community Playhouse An Aiken Community Playhouse Youth Wing production. $25; $20, seniors; $15, students and $10, children 12 and under. Call 803-648-1438 or visit aikencommunityplayhouse.com.
TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) GA, 110 Augusta
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 706-8680539 or visit tops.org.
La Leche League A breastfeeding support group. For more information on meeting dates, times and locations, visit them on Facebook under La Leche League of Augusta or at lllaugusta. wordpress.com.
Celebrate Recovery Journey Community Church This Christ-centered recovery program meets every Monday night at 7 p.m. The meetings last two hours and childcare is provided. Pre-registration suggested. Visit cr@ journeycommunity.net.
Write to Heal Creative Writing Program Children’s Hospital of Georgia family resource library 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.
Diabetes Youth Support Group Meets quarterly. Call for more information. Call 706-868-3241.
Overeaters Anonymous Meets at St. Andrews Presbyterian Church at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, at 7 p.m. Thursdays at Unity Church, and at Covenant Presbyterian Church at 1:30 p.m. on Saturdays. Call 706-863-9534 or email oa.augusta.recovery@gmail.com.
Adult Sexual Assault and Rape Support Group Provides group counseling at University Hospital for those who have experienced sexual assault, incest, rape 18FEBRUARY2016
7:30pm “Godspell”
7pm “Dearly Departed” Auditions
Thu Feb 25, 2016 6pm Open Auditions
Le Chat Noir Dirty South Burlesque and Cabaret is holding open auditions for emcee positions within the troupe. Prospective applicants should e-mail dirtysouthburlesque@gmail.com for audition application and information.
VOLUNTEER Ongoing
Senior Companions Needed Senior Citizens Council The council is seeking those ages 55 and older who can serve 20 hours a week with a special needs adult. Benefits include stipend, travel reimbursement and annual physical. For more information, call 706-868-0120.
Sat Feb 20, 2016 3pm “The Me I Like”
Judith Simon Drama Studio An Augusta Mini Theatre production to honor the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. $15, adults; $10, students ages 2-18; $8.50, youth and senior groups of 10 or more. Call 706-722-0598 or visit augustaminitheatre.com.
7:30pm “Godspell” Aiken Community Playhouse An Aiken Community Playhouse Youth Wing production. $25; $20, seniors; $15, students and $10, children 12 and under. Call 803-648-1438 or visit aikencommunityplayhouse. com.
Sun Feb 21, 2016 3pm “Godspell”
Aiken Community Playhouse An Aiken Community Playhouse Youth Wing production. $25; $20, seniors; $15, students and $10, children 12 and under. Call 803-648-1438 or visit aikencommunityplayhouse. com.
3pm “The Me I Like” Judith Simon Drama Studio An Augusta Mini Theatre production to honor the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. $15, adults; $10, students ages 2-18; $8.50, youth and senior groups of 10 or more. Call 706-722-0598 or visit augustaminitheatre.com.
Mon Feb 22, 2016
7pm “Dearly Departed” Auditions Aiken Community Playhouse The production shows in April and May. Call 803-648-1438 or visit aikencommunityplayhouse.com.
AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
METROSPIRIT 37
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It’s a boot stomp on a dusty bar floor. It’s the clang of a whiskey bottle at last call. It’s grit. It’s the sounds of the South. It’s Cranford Hollow, a blended mix of Southern rock, Appalachian fiddle music and American rock and roll. See this Hilton Head Island band live Friday, February 19, at Southbound Smokehouse. Call 706-733-5464 or visit southboundsmokehouse.com. Thursday, February 18 Live Music
Sky City - Powerkompany, Gomeisa Stillwater Taproom - Silvertown Wild Wing - Patterson & Nate The Willcox (Aiken) - Jazz
What’s Tonight?
Andrew’s Place - Karaoke with April Powell 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 - Karaoke That Place - Open Mic Spoken Word, Poetry, Prose and Singer/Songwriters
Friday, February 19 Live Music
The Backyard Tavern - John Berret’s LaRoxes Cotton Patch - A Step Up Country Club - Chris Rogers Coyotes - 8 Second Ride Humanitree House - Simply Pisces
38 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
The Partridge Inn - Will McCranie Rose Hill Estate (Aiken) - Jazz w/ Jimmy “Doc” Easton Shannon’s - Atomic Road Sky City - Sean Danielson (Smile Empty Soul), J Loren (Hurt) Somewhere in Augusta - Brandon Reeves Southbound Smokehouse - Cranford Hollow Stillwater Taproom - The Clydes Tin Lizzy’s - Lundymusic Whole Foods - @ the Turn w/ Live Music Wild Wing - Sabin Sharpe The Wing Place (Aiken) - J Edwards
Wild Wing - Deleveled The Willcox (Aiken) - Jon Vaughn
What’s Tonight?
Sunday, February 21 Live Music
Chevy’s - DJ Nicky B Vera Cruz Mexican Restaurant - Karaoke w/ Denny van Valkenburgh
Saturday, February 20 Live Music
Cotton Patch - Live Jazz Country Club - Jared Ashley Coyotes - Matt Rogers The Iron Heights - Lost Boy, Bodysnatcher, FKMT, Second Death, Alright Rose Hill Estate (Aiken) - Spirit Fiddle Shannon’s - Wild Bill and the G Men Sky City - Colonel Bruce Hampton, Buh + Poose Somewhere in Augusta - Old Man Crazy Stillwater Taproom - Derelict String Band, Blackwater Deep That Place - Cusions and Caffeine w/ Live Music (2-4 p.m.)
What’s Tonight?
The Backyard Tavern - Karaoke Chevy’s - DJ Nicky B Helga’s Pub & Grille - Bluegrass Brunch (11 a.m.3 p.m.); Trivia, nights Joe’s Underground - Ladies Night, Singles Night The Backyard Tavern - Karaoke Vera Cruz Mexican Restaurant - Karaoke w/ Denny van Valkenburgh
Mellow Mushroom (Aiken) - Brunch w/ Mike Frost and Lauren Meccia Wild Wing - Prettier Than Matt The Willcox (Aiken) - Jon Vaughn
What’s Tonight?
Shannon’s - Karaoke w/ David Doane
Monday, February 22 Live Music
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 w/ Mike Sleeper
Tuesday, February 23 Live Music
Joe’s Underground - Open Mic The Willcox (Aiken) - Hal Shreck
What’s Tonight?
Bar West - Trivia The Cotton Patch - Trivia Limelite Cafe - Bottom’s Up Karaoke Shannon’s - Karaoke w/ David Doane Somewhere in Augusta - Big Prize Trivia; Poker for Fun Twisted Burrito - Trivia w/ Mike Sleeper
Wednesday, February 24 Live Music The Highlander - Open Mic Night Shannon’s - Shameless Dave Wild Wing - Kolbeck
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 18FEBRUARY2016
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Sky City - Wednesday Night Conspiracy w/ DJ Knightmare Somewhere in Augusta - The Comedy Zone w/ Paul Lyons Stillwater Taproom - Pub Quiz Surrey Tavern - Trivia w/ Christian and Mickey Three Dollar Lounge - World Poker Tournament
Upcoming The Least Likelys
- Stillwater Taproom February 25 Patti LaBelle
- Bell Auditorium February 26 Caleb and the Gents
- Stillwater Taproom February 26 Diarrhea Planet, Gloom Cocoon
- Sky City February 26 DUBA
- The Backyard Tavern February 26 Big Hart, Juan De Fuca
- Sky City February 27 Cricket Ridge
- Stillwater Taproom February 27 Music for Memories w/ Easton Corbin and Kane Brown
The Major Rager w/ Umphrey’s McGee, the Revivalists, Earphunk and Tauk
- Augusta Common April 7 Widespread Panic
- James Brown Arena April 19 The Werks, CBDB
- Sky City April 19 The Oh Hellos, The Collection
- Sky City April 22 Rascal Flatts, Jana Kramer
- James Brown Arena April 23 Amy Grant, Nicole Nordeman, Ellie Holcomb
- USCA Convocation Center April 30 Merle Haggard, Jason Isbell
- Bell Auditorium May 17 Papa Joe’s Banjo B Que w/ Willie Nelson and Family, Old Crow Medicine Show, Steep Canyon Rangers, Blitzen Trapper, Mountain Faith, Sarah Jaroz, Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Susto, Ben Miller, Have Gun Will Travel, Guthrie Brown & the Family Tree, Little Roy & Lizzie Show, Great Peacock, Josh Roberts & the Hinges, Motel Radio, Packway Handle Band, Laney Jones & the Spirits, BooHoo Ramblers, Georgia-Lina Boys, the Mason Jars, Muddy Johnson, Delta Cane
- Evans Towne Center Park May 27-28 Alabama, The Charlie Daniels Band
Vince Gill, Lyle Lovett
- Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Atlanta February 20 David Cook
- Terminal West, Atlanta February 24 David Cross
- Symphony Hall, Atlanta February 28 CeeLo Green
- Terminal West, Atlanta March 3 Indigo Girls
- Symphony Hall, Atlanta March 4 Dropkick Murphys, Tiger Army, Darkbuster
- The Tabernacle, Atlanta March 5 Wolfmother
- Center Stage, Atlanta March 7 AC/DC
- Philips Arena, Atlanta March 8 Adam Lambert
- The Tabernacle, Atlanta March 8 Rihanna, Travis Scott
- Philips Arena, Atlanta March 9 X Ambassadors
- The Tabernacle, Atlanta March 11 Village People
- Anderson Theater, Marietta March 13 Coheed and Cambria
- James Brown Arena June 3
- The Tabernacle, Atlanta March 14
- Sky City March 3
Elsewhere
- Symphony Hall, Atlanta March 15
Lecrae
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
- Bell Auditorium March 4
- Philips Arena, Atlanta February 18
Boyz II Men, All-4-One
Bill Maher
- Bell Auditorium March 13
- Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Atlanta February 19
- The Country Club March 2 Copious Jones
Travis Tritt
- Imperial Theatre March 19
REAL PEOPLE REAL DESIRE REAL FUN.
Gordon Lightfoot Fool’s Paradise w/ Lettuce, Griz, Chris Robinson’s Soul Revue, Vulfpeck, The Nth Power, Goldfish
- St. Augustine Amphitheatre, St. Augustine, Fla., April 1-2
Try FREE: 706-434-0108 More Local Numbers: 1-800-926-6000
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Meet sexy new friends
FREE TRIAL
706-434-0112
V27|NO7
SIGHTINGS
Michael Johnson | mejphoto.photoreflect.com
Lisa and Mike Stierwalt with Mary Bowen at Cue and Brew.
Rob Zapata with Angie and Bill Hood and Donna Zapata at Wild Wing.
Lindsay Garrick, Christie Dicks and McKynsey McCauley at Wild Wing.
Ed and Cheryl Arrington with Mary Caddell and Hannah Hudson at Johnny Peers and His Muttville Comix at the Jabez Hardin Performing Arts Center.
Michelle Schulte with Dharma, Daelyns, Deidres and Dalilas at Johnny Peers and His Muttville Comix at the Jabez Hardin Performing Arts Center.
Ron and Becky Beul with Elizabeth Elliott and Owen Brigham at Johnny Peers and His Muttville Comix at the Jabez Hardin Performing Arts Center.
Cheryl Fischer, Flo McCorkle and Kimberly Walden at Somewhere in Augusta.
Jessica Gunslinger, Christopher Byrer, Jill Arrington and Jodi Hensley at Limelite Cafe.
Laura Vernon, Justin Mulherin and Kyle Finhegan at Somewhere in Augusta.
40 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
18FEBRUARY2016
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ADDING INSULT By Alan Arbesfeld / Edited by Will Shortz ACROSS 1 Ornamental projection on some 1950s cars 8 Like the Pantheon 13 Dugout figure 19 City with a Penn State campus 20 Luna’s Greek counterpart 21 Stick 22 Damage a St. Louis team’s reputation? 24 Southern constellation that holds the second-brightest star in the night sky 25 “Comin’ ____!” 26 Resort island in the Firth of Clyde 27 “God forbid!” 29 Ones giving the waiter a hard time? 34 Smartphone feature 37 Most NPR stations 38 Nitty-gritty 39 Sugar suffix 40 Were now? 41 “____ Ben Adhem” 43 According to 44 Sadists, e.g. 48 Harlequin exhibitions? 53 1998 Sarah McLachlan hit 54 Assess 55 Take some time to think about 56 Sushi order 58 Serengeti grazer 60 Orthodox Jewish honorific 61 “What a tragedy!” 62 Something that’s charged 63 Flee in separate directions? 69 Bottom of a column 72 Concert mementos 73 & 74 Coastal flier 78 St. Patrick’s Day quaff 80 Monroe or Taylor 84 “____ Flux” (Charlize Theron film) 85 Year that Spenser’s “The Faerie Queene” was published 86 Result of the Queen of Scat’s backup group messing up? 89 Childish 91 Subj. of David Foster Wallace’s “The Pale King” 92 Small talk 93 1945 battle site, for short
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94 Jardin ____ Plantes (Paris botanical 42 Olive ____ garden) 43 Schnozzola 95 Brashness, informally 45 Kind of nerve 97 Hollywood’s locale: Abbr. 46 Perturb 99 Gold medalist 47 Event that’s taking off? 101 Jewel-heist outcome? 49 Remain undecided 106 It’s not busy 50 Maidenhair and others 107 Bypasses 51 Feature usually near readers’ letters 108 Major in astronomy? 52 Quick “however” 112 New Jersey’s state tree 57 Together, musically 113 Question harshly after not allowing 59 DirecTV requirement to practice? 61 Rubberneck 118 Nevada tribe 64 “Delphine” author Madame de ____ 119 Past the cutoff age 65 News flash 120 Neighborhood guide 66 Third man 121 Pair for a pairs competition 67 Barclays Center team 122 Sandwich spec 68 Indian flatbread 123 Pet-guinea-pig food, typically 69 Nitwit 70 Language that gave us “khaki” DOWN 71 Hybrid art technique 1 “There!” 75 Receive an acceptance letter 2 Settled (on) 76 “My Fair Lady” composer 3 Teeny 77 Where King Saul consulted a witch 4 Track down 79 Exclude, as undesirable things 5 Pro 80 Person of account, informally? 6 Suffix with elephant 81 Bygone online reference 7 Djokovic rival 82 N.Y.U. or M.I.T. 8 Some orders with dessert 83 William ____, longtime editor of The 9 Charlie Chan portrayer Warner New Yorker 10 Boulogne-sur-____ (city on the 87 New York Met performance 1,000+ English Channel) times 11 Bottom of the ninth, say 88 Ending with idiom or axiom 12 “The Bicycle Thief” director Vittorio 90 Cut off 13 Burger topper 96 Experienced with 14 International traveler’s convenience 97 Like about half of all deliveries? 15 Like top ratings from Michelin 98 Scottish landowner 16 Require 100 Kind of network 17 “… then again, I might be wrong” 101 U.S.M.C. member? 18 Poet who originated the phrase “no 102 Vertically, to a sailor country for old men” 103 Cousins of levees 20 Longtime senator Thurmond 104 N’awlins sandwich 23 “You can’t make me do it!” 105 Something easy 28 Nursery locale 109 Frosty coating 30 Name on a Kazakh map 110 Crib part 31 Rum-soaked cakes 111 Locale for 10 Winter Olympics 32 “Er … um …” 114 Something that’s charged 33 Lowly worker 115 Campus Greek grp. 34 Tight group 116 Dr. featured in 2015’s “Straight Outta 35 Popular typeface Compton” 36 Legendary Washington hostess 117 Come together
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A E S O P
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U B I C R A D A I R E D R A D T E L I C E E Y S L A P P L P A R S T O S S T E R E T I N C T O U T E T S E E R R H E R E L A D R Y I N O L A N
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V27|NO7
THE EIGHT
BOX TOPS Americans like their superheroes like they like their presidential candidates: Loud, profane and obnoxious. RANK
TITLES
WEEKEND GROSS
TOTAL GROSS
WEEK #
LAST WEEK
1
DEADPOOL
$132,434,639
$132,434,639
1
-
2
KUNG FU PANDA 3
$19,755,738
$94,018,125
3
1
3
HOW TO BE SINGLE
$17,878,911
$17,878,911
1
-
4
ZOOLANDER 2
$13,841,146
$13,841,146
1
-
5
THE REVENANT
$6,525,668
$158,790,267
8
4
In Theaters February 19
DRAMA
“Race,” rated PG-13, starring Stephan James, Jason Sudeikis, Jeremy Irons, William Hurt. Being a black man on the Olympic team in 1936 America would have been difficult enough by itself. But when the Olympics are held in Nazi Germany with Adolph Hitler presiding over them and bragging about the supremacy of his Aryan race? That couldn’t have been easy for Jesse Owens, who nonetheless went on to win four track and field gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Berlin. We’re glad he had enough respect for the games and sense of selfpreservation not to flip off old Adolph. Not sure we would have had as much restraint. 44 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
DRAMA
“Risen,” rated PG-13, starring Joseph Fiennes, Tom Felton, Peter Firth, Cliff Curtis. The story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection are made into a murder mystery of sorts, with non-believer Clavius charged with figuring out what really happened to the Messiah so the Romans can quash rumors of a risen savior. Something tells us, Clavius may have a change of heart. If only his portrayer would have one about portraying Michael Jackson in an upcoming movie.
HORROR
“The Witch,” rated R, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Julian Richings. This has all the hallmarks of a great horror movie. It’s set in the 17th century, which mean, for viewers, much of the way the characters dress, talk and live will be a bit alien. It’s about a family of seven living basically alone in what was then the wilderness of New England, so when weird things begin to happen, there’s no one to blame but each other. The barren landscape and the peek-a-boo scene give us chills, so we’re looking forward to some serious scares with this one. 18FEBRUARY2016
V27|NO7
Fire the Liar, Just Not “Their” Liar
Three men are said to be running the show in Augusta municipal government today by sheer force of will, and with several other votes tucked in their pockets: Commissioners Marion Williams, Ben Hasan and Sammie Sias. Those three are reported to be “men on a mission.” Just what that mission happens to be remains a damn good question. Williams and Hasan told the world last week that Environmental Services Director Mark Johnson was apparently lying to them about the way he and others under his purview received hefty pay raises, and for those lies his job should be forfeit. He was accused of sneaking the raises in without the knowledge of City Administrator Janice Jackson or her deputy Ted Rhinehart. It is a charge Johnson adamantly denies. But a funny thing happened on the way to the guillotine party for the department head. Two days 46 METROSPIRIT AUGUSTA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE SINCE 1989
prior to the meeting for his scheduled political lynching, Mark Johnson distributed a package of materials to the commissioners that proved unequivocally that his version of the story of the raises was truthful, and that Jackson and Rhinehart’s version of events was a barrel of dog squeeze. In other words, the packet of emails and other documentation proved that Johnson didn’t lie, but it appears Jackson and Rhinehart sure did. So what happened when all this wonderful information was shared with the public? Exactly what Williams, Sias and Hasan wanted to happen: A vote was called to fire Mark Johnson for lying. Hats off to Commissioner Bill Fennoy, who may have just pulled his most daring stunt as a public official since he put a physical beat down on Woody Merry outside a coliseum authority meeting some years ago. Commissioner Fennoy stood firm and abstained on the
termination vote, ruining the day of Winkin’, Blinkin’ and Nod, and drawing out the issue for further public scrutiny and discussion. Throw the man a parade! Commissioners Dennis Williams and Bill Lockett inexplicably backed the nonsense and provided votes 4 and 5, but Fennoy’s abstention, and the no votes of Grady Smith, Sean Frantom, Mary Davis and Wayne Guilfoyle headed off what may have been the most illadvised personnel move since Abe Lincoln gave his bodyguard the night off. So what now? The materials gathered by Johnson will be widely inspected and disseminated to the public, and we will soon see what the world thinks of the short-sighted and indefensible witch hunt perpetrated against the man by five city commissioners. No matter what those five do in the effort to shift blame for those raises going through without proper public disclosure, they will never be able to get the stink off Jackson and Rhinehart that their apparent “documented deception” has brought them. The pair are damaged goods, plain and simple, and the morale of many of the city’s top employees is said to be lower than the score of any lie detector test Jackson or Rhinehart may be asked to take in the wake of the allegations. By the way, all was not lost in the way of common sense and fiscal responsibility at Tuesday’s meeting. When it was announced that Fire Chief Chris James had seen his job offer in York County, N.C., withdrawn, the commission voted to tear up his resignation letter and restore his status as local fire boss. In the wake of stinging allegations by the local firefighters union that James played games with a multi-million dollar fire truck bid and other misdeeds, it might seem a bit unwise to welcome him back. Au contraire. Now that he has been reinstated, his massive severance package has been taken off the table. The allegations made by the union can now be fully investigated and, if found to be true, James could be fired without any severance benefits and perhaps even indicted, if the evidence warrants. Neither of these cluster mucks are over by a longshot. And you thought Augusta politics was taking a turn for the sane? Silly you. The commissioners do hate liars in Augusta city government. Just not “their” liars. 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.
18FEBRUARY2016