Need to Know
Voter deadlines
The Voter registration deadline for the May 21 General Primary/Nonpartisan Election is Monday, April 22. Use the Georgia Secretary of State’s My Voter Page online at www.mvp.sos.ga.gov to:
- Verify voting status.
- Change name/address.
- Register to vote.
If you have questions, contact the Elections office at 706-613-3150.
Dementia support for African American caregivers
The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers (RCI) is expanding its dementia programming for family caregivers in Georgia. In recognition that African American caregivers are overrepresented in the caregiving community but are less likely to have access to formal caregiving supports for their own physical, mental, and financial wellbeing, RCI is partnering with Alter and SageNavigator to develop a revised and culturally tailored Dealing with Dementia (DWD) program.
DWD workshops improve dementia knowledge, increase the confidence of family caregivers and provide practical skills and tips, supported by a comprehensive guide.
Plans are to train parishioners to deliver the updated DWD program in African American faith communities throughout Georgia, beginning with a pilot this summer. To learn more about RCI, visit www.rosalynncarter.org.
Asset Protection: How to Get Good Advice
Asset protection sits at an interesting junction of professional expertise. Here’s how to build your team so you get the best advice.
- Start with an estate planning lawyer. You will get better guidance from a specialist.
- Most asset protection strategies have tax consequences, so choose an estate planning lawyer who has a background in tax law.
- Find someone whose skills are current. If the firm is putting on seminars for the public or providing continuing education for other attorneys, that’s a good sign.
- Connect your estate planning lawyer with your CPA and your financial adviser.
With the right team, you can create an asset protection plan that does what you want when you’re alive—and after you’re gone. Kimbrough Law
Good to Know
Learn to improve your driving.
By Kathy Mason
Times have changed since I last took an AARP Driver Safety course. Then, I took the course in person. This time I took it online. In either format, it will take you at least six hours to finish. You can take the online course in chapters to fit it into your schedule. No tests! I thought I would finish the course early, but the presentation was so engaging it took me more time.
I am older so I particularly focused on the information most relevant to aging drivers and how aging changes us and our driving. The elderly have more crashes per mile driven, and those over age 85 have the highest fatality rate per mile driven. We need this course!
Class information suggested helpful exercises for muscle groups to maintain flexibility, range of motion, strength and coordination. There are tips on vision, hearing and reaction times. This encourages us to maintain situational awareness.
As we age our reaction times slow. Distractions become a problem. We misjudge left turns. Merging into circles and roadway traffic is harder and we increasingly fail to yield the right-of-way. Driving on high-speed roadways requires closer attention. Dusk or dawn driving can distract us. We are more likely to not see red lights and check for cross-traffic. The course covers how to cope with all this.
Automobile safety devices have also changed a lot and are less familiar to us. The course now spends a great deal of time on those changes, which are most helpful to older drivers. I was also asked to challenge my ongoing discussion with myself on this question: ‘Am I fit to drive?’ Visuals and short movies helped to support all the key points. I can now review it online at any time.
In the end, I did get both a certificate and a discount from my insurer. Contact AARP for the online course. Contact Athens Community Council on Aging for an in-class course. I found the online course to be a fun and educational day spent on the computer. This course has given me both the knowledge and the confidence to be a safe driver and to stay safer as I age. In another three years, I will certainly take the AARP course again!
Get paid to be a patient!
The AU/UGA Medical Partnership is seeking men and women of all ages, physical types and various backgrounds to train to become Standardized Patients (SPs). Through mandatory training, SPs are taught to portray patients in a variety of clinical settings to help medical students learn excellent bedside manner, data gathering and other clinical skills. SPs are paid $16 an hour for training and live encounters. Screening will include interviews, role playing and reference checks.
If interested, download the SP pre-application form at medicalpartnership@uga.edu or email MedPartnershipSP@uga.edu or call 706-713-2642.
African American VFW post celebrates 80 years.
When VFW Post 3910 was organized in Athens in 1944, the U.S. military was segregated as it had been since the first World War. It would remain segregated until President Harry Truman’s executive order ending it in 1948. Veteran organizations such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, reflected those segregated practices. Black veterans weren’t welcome in white VFWs in the 1940s and early 1950s.
Dedicated to the first African American soldier from Athens killed in World War I, Wakefield C. Brunt, Post 3910 will be celebrating its 80th anniversary with a banquet on April 27 at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church from 4 – 6 p.m.
“We want to raise money to rehab our building,” explains Alvin Sheats, 76, Post Commander. Currently the building at 136 Glenhaven has 95 members who have served in every foreign war since Korea in the 1950s, including Vietnam, Granada, Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
The banquet will honor the Post’s two oldest members who served in Korea: Dr. Walter Allen Sr., 93, and Mac Stallings, 91, and Gloria Moses, 76, who has served for 52 years with the Women’s Auxiliary, seven years as president.
While VFW Post 2872 on Sunset Drive has long since integrated, many of the older members of Post 3910 want to keep the post going and several new members have joined in recent years.
Athens native and retired Army Captain Cole Knapper, who served four tours in Afghanistan notes that the post is the second Black VFW post in Georgia and that the members are proud of that historical aspect.
For information on banquet details or program adverting, contact Rev. Knapper at 404-775-4525 (kk2865@tc.columbia.edu) or Alvin Sheats at 706-254-5815.
Invasive Joro spiders spreading to cities
UGA researchers at the Odum School of Ecology have found that Joro spiders tolerate the urban landscape better than native Georgia spiders. They build their huge webs between power lines, on top of stoplights, and even above pumps at local gas stations.
The study found the Joro is surprisingly tolerate of the vibrations and noise common to urban landscapes.
In their native Japan, the East Asian arachnid colonizes most of the country. The U.S. and Japan have a similar climate and are in approximately the same latitude.
Previous UGA research showed the spiders are cold tolerant and have a high metabolism and heart rate. That plus tolerance for urban vibrations and sound adds another factor to their exponential growth, now in the millions.
Fun to Do
Linnentown: The Musical in April
In a groundbreaking tribute to Athens’s history, the captivating local production Linnentown – The Musical is set to take center stage in April. Written by Hattie Thomas Whitehead, author of “Giving Voice to Linnentown,” the musical depicts a historically significant African American community in Athens erased due to urban renewal in the 1960s. Two performances are scheduled, Friday night, April 12 at 7:30, and Sunday afternoon, April 14 at 3. Tickets range from $15 – $35, plus applicable fees. Group discounts available. Classiccenter.com. Proceeds to benefit the Center for Racial Justic and Black Futures.
Will you be my date?
RetroProm 2024 is right around the corner. Come May 3, you can dance the night away with the Guardians of the Jukebox at Athens Cotton Press and benefit the Athens Community Council on Aging at the same time. Do good – have fun! Get your tickets now at accaging.org.
Congress Week 2024
The UGA Special Collections Library will host a discussion about empowering citizens and government in the areas of democracy, political engagement, and institutional resiliency. Hear Steve Driehaus, former U.S. Representative, and Steve Wrigley, former USG Chancellor Emeritus, on Thursday, April 11, 6 – 7:30 p.m. at the Richard Russell Library.
Local Petanque club hosts regionals
The Classic City Petanque Club is once again hosting the Federation Petanque USA Southeast Region Mixed Triples tournament the weekend of May 18 – 20 at Lay Park, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Twenty triples’ teams will compete for medals and cash prizes. Last year’s games included players from six clubs in four states. Players included national champions and members of the USA Petanque teams who competed internationally. Spectators welcome; bring a chair.
Global Georgia Conversation
Valerie Babb, former UGA professor and now Andrew Mellon Professor of Humanities at Emory University, will participate in a conversation at the Delta Innovation Hub about her new book, “The Book of James: The Power, Politics and Passion of LeBron.” The event is at 7 p.m., April 18.
Athens Jewish Film Festival
Save the date – May 19 – 20. Two days of film; two films each day at Cince. For details, go to athensjff.org.
Athens Symphony Pops Concert
Well-known movie music is on the program for the annual free Pops Concert by the all-volunteer Athens Symphony at the Classic Center on April 26 and April 27 at 8 p.m. Picnicking begins each evening at 6:30.
Actress in costume of Marie Curie and Erma Bombeck and Historic Athens logo or Morton theatre photo
Marie Curie and Erma Bombeck
The Athens Chautauqua Society will present actress and storyteller Susan Marie Fronczak as she brings to life Marie Curie and “A Journey into Radiance” on April 28 at 3 p.m. at the Athens Regional Library and Erma Bombeck: “Laughing through Life’s Challenges” on April 29 at 6 p.m. at the Oconee Library. Both performances are free. For more information about these events, please visit athenschq.org.
Best preservation projects
Historic Athens will present the 55th Annual Preservation Awards Saturday, May 18 at the Morton Theatre from 2 – 8 p.m. For the first time, the event will have two parts. It begins with a Historic Expedition across Downtown Athens followed by a special reception and the awards. The Original Splitz Band will provide live music. Nominations are still being accepted. Stay tuned for ticket sales which begin in April.
31st Tour of Gardens http://www.athenschq.org/
Historic sites, the integration of art and landscapes, picturesque water features, and unique plants will highlight the 31st Tour of Gardens, presented by The Piedmont Gardeners.
The tour, featuring six Oconee County gardens, will be Saturday, April 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine. Three gardens are in downtown Watkinsville, highlighting the community’s unique landscape history, and three large gardens are set in newer subdivisions located in the county.
The Watkinsville gardens include the home of Watkinsville Mayor Brian Brodrick and his wife Susan. The yard includes several garden rooms, a small terrace garden, a quaint cottage called “Fanny’s House,” and an arboretum established by the mayor.
A short distance away are the gardens of local artist and potter Alice Woodruff that include an original chimney, a raised bed full of pollinator-friendly flowers, and a small pond.
Beside the historic Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation Building on School Street lies a charming and peaceful garden, home to the work of local artists, and tucked away behind OCAF, a beautifully groomed garden containing colorful shrubs created in memory of local potter Yukiko Marable.
Further north in Oconee is the expansive garden of Bob Tucker and Bill Gabelhausen on Hillcrest Drive, which boasts generous paths leading to a wide range of both carefully chosen – and carefully labeled – plants divided into distinct rooms, each with its own character. The garden also includes large-scale glass and metal arts installations.
Set on the shores of a picturesque lake, George and Mary Swift’s garden in Jennings Mill includes both sunny and shady gardens, and a special treat will be to see the garden of Michael and Bonnie Dirr on Heather Lane, which will introduce guests to an array of rare trees and shrubs.
Proceeds fund the Piedmont Gardeners Scholarships for UGA Horticulture and Landscape Architecture students as well as Athens Technical College Horticulture students. Advance tickets to the tour will be $20 from the vendors, $10 students with ID, or $25 online and at the gardens on tour day. Children may attend at no cost. Find vendor locations at piedmontgardeners.org.
