Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:01):
From the Athens Tech Studios, this is the Athens Clark
County cast, covering the latest stories that affect you in
and around Athens. Now let's give you our top stories.
S2 (00:16):
Hello and welcome to the Athens-Clarke County cast. That's our
brand new name, Athens-Clarke County cast. We're still one of
feed spots. Top 20 Georgia news podcast. My name is
Melissa Carter. If you're heading to Athfest this month, your
attendance actually helps a good cause. Mary Joyce, Executive Director
of Athfest Educates will join us to explain. Meanwhile, here
(00:36):
are your top stories brought to you by Drake Realty.
Athens-Clarke County Police have charged a woman in a deadly
shooting that occurred Wednesday in Athens. Officers responded to the
100 block of Nowhere Road, finding 31 year old Jeremy
Howard with a gunshot wound. Howard was rushed to a
local hospital but succumbed to his injuries. After an investigation,
police arrested 26 year old Heather McCall, charging her with
(00:59):
involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct. Authorities have not disclosed what
led to the shooting. The investigation continues and anyone with
information is urged to contact detectives at 762 407 060.
This from Fox five. An Athens woman faces federal charges
in Tennessee after multiple search warrants, including one at her home.
(01:21):
26 year old Gabriel Gabby Watson was indicted in May
for two counts of cyberstalking and one count of interstate
transmission of threats. Watson allegedly conducted an adoption scam targeting
a Tennessee couple and made threats during her communication. If convicted,
she could face up to five years in prison for
each count. This from Justice.gov. Athens-Clarke County Police arrested Anthony
(01:44):
Phillips after he attempted a large purchase using a fraudulent
account number at a business on Lexington Road. Phillips is
linked to a multi-state fraud ring responsible for stealing millions
of dollars of merchandise. Officers recovered $1,800 in stolen goods
and fentanyl during the arrest. Phillips faces charges of theft
by receiving stolen property, providing false information to law enforcement,
(02:06):
and possession of a schedule two controlled substance. He also
has an outstanding warrant related to the fraud ring. This
from the red and black AF. Coming up here in
a couple weeks. But did you know that your fun
and festivities actually go to help students in Athens-Clarke County?
Mary Joyce, who's the executive Director of Athfest educates is
going to join us next to tell you all about it.
S1 (02:27):
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S3 (02:38):
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(02:59):
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(03:20):
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it's what the deal provides for your future.
S1 (03:33):
Achieve more with Athens Tech at Athens Technical College. Their
programs can connect you with in-demand and high paying careers.
S4 (03:42):
I graduated from Athens Tech in May and started my
job two weeks later. I had the job before I left,
thanks to my professor and just focusing on growing a career.
S1 (03:52):
As far as Athens Tech, I think I've been a
member of the advisory panel for ten years now, and
it's been it's been an awesome experience.
S5 (04:03):
I've currently going to Athens Tech. I started out as
an accounting major. I've finished all my accounting classes and
then switched over to the culinary and baking program.
S6 (04:15):
My name is Alex Lang. I'm an electromechanical engineering student
and this is my second year at Athens Tech, and
I graduate in December. The long term goal is to
work for the railroad, whether that be Norfolk Southern or CSX.
S1 (04:29):
Achieve more with Athens Tech, find out more at Athens Techedu.
S2 (04:37):
Mary Joyce is with me. The executive director of Athfest educates. Now, Mary,
first of all, thank you for joining us on the podcast.
S7 (04:44):
Thank you for having me.
S2 (04:45):
Athfest. I mean, that's a popular term in the city,
but let's talk about Athfest educates because I think people
are limited in their understanding of all the things you
guys do.
S7 (04:56):
Definitely. So Athfest educates grew out of Athfest. So the
first Athfest in 1997, this will be the 26th year. No.
S2 (05:05):
Mary, it's not been 26 years. No, it's been 26 years.
I'm not that old. I'm teasing. Go ahead.
S7 (05:11):
Yeah, I graduated high school in 1997. So every year
I'm like, okay. So once Athfest got off its feet
a little bit there, ended up being a little bit
of money afterwards. Some years, the team that put together
the festival created a board of directors, became a 500
(05:32):
1C3 non-profit so they could do something with the organization.
And in 2014, the board and director decided to start
giving out grants to fund music and arts education for
K through 12 Clark County students. And since then, we
have given out over $620,000 in grants to fund high quality,
(05:55):
accessible arts education for the kids in our community. The
thought is that Athfest benefits this community in so many ways.
We should give back to the kids that are going
to be the next generation of that. This grant program,
that is our main mission. So Athfest and the Half
marathon are both fundraisers in order to be able to
(06:18):
give out these grants every year.
S2 (06:19):
Mary, I'm the daughter of an art teacher, so I,
from my first memory, have been surrounded by art and
art education. So I personally understand the importance of that.
But I also have a son who is an in
an environment where they're really focused on Stem. That's a
big catch phrase nowadays, and people want science and technology advancement. So,
(06:42):
you know, why is what you do so important, especially
now in this culture?
S7 (06:47):
We believe that arts education is vital to the well-being
of every child, and every child deserves access to the arts.
There's tons of research out there about mental health of
children and academic achievement of children that have access to
the arts. They just do way better. We know this,
but I think sometimes those individual stories and insights are
(07:11):
really helpful. So I know for me, I didn't understand
fractions until I learned to read music for playing the drums.
And then all of a sudden, fractions started to make sense.
I didn't understand geometry really, until in an art class
we were doing perspective drawing of cityscapes. It's just so vital.
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A lot of the response or kind of feedback we
get from the grants is that the kids end up
learning so much more than music or art.
S2 (07:40):
For, you know, a child's emotional well-being. It seems that
art is the key to make that happen.
S7 (07:46):
I believe that it was for me as a kid,
and just hearing from the educators that have received grants,
the things that they're able to do, the leadership skills
and teamwork skills, those kind of things that are difficult
to teach. A great example, we're able to provide a
grant this year to Cedar Shoals to purchase microphones and
(08:08):
field recorders for their music technology class, so they are
able to record live music, go out and do interviews
that they then edit down into podcasts, and they had
to work as a team with that and going out
independently to conduct interviews, record all of this information and
then edit it as a team. Those kind of interaction
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skills are hard to teach sometimes during school projects, but
something like this really gives that extra incentive and that
freedom of expression that is so important.
S2 (08:38):
How do you choose the schools or the programs in
which you offer the grants to?
S7 (08:43):
Great question. Our grant applications are open. They're open right
now at Athfest educates org. We accept applications from Clark
County School District teachers. They don't have to be art
and music teachers. We had a great application and funded
a program of bringing in drums to teach meter in
(09:03):
language arts class, like poetry, and to help with memorizing
your multiplication tables, that kind of thing. We also fund
nonprofits that are serving K through 12 Clark County School
District students. This year, canopy did an amazing project with
special education classes from Clark County School District, where those
(09:24):
students came over and got to learn some trapeze, some
movement arts. And then we also fund for educators to
do continuing education or development. So get trained on new techniques.
These applications come in. We have a grants committee. We
evaluate all the applications that come in and decide who
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we are able to fund that year.
S2 (09:46):
If you're not somebody who's in education, how can you support?
When are the next events that are coming up?
S7 (09:53):
Athfest is one of our biggest events of the year
and it is coming up June 21st to 23rd, purchasing
a club crawl pass, coming to the event, buying merch.
Everything that you do at the festival helps support the non-profit.
And there's also the Gospel Brunch. This is a newer
addition and that's on Sunday the 23rd at 1055 Barber.
(10:15):
So the local YMCA choir, Matt and Emily Joyner from
Cornerstone Church, lots of gospel performers. It's free to enter,
but you do have to pay to eat. All these
passes and things are available at afc.com. This year, we've
offered our Athfest 2024 performers the opportunity to fundraise for
the mission, and we were thrilled that so many performers
(10:39):
really feel passionate about what we do and where this
money goes. And so they are crowdfunding. The performer that
raises the most funds will get a guaranteed evening main
stage slot at Athfest 2025, which is a neat opportunity
for some of the up and coming bands. Other big
fundraiser of the year is the ATH Half Marathon. It
is coming up Saturday, November 2nd and Sunday, November 3rd.
(11:03):
That's through downtown Athens, 13 miles. There's bands every few
miles and so registration is open for that as well.
Athfest educates. Org and from there you can access the Athfest.
Com website or the app Half.com website.
S2 (11:20):
Mary Joyce, who's the Executive Director of Athfest, educates. Thank
you so much for being a part of the podcast
and best of luck here in a couple weeks.
S7 (11:27):
Thank you.
S1 (11:28):
Learn how to succeed and win big in life, plus much,
much more. Listen to the Red Hot Read podcast wherever
you get your podcasts. It's.
S2 (11:40):
From Wsb's Facebook page. The Falcons have been disciplined for
tampering with three free agents. The team will forfeit its
fifth round pick in the 2025 NFL draft and pay
a fine of $250,000. Evan Brown said, just sell the team.
Best thing author could do. They can't cheat, right? Can't
play right? But somehow fans still going to say rise up.
(12:01):
Jeremy Huckabee said all that in 180 million for a
37 year old quarterback with a playoff win, Josh Beal
said Big Nothing Burger forfeiting a fifth round pick seems fair.
The NFL gets to say they punished the Falcons, but
not in a significant way. The University of Georgia's Master
of Social Work program has been ranked the best in
(12:21):
the state by counseling psychology. Org, the website, which guides
those pursuing careers in social work, praised UGA for its
exceptional educational opportunities available both on campus and online. Georgia
State University and Clark Atlanta University were ranked second and
third respectively, this from the Athens Banner-herald. In sports. Congratulations
(12:42):
to Georgia. Baseball's Charlie Condon, who won the 2024 Dick
Howser Trophy as top player in all of college baseball.
And finally, a body found on June 2nd in a
wooded area off North Avenue in Athens has been identified
as 62 year old Timothy Brown, a homeless man. Athens-Clarke
County Coroner Sonny Wilson confirmed the identification through fingerprints, but
(13:03):
stated that the cause of death remains unresolved, with further
tests pending. Brown's body was discovered near the former site
of a homeless camp by another homeless man, who later
contacted police. This individual, though, was subsequently arrested on a
probation violation warrant. Relatives of Brown in Dacula and Putnam
County have been notified of his death. This from the
(13:23):
Athens Banner-herald.
S1 (13:25):
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S8 (13:34):
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