Pachuta Insurance Blog

Athens Police Department Announce New Deputy Chiefs

7/16/2019

The Athens-Clarke County Police Department recently announced that Jeff Clark, Mike Hunsinger and Jerry Saultersto have been promoted to the rank of Deputy Chief as of July 15.

As reported recently in The Red & Black, the office of the Deputy Chief is responsible for all ACCPD bureaus including the Central Communications Bureau, Community Support Services Bureau, Investigations Bureau, Standards and Training Bureau and Patrol Bureau. The deputy chief reports to the chief of police who then reports to the county manager.

Upon Spruill’s arrival in February, Clark and Hunsinger served as interim deputy chiefs, while Saulters was the captain of the Criminal Investigations Bureau.

“The Deputy Chief position requires an individual to possess an extensive law enforcement background, excellent communication skills, and a deep knowledge of the agency,” Spruill said in a news release. “Their combined 73 years of experience will be a great asset.”

Clark began his law enforcement career at ACCPD in 1997. During his time with ACCPD, he served as a sergeant and lieutenant in both the Uniform Patrol and Criminal Investigations Bureaus.
In 1987, Hunsinger started his career of law enforcement at the University of Georgia Police Department and in 1988, he joined the ACCPD. During his time at ACCPD, Hunsinger served in “all bureaus within the agency.” Hunsinger has a Master’s degree in public administration from Clayton State University.

Saulters began his law enforcement career with ACCPD in 1998 as a uniform patrol officer. In 2005, he was assigned to the robbery/homicide unit of the CIB, and in 2007, Saulters was promoted to Sergeant in the CIB. Saulters has served as Lieutenant, Shift Commander, Captain and bureau commander for CIB.

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UGA School of Social Work to Help Assess Support for Addiction and Mental Illness

7/9/2019

For the next 16 months, researchers at the University of Georgia School of Social Work will be developing an assessment tool that the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities can use to tackle issues surrounding those in addiction or mental health recovery.

As reported in The Red & Black, the project helps state policymakers identify issues that cause people in recovery to end up back in hospitals, jails or homelessness.

“This will be the first statewide assessment to look at all the different ways peer support is provided throughout the state,” said Orion Morbway, associate professor of social work and principal investigator for the project, in a news release. “We’re collecting data on the current system and will provide advice on how to better evaluate the peer support program.”

The DBHDD supports mental health and substance abuse prevention and intervention programs. Currently, over a thousand certified peer specialists help about 160,000 individuals.

Peer specialists are also in recovery but are “trained and certified by the state to assist others who face similar problems.”

Research shows that people in recovery do better in society when they get help from someone who was in a similar situation.

Mowbray and his team will examine the impact of peer support, individual improvement and the efficiency of the programs.

In 1999, Georgia was the first state to put into effect statewide peer support. Since then, 42 other states have followed its lead in implementing the service.

“In terms of the delivery of peer support service, Georgia tends to be at the forefront nationally,” Mowbray said. “There are not a lot of other states that I can think of that have peer support service integrated into multiple forms of public mental health services. That’s very forward thinking.”

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Washington Farms to no Longer Offer Strawberry-Picking

7/2/2019

Washington Farms, located about 20 minutes from the University of Georgia, has been a fun place to go for students, local families and north Georgia residents for more than 25 years. Despite strawberry picking having been a well-known springtime activity, this year’s strawberry season was the last one as the farm’s owners are working to decrease their workload and focus on growing other crops.

As reported in The Red & Black, Donna and John Washington opened Washington Farms in 1993, when they originally only grew strawberries. With his background in forestry and finance and her background in teaching, strawberry farming was not a predictable career choice.

“We started farming with no land, no tractor, we didn’t even own a shovel. We had three kids and we were going to start a business, so it was kind of crazy,” Donna Washington said.

Following thorough research and buying land in Oconee County, John Washington started growing strawberries. Little by little, with the work of the family — including the Washingtons’ five children and other employees — the farm grew to two locations and more crops and attractions.

The business, which attracted student employees from UGA, envisioned growing strawberries for people to come pick, but for those who cannot pick themselves, one job of employees was to pre-pick strawberries. Mary Gilbert, a former employee for 10 years and a 2010 UGA graduate, began working at the farm while she was a freshman and remembers the amount of strawberries there was during peak season.

“Inside the little shed where we sell out of, we would have all those pre-picks, all over the floor, on shelves, I mean strawberries were everywhere,” Gilbert said.

With Donna’s education background, she began teaching children about the process of growing strawberries during their elementary school field trips. Using pictures and a bee puppet to describe pollination, Washington taught the students and then John Washington took them on picks for some hands-on experience.

Washington said a late frost in their third year growing strawberries took out 60% of the crop, which is what made the farm deide to grow other crops.

“John figured the more we could diversify and offer more things, the less all your eggs are in one basket,” Washington said.

Starting with pumpkins and then blueberries and blackberries, the farm offered new products for customers to pick. After introducing pumpkins, a corn maze and other fall fun activities soon followed to attract older kids and UGA students, according to Washington.

Anna Kate Cartwright, a fourth year advertising major from Douglasville, has worked for the farm for three years and through her work there, Cartwright has built relationships with regular customers.
“It’s really cool to see these people become more than customers and become friends,” Cartwright said.

Though strawberry picking is a fun weekend activity, the process of growing the strawberries requires a lot of effort. According to Washington, strawberry season is six weeks, usually beginning in mid-April and concluding at the end of May.

Due to their short season and reliance upon good weather, strawberries are hard to grow and maintain.
“Strawberries are very labor intensive, they’re very high maintenance, they’re very high risk,” Washington said.

Washington Farms is no longer growing strawberries but it will continue with its other crops and farm activities. The blackberries, which the farm has been growing for 10 years, continues to grow from the first cane they planted, unlike strawberries that have to be replanted every year. Also, blackberries bloom in May and are not at risk for frost, unlike strawberries that can be harshly affected by late frost.

“We’re hoping that we can continue to do the agritainment part...and we intend to keep the blueberries and the blackberries going,” Washington said. “We still have our foot in farming, just not the labor-intensive strawberries anymore.”

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Wayfair expected to Create Over 500 Jobs in Athens-Clarke County With Multi-Million Dollar Investment

6/25/2019

Wayfair, an online company that sells home goods, is planning to bring in more than 500 jobs and invest over $8 million with a customer support facility in Athens.

As reported in The Red & Black, the facility is to occupy 45,050 square feet in General Time, a development off of Newton Bridge Road.

Just last week the ACC commission approved an agreement to pay Wayfair up to $50,000 throughout a three year period at the rate of $100 for each new full-time job created by the company.

Founded in 2002 in Boston, Massachusetts, Wayfair operates throughout North America and Europe. Currently, the online retail company has more than 13,300 employees and has a selection of more than 14 million home furnishing, décor, home improvement, and houseware items.

“We are excited that Wayfair has selected Athens as their new home,” said Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz in a news release sent out by Gov. Brian Kemp. “The high quality of life in Athens is greatly enhanced by strong employment opportunities, such as those represented by this announcement. This project will become part of a significant area of vitality and redevelopment that will continue in the months and years to come.”

In Georgia, Wayfair operates warehouse and distribution center facilities in McDonough and Savannah. Companies under the Wayfair umbrella include Joss & Main, AllModern, Birch Lane and Perigold.

“Wayfair’s decision to locate their new customer support facility in Athens-Clarke County is a testament to the economic development assets available in Athens-Clarke County and this region,” Kemp said in the release. “Our world-class logistics network has become a magnet for e-commerce companies looking to grow and reach new markets, and we are thrilled that Wayfair chose Georgia.”

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Athens Showcased on HGTV’S “House Hunters”

6/18/2019

A popular television show recently helped an Athens couple find their dream home.
HGTV’s House Hunters shows several homes to prospective buyers who then choose their favorite.

As reported in the Athens Banner-Herald, House Hunters filmed an episode in the Classic City to air this Wednesday at 10 p.m.

The buyers are guitarist and singer/songwriter Thomas Johnson of The Futurebirds, a rock band formed in Athens in 2008 and Cara Beckom, Johnson’s girlfriend.

The band, who just released a new single called “My Broken Arm,” toured all across the country, but Johnson and his girlfriend decided to return to Athens where their musical career roots started.

Heather Tenney, a realtor for Greater Athens Properties, remembered the band from when she went to college years ago.

“I’ve known (The Futurebirds) for 10 years, so when Thomas and Cara reached out about relocating back to Athens from Atlanta, I was thrilled to help my dear friends move back to my favorite city,” Tenney said.

When filming the House Hunters episode titled “A New Groove,” they wanted to make the focus on everything that is Athens.

Tenney played a major role in choosing where they filmed the show with locations including the Georgia Theatre and Memorial Park.

“We really are just trying to bring everything Athens into one episode and we thought it would be a great opportunity for everybody,” Tenney said.

While filming the show took five days, the filming crew and Tenney took breaks to enjoy the food in Athens.

“The L.A. film crew was here and we took them to eat at George’s Lowcountry Table after filming one day, and it was their favorite spot to eat. We went back a few times after wrapping up filming. They couldn’t get enough of it,” Tenney said.

Tenney talked about the benefits of having a popular HGTV Network show in Athens.

“It’ll bring attention to just the culture in the community, the restaurants. That’s why I made sure we went to the Georgia Theatre and we went to Seabear,” Tenney said. “It’s just a 30-minute episode about Athens.”

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Clarke County School District to Continue Summer Lunch Program Under “Seamless Summer”

6/11/2019

It is throughout the academic year that several public school students depend on school lunch for proper nutrition. Statistically, in the state of Georgia one in five children deal with hunger. Once the school year ends, students who struggle with hunger risk losing a meal, which the Clarke County School District is well aware of.

As reported in The Red & Black, that is the reason that after the Athens Housing Authority ended its sponsorship of the Summer Student Service Program earlier this year, CCSD decided to take that on.

Although the AHA sponsored the program for 28 years, they said the major demand of its resources was why they decided to step down.

Now known as the Seamless Summer Option, CCSD will keep on offering about 44,000 meals a day to local students, in various ways.

Summer school, which started throughout the district on June 3, will provide free breakfast and lunch to students.

Many schools around the district will be open for meal service during these dates. Children up to 18 years old can receive free meals, and adult meals will be $3.75.

Summer mobile sites, run by the AHA previously, will still be available and CCSD will continue its partnership with Action Ministries for delivery services. These will run from June 3 to July 19 from 11 a.m to 1 p.m and will feature 19 different delivery sites.

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Athens Preservation Awards Honors Linda Davis

6/4/2019

Last night The Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation honored companies and individuals at the 50th Annual Athens Preservation Awards for their dedication to the preservation of Athens historical sites, including Athens native Linda Davis.

As reported in The Red & Black, ACHF Executive Director Tommy Valentine also introduced a new initiative, the 2019 Athens Places in Peril, which will “encourage and guide efforts to save endangered historic spaces in Athens.” The places chosen for the initiative were nominated by Athens citizens and approved by the ACHF board.

Some of the most recognized winning sites for restoration included Maepole, Russell Hall and the Chi Psi fraternity house on S. Milledge Ave.

As for Linda Davis, she received the Phinizy Spalding Award for outstanding contributions to the historic preservation field in the Athens community, mostly for her restoration of the Andrew Jones House and the Friends of Brooklyn Cemetery.

A 1969 graduate of Athens High School, Davis worked as a part-time operator for Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company before relocating to New Jersey.

After returning to Athens from New Jersey 25 years later, Davis started working to restore the Andrew Jones House, which her father built, and the Friends of Brooklyn Cemetery, which was under threat to be turned into a park.

“Everything that had meaning to [me] was gone,” said Davis about being inspired to restore historic landmarks after being away from home for more than 20 years. “You start to see yourself kind of erased from history.”

Davis works with local middle schoolers and volunteers from the Sigma Nu fraternity to restore the cemetery. She uses the opportunity to connect with young black students in Athens with the goal of instilling hope in them for their futures.

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Hawaiian tries to Locate Photos of Fallen Vietnam War Soldiers from Athens

5/28/2019

A Hawaii resident is seeking help in Athens as part of her mission to honor fallen soldiers of the Vietnam War.

As reported in the Athens Banner-Herald, Janna Hoehn volunteers for the Wall of Faces, a project collecting photographs of all soldiers whose names are inscribed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Of the 48,318 soldiers killed, Hoehn said they are missing the photographs of an estimated 1,078 soldiers, including three from Athens and one from Greensboro.

“I’ve been on this project for eight years. I’ve pulled in over 7,000 photos now and every single one is precious,” she said recently in a telephone interview. “We have done incredibly well, but there is no stopping until we get the last photo.”

There are 1,585 soldiers from Georgia that are recorded on The Wall.

“The number changes about daily, but as of (May 10) we need 92 more photos from Georgia,” Hoehn said.

The soldiers from Athens she is needing photos for are U.S. Army Private Fred L. Thomas, who died Aug. 15, 1966; U.S. Army Private Leroy Mitchell, who died April 18, 1970; and U.S. Army Sgt. Charles B. Carey, who died Oct. 13, 1969.

Up until last week, she was looking for a photo of U.S. Marine Cpl. Jeff Whitehead, who died March 16, 1969, during gunfire in a battle at Quang Nam Province. The Athens Banner-Herald with the help of retired Athens-Clarke policeman Frank Platt was able to get Hoehn his photo.

Hoehn’s mission to find these photos started after Jan Scruggs, the founder and president of the Vietnam Wall, asked if she would help find the photos of 42 soldiers from Maui County in Hawaii, where she has been a resident for 28 years.

After that, she began searching for the photos for soldiers from her native state of California.

“It wasn’t until I started contacting newspapers that I really started getting activity on this project. The newspapers work. Usually family or friends will see the article and they will email me. ... I’m crossing my fingers hoping that might happen in your town,” she said.

Articles have appeared in over 500 newspapers across the country, she said.

“It’s an incredible feeling to know you are part of something of this magnitude; to make sure these young men are never forgotten,” she said. ”... “I was a florist for 44 years. I have done many events, thousands of weddings and I loved my work, but it doesn’t hold a candle about how I feel about this project.”

Volunteers do most of the research and work needed to find the photos.

“It really helps when I’ve got what I call my boots on the ground – people that volunteer to help find those last few photos,” Hoehn said, explaining these volunteers often visit libraries to research obituaries in old newspapers. “Family is what I’m hoping to find. They might have his basic training photo or senior photo.”

To submit a photo or information to Hoehn, contact her at neverforgotten2014@gmail.com.
For more information on the Wall of Faces, go to www.vvmf.org/thewall.

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Professor Named Inventor of the Year by UGA

5/21/2019

A professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, Holly Sellers is UGA’s 2019 Inventor of the Year and the first woman to receive the distinction since 2001.

As reported in the Athens Banner-Herald, a researcher at the Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center, Sellers’ research has led to 12 invention disclosures and five U.S. patents.

Her technologies were made available to industry partners by way of over 20 license agreements, leading to four commercial poultry vaccines and numerous autogenous vaccines that support and secure Georgia’s $22.9 billion poultry industry.

“The poultry industry has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I knew early on that I wanted to pursue a career in science that supported this great industry,” Sellers said. “The opportunities at UGA have allowed me to do research on issues that are important to the industry. The diagnostic support provided by PDRC provides the industry with science-based information so it can make informed decisions about the health of its flocks. In the end, we support the industry’s goals of securing a safe, sustainable and quality source of food to feed the world.”

Sellers does clinical and molecular virology research with a focus on viruses that cause respiratory, enteric and musculoskeletal diseases in poultry, dealing with the identification, characterization and control of those viruses. She also directs virology services at the PDRC and mentors graduate and professional students. Sellers got both her master’s and Ph.D. in medical microbiology from the College of Veterinary Medicine and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Stephen F. Austin University.

“Dr. Seller’s accomplishments have truly been remarkable. As head of virology diagnostics at the Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center, she works closely with the poultry industry to improve the health and well-being of poultry across the state and the country,” said Mark Jackwood, the J.R. Glisson Professor of Avian Medicine and head of the department of population health and PDRC. “Her tireless efforts have led to rapid diagnostic tests and innovative vaccines saving the industry millions of dollars year after year. We are very proud of her outstanding achievements.”

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This Weekend Thousands of UGA Grads received Degrees at UGA

5/14/2019

Last Friday the University of Georgia marked the end of another academic year for thousands of new graduates.

As reported in The Athens Banner-Herald, UGA hosted several convocations, receptions and other events all day. At Sanford Stadium, over 5,000 UGA graduates gathered as they listened to the featured speaker, ABC News correspondent Deborah Roberts. There were 5,697 eligible undergraduates to be exact.

On Friday morning, graduate students had their own separate commencement when UGA President Jere Morehead shook hundreds of hands as new Ph.D. and master’s graduates walked across the Stegeman Coliseum stage one by one as their names were called. There were 1,265 new Ph.D. and master’s degree recipients who were eligible to march.

During the Terry College of Business convocation, 10,000 friends and family came to see most of the nearly 2,000 new business school graduates who filed onto the coliseum floor to hear featured speaker John Jackson, a successful banker and one of the first African American men to play football at UGA.

Jackson, whose daughter Jenna was among the graduates, encouraged graduates to go and conquer the world by working hard, believing in themselves, taking risks, embracing failure and leading disciplined lives, he said.

“There is a price to success. It’s never on sale,” said Jackson, who was encouraged to get into banking by the late Dean William Tate, one of Jackson’s professors. “It’s just a matter of deciding how much you want to pay.”

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