At a time when the pain of life during pandemic brings a spike in suicide and substance abuse, Georgia this month slashed state funding for the mental-health programs that combat “the epidemic within the pandemic.”From the Georgia Mental Health Consumers Network, Roslyn Hayes and Chris Johnson sound off on the coming consequences of these budget cuts ahead of hosting on Thursday the Mental Health...
Director, Chattahoochee Valley Libraries Why the decision to become a ‘fines free’ public-library system?“Nationally, a lot of other library systems have done that. Not everybody has been paying as much attention to it as much as we could have in this profession—I’ve been doing this for 30-something years. Fines are not a deterrent for people to bring materials back. When you realize there’s no...
Community Leader / Businessman / Philanthropist Do you feel that the city’s official MLK Day celebration, The Dream Lives, was hijacked by white people?“Yes. I sure do. A friend of mine started that, Wayne Hailes [Publisher, The Courier / Eco Latino]. That’s one thing I can say about getting to know each other in this city. It’s not that my community doesn’t try to get things or do things. But...
Director of Communications, National Civil War Naval MuseumFounder of Fountain City Slam Poet / Writer / Actor In your role as Director of Communications for the National Civil War Naval Museum, what’s it like when you have to deliver a message like the Water Witch has to come down? “Well, it was particularly interesting with the Water Witch. We knew internally it was not a safe structure...
Executive Director of the Liberty Theatre & Culture Center / Writer / Publisher What does the Liberty Theatre mean to you?“The Liberty is like one of my children—it has become that. I have history here before I actually started working here. My dad [Robert Lamar Anderson] and Rep. [Calvin] Smyre were integral in the 1990s in the Liberty’s renovation and expansion. My dad also served as the...
Insurance Broker, Financial Consultant, Veteran, Community Leader Why is finding and buying an individual health insurance plan so confusing and frustrating? “One of the main reasons is that, after the Affordable Care Act was incorporated, so many companies had to decide if they wanted to actually participate in it. So you had companies going in, companies going out. That forced a lot of...
Columbus native and New Orleans resident Seth Howard III reflects back on the retrospective exhibition “Thirty two / Fifty two” he curated of works by his late father, beloved CSU art professor Jamie Howard, which was on display in October in the Illges Gallery at CSU’s Corn Center for the Visual Arts. Your father really traded a painting for his house at 530 Broadway? “The reason he was...
* President, Columbus Jaycees* Preacher, Warm Springs Road Church of Christ* Owner, Lee Snow Design & Marketing What happened to the annual Jaycees’ Haunted House? It was such a big Halloween tradition here for such a long time. “It was part of the old chapter, which disbanded in 2015. I was not here during that time, but from what I understand, it became so expensive because of the...
You moved down here from your native North Carolina for this position in August. What are your impressions of Columbus so far? “I love it. It reminds me a lot of my hometown of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Similar size. Similar demographics. It’s hot and humid and I prefer a tropical climate. My family is very happy to be here. My son [Jackson] is in first grade at Clubview. My wife [Stephanie]...
Veteran newsman Ben Wright proves prophetic in his “special treatment” prediction for a policeman in jail for murder. Vol. 7 of the “Criminal Justice in the Chattahoochee Valley” series. Ben Wright jokes that his first day at the Ledger-Enquirer was on April Fool’s Day. A 1972 graduate of Harris County High School who went to college and began his career in...