All Over the Place

Several interesting things have crossed the desk today and yesterday I thought I would take a moment to share:

--Unemployment: Lotta publicity and talk going on about high rates of unemployment. Check out this interactive chart that the New York Times has put together. The secret to having a job -- a college education. Not a huge surprise, but this really throws it into relief, as does research by one of my company's clients, the Atlanta Regional Council for Higher Education. Of course, the chart doesn't account for "underemployment," which is a common problem in Athens, where your barista might have more degrees (but less ambition) than you.

--City Biz: Had a great city council meeting last night. One of the highlights was approving a new single family home on a vacant lot on South Main Street. An historic home on that lot was demolished several years ago without council approval, and the lot, while pretty, had sat vacant since. It was exciting to see a new family make a big investment on one of downtown Watkinsville's most historic corridors. We also approved several new business licenses for small businesses, approved one alcohol license, and tabled another. A work day is also planned by the Daughters of the American Revolution at the Watkinsville Cemetery. The DAR is also planning to begin the application process to get the cemetery on the National Register of Historic Places.

--Bulldawg Illustrated has produced a great video about Oconee County resident Brook Whitmire, the voice of the Bulldogs in Sanford Stadium.

--Oconee County has a proud tradition in distance running. One of the bedrocks of that tradition, Coach Gwen Peck, will attend her last cross country team banquet tonight at OCHS. Coach Peck has coached two state championship teams and done a wonderful job at Oconee through the years, nurturing runners great, good and average alike and teaching them lessons of character and compassion. One of her best athletes is featured in this week's Oconee Enterprise. A coach's legacy is often measured by much more than what happens on the field, and Coach Peck's will continue for many years to come with the successful student athletes she inspired, cajoled, and convinced to shine for Oconee.

--This weekend looks to be beautiful. If you're into landscaping (like I am), fall is the time for planting, especially for trees and shrubs. Water has been plentiful, and the soil is soft. Great plants are to be had at any number of our locally owned retail nurseries. Check them out -- some of my favorites are Land Arts (Monroe), Goodness Grows (Lexington), Outdoor Specialty (Watkinsville), Thyme after Thyme (Winterville), Thomas Orchard (Watkinsville), and Cofer's (Athens)!

--The Athens Symphony will perform its Winter Concert this Sunday at 4 p.m. The Symphony is one of the region's gems. Tickets are free and still available at the Classic Center. Information here and here. Full disclosure: my company does pro-bono work promoting the Symphony.

--Big congrats to Dr. Debra Harden and Mrs. Jean Bell for being inducted into the Oconee County school system hall of fame. I didn't know Mrs. Bell as an educator, but Dr. Harden was certainly a transformative presence for our schools in the early to late 1990s, and really helped establish Oconee's reputation for educational excellence.

Usain

I often call televised track and field "God's gift to Tivo." However, I did catch myself watching the full telecasts this weekend of the World Championships on NBC (and Versus, which Charter in its infinite wisdom will not offer to me with out a cable box).

There has been some incredible action in Berlin (including some Athens connections in defending shot put champion Reese Hoffa [4th] and former resident Adam Nelson [5th]). But most importantly, I just had to share the video of this incredible run by Usain Bolt. He shaved the 100 meter world record by a full tenth of a second to 9.58 seconds. That would be like breaking the mile world record by 4-5 seconds. Pretty much unheard of.

My Valentine's Present: Georgia Beats Florida Twice on TV

Be forewarned: I'm going way off topic here.

Last night I was watching Tivo and caught the end of the Tyson Invitational, a track meet that was held on Valentine's Day. Now those of you who aren't old friends might not know I used to be a big time runner and track and field junkie. I still record track meets and watch the events that interest me. In fact, I believe that Tivo is God's gift to televised track and field.

Anyway, as I fast forwarded through, I caught the familiar Red and Black of the Georgia Bulldogs. I tuned in and saw a remarkable performance. Georgia's Torrin Lawrence, fresh off a world leading 46.18 in the individual race, ran a 45.1 split to make up a 10 meter gap and crush Florida's Calvin Smith, a U.S. Olympian, on the anchor leg of the race. Georgia's vaunted sports information department may just need to give a little media training to that relay team, as they might be getting some more air time on TV if they keep running nation-leading times. Keep in mind that this was the same day the Dawgs beat the Gators at home in hoops. A double dose of victory to be savored.

Anyway, track and field doesn't get nearly enough coverage, and from time to time we have some remarkable track athletes at Georgia. Torrin looks to be the latest. Kudos to Chip Towers for writing a story for the AJC, and check out the You Tube video of his anchor leg below -- even if you don't like track, seeing UGA beat Florida at anything right now is a big positive. Especially in the most exciting race in track and field, the 4 x 400 meter relay (and no, the Gator track was not handicapped by competing in jean shorts).

P.S. And in a thinly-veiled effort to further "localize" this post and not just write about a favorite sport, I will report that former Oconee County pole vaulter Jordan Scott continues to re-write the record books at the University of Kansas, vaulting over 18 feet this season.