Athens News

A Madison County home was destroyed by fire Thursday apparently from a blaze started by a 4-year-old boy playing with matches, according to the Madison County Sheriff's Office.

Jefferson's annual tree sale and music festival, Foliage Fest will be March 15 with a full slate of music, dance and information about trees.

A woman was returning home in her car in the 700 block of Beaverdam Road at about 3 p.m. when she saw a man jump off the back porch and run into the woods, police said.

Following a week-long trial and several days of deliberation, a Clarke County jury on Friday found an Athens man not guilty of murder in the 2012 shooting death of an elderly man during a burglary of his home.

A Clarke County grand jury this week indicted a man on charges he assaulted a 12-year-old boy in a north Athens mobile home park in January.

A Clarke County grand jury this week indicted a convicted felon who Athens-Clarke police said may have been reaching for a gun during a January traffic stop in east Athens.

A music-focused panel held this week showed Athens' world-renowned, R.E.M.-capstone music scene may not be the collegial after party it's made out to be.

Athens' hip hop scene has been busy and building, but has yet to earn much attention from outside the city limits.

SHOPLIFTING: On Feb. 26, a deputy was dispatched at 5:54 p.m. to Kohl's on Epps Bridge Parkway after a loss prevention officer detained two people for trying to leave the store with $178 in merchandise.

Warrants charging a 30-year-old teacher at South Jackson Elementary School with two counts of battery have been issued by the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, a department official said Thursday.

Georgia could get hundreds of new science teachers in the next four years, thanks to a grant from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation to Piedmont College and four other Georgia colleges.

Roderick Jerel Howard, 25, of Howard Drive, was arrested early Thursday morning after he assaulted the mother of his infant daughter, Athens-Clarke County police said.

The University of Georgia Ballet Ensemble will present a one-night performance March 22 at 8 p.m. to commemorate its 20th anniversary on campus.

University of Georgia alumni, faculty, staff and students, as well as members of the Athens community, will gather on the university campus the morning of March 22 for the 7th annual Dawg Trot 5K Run/Walk , sponsored by the UGA Alumni Association.

Many in Athens are beginning their day with the temperature in the high 30s and forecaster are calling for rain and possibly sleet as it gets later in the day.

Athens-Clarke County police are searching for a man they said stole a Jaws of Life that fell off a fire truck as it responded to an emergency call Wednesday afternoon.

A discussion series about what the Bible has to say about homosexuality and same-sex marriage led by retired Presbyterian minister Jim Bowden and Lead Pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church Mark Harper will be held in March at Covenant Presbyterian in Athens.

The Athens-Clarke County library was named a finalist this week for one of the country's top prizes for museums and libraries.

Authorities on Wednesday made a third arrest in connection with a daytime burglary of a home last month in east Athens.

Georgia United Credit Union's University of Georgia Branch has partnered with Little Free Library to offer children in the area more books.