moNdaY

October 22, 2012

GLYNN MOORE
Columnist
glynn.moore@augustachronicle.com

Experience divides field

Incumbent, newcomer vie for seat
By tracey mcmanus
Staff Writer

JimmY atkiNs
aGe: 42 FamilY: Wife, Donna; daughter, Elisa, 16; son, Jacob, 12 PolitiCal exPerieNCe: Eight years on the board of education; two years as board president (2007, 2008) eduCatioN: Augusta State University, associates degree in accounting; Brenau University, bachelors degree in business administration WhY are You ruNNiNG For re-eleCtioN? I feel like weve made a lot of great progress over the last eight years. Ive proven to have a good working relationship with the other board members, and I feel theres still a lot of work to be done.

roBert Cheek
aGe: 54 FamilY: Wife, Janet; son, Rob, 17; daughter, Hannah, 13 PolitiCal exPerieNCe: None eduCatioN: Butler High School WhY are You ruNNiNG For oFFiCe? Im unsatisfied with the direction the school board is going and the representation were receiving from our current school board member. My main concerns are low test scores, low morale with our employees, the decline in student population and the cronyism thats been going on. read more stories about the school board races at augustachronicle.com.

Theres a word for just about anything

L ast week I wrote about a

couple of things that prob ably have names but what those are, I had no idea. One dealt with the way we often anticipate the next song on an album before it starts playing because we have heard the album so many times before. The other described the white rivers of space on a printed page created by the way words align themselves. Since then, I discovered a post on the Internet that says those rivers of space are often called, well, riv ers. I could have sworn I came across a longer word for that years ago, but if river is a possible answer, then Ill not complain. I received some interest ing responses regarding the phenomenon of sub consciously remembering the next song on an album before it plays. I believe that the term you are thinking of is pre cognition or maybe pre monition, wrote in Bob Reeves. Also, you probably have a sequential memory for the lyrics of the various songs, and the previous song probably did what is called priming, which means that your memory of the (upcom ing) lyrics became more sa lient in your memory. Area musician and Bea tles expert Ed Turner point ed out that their albums didnt always translate the same when they came across the pond. The old U.S. versions of The Beatles albums were configured differently, and its still weird to me to hear the orders of the songs, he wrote. Im such a nerd that I can remember specific scratches on records that I recorded to cassette and 8track. They just dont seem right in digital perfec tion. I wrote back to him about the time, many years ago, when I left my reeltoreel tape recorder running so I could record a side of The Beatles White Album while I went out to supper. I re turned to find that the turn table needle had hung up on the song The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill and I had recorded 20 minutes of What did you kill unh! What did you kill unh! What did you kill unh! The more I listened to those hungup lyrics, the more I liked them, so I kept the tape just the way it was. Theres probably a word for that, but Im afraid it might be stupid. Heres something else that needs its own word: My wife is a voracious reader. I bought her an ereader for Christmas, and she has taken to it more quickly than I thought she would. She discovered that whenever she encounters a word she doesnt know, all she has to do is press it on the screen and the defini tion pops up. It has become so second nature to her, she said recently, that whenever she is reading an oldfashioned book the kind made with dead trees she finds her self pressing a finger down on an unknown word, hard er and harder and becoming frustrated when nothing pops up from the page. One of these days her reading is going to break a finger. That should look good on the insurance form.
Reach Glynn Moore at (706) 823-3419 or glynn.moore@augustachronicle.com.

Depending on which candidate you ask, the Richmond County Board of Education District 8 race needs a veteran with experience or a new comer to replace officials who have overstayed their welcome. Twoterm incumbent Jimmy Atkins says his record and time on the board give him the expertise to deal with a cashstrapped budget and raising student achievement. His challenger, Robert Cheek, says leaders who overstay their time in office are hurting the system. No public official should serve more than two terms, he said. After two terms, you get complacent. Right now Im full of energy and want to get things done. Atkins campaign is focusing on improving test scores, adding rev

enue to the budget and getting more involvement from the business com munity in the school system. Cheek wants to address declin ing student enrollment, subpar test scores and the growing cronyism he said has consumed the districts hir ing process. Theres not a learning curve for me, Atkins said. Ive taken the time to be in the community, hear the concerns and be the voice of the community in the boardroom. Atkins has used his record to per suade voters. His mailers tout his endorsement by the Georgia Asso ciation of Educators and the groups Richmond County chapter. Atkins has never voted for a property tax increase and helped pass the fourth round of the special purpose local option sales tax this
See Board on PaGe 2B

DEPUTY HONORED 1 YEAR AFTER DEATH

Meisam Shodja, the owner of Crazy Turks Pizza, signals that the memorial bike ride for slain Deputy J.D. Paugh is ready to begin.

JoN-MIcHAEl SUllIvAN/StAff

Bikers ride in remembrance

By summer moore
Staff Writer

extras

Last fall, Richmond County Deputy James J.D. Paugh con vinced the owner of Crazy Turks Pizza to start a bike night on Mon days, the deputys day off. Wed only been open for about a month, said Amanda Gary, the manager of the Washington Road restaurant. He kind of came in and took over. One year after the motorcycle squad deputy was killed on his way home from an assignment, hundreds of motorcycle enthu siasts gathered at Crazy Turks to pay tribute to the man who loved to ride. On Sunday, bikers from all over the state showed up, on bikes ranging from Harleys to Hondas. At 1 p.m., they started a 55mile ride that took them to Appling, around to Lake Thurmond, over to Furys Ferry Road and back to the restaurant. Then a live band played as friends and family gath ered on the patio. Today is about getting to gether and remembering J.D., said restaurant owner Meisam Shodja. No fundraisers, no ulte rior motive. Just a ride because

Video: Watch a video of the memorial ride at augustachronicle.com. slideshoW: Browse more photos by Staff Photographer Jon-Michael Sullivan at augustachronicle.com.

Hundreds of motorcycle enthusiasts rode 55 miles Sunday. Paugh started a bike night at the restaurant before his death.

J.D. loved to ride. Shodja said some of the bik ers knew Paugh, and those who didnt had heard about him. J.D. became a close friend quickly, he said. He was like that with everyone. Greg Smith, a childhood friend of Paughs, said it was important to have Sundays ride focus on get ting people together to remember his friend. He said Paugh would have wanted them to have fun. I said, Lets just get togeth er, Smith said. Lets sit down

and tell lies. Just have some fun. Robert Paugh said he knew how much his brother loved mo torcycles, though he never could wrap his head around it. I asked him why he would want to be on a bike in 110 de grees and in freezing weather when he could have been in a pa trol car, he said. He kept telling me, You dont understand. Robert Paugh said he was in awe that so many people came out to remember his brother. He said he worries his brothers

memory will fade, but Sundays show of support helped shake that feeling. Im worried it will become just another day, he said tear fully. But I also know that J.D.s memory belongs to a lot of peo ple. Its not just our family who lost him. Before the bikers headed out, two Richmond County deputies stopped traffic either way on Washington Road. Paughs par ents drove their truck behind the hundreds of bikers. Gary said Paugh became such a staple at the restaurant that they started carrying Diet Mountain Dew on tap, his favorite soda. I never understood why he liked that stuff, she said. But he was an important part of this place.
Reach Summer Moore at (706) 823-3339 or summer.moore@augustachronicle.com.

Commission to discuss convention center

Operating documents back on agenda
By susan mcCord
Staff Writer

In a final called meeting before Nov. 6 elections, the Augusta Com mission will meet today to reconsid er approving operating agreements for the Augusta Convention Center, also known as the TEE center, which is complete but awaits the commis

sions approval. Mayor Deke Copenhaver, who called the 10 a.m. meeting to dis cuss/approve the agreements, did not respond to an email Friday re questing comment about his hopes. Unless the mayor or mayor pro tem calls another meeting, the gath ering is the final opportunity the commission will have to approve

read more about the Augusta convention center on its topic page at augustachronicle.com/topics.

the agreements before Election Day, where the ballot includes candidates seeking to postpone action on the center. The commission postponed its Nov. 6 meeting to Nov. 8. Rooted in commission decisions of 2006 and 2009, when many de tails were discussed at length, the

legal documents up for approval cover many aspects of the relation ship between the city and Augusta Riverfront LLC, which runs the ad joining Marriott at the Convention Center and the new parking garage. Augusta Riverfront, headed by retired newspaper executive Paul Simon, shares management with Morris Communications Co., owner of The Augusta Chronicle.
See CommissioN on PaGe 2B