Local briefs: high school graduations, judicial appointments, site selection talks

Today is graduation day for the Cedar Shoals High Class of 2023, with the commencement exercises underway at 8:30 this morning in the football stadium at the high school on Athens’ east side. Graduation ceremonies are set for 5 o’clock this afternoon for the seniors at Classic City High School: they’ll take place in the Clarke County School District’s central office on Prince Avenue in Athens. Clarke Central seniors put on their caps and gowns tomorrow morning in their football stadium. High school graduations have been relocated from UGA’s Stegeman Coliseum because of damage to the Coliseum’s ceiling.

Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz says Gavin Hassemer is the sole finalist for the position of Auditor for the Athens-Clarke County Unified Government and that Marcy Jolles is the sole finalist for the position of Municipal Court Judge and Administrative Hearing Officer. Mayor Girtz will make a recommendation to the Athens-Clarke County Commission for their approvals at the next Commission meeting, next Tuesday night at City Hall.

Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff was in Athens Wednesday, helping launch a Habitat for Humanity project with Habitat Director and Athens state Rep Spencer Frye.

There is another meeting of the site selection committee that is looking at potential locations for a new Athens-Clarke County judicial center. Today’s session is set for 4 o’clock at the Government Building on Dougherty Street.

Barrow County Commissioners, meeting this week in Winder, sign off on a $36 million bond package to pay for water and sewer infrastructure upgrades for Barrow County.

The Georgia Highway Patrol has released the name of the Atlanta man who was killed in a Wednesday crash on Highway 365 in Hall County: Fidell Lightfoot was 43 years old. State Troopers say his vehicle collided with a truck on 365 near White Sulphur Road in Hall County. A State Patrol investigation is ongoing.

A Covington Police Officer continues his recovery after Wednesday surgery in Grady Hospital in Atlanta: he was wounded in an exchange of gunfire with a suspect who was killed in the shootout that happened late Tuesday night. The Officer had responded to a reported domestic disturbance at a motel off I-20 in Newton County.

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