Local News

The science of disease modeling can give public health officials clues about how far and how fast diseases like the coronavirus might spread, and how severe they might be.

Omicron is yet another variant of COVID-19, and researchers and public health officials are actively working on figuring out more information on this new twist in the ongoing saga of the Coronavirus.

While public health officials are working to track where the virus is, other researchers are looking ahead modeling the future of the disease and its spread.

Athens-Clarke County’s Inclusion Officer is stepping down from her post. WUGA’s Martin Matheny has more. 

Krystle Cobran was the county’s first inclusion officer, a position created by ACC lawmakers in the 2020 budget. Her interim replacement will be Selah Gardiner, a Community Education Analyst in the Inclusion Office. ACC will conduct a nationwide search to fill Cobran’s position. 

  Three area lynching victims are being remembered this weekend. Aron Birdsong, Wes Hale and George Lowe were murdered near Watkinsville 100 years ago Saturday. John Vodicka is co-coordinator of the Athens Area Court Watch Project and Organizer of the event. He says Birdsong shot at a posse that gathered outside his house to lynch him before trying to hide in the woods. 

“And then the chase began,” Vodicka said. “Birdsong left his house and tried to run away to hide, and they eventually captured him that afternoon on December 4th.”