Bike to Work day May 21

Please be considerate and give plenty of room to bicyclists commuting to and from work. I saw my friend and Watkinsville City Council member Brian Brodrick biking up dangerously narrow Simonton Bridge Road last night and I always give any bike rider plenty of room when I drive by and feel guilty burning diesel in my big red pick up truck.

Also drivers please be extra wary of large turtles and armadillos not to mention bicyclists. I have heard tell or seen dead two of each recently in my repeated commute.

I was very pleased to see my thoughtful mail carrier Bob Mason go well out of his way Tuesday to pick up and move a huge snapping turtle and move it across the road, only to see a bigger than football sized shell smashed somewhere between Morgan Manor Estates and Taylors Landing subdivisions soon thereafter on the other side of Simonton Bridge/Whitehall Road.

Brian and Tony Glenn told me there was another large smashed turtle or tortoise shell up by the cemetery closer to downtown Watkinsville. Reminder to help clean up Watkinsville this Saturday morning starting at the First Baptist Church on Simonton Bridge Road at 9:00 am ending up at Jittery Joe's for a well earned coffee or hot chocolate afterward.

CONTACT:    John Devine

                Northeast Georgia Regional Commission

                (706) 369-5650

               

Bike to Work Day Athens Events to be Held May 20-21

-Pre-Bike to Work Day Rally to Kick Off the Festivities-


ATHENS, GA (May 6, 2010) Been looking for an excuse to get out of your car?  Interested in trying a new way of commuting?  Want to encourage greater health among your co-workers? It's time to get you and your bike tires pumped up for Bike to Work Day!


The Northeast Georgia Regional Commission (NEGRC) has teamed up with BikeAthens and the Athens-Clarke County Energy Conservation Committee to host Bike to Work Day on Friday, May 21 in conjunction with a national event of the same name. To get Athenians excited for the main event, a Pre-Bike to Work Day Rally will be held at the Jittery Joe's Roasting Company on East Broad Street on Thursday, May 20.


The Pre-Bike to Work Day Rally will take place from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. and will give participants a chance to mingle with other bike commuters, pick up valuable information from local organizations and businesses, and enter to win door prizes.


Participants should also visit www.biketoworkathens.com, a website that is serving as a clearinghouse for all Bike to Work Day-related information.


"Bike to Work Day is a great opportunity to demonstrate that bicycle commuting is a safe and healthy alternative to driving," said John Devine, Senior Planner at NEGRC and frequent bicycle commuter. "We invite Athenians to strap on their helmets and join us for the rally and ride to work."


Bike to Work Day is an annual event held on the third Friday of May across the United States and Canada to promote the bicycle as an option for commuting to work.


The Northeast Georgia Regional Commission is involved in local and regional planning related to land use, transportation, recreation, natural resources, and economic development.


BikeAthens promotes transportation and land-use policies that improve alternative modes of transportation, including pedestrian, cycling, and public transit options. BikeAthens' mission is to encourage increased use and safety of bicycling as a mode of transportation in Athens, Georgia.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Jeff Dantzler's arrests may be the best thing that ever happened to him

THis has next to nothing to do with Oconee County with the possible exception of the location of his former office, but a former colleague of mine on the radio got popped today for four counts. Any one who has listened to 960 the Ref AM sports talk radio or heard the UGA Lady Dawgs or men's baseball team has surely heard the encyclopedic knowledge of one Jeff Dantzler. Jeff and I are pretty much diametrically opposed poltically, but today he was arrested on four counts including DUI. I hope he gets the help he needs following his incarceration. I work for a lawyer who could help him out if he does not having someone already representing him. This man is a great broadcaster and I hope this arrest serves as a wake-up call for him and his rock and roll lifestyle. I live a far from perfect life myself but long ago and far away I learned how and when not to drink. Now we will be without he dulcet tones on Lady Bulldog broadcasts as well as on Georgia baseball games and also on the after...
Read more

A deep wound waiting to be healed - restoring order and dignity in the city cemetery

Image
The Watkinsville City Cemetery is an oasis amidst the houses on the east side of the municipality, near the neighborhood once called Sidney. There is a large section of the cemetery that remains a mystery, but perhaps we can work together to dignify the eternal resting spot somewhat better than the current neglected and forgotten (not to mention unmarked) graves of 70 people, more than likely of African-American descent. They deserve to be honored as well. An effort has been undertaken to repair the graves with fill dirt to stop the continued erosion amongst the graves. The most recent grave and bench belong to Larry Sheats,  and as any one who played basketball at Herman C. Michael Park or knew him otherwise  can attest, he was among the best people this county has ever seen. Larry was always ready to help. Now it is our turn to help. Do it for someone you knew there, maybe the Hardens, or the Downs, or any number of other people, but allow me to reminisce about how L...
Read more

I strongly disagree with the impending demolishing of the iconic Watkinsville Water Tower

Image
I know the Watkinsville Water Tower near where the "Big Spring" of what was one called Big Springs, Georgia serves no functional purpose anymore. I know it is a hazard. I know it is rusty and old and past its usefulness for the most part. I see a purpose beyond the aesthetic and instead as a possible financial benefit.  I know there is a way to keep it and make money for our municipality. I wonder who is doing the seemingly shoddy job of removing it (or at least preparing to raze it) and who stands to make money off that?  The dismantling of the Watkinsville Water Tower has already caused one gas leak and I can only imagine what problems await the demolition of the dinosaur.  If it is only because a group of kids have been crawling up it, then build a fence around it. I would think the City of Watkinsville would benefit and making monthly lease fees if they would instead do what about 90% of these abandoned water towers do and that is become a cellular telephone tow...
Read more