Athens-Henderson County Now

Remembering the beauty of small towns

11181586_1448996868747611_6008044475634593570_n — Carolyn Ellis

By Carolyn Ellis

This past Saturday I drove to Tyler to change out artwork in an alternative art venue (not a gallery), where I have been showing work for three months. Surprisingly, what happened is that instead of changing out artwork I ended up removing my entire exhibit (4 large canvases and three pen and inks) from this place and heading for home!

The details of what happened are not important. The bottom line is that one of the store managers hurt my feelings enough that I decided on the spot -after 3 months of feeling unwelcome every time I entered the door of this place – that I did not want to be part of this unpleasant scene any longer. The fact that I had a similar “ugly experience” in Dallas earlier in the week only made the Tyler encounter worse.

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Lila Lane gets new executive director

Former Lila Lane Outreach, Inc. Chairman of the Board Craig Gutermuth took over as the facility’s executive director in February after retiring from East Texas Medical Center Athens. He started out at Lila Lane two years ago teaching a Bible study.

Lila Lane is a residential facility offering men a recovery program.

Lila Lane’s mission “is to produce Christian men to further the kingdom of God and to lead productive and honorable lives for their families and communities.”

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‘The Baby Boomer Comedy Show’ coming

HCPAC press release

Veteran comedians, Jan McInnis and Kent Rader, have joined forces to develop “The Baby Boomer Comedy Show.” This 90-minute theater event is filled with clean, G-Rated humor on topics the Boomer Generation can relate to – family, kids, work, do-it-yourself projects, dieting, aging, grandchildren and is perfect for all the boomers in your life – including you!

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Opinion: Athens lucky to have Rodriguez as City Manager

By Jeff Weinstein

Athens City Manager Philip Rodriguez is about to undergo a routine evaluation. The evaluation is scheduled to be conducted behind closed doors during an executive session of the Athens City Council 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 8.

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Donors sought to help fund AHS student scholarships

Kay Solomon (right) was one of 21 graduating seniors last year who received a scholarship from the Athens Academic Renaissance Organization (AARO). She is shown with AARO board member Sarah Grey. The organization recently lost funding from a major donor and is encouraging more individual contributions to fund scholarships for Athens High School graduates. “AARO helped support me not only financially, but academically and emotionally,” said Solomon. (Toni Garrard Clay/AISD)

By Toni Garrard Clay/AISD Communications Specialist

The Athens Academic Renaissance Organization has been around for many years, quietly doing good at Athens High School. Behind the organization is a group of dedicated individuals who look for ways to support and reward students.

That means handing out incentives, such as candy bars, every six weeks to those with good grades, grilling hamburgers every spring for the entire campus, and encouraging teachers by providing the occasional luncheon. Those things would be worthwhile all on their own, but the organization (AARO) is best loved for annually giving away thousands of dollars worth of scholarships.

“AARO helped support me not only financially, but academically and emotionally,” said 2015 graduate and scholarship recipient Kay Solomon. “Every member of that organization had my back and wanted nothing more than to see my peers and me succeed.”

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