Georgia
1974 Alive at Georgia Tech
Nine months after the sold-out show at Tech, Yes played at The Omni Nov. 30 for more than 16,000 fans. The next night, rock icon David Bowie performed the final show of his Diamond Dogs tour at the same arena — and within a year of their Fall 1974 shows, KISS and Lynyrd Skynyrd would each return to Atlanta as headliners at The Omni.
Throughout the 1970s, Tech would continue to host many of the decade’s most prominent bands and artists at Alexander Memorial Coliseum and Bobby Dodd Stadium. The Dog Day Afternoon festival in 1977 and Alex Cooley’s Champagne Jam concerts in 1978 and 1979 brought massive, sweaty crowds of music fans to campus for acts including Atlanta Rhythm Section, Bob Seger, Cheap Trick, Foreigner, Heart, The Cars, and Aerosmith.
The Georgia Tech Athletics Association has continued to open its facilities for music promoters in years since, and Tech has hosted Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, Pink Floyd, Ludacris, Big Boi, and the Rolling Stones (twice!). “We are approached periodically about hosting external events, including concerts featuring popular acts,” an Athletics spokesperson said. “We are proud to provide great entertainment opportunities for the Georgia Tech community and are always looking to drive revenue that can help us provide additional resources for our student-athletes.” Most recently, Athletics welcomed thousands of Yellow Jacket supporters and music fans for the Helluva Block Party series of pregame concerts on North Avenue.
Five decades on, many of the bands whose sounds reverberated within the metal rafters of Alexander Memorial Coliseum are revered by millions. Auslander explained why he thinks the popular music of the 1970s persists. “Today, there are more shared musical tastes and experiences across generations than in the past. Youth in the 1970s mostly rejected the music and culture of their parents — now, we see parents and their children listening to the same music and going to concerts together,” he said.
Although his football experience was cut short due to injury, Ken Smith studied building construction, industrial management, and mechanical engineering at Tech and ran a successful HVAC company in the Augusta area. Over the past 50 years, Smith has seen the Doobie Brothers live more than 30 times, as well as Chicago and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
And Ned Barbre has continued returning to the Tech campus for concerts, including Pink Floyd, Jimmy Buffett, Arlo Guthrie, and the Stones.
Having experienced more than 40 KISS concerts from 1974 through the band’s farewell tour, David Dean said, “I will always remember that first show at Georgia Tech.”
Georgia
WATCH: Driver smirks in mugshot after allegedly hitting group of cyclists in caught-on-camera road rage
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
An elderly man offered a smirk for his mugshot after being arrested in a caught-on-camera hit-and-run involving a cyclist group.
Jerry Wayne Ross, 72, faces charges for an alleged hit-and-run with his Honda Pilot, all caught on video, on April 23 in Cherokee County, Georgia, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
The North Georgia Cycling Association was on its weekly Thursday night ride when the driver was accused of driving up on the group in a suspected road rage incident.
One rider, identified as Richard Collins, the leader of the group, told Fox 5 Atlanta the black SUV tailed the group and laid down the horn.
FLORIDA MAN VIOLENTLY HIT BY SUV, POLICE SAY ROAD RAGE SPARKED THE INCIDENT
“Just excessive,” he told the outlet. “Didn’t let off the horn.”
The hit-and-run was caught on camera after a driver allegedly hit a cyclist participating in a group ride in Georgia April 13. (WAGA-TV)
The incident was caught on camera as the black Honda Pilot allegedly struck the cyclists after the driver honked at them.
FOLLOW US ON X
The group of cyclists, who fell after the clash, collided into the side of the SUV and fell onto the pavement.
STUDENTS ON CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL TRACK TEAM INJURED AFTER SUSPECTED DUI DRIVER ACCUSED OF HITTING THEM
“I turned to my left to see it at that moment that vehicle was on my left leg,” Collins said.
In the video, the vehicle speeds away.
Richard Collins, leader of a North Georgia Cycling Association group ride, told WAGA-TV that an aggressive driver followed the cyclists for two minutes while honking continuously. According to Collins, the vehicle’s side mirror clipped a cyclist behind him before striking Collins directly, knocking him from his bike. (WAGA-TV)
Collins said he sustained road rash on his shoulder, elbow and knee and was treated by paramedics who were called. He later visited an orthopedist who discovered a fracture of his lower spine.
LAS VEGAS MEN WHO PLEADED GUILTY TO MOWING DOWN RETIRED POLICE CHIEF LEARN SENTENCE
Cherokee County Sheriff’s officials arrested Ross at a neighbor’s house nearby. Ross faces six charges, including hit-and-run, aggressive driving and failing to maintain a safe distance from a bicycle.
“I just hope this experience will raise awareness to the rules of the road for cyclists and how drivers should allow for the 3 feet distance in safe passing,” Collins said.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Jerry Ross, 72, was taken into custody and charged with two counts of aggravated assault, hit-and-run, reckless driving, aggressive driving and failure to maintain a safe distance from a bicycle. (Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office)
In a statement, the North Georgia Cycling Association thanked law enforcement and emergency services for “their swift response and professionalism.”
GET BREAKING NEWS BY EMAIL
“We encourage all road users to follow the rules of the road, stay alert and respect one another. Sharing the road responsibly helps keep everyone safe,” the group said.
“We also encourage everyone to treat one another with care, patience and kindness — on and off the road. Most importantly, we are thankful that those involved made it home safely to their loved ones.”
Georgia
Georgia county’s HR policy council goes digital, boosting attendance, reducing grievances
To better serve county employees and streamline processes, the DeKalb County, Ga. Human Resources and Merit System (DeKalb HR) moved its quarterly policy council meetings online. The shift to digital has boosted attendance and made the meetings more efficient by enabling chat-based Q&A and real-time issue tracking, according to Jadia Haynes, the DeKalb County interim Human Resources director.
Since the DeKalb County Department of Human Resources and Merit System-led policy council moved online, there has been a 50% reduction in grievances, a 67% increase in meeting participation and a 50% improvement in Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) processing efficiency for 6,600 employees, according to county data.
DeKalb County has 45 departments, with more than 200 locations across the county where staff work, so many people who would otherwise want to attend the meetings when they were in-person were unable to, according to Katherine Furlong, interim deputy director, DeKalb County Human Resources Information Systems Division.
Between the length of the actual meeting and the time it took to commute there and back, it could take up to three hours out of some people’s days, noted Haynes.
County survey feedback shows 88% of department liaisons feel more informed and aligned with human resource policies after participating in a policy council meeting. Since shifting the meetings online, attendance has increased from an average of 75 people to 126.
“This gives the employees a lot more flexibility,” Haynes said. “So now the time commitment is a lot less, and more people can participate.”
The meetings are much more efficient and interactive now, as people can submit questions through Zoom’s chat feature, said Furlong.
People share more often with the comment feature, which Haynes attributes to people feeling more comfortable typing a message vs. speaking up in-person or on camera.
Policy council participants include directors, deputy directors, managers and department administrators. Utilizing Zoom enables the human resources department to review meetings to better inform the process and make improvements moving forward, Haynes said.
“We can go back and check the chat too, and see what types of questions people ask, so we can make sure we can follow up to ensure that we’ve addressed them,” Furlong said. “If we don’t address them verbally in the meeting, we say, ‘OK, we’ll take that as an action item and come back and make sure we give that back to the team.’”
Human Resources has received “rave reviews” from county employees regarding the shift to virtual, Haynes noted.
According to Kevin Buford, DeKalb County Parks and Recreation’s deputy director, the new structure has been “so valuable and useful.”
“We would be totally lost without this policy council,” said Debra DeBerry, DeKalb County Clerk of Superior Court.
Georgia
Wild video captures elderly driver Jerry Ross, 72, crashing into group of cyclists on Georgia road
An elderly motorist is accused of driving through a group of bicyclists in Georgia – knocking one over and fracturing his spine – before speeding off in a hit-and-run that was caught on camera.
Jerry Wayne Ross, 72, flashed a wide grin in his booking photo as he faces charges for the alleged hit-and-run with his Honda Pilot, all caught on video, on April 23 in Cherokee County, Ga, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
The North Georgia Cycling Association was on their weekly Thursday night ride when the older driver was accused of driving up on the group in a suspected road rage incident.
The cycling group was in the middle of its 32-mile ride through Cherokee County when Ross appeared behind them, blasting his horn for nearly two miles along Sugar Pike Rd in Canton.
“Just excessive. Didn’t let off the horn,” Richard Collins, the leader of the group, told Fox 5 Atlanta.
The cyclists were riding double-wide along the scenic, rural road when Ross allegedly floored forward, alongside the leading pack of the group, according to video captured by one of the cyclists and obtained by the outlet.
Ross is believed to have pulled up alongside the first group of cyclists, striking one of the riders with his passenger side mirror.
“I turned to my left to see it, at that moment, that vehicle was on my left leg,” he said.
The cyclists, who became tangled up by the bump, collided into the side of Ross’ car and crashed onto the pavement.
The vehicle sped away as Collins was left lying in the road.
Collins said he sustained road rash on his shoulder, elbow and knee and was treated by paramedics who were called to the scene.
He was later examined by an orthopedist and discovered he had suffered a fracture to his lower spine, he told the outlet.
Both cyclists were treated at the scene for minor injuries.
Ross was found hiding out at a neighbor’s house down the road after officials from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office spotted damage to his SUV consistent with hitting a bicycle.
The suspected driver told authorities that he had encountered the group of cyclists but denied responsibility, blaming the bikers for the collision, saying the riders had been in the middle of the road, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
Ross was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault, aggressive driving, hit-and-run and failing to maintain distance, according to jail records viewed by The Post.
He remains behind bars in the Cherokee County Jail with his charges totaling $24,540.
-
Sports2 minutes agoBoston, Philadelphia face off in Game 7 showdown – Time to make a bet
-
Technology8 minutes agoJetBlue lawsuit raises airline pricing questions
-
Business14 minutes agoCalifornia gained jobs in March as unemployment rate drops to 5.3%
-
Entertainment20 minutes agoSteven Tyler is headed to trial after child sexual assault claims
-
Lifestyle26 minutes agoThe exclusive fashion drops, art openings and collaborations injecting your May with motion
-
Politics32 minutes agoA defiant Iran leaves Trump with few options
-
Science38 minutes agoBald eagle ‘massaging’ its mate? AI deepfakes collide with the laws of the wild
-
Sports44 minutes agoPrep talk: Mira Costa to face JSerra in Southern Section girls’ beach volleyball final