AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Greater Augusta Arts Council announced Monday that 51 local artists received hurricane relief micro-grants through the C.R.E.A.T.I.V.E. Grant initiative.

Micro-grants of $500 to $1,000 were distributed to support costs associated with replacing supplies or a lost gig during this time.

The $30,000 fund with money supplied by the Augusta Foundation for the Arts was initially designated to support the Greater Augusta Arts Council programming and operations.

“Recognizing the urgent needs in the creative community following the hurricane, the Arts Council made the decision to reallocate operational funds,” the council said.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve supported artists through re-granting, but it is the first time we’ve done so with funds originally intended to meet our own organizational needs,” council Executive Director Denise Tucker said.

The micro-grants were distributed on a first-come, first-served basis and ranked according to need.

Applications were reviewed by an independent panel and disbursed on a rolling basis until the funds were fully allocated.

The council also held a post-Helene arts supply drive to aid artists of many different genres with replacement supplies.

Grant recipients included Adrion Au Bell, Aislin Sparrow, Alex Foltz, Aort Reed, Art S. Abdon, Brandon M. Wiggins, Brandon T. Truesdale, Cameron Young, Daviana Reynolds, Destinee N. Wright, Devon McSherry, Erica M. Pastecki, Evy Danckers, Felina Martin, Francie E. Klopotic, Gregory Alan Young, Haliegh E. Key, Jacki Mayo Van Dyke, James Thompson, Jason K. Craig, Joe Stevenson, Jon Paschal, Jonathan Cook, Jonathan Soto Perez, Joseph David Johnson, Judi T. Dudley, Justice M. Kirkman, Karen Gordon, Karell Moses, Katherine Schiller, Kathleen Silvester, Keller A. Jones, Kigwana Samuel Cherry, Krislyn Murphy, Mafia Cartwright, Marty E. Duff, Matt Dahlheimer, Melissa Coffey, Nicole Swanson, Richard Tucker, Rickey R. Jones, Shanita Newton, Si-Long Chen, Symphoni M. Wiggins, Tarika M. Holland, Theron Cartwright, Thomas C. Reed, Tiphiknee De Herrera, Trey McLaughlin and William McCranie.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – A second local Walgreens location is among around 1,200 stores the chain will be shutting down.

The store at 3228 Wrightsboro Road will be closing permanently on March 6, customers were told.

Walgreens had previously announced the store at Washington Road and Bobby Jones Expressway will be permanently closing on Feb. 20.

The closures are happening as the chain and its rivals struggle to define their role for U.S. shoppers who no longer look to them first for convenience.

Drugstores that once snapped up prime retail space in towns and cities across the country are in retreat. They’ve been battered by shrinking prescription reimbursement, persistent theft, rising costs and consumers who have strayed to online retailers or competitors with better prices.

Drugstore leaders and analysts who follow the industry say smaller versions of these chains have a future in U.S. retail, but they’re still trying to understand how that will play out.

“They’ve really got to rethink how they do business and, most importantly, what they mean and what value they bring to the customer,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of consulting and data analysis firm GlobalData.

Saunders said drugstores “have really shot themselves in the foot” because they no longer have a clear way to differentiate themselves from other retailers.

“When you want to get the big bucks from consumers, you have to be a destination for something,” he said. “And unfortunately, drugstores have increasingly become destinations for nothing.”

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