AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Summer is near and one of the top complaints from Richmond County residents is maintaining county-owned grass.

Commissioners met on June 12 in a special work session meeting to assess the problem.

Commissioner Jordan Johnson says the lack of fiscal resources and manpower is the source of the issue.

In the special meeting, commissioners say their goal is to maintain county-owned and vacant lots on a more regular basis. Right now, they maintain the lots two to three times a year.

Brian Jackson, who lives on Windsor Spring Road, says for years he’s had to call in for the grass to be cut on the property beside his house.

This year, he said the county has not come out once.

“For the last three years, I’ve been going back and forth trying to keep this field here cut. You know, I get all kinds of stories for a while, they’ll come out and do it maybe twice, three times a year. And that’s about it. But this year, no one’s responding. No one’s coming back, call me back. Or no one’s ever came out and looked at the field and tried to cut it anything,” said Jackson.

Jackson said the grass and weeds have gotten to the point where a normal push mower can’t clean the area. Some of the weeds exceed his height.

He also says one of his neighbors has to come out and cut the grass beside their home just to keep it in check.

“If it was anybody else’s property that’s overgrown like this, the city would go out, cut it in them, write them a ticket, and make them pay for it. You know, but since it’s their property, who’s gonna write them a ticket?” said Jackson.

Commissioners said in the meeting they will further look into the issue and where to allocate more resources when they reassess the current budget in the next couple of weeks.

Copyright 2024 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.

AUGUSTA, Ga. – For more than a century and a half, the Juneteenth holiday has been sacred to many Black communities.

The holiday is Wednesday, but celebrations began over the weekend across the CSRA.

Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, found out they had been freed — after the end of the Civil War, and two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.

Since it was designated a federal holiday in 2021, Juneteenth has become more universally recognized beyond Black America. Many people get the day off work or school, and there are a plethora of street festivals, fairs, concerts and other events.

COMING UP:

• On Wednesday, Augusta is holding its eighth annual Juneteenth Festival. Band of Brothers Augusta is hosting the event from 12:30-9:30 p.m. in the James Brown Arena Seventh Street parking lot.
• In Aiken County on Wednesday, Umoja Village will celebrate from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Eudora Farms Wildlife Safari Park in Salley. Activities for the entire family are planned by Umoja Village to also include remarks by Salley Mayor LaDonna Hall, African-style drummers and dancers, educational and history presentations, line dancing and more.

People who never gave the holiday on June 19 more than a passing thought may be asking themselves, is there a “right” way to celebrate Juneteenth?

For beginners and those brushing up history, here are some answers:

Is Juneteenth a solemn day of remembrance or more of a party?

It just depends on what you want. Juneteenth festivities are rooted in cookouts and barbecues. In the beginnings of the holiday celebrated as Black Americans’ true Independence Day, the outdoors allowed for large, reunions among formerly enslaved family, many of whom had been separated. The gatherings were especially revolutionary because they were free of restrictive measures, known as “Black Codes,” enforced in Confederate states, controlling whether liberated slaves could vote, buy property, gather for worship and other aspects of daily life.

Alan Freeman, 60, grew up celebrating Juneteenth every year in Houston, 50 miles north of Galveston. He has vivid memories of smoke permeating his entire neighborhood because so many people were using their barbecue pits for celebratory cookouts. You could go to anyone’s house and be welcomed to join in the feast, which could include grilled chicken and beef and other regional cuisines — jerk meats, fried fish, Jamaican plantains.

“It’s where I began to really see Black unity because I realized that that was the one day that African Americans considered ours,” Freeman said. “The one holiday that was ours. We didn’t have to share with anybody. And it was about freedom because what we understood is that we were emancipated from slavery. But, there was so many beautiful activities.”

Others may choose to treat Juneteenth as a day of rest and remembrance. That can mean doing community service, attending an education panel or taking time off.

The important thing is to make people feel they have options on how to observe the occasion, said Dr. David Anderson, a Black pastor and CEO of Gracism Global, a consulting firm helping leaders navigate conversations bridging divides across race and culture.

“Just like the Martin Luther King holiday, we say it’s a day of service and a lot of people will do things. There are a lot of other people who are just ‘I appreciate Dr. King, I’ll watch what’s on the television, and I’m gonna rest,’” Anderson said. “I don’t want to make people feel guilty about that. What I want to do is give everyday people a choice.”

What if you’ve never celebrated Juneteenth?

Anderson, 57, of Columbia, Maryland, never did anything on Juneteenth in his youth. He didn’t learn about it until his 30s.

“I think many folks haven’t known about it — who are even my color as an African American male. Even if you heard about it and knew about it, you didn’t celebrate it,” Anderson said. “It was like just a part of history. It wasn’t a celebration of history.”

For many African Americans, the farther away from Texas that they grew up increased the likelihood they didn’t have big Juneteenth celebrations regularly. In the South, the day can vary based on when word of Emancipation reached each state.

Anderson has no special event planned other than giving his employees Friday and Monday off. If anything, Anderson is thinking about the fact it’s Father’s Day this weekend.

“If I can unite Father’s Day and Juneteenth to be with my family and honor them, that would be wonderful,” he said.

What are other names used to refer to Juneteenth?

Over the decades, Juneteenth has also been called Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, Black Fourth of July and second Independence Day among others.

“Because 1776, Fourth of July, where we’re celebrating freedom and liberty and all of that, that did not include my descendants,” Brown said. “Black people in America were still enslaved. So that that holiday always comes with a bittersweet tinge to it.”

Copyright 2023 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – The Biden-Harris campaign made a visit to Augusta to celebrate the opening of the new Campaign office.

Sunday, the Biden-Harris campaign and the Democratic Party of Georgia opened a new campaign office and kicked off “Seniors for Biden-Harris.”

Seniors for Biden-Harris is a national organization coalition that aims to reach key communities about what is at stake for America’s senior citizens.

“Senior citizens are still a huge part of the voting bloc, and maybe every now and then they need a little nudge as to why it is so important for them to vote,” said Sarah Moody, an attendee.

The office will be dedicated to working to re-elect President Biden.

“You have to make sure that you’re actually on the group running. And so, this is kind of kicking that off,” said Harold Jones, State Senator.

Speakers also talked about wanting to protect the work the Biden administration has done for them.

“Who your President is absolutely matters, and where you know making sure that folks know that,” said Jordan Johnson,  District 1 commissioner and Richmond County Party Chair. “That who you put in the White House matters because it will directly impact what comes from the federal government to support what happens on a local level.”

Attendees were there to show their support and remind the community to get out and vote and vote early.

“You want your voice heard? Go to the polls and put it in on the ballot,” said Christie Stewart, an attendee. “That’s your voice. Not talking on the corners and talking on the streets. Go early, go often, get out there and vote.”

“The key to 2020 was we had more people vote early then voted on election day,” said Franklin Delano Williams, Host Committee Local Democratic Party.

Attendees Stressing that you as a voter always have a voice– you just have to use it.

“We have a voice no matter what district you’re in or what county you’re in,” said Kay Turner, a Candidate for State House Representative 125 Columbia County. “You have a voice to speak up for yourself, to speak up for your relatives, your seniors. To speak up for women, to speak up for your children.”

The office wants to encourage those interested in helping spread the word during the election to join this office at the Augusta-Richmond County Democratic Party headquarters at 459 Broad St., Augusta, Georgia 30901. Their phone number is (706) – 722-8111.