University innovative in parking

Parking Service’s priority system limits the number of permits sold, which leaves some on waiting lists but also prevents traffic jams. (PHOTO, Jackie Reedy, jackiereedy@gmail.com)

February 8, 2010 by POLINA MARINOVA  
Filed under Featured, News, Travel 

At the University, the phrase “I’ve been waitlisted” can only mean one thing — parking. 

The University has spent millions of dollars on new parking decks in order to increase the amount of parking spaces on campus. There are now about 21,000 parking spaces on campus — of which 19,317 are for students — including those designated as scooters, motorcycles and disability spots. 

Parking Service’s priority system limits the number of permits sold, which leaves some on waiting lists but also prevents traffic jams. Photo by: Jackie Reedy. 

Students who do not receive permits are placed on a waiting list and are eligible for parking when a spot becomes available. 

Don Walter, Parking Services manager, said the University prides itself on providing parking for such a large number of students. He emphasized  although there are waiting lists for some lots, there are readily available permits in East Campus lots. 

“At other schools, people hunt for spaces,” Walter said. “We think we’re leading the pack.” 

Louisiana State University has more than 23,000 parking spots, of which 18,500 are for students. But LSU’s 25,215 students do not have to hunt for spaces. There is no waiting list and the school even has extra spaces. 

“We are able to accommodate everybody with what we have and still have a few thousand [spots] left over,” said Gary Graham, LSU director of parking. 

Unlike the University, which has a constant demand for parking which led to the construction of two new decks last year, Graham said LSU does not need to expand parking to make room for more cars.  

“It’s been pretty static over the last two years,” Graham said. “The resident areas can get a little tight, but other than that, we are able to accommodate everybody.” 

The University of Florida, with a total of 19,440 on-campus spots, distributes 10,973 student parking decals among its 49,679 student population. 

Ed Poppell, UF vice president of Business Affairs, said any large university is bound to face some kinds of parking problems. 

However, he said the city of Gainesville has a very successful transit system with over 9 million passengers per year. 

“Parking is one of the biggest problems on most any large university campus,” Poppell said. “On our campus we say, ‘We have enough spaces, but just not in the right places.’” 

The saying is a result of one of UF’s initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and congestion on campus by enforcing certain regulations, such as the university’s “auto-free interior campus,” where only buses and service vehicles are allowed on the interior of campus from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

“We have significant policies on our campus limiting what students can do and where they can park,” Poppell said. “We have also continuously increased the price of our decals, encouraging people to find alternative means of transportation.” 

At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the parking is highly selective. With 16,000 total parking spaces on campus, the school allows only 3,900 of its 28,136 students to park on campus. Unlike the University, UNC does not offer parking to incoming freshmen. 

“There are a lot of folks who prefer to utilize the transit system,” said Randy Young, spokesman for the UNC Department of Safety. “We’ve gone to inordinate measures to make sure that the congestion and dependence on single-occupancy vehicles are attended to here on campus. We have 6,000 people on the Commuter Alternative Program.” 

The program offers students an incentive to walk, ride bikes or use transit on campus by rewarding them with prizes and merchant discounts. 

The University has a similar program called the Alternative Transportation Program, with a student participation of 1,200. 

The program allows students who walk or take the bus to receive 22 days of free parking per year in specified parking locations. 

The University also instituted the priority system, which guarantees all permit holders a parking space on campus. 

The system was put into place in 2002. Before the system, permits were sold to anyone who wanted to purchase one, but there was no guarantee that there would be an available space. This resulted in traffic jams and overcrowded lots. 

The priority system tries to solve that problem. 

“I can tell you that there are some things that are completely unique to Georgia,” Walter said. “I think we’re the only ones in the country to have the priority system, where students get a chance to compete for all the spots on campus. They don’t do that at other campuses because it’s so difficult to manage.” 

President’s mansion renovations to cost $1 million

(PHOTO, Jackie Reedy, jackiereedy@gmail.com)

President’s mansion renovations to cost $1 million

February 4, 2010 by TIFFANY STEVENS Filed under Economy, News

The University’s President’s house will benefit from renovations estimated at nearly $1 million, according to University officials.

As it stands now, the President’s house, located at 570 Prince Ave., is only used for entertaining guests and for hosting events. University President Michael Adams and his family have not lived in the house for nine years, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

The renovations will largely include additions to make the house more accessible to people with disabilities.

“The building isn’t handicap accessible and hasn’t been for some period of time,” said Danny Sniff, campus architect.

Major renovations will include an elevator, a new heating system, updates to the kitchen area and more storage areas.

“We’ve needed that elevator for years, and we’ve needed that furnace for years, and we put it off and put it off and we can’t put it off any longer,” Sniff said. “If it’s a class in Baldwin, we can move the class, but if it’s an event, and a guy shows up in a wheelchair, we can’t move the event, and it’s just kind of embarrassing.”

Tom Jackson, vice president of public affairs, said the renovations were to make the house compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. He said the University had problems  accommodating disabled guests at the President’s house in the past.

“We did have a person fall there last year, so we want to avoid that at all costs,” Jackson said.

The renovations will be paid for through a mix of public and private funds. Sniff said $713,000 would come from state funds. But, Sniff said, no student fees would go toward funding the renovations.

“It’s called the President’s house, but it’s actually part of the state’s inventory. It’s no different from the Student Learning Center. It’s square footage that the state owns and has to maintain,” Sniff said. “Maintenance funds cannot be used for anything other than maintenance, by law. So it can’t be used for a furlough day. It can’t be used to hire a new faculty member. It can’t be used for any other reason but to maintain the buildings on campus.”

Renovations to the house have been criticized since an article published in the Athens Banner-Herald quoted past work order costs, Sniff said. The article cited repair costs such as $365 to fix a broken toilet handle, $1,775.83 to repair a cracked mirror and $50,533 to paint the east side of the building.

Jackson said the quoted figures were due to unclear records sent to the Banner-Herald. The toilet handle mentioned had been accidentally included in the open records request and was part of a work order in the President’s Office.

“The $365 quoted was a total of several things fixed in the building. The actual cost of repairing that toilet in the President’s Office was $69,” he said.

Ralph Johnson, associate vice president at the Physical Plant, also said the open records in question were flawed.

“What was sent over was just a brief description of the work order. When we send over a work order, it has a brief description of 40 characters,” Johnson said. “Often when we get requests to go over and do work at the President’s house, they have a list of things that need to be taken care of. The total cost of the mirror replacement was $287. The rest of the order were other parts of the work order, including replacing some handrails on the stairs, replacing a sign that had been vandalized on the street and some other things.”

Johnson said the fee quoted for painting the east side of the building was correct, but it included fees for removing and disposing of hazardous materials as well.

“Because of the age of the President’s house, many of the coats that had been used in the past included lead-based paint,” he said. “We’ve gotten to the point where it’s peeling so fast that we need to do what’s called an abatement, where you have to peel off all the layers of paint to get to the original wood.”

Johnson said the open records reports were compiled quickly and should have been checked over more thoroughly.

“It was requested last Thursday, and the staff turned it around in a quick time frame,” Johnson said.

Jackson said the University had been nationally recognized for its work in historic renovation and planned to continue to operate and maintain its five historic buildings.

“While it does cost money, I know the community would be concerned if the University let these buildings fall into disrepair,” he said.

Lady Dogs bite Tigers in overtime showdown

Freshman guard Jasmine James led the Lady Dogs in scoring with 15 points and grabbed four rebounds in Georgia’s win over LSU. (PHOTO, Jackie Reedy, jackiereedy@gmail.com)

Lady Dogs bite Tigers in overtime showdown

February 4, 2010 by BEN BUSSARD
Filed under Featured, Sports, Women’s basketball

If you were expecting an offensive shootout, then you came to the wrong place.

And Georgia women’s basketball head coach Andy Landers knew it.

“If you like defense, this was a good one. If you like offense, this game was about as ugly as it comes,” Landers said.

Points were hard to come by in Georgia’s 49-46 overtime victory over the No. 19 LSU Tigers Thursday night.

Both squads failed to score in the final four minutes of regulation and combined to shoot just 30.7 percent from the field.

“We’re the two best stingy defensive teams in the conference and that’s the kind of game you’re going to get,” Landers said.

Georgia (19-4, 6-4) turned the ball over a season-high 26 times and for just the second time in 987 games under head coach Andy Landers, the Lady Dogs notched a win without crossing the 50-point plateau.

Freshman guard Jasmine James led the Lady Dogs with 15 points while senior center Angel Robinson pulled down a team-high 14 rebounds.

Leading by three points with less than 10 seconds to go in the extra frame, junior forward Porsha Phillips stepped to the free-throw line looking to seal the victory for the No. 14 Lady Dogs.

Phillips failed to connect on either attempt, leaving LSU (15-6, 4-5) with an opportunity to tie things up but fortunately for Georgia that opportunity proved to a feeble one as the Tigers’ final shot failed to draw iron.

“Ugly or pretty, it’s a win and hopefully it’ll give us confidence going into Sunday,” senior point guard Ashley Houts said.

Still suffering the effects from an ankle sprain suffered two weeks prior, Houts grimaced her way through 34 minutes of play under the watchful eye of Landers and the Georgia training staff, who didn’t want to jeopardize their star player’s health any more than they had to.

“If she ever looked like she was flinching or in pain, I took her out,” Landers said. “Ashley told me at halftime that she thought she could go but as soon as I saw a flinch, I took her out.”

When she wasn’t on the court, Houts rode an exercise bike in order to prevent her sprained left ankle from tightening up as it became increasingly difficult to play on the tender joint.

“We were just trying to keep it warm as much as we could,” Houts said. “I couldn’t really do everything I wanted because at first your adrenaline takes over, but after a few minutes it started to hurt a little bit. I’ll go as long as I can and if I get tired, we’ll give it a blow.”

Perhaps Houts’ gritty performance personified the rest of the Lady Dogs’ resilience as Landers summed up her effort rather simply:

“It was all gut.”

Roommates share name, bond during first year

(PHOTO, Jackie Reedy, jackiereedy@gmail.com)

Freshmen Will Oliver (top) and Will Reynolds (above) have been rooming together since the start of the school year, while training side-by-side in practice. The Bulldogs’ first dual match is set for this Saturday. (PHOTO, Jackie Reedy, jackiereeedy@gmail.com)

Roommates share name, bond during first year

January 20, 2010 by LISA GLASER Filed under Sports, Tennis

One is brown-haired, the other a blond.

One is from San Antonio, Texas, the other from Chattanooga, Tenn.

One is a self-described neat-freak, the other is prone to spraying shaving cream all over his friends’ rooms as a joke.

But both are named Will and both fill their days with tennis.

The two freshmen on the Georgia men’s tennis players — Will Oliver and Will Reynolds — live together and practice together daily.

However, at the beginning of the their first year of college, neither knew each other. Both competed separately for years. Oliver started when he was around five years old, while Reynolds began at nine. The two had tennis-oriented families who helped each of them become a college athletes.

“My whole family played tennis. Both of my older sisters played tennis, so I would just kind of tag along with them. My dad pretty much taught everybody how to play, so that’s how I picked it up,” Oliver said.

Both became seriously involved, including traveling to tournaments at about age 12. Oliver and Reynolds each took time in high school to concentrate intensely on tennis;

Oliver was home-schooled his sophomore and junior years, while Reynolds took classes at Middle College at Chattanooga State during his sophomore year.

These two paths let the players use their time more advantageously for practicing and traveling to compete in tournaments. However, each returned to their original high school to graduate and to have more typical high school experiences.

When deciding what college to attend after high school, the two had similar reasons. Reynolds’ decision was influenced by his older brother, Brandon, who graduated fromthe University in 2002.

“It started with my brother. I’ve always looked up to my brother. He didn’t play tennis though; we’re different in that respect. When he came to Georgia, I became a huge fan. I had all the Georgia apparel and wanted to come here, regardless [of making the team],” Reynolds said.

Oliver, initially skeptical of leaving Texas, became convinced by his hometown friend and tennis captain, senior Jamie Hunt. Oliver’s and Hunt’s families live in the same city and have been friends for years.

“Our families were friends even before we were born, I think. His oldest sister and my oldest sister were the same age and played on the high school tennis team together, and were actually doubles partners. He’d always told me how awesome it was here and how I should come here,” Oliver said.

Together, Oliver and Reynolds have navigated Georgia’s campus since starting school last semester. Roommates at East Campus Village since August, the pair forged a friendship in the fall, partly due to how much their daily schedules overlapped.

“We didn’t know each other before college. Living together did help [starting school]. We had the same schedule, so it was ‘we’re going to class or we’re going to practice.’ We were going to the same stuff, which was cool,” Reynolds said.

This semester, they still practice, eat and live together. Together, they have struggled with time management and have learned how to strike a balance between their roles as students and as athletes.

“Tennis takes up so much of your time, and then you get home and you’re really tired and you realize you can’t just go to bed, you have to study,” Oliver said. “So that was a little bit tough to get used to, but now I’m getting into the pattern of when I can study, when I can do this, when I can sleep.”

The two are still learning separately and together how to survive the next three years. Their teammates have played a key role in helping the pair feel comfortable in Athens, a new town for both.

“The team is really close, so on weekends we all hang out. We go over to our manager’s house and watch a football game. We’re a really close team so we have a lot of fun together,” Oliver said.

To prevent confusion from their teammates, the two Wills have taken on several names to distinguish themselves from one another. Oliver’s unique nickname came from a rap battle he had with a recruit last semester.

“We call him ‘Black Bear.’ He was having a freestyle rap one time with someone, and his ending rhyme was ‘some people call me Black Bear,’ which nobody called him black bear, so we started calling him black bear. That kind of sums him up,” said senior Nate Schnugg.

Reynolds has been called “Wilbo”, “Willy Reed” and most recently, “Wild Bill”.

“I’m the most tame person on this team, and I have no problem saying that and they came up with ‘Wild Bill.’ That hasn’t really stuck though. ‘Black Bear’ is way cooler,” Reynolds said.

For now, the duo look forward to the rest of the season and what it may offer. This Saturday, Oliver, Reynolds and the rest of their team, face off against USC-Upstate in the season’s first home match.

“We don’t know the lineup yet, so for us, we may not be playing. And honestly, for me, that’s fine. I love seeing these guys play and cheering them on is a lot of fun,” Reynolds said. “And certainly, for me, it’s whatever it takes to help the team and make each other get better and better, on the court and off the court.

FLIP THE GRIP: Warm-up, cool down game improves Bulldogs’ play

Junior Drake Bernstein and the rest of the Georgia men’s tennis team open the dual-match season Saturday. (PHOTO/ JACKIE REEDY, jackiereedy@gmail.com)

FLIP THE GRIP: Warm-up, cool down game improves Bulldogs’ play

January 21, 2010 by LISA GLASER Filed under Featured, Sports, Tennis

At a given practice, the men’s tennis team may begin or end their workouts with a game called “Sticks.”

Let the trash talking commence.

“Nate feeds me the ball and I smash it,” senior Christian Vitulli said.

“I’m the best by far,” junior Drake Bernstein said.

“I’d say Nate [is the best], and Drake would obviously say himself, selfishly,” senior Alex Hill said.

Though the views on the game are varying, the rules are straightforward. Played in front of the service line, after one doubles pair serves the ball in, a member of the other team hits it to his partner, who then returns it back over the net using the “stick” side of his racket. “Sticks” is a practice tool for the team for several reasons.

“We’ll do it at the beginning or the end, to either loosen up or to cool down. We play it just to have some fun, especially after a long day of practice,” Bernstein said.

Vitulli points to how the game helps with hand-eye coordination, while Hill feels “Sticks” is useful in improving certain tennis skills.

“It helps our movement. But mostly, it’s just for a little relaxation and fun,” Hill said.

Outside of a desire to improve each player’s individual abilities, “Sticks” may represent how this team relies on one another to have fun and make it through both practice and the day. It is one of several examples showing the team’s camaraderie.

“I’ve always felt that bringing the team closer together is the key to success. We’ve always had a very close team and a lot of it has to do with the things we do together, stuff like playing that game,” Hill said.

Off the court, the team hangs out together, eats dinner together and occasionally pranks each other. The amount of time spent with one another may contribute to the team’s atmosphere.

“You probably couldn’t find a time in the day where there’s not at least two of us together. When we do stuff, we do it as a team. We try to push that with everybody,” Bernstein said. “When freshmen get here, they kind of see how it is and how you do anything for your teammates and they’re going to do whatever they can to help you out.”

With the team’s goals including winning a national championship, every step toward the NCAA tournament involves every player, in one way or another.

According to Bernstein, depending on a teammate to help a fellow teammate improve in practice, laugh with you in a game of “Sticks” or to win an important match are all intertwined.

“Really, when it comes down to it, that’s the difference between the best teams and the teams that are great,” Bernstein said.

“In the last few years, you could say, other than when we won it in ’07, the most talented team might not have won the tournament. It’s always the team with the best relationships that win it.”

University students aim to help upgrade downtown

Katie Robertson takes measurements for her senior studio retail project. Robertson and her classmates will help improve local shops. (PHOTO/ Jackie Reedy, jackiereedy@gmail.com)

University students aim to help upgrade downtown

February 1, 2010 by DALLAS DUNCAN Filed under News

Window displays in downtown Athens may be getting modern makeovers this semester — thanks to the design expertise of University students in a new service learning project.

“We always enjoy partnering with the University,” said Kathryn Lookofsky, director of the Athens Downtown Development Authority. “It’s a win-win for everybody.”

Groups of fashion merchandising and furnishings and interiors students will be assigned to different stores in downtown Athens, providing them free design tips and services in return for real-world experience.

“I thought to myself, we always take, take, take — how about why not trying to return some of it?” said Katalin Medvedev, an assistant professor in the textiles, merchandising and interiors.

Medvedev said she had coordinated a similar project at a previous job. When she saw how much the hands-on experience meant to students, she wanted to do this collaboration at the University.

“Once they are in the field they are usually more motivated — they want to do better,” she said. “It’s almost like a mini internship.”

Dina Smith, a graduate student from Hattiesburg, Miss., oversees the students’ project.

“They’ll go into the stores and observe specific things that I’ve laid out and examine what about this can be changed to make it better,” she said. “They’ll ultimately write a paper of suggestions to the store owners of what the owners can do better to better their business and how they could get the store to target their market a little better.”

Smith said some of the things students will be looking for in stores included window displays, store layout and dressing room accommodations.

“Anything that will make the customer’s experience more pleasurable and fun, because the longer a person stays in the store, the more they’re apt to buy,” she said.

Kasey Mays, a junior from Chickamauga, is in the group of students working at Flaunt, a boutique downtown. She had her first store walk-through on Tuesday, where she became familiar with the store’s owner, layout and merchandise.

“It’s kind of cool because yesterday I went in and there was discount stuff all over, and today I went in and she was changing everything and bringing in new merchandise,” she said.

Mays said she noticed the discount signs were taped to the walls.

“To me, that doesn’t draw my attention. It needs to be something more bold, brighter,” she said. “Also, the window displays — you can’t really see in; I don’t know if it’s the tint or the glare, so all you really see is the sign ‘Flaunt,’ and that doesn’t draw me in as a consumer.”

Megan Lee, an assistant professor in textiles, merchandising and interiors, said though fashion merchandising students will be more in tune with how the store’s layout affects customer purchasing behavior, her furnishings and interiors students will be focusing on design elements to make stores more environmentally-friendly.

“We’ll be offering design services depending on what [stores] need, anything from accessibility issues to privacy and theft,” she said. “And if they have any concerns with sustainability, we can help them to lower their energy costs.”

Tiffany Ward, a senior from Villa Rica, works with Athena Jewelers. She said some suggestions her group has for the store include livening up the floor, introducing storage units and helping to create a space for customers to create “virtual jewelry” to be made by the store.

“Sustainability goes back to repurposing,” she said.

Instead of asking Athena to purchase new items, the group suggests utilizing what the store already has to give it new life.

Lee said what fashion merchandising students can tell store owners verbally, furnishing and interiors students present visually.

“That’s what’s making it so unique and exciting,” she said.

Tricia Ruppersburg, owner of the downtown jewelry store Aurum, told The Red & Black she has a loyal customer base with a wide age range, but she thinks others are either not aware of the store or are misinformed about the store’s prices.

She said she hopes to get some good design ideas for the layout and display of the store from someone “who isn’t fettered by the idea that it has always been that way.”

“Another aspect [students] may choose to work on is to suggest ways we could more effectively reach the University student market for our fashion jewelry as well as engagement rings, and this may be the aspect that interested me most,” Ruppersburg said.

Medvedev said some stores in the project, such as the menswear store George Dean’s, have been in Athens for so long they have a niche market and an iconic window display but have trouble reaching outside that market to new customers.

Laura Elliot, a junior from Alpharetta, is working with George Dean’s.

“To actually work with menswear is gong to be interesting because I don’t have much experience there,” she said. “It’s going to be interesting to see what they do to target college-age guys.”

Elliot said she plans to talk with other students, including male students involved in the project, about why they shop at George Dean’s and what would make other people want to visit the store.

Lee said there was a lot of University support for service learning projects such as this.

“It definitely fits [President Adams’] mission,” she said. “When he was talking about sustainability and the Office of Sustainability, our project really fits that paradigm, and it’s really exciting to see the University heading in that direction.”

Ward said she is excited to get further into the project.

“It’s little shops like [Athena Jewelers] that keep downtown Athens a fun and cool place,” she said. “Athens has been so good to us — this is our chance to give back.”

Nutty fan supports team with lunch food

Junior Drake “Peanut Butter Kid” Scott has made a name for himself for his outlandish antics at Georgia games. (PHOTO/Jackie Reedy, jackiereedy@gmail.com)

Nutty fan supports team with lunch food

February 3, 2010 by NICK PARKER Filed under Featured, Men’s basketball, Sports

Body paint has long been a staple of hardcore fans looking for an edge in supporting their favorite team.

A Cameron Crazy once even made an outfit out of McDonald’s bags, picking on a Florida State player that weighed over 350 pounds at the time.

But it’s safe to say no fan has ever taken their level of fandom — or stupidity, depending on perspective — to the level that a Georgia fan did in last Saturday’s home win over Tennessee: lathering himself in peanut butter.

That fan, who has simply become known online as Peanut Butter Kid, is Georgia junior Drake Scott from Dacula.

“My HACE 3100 Professor Diann Moorman showed us a photo of a baby smothered in peanut butter just a few days before the big game,” Scott said. “I thought it was a genius idea, and I chose to use it as a distraction tool for the game.”

Coach Mark Fox added: “There’s some unique fans out there, but he’s in the top-10, I’ll tell you that.”

Scott has long been known for his crazy outfits and antics at Georgia basketball games, showing up 90 minutes or more before tipoff to secure front row seats, wearing “suits, body paint, and any random red and black objects that I can attach to my body.”

But peanut butter was unparalleled — even for Scott — and has sense drawn the lampoon of ESPN, Deadspin and Spike.

“I’m sure some people thought it was crazy, ridiculous, stupid, funny,” Scott said. “I do it for the better of the team, screaming my heart out and doing the most distracting things possible toward the other team.”

Naturally, after Georgia upset its first top-10 opponent in six years, Scott was the first one on the court. However, he expected thousands to follow, which would have cost Georgia $25,000 — the hefty fine handed out by the SEC when fans rush the court.

That wasn’t the case.

“I jolted toward the court, and a security guard tried to grab me, but I slipped his grip instantly and jumped for joy while four or five guys chased me,” Scott said. “I slapped [Georgia forward] Chris Barnes on the back and off the court I went. I was pretty mad no one came but more mad at the SEC for prohibiting such action.”

Added Barnes: “I knew they were going to try to rush the court because we hadn’t beaten Tennessee in so long, but I didn’t expect him to try to give me a hug with peanut butter all over him. But I thought it was pretty funny, but I’m glad the security guard got him before he could get me.”

When Georgia takes the floor Wednesday night in Stegeman Coliseum, Scott will be in his usual place — but likely without the peanut butter.
“I do not see the peanut butter becoming a staple due to the flakes that flew everywhere, but I would not count it out,” Scott said. “There will be other big games that may need bigger things that may include food, though.”

I Love Athens Church

Athens Church celebrated its fifth year anniversary on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2009 in Athens, Ga. Members bounced balloons in the air while the worship band sang "Celebration." (PHOTO, Jackie Reedy, jackiereedy@gmail.com)

Athens Church celebrated its fifth year anniversary on Sunday, Jan. 31, 2009 in Athens, Ga. Members bounced balloons in the air while the worship band sang "Celebration." (PHOTO, Jackie Reedy, jackiereedy@gmail.com)

(PHOTO/ Jackie Reedy, jackiereedy@gmail.com)

(PHOTO/ Jackie Reedy, jackiereedy@gmail.com)

(PHOTO/ Jackie Reedy, jackiereedy@gmail.com)

Vernon Thornsberry (click photo to watch audio slideshow)

 

Vernon Thornsberry, 46, from New Orleans, La., poses in front of Jittery Joes Coffee Roaster in Athens, Ga., on Friday, April 10, 2009. Thornsberry has been delivering coffee beans to downtown Athens restaurants for the past seven - eight years.