CLASSIC CITY NEWS

By Joe Johnson A 20-year-old University of Georgia student was hospitalized earlier this month after attempting suicide by overdosing on pills. When emergency responders arrived at her off-campus apartment the student admitted to taking multiple muscle relaxers “because she was sad and feeling down,”‘according to a police report. Prior to being transported by ambulance to the hospital the student began to vomit and became too sluggish to speak anymore. Allso this month a 19-

By Joe Johnson A 19-year-old University of Georgia student last week died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Ryan Victor Snyder reportedly shot himself on December 4th with a gun he rented at the Athens Gun Club off Atlanta Highway. He died the following day in his home town of St. Louis, Missouri. Ryan was a business student at UGA and in high school had played basketball and volleyball, and also wrestled. He was a National Honor Society member and his obituary said that R

By UGA Today Just over a decade ago, the University of Georgia’s West Campus was characterized by aging mid-century residence halls and underutilized student amenities, long past their prime and in clear need of revival. Today, this central area of campus — home to more than 4,500 first-year students — has been transformed through a series of noteworthy renovation projects and new facilities, with more enhancements coming next fall. “Everything we do is with the quality of th

By Joe Johnson The police department is investigating a shooting that happened this morning on Baxter Street. Details are not yet available from the police. ”This is still a very active investigation at this time,” police spokesperson Lt. Katie Jenkins said. “Officers are still on scene investigating. Once the scene has been cleared, I will try to get you as much information as I can. “ According to a University of Georgia campus safety alert, the incident happened at McRae

The University of Georgia released the following this morning: UGA Police Community Notification December 1, 2025 7:45 a.m. The Athens-Clarke County Police Department is currently investigating a shooting incident that occurred off-campus during the early morning hours of December 1, 2025 at McCrae Dental located at 995 Baxter Street. Traffic in the area of South Milledge Avenue at Baxter Street is likely to be impacted for the duration of the investigation. We would like to

By James Hataway/UGA Today Hairy Dawg was born in a basement, and he was delivered in a hurry. Three weeks before Georgia’s showdown against Notre Dame in the 1981 Sugar Bowl, Tom Sapp  BFA ’69 showed coach Vince Dooley some sketches for an idea he had.  They depicted a broad-shouldered, tough-looking figure with a bulldog’s head, oversized paws, and a football player’s body. Dooley liked the idea and said Sapp could build the costume—but only if he could have it ready in ti

From various reports University of Georgia football offensive lineman Nyier Daniels was arrested Sunday in Jackson County after a police chase in which his mother blocked officers, officials said. The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said Daniels was booked into jail Sunday morning for increckless driving, two counts of stop signs and yield signs, fleeing from a police officer, and two counts of cruelty to children in the second degree. His mother faces several charges, includ

This was released today by the Barrow County government The Barrow County Airport, a central aviation hub for northeast Georgia, saw a record number of aircraft during the weekend of the nationally televised college football game between the University of Georgia and the University of Texas. Barrow County saw 73 aircraft, including 53 jets, 14 turboprops and six piston engine planes, come through the airport between Friday and Sunday, with officials opting to close the airpor

Tara Louise Baker By Joe Johnson A Superior Court judge last month ordered the unsealing of search warrants in the Tara Baker murder case as the trial date nears for her accused killer. The 23-year-old University of Georgia law student was murdered in her east Athens apartment in January 2001 and the crime went unsolved for two decades, when in February of last year Athens resident Edrick Faust was identified as the suspect by matching his DNA to genetic evidence collected f

By Joe Johnson A University of Georgia law professor is being investigated for allegedly not disclosing his HIV-positive status before having sex with an Athens man. According to police, the 23-year-old man reported that he met the professor through the Grindr social networking app in November 2024 and they had sex at the professor’s home. Police said the professor is being investigated under the state law that makes it a felony “for a person living with HIV to knowingly en

By Joe Johnson A University of Georgia law professor is being investigated for allegedly not disclosing his HIV-positive status before having sex with an Athens man. According to police, the 23-year-old man reported that he met the professor through the Grindr social networking app in November 2024 and they had sex at the professor’s home. Police said the professor is being investigated under the state law that makes it a felony “for a person living with HIV to knowingly en

By Joe Johnson A University of Georgia law professor is being investigated for allegedly not disclosing his HIV-positive status before having sex with an Athens man. According to police, the 23-year-old man reported that he met the professor through the Grindr social networking app in November 2024 and they had sex at the professor’s home. Police said the professor is being investigated under the state law that makes it a felony “for a person living with HIV to knowingly en

The downtown scene after the Georgia-Alabama game in September By Joe Johnson More than 50 people were booked into the county jail following Saturday night’s football game at the University of Georgia. It had been a highly anticipated match up between the Georgia Bulldogs and University of Texas Longhorns with playoff implications. It was also the first time the Longhorns had traveled to Athens to play on UGA’s home turf. Officials at the Athens airport said that Friday had b

By Greg Trevor/UGA Today Nearly two hours before sunrise on a Saturday in October, four UGA Police commanders painstakingly install the first of several hydraulic traffic barricades around Sanford Stadium — a task they perform every game day. “This shows the standard that we expect from all of our officers,” Deputy Chief Derrick Gregory said. Two miles away, UGA bus drivers begin the first transit runs that will carry thousands of football fans to and from the stadium through

By Joe Johnson Whitney Dustin Beck was arrested in the afternoon of October 25th after he chased a University of Georgia student while wielding a knife on the North Oconee River Greenway. The 55-year-old homeless man had a crack pipe and open whiskey bottle when police located him. The incident was at around 3:20 p.m. when the 20-year-old student was walking on the trail between Inglewood and Old Winterville roads when Beck accosted and began chasing him while swinging a knif

By Caroline Paczkowski/UGA Today The University of Georgia’s School of Public and International Affairs has been selected to join the Service to Service initiative. This program, sponsored by the Volcker Alliance and We the Veterans and Military Families, helps veterans and military families build careers in state and local government through graduate study in public service. Launched in October 2024, the Service to Service initiative brings together a pioneering cohort of pu

By Joe Johnson University of Georgia players and coaches alike are mourning the recent death of a beloved worker at their facility. They even dedicated their win on Saturday against Mississippi State to Kimberly Allen, who died in her Athens home on November 5th. “We dedicated this win to Ms. Kim Allen, who’s a co-worker of ours, worked in our facility,” said Coach Kirby Smart. “She was an incredible lady.” Running back Nate Frazier has fond memories of the 45-year-.old UGA

By Kristen Linthicum/UGA Today At the onset of cold and flu season, a group of University of Georgia schools and colleges joined together to promote community health at UGA’s Health Sciences Campus. Last week, students and faculty from across the university — including the College of Public Health, Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership, the School of Medicine and the College of Pharmacy — hosted the second Normaltown Community Health Fair. The event off

By Belle Wilkins/ UGA Today Lt. Col. Weston Layfield understands the pride and camaraderie that comes from serving in the United States Armed Forces.   Now, as professor of military science at the University of Georgia Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) , he’s sharing experience gained from a long career in the U.S. Army with students as he trains the next generation of cadets.    Layfield has been in the U.S. Army in various command and staff positions across the cou

By Joe Johnson Neo-Nazis have been coming to the aid of an Athens man who assaulted a University of Georgia student while he was dressed as an SS officer. They are donating funds to the person who had called himself Gaschambers on his now-deleted X account. Kenneth Leland Morgan last month smashed a glass beer pitcher into the student’s face when she tried grabbing his Nazi armband in the doorway of a bar in downtown’ Athens where Morgan was denied entry because of his unif