This final note from Athens, Ga., today. It’s worth a mention that there are a bunch of other Athenses in the United States. Athens, Ala., Ohio and N.Y., to name just a few.
Couple of years ago, the original Athens helped fly the mayors of all those places to come for a visit. Heidi Davison was the mayor of Athens, Ga., then. She spotted trouble right away.
Heidi Davison: We started walking around and there were all these big huge black bags on the streets. And we were like ‘what is all this stuff?’ And we went back to the desk clerk and asked what is all this stuff and she said, ‘oh we’ve had a garbage strike for three weeks.’
She says the trip was an enlightening experience.
Davison: We’ve never had a garbage strike. I don’t think we’ve ever had a strike, which is good, I’m glad. Because I don’t think our police are set up for riots. I don’t remember riot gear being in their budget.
Davison also told us, by the way, the plan was for a Greek delegation to make a return trip here. Never happened, Davison says.
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