The McMinn Senior Activity Center (205 McMinn Ave., Athens) will host its annual yard sale Friday and Saturday, Sept. 5–6, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. All proceeds benefit at-risk senior citizens in the community. On Friday, shoppers can also enjoy lunch from ROOTS Authentic Puerto Rican Food starting at 11 a.m. Come out for great deals and a great cause!

Join the Etowah Carnegie Library for their free Toddler Storytime, in partnership with Nurture the Next McMinn, for stories, play, and brain-building fun! Designed for kids 2-4. No registration needed. Program begins at 11 am on Tuesday, Sept. 9! For more information, call (423) 263-9475 or visit their website at www.etowahlibrary.com.

The Athens Area Council for the Arts opens its 2025–26 Black Box Concert Series with Seth Mulder & Midnight Run on Friday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. Tickets ($20–$25) are on sale now. AACA will also host beginner-friendly Artsplorations theatre workshops during Fall Break, Oct. 6– 10, with registration due by Oct. 3.

Yesterday the administration arranged a military flyover during the visit of President Karol Nawrocki of Poland, in honor of a Polish army pilot killed in a training exercise. The flyover occurred just at the time more than 100 of the women who survived sexual grooming, assault, and rape in their association with Epstein and his associate, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, spoke at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol, drowning out their words.

But it did not silence the words of survivor Jess Michaels.

“For 27 years, I thought I was the only one that Jeffrey Epstein raped. I believed I was alone, and I was kept silent by the shame that was inside me and by the fear outside in the world,” she said. “But I wasn't the only one. None of us were. And what once kept us silent now fuels that fire and the power of our voices. We are not the footnotes in some infamous predator’s tabloid article. We are the experts and the subjects of this story. We are the proof that fear did not break us. And we don't just speak for ourselves, but for every survivor whose story is still unspoken…. This is what power looks like. Survivors united, voices joined, refusing to be dismissed. Know this: justice and accountability are not favors from the powerful. They are obligations, decades overdue. This moment began with Epstein's crimes, but it's going to be remembered for survivors demanding justice, demanding truth, demanding accountability, and we will not stop until survivor voices shape justice, transform culture, and define the future. We are no longer whispers. We are one powerful voice, too loud to ignore, and we will never be silenced again.”