Area briefs: AthFest in Athens, indictments in Franklin Co

Three drownings in the past week in Lake Lanier

Another AthFest is in the books: the downtown music festival returned to the summer calendar for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, with dozens of mostly Athens-based bands performing on street stages and in a variety of venues in downtown Athens. Five new members of the Athens Music Walk of Fame were named during the festival: Bloodkin, Tituss Burgess, The Glands, Ishues, and Love Tractor will be enshrined on the plaques that mark the music walk through downtown Athens.

A grand jury in Franklin County hands up indictments in the case of a man from Lavonia charged in a shooting that happened earlier this month: 22 year-old Jamal Walker is accused of shooting and wounding a man at a home in Lavonia.

A man from Troup County is indicted on bank robbery charges in Franklin County: Randy Cofield is 59 years old, from LaGrange. He’s accused in holdups that happened earlier this year at banks in Carnesville and Lavonia.

The body of a 20 year-old man is pulled out of Lake Lanier, the third drowning in the past week in the lake in Forsyth and Hall counties.