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WWW.CHAMPIONNEWSPAPER.COM • FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011 • VOL. 14, NO. 2 • FREE

F REE P RESS • A PUBLICATION OF ACE III C OMMUNICATIONS •

by Daniel [email protected]

The DeKalb County SchoolSystem’s three superintendentandidates fi elded tough ques-ions about their qualifi cationso run Georgia’s third-largest

chool district at a public forumon March 31.

Each candidate was given 50minutes to make a brief introduc-ion and then answer questionsubmitted by community mem-

bers.All three candidates come

rom districts with fewer than0,000 students, compared to

99,000 in the county system.Lillie Cox, superintendent of

Hickory Public Schools in NorthCarolina and Arthur Culver,uperintendent of Champaign

Public Schools in Illinois, both aid that their previous experi-nce working with larger dis-ricts made them comfortable

with DeKalb’s size.“I do come from a smaller

ystem, but fortunately I’ve hadhe opportunity to work at theenior staff level of a very largeystem of 73,000—not quite

as big as yours. However, I dounderstand the dynamics thathappen at that level,” Cox saidof her previous work with theGuilford County School Systemn North Carolina.

Culver cited his experienceeaching in the Houston Indepen-

dent School District with morehan 200,000 kids and his work

as an area superintendent in FortBend as an asset.

“That’s really not a prob-em for me because, again, I’ve

been in a large system,” he said.Also, [I’ve been] an area su-

perintendent in a district with6,000 kids; that’s not a smallystem. I was engaged at the

administrative level and I wasnvolved in the community, so I

know how that functions.”Gloria Davis, the only can-

didate without any experiencen such a large district, said thatimilar problems arise in districts

both large and small and thehanges DeKalb needs have to

be made quickly and thoroughly.“I often say, ‘If you work

with me you need two pairs of oller-skates, one on your feet

DeKalbSchoolcandidatesface toughquestions

Lights outsHundreds of people wait for their day in court,or at least near it, after a storm caused a poweroutage at the DeKalb County Recorder’s Courton April 5. Offi cials decided to conduct business

outside the building, giving a new meaning tocourtyard. At right, a folding table acted as thejudge’s bench for Chief Judge Nelly Withers ofthe DeKalb County Recorders Court. Photos byAndrew CauthenSee Candidates on 3A

by Andrew [email protected]

When 12-year-old SekondiLandry found out that hisneighborhood library wasclosing because of county

budget cuts, he began a campaign to keepit open.

Visiting the houses surrounding thelibrary, Landry collected 107 signatures andsubsequently became the face of a grass-roots movement to save the library he visitsnearly every day.

Flanked by his great grandfather andfriends, Landry, 12, was honored by mem-bers of the Georgia House of Representa-tives on March 30. After viewing a televi-sion news clip on his work to keep the ScottCandler Library open, the house members

gave Landry a standing ovation.“He saved his local library,” said Rep.Stephanie Benfi eld to the house members.“He’s very ambitious. He may sit in one of these seats one day.”

In fact, Landry is planning to enter pol-itics when he is older. Ultimately, he wouldlike to be a member of the U. S. House of Representatives. Landry, who is home-schooled, also wants to go to Harvard Uni-versity for his bachelors degree and then toYale University for his masters.

“That way I can go to both,” Landrysaid.

Scott Candler Library was set to closeon April 1 in an effort to save money as partof the DeKalb County Board of Commis-sioners’ mandate to cut 8.9 percent from

most departmental budgets. The boardvoted in February to cut $33.64 millionfrom the chief executive offi cer’s proposedbudget to avoid a tax increase.

But Landry’s efforts led to a specialmeeting on March 21 of the DeKalb

County Public Library Board of Trustees,which voted to keep the Scott Candler Li-

brary open on a reduced schedule, at leastthrough June 30.In addition to the signatures, Landry

attended a public meeting and a communityrally for the library.

“It’s pretty cool that they kept it open,”Landry said.

In a statement Acting Library Director Alison Weissinger said the library boardwill continue to watch the budget and thestaffi ng situation closely to determine if the Scott Candler Library can remain openafter June 30.

A new Scott Candler Library facilityis under construction and is expected to becompleted by the end of this year.

And Landry will be keeping his eye onthe decisions of library board regarding his

library. In fact, he has begun writing librar-ies all over Georgia to urge them to stayopen for the children who need them.

Landry’s actions caught the attention of Rep. Tyrone Brooks, who represents partsof Douglas and Fulton counties. Brooksasked him to lead an annual march on April2 that commemorates the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The march toMoore’s Ford Bridge in Walton Countyalso highlights the unsolved lynching of four blacks at the bridge on July 25, 1946.

“I’m proud of him,” said Landry’sgreat grandfather Nathan Knight. “ButI’m proud of him everyday. A lot of chil-dren do a lot of positive things. They justdon’t get credit for them.”

This is not the fi rst time Landry has

taken up a cause. When he attended his oldschool, Annistown Elementary in Snell-ville, he once protested against a change inthe lunch schedule.

“The lunch was 15 minutes,” Landrysaid. “No one had time to eat.”

State house honors boy who saved library

Twelve-year-old Sekondi Landry holds aresolution that credits him with keeping hisneighborhood library open. He is joined by(left to right) Rep. Stephanie Benfi eld; hisfriend Summer Williams; his grandmother Rosetta Jones; and his great grandfather Nathan Knight. Photo by Ben Scarborough

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The Champion Free Press, Friday, April 8, 2011 ANEWS

DeKalb County Schools and Heery submit mediators

City manager referendum looming in Doraville

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by Robert [email protected]

Doraville residents willsoon be able to vote to

change their form of gov-ernment if Gov. NathanDeal signs a bill that passedthe Georgia House and Sen-ate recently.

HB 544, sponsored byDistrict 81 Rep. ElenaParent, allows for a refer-endum to be placed on theballot in Doraville in No-vember. This would allowresidents to vote on makingthe ofce of mayor a part-time position and creating

a city manager-led govern-ment.

Doraville had a citymanager-run govern-ment until 1982 when it

was changed to its currentsystem. The possibility of reinstituting a city manager form of government hasbeen a hot topic in the com-munity for years.

“This was brought to meafter a unanimous resolu-tion by the city council,asking me to adopt a bill,”Parent said, whose districtincludes Doraville. “In acity manager, you will getsomeone who is a true pro-

fessional when it comes tomanagerial functions.”

If the bill is signed andthe referendum passes, theofce of mayor will remain

a full-time position untilJan. 1, 2014. That will al-low the city enough timeto search for and hire a citymanager. The city manager would begin his or her termat that time and the mayor would then become a part-time position, Parent said.

City councilwomanDonna Pittman has beenserving as acting mayor since mayor Ray Jenkins died Feb. 2. A special elec-

tion will be held June 21 todetermine who will nishout Jenkins’ term, whichwill end Dec. 31, 2011.

Another mayoral elec-

tion will be held in Novem-ber for the four-year termbeginning 2012.

“It’s very important thatthe citizens of Doraville arethe ones to make the deci-sion about the city manager position,” Pittman said.“With a city manager thecity will run more like abusiness. That person willhandle the day to day busi-ness of the city. It will freeup the mayor to do more

marketing of the city.”Both Pittman and coun-

cilwoman Maria Alex-ander acknowledged thatmany cities are moving

away from the mayoralform of government andthat a change is somethingthe residents should have achance to consider.

“We need to have adetailed job description inplace so when voters go tothe polls in November theywill know exactly what theyare voting for and what thejob description is,” Alexan-der said.

by Daniel [email protected]

The DeKalb CountySchool System and Heery/Mitchell submitted their candidates for mediationon April 4, and argued over whether to add 12 additionalnames to the list of defen-dants in connection with theongoing lawsuit.

The school system namedGeorge Reid, a Georgiabased mediator who special-zes in complex construction

disputes, as a possible media-or.

Heery recommendedLeah Ward Sears and Nor-man Fletcher, former Geor-gia Supreme Court chief jus-ices, Stanley Birch, a retired1th Circuit U.S. Court of

Appeals judge, and JonathanMarks, who mediated thecase in July 2009.

Judge Clarence Seeliger discarded both Reid and

Fletcher because he wantedo make sure that any media-or chosen, “[had] no direct

contact with [either] side inhe case,” and both of them

had contact in one way or an-other with the plaintiffs or thedefendants.

Heery also led a motionattempting to have King andSpalding, the rm represent-ng the school system, dis-

qualied due to allegationshat the rm has a conict of nterest.

However, the motion

elied on testimony from for-mer Superintendent Craw-ford Lewis, who is now be-ng represented by Rep. Ed

Lindsey (R-Atlanta). SinceLindsey is a legislator he had

the option to postpone anytestimony on behalf of hisclient for up to three weeksafter the legislative sessionhas ended, which he chose todo.

According to David Rub-inger, a spokesperson for Heery International, Seeliger has requested that Rep. Lind-sey let him know the soonestpossible date he is available,

which is expected to be inlate May.The judge also ruled in

favor of King and Spaldingadding 12 names to the listof defendants who, the rmclaims, are either active par-ticipants in the alleged fraudor individuals in executivepositions who knew of theactivity.

School attorney Ray Per-sons claimed that high rank-ing executives at Heery werewarned that what they weredoing was illegal unless theyhad written consent from the

school board.“They are the ones who

received the fruits of thisfraud and they are answer-able in these proceedings,”Persons said of the 12 indi-viduals.

Heery said that the indi-viduals who were added werebeing sued merely becauseof their position in the com-pany and that none of their activities, at the executiveor management levels, werefraudulent.

“There is not the requisite

level of specicity to callthese individuals crooks,”said Paul Monnin, a lawyer for Heery International. “It’snot enough, judge, to simplysay Heery, as an entity, [en-

gaged] in fraudulent conduct,therefore, so [did these indi-viduals].”

Heery managed the schoolSPLOST account from 2002-06. In 2006 the school sys-tem terminated the company,citing overbilling and ques-tionable work. Heery thensued DeKalb County SchoolSystem for $400,000 that itsaid the system still owed

them. The school system thencountersued for $100 million,alleging fraud and claimingthat the company misman-aged projects.

Heery denies those claims

and contends that the realreason the company wasred was because then Chief Operations Ofcer Pat Pope wanted to award the con-tracts to people that she knewand had connections with.

Both Lewis and Pope arecurrently awaiting trial after being indicted on racketeer-ing and corruption chargesfor allegedly running a

criminal enterprise within theschool system.The school system wants

to take the case to trial butSeeliger said, for it to moveforward, all witnesses must

be able to testify with fulldisclosure.

“In all honesty and truth,two of the three witnessesin this case can’t testify…we need them to waive their Fifth Amendment rights be-fore they [do],” Seeliger saidof Lewis and Pope.

Seeliger ordered DeKalbCounty Schools and Heeryinto mediation on March 22,

citing concerns for taxpayersand mounting legal fees onboth sides; the school boardhas already paid an estimated$15.5 million in legal fees.

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www.championnewspaper.com The Champion Free Press, Friday, April 8, 2011 A

Downgraded credit rating could

bring a county tax increase

Son allegedlystabs mother,siblings to

death

Former court clerk says resignation invalid


The DeKalb Countygovernment has a credit problem.

Standard & Poor’s (S&P)Ratings Services announced onMarch 28 that it had loweredthe county’s general obligationdebt from AA- to BBB and itslong-term rating on the county’sappropriation-backed debt fromA+ to BBB-.

The rating on DeKalb’soutstanding water and sewer bondswas dropped from AA+ to AA-.

After the ratings were lowered,

they were withdrawn by S&P, anancial services company thatpublishes nancial research andanalysis on stocks and bonds.

Commissioner Jeff Rader said the immediate impact of the ratings on the operation of the county government will bemarginal. However, the impactof the downgrading of the water and sewer debt could be “verydetrimental” to the county asit seeks to raise money for thewater and sewer improvements,according to Rader.

In December, the county’s

Board of Commissioners approved$1.345 billion in improvements toDeKalb’s water and sewer system,which will be nanced by an11-percent rate hike each year for three years beginning in 2012.

“We need to correct it [therating] in order to be able to usethat money more cost effectively,”Rader said. “We’ve been erodingour nancial position and makingourselves vulnerable to these bonddowngrades.”

To address the problem, Rader is planning to introduce legislationto amend the 2011 budget to raisetaxes, not for additional services,but for the budget reserves. Thecurrent budget has $12 millionfor reserves, but the county needs$45 million—enough to keep thecounty running for a month.

Rader is proposing a 3.3-millincrease, which would bring inapproximately $51 million intax revenue. That would add $33million to the county’s budgetreserves and raise an extra $17.7million that could be used to adjustother tax funds departmental

budgets.“That’s going to be a tough

thing for some people in the publicto swallow,” Rader said. “What itsays is ‘we’re going to raise your taxes and we’re not going to giveyou anything else in addition for that.’”

Rader said he does not know if the proposed tax increase wouldhave enough votes to pass.

“I’m not a big fan of taxincreases but at this point I think we’ve really got to do somethingto restore the fundamentalcondence of the nancial

market,” Rader said.In downgrading the county’scredit rating, S&P cited thecounty’s Board of Commission’srejection of the proposed 2011budget of Chief Executive Ofcer Burrell Ellis, which called for a12-percent property tax increase.

“I presented a lean andresponsible budget proposal tothe Board of Commissioners andthey have been playing politicswith it ever since,” Ellis said in

a statement. “Their actions arecosting DeKalb taxpayers more inthe long run, and this is another example of that.”

Rader said it is no secretthat the commission and theadministration have been at oddsover the budget.

“The debate over the budget isa healthy thing for us, because…we really do have to learn how tolive within more limited meansnow,” Rader said. “We can’texpect our tax digest to expandevery year.”

Rader said the administrationhas responded to the commission’s

unwillingness to approve budgetincreases by cutting more than$100 million from the budget over the past few years.

In the current budget, theboard of commissioners mandated8.9 percent in cuts from mostdepartmental budgets. The budgetof the re and rescue departmentwas cut by 29.41 percent, whilethe sheriff’s ofce and policedepartment were cut by 4.46percent. The human resourcedepartment’s budget was cut by 25percent.

To adhere to the budget,

county departments have beenimplementing various plansincluding: laying off 82 rerecruits; postponing training for 40police recruits; eliminating policecrime scene investigators for non-violent crimes; restricting the useof the police helicopter; reducinglibrary services; and cutting hoursfor the tax commissioner’s ofce.Several other departments areconsidering furloughs, layoffs anda reduction of hours.


Three Lithonia family memberswere stabbed to death allegedly by aelative who was under a court order

to stay awayfrom them.

EugeneQuatron Mc-Coy, 21, hasbeen chargedwith three

counts of mur-der and onecount of aggra-vated assaultand remainsin the DeKalb

County Jail.At 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 3,

police were called to 7101 RocklandRoad in Lithonia where a mother and two of her children had beenkilled. The mother’s teenage daugh-er was also attacked but was ableo escape to a neighbor, who then

called police, according to MekkaParrish, public information ofcer with the DeKalb County Police De-partment.

The deceased victims have beendentified as Sheila Irons, 45; her on Zion McPherson, 11; and

daughter Chasity McPherson, 8.Candice McCoy, 17, remains incritical condition.

Each victim was stabbed multipleimes, Parrish said. Police found

a knife believed to be the murder weapon at the scene. Later, a jour-nalist reportedly found a secondbloody knife on the porch of thehome.

The killings were “prompted byome sort of dispute,” Parrish said.

“We have not determined the natureof the dispute.”The suspect was detained and

arrested Sunday night when policefound him walking away from thecrime scene.

McCoy has a criminal historyhat started when he was 17 years

old. His record includes burglary,misdemeanor battery, probation vio-ation and contempt of court.

Just this year, he spent nineweeks in jail for a criminal trespasscharge when he violated a familyprotection order to stay away fromhe people he is accused of killing.

McCoy was released on March 16 inhat case.

On the recent charges, McCoyappeared before a magistrate judgeon April 4 and will have a prelimi-nary hearing on Aug. 28.

McCoy


DeKalb County Superior Court Clerk Linda Carter, whoaccording to the Governor’s ofceresigned her position on March 24,wants her job back, claiming shereally did not resigned.

County ofcials are inpossession of a letter from Carter’sattorney, Lee Parks, which requeststhe revocation of her resignation.

DeKalb County spokesmanBurke Brennan said county

ofcials are looking into allegationsby Carter that the resignation letter to the governor was fraudulent.

“The request is something wehave not ever had to deal with inDeKalb County,” Brennan said.

Debra DeBerry, former chief deputy clerk, was appointed byGov. Nathan Deal to the clerk oldposition after Carter’s resignation.Carter, who was elected to theposition in 2000, in the letter citedhealth reasons for stepping down.

The position of superior courtclerk is an elected position.

Linda Carter

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The Newslady

The right one

Investigate standardized testingby Judge Greg Mathis

For several years, ever since the No ChildLeft Behind Act took effect, students, teach-ers and school districts have felt

the pressure that comes from livingin a nation that uses standardizedtests as its sole method for measur-ing student profi ciency. When toomany students at one school performpoorly on these tests, teachers canbe fi red, principals replaced andschools closed. Hundreds of teacherswere fi red in D.C. schools becauseof poor performance by students ontests. The stakes are high. But no onewould have guessed that the pressure wouldlead to alleged cheating on these exams.

An investigation by USA Today into drastictest score turnarounds at Noyes Elementary, aWashington, D.C., public school, revealed that

seventh grade students in one classroom at theschool each had, on average, nearly 13 wronganswers that were erased and changed to thecorrect answer.

Coincidence? Maybe not. In 2006, 10percent of the school’s students “passed” thestandardized math test. In 2008, nearly 60 per-cent did. Tests scores showed the school made

similar gains on the reading portion of

the test. Perhaps the teachers simplyworked harder and ensured studentsabsorbed the lessons? Maybe. But it’simportant, for comparison, to note thatthe average wrong to right erasure for seventh graders throughout the D.C.public school system was less thanone.

Noyes Elementary School isn’t theonly one with questionable score im-provement. Fifty-eight Atlanta schools

are under investigation because high rates of wrong answers changed to right on studentanswer sheets raised fl ags. Similar occurrenceshave raised red fl ags in Detroit as well.

If this is, in fact, cheating, who is respon-

sible? Teachers? School principals? No one issure but one thing is certain: if it’s happeningin D.C., Detroit and Atlanta, it is happeningin other cities. Changing test answers to fake

improvement doesn’t help our students. It hurtsthem. That is why a federal task force needs tobe formed to investigate drastic improvementon standardized tests at our nation’s publicschools. We want to believe that our teachers

and principals are honest but we also know thatfear – of being fi red if students perform poorly– or greed – teachers and principals at Noyesreceived bonuses when scores improved – arepowerful motivators.

There also needs to be another way to mea-sure student performance. We cannot simplyrely on standardized tests. Periodic monitor-ing can easily show how students and teachersperform in the classroom. Required essays andmath “projects” will show us that students canactually apply what they are taught. Diversify-ing the way we measure student performance – and deciding the fate of teachers, principals andschools – will also help keep things honest.

Judge Greg Mathis currently provides legal advice to more than three million listeners onthe Steve Harvey Morning Show and also on hiswebsite, www.askjudgemathis.com.

Mathis

The DeKalb County Board of Edu-ation will soon select a new, permanentuperintendent. We’re at a critical junc-ure and it is crucial that we get the right

one for the job. On Thursday, March 31,at the Administration and InstructionalComplex in Tucker, the board hosted aorum to give the public an opportunityo see and hear from the three fi nalists.

It just has to be said. The attendanceby the community was abysmal! It wasall inside baseball. Those in attendancewere mainly people associated with theystem – staff, board members past and

present, teachers and union reps alongwith a small army of news media.

Perhaps parents felt the forum wasmerely an exercise, that the selectionwas fait accompli, already done. What-ver the excuse, the auditorium should

have been packed. It wasn’t. So, let’snot boo and hiss when the selection ismade and we don’t feel we got the rightperson.

One is reminded of the poor at-endance at political forums. Typicallyhere are more campaign workers and

news media than voters. We carp andomplain about elected offi cials but

we fail to adequately educate ourselvesabout the candidates on the front end.We get what we get DeKalb. Peopleocate to an area for its employment po-ential, housing in a safe, secure, cleannvironment and schools. We have lost

ground in each of those areas over thepast several years and it is a DeKalb

County problem.We need a strong, visionary prob-

lem solver at the helm of our schools,one who can fi x what’s broken and putour children on course to compete in a

technologically advanced global society.The question wasn’t raised, but neither did any of the candidates offer to talk about the challenges of continuing touse archaic teaching methods to cyber savvy students. The board should makecertain that the candidates are queriedabout innovations in technology totake us to the next level in educationalinstruction. Otherwise, we’ll get anexperienced caretaker who will see tothe status quo—budgets, staff, stale cur-ricula leading to bored, non-learning,non-productive students.

The three candidates each are fromsmall communities and have not had anyexperience managing a $1.5 billion bud-get and huge systems like ours. Observ-

ers at the forum were heard to say morethan once “I wish we had better choices”and “I wish they didn’t come from suchsmall systems.” A sage soul once said,“It isn’t what you have but what you dowith it.” It’s quality over quantity. Givenour school system’s overall sorry state of affairs, the candidates should be givenhigh marks for even applying. That said,here is my assessment of the candidatesin preferential order:

Dr. Lillie Cox, superintendent of Hickory N.C., Public Schools - Dr. Coxwas the best of the lot. She was poised,knowledgeable, credible, passionateand possessed excellent communicationskills. The other two candidates relied

on the podium. She came around frontof the lectern, immediately establish-ing camaraderie with the audience. Dr.Cox is accustomed to diverse popula-tions. She has a proven track record of improving a low-performing district.

Dr. Cox was very specifi c about theSACS Report. She also offered specif-ics about goal setting, accountability,educational trends, training and issues of trust and integrity. Most importantly she

was laser-focused on children and her belief that every child could learn. Her philosophy was clear: Focus on the childwith great expectations. Establish andclearly communicate procedures andgoals. Provide the best teachers at eachschool, quality instruction and monitor.The only big negative in this writer’sopinion was her Hillary Clinton pantssuit. Let’s not hold that against her.

Dr. Gloria Davis, superintendentof Decatur, Ill., Public Schools – Dr.Davis came across as engaging, cred-ible, witty, knowledgeable, poised, greatcommunication skills and expertly tai-lored and coifed. Appearances do makea difference. But it was substance over

style with Dr. Davis. She has a passion-ate, no-nonsense approach to educatingchildren. By her own assessment she isskilled in instruction and believes thereshould be a seamless transition frompre-K to graduation with an emphasison early education. She stressed repeat-edly the need for constant, consistentcommunication between school of-fi cials, elected offi cials and the overallcommunity. She is data driven, highon structure, procedures, communica-tion and accountability. It looked like abobble-head factory in the auditoriumwhen she touched on subjects like fi nan-cial waste and fraud and how she wouldput in place an iron-clad system of fi s-cal checks and balances. Dr. Davis puts

children fi rst. She seems to have a greatsense of humor and a nurturing mother/sister quality. She believes strongly instructure, team-building, staff develop-ment, communication and accountabil-ity. Dr. Davis is a great second choice.

Arthur Culver, superintendent of Champaign, Ill., Community SchoolDistrict #4 – Arthur Culver is a reallynice guy. But to hear him talk is towatch paint dry. Several people were

nodding, fi ghting sleep. He waxedanecdotal with more sage saws and cli-chés than Benjamin Franklin. His is awonderful Horatio Alger story. He grewup poor, one of 10 children and learnedearly the importance of education. Ad-mirably he has been married to the samewoman for 28 years and they have threesons. My view of Mr. Culver as a viablecandidate was shattered when I thoughtI heard him say something to the effectof what we needed to do “for the child-rens.” I turned to my neighbor and askedincredulously, “What did he just say?”Nervous? Perhaps. But good grief, whilesome of us may have lapses when itcomes to plurals versus possessives andcollective nouns, not my school superin-

tendent, not the individual who is at thepinnacle of education in my community.No. Not. Good grammar is imperative.Mr. Culver says he doesn’t take excuses.Neither do we.

One has to agree with Mr. Culver’sassessment that DeKalb County is agold mine of great potential given theright resources, the right attitude andthe right effort. Add one more thing,the right person at the top. That personis obvious among our superintendentcandidates. Dr. Cox is the standout. Thepants suit wearing young lady out of Hickory, N.C., just might be the rightperson at the right time to do the rightthing for DeKalb County children.

Steen Miles, The Newslady, is aretired journalist and former Georgiastate senator. Contact Steen Milies at [email protected].

THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 2011 PAGE 4AOPINION

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A The Champion Free Press, Friday, April 8, 2011 www.championnewspaper.com

Sarah Palin and thedozen dwarfs

by Donald Kaul

Columnist

The tea party effect: no Republican who can win thegeneral election in 2012 can be nominated.

The following comments are pulled straight from our website and are not edited for content or grammar.

‘Sovereign citizens’ indicted for property thefts

This is a warning to potential renters that they

should do some research on a property before they sign a lease and pay rents to anyone. This information is easily verifi ed here, http://www.foreclosurecourt.org/fi nd-out-if-your-home-is-in- foreclosure.html

– KevinWilliams posted this on 3/30/11 at 3:04 p.m.

Fire department cuts 82 recruits to save cash

I am involved with another municipality that was facing the same situation in its police dept. We

let our academy graduates graduate. Though we could not hire them, the belief was that they could go elsewhere, get a couple of years experience,and then when we were ready to hire again we would have a pool of experienced offi cers from the academy who might want to come back home. Our belief that at least letting them fi nish developed some trust and loyalty for them to return when rev- enues improve. We would also not have to begin another training program anew; and letting them graduate could actually save us money.

– Loxly posted this on 4/1/11 at 9:08 a.m.

County to examine all government jobs

Yawn. Just another study generated by yet another budget retreat to pay some more consultants.

– Chatty posted this on 3/31/11 at 11:57 p.m

Printed on 100% post-consumer

recycled paper

There are those–Iwon’t name them, theyknow who they are–whohave taken to calling theslate of Republican presi-dential hopefuls “SarahPalin and the SevenDwarfs.” That’s unfair.

There are way morehan seven GOP politi-

cians ready to run. I puthe list right now at about

12, give or take a dwarf.

And there’d be moreexcept that John Thune withdrew from the race amonth or so ago.

Most of the rest of theGOP gang showed up inWashington a few monthsago to try out their actsat the Conservative Po-itical Action Conference.

Generally speaking, thecandidates spoke with onevoice–for God, guns, andRonald Reagan. Theywere uniformly againsthealth care, taxes, and

Barack Obama. (Have Imentioned that the confer-ence was about a quartow on new ideas?)

The 10,000 attend-ees listened to all of thespeeches, then madeRon Paul, the Texanflat-earther, their choicefor president. (Did I alsomention that its sense of reality was running onempty?)

Ironically, the onlyRepublican that a clear majority of Americanscould pick out of a police

ineup–Sarah Palin–failedo show up at the con-

ference. She and MikeHuckabee, the comfort-food candidate, were busyorganizing their sock drawers. Or something.

To call the Republicanfield weak is to understate

the obvious. It’s a collec-tion of has-been (NewtGingrich, Haley Barbo-ur, Mitt Romney), never-were (Tim Pawlenty,Rick Santorum, Mitch

Daniels) and “who’s he?”candidates (HermanCain, Jon Huntsman).

The real problem theRepublicans have, how-ever, isn’t the relativeanonymity of their can-didates–after all, hardlyanyone knew who Obamawas two years before hewas elected. It’s the factthat no Republican whocan win the general elec-tion in 2012 can be nomi-nated. Call it the tea partyeffect.

Republican candidatesaren’t merely afraid of tea party conservatives,they’re terrified. One after another, they’ve repudi-ated past votes, policies,and beliefs in fear of of-fending those wild-eyedpeople in the funny hats.

Romney? As Governor of Massachusetts he ad-vocated and got passed ahealth care plan much likePresident Obama’s. He’snow against it.

Pawlenty? When hewas Governor of Minne-

sota he backed cap-and-trade legislation, a scarletletter to real conserva-tives. He has apologizedfor the error.

Newt Gingrich? Theformer Speaker of theHouse may be a greatadvocate for the sanctity

of marriage, but bothtimes this do-what-I-say-not-what-I-doadulterer got divorced,he was dumping awife suffering from asevere illness. The firstwas recovering from

uterine cancer and thesecond had recently beendiagnosed with multiplesclerosis.

Go through the list.

Everyone’s got somethingabout him for conserva-tives to hate.

No wonder they look back so fondly on RonaldReagan, the mythologicalfigure bearing the nameof our 40th president.

To hear Republicanstalk, Reagan was GeorgeWashington, WinstonChurchill and JohnWayne rolled into one.

He really wasn’t. Thereal Ronnie wasn’t asbad as Democrats made

him out to be, but he wasguilty of one great sin: Heconvinced the Americanpeople that they couldhave all the governmentthey wanted without hav-ing to pay taxes for it.

He tripled the nationaldebt during his time in of-fice and set his party onthe disastrous course theUnited States still travels.

Yet, given the yahoosand know-nothings theRepublicans are left withtoday, I can see why theylook back upon Reagan

with fondness. He was aman of great charm.

Then again, so wasBernie Madoff .

OtherWords columnist Donald Kaul lives in AnnArbor, Michigan. www.otherwords.org

8/7/2019 Free Press 4-8-11



Jimmy DorseyChampion of the Week

If you would like to nominate someone to

be considered as a future Champion of the

Week, please contact Kathy Mitchell at [email protected] or at

404-373-7779, ext. 104.

House passes celebratorygunfire resolution

Jimmy Dorsey hasa thing for longevity

He has been mar-ried to his wife MarySue for 47 years.They have lived in thesame house in Cham-blee for 47 years. AndDorsey has a car thatis 47 years old.

And for the past10 years of his retire-ment, the 78-year-oldformer pharmacist hasvolunteered as a mas-ter gardener with theDeKalb Cooperative

Extension service.“Jim has been awonderful volunteer,helping us out in thecommunity now forabout 10 years,” saidGary Peiffer, horticul-ture manager for theDeKalb CooperativeExtension. He is an“extraordinary volun-teer.”

Next month, Dorseywill be recognized for10 years of service.

As a volunteer,Dorsey works withseveral local gar-dens, including thePlant A Row For theHungry garden nearBrookhaven and the

DeKalb Services Cen-

ter in Brookhaven gar-den, where he helpsdisabled people workin gardens.

Dorsey also judgesvarious contests forschool 4-H programsat least twice a year.He recently consultedwith a local schoolon its plans to makea garden and haswritten gardening col-umns for local news-papers. At the DeKalb

Farmers Market, hehas helped teachresidents about yardwaste recycling suchas composting andmulching.

He also spendstime in the ofcewhere he elds phonecalls from people whohave questions aboutgardening.

For the past veyears, Dorsey hasworked with some

neighbors on fourplots of land that theycall “bridge gardens,”where ShallowfordRoad crosses I-85.

“Most people do likegardening…particular-ly in retirement,” Dors-ey said. Dorsey retiredin 1995 after spendingthe last 38 years of hiscareer as the directorof pharmacy for GradyMemorial Hospital.

Dorsey’s favorite

plants to work with areperennials.“I like roses,” Dors-

ey said. “I don’t thinkthey’re a lot of trouble.And they’re pretty,too.”


The 15 months since her on was accidentally killed

by a bullet during a NewYear’s Eve church servicehave been difcult.

“Some days it’s hard,”aid Natalee Peters. “But’m hanging in there.”

Peters’ son, 4-year-oldMarquel, was a victim of celebratory gunre. As heat next to his mother in

church, Marquel was struck and killed by a bullet thatcame through the roof of theanctuary and struck him inhe top of his head. The bul-et is believed to have been

red by a New Year’s Eveeveler.

Georgia’s House of Rep-esentatives voted 139-23

on March 28 to pass HR 341, a measure that urges“increased public awareness

of the dangers of celebratorygunre.”By adopting the resolu-

tion the house “committedto studying and adoptingtougher criminal sanctionsfor those who commit cele-bratory gunre which resultsin injury or death to another person.”

“Now is the time for Georgia’s leaders to cometogether and to work to-gether to help prevent thesenseless loss like the lossof beautiful little MarquelPeters,” states the resolutionwhich was introduced bystate Rep. Michele Henson of District 87.

“What we hope is thatthis resolution can put anend to celebratory gunreand we’ll never have anoth-er senseless death,” Hensonsaid. “Marquel should stillbe with us today.”

Henson said the pur-

pose of the resolution is toeliminate the practice bygetting people to recognizethe danger and “unintendedconsequences” of celebra-tory gunre.

“The loss of an inno-cent human life is alwaystragic, but it seems evenmore so when it is causedby a thoughtless randomact,” Henson said. “Thereare times we all want to cel-ebrate special occasions, butit is never right to celebratein a way that endangers hu-man life. It is never right tocelebrate with random gun-re.”

Natalee Peters said sheis hoping to see positive re-sults from the resolution andthe county’s campaign.

“I appreciate what thecounty has done since hisdeath to ensure no one willbe a victim of this any-more,” Peters said.

8/7/2019 Free Press 4-8-11



NEWS BRIEFS

The City of Dunwoody, Georgia: Notice of Public Hearing

A Public Hearing pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 36-60-13(g), as amended, will be held before the

Mayor and City Council during the regularly scheduled City Council Meeting on Monday,

April 25 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall (41 Perimeter Center East, Suite

100, Dunwoody, GA 30346), for the purpose of due process of the following: financing, by

installment sale agreement or such other method, the purchase of real property located on

Parcel 001 of Land Lot 345, District 18 of DeKalb County, Georgia, addressed at 4000

Dunwoody Park, a 16.18 acre parcel of land and the construction of facilities thereon.

All persons residing in the City having questions concerning, or views on, the proposed

acquisition of real property, the construction of facilities or the financing may appear and be

heard at the public hearing.

For more information, contact Finance Director Chris Pike at [email protected] or

678-382-6751.

DeKalb County women’s prisonclosed to save money

ATLANTA (AP) The state of Georgia hasclosed a prison in DeKalb County to save mon-ey.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports thatMetro State Prison was shuttered April1 to save$19.1 million a year.

The Department of Corrections said it hasmoved the almost 800 female inmates whowere housed there to two rural prisons—LeeArrendale State Prison in Alto in Banks Countyin northeast Georgia and Pulaski State Prison inHawkinsville in south Georgia.

DOC Commissioner Brian Owens told leg-islators earlier this year that he chose to closeMetro because despite the 27.5 percent rise inthe overall prison population over the last de-cade, the number of women coming into thesystem had dropped.

Owens said in January a private prison op-erator may be interested in the building.

Fourth suspect arrested for shootingat apartment complex

The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Of ce hasarrested a fourth person in the March 7 shootingdeath of Donovan Austin.

Destiny McDuf e, 20, was arrested March29 and charged with murder for her part in thekilling. Austin was shot several times in theparking lot of Creekside Corner Apartmentsat 6306 Turnberry Place in Stone Mountain atapproximately 3:45 a.m., according to DeKalbpolice spokeswoman Mekka Parrish.

Austin and another man had returned froma night club where they apparently had analtercation with the group of suspects involvedin the shooting. The suspects followed the twomen to the apartment complex. Austin wasfound dead at the scene and the second victimwas taken to an area hospital.

McDuf e was arrested at Wesley PlaceApartment Homes in Lawrenceville. Otherswho have been previously arrested for their roles in the shooting are Jacques Thornton,Marquette Mackie and Sentelle Williams.

IHM sale to benefit artisans, farmers

Immaculate Heart of Mary (IHM) Schoolis hosting a Work of Human Hands Sale, aprogram where fairly traded gifts, accessoriesand other hand-crafted items are sold to helpartisans and farmers living in developing

regions. The sale will be held on Friday, April15, from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the schoollibrary, at 2855 Briarcliff Road, Atlanta.

Catholic Relief Services partners withSERRV, a nonpro t organization dedicated to ghting poverty and promote fair trade. Theseorganizations buy and provide a market for highquality, fairly traded handcrafts and gourmetfood items from disadvantaged artisans andfarmers around the world. This means that thepeople who produce them earn a fair price, getaccess to credit and training, and other forms of community support to improve their lives.

For more information visit: www.ihmschool.org.

Registration ongoingfor fine arts camp

DeKalb County Recreation, Parks andCultural Affairs is partnering with the ErintundeYouth Institute to present an InternationalFine Arts Camp. There will be four two-week summer sessions that run June 6 through July29 at the Porter Sanford III Performing Arts andCommunity Center.

Each two-week session will be from 7 a.m.to 6 p.m. and focus on a different part of theworld, ending with a presentation distinct tothe culture studied. The International Fine ArtsCamp is for ages 6-14 and will be held Mondaythrough Friday at a cost of $200 per child and$150 for each additional child. Scholarships arealso available on a rst come, rst served basis.

Online registration is under way. Also,residents can register at the Porter Sanford IIIPerforming Arts & Community Center on April26 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Participants will beprovided with breakfast and lunch during thecamp.

Humane Society honorsRep. Johnson

The Humane Society of the United Stateson March 30 awarded Judiciary and HouseArmed Services committee member Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) with its annual LegislativeLeader award for his work in 2010.

The Humane Society praised Johnson for his leadership on appropriations languageencouraging the secretary of defense to developalternatives to the use of live animals inbattle eld trauma training. Johnson will receivehis award at a reception in the Capitol.

Johnson also announced March 30 that hewill cosponsor H.R. 403 in the 112th Congress,

the Battle eld Excellence through Superior Training Practices Act or BEST PracticesAct, which prohibits the use of animals in

live combat trauma injury and chemical andbiological training.

Dunwoody Police officersrecognized for DUI arrests

Two Dunwoody Police of cers wererecognized by the Georgia chapter of MothersAgainst Drunk Driving recently at the seventhannual Golden Shield Honors Program. Theevent honored police departments and of cerswho are committed to making the roads safer through DUI enforcement.

Of cer Tim Waldron received the BronzeAward for making 39 DUI arrests in 2010.

Of cer Alvin Rodriguez received the Silver Star for making 68 DUI arrests in 2010.

County to showcase its services

At Northlake Mall (lower level near Macy’s)4800 Briarcliff Road, Atlanta, DeKalb Countywill showcase its departments together inone place Saturday, April 9, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.,offering residents an opportunity to learn aboutresources and services available through countygovernment. The neighborhood resource center is designed as a “one stop” service center for information on and assistance with countyservices and provides informational pamphlets,

brochures and educational literature on countydepartments to the public.

Assistance for heating bills available

DeKalb County residents can apply for aone-time assistance payment of either $310or $350 to help with the rising cost of winter heating bills. The assistance is available throughthe Low Income Home Energy AssistanceProgram (LIHEAP). Residents who heat withgas or have a totally electric household, meetthe income guidelines of 60 percent of themedian household income for Georgia, andwho can provide the following information may

apply: proof of income for the past 30 days for all household members ages 18 and older; mostrecent home heating bill; and veri cation of Social Security cards for household membersor some other legal proof of Social Securitynumbers. For more information, call (404) 537-4300.

8/7/2019 Free Press 4-8-11



MARTA wants flexibility in budget

City of Doraville Municipal Court Amnesty Day

The City of Doraville Municipal Court will hold a day of Amnesty for those individuals who have

past due, unpaid traffic citations and those who have active Failure to Appear Bench Warrants.

Amnesty day will be held on Saturday, April 30th

, from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm at the Municipal Court

building located at 3765 Park Ave., Doraville, GA 30340. During that time contempt fees will be

waived from past due citations and individuals with bench warrants will not have to pay warrant

fees. A Judge will be present to hear those cases where a court appearance in required. The

forms of payments that will be accepted are cash, money order, cashiers checks, and credit

cards (Visa, MasterCard, Discover). You may call the Doraville Municipal Court at 770-455-1001

for further details.


If a one-cent sales taxfor regional transportationprojects is passed next year,ocal leaders want to make

sure the Metropolitan At-anta Rapid Transit Authority

(MARTA) gets its fair share.But state law does not

allow the transit system touse its funding wherever its needed, leaders said. And

that lack of in exibility isa major impediment for thetransit system.

“We’ve done the best thatwe can,” said Beverly Scott,chief executive of cer for MARTA. Representativesfrom DeKalb and Fultoncounties and the city of At-

anta met with MARTA of -cials on March 31 to discusstheir efforts to develop vari-ous transportation projects inthe Atlanta area.

Last year, Georgia’s leg-slature enacted the Trans-

portation Investment Act(HB 277), which providesfor regional referendumsn 2012. As a result, votersn the Atlanta metropolitan

area will be able to vote on apenny sales tax to fund vari-ous transportation projects,ncluding transit, roadway,

safety, bicycle and pedestrianmprovements.

The sales tax is expectedto generate approximately $8billion in revenue.

March 31 was the dead-ine for cities and counties to

submit proposed projects tobe considered by the GeorgiaDepartment of Transporta-tion (GDOT) and a regionalroundtable of city and countyleaders. From those projects,a project list will be recom-mended for the 2012 refer-endum.

Among the projects be-ing considered for DeKalbCounty is the constructionof a MARTA light rail alongI-20 from Atlanta to Stone-crest Mall at a cost of $1.35billion. Another proposedlight rail would cost $465million and run from Deca-tur to the Lindberg MARTAstation in Atlanta.

MARTA has a capital im-provement program of $188million, which is well under

the $325 million the systemused in each of the past 10years.

“All we are doing in capi-tal right now is if it breaks,I x it,” Scott said. MARTAalso makes improvementsfor safety and regulatorycompliance.

Scott said MARTA’s $400million operating budgetis not enough. The transitsystem is falling short by$100 million for operationsand another $100 millionfor capital improvements.MARTA has approximately$150 million in reserves, butafter next year, that moneywill be gone.

“We’re just about at theend of everything MARTAhad in reserves,” Scott said.

Last year, MARTA cutservices, reduced its work-force by 15 percent, man-dated a 10-day furlough for workers, and signed a zero-increase labor union contractto stabilize the transit systemuntil the funding comes infrom the possible sales taxincrease, Scott said.

“We’re being very clear:the reality is that MARTA isnot sustainable without in-creased investments.”

Local leaders havecriticized HB 277 because itdoes not permanently giveMARTA the nancial exi-bility it needs. Currently, un-der state law, MARTA mustuse 50 percent of its fundingfor operations and 50 for capital improvements. That

regulation was suspended byHB 277 for three years andScott said MARTA bene t-ted from that waver: $61million in MARTA fundingwas freed up.

“HB 277 is lacking inmany respects,” DeKalbCommissioner Lee May said. “By shoring up some of those loose ends in HB 277,we’ll be more con dent inhaving a project list that canpass a public referendum.Right now there is no con- dence. Public sentiment isvery questionable on wheth-er a referendum on any listwill pass.”

DeKalb Commissioner Jeff Rader said the regionshould support the MARTAheavy rail system because

it is the “basic backbone of regional transit” that allowsthe Atlanta region to attractFortune 500 companies, ma-jor sporting events and largeevents.

“Fulton and DeKalb arethe jurisdictions that mostpeople come to or comethrough when they are com-muting in this region,” Rader

said. “Any improvement,frankly, in our jurisdictionsare almost by de nitionregional. Almost any invest-ment in MARTA will be aregional investment.”

A nal list on the pro-posed projects for the ref-erendum is expected to berelease in October.

8/7/2019 Free Press 4-8-11



Has DeKalbTechbeen a part of

your life?

We want to reconnect with you

through our newly launched

DTC Alumni Association website!

DEKALB TECH ALUMNI

(Degree, Diploma or TCC)

Please Register at

dekalbtech.edu/alumni404-297-9522 x1139

on the cost of advertising space

Its our 20th anniversary andwe’re celebrating by giving

advertisers a 20% discount onadvertising space. Contact ustoday to find out how to get

your discount.

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*Eight week or longer contract required. Offer does not apply to legal advertising, governmentalentities or other businesses or organizations that already receive a discount and cannot be usedin conjunction with another discounted ad promotion.

Suspects named in killing ofarmored car courierby Robert [email protected]

Two people who are inhe Gwinnett County Jail

have been identied as sus-pects in the killing of an ar-mored car guard in DeKalbCounty, police said.

Ashley Henderson, 27,and Stacy Dooley, 34, havebeen charged with murder,aggravated assault and pos-session of a rearm by aconvicted felon for their role in the March 15 shoot-ng death of Garda armored

car courier Gary Castillo,said DeKalb Police spokes-

woman Mekka Parrish.Castillo was robbed andkilled as he nished servic-

ing an ATM at the Kroger in the Toco Hills ShoppingCenter.

Henderson and Dooleywere arrested by GwinnettCounty Police in March inconnection with armoredcar robberies in that county.

Edwin Thornton, whoalso has been charged inconnection with the March15 incident, turned himself in to DeKalb County policeon April 1, Parrish said.

Thornton along withHenderson, Dooley and34-year-old QuintonBooker face charges inconnection with an armored

car robbery on Jan. 21 inDeKalb County. The four men have been charged

with armed robbery, ag-gravated assault and pos-session of a rearm by a

convicted felon.In the Jan. 21 incident,

police said a courier for Loomis was servicing aWells Fargo ATM on RedanRoad in Stone Mountainwhen he was ambushed andshot at several times by onesuspect.

Suspects got away withan undisclosed amountof cash in both robberies,police said. The ongoinginvestigation is being con-ducted by DeKalb Countyand Gwinnett County police

departments, the DeKalbDistrict Attorney’s Ofceand the FBI.

8/7/2019 Free Press 4-8-11



Dunwoody daycare murder suspect pleads not guilty

Send your comments and/or concerns regarding Comcast’s current performance under the current franchise agreement and/or the future cable-related needs and interests of your community to [email protected].

DeKalb County Wants to Hear From YouRegarding the Proposed Franchise Agreement Renewal

with Comcast Cable Communications

y Andrew [email protected]

Hemy Neuman, the manccused of the November 010 death of Dunwoody

ntrepreneur Russellneiderman pleaded notuilty in DeKalb Countyuperior Court on April 4.

Neuman’s attorney, DougPeters, was granted a 30-ay extension to reviewhe state’s mountainousvidence and to prepare pre-rial motions.

The 45-year-old Neumanwas indicted by a grand juryf malice murder and pos-essing a rearm during theommission of a felony inonnection with the death of neiderman, 36, who washot multiple times outside

Dunwoody Prep daycare,where he had just droppedff his son.

Prosecutors have collect-d more than 6,200 pagesf evidence and dozens of ours of recordings, ac-ording to DeKalb County

District Attorney Robertames.

“This is not your averagemurder case,” James said.

Peters said the additionalme to study the evidence

was necessary because “this

s probably one of the moreomplicated criminal caseshat have ever been broughtn DeKalb County.”

Added to Neuman’s legalroubles are allegations byis wife Ariela of an affair etween Hemy Neumannd Andrea Sneiderman,he victim’s wife. Andreaneiderman worked under

Hemy Neuman, an opera-ons and quality manager t GE Electric Energy in

Marietta.Ariela Neuman led for

egal separation from her usband in February.

Peters would not discusshe details of Ariela Neu-

man’s allegations because of n agreement with prosecu-ors not to discuss the caseublicly in order to ensure aair trial.

“Nothing about theseharges that are led is go-ng to change what’s mostmportant to him and that’sis own children,” Petersaid. “He’s had an entire lifef providing for his chil-ren. Hemy Neuman wor-

hips his children. He lovesis family.”

Last month, a motion byAriela Neuman’s attorneyo question Andrea Sneider-

man and Hemy Neumanabout the alleged affair wasdenied by a judge.

Esther Panitch, Ariela’sattorney, is hoping to get ac-cess to evidence being held

by the state to prove her clients allegations. Panitchsaid she is particularly inter-ested in hearing statementsfrom Andrea Sneiderman

“That will give a pictureof what was happening,”Panitch said.

“We still have enoughto go forward with or with-out the state’s evidence,”

Panitch said. “That state’sevidence, we believe, willmake our case that muchstronger.”

Ariela Neuman is “doingas well as can be expected

under these horric, aw-ful circumstances,” Panitchsaid.

“Imagine anybody wak-ing up and having the police… [say] their spouse is nowaccused of murder whenthey’ve never had a his-tory of any type of criminalactivity,” Panitch said. “It’sdevastating. It’s a little dif-

ferent from a death. Theycan’t mourn this person andnow they’re living with the

shame of what he’s broughtupon her family.”

Hemy Neuman, left, and his attorney Doug Peters listen to judge inNeuman’s arraignment hearing. Photo by Andrew Cauthen

First

4/11

Last

4/24

The Northeast will see mostly clear to partly cloudy skies with a few showers today,

scattered showers and thunderstorms Friday and Saturday, with the highest temperature

of 71º in East St. Louis, Ill. The Southeast will see mostly clear skies today through

Saturday, with the highest temperature of 88º in Punta Gorda, Fla. The Northwest will see scattered rain

and snow today, mostly clear to partly cloudy skies with isolated rain Friday and Saturday, with the

highest temperature of 60º in Medford, Ore. The Southwest will see mostly clear skies today, isolated

showers and thunderstorms Friday and Saturday, with the highest temperature of 88º in Artesia, N.M.

THURSDAY

Sunny

High: 75 Low: 57

Full

4/17

The Champion Weather April 7, 2011Seven Day Forecast

Local UV Index

WEDNESDAY

Mostly Cloudy

High: 68 Low: 52

TUESDAY

Mostly Cloudy

High: 73 Low: 51

MONDAY

Isolated T-storms

High: 76 Low: 58

SUNDAY

Mostly Sunny

High: 83 Low: 61

SATURDAYMostly Sunny

High: 82 Low: 62

FRIDAY

Partly Cloudy

High: 78 Low: 62

In-Depth Local Forecast Today's Regional Map

Sunrise

7:17 a.m.

7:15 a.m.

7:14 a.m.

7:13 a.m.

7:12 a.m.

7:10 a.m.

7:09 a.m.

Sunset

8:02 p.m.

8:03 p.m.

8:04 p.m.

8:05 p.m.

8:05 p.m.

8:06 p.m.

8:07 p.m.

Moonset

Next Day

12:06 a.m.

12:59 a.m.

1:49 a.m.

2:35 a.m.

3:17 a.m.

3:56 a.m.

Moonrise

9:25 a.m.

10:13 a.m.

11:07 a.m.

12:06 p.m.

1:08 p.m.

2:14 p.m.

3:21 p.m.

New

5/3

www.WhatsOurWeather.com

Weather History

April 7, 1980 - Severe thunder-

storms spawned tornadoes which

ripped through central Arkansas.

The severe thunderstorms also

produced high winds and

baseball size hail. Five counties

were declared disaster areas by

President Carter.

Weather Trivia

Tonight's Planets

How far is the sun from

the Earth?

Answer: 93 million miles.

?

Day

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

National Weather Summary This Week

Local Sun/Moon Chart This Week

StarWatch By Gary Becker - Dancing with the Stars

Today we will see sunny skies with a high

temperature of 75º, humidity of 41%. South

wind 5 to 10 mph. The record high temperature

for today is 85º set in 1959. Expect mostly

cloudy skies tonight with a slight chance of

showers, overnight low of 57º.

April 8, 1926 - An oil depotfire set by lightning boiled

over and engulfed 900 acres

near San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Many tornado vortices resulted

from the intense heat of the

fire. One such tornado traveled

1,000 yards, picked up a

house, and carried it 150 feet,

killing the occupants.

Last Tuesday under transparent skies, I had my Moravian College students over to Bill Jacobs’Farm in Pleasant Valley, PA. Friends, Marcella Gustantino and Joe Zelinski,

brought telescopes to help to reduce the viewing lines. None of us had used our “big” scopes since last fall, and we were somewhat like groundhogs becoming conscious

from hibernation after a long, cold, winter—a little slow on the uptake, but thank goodness, we didn’t have to cross any busy highway. We would have been all roadkill.

Students started arriving about ten minutes before sundown, so I got them familiar with chasing down jet aircraft as they headed into the sunset, their short crimson contrails

indicating dry conditions aloft. I pointed out the gray mask of the Earth’s shadow rising in the east. Then Sirius the Dog Star was spotted by keen-eyed, Justin Miranda, no more than 15

minutes after sundown. I was impressed. A few minutes later, more and more luminaries began to battle their way into visibility as a turquoise sky faded to denim. In the west a few degreesabove the tree line, Mercury was spotted with binoculars, then with the unaided eye, and then seen through my scope. It was only the second time I had viewed the most elusive of the

naked eye worlds through a telescope. Cranky computer drives notwithstanding, that made the evening into a rousing success. For the next hour or so we picked out the Orion Nebula here,

the Pleiades there and various other late winter charmers, as we telescopically cruised the ocean of stars. Junior, Kristin Popovice, used my bright green laser to find all of the constella-

tions successfully, as well as down a few planes. I didn’t pack up until nearly 11 p.m., but students had discovered that in the carriage house, Bill and John had prepared a feast fit for any

college crowd. Someone reportedly said, “No Taco Bell tonight.” Thanks to all for a great, great evening. www.astronomy.org

Rise Set

Mercury 7:18 a.m. 8:19 p.m.

Venus 5:54 a.m. 5:20 p.m.

Mars 6:47 a.m. 6:57 p.m.

Jupiter 7:21 a.m. 7:55 p.m.

Saturn 7:33 p.m. 7:25 a.m.Uranus 6:40 a.m. 6:43 p.m.

3 50 - 2 4 6 8 107 9 11+

UV Index

0-2: Low, 3-5: Moderate,

6-7: High, 8-10: Very High

11+: Extreme Exposure

Atlanta

75/57

Decatur

75/57

Doraville

74/57

Dunwoody

73/56 Lilburn

74/57

Snellville

75/57

Lithonia76/57

Morrow

76/57

Smyrna

74/57

Hampton

77/58

Union City

76/57

College Park

76/57

*Last Week’s Almanac

Date Hi Lo Normals Precip

Tuesday 53 4 2 69/46 0.00"Wednesday 57 50 69/47 0.74"

Thursday 54 44 69/47 0.01"

Friday 57 40 69/47 0.00"

Saturday 68 4 2 70/47 0.00"

Sunday 78 40 70/47 0.00"

Monday 82 52 70/48 0.49"Rainfall . . . . . . .1.24" Average temp . .54.2

Normal rainfall . .1.02" Average normal 58.2

Departure . . . . .+0.22" Departure . . . . .-4.0*Data as reported from De Kalb-Peachtree Airport

8/7/2019 Free Press 4-8-11


The Champion Free Press, Friday, April 8, 2011 AhEalth

Blue skies ahead for autism treatment

by Kathy Mitchell

During the past decade thenumber of Americans who knowwhat autism is has risen from 28percent to 78 percent, but familiesaffected by autism and caregiverswho work with those families sayhat percentage should be higher—

close to 100 percent.And they’re turning on blue

ights across the country to remindpeople of the little understoodcondition, starting at an event at the

Marcus Autism Center on March31.Speaking at the event, Dr. Ami

Klin, the center’s recently nameddirector, said that in his early yearsn the eld when he told people that

he works with autistic children, theywould respond, “Oh, you work withartistic children—that’s nice.”

Klin was personally recruitedfrom Yale University by BernieMarcus, the center’s founder.Although Klin was operatingwhat he called a highly successfulprogram at Yale, Marcus persuaded

him that with his help Atlanta couldbecome the nation’s capital for early diagnosis and interventionof Autism and that by leveragingMarcus Autism Center’s highclinical volumes, research will havea transformative impact on autism.

Marcus acknowledged that heknew little about autism beforemeeting a family that struggledwith it. Bob and Suzanne Wright,grandparents of an autistic childand founders of Autism Speaks,an organization founded in 2005

“to change the future for all whostruggle with autism spectrumdisorders,” prompted Marcus’interest in autism. More than 40,000children have been treated at theMarcus Autism Center since it wasfounded in 1991 as the MarcusDevelopmental Resource Center atEmory University.

“I thought it was a very raredisease—condition, problem,what ever it is—with only a smallpopulation affected by it,” he said.“I was very wrong. It’s a largepopulation. As many as one in 110

children is being diagnosed withsome form of autism.” That’s a gooddeal of the problem, he continued.No one knows exactly what autismis or what causes it.

What doctors and other scientistshave learned about autism is thatthe earlier it’s diagnosed, the moresuccessfully it can be treated,according to Klin. “It’s muchmore malleable in small childrenbecause their minds are much moremalleable,” he said. Increasingawareness, he said, improves the

likelihood that parents and doctorswill recognize the condition whenearly symptoms appear and wouldhelp attract the funds needed tocontinue research.

Kimberly Dick , walk chair for Georgia Walks Now For AutismSpeaks, brought her son Caleb tothe lectern and said that after Calebstarted exhibiting behaviors thefamily didn’t understand she wasrelieved to receive a diagnosis andto have a top-tier place to bring himfor help.

The March 31 event was

to underscore April as AutismAwareness month, celebrate the20th anniversary of Marcus’commitment to improving the livesof children with autism and relateddisorders and to kick off Light itUp Blue–a campaign by AutismSpeaks encouraging prominentbuildings throughout the world tolight their locations blue on WorldAutism Day, April 2. This year morethan 300 locations have agreed toparticipate, including the EmpireState Building, Niagara Falls and

CN Tower in Toronto. In Georgia,Fernbank Museum of NaturalHistory, the city of Douglasville,the Atlanta Hawks, Viewpoint andMetropolis condominiums alsoagreed to support Light it Up Blue.

During a highlight of theevent, Marcus and Klin ipped anoversized mock-up of a light switchin front of a crowd of supporterswearing blue to symbolize thelights and awareness taking placethroughout April.

Switch ipped at Marcus Center symbolically sets aglow blue lights

across the country to raise awareness of autism

Bernie Marcus stands with youngsters who have received help at the Marcus Autism Center as they hold a thank-you message handmade for him. Photo by Kathy Mitchell

Your competitor is likely a member!DeKalb Chamber of Commerce

100 Crescent Center Pkwy., Suite 680. Tucker, GA 30084 (404) 378-8000 www.DeKalbChamber.org

8/7/2019 Free Press 4-8-11


and [another] in the trunk of the car,’because we are going to make surehat the things that need to be ad-

dressed get addressed, and they getaddressed quickly,” she said.

All three candidates spoke abouthe importance of data driven devel-

opment within the district and saidhat the focus needed to be switched

back to the children. They also notedhat fi nancial oversight and proper

procedural programs must be put inplace and frequently monitored inorder to eliminate waste, fraud andmaintain a system of checks and bal-ances.

Davis and Culver stressed the se-iousness of having a strong internal

auditor but Cox said that she thinks its important, instead, to have an exter-

nal audit.“I think that it’s important to

have [an audit] done by an externalcontracted company or an employeethat’s an external auditor [who] re-ports directly to the board,” said Cox.

Chris Adams, a citizen who sat

taking notes on his laptop, said thatalthough all of the candidates seemedlike they were qualifi ed, Lillie Coxwas the only one who he felt haddemonstrated success at every level.

“She provided the most specifi csas to how she would hold schools andteachers accountable…it was clear that she had done her homework onDeKalb County, its opportunities andits challenges,” Adams said.

President of the Organizationof DeKalb Educators David Schut-

ten said that he thought Culver wasthe strongest candidate because heseemed to be the most knowledgeableof the problems the county is facing.

“He had done his researchabout the county and gave in-depth,thoughtful answers. I think he sees

that it’s about more than just the testscores,” Schutten said.

“I thought Davis didn’t go in-depth enough and gave too manysound bytes; I’m not looking for peo-ple who can give good sound bytes,I’m looking for someone who can goto work and make some tough deci-sions,” he said.

After each candidate fi nishedspeaking, those attending the forumwere asked to fi ll out an evaluationform. The forms were then collected

for consideration by the school boardduring its selection process.

Board Chairman Tom Bowen said that, now, the next step is for theboard to begin deliberations on eachcandidate based on formal interviewquestions and public feedback.

“When we developed a profi lewe said there are a variety of keycharacteristics that we we’re lookingfor. Well, all the candidates are goingto have those characteristics in dif-ferent quantities and the question is,‘Who has the overall best package?’”Bowen said.

“We’ve got to make the bestchoice for where we think DeKalbis today and where we’re going and[where] the resources [are] that wemost urgently need,” he said.

From left, Candidates Lilie Cox, Arthur Culver and Gloria Davis each had 50 minutes to convince the citizens of DeKalb that they were the best candidate for superintendent.Photos provided

www.championnewspaper.com THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, APRIL 8,2011 A Section • A

Candidates Continued From Page 1A

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The Champion Free Press, Friday, April 8, 2011 AEducatioN

Exotic vet gives students something to ‘squawk’ aboutby Daniel [email protected]

Students lined up in frontof the stage at Flat ShoalsElementary on March 30,eagerly awaiting a chanceo come face-to-face with

a chinchilla, a snake, a par-ot, a turtle and a bearded

dragon.However, there was no

need to panic; the schoolwasn’t being overrun bywild creatures from theungle, it was just Dr. Tarah

Hadley and her exotic ani-mals.

Hadley, an avian and ex-otics veterinarian, was oneof 35 professionals who pre-sented at the school’s career day.

“It’s important for students to know the dif-ferent careers out there,”said Chavonne O’Rear,guidance counselor at FlatShoals. O’Rear said that thecareer day is a way for kidso realize that they can do

what they love and get paid

for it too.“I want the kids to ask questions like, ‘I love ani-mals. How can I work withanimals?’ ‘How can I do

these things I enjoy and getpaid for it and make it mycareer?’” she said.

Each group of studentstook its turn visiting Hadleyon the stage, and she wentaround to each animal, de-scribing what it was andhow she worked with it.Then, at the end of the dem-onstration she asked eachclass, “Which animal wouldyou most like to pet?”

The younger students allasked to pet the small turtle,which she kept in a box

lled with grass, but as theolder classes began to cyclethrough, more and more of them opted for the snake.

“This is Melvin,” Had-ley said as she pulled amedium-sized red and black milk snake out of a meshcontainer. “Now line up andI’ll come around and leteach of you touch him…youdon’t have to if you don’twant to.”

As the students linedup to pet “Melvin the Milk Snake” some of the girls

stuck out their tongues andrefused to touch him, oth-ers reached their hand out,hesitantly, and barely laida nger on him as Hadley

walked by with the snakearound her neck.

Principal Keith Reyn-olds said that this gives thestudents a more “hands on”chance to experience someof the things they are learn-ing about in class.

“Learning has so manydifferent avenues and ven-ues and we want to captivatethe kids and get them inter-ested in a variety of things,”Reynolds said. “This is therst time that Dr. Tarah hasbeen here, but the kids seem

to be very excited about vet-erinary medicine and she’sbrought a few creatures withher so it’s been a good expe-rience.”

While the last studentpetted the snake and wan-dered off stage, Hadley ex-plained why visiting schoolswas so important to both her and the children.

“I think it’s important for kids to see something dif-ferent…a lot of them prob-ably don’t know that there’sa veterinarian for dolphins

and a veterinarian for zooanimals,” she said. “It’s im-portant for them to see thatthere’s more than one thingto do [within] a career.”

Hadley said she has al-ways had a connection withanimals but didn’t becomea vet until later in her life.Had someone like herself come to visit her schoolwhen she was younger, shesaid, things might have beena bit different.

The main thing that Had-ley wanted the kids to takeaway from their experiencewith her and the animals

was that they can do any-thing they want, the doors tothe future are wide open for them.

“I want kids not to beafraid to try anything, tohave the courage to try any-thing; it doesn’t matter tome what they do… [as longas they] know that they cando anything they want…even if it seems hard,” shesaid.

Dr. Tarah Hadley shows her parrot to students at the Flat Shoals Elementary career day. Photo by Daniel Beauregard

8/7/2019 Free Press 4-8-11


The Champion Free Press, Friday, April 8, 2011 AbuSiNESS

Two Avondale favorites come back with a bangby Kathy [email protected]

Folks who’re in Avondale Estates when hunger strikes willbe glad to know that two old favorite restaurants—Sweet-N-Sinful and Our Way Café—are reopening and taking their eat-eries to another level.

Sweet-N-Sinful

The Sweet-N-Sinful bakery didn’t close completely—onlythe retail business and that for just three days—as it moveddown the street into a new, larger location. “We were still ll-ing orders,” said owner Layne Lee, who explained that theshop’s specialty is unique custom-designed cakes and confec-tions.

“We had a podiatrist order a cake shaped like a foot and re-cently we had someone who wanted a kangaroo, complete withpouch and baby,” she recalled. Lee said the bakery has morethan 300 cookie-cutter shapes and can make custom cookiesfor about any occasion. She said that while some custom items

could get a bit pricey, there are lots of regular items at competi-tive prices—$1.95 cupcakes and $1 cookies, for example.The business, which opened in Stone Mountain in 2004 and

has been in Avondale Estates since 2006, outgrew its old spacein the city’s Tudor Village as it continued doing a boomingbusiness despite a slumping economy. The new space on PineStreet—formerly a paint supply house—is 2½ times the size of the old one. “People are still having weddings and birthdays, sothere’s still a big demand for what we do,” Lee said.

Following the grand opening on April 2, the shop will havesome new breakfast offerings when the retail shop is openThursday through Saturday. “We’ll have coffee and itemslike cheddar cheese mufns for people who don’t really wantsweets,” Lee said.

Lee, who has a 7-month-old child, describes the shop askid-friendly. “We’ll be having events like kids’ decorating par-ties. We’re super excited,” she said.

Our Way Café

After a year and three months of insurance negotiations,paperwork and physical rebuilding, Avondale Estates’ popular meat-and-three Our Way Café reopened April 4 with longer hours, patio space and something it’s never had before—a beer and wine license.

The dining room will look very different, too, according toowner Eve Roswall. “Before we looked like a Cracker Bar-rel gone wild,” she said with a laugh, referring to the copiouscollection of memorabilia on the walls and even hanging fromthe ceiling. This time there will be old photos of Decatur andAvondale Estates, including one taken in 1932 of the old gen-eral store that was just down the from where Our Way nowstands. There also will be paintings by local artists that will be

offered for sale on consignment.Long time Our Way customers will be pleased to learnthat the menu will be basically the same—a selection of four entrees and 18 meat-free vegetables every day. Roswall saidshe’s especially proud of the restaurant’s fresh, locally grownvegetables. “We were offering farm-to-table back in 1992, longbefore it got trendy,” she said.

While the restaurant welcomes children anytime, Roswallsaid, she plans to open the restaurant once a month on Satur-day—a day it’s normally closed—just for children and their parents, with clowns, face painting and perhaps a movie. Shesaid that Our Way had such a children’s day shortly before anelectrical re forced the restaurant to close in January 2010.“We played the movie The Wizard of Oz and even had an actor who played one of the Munchkins—he was in his 90s—comeby. We went from our most fabulous day to our worst day—theday of the re.”

Roswall said that her past success left no doubt in her mindthat she would rebuild and reopen in spite of the extensivedamage. “I’m thrilled. The food is here, the catsup is on thetable. I’m ready to feed the people.”

Kelly Lynch, manager and lead pastry chef at Sweet-N-Sinful, prepares for the bakery’s reopening atts new location on Pine Street. Photos by Kathy Mitchell

Our Way owner Eve Roswall reviews photos taken shortly after the 2010 re that forced the popular restaurant to close for more than a year. It reopened April 4.

8/7/2019 Free Press 4-8-11



AROUND DEKALBATLANTA

DECATUR

OAKHURT

DORAVILLE

STONEMOUNTAIN

information, visit www.sweetwater-420fest.com.

Concert to have Asian theme

Echoes of Asia will be the themeas Emory World Music Ensemblesperform in a free concert Sunday,April 17, at 7 p.m., under the direc-tion of Tong Soon Lee. The EmoryWorld Music Ensembles programwas formed in fall 2007 as a part ofthe ethnomusicology curriculum in

the Music Department. Taught byEmory faculty and artist af liatesfrom the Atlanta community, the en-sembles comprise Emory studentsacross different disciplines andschools, and perform frequentlywithin and outside Emory. This con-cert features all six ensembles per-forming a range of genres from theNorth Indian, South Indian, Japa-nese, Korean and Chinese musicaltraditions. The event will be held atthe Performing Arts Studio, 1804N. Decatur Road, Atlanta. For moreinformation, call (404) 727-5050, e-mail boxof [email protected], or visit

www.arts.emory.edu.

Republican women to meet

The North DeKalb RepublicanWomen will meet at the DeKalb Re-publican Party Headquarters, 3583-G Chamblee Tucker Road (EmbryHills Shopping Village), at 10 a.m.on Saturday, April 9. The guestspeaker will be Tara Hassell Dor-man, who will speak on life afterprison. The public is invited.

The NDRW is a non-profit orga-nization involved in public service,working with the USO, Ronald Mc-Donald House, the V.A Hospital andocal schools.

The NDRW is currently collect-ng diapers for the families of U.S.military. Those who would like tocontribute should bring the diaperso the DeKalb GOP Headquarterson any meeting date or when theoffice is open on Tuesdays andThursdays, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

For more information, contactWyolene Richardson at (770) 491-8708.

SweetWater now a three-day fes-ival

The annual SweetWater 420Fest in its seventh year is addinga third day. From Friday, April 15,hrough Sunday, April 17, the multi-day, Earth-inspired celebration isoffering more music, larger stages,new partners, art and a variety ofbrews. In addition to the music line-up, the festival will feature a varietyof eco-friendly and environmentallyhemed onsite events and activitiessuitable for all ages. New this year

s the Relapse 420 Comedy Tent.Film crews will canvass the crowdrecording jokes to replay in theent. Improv workshops will alsobe offered during the day for allages to attend. For adult entertain-ment, Dad’s Garage and RelapseTheater, along with other popularATL comics, are performing eachevening.

The festival will be in CandlerPark in east Atlanta. Hours areFriday, 4:20 to 10 p.m.; Saturday,noon to 10 p.m.; and Sunday, 12:30o 7 p.m. Admission is free, how-ever, those choosing to purchasealcohol must pay $5 for a wristband

hat establishes that they are olderhan 21. A portion of proceeds fromwristband sales will be donatedo park improvement. For more

Theater and fi lm camps scheduled

PushPush Theater, located inEast Decatur Station, is currently ac-cepting enrollment for June and Julysummer theater camps. The campswill focus on a classic text and willuse theater, lm and improvisationto enhance participants’ imagination,communication, con dence and col-laboration skills. To commemorate

the 100th anniversary of TennesseeWilliams’ birth, this year’s programwill include an adaptation of one ofhis classic works. Each camp will cul-minate in a public performance.

The rst camp is scheduled fromJune 13 – July 1; the second campwill be July 11–July 29. Seperatecamps will be held for age groups 8-12 and for teens 13 years and older.

For additional information visitwww.pushpushtheater.com or [email protected].

Soil and water conservation meet-ing scheduled

The DeKalb County Soil andWater Conservation District monthlymeeting will be held on Friday, April8, at 10 a.m. at the Clark HarrisonBuilding, 330 W. Ponce de Leon

Book sale to feature ‘greatbargains’

The Friends of the Doraville Li-brary are having a book sale April16, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the DoravilleLibrary. Organization of cials saythere will be “great bargains” inpaperbacks, hardbacks, CDs andDVDs for children and adults.Hotdogs, hamburgers, chips anddrinks will be sold by the Doraville

Business Association to bene t theFODL and the Doraville Library.Book donations for the sale arewelcome at the library any time it’sopen. The Doraville Library is locat-

Earth Day event announced

The Decatur community will cel-ebrate Earth Day Sunday, April 17,2:30 - 4 p.m. at the Oakhurst Com-

munity Garden Project. Presentedby Latham Home Sanitation, theevent begins with the Earth FriendlyParade, which starts at HarmonyPark in the center of the OakhurstBusiness District. Visitors are invitedto join the Feed and Seed MarchingAbominable Band and decorate abike, wagon, stroller or themselvesand march in the parade that willopen the festival. There will be acake contest, crafts for the children,a raptor show, food vendors, thecommunity pavilion, live music andmore.

This year’s event features more

than 30 Earth-friendly vendors andnon-pro ts in the Community Pa-vilion, including the City of DecaturRecycling Trailer and a CommunityPhone Book Recycling Project. Formore information and a completeschedule, visit www.oakhurstgarden.org.

Judge Rosh to speak at PRISM

meeting

Pride Rings In Stone Mountainhas announced that Probate JudgeJeryl Debra Rosh will speak Thurs-day, April 14, 7 – 9 p.m. at St. Timo-thy United Methodist Church. Shehas served as judge of the ProbateCourt of DeKalb County since Janu-ary 2005 and will speak on estateplanning in DeKalb County, howguardians of both children and adultsare appointed, mental health con-cerns and the law, little known factsof the legal system and more. St.Timothy United Methodist Churchis located at 5365 Memorial Dr.,Stone Mountain. For further informa-tion, contact State RepresentativeMichele Henson, program chair, at(404) 296-1442 or [email protected]

ed at 3748 Central Ave., Doraville.For more information, call (770)936-3852 or (770) 263-0262.

Ave., Decatur. For additional infor-mation call (770) 761-3020.

Pet event to focus on awareness,adoption

DeKalb County District RobertJames, Reps. Stephanie StuckeyBenfi eld, Michele Henson andMary Margaret Oliver will join ahost of community partners for thethird annual Paws For The Cause.The community awareness event

will be on Saturday, April 9, at theDeKalb Square, 101 East CourtSquare in downtown Decatur.

Starting at 10 a.m. and endingat 2 p.m., Paws For The Cause is acollaborative effort with Partnershipwith Animal Action Rescue, VillageVets, DeKalb County Animal Servic-es & Enforcement, DeKalb CountyDistrict Attorney’s Of ce and othergroups to combat crimes againstanimals by increasing awarenessaround issues of animal neglect andcruelty.

The event will include live music,food vendors, moonwalks, agility/

frisbee performances and more. Anon-site veterinarian will administerlow-cost immunizations and $20 mi-crochipping. Animal Action Rescueand DeKalb Animal Services, VillageVets & Enforcement will have pup-pies and dogs available for adoption.

“Protecting animals from crueland neglectful behavior is one of mytop priorities,” said James. “Thesepartnerships and this outreach eventare essential to combating animalcruelty in our community and pro-moting animal adoption.”

For more information, contactClarissa Brown at [email protected] or (404) 371-4961.

8/7/2019 Free Press 4-8-11



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The Champion Free Press, Friday, April 8, 2011 ASPoRtS

by Robert [email protected]

One team did what it was ex-pected to do and another team did

what it had never done.Still, the winners of the recentDeKalb County Track Champion-ship were linked by a commonbond—teamwork.

The Dunwoody boys earnedheir rst county track title on the

strength of ve rst-place nishes.The Wildcats scored points in 13 of 16 events and had two athletes placen four events. Southwest DeKalb’s

girls team, the defending county andstate Class AAAA champion, wonheir fth straight county track title

and sixth in the past seven years.The Panthers won three events andhad two place in eight events.

[It was] denitely a surprise towin but it was a total team effort,”said Dunwoody boys coach BradHendrickson. “That’s what I’mmost proud of. Everyone workedogether and just tried to put points

on the board.”The Wildcats unseated defend-

ng champion Southwest DeKalb,which nished second, 95-71. TwoDunwoody runners each won twoevents— Dazel Claytor won the100 and 200 meters while JamesDwyer nished rst in the 1600 and3200. Dunwoody’s other rst-placenish was earned by Kuaniyal

Chol in the 800.Southwest’s Malcolm Brock was the only participant to win threeevents—the 300 hurdles, high jumpand triple jump.

The Wildcats hope to use themomentum gained from winningthe county title to help preparefor the upcoming region and statemeets. Dunwoody moved up from

Class AAA last season and joinedRegion 6-AAAA. It will see mostof the same teams—with the excep-tion of Mays, Carver Atlanta andDouglass—in the region meet April18-21.

“This gives us a lot of con-dence going into the region meet,”Hendrickson said. “We’ve faredwell in AAA but this is a whole dif-ferent game up here [in AAAA].We’ve got a large team with a lot of hard-working athletes.”

Kyle Sexton gave the Wildcatsa boost with a third-place nish inthe 3200 and Josiah Terrell-Perica nished third in the discus with apersonal best throw 140-6.5.

In the girls meet, Morgan Snow won both the 100 hurdles and thetriple jump. The Panthers’ onlyother rst-place nisher was Kenya Snow in the shot put.

Two other athletes were doublewinners in the girls meet. MeghanWetterhall of Lakeside won the1600 and the 3200. Also, Jada Martin of M.L. King won the 100and 200 to help the Lions nishsecond in the team standings behindthe Panthers.

Lakeside’s Carla LaRotta set acounty record in the pole vault, win-

ning the event with an effort of 9-3.

County Track Champion-ships resultsTeam Standings (top ve)

Boys: 1. Dunwoody, 95; 2. South-west DeKalb 71; 3. Tucker, 66; 4.

Cedar Grove, 58; 5. Redan, 48.

Girls: 1. Southwest DeKalb, 105;

2. M.L. King, 83; 3. Redan 65; 4.Chamblee 62; 5. Cedar Grove 61.

Boys Champions100: Dazel Claytor, Dunwoody,

10.92; 200: Dazel Clator, Dun-

woody, 22.18; 400: Tammarick

Johnson, Stone Mountain, 48.97;800: Kuaniyal Chol, Dunwoody,

1:59.29; 1600: James Dwyer,

Dunwoody, 4:24.30; 3200: James

Dwyer, Dunwoody, 9:41.74; 110hurdles: B.J. Burney, M.L. King,

15.01; 300 hurdles: Malcolm

Brock , Southwest DeKalb, 40.02;

4x100 relay: Cedar Grove; 4x400relay: Cedar Grove; high jump:

Malcolm Brock, Southwest DeKalb,

6-4; pole vault: Jeff Jernigan,

Chamblee, 13-0; long jump: Dia-

vonte Smith, Redan, 22-3.75; triple

jump: Malcolm Brock, Southwest

DeKalb, 45-4.50; shot put: Antonio

Kohn, Clarkston, 49-10; discus:

Alex Dyer, Redan, 142-10.

Girls Champions100: Jada Martin, M.L. King,

12.15; 200: Jada Martin, M.L. King,

24.46; 400: Felicia Brown, M.L.King, 57.6; 800: Kayla Pryor, Ce-

dar Grove, 2:19.99; 1600: Meghan

Wetterhall, Lakeside, 5:13.84;

3200: Meghan Wetterhall, Lakeside,

11:24.59; 110 hurdles: Morgan

Snow, Southwest DeKalb, 14.36;300 hurdles: Jessica Banks, Dun-

woody, 44.63; 4x100 relay: M.L.

King; 4x400 relay: M.L. King; high

jump: Jalissa Terrell, M.L. King,5-6; pole vault: Carla LaRotta,

Lakeside, 9-3; long jump: Tiffany

Flynn, Miller Grove, 18-5; triplejump: Morgan Snow, Southwest

DeKalb, 37-3; shot put: Kenya

Wheeler, Southwest DeKalb, 37-6;

discus: Shannon Williams, Towers,124-4.

On the right track Dunwoody gets lift from rst boys county title

Jada Martin, left, of M.L. King won the

200 meters and teammate Felicia Brownplaced second.

100 meter hurdles winner Jessika Banksof Dunwoody. Photos provided

Marlon Coley (Cedar Grove), from left, Greg Terrell (Cedar Grove), winner DazelClaytor (Dunwoody) and Jonathan Norris (Miller Grove) drive for the nish line in the100 meters.

Madeline Wetterhall of Chamblee, fromleft, and Greciana Cooper of SouthwestDeKalb try to keep pace with winner Meghan Wetterhall of Lakeside duringthe 1600 meter run.

8/7/2019 Free Press 4-8-11



by Robert Naddra

[email protected]

Prolific scorers and a groupof talented juniors highlight TheChampion Newspaper’ s boys andgirls 2011 all-county basketballeams. Three of the seniors on theist already have signed college

basketball scholarships, includinggirls player of the year JasmineCamp of Chamblee. The senior guard will attend Stanford Uni-versity next season.

Boys player of the year TonyParker of Miller Grove highlightsa solid junior class. Of the 20

players chosen, nine are juniors.Here is a look at The Cham-pion’s top 10 boys and girls bas-ketball players for 2010-11.

THE CHAMPION 2011 ALL-COUNTY BASKETBALL

TEAMS

GIRLS

F Queen Alford, Decatur, 5-8,Sr.Alford is effective either drivingo the basket or shooting from the

perimeter. She leaves Decatur asone of its most prolific scorers inschool history. Alford had a sea-son-high of 48 points, and had ateast 20 points in 17 games. She

scored 30 or more five times.

C Aneesah Daniels, Redan, 6-0,Sr.The University of Alabama signeeaveraged 14.7 points and 10.9 re-bounds per game. Daniels showedgreat strength close to the basketand made 54 percent of her fieldgoal attempts. She surpassed the1,000-point mark for her career

his season.

G Zuri Frost, Columbia, 5-3, Jr.A starter for the second season ina row, Frost proved to be one of he best all-around point guardsn the county. She averaged 10.6

points per game on a team thatshared the basketball, led thecounty with 121 assists and wassecond in DeKalb with 130 steals.

G Olivia Gibbs, SouthwestDeKalb, 5-10, Jr.The junior became one of the oor eaders after the graduation of eight

Panther seniors a year ago. Gibbsed the Panthers in scoring, aver-

aging 13.8 points per game andscored 27 points or more in a gamewice.

G Katrice Harris, McNair, 5-6, Sr.Harris led the county in scoring at18 points per game and was amongthe top shooters in the area. Shewas second in eld goals attemptedwith 257 and second in accuracy,making 57 percent.

C Jen Heider, Marist, 6-3, Sr.

One of the most prolic scorersin Marist history, Heider endedher career with more than 1,500points. She averaged 19.3 pointsand eight rebounds this season andhas signed a basketball scholarshipwith Bucknell University.

F Terri Jacobs, Cedar Grove, 5-9 Jr.Jacobs was a force on defense,leading the county in rebounding(14.5 per game) and blocks (76 onthe season). She also proved to bea solid scorer, with a good shortjumper, and averaged 12.6 pointsper game.

G Lucy Mason, Chamblee, 5-6, Jr.Mason was one of many weaponson a very athletic team. She aver-aged 16.5 points per game to leadthe Bulldogs in scoring and was

among the best shooting guards inthe state, making 56 percent of her shots.

G Kierra Paige, Redan, 5-7 Sr.Paige is among the best long-rangeshooters in metro Atlanta. She av-eraged 15.4 points per game andled the county in 3-point shooting

(61 of 137 for 45 percent). Paigereached the 1,000-point milestonefor her career in January.

BOYS

F Henry Brooks, Miller Grove,6-8, Sr.Parker’s frontcourt mate, Brookshas signed a basketball scholarshipto attend the University of Penn-sylvania. Solid on both ends of theoor, Brooks scored a season-high21 points against Tucker and aver-aged six rebounds per game.

C William Goodwin, SouthwestDeKalb, 6-8, Jr.Goodwin is garnering interest fromschools across the country andalready has several offers, includ-

ing Georgia and UCLA. He has

surpassed 1,000 points in his career and averaged 18 points and 10.1rebounds per game.

G Trumon Jefferson, Decatur,6-1, Sr.Jefferson was the engine that gotthe Bulldogs offense going thisseason. He averaged nearly 20points per game and showed greatversatility on the oor as he couldscore from the perimeter and driveto the basket.

G Algie Key, Columbia, 6-4, Sr.A transfer from Lakeside, Key was

instrumental in helping the Eagleswin their second straight ClassAAA state title. He averaged 5.8assists per game and had the abilityto score when needed, twice reach-ing 20 points in a game.

F Brandon Morris, Miller Grove,6-7, Jr.Morris averaged 7.7 rebounds per game and showed a knack for bigplays on offense and defense inclutch situations. He has scholar-ship offers from Clemson, Georgiaand Auburn.

G Keenan Palmore, Paideia, 6-2, Jr.

Palmore is always a threat in tran-sition and can hold his own closeto the basket. Palmore scored atleast 30 points in a game threetimes and had numerous double-doubles while leading the Pythonsto the Class A state playoffs.

G Jordan Price, SouthwestDeKalb, 6-5, Sr.The solid shooter already has offersfrom Georgia and Georgia Tech.Price led the Panthers in scoring at19.1 points per game and shot 53percent while taking 328 shots, thesecond-most in the county.

G Tahj Shamsid-Deen, Colum-bia, 5-8, So.A solid oor general, Shamsid-Deen led the county in assists (289)and three-point shooting (28 of 47for 60 percent). He also was sec-ond in the county in steals (98) andled the Eagles in scoring, averaging12.9 points a game.

G Jonathan Tinch, Stephenson,6-2, Sr.Tinch was second in the countythis season averaging 20.1 pointsa game and had a season-high 41points against Campbell. He scoredat least 30 points four times andreached double digits in both pointsand rebounds in four games.

2011 All-County Basketball TeamUnderclassmen make presence known among county’s best

G Jasmine Camp, Chamblee, 5-8, Sr.The Stanford University signee becamea more complete guard this seasonwhile leading the Bulldogs to the team’srst undefeated regular season in school

history. Camp averaged 10.8 points pergame, averaged 46 percent shootingfrom the eld and was fth in the countywith 81 assists. She had a season-high23 points against Miller Grove.

C Tony Parker, Miller Grove, 6-8 Jr.Parker is a dominating presence whodeveloped into one of the top postplayers in the state. He led the countyby averaging 15.5 rebounds per game

had had at least 20 rebounds in sixgames. He scored an average of 17.5points per game, was second in thecounty with 125 blocks and shot 58percent from the eld.

Player of the Year Girls Boys

8/7/2019 Free Press 4-8-11



Chris Epps, Clemson (baseball):

The senior outfi elder from Dun-woody had two hits, two RBIs andscored three runs in the Tigers’ 11-5win over Georgia on March 29. Eppshas started in all but one game forthe Tigers this season and had a.296 batting average with fi ve homeruns and 16 RBIs through the Geor-gia game.

Jasmin Riley, Alabama A&M (soft-ball): The sophomore catcher fromSouthwest DeKalb broke a 4-4 tiewith a bases loaded, two-RBI sin-gles in the ninth innings to give theBulldogs a 6-4 win over MississippiValley State on March 29. Riley alsohit her sixth home run of the season

earlier in the game. She is batting.476 with 16 RBIs.

Hudson Randall, Florida (baseball):The sophomore pitcher from Dun-woody leads the Gators’ pitchingstaff in several categories this sea-son. Randall is 4-0 in six starts witha 0.66 earned run average. He hasallowed only three earned runs andone walk in 40 2/3 innings pitched,with 25 strikeouts.

Legendary encounterMcNair basketball player Tyrone Patterson enjoys a light-hearted moment with basketball legend andretired Atlanta Hawks star Dominique Wilkins at the Powerade Pros 3-on-3 invitational basketballtournament held recently in Atlanta. Wilkins spoke to the players about life on and off the court.Photo by Johnny Crawford, courtesy of Coca-Cola North America

free press 4-8-11

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