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FREEPRESS

championnewspaper championnewspaper champnewschampionnews

thechampionnewspaper.com

FRIDAY, SeptembeR 11, 2015 VOL. 18, NO. 23 FREE

A PUBLICATION OF ACE III COMMUNICATIONS Serving East Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Clarkston, Decatur, Doraville, Dunwoody, Lithonia, Pine Lake, Tucker and Stone Mountain.

See Lifeguard on page 15A

See Hillandale on page 15A

County missinglifeguard certificationsduring near drowningby Andrew [email protected]

DeKalb County did nothave certifications onhand for all of the con-

racted lifeguards working atat the pool where a boy nearlydrowned. he countys con-ract required these to be kept

onsite at all times.

The Champions investiga-tion revealed that the countydid not have certifications onfile for seven of the lifeguardsworking at Browns Mill on theday of the near drowning.

Further, the county did nothave certifications availablefor some of its own lifeguardsin 2014 and 2015, the investi-gation revealed.

DeKalb Medical at Hillandale celebrates 10 yearsby Gale Horton Gay

More than a decade ago, manysouth DeKalb residents decriedthe lack of medical services

n their community. Specifically,hey wanted a hospital with the full

complement of emergency, surgical andnpatient as well as outpatient services

closer to home.In July 2005, south DeKalb got what

ts residents had asked fora state-of-the-art medical facilityDeKalbMedical Center at Hillandale.

Every year DeKalb Medical atHillandale serves more than 60,000

people in the Emergency Department,16,000 who visit the ComprehensiveBreast Center, 5,000 people who seeknpatient care and 1,600 who haveurgeries.

Asked about the impact has DMC atHillandale has had on the South DeKalbcommunity, Kim Bentley, vice presidentand administrator for the facility, said itsbeen multi-faceted.

DeKalb Medical at Hillandales a state-of-the-art facility in a

community that is most deserving.We have established ourselves as thiscommunitys local hospital of choice.We provide population-specific carebased on the needs of the residents

of Lithonia, said Bentley. We haveproudly added services based oncommunity need to include our newlyacquired radiation oncology centerand two-year-old breast center, andexpanded endovascular serviceswithin our interventional lab. Te newexpanded services allow us to have aconvenient and local facility to treat ourcancer patients undergoing radiationtherapy, allow for diagnostic andinterventional breast procedures, andassessment and treatment for patientswith vascular and blood flow issues allon our campus.

Bentley added that growth and

additional services are on the horizon.Hillandale has an amazing growth

potential, she said. We have partneredwith primary care physicians in thecommunity to help serve the patients inLithonia and prevent admissions intothe hospital. We are actively lookingat expanding the services that we offerto our diabetic and vascular patientsto improve the care necessary for ourpatients with wounds. Additionally,we are pursuing satellite stroke centerdesignation this fall in order to help usidentify and treat stroke patients withthe latest guidelines in accordance withthe American Stoke Association.

o celebrate its tenth anniversary,

LOcAL, 3A LOcAL, 11A SpORtS, 22A

Business .................................17A

Education............................... 18A

Sports ................................21-24A

Oinion ......................................5Aclassifed .............................. 19A

QuIck FINDeRNONpROFItSpReADS LOVethROugh ARt

bROtheRLYLOVe: JeLANI ANDJAVARIc WOODS

heALth INSpectORSNOt ReQuIReD tO checkLIFeguARD ceRtIFIcAtIONS

Browns Mill Aquatic Center was temporarily closed after a near drowning on July 29. The county dis-covered that it had not checked the certications for all of the lifeguards. Photo by Andrew Cauthen

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Page 2A The Champion FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2015

LOCAL

CELEBRATING

YEARS

SaturdaySeptember 19th10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Celebration& Health Fair

TAKE A LOVED ONETO THE DOCTOR DAY!

www.DeKalbMedicalCelebrates.com

2801 DEKALB MEDICAL PKWYLITHONIA, GA 30058

Connect with our DoctorsCome meet members of the DeKalb MedicalHillandale medical staff, get your blood pressurechecked, stop into one of the Doc Talks or registerfor free screenings.

Take Control of Your HealthBecome a better you by interacting with other health-conscious people with cooking demonstrations andsign our Wall of Healthwhile you are here.

Financial Concerns?Talk with counselors about this years open enrollmentperiod and how you can sign up for an affordable healthplan that fits your budget. Get your health insurancequestions answered!

Family FunBring your entire family out to enjoy fun for all ages, andconnect with community partners through basketball,face painting and fresh produce.

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The Champion FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2015 Page 3ALOCAL

Health inspectors not required tocheck lifeguard certifications

Search warrants issuedfor Lee May, ex-workers

See Warrants on page 6A

by Andrew [email protected]

DeKalb County health inspectors do notegularly check lifeguard certifications whennspecting pools, even though it is included

on inspection forms.Thats not our job to make sure they are

ertified, according to DeKalb County code,aid AlanGaines, the environmental health

department manager, for the DeKalb CountyBoard of Health.

According to Chapter 511-3-5 of the stateDepartment of Public Healths Rules andRegulations for Public Swimming Pools, Spas,and Recreational Water Parks, lifeguards,when provided, must hold current, nation-ally recognized certifications in lifeguarding,adult/child/infant CPR and first aid.

Copies of those certifications must bemaintained at the facility and be available tohe local health authority for inspection, theegulations state.

DeKalb County, however, has its ownegulations for pools, which do not mentionifeguard certifications.

When asked about lifeguard certifica-ions, Gaines in an Aug. 31 statement said,As stated in the code, the records must be

kept on site for the inspector to view. Yes, ournspectors will check to see that these records

are present at the time of inspection and thathey are available for review upon request.

In a phone interview the next day, Gainesaid, Its not one of our highest priorities.ts not the highest priority of our inspectors

when we go out to inspect the swimmingpool, Gaines said.DeKalb County code requires pool opera-

ors to maintain daily operating records anddata such as disinfectant levels, pH and main-enance procedures.

Thats the records that we are most con-istently looking for, Gaines said.

The requirement to check for lifeguardertifications is in state regulations, but notounty code, Gaines said. And the require-

ment is listed on the inspection forms used by

DeKalb inspectors.I cant speak for every pool that we go

to that has lifeguards, whether its [checked]

every time somebody goes out, but upon re-quest they should be able to produce the re-cords of the lifeguards that they have on staff,he said.

Its a two-point violation on our inspec-tion form, Gaines said. These forms havebeen being used by the county for some time.They havent been reviewed and updated for anumber of years.

When designing an updated inspectionchecklist for that refers to particular sectionsin DeKalb Countys code, it came to ourknowledge that is not in DeKalb county codethat it requires lifeguards records to be kept atthe pool site, Gaines said.

I was under the impression it was too,Gaines said. I know its on the inspectionsheet. It is in the state code, but its not inDeKalb County code. Its on the form assum-ing it was in our code.

We may have some [inspectors] thatask for it, but its not required by our code,Gaines said. I think some people probably dolook for it because its on the sheet, but werenot required to by the ordinance.

Checking the mechanical functioning ofthe pool is a higher priority than checking forlifeguard records, Gaines said.

Pool inspection reports and scores areposted on the website of the DeKalb CountyBoard of Health (www.dekalbhealth.net), butGaines said those scores are not reliable.

We have some difficulties with that on-

line service. Its kind of unreliable, he saidabout the website module which is providedby a contractor. There are some difficultieswith our pool module on that website. Some-times the fields dont line up 100 percent ac-curately.

Were actually in the process of going onto a different system with the state, Gainessaid.

In the meantime, records can be request-ed through the Open Records Act, he added.


Interim DeKalb CEO Lee MayannouncedSept. 1 that search warrants have been issued foremails for himself and two former employees.

Requested by a DeKalb County Police sergeant,the search warrants are for emails of May, formerDeKalb County chief of staff Morris Williamsandformer procurement director KelvinWalton.

The requested emails are from Dec. 13, 2010, toDec. 31, 2011, and may prove conspiracy to defrauda state or political subdivision, and false statements,according to the warrants. May was the District 5commissioner during the time in question.

An investigation by WSB-TV and theAtlantaJournal Constitutiondiscovered that county processeswere not followed when sewage backed up into Mayshome in 2010.

In April, May called on the FBI to investigate thenews report.

I, and possibly others, may be the victims ofwrongdoing, May said at the time. The issue in-volves a sewage flood in my home on KilkennyCircle in December 2010, when I was a member ofthe Board of Commissioners. A contractor came tomy property to remove the sewage and repair the

damage. It has come to my attention that I receivedexpedited treatment by county staff regarding thepayment to the contractor for fixing the damage.

May said he neither had any knowledge, directlyor indirectly, of special treatment, nor did he re-quest any.

In the April statement, May said the county is-sued a check of $6,400 directly to the vendor in June

May Williams Walton

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th chamion FRee pReSS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2015 Page 4AOpINION

Gale Horton Gay

[email protected]

Lifestyle Editor

Finding inspiration in an unlikely messageMaybe Ive not become a

total cynic.Tese days, when a

politician announces a pressconerence, Im alreadygroaning. Is it to deny an ac-

cusation o wrongdoing? Is itto gloat over an accomplish-ment or the public goodthats really just a part o his/her job description? Or may-be its to bring us the kind obad news that means anotherdip in our pockets?

However, a couple oweeks ago, one politiciancalled a press conerence thatnot only caught my eye butcaptured my heart. PresidentJimmy Carters announce-ment that he has brain can-cer was an extraordinaryevent.

Sitting alone at a tablen jeans and jacket, Carter

revealed that he is battling

melanoma and that ourspots o the cancer have beenound on his brain. For ap-proximately 40 minutes hetalked about the cancer, howit was ound, his initial reac-

tion when he thought he hadjust weeks to live and howhe was about to undergo thefirst in a series o radiation

treatments within a matter ohours.

Carters demeanor wascalm and true to the SundaySchool teacher that he is. Herelied on humor, accented

with his signature smile inhis delivery, to allay ears andunderscore his view that ev-erything was going to be al-right regardless the outcome.

Jimmy Carter cameacross as a humble man whowould take on the challengeo what lie had dealt himwithout bitterness or anger.He seemed more interestedin inorming us, educatingus and even comorting usabout whats ahead or himand what many o us mayalso ace one day.

What also struck me ishow Carter made it clearthat despite his many stel-lar achievementsserving

in the Navy, being elected asenator, governor and presi-dent and winning a NobelPeace Prizehe cited hisrole as a husband, ather andounder o Te Carter Center

as the most significant o hislie. He said marrying hiswie o 69 years, RosalynnCarter, was the best decisiono his lie.

I have had a wonderullie, Carter said. Im readyor anything and Im lookingorward to new adventure.

And as Carter, 90, talkedabout his desire to still go toNepal this all to build hous-es or Habitat or Human-ity, I couldnt help but thinkwhat an irrepressible, opti-mistic, selfless spirit he is.

And Carter also put hisaith ront and center.

Now I eel its in thehands o God, whom I wor-

ship, and Ill be preparedor anything that comes, hesaid according to publishedreports.

For me there are a wealtho lessons in Jimmy Carters

candid conversation withusthe importance o liv-ing a genuine lie with ewregrets, making a contribu-tion to society, recognizingthe true value o amily andaith, not getting caught upin titles and positions thatshif and change and accept-ing reality while still fightingthe good fight.

I send my prayers andwell wishes to Jimmy Carteralong with the multitudeo others and hope that hiswords can inspire us to alsoseek exciting, adventurousand gratiying lie experi-ences.

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th chamion FRee pReSS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2015 Page 5A

Let Us Know What You Think!

THE CHAMPION FREE PRESSencour-ages opinions from its readers. Pleasewrite to us and express your views. Lettersshould be brief, typewritten and containthe writers name, address and telephonenumber for verification. All letters will beconsidered for publication.

Send Letters To Editor, The Champion Free Press, P.

O. Box 1347, Decatur, GA 30031-1347; Send emailto [email protected] FAX To: (404)370-3903 Phone: (404) 373-7779 . Deadline for newsreleases and advertising: Thursday, one week priorto publication date.

EDITORS NOTE: The opinions written by colum-nists and contributing editors do not necessarilyreect the opinions of the editor or publishers.ThePublisher reserves the right to reject or cancel anyadvertisement at any time.The Publisher is notresponsible for unsolicited manuscripts.

Publisher:John HewittChief Financial Ocer:Dr. Earl D. GlennManaging Editor:Andrew CauthenProduction Manager:Kemesha HuntPhotographer:Travis HudgonsSta Reporters:Carla Parker, Ashley Oglesby

The Champion Free Press is publishedeach Friday by ACE III Communications,Inc., 114 New Street, Suite E, Decatur,

GA. 30030 Phone (404) 373-7779.

www.championnewspaper.com

DISPLAY ADVERTISING(404) 373-7779 x 110

FREEPRESS

STATEMENT FROM THE

PUBLISHERWe sincerely appreciate thediscussion surrounding this and anyissue of interest to DeKalb County.The Championwas founded in 1991expressly to provide a forum fordiscourse for allcommunity residentson all sides of an issue. We have nodesire to make the news only toreport news and opinions to effect

a more educated citizenry that willultimately move our communityforward. We are happy to presentideas for discussion; however,we make every effort to avoidprinting information submitted tous that is known to be false and/orassumptions penned as fact.

OpINION

Dragon prose and consLook at whats happened

o me, I cant believe it myself.Suddenly Im up on top ofhe word, it should have been

omebody else, theme songyrics by Mike Post, romThe Greatest American Hero1981-1983).

Earnest, honest and coolchool teacher Ralph Hin-

kley was an unlikely super-hero when extraterrestialsnterested in assisting the

people o Earth granted Hin-kley his super suit. Fanso the iconic ABC action/omedy drama starring Wil-iam Katt,Robert Culpand

Connie Selleca will recallhat Hinkley never quite

mastered the superhero skillo lying and that he lost thenstruction manual or theuit in the pilot (and replace-

ments as well during the se-ies run).

hough hardly a secreto close amily and riends,oten astound others who

dont know me as well byharing that since the age

o 9 or 10, I have been anavid comic book collector. Iown thousands, some wortheveral hundred dollars, andhough I have periodically

helved the hobby more thanonce or a decade or so, it al-ways draws me back in. Evenas a young boy, what couldbe more entertaining than aworld where practically ev-

ery super emale wore skintight clothing?

During high school,college and later, riendsand others who were notans would oten mock myhobby. And so, I shitedinterests towards science ic-tion and espionage, JamesBond, the Star Warsand StarTrekilms, and the like. Mymeticulous maintenance othe collection resulted in aninvestment portolio, by per-centage o increase in value,which long surpassed virtu-ally every traditional invest-ment except real estate.

But something strangeand wonderul has happenedto be such a an o antasy

over the last decade or so,being a nerd has developedits own elan and as an boysand girls were critical in thedevelopment o much owhat we now know to be the

Internet as well as many oits most popular social mediasites and applications, it hasbecome cool to care about

the superhero world.he current all-timebox oice champion is TheAvengers.Disney boughtup rival Marvel Studios andmany o its more bankabletitles eature spandex and su-per-villains, not a princess ora mouse (excluding o courseFrozenand its coming se-quel, which, I will point out,give the traditional Disneyprincess some really cool,magical reezing super pow-ers). he hottest continuingsitcom, The Big Bang Theory,starts its ninth season nextweek, rom the same teamthat made Charlie Sheenahousehold name with Twoand a Half Men,but in sharpcontrast to the brother/amil-ial dysunction o the Sheen-com, on BB, the nerds getthe girls.

Oh, i only it were 2015in 1985, which brings me tomodern day Atlanta and thisLabor Day weekend. Ourdowntown was pleasantlyunder seige by visitors or aFalcons preseason game, twocollege ootball games, the

Atlanta Black Gay Pride Fes-tival and now in its 28th year,DragonCon.What began as alocal and very modest gath-ering o the Dragon Allianceo Gamers and Role-Players

(DAGR), has grown to be-come an almost weeklongthrong o thousands, touch-ing most every genre o sci-

ence iction and antasy. hisyears gathering drew 65,000registrants and had a project-ed economic impact o $65million, roughly twice that othe Chick-il-A Peach Bowl.

In addition to the hitson the big and small screen,gaming and science ictionprint, the gothic world ovampires, witches and zom-bies were also omnipresentas Georgia is also home tothe productions o The Walk-ing Dead, The Vampire Dia-riesand The Witches of EastEnd(pilot partially ilmed inMacon).

And though Georgia maynot be close to Buy Som-mers Hellmouth, we remainthe center o the post-Zom-bie apocalypse. Books rang-ing rom Harry Potterto TheTwilight trilogy, and graphicnovels about an aging Bat-man, The Dark Knight tril-ogy and The Watchmennowrequently top The New YorkTimesBest Seller lists.

And though my avoredgenre remain super-heroes,spies and certain realms o

the supernatural, I must ad-mit that even I dont get allo this. I have long been par-ticularly puzzled by the drawo Japanime and manga...just what exactly is a Sailor

Moon? Hello Kitty in a crossschool girl/Navy uniorm?Dierent strokes or dierentolks I guess.

For me, and an apparentlylarge and growing audienceit is just one more interestingtangent o Dragon prose andcons.

Bill Crane also serves as apolitical analyst and commen-tator for Channel 2s Action

News, WSB-AM News/Talk750 and now 95.5 FM, as wellas a columnist forThe Cham-

pion, Champion Free Pressand Georgia Trend.Crane isa DeKalb native and businessowner, living in Scottdale. Youcan reach him or comment on

a column at [email protected].

Bill Crane

[email protected]

Columnist

ONE MANS OPINION

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LOCAL

If you would like to nominate someone to be considered as a future Champion of the Week, please contact Andrew Cauthenat [email protected] or at (404) 373-7779, ext. 117.

MASUMI MATSUDA

Candidates throw their names in municipal electionsby Carla [email protected]

The race has been set for the No-vember General Election in DeKalb

County municipalities.In Decatur, city CommissionerScott Drakeis seeking reelectionfor the District 1 Post B seat againstwo challengersValencia Monique

Breedloveand Eric Tumperi. BrianSmithand James Johnsonare run-ning for the open District 2 Post Beat, and Anthony Powersand John

Ridleywill run for the open at-largeeat.

Mayor Jim Baskett, who hasbeen a commissioner since 1995, willnot seek another term as the citys at-arge commissioner. Mayor Pro Tem

Kecia Cunninghamalso will not

seek reelection.Decatur school board member

Christopher Garrett Goebel willrun unopposed for the District 1 PostB seat. Julie Rhameis not seeking

reelection for her District 2 Post Bseat, and Tasha Whiteand ThomasDeSimone will run for the open seat.

Brookhaven Mayor RebeccaChase Williams is facing two chal-lengers for her seat. Dale Booneand John Ernst. Eve Erdoganwillchallenge city Councilwoman Lin-ley Jones for the District 1 seat, andBates Mattisonwill run unopposedfor his District 3 seat.

In Lithonia, city CouncilmanAl Franklinwill challenge MayorDeborah Jacksonfor her seat.Council members Darold Honoreand Shameka Reynolds are seek-

ing reelection, and Fred Reynolds,who has fought to renovate the BruceStreet corridor, is running for a citycouncil seat.

In Stone Mountain, RichardMailman will run unopposed for thePost 1 city council seat. Diana Hol-liswill challenge Steve Wellsfor thePost 2 council seat, and Judy Asherwill challenge Chakira Johnsonforthe Post 3 council seat.

Avondale Estates Mayor Jona-than Elmore, who was elected mayorin March, will run unopposed. Com-missioner John Quinnis seekingreelection, and Brian FisherandAdela Yeltonare running for com-missioner.

Chamblee Councilman ThomasHogan will run unopposed for hisDistrict 3 seat, but at-large council-

member Dan Zangerwill be chal-lenged by Darron Kusman and Dis-trict 2 Councilwoman Leslie Robsonwill be challenged by Verl C. VanHoozen.

Clarkston Councilman WarrenHadlockis seeking reelection, andBirendra Dhakal, Awet HowardEyasuand Mario Williamsare run-ning for a seat on the council.

Tom Hartwill challengeDoraville Mayor Donna Pittmanforher seat, and Councilwoman PamFlemingwill face off against JulieNewmanand Elton Milefor herseat.

Tim Snyderand Md Naserarerunning for the open Doraville Dis-trict 2 seat and Shannon Hillardis running unopposed for the openDistrict 3 seat.

2011.During that same month, the

reporters revealed that a check of$4,000 was written by the contractorto my name and cashed into a bankn North Georgia, May said. Let me

be very clear: I did not receive thischeck. The endorsement signatureon the back of this check is not mine.

Thus, it appears that a fraud has

been committed using my name andmy position, he stated.

The contractor subsequently wona $300,000 contract with DeKalbCounty in 2011, which May sup-ported as a commissioner.

The warrants come as county of-ficials are awaiting a report from aspecial investigator who describedthe county government as rotten to

the core. The investigator was hiredby May to uncover corruption.

I have said from the very begin-ning that I expect full cooperationfrom all county employees as it per-tains to the ongoing investigationsinto DeKalb County government,May said. I include myself in thatdirective, and I have ordered staff tocomply completely and as rapidly as

possible.I share the sentiments of every-

one who wants to get to the bottomof corruption and wrongdoing, andthese search warrants are a step inthis process, May said. Personally, Ihave nothing to hide; and there willbe nothing in my email to suggest Ihave done anything wrong.

Warrants Continued From Page 3A

Masumi Matsuda grewup in Osaka, Japan; one ofhe countrys largest cities.

Her mother was a huge ani-mal lover who would feedtray cats and allow them totay in their home. As a re-ult, Masumis family owned3 cats and a dog named

Chiro, who Matsuda said sheoved like a brother.

Now Matsuda residesn McDonough where sheravels from her home twice

a week to volunteer at PAWSAtlanta no-kill animal sheltern Decatur walking big dogs.

She said, Its more chal-enging to work with them,

and they stay in the shelteronger than the smaller

dogs.

She added, The more Ispend time with them, themore we bond with eachother. We build a friendship.

I usually take the dogs to theoff-leash park with Mike,one of the staffers. Some-times, we introduce a newdog to another dog, to see ifthey can make friends andplay together. Sometimes itworks, sometimes it doesnt.But when it does, that makesmy day.

Matsuda said she foundPAWS Atlanta when brows-ing the Internet to find vol-unteer positions where shecould walk dogs.

I wanted to find a no-kill shelter. That was im-portant to me, that PAWSAtlanta was a no-kill shelter,she said.

Matsuda said she enjoysbeing around the animals.

She currently owns threecats and a German Shepherdand Plott Hound mix thatshe adopted from PAWS De-catur.

I adopted him abouttwo and a half years ago. Hewas one of the dogs I walked.He was the best dogvery so-cial, very smart, just a perfectfit for me, she said.

I thought he would finda home right away becausehe was so friendly but hewas at PAWS for about sixmonths. So, I adopted him. Ialways feel like hes the per-fect dog for me. I didnt haveto teach him anything, sheadded,

Matsuda said since work-ing with PAWS shes noticed

that some of the dogs areafraid of people when theycome into the shelter.

She said working withthe animals is relaxing forher.

It makes me feel likemy life is a little bit morevaluable. I feel like I am con-tributing something to thehomeless animals, she said.

She added, Its a realsocial problem. I feel like Imhelping them find homes,helping them get adopted.Sometimes I feel like thedogs and the cats are makingme a better person.

#ItsInTheChampion

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Atlanta

PAWS Atlanta to host fundraising party

On Sept. 19, 6:30 10 p.m., PAWS Atlantawill entertain guests with blues and BBQ, a silentauction, craft beer tastings and a brewery tourat Red Brick Brewing Company at 2323 DefoorHills Road, Atlanta.

Since 1966 PAWS Atlanta has found homesfor more than 45,000 homeless animals in metroAtlanta.

Tickets for the event are $85 per person. ToRSVP or make a donation to the not-for-profithelter visit pawsatlanta.org.

Avondale Estates

Wafe House to celebrate 60 years

A 60-year celebration for Waffle House will beheld Sept. 12, from noon to 3 p.m., at the WaffleHouse Museum. In 1955, Joe RogersandTomForkneropened the first Waffle House Restau-rant in Avondale Estates. Attendees will be toldabout the history and the beginning of AvondaleEstates first 24-hour restaurant. The event is freeo attend. The museum is located at 2719 East

College Avenue in Decatur.

Decatur

Concert raises $28,500 for DecaturCooperative Ministry

The fifth annual Amplify Decatur concerteries, held in late June at Eddies Attic, raised

$28,500 for Decatur Cooperative MinistryDCM), producing funds to support the nonprof-t organizations mission of alleviating homeless-

ness in DeKalb County.Amplify Executive Director Spencer Smith

and Board Member Drew Robinsonpresentedhe check to DCM earlier this week.

The event featured performances by alterna-

ive country pioneer Jay Farrar, 90s alternativeradio darlings Cracker, a NeilYoungcelebrationfeaturing 10 performers paying tribute to Youngsmusic, and a kids show featuring the Wishing Jar.Lenz, a marketing agency located in downtown

Decatur, presented the event.This is what a strong community looks like,

said Smith. Dozens of talented performers, 45generous sponsors, hundreds of enthusiastic con-cert attendees, and most importantly one criti-cal community organization, Decatur Coopera-tive Ministry that is making a difference righthere in our backyard.

The event was sponsored by Lenz, LockmanHomebuilding, AtlantaBen Realty, the DecaturRotary Club, the Leafmore Group, Natalie Greg-oryof Keller Williams, the city of Decatur andthe Decatur Downtown Development Authority,Travis Grubbof Keller Knapp Realty, VerisailPartners, First Baptist Church of Decatur, PaulHastings LLC, and Jennifer Jurleof Kurle Law.

Stone Mountain

CID and property owner team to removedilapidated billboard

The Stone Mountain CommunityImprovement District (CID) recently reduceda bit of blight by removing an unused billboardat a convenience store on Mountain Industrial

Boulevard near Highway 78When CID President Emory Morsbergerap-

proached property owners where the billboardwas located with a request to remove the struc-ture, the idea was met with resistance, accordingto news release by the CID.

It was a classic case of its not hurting mybusiness, so Im not going to improve it on thepart of the operator, Morsberger said. But visualappeal is vital to any business and to every busi-ness in the district.

Morsberger then contacted Morgan Callahan,the district supervisor at Petroleum Realty, whounderstood the concern and was receptive to re-moving the billboard.

Every drop of gasoline sold at a Valero sta-

tion is 100% American oil, Callahan said. Werethe largest refiner of gasoline in the U.S., and weunderstand that a companys overall image is im-portant. But wed never addressed the billboard atthat location because it wasnt hurting our busi-

ness. Until [Morsberger] pointed it out, we neverhad any reason to think about how it was affect-

ing the district.The CID, Callahan and owners of the Valero

station shared in the cost of the removal opera-tion.

Having an attractive business location, nomatter what the business is, is better for that busi-ness and every other business in the district,Morsberger said. We want people to know thatevery property owner in the Stone Mountain CIDis open for business and welcomes everybody.

City to host music event

Musical artist Jimmy Harrisand Friends willperform Sept. 18 at Tunes by the Tracks at 7p.m. The event is a free concert series that will

be held each Friday night in September and Oc-tober, 7-9 p.m. in Stone Mountain Village. Beerand wine will be available for sale and lawn chairsare encouraged. For more information, call (770)498-8984.

Citywide yard sale

A citywide yard sale will be held in StoneMountain on Saturday, Oct. 17, 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.,on the First Baptist Church lawn in the centerof town. Set up begins at 7:30 a.m. on the day ofthe saletables will not be provided. A limitednumber of 10-foot by 10-foot spaces under thepavilion are available at $20 each on a first-come,first-served basis; 10-foot by 10-foot lawn spacescan be rented for $10 each. For more informa-tion, contact Susan Colettiat (404) 444-5607 orCity Hall at (770) 498-8984. No food vendors, norefunds and no rain date.

CountywideForty nonprots convene to address state ofpublic education

The members of the DeKalb National Coun-cil of Negro Women and members of the Decaturand Stone Mountain-Lithonia Alumnae Chaptersof Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. convened morethan 40 civic organizations for a community part-

ners meeting on education efficacy.The meeting was held at the CommunityAchievement Center to discuss the launch of theDelta Teacher Efficacy Campaign, a three-year col-laboration aimed at enhancing student academicachievement by focusing on helping educators leadat-risk, urban students.

DeKalb County was selected as one of 40 loca-tions in the United States for the groundbreakingwork, funded by a grant from the Bill & MelindaGates Foundation.

Community partners currently involved in theefficacy campaign include: Alpha Kappa Alpha So-rority Inc.s Tau Pi Omega Chapter, Sigma GammaRho Sorority Inc.s Eta Sigma Chapter, Kappa Al-pha Psi Fraternity Inc.s Decatur Alumni Chapter,Iota Phi Theta Fraternitys Beta Psi Omega Chap-ter, Greenforest/McCalep Christian AcademicCenter, The Stewart Foundation, Its All AboutEducation, and DeKalb County School District.

For more information, email [email protected].

AROUNDDEKALB

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LOCAL

Briarwood Park Conservancy working to improve park

Ava ID# 28651308maybe large, but with Ava you aredefinitely the one in charge!This well-behaved 3 year oldloves treats and will do justabout anything for one (excepttry to snatch it from yourfingers!). She has masteredthe art of catching treats in theair and would love to show youher special talent. This bigand beautiful girl is as sweetand gentle as they come. Shewould be an awesome familypet. She gets along great withother dogs too! If you have a

loving heart and some space inyour home that youd like to fillwith a furry friend; come meetAva. Youll be glad you did.

Pet of the Week

by Carla [email protected]

Residents near BriarwoodPark in Brookhaven are doingwhat they can to upgrade theirpark.

The Briarwood Park Con-servancy has been meetingwith city officials and a localarchitecture and planningcompany to come to an agree-ment on what additions andrenovations need to be made inthe 18-acre park.

Chad Bolesof the Briar-wood Park Conservancy saidthe group began as a friendsgroup for Park Pride in May2012.

We officially became a tax501c3 in 2014, so our groupsimply advocates for this parkto keep it clean, Boles said.Sometimes the city cant dosome of our expectations, ourdesigns and ideas. So, we doa lot of man hours down hereand pick up trash, support thepool, support community pro-grams and support programinvolvement. We want to seeas many kids in the park aswe can, and well do whateverwere able to, to kind of movethe process along and help ifwe can.

The conservancy met withrepresentatives from Greeberg-Farrowan architecture, plan-

ning, engineering and develop-ment firmon Sept. 3 to givestaff specific ideas and guid-ance about what park userswould like to see at the park.The city hired GreebergFarrow

to master plan all of the parksin Brookhaven.

One area the group wantsto renovate is the river bridge.

Weve been working onthis river bridge since the daywe started, Boles said. Its a

liability and were hoping to getthat corrected with a designthat fits into our overall themeof what wed like to see at thepark.

Boles said the conservancyalso wants a new pool house,an off-leash area for dogs, ad-ditional signage and paths forthe trail that goes throughoutthe park.

Eventually, we want to seemore lighting around the pooland more lighting around thepark and at the tennis courts,new pavement, Boles said. Itwould be nice to see a renovat-ed faade of some kind on therec center, just improvementsto make the whole park lookbetter.

Briarwood Park Conser-vancy memberRob Turnersaid the next step is to receivefunding from the city.

We need a commitmentfrom the city to give this long-neglected park the money andthe resources that it takes toimprove our structure, Turnersaid.

There are a lot of peoplethat play here and use the

park, Boles said. Were a di-verse group and we embraceit and were a cat of a differentstripe, so to speak. Its a goodplace to be for anybody.

The DeKalb County Officeof Youth Services is accepting ap-plications for the DeKalb County

CEOs internship Program untilOct. 9.

The internship programargets college students in theirhird year and above to provide

educational experiences to helptrengthen opportunities availablen various career disciplines and

paths. Students must be residentsof DeKalb County and currentlyenrolled in a metro Atlanta areacollege or university.

Selection is based on a com-pleted application, including anessay and a completed referralfrom a county commissioner,

chool administrator, teacher,counselor or civic leader. Otherconsiderations may include GPA,community involvement andpresentation during the interview

process. Selected participants willbe notified of their acceptance byDecember 2015 and will begin

during the spring semester inJanuary 2016.

Successful applicants will beexposed to governmental, busi-ness and community careers asthey interact with professionals.Interns will be provided withskill-related, career-related andprofessional opportunities thatoffer immediate access to DeKalbCounty departments and profes-sional development training seriesto supplement their classroomexperience.

Students may obtain appli-cation packets by visiting www.

dekalbcountyga.gov. For addi-tional information, contact KaCeyVenningat (404) 687-7192 or byemail at [email protected].

County accepting applications for CEOinternship program

The Briarwood Park Conservancy is in discussions with Brookhaven ofcials and a local architecture andplanning company about improvements to Briarwood Park.

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See Briefs on page 10A

Nonprofit helps othergroups solve problems

Time to investin yourself.

Theres still time to attend GPC this Fall. Learn more at gpc.edu/apply.

If youre already accepted but havent enrolled, visit gpc.edu/secondhalf.

. :


For six years, a local nonprofit organi-zation has been leading a community oftartups doing good in DeKalb County

and around metro Atlanta, said the groupspresident.

Plywood People helps groups get theirprojects off the ground and connectedo whatever resources they need, said Jeff

Shinabarger, founder and executive direc-or.

Those resources could include market-ng help, business help, [answers to] ques-ions about sustainability, [and] helpinghem get connected to donors or investors,

Shinabarger said. Also it could be helpinghem as a leader with personal decisions

and work-life balance.Plywood People started with a single

project called Gift Card Giver.We collect unused gift cards to give

hem to people in need, Shinabarger said.It was a unique project that got a lot of in-erest really quickly. Weve been able to give

away over $300,000 in unused gift cards.Because of that project, I kept getting

connected to other people that had uniqueocial entrepreneurial projects that neededome expert [help], he said. Next thing

you know, there was a whole organizationbuilt around it because the demand wasgetting higher and higher and higher.

In the last three years, Plywood People

has worked with approximately 150 differ-ent projects.It has assisted Refuge Coffee Truck, a

Clarkston nonprofit organization that offersobs and job-training for resettled refugees.

They are teaching refugees how to bebaristas, Shinabarger said.

Another Clarkston-based project ofPlywood People is Billboard Bags. In thisprogram jobs are created for refugees whomake bags and wallets. Refugees are trainedo sew and are taught English.

Plywood People works with Beloved

Atlanta, a nonprofit thats working withgirls on the streets of Atlanta, getting them

off the streets and out of prostitution and[a] trafficking situation, Shinabarger said.The organization rehabilitates the femalesand seeks to get them into full-time posi-tions.

Each year, Plywood People holds agathering for social innovators, duringwhich entrepreneurs convene to be edu-cated and inspired. For the last four years,an idea competition has been held duringthe gathering.

Its where we take ideas that are insome way trying to address some problemin our city and we give them a platform toshare their idea in front of the entire audi-ence, Shinabarger said. The presenters getfive minutes, five slides and the chance tocompete for $5,000.

During the recent Plywood Presentsgathering in August, Decatur nonprofitPaint Love won second place in the compe-tition.

There are numerous, numerous orga-nizations in the Atlanta area that are beingimpacted because of our mentoring andplatform, Shinabarger said. I think theunique thing that we get to do is to workwith the leader and social innovator behindall these projects to make sure that they arebuilding organizations and businesses thatare sustainable and building models thatcan be truly meeting the problem that theysee.

The impact is very broad. The projectswe get involved in are all over the map ofAtlanta and equally the social issues of At-lanta, said Shinabarger, who lives in EastAtlanta. We try to find people that have adeep sense of calling or mission, and to jointhem in their problem-solving.

Shinabarger added, I think you seesome impact now, but hopefully the impactwill be a lot more five and 10 years fromnow when you see these people that havetaken something from concept all the wayto sustainable project and organization.

MARTA Selects developmentpartners for Brookhaven,Chamblee stations

The MARTA Board of Di-rectors has approved the transit-oriented development partnersfor its Brookhaven/Oglethorpeand Chamblee rail stations.

MARTA will now enter into

negotiations with BrookhavenCity Center Partners and Track-side Partners, respectively, onthe Brookhaven/Oglethorpeand Chamblee Transit-OrientedDevelopment (TOD) projects.The agency seeks to strengthenthe link between public transit,housing and job access at its railstations.

Our TOD partners havesignificant industry expertiseand are committed to develop-ing high-quality projects thatenhance these communities, saidMARTA CEO Keith T. Parker.

The development partnersportfolios include residential,commercial and mixed-use proj-ects in metro Atlanta, the stateand beyond.

Phase One constructionon the Brookhaven/OglethorpeTOD is scheduled to begin in thesummer of 2017; the ChambleeTOD is slated to break ground in2016.

For the Brookhaven/Oglethorpe station, the develop-ment partner has proposed athree-phase, mixed-use masterplan, subject to a communityengagement process that will lead

to city approval and rezoning tofacilitate transit-oriented devel-opment. The team is compo sedof a joint venture with Integraland Transwestern DevelopmentCompany.

Phase One includes 330apartments, 25,200 square feet ofretail, and 117,600 square feet ofoffice space. Additional phasescould include senior housing,

civic spaces and a hotel. TheBrookhaven/Oglethorpe stationopened in 1984 and averages2,300 weekday entries.

The Chamblee TODs de-veloper, Trackside Partners, is ajoint venture of Pattillo IndustrialReal Estate and Parkside PartnersLLC.

The Chamblee rail station

opened in 1987 and averages3,700 daily entries. Phase Oneof the proposed developmentincludes 13,000 square feet ofretail and 38,000 square feet ofoffice space. A pocket park is alsoplanned for the community.

Second annual StoneMountain Plein Air Paint Outannounced

ART Station ContemporaryArts Center, Stone MountainPark and Stone Mountain Me-morial Association have an-nounced the second annualStone Mountain Plein Air PaintOut on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Organizers expect ap-proximately 100 painters fromthroughout the region to bepainting around the Park, andin the historic Village of StoneMountain, in the same way asthe impressionists did: on loca-tion, or en plein air.

Participating artists will sub-mit up to two paintings createdduring the day, for an exhibit atART Station that evening, from4 to 6 p.m. They will be com-

peting for cash awards totalingmore than $1,000, and severalpurchase awards.

The juror for the Paint Outis Kippy Hammond, whosework has been recognized innumerous exhibitions and soloshows, receiving national andinternational awards. She is asignature member of the Pas-tel Society of America and the

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LOCAL

BriefsContinued From Page 9A

Two deceased, one officer arrested after drive-by shooting

DEKALB COUNY VOLUNEERAUDI OVERSIGH COMMIEE

DeKalb County Government seeks two County residents to serve as volun-teers on the 5-member Audit Oversight Committee as required by HouseBill 599 of the Georgia General Assembly. Tis committee will functionindependently in conducting p erformance and financial-related audits forall departments, offices, agencies, and programs of the County.

Interested individuals must meet the following requirements:Reside in DeKalbPossess expertise conducting performance or nancial audits

Minimum ve years experience andcertied as one of following -public accountant, internal or performance auditor, managementaccountant; or ten years relevant professional experience

Serve one- or four-year termRsums accepted 8/24 9/11/15 at

[email protected]

by Carla [email protected]

Two men are dead andan Atlanta police officer wasarrested after a drive-by shoot-ng in unincorporated Stone

Mountain Sept. 2.The deceased victims in

he shooting were identifiedas 20-year-old Langston Col-zieand 23-year-old MarvinLewis. Christian Davis, 21,was arrested and charged withwo counts of voluntary man-laughter.

According to DeKalbCounty Police spokeswomanMekka Parish, Colzie, Lewis,Davis and another man weretanding outside a home on

Eberline Court when a silvereep Cherokee drove up to the

home.

At least one occupantinside began to fire, Parishsaid. Mr. Davis returned firebut in the processis believedthat he struck his two acquain-tances [Colzie and Lewis].Somehow, someway they got

into the line of fire.An officer located an AR-

15 with drum magazine at thescene, which police discoveredbelonged to Davis. Parishsaid police are still searchingfor the occupants of the JeepCherokee.

We have not located thecar or the individuals inside,she said.

Atlanta Police OfficerGregory Morris, 47, was alsoarrested, but for punching aDeKalb police officer. Parish

said Morris responded to thescene believing his son wasone of the deceased men.

Morris son, GregoryMorrisJr., was on the scenebut he was not injured in theshooting.

We had a DeKalb Countypolice officer who was leav-ing the scene. Officer Morriscar was blocking that officerand the officer asked Morris ifhe would move his car to theother side of the street so hecould get out, Parish said. Atthat point [Morris] refused; hebecame extremely belligerentand at some point punchedthe officer.

According to the policereport, Morris said, F*** youto the officer when he asked

Morris to move his car the firsttime. The officer asked Morrismultiple times to move his ve-hicle, and Morris continued toshout profanities at the officer.

They then had to detainhim because he continued to

refuse [to follow] commandsand resisted, Parish said. He

was also Tased. Once he wasin the car he made some com-ments about apologizing.

Morris was booked intothe DeKalb County Jail andcharged with obstruction andsimple battery. According to

reports, Morris was releasedfrom jail and is on paid leave.

Southeastern Pastel Societyand a former Salon Interna-ional du Pastel guest of honor.

Hammond currently lives inFrance and is the resident art-st and director of La Bonne

Etoile Artist Retreat in Fon-aine-Fourches.

Other activities areplanned in conjunction with

he Paint Out. There will bea workshop held on Sept.25 to give artists a chance tomprove their plein air tech-

niques, and an exhibition ofplein air paintings in the Trol-ey Stop Gallery. The exhibitwill be an invitational jurorschoice, featuring artists se-ected by Hammond.

The purpose of the events to increase the awareness of

and appreciation for the ap-peal of the park and surround-ng community and to bring

artists to the area.

There also will be a recep-ion and awards presentationwhere the public can meethe artists, and enjoy hors

doeuvres and music. Thepaintings will be for sale.

For more informationabout any of the events, or art-sts registration, contact ART

Station at (770) 469-1105,tonemtnpaintout@gmail.

com, or visit the website www.artstation.org.

ART Station is a non-prof-t, contemporary visual and

performing arts center locatedat 5384 Manor Road, Stone

Mountain.

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In 2013, when an acrylic painter was invited to

teach an art class to young victims of domestic sextrafficking, it sparked a creative idea.It was just amazing to see the therapeutic

implications of this art and how much the girlsgravitated toward it, and the beautiful pieces theycreated, said professional Julie Ann McKevitt,whose projects include a mural for the AtlantaBeltline.

The organization, Wellspring Living, did nothave the resources to provide more of the pro-grams and thats what sparked the idea in me,McKevitt said.

In 2013 Paint Love started as part of her artbusiness, and in 2014 it became a 501c3 nonprofit.

It has quickly become much bigger than me,which is incredible to see, she said.

Paint Love connects artists with other non-profits for a positive impact on youth, said McK-evitt of Decatur. We provide free art projects andessons throughout metro Atlanta. We find great,

amazing professional artists, and we partner withorganizations that are already helping youth.

We pair them up and we supply other logis-tics, and all the supplies and other needs to makereally amazing, fantastic things happen for youth,she said.

Among them organizations Paint Love hasworked with is Kates Club, which assists childrenwho are grieving, [and] who have lost a parent orsibling, McKevitt said.

The leader of Kates Club, which has a dif-ferent theme every month, wanted to work withmetal.

Every organization that we work with is in-credibly unique, so every project that we put on isunique and custom to that organization, McKev-itt said.

We found three amazing metal artists, andthey came up with this brilliant idea where theycreated a portable metal foundry, McKevitt said.They created this whole cement, metalworks[foundry] which they brought onsite.

The foundry heated up to 1,800 degrees F, shesaid.

The teens were able to crush down metalcans and put on the full foundry regalia and workwith the metal foundry and pour their own sculp-tures, McKevitt said.

During group discussions, we talked abouttaking something old and broken like a metal canandturning it into something new and beau-tifula sculpture. That reflected the grief [pro-

cess], McKevitt said.It was an incredible project, she said. Thestudents were just so engaged. Even the threemetal artists had never worked withteenagers.They were just blown away by how serious andmaturethey were.

Paint Love, with its team of 23 professionalartists, has had 19 events so far this year.

Our goal was to do 24, but were on trackto surpass that this year, McKevitt said. Wevereached over 560 students this year so far with ourevents.

Paint Loves artists work in various media,including abstract, wax encaustic, photography,paint, illustrations, digital art, mixed media, mu-rals and mosaics.

As a nonjudgmental outlet for therapy, PaintLove is about creating a positive safe environ-ment for kids and fueling creativity, as well as cre-ating really good problem solvers, McKevitt said.

Nonprofit spreads love through artPainter Lindsay Ryden helps students create a mural that incorporates students respons-s to the schools new Believe You Can motto.

Paint Love artists Audrey Dakin, Miranda Duncan and Alex Pate lead youth from KatesClub in a metal works project. Photos provided.

Artist Alex Pate, right, helps a student with the metal works project.

Miranda Duncan works with a foundry. Artist Rich Dennard, right, demonstratesand teaches grafti techniques to a group ofteens in a collaborative mural.

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LOCAL

Residents share concerns for cityhoodby Ashley [email protected]

Cityhood the processof unincorporated parts of

he county becoming mu-nicipalities has become abuzzword for politicians inDeKalb.

In DeKalb County, city-hood is being paired withother ideas such aseconomic develop-ment and economicgrowth. Currently,here are four city-

hood movements inhe county.

Two will be vot-ed on later this year,and two others aren the legislature.

Edward Wil-iams, founder and

chairman of theConcerned CitizensAgainst Cityhoodn DeKalb, saidhe mission of his

organization is toadvocate for effec-ive government ando provide informa-ion about cityhood

and annexation to DeKalbCounty residents.

We believe that theesidents of DeKalb deserve

a more deliberate processand that the state legislatureneeds to make changes tohe cityhood and annexation

process, Williams said.He said the root of his

concern is the misleadinguse of words like economicdevelopment and economicgrowth.

Williams has lived inouth DeKalb for more than

16 years. He said in his com-munity where approximately95 percent of the populations Black, he is concerned with

he implementation of city-hood. Cityhood will likelybring more government withules and regulation, moreails and courts, more crime,

more corruption, more traf-fic tickets, more code en-forcement, less businessesand bad customer service.

Williams said, Often-

times youll hear a propo-nent talk about economicdevelopment but there is adifference between economicdevelopment and economicgrowth.

He added, Economicdevelopment means that youcan put a whole bunch ofFamily Dollars in a commu-

nity, but thats not the eco-nomic development that ourcommunity wants or needs.Economic growth means thatthe community is growingwith jobs and opportunity.

Williams said, Eventhough weve had Black lead-ership from 1974, up untilnow economic growth didnot occur.

Putting McDonalds,Family Dollars and Walmartsin the community is notgoing to lead to economicgrowth, he added.

Williams said he suspectsthat south DeKalb could looklike Clayton County, MiamiGardens, Tuskegee, Ala., EastSt. Louis, Liberty City, Gary,

Ind., Detroit, Washington,D.C., or Ferguson, Mo., ifthe cityhood bill is passed bythe state assembly and thereferendum is passed by the

voters.Ask the proponents ofcityhood which city theyplan to use as a model forsouth DeKalb or Stonecrest. Ido not mean what feasibility

study is used. I mean whichcity do they believe southDeKalb will look like in thefuture with similar demo-

graphics and population,Williams said.

In 2014 Concerned Citi-zens for Cityhood of SouthDeKalb proposed a new citynamed Greenhaven.

The group used the NewYork City skyline in its logo.

Williams said, Wouldyou put your trust in some-one that does not have a planand a model of what they areproposing?

He added, The propo-nents of the city of Green-haven model their Neighbor-hood Planning Units afterAtlanta. After 40 years ofhigh crime, bad schools andno development in the southand west sides of Atlanta,

the proponents of cityhoodin south DeKalb want tomodel the same failure thatwas used in Atlanta. Say nothanks.

Williams said whilemany of the countys resi-dents talk about their needfor tailored services and eco-nomic development as rea-sons for wanting cityhood,

one thing theyre not talkingabout, at least not directly, isthe racial divide in DeKalbCounty.

The proposed city ofLavista Hills is 64 percentWhite and 16 percent Black.

Sixteen percent of LaVis-ta Hills residents in the pro-posed boundary are Hispanicand 9 percent are Asian.

Greenhaven and Stone-crest supporters in the southend of the county are major-ity Black while LaVista Hillsand Tucker, in the north, aremostly White.

According to the latestU.S. Census data, 54 percentof the countys residents areBlack; 33 percent are White,10 percent are Hispanic and5 percent are Asian.

But is the racial makeupof these proposed cities a

coincidence? Williams said,Absolutely not.

Whats really going on isa resegregation of our com-munities. Its actually already

here but its being disguisedin terms like annexation andcityhood, Williams said.

He added, The major-ity of the commissionersare from south DeKalb. We

would like to seeour leadership ei-ther pay attention toour needs in southDeKalb or we needto replace our lead-ers that we have inDeKalb County. Wecontrol the com-mission of DeKalbCounty. We dontneed more govern-ment.

Williams said hisfellow members ofConcerned CitizensAgainst Cityhoodin DeKalb believethat DeKalb Countyneeds leadership.We need to addressthe crime problems,the education prob-

lem and let the Chamber ofCommerce and other orga-nizations deal with the busi-ness aspect of what is needed

in our community.He added, Until the

crime and education prob-lems are addressed, nothingin terms of cityhood is goingto be effective.

Williams is currently aprofessor of education. Heformerly served as an assis-tant professor in educationalleadership at Clark AtlantaUniversity. He received hisdoctorate in education atClark Atlanta University,masters degree in computerscience from Clark AtlantaUniversity, and a bachelordegree in computer sciencefrom Morehouse College.

CHAMPIONNEWSPAPER CHAMPIONNEWS

CHAMPIONNEWS CHAMPNEWS

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Photo brought t you by DCTV

DeKalb County begins one-day-a-week sanitation collection service July 6, 2015

Residential customers will have same-day garbage, recyclable materials and yard trimmings collection

For more info, call or visit:

(404) 294-2900

www.rollingforwardtoone.com

WEEKPICTURESIn

Ofce assistant for DeKalb County Watershed Management division Monique McCrearvolunteers at Dunwoodys Buttery Festival. McCrear passed out faucet aerator, showertimers, toilet leak dye and other tools county residents can use to conserve water andproperly dispose of waste.

Kerline Germain, general manager of the Krystal restaurant on Candler Road, drops samplesof the new Vidalia-Q Krystal at The Championsofce. Photo by Travis Hudgons

Thousands attended the tenth annual Decatur Book Festival, the largest independent book festival in the United States. Photo by Travis Hudgons

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LOCAL

Concert to help motherlessstudents grows each yearby Kathy Mitchell

For the fourth consecutive year,outh DeKalb residents Paulaand

Tony Smithwill convert their back-yard to an outdoor music venue tobenefit an organization dear to theirhearts.

Chastain in EllenwoodSept. 12

his yearis an evening of live mu-ic by performers who donate theiralents to raise money for Students

Without Mothers, a nonprofit orga-nization that helps high school stu-dents without mothers continue theirducations and acquire life skills.

Mary Torrence, founder and ex-cutive director of Students Without

Mothers, said the event has been agreat success and has grown eachyear. The first year we had between200 and 250 people attending andmore have come each year, sheaid, adding that more than 400 arexpected this year. Capacity for the

oncert site is approximately 450people. In addition to money raisedby ticket sales, funds come to theorganization through sponsors. Allproceeds are used for scholarships,he said.

The event borrows its name fromnorth Fulton Countys ChastainPark Amphitheater, the home of anoutdoor concert series that has beenheld annually since 1973.

People bring picnic baskets justas they do to the Chastain Amphi-theater and enjoy their food anddrinks during the concert, Torrence

said. Unlike at the North Fulton ven-ue, however, there are no onsite foodand beverage sales.

People really look forward to it.More than a third of the tickets weresold before we made any official an-nouncement, Torrence said. Thistype of event is common in placeslike Buckhead and Dunwoody, butyou dont often find them in southDeKalb. People love that they canattend a beautiful outdoor concertwithout driving a long way.

Chastain in Ellenwood typicallyfeatures jazz and classic rhythm andblues. This year, there also will be a

comedian and a disc jockey and op-portunities to dance. Tables can bereserved or concert goers can claimground space as its available.

The event is approximately threehours and this years starting time

has been moved up to 7 p.m. Chas-tain in Ellenwood tends to attractmore mature concert goers and thetype of people who want to get homeand to bed at a reasonable hour be-cause they plan to get up Sundaymorning for church. We will start let-ting people in at 6 p.m.; there is al-ways a crowd waiting when we open

the doors. These arent people whogo out every weekend. For them, thisis a rare opportunity to go out andhave some fun.

Concert organizers have beenfortunate to have good weather eachyear, Torrence said. Its basicallya rain-or-shine event through wewould have to cancel if there weredangerous thunderstorms. Fortu-nately, we havent had to deal withthat. Last year, there some rain as Iwas driving to the concert, but it hadcleared up by the time we started.

Torrence added that ticket buyersalso want to support the nonprofit,

which provides scholarships for col-lege bound high school seniors whoare without their mothers due todeath or other unfortunate circum-stances,

She founded the organization in

2004, based on a promise she madeto herself after losing her mother atage 14. Torrence recalled cleaningher high school principals home toearn money for her class ring. Shevowed that if she could make a suc-cess of her life she would try to helpother young people in similar cir-cumstances.

Torrence was reminded of thecommitment when her own daughtertold her of a high school student whowas cooking meals and selling themto raise money for college applicationfees.

Paula Smith, who hosts the con-cert at her home, is a Students With-out Mothers board member whoalso lost her mother at an early age.Students helped by the organizationsare encouraged to pay it forward byhelping other students through peercounseling, financial support or oth-er means after they are able to do so.

Since its inception, Students

Without Mothers has provided 57students with four-year scholar-ships, according to the organizationswebsite. For more information, visitwww.studentswithoutmothers.org.

The annual Chastain in Ellenwood event raises scholarship money for students preparing to enter college.

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th chamion FRee pReSS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2015 Page 15ALOcAL

Lifeguard Continued From Page 1A

Hillandale Continued From Page 1A

Fourteen-year-old Brionne Sloanwas playing inhe pool with friends June 22 at Browns Mill Aquatic

Center when he became unconscious and nearlydrowned. His mother, MelissaSloansaid her sonwent over five minutes without oxygen to his brain.

My son had passed away, and he came back. Hewas gone. He was not breathing, she said.

According to witness accounts, two pool patrons,assisted by a lifeguard hired by USA ManagementLLC, pulled the boy out of the pool.

Brionne instantly started vomiting and con-inued vomiting for approximately one minute,xpelling water, according to a report by USA

Management. After being attended to by a team ofour lifeguards, the victim stopped vomiting and at-empted to get up; he was alert, talking and breath-ng normally.

There was never a need for CPR to be performedbecause the victim maintained a pulse and breath-ng, the report stated.

John Williamsof USA Management, the vendorwhich provided lifeguard services at the pool, said ina video-recorded statement that the lifeguards wereprofessionals who knew their jobs well.

The county, the commissioners, the communityhould be thanking them, Williams said. Theyhould be patting them on the back for a job well

done.Roy Wilson, the countys parks director, said

USA Managements lifeguards did not handle theituation well, in my opinion. The guards were notooking at the pool. There was one not at the propertation, and it took a private citizen to pull this childrom the water. We are very blessed and fortunatehat the child did not drown.

Som lifguard rifiaions wr no on filApproximately a month after the near drowning,

he DeKalb County Board of Commissioners votedo terminate the contract with USA Management

because we learned that they did not have certifica-ions for the guards that they hired, Wilson said.

They didnt show proof. I did not have copiesof it. I needed to have it in my hand, Wilson said.There were notcertifications for every guard thathey had in employment. This is not to say that the

guards that they hired could not swim, [and]didnot have the lifesaving techniques or CPR.

This is to say they did not have certifications onpaper, which is required as a part of the contract,Wilson said.

During the investigation, a county aquatics staffmember conducted a skills test for the lifeguards anddetermined the lifeguards could swim and performCPR, contrary to allegations that surfaced after thencident, Wilson said.

When The Championfiled an Open Records Actequest for Browns Mill lifeguard certifications since

2008, the county provided records for only 2015.

I wouldnt hold records from 2008, Wilson said.Its just like tax returns. I dont have my tax returnsrom 2008, but I will save them for three or four

years.Wilson said he did not know why there were no

USA Management lifeguard certifications on file

from 2014.All I can say is we had them for the current year,

Wilson said. We had the certifications made avail-able to us. They were in our aquatics office.

When The Championchecked to see if the countyhad certifications for county-hired lifeguards at itspools, there were no certifications available for three

lifeguards in 2015 and six in 2014.When asked about the missing certifications forcounty-hired lifeguards, Wilson said, I cant answerthat. I dont know.

In a July 27 letter to interim DeKalb CEO LeeMay, which led to the termination of USA Manage-ments contract, Wilson wrote that immediately af-ter the incident, the county requested lifeguard certi-fications from USA Management for their lifeguardsemployed at Browns Mill.

When asked why the county asked for certifi-cations if they already had been provided beforethe pool season started, Wilson said, After goingthrough the certifications, I realized that I did nothave them for all of the names that they had submit-ted to me as employees of their company. I did nothave a certification to match each name. Thats whenI began to ask for all of the certifications.

As director of the department, I have aquaticsfolks. I have athletics folks. I have recreation centerfolks, Wilson said. My aquatics folks are responsi-ble for obtaining and keeping records when it comesto pools.

When I became involved it was at that point thatI realized that I didnt have certifications for every-body, Wilson said. Thats not something I would beinvolved in on a daily basis, or even a seasonal basisunless there is an issue. Im running a department;Im not running a pool.

Were the certifications available before June 22?Yes, they were available, Wilson said. Did I havethem in my drawer? No. Did I have them in a filecabinet? No. But they were made available to me.

In the letter to May, Wilson stated that upon re-quest USA Management provided a total of 34 certi-

fications for 50 of its Browns Mill lifeguards.The Champions review of county documents re-

vealed that the company provided 50 certificationsfor 58 employees.

cois of rifiaions should b a oolsAlthough the countys ordinance does not men-

tion lifeguard certifications, Chapter 511-3-5 ofthe state Department of Public Healths Rules andRegulations for Public Swimming Pools, Spas, andRecreational Water Parks states that, when provided,lifeguards must hold current, nationally recognizedcertifications in lifeguarding, adult/child/infant CPRand first aid.

Copies of those certifications must be main-tained at the facility and be available to the localhealth authority for inspection, the regulations state.

State law does not require that you have [thecertifications] at the pool because we dont have a fil-ing system at the pool, but law requires that we havethem in the aquatics office, Wilson said.

My read of the law is that they need to be in asafe place, Wilson said. I dont consider a cubicle

or an open area a safe place. There is no way to safe-guard the paperwork because on some of those cer-tifications you have personal information, Wilsonsaid.

As long as I can produce it and its in a centraloffice, it doesnt have to be in a pool office, Wilsonsaid.

According to the countys contract with USAManagement, certifications were required to be onfile at [the] Browns [Mill] pool location.

A state Department of Public Health spokes-woman told The Champion, As stated in the rules,the records should be kept at the facility so they areavailable for review if the environmental health spe-cialist requests [them] during the pool inspection.

Wilson said he would check with county attor-neys to see if certifications are required to be kept atpools.

Alan Gaines, the environmental health depart-ment manager for the DeKalb County Board ofHealth, said environmental health inspectors do notroutinely check for lifeguard certifications becausethey are not required to by the county ordinance. (seerelated story on page 3A)

th ouny should hav hkd mor horoughlyWilson said the near-drowning incident has been

a lesson learned.As a department we make every attempt to get it

right, he said. Were wonderfully self-critical andwhen things go wrong as they sometimes will weare not cynical enough to think we cant resolve ourchallenges.

Wilson said the county should have checked thecertifications more thoroughly.

I assumed [the lifeguards] were all certified be-cause I depend on my people to make sure that theyare doing their jobs and that they are doing their jobsthoroughly, Wilsons said.

Apparently that was not case, so we are makingadjustments to how we go through our contracts tomake sure that every area of the contract and every

stipulation within the contract is being met, he said.Wilson said his new policy is that before any

company or any contractor hires guards for DeKalbCounty, [he will] personally look at every certifica-tion and every name on the list of hires to ensurethat that person is indeed prepared and certified tooversee a DeKalb County pool.

Wilson also has changed the leadership of theaquatics division.

With the new leadership that Ive put in placeover aquatics, with the new directives that Ive giventhat leadership, I think that we will continue to be assuccessful as we have always been until this hiccupthat we had on June 22, Wilson said, adding thatthere have been no drownings at county pools dur-ing his six-year tenure.

As for other changes in aquatics, Wilson said he

has time to adjust how we do business in aquatics.The season is over, he said. At this point I have

a year, just about, to make any adjustments I need tomake to that operation.

he medical center is inviting theommunity to attend a Take a Loved

One to the Doctor Day health fairrom 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 19 athe Lithonia campus.

We believe there is no betterway to connect our community withphysicians, empower residents to take

control of their health, and enhancerelationships than by proudly hostingthis event states a news release.

Hillandale staff, including primarycare and specialty physicians, will beavailable to interact with communitymembers and provide an array ofscreenings such as blood pressure and

cholesterol. Financial counselors willdiscuss how to enroll in an affordablehealth care plan, and there will beregistration area to sign up for aprimary care physician.

In addition, the event will includediscussions about diabetes andnutrition, cooking demonstrations

with an emphasis on healthy meals andinteractive activities such as meet andgreets with police officers, firefightersand paramedics.

DeKalb Medical Center is locatedat 2801 DeKalb Medical Parkway inLithonia.

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LOCAL

CALL FOR AND NOTICE OF ELECTION

CITY OF LITHONIA SPECIAL ELECTION TO FILL VACANCY

IN THE OFFICE OF CITY COUNCIL

NOVEMBER 3, 2015 SPECIAL ELECTION

TO THE QUALIFIED VOTERS OF CITY OF LITHONIA,

WITHIN DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA:

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that on the 3rd day of November, a special election will be held in theCITY OF LITHONIA to fill the vacancy in the office of City Council. The special election will be held tofill the unexpired term of Al T. Franklin.

Each candidate will file notice of his or her candidacy and the appropriate affidavit in the office of theLithonia City Clerk, 6920 Main Street, Lithonia, GA 30058.

Qualifying for candidates will begin on Monday, September 14, 2015, and continue on Tuesday,September 15, 2015 between 9:30 AM and 4:00 PM. Qualifying for candidates will continue onWednesday, September, 16, 2015 from 9:00 AM until 12:00 Noon. The qualifying fee is $122.40.

The last day to register to be eligible to vote in this special election is Monday, October 5, 2015.The special election will be held in the regular polling place, Lithonia Municipal Complex, 6920 Main

Street, Lithonia, GA 30058, in conjunction with the general Municipal Election. The polls will open at7:00 AM and close at 7:00 PM.

This call is issued by the City of Lithonia.This 8thday of September, 2015.

DeKalb adopts new zoning code ordinanceThe DeKalb County

Board of Commission-ers unanimously approvedweeping updates to the

county zoning code, the firstcomprehensive update since

999.The passage of the new

zoning code paves the way forDeKalb County to reach itsmaximum potential for the21st century and for genera-ions to come, said Interim

CEO Lee May. Most impor-antly, the code now reflectshe direction of the 2025

DeKalb County Comprehen-ive Master Plan and balanceshe needs of developers withhe expectations of the com-

munity-at-large.We literally spent years

n dialogue with residents andtakeholders to ensure we hadhe most comprehensive up-

dates that codify the currentbest practices in the develop-ment arena, said Commis-ioner Larry Johnson. This

code covers everything fromhigh-density residential to cellphone towers and builds inncentives for things like more

greenspaces and energy effi-cient construction.

After more than 100 com-munity meetings, the newzoning code addresses threecritical issues in the DeKalbzoning ordinances. It imple-ments provisions of the 2025

Comprehensive Plan and usescontemporary planning andzoning terms; improves de-ign standards and enhanceshe success of enforcement;

and provides an easy-to-understand, user-friendlyformat.

The new zoning code isexpanded into nine sections,from its original six. To createa more user-friendly experi-ence, the new code adds new

zoning districts and con-solidates antiquated districts.For single family residentialdevelopment, 11 districts werereduced to eight, and smalllot and multi-family districtswere reduced from 12 districtsto six. There were no changesto commercial or industrialdistricts.

The new regulations cre-ate incentives designed toincrease densities to higherlevels in certain areas whereappropriate and if specific cri-teria are met. A developmentmay be eligible for up to 20percent higher density units ifthe applicant provides certainpublic improvements such asa bus shelter or public trail. Adevelopment may be eligiblefor up to 50 percent higherdensity units if the applicantprovides additional enhancedopen space, or attains LEEDor Earthcraft certification.

Contemporary updatesto the legal zoning definitionsnow allow most homeown-ers in residential areas moreopportunities in horticulture,to allow for beekeeping and

backyard chickens.The new zoning code al-lows hens in some residentialand light industrial areas un-der certain conditions. The

maximum number is one henper 2,000 square feet of lotsize, provided the lot size isa minimum of 10,000 squarefeet, and one additional henis allowed for each 25 squarefeet of fenced area per hen.No roosters are allowed under

this provision.For beekeeping, no morethan eight apiary colonies areallowed per acre, and colo-nies must be set back fromall property lines a minimumof 10 feet. Apiary coloniesmust be maintained withadequate space and manage-ment techniques to prevent

overcrowding and swarming.In any instance in which acolony becomes a nuisance,the beekeeper must re-queenthe hive.

Michael Paris, presidentand CEO of the Council forQuality Growth, commended

the Board of Commission-ers and staff for their workon the zoning code rewrite.The new code contains manyvisionary and innovative con-cepts which will set the tonefor the region. The long-termopportunities this ordinancebrings to the community areimmeasurable and will pro-

pel DeKalb as an economicleader, he said.

As the county continuesto make new zoning code im-provements, it sends the mes-sage that DeKalb is not onlyready but capable of doingbusiness, said Katerina Tay-

lor, president and CEO of theDeKalb Chamber of Com-merce. The new definitionsand density incentives arebeneficial to commercial andretail developers as they playa crucial role in expansionand economic growth in thecounty.

The DeKalb County Sanitation Divisionannounced it is near completion of garbageoll cart delivery to once-a-week customersesiding in single-family detached homes,

with final deliveries scheduled for completionwithin the next couple weeks. Roll cart deliv-ry to townhome and condominium residents

will occur in Phase II, which is expected tobegin in September.

Roll cart delivery in the southern andastern areas of DeKalb County is completeor Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday cus-omers, with Thursday customers scheduledor completion this weekend.

In central DeKalb, delivery to Monday,Tuesday and Wednesday customers is com-plete; Thursday customers are underway andcheduled for completion within the nextouple of weeks.

In north DeKalb, delivery to Monday andTuesday customers is complete. Wednesday

ustomers are under way and scheduled forompletion next week. Thursday customers

are scheduled for completion in the next fewweeks.

Reminder notices advising of customersnew collection day and literature regarding

the service change are being delivered witheach roll cart.Roll cart delivery to all single-family de-

tached homes marks the end of Phase I of theRolling Forward to One program.

More information on Phase II, which in-cludes a focus on recycling, roll cart deliveryto townhomes and condominiums, and right-sizing roll cart requests, will be provided inthe coming weeks.

For program updates, inquiries from cus-tomers who have not received a roll cart, ormore details about the service change, includ-ing a comprehensive list of frequently askedquestions (FAQ), contact the Sanitation Divi-sions customer service team at [email protected] or (404) 294-2900, or

visit the Rolling Forward to One programwebsite at www.rollingforwardtoone.com.

DeKalb nears completion ofroll cart delivery

From left, Interim DeKalb County CEO Lee May and Sanitation Divi-sion Director Billy Malone share updates on the Rolling Forward to Oneprogram.

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BUSINESSThe Champion FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2015 Page 17A

DeKalb Chamber of Commerce Two Decatur Town Center, 125 Clairemont Ave., Suite, Decatur, GA 30030 404.378.8000 www.dekalbchamber.org

LOCALLY DRIVEN

by Kathy Mitchell

A group of partners all withoots in the restaurant indus-ry have created what they callnew spin on the fast-food

oncept. We wanted to be ableo put a meal in front of theustomer very quickly and at a

moderate price, explained SamKok, one of the owners of RiceMac in Decatur. At the sameime, we also wanted the foodo be fresh and lightunlike

what people may expect withast food. As at most fast-foodestaurants, customers order athe counter. The cooked meal is

brought to the table.The menu at Rice Mac is

Asian fusion slanted toward

American tastes. Theres someChinese, some Japanese, someThai and a little Korean. Weesearched which Asian dishesre popular with Americans and

built our menu around thosedishes, Kok said.

The common bond, he ex-plained is rice, which is popularn all Asian cuisines. Thats

why we chose to put rice in thename of the restaurantwewanted something catchy andun and Rice Mac is what weettled on, Kok said. The res-aurants logo is a mound of ricehaped into a heart with the

phrase I love rice.The restaurant has been

open less than two months, andKok and partner Ivan Huang,who runs the day-to-day op-ration, say they are watchingo see what customers like and

plan to tweak the menu furtherbased on customer preferences.He said there are plans to startoffering bubble tea, a slushy tea-based drink that may includeruit and tapioca that originatedn Taiwan and is growing in

popularity in the United States.So far, the hibachi items

have been popular, according toKok. Bite-size fresh vegetablesre grilled along with a choice

of chicken, shrimp, steak orofuor some combination.

Other dishes such as kung pao,Mongolian, Thai basil, lo Meinnd pad Thai also allow dinerso choose a meat or make the

dish vegetarian. Customers mayhoose white rice, fried rice or

brown rice.Children really like this

ood because its flavorful, butnot too spicy for their taste.

My own children like to eathere, said Kok, the father of a13-year-old and a 7-year-old.Many of the menu items areavailable in childrens portions

for diners 10 and younger.Despite the customization,

owners pride themselves in fastpreparation. A Yelp online re-viewer, who identified herself asChristina T. of Decatur, calledthe food pretty dang tasty,and said she was impressedthat her meal was made withinseconds of us ordering. In fact,the cooksstarted cooking ev-erything before the cashier hadeven finished ringing us up.

The restaurants customerbase is made up of studentsmany from nearby Emory

Universityresidents of arearetirement housing complexesand Decatur families. We al-ways wanted a restaurant in thisarea. When this space becameavailable, we moved quickly onit, said Kok, who said he andhis partners took only a fewmonths to take the restaurantfrom concept to opening. Hesaid neighboring businesseshave been supportive, recom-mending Rice Mac to their cus-tomers and featuring it in theirnewsletters.

The cozy location at Clair-mont and north Decatur roads

had previously been used as arestaurant, but Kok redesignedit for both function and atmo-sphere. I didnt change thingslike the bathrooms and thelocation of the refrigerator, butsome of the other space wasinefficient, so I reworked it. Ialso wanted a simple, pleasantspace where people can relaxand enjoy their meals, he saidof the dining area which fea-tures earthy browns and largewindows.

Kok said he also addedthe modern technology that

many customers now appreci-ate. There are screens over thecounter and on the wall that hesaid are to list the menu andother information when instal-lation is complete. Also, eachtable is equipped with an outletfor charging cell phones.

The Decatur restaurant mayserve as a prototype for a chain.If people really like what weredoing here, we may build moreRice Mac restaurants in the fu-ture, Kok said.

Fast food meets Asianfusion at Rice Mac

Rice Mac offers dishes inspired by traditional Chinese, Japanese, Thai and other Asian cuisines.

Sam Kok is one of the partners who launched the Decatur restaurant.

Shrimp with chicken and vegetablesand, of course, riceis one of the menu items at Rice Mac.

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EDUCATIONThe Champion FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2015 Page 18A

CITY OF STONE MOUNTAIN

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

The City of Stone Mountain hereby gives notice that a Public Hearing will be held to consider

Variance Application for the property located at 1050 Griffin Street.

The Mayor and City Council will hold a Public Hearing on this matter on September 21, 2015 atCity Hall located at 875 Main Street, Stone Mountain, GA at 6:00 P.M. Anyone wishing to

attend the public hearing may do so and be heard relative thereto. Please contact the City of

Stone Mountain Administration Office at 770-498-8984 for further information.

CrossKeysClusterOverCapacityPublicMeeting

TheDeKalbCountySchoolDistrictwillbeholdingtwo(2)publicmeetingstodiscussthe

districtsplanstoaddresscurrentandfutureovercrowdingofschoolsintheCrossKeys

Cluster. TheschoolsintheCrossKeysClusterare:CaryReynoldsES,CrossKeysHS,DresdenES,

MontclairES,OakcliffTheme,SequoyahMS,WoodwardES.

Themeetingswillbeheldonthefollowingdatesatthelocationsandtimesshown:

Tuesday,September15,2015:6:00PM7:30PM

CrossKeysHighSchool

1626N.DruidHillsRoadNE

Atlanta,

GA

30319

Thursday,September17,2015:6:00PM7:30PM

SequoyahMiddleSchool

3456AztecRoad

Doraville,GA 30340

Parentsandthecommunityareinvitedtoattend.

Suspicious womanprompts high schoollockdown

by Ashley [email protected]

Chamblee High Schoolwas locked down from about11 a.m. until just after noon

on Sept. 2 after a suspiciouswoman inside the schoolwould not cooperate withschool authorities, officialssaid.

Principal Dr. NormanSaucewrote in a statement toparents that the woman, en-tered our building withoutfollowing proper check-inprocedures. This unidenti-fied female was immediatelyengaged by members of ourstaff, when she further re-fused directions to sign inappropriately.

Sauce added, Our ad-ministrative staff took im-mediate steps to call for alock-down, secure the prem-ises, and notify enforcementpersonnel about the matter.

DeKalb County Schoolspolice and Chamblee policeresponded by conductingmultiple sweeps of the prem-ises. The woman was arrest-ed and identified as TaleahBowens.

Chamblee Police CaptainErnesto Fordreported thatB

freepress 9-11-15

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