Champion FreePress 12-5-14

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FRIDAY, Dec. 5, 2014 VOL. 17, NO. 35 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.

FREEPRESS

See Suspect on page 15A

See Home on page 15A

Suspect in MARTA bus stop killing charged with rape

Vidalia youth home rebuilds DeKalb boys

Education ..............18-19A

Business ........................21A

Sports......................22-23A

Opinion ...........................5A

Classified .......................20A

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LOCAL, 8ALOCAL, 8A

RESIDENTS RELIEVED

FROM OBSESSIVE

HANDBILLS

HELPING THOSE

WHO HELP

HOMELESS

LOCAL, 14A

STONE MOUNTAIN

HOLD CHRISTMAS

PARADE

by Andrew [email protected]

A Lithonia manhas been arrested for

he senseless killingof a MARTA patron.Eighteen-year-old

Christopher Merritt,of Par Three Way inLithonia, was takennto custody Nov. 28

by members of theDeKalb Sheriffs Fu-gitive Squad.

Merritt has beencharged with threecounts of rape, threecounts of armed rob-bery, and one counteach of aggravated sodomy, aggra-vated assault and aggravated sexual

battery.Today were announcing an ar-

rest in the sense-less killing of Mar-caysiaDawkins,

said interimDeKalb CountyPolice Chief JamesConroy during anews conferenceDec. 1.

Our detectiveshave been work-ing hard on thiscase, Conroy said.Through furtherinvestigations ourdetectives havelinked Mr. Mer-ritt to a number of

additional crimes. Given all of thecircumstances we cant go into the

Christopher Merritt

DeKalb County Sheriff Jeff Mann and interim Police Chief James Conroy announce the arrestof a murder and rape suspect. Photo by Andrew Cauthen

by Andrew [email protected]

Former Stone Mountain resident BrooksSullards, 42, had a rough childhood in DeKalbCounty.

I had made several bad decisions in my life,aid Sullards, who lived in DeKalb for a dozen

years. I had multiple run-ins with the law. I did

have some charges that got dropped and someof them that didnt. My daddy was a lawyer andhelped out a little bit.

Sullards faced marijuana, grand auto theft andrunaway charges, he said.I was a very depressed kid and didnt really

care a whole lot if I lived or died. I wanted to livefor the moment, Sullards said. I had overdosedonce or twice and that got me involved with the

law again.The final icebreaker was I had gotten in-

volved with several burglaries with a couple of

other guys. I went to court and I had been sen-tenced to 12-18 months down in Milledgeville atthe juvenile state prison down there.

But Sullards, who now lives in HabershamCounty with his wife and eight children, never

roubled DeKalb County boys have found their way at the Paul Anderson Youth Home in Vidalia. The home addresses the spiritual, emotional, mental, social and physical needs of thearticipants. Photos provided


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Page 2A The Champion Free Press, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014

LOCAL

P U B L I X G I F T C A R D S

The perfect gift is perfectly easy.


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The Champion Free Press, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 Page 3ALOCAL

New county office focuses on youthby Andrew [email protected]

Kiarranna Turners job isall about the youth.

She is the manager o

he DeKalb County Oiceo Youth Services. Origi-nally rom Las Vegas, urnermoved to the metro Atlantaarea to attend Morris BrownCollege, where she earned adegree in political science.She attended seminary atCandler School o heologyat Emory University.

urner, whose irst jobwas as a program coordina-or with the Fulton County

Oice o Youth Services, washired earlier this year to setup the countys new youth

ervices oice.Part o what Im respon-ible or doingand I alwaysay I have the best job or the

most unin the DeKalbss really to execute the vision

o the interim CEO and oourse the Board o Commis-ioners, urner said.

First we have to remem-ber this oice had never beenn existence, said urner,

whose career has always beenn youth services and youth

advocacy.here was never any-

hing like this created insideo the county, so what I wasbrought on to do was to takea vision o being able to cre-ate a centralized oice oryouth services whereby theommunity, olks within theounty [and] all over theounty would be able to come

and access youth services andknow exactly what youth pro-grams are happening in theounty, urner said.

he Oice o YouthServices is perorming an

analysis across the countyto see whats happening withyouth services everywherein the county, urner said.Were taking an internal andexternal look that will bothbe able to provide us with thedata and the inormation thatwe need to eed into our stra-tegic plan to know what thisoice should look like goingorward in the next ive to 10years.

We wanted to be ableto take a look inside o thecounty to ind out exactlywhat youth programmingwere already providing, whosdoing it, whos targeting it,who are we serving [and]understand what were al-ready doing, urner said.

One o the signatureprograms o the oice is theDeKalb Alliance on Youth,launched earlier this year.

he alliance meets

bimonthly and is an op-portunity or agencies, or-ganizations, businesses andchurches all throughout thecommunity that have a vestedinterest in young people inthe county to come together,urner said.

We wanted to engagethe community to have con-

versations with this oice[on] how we can collaboratewith them to make sure thati there are any gaps that arewithin the county as it relatesto youth services, how we canill them together, she said.here is no way one oicecan do all o the work.

he alliance gives thecounty an opportunity toempower people who are al-ready doing great work withyoung people, urner said.

According to interimDeKalb County CEO Lee

May, he genesis really goesback to eight years ago whenI got elected to the Board oCommissioners. Its really tohelp better determine lie out-comes or our youth.

May said, Ill go out tothe community and peoplewill say one o two things.heyll either ask the ques-tion, What are yall doing orour youth? or theyll makea statement and say, Yallarent doing anything or ouryouth.

With approximately $26million being spent on youthannually, May said, Weredoing a whole lot, but weredoing them in individual si-los.

hrough various pro-grams in the countys parksand recreation department,libraries, Workorce Devel-opment, Cooperative Ex-tension, Fire Explorers and

Police Athletic League, Werespending a lot o money, butwhat were realizing is thatthey werent strategicallyworking together to help de-termineoutcomes or our

youth, May said.In the past the countys

human development de-partment had 18 employeesocused on senior citizen ser-

vices, May said.here was an intentional

decision years back to ocuson our seniors, he said. Ithink those were appropriatedecisions at the time. [Se-niors] are our crown jewels.heyve worked hard. heydeserve to have the kind oservices that we can deliver.

But human develop-

ment is rom the cradle to thegrave, May said. I think wehave the second hal o lietaken care o, but I think itsreally now incumbent uponus to ocus on the totality ohuman development. hatswhere this oice o youth ser-

vices is concerned.Calling the Oice o

Youth Services with its$431,000 budget an umbrellaor a convener o resources,May said, he goal is tooperate more eiciently, getpeople to operate more col-laboratively where they canshare resources.

he oice is basicallyabout prevention, May said.

You hear our plans orhiring more police oicersand making our county saer,but the reality is you cant hireenough police oicers to ad-dress the needs o our coun-ty, May said. You have to beproactive to address some othe social needs o our com-munity and this is our proac-tive approach.

Kiarrianna Turner is the manager of the countys new Ofce of Youth Services. Photo provided


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The Champion Free Press, Friday Dec. 5, 2014 Page 4AOPINION

Reach out and correct someone

John [email protected]

Chief Operating Officer

We hear it every day, yet itmeans nothingreach out.

Te Four ops releasedan album through MotownRecords called Reach Outinuly, 1967. Tat should be

how this phrase is remem-bered and the use o thephrase should have stoppedhortly thereafer; but it

didnt.Apparently the use o the

phrase experienced resur-gence in the late 80s andarly 90s. So much so thatt prompted journalist Mike

Royko to do an investiga-ive piece on the use o the

phrase. His findings werepublished in Te BaltimoreSunin 1991, and according tohat article, based on statis-ics gathered by a 12-month

earch or the reach outphrase in three newspapershe Chicago ribune, the New

York imesand the Washing-on Post, President Bill Clin-onheld the title o being the

public figure who most over-used the phrase during that

time period.Royko began his inves-

tigative piece with odayspoliticians and other publicfigures need arms so longthat their hands drag on thepavement. Tey need these

long limbs in order to reachout. Youve probably noticedthat reaching out is whatmost politicians do thesedays.

Te use o the phraseagain should have stoppedthen, but it didnt.

It has since become evenmore mainstream and ap-parently acceptable in mostcircles as good communica-tion. Roykos explanation canbe applied to the population-

at-large today, and whenthe general public begins toemulate politicians, we areindeed in a dire situation as asociety.

I cringe when I hearreach out used in a speechwhen the meaning is clearlythat some sort o an efforthas been made to commu-nicate with another personor organization. Te usualmeaning is that the personhas phoned, emailed, lef amessage or, written a letterto, requested inormationrom, etc. So why not say

specifically what action wastaken or is intended to betaken?

It seems that reach outis an ambiguous substituteor being specific about anaction.

Hardly a day passes that I

dont hear or read this phrasein proessional communica-tion or during newscasts.

People who likely havecollege degrees and whohave been in the proessional

arena or decades use it ofen,as i it were acceptable.Te phrase is used ofen

by journalists who shouldhave been taught in newswriting 101 the importanceo communicating clearlyand concisely; yet they use itregularly.

Just this morning I hada voice message rom a rep-resentative o a prominentorganization in DeKalbCounty; the message beganwith Hello, John. Tis is*****, Im just reaching out toyou to say hello. Really?

In my world, she was callingor phoning me. One has towonder just how long onesappendages are i they areable to reach across a countyas large as DeKalb.

Id love to know whatprompted educated persons

to begin using a phrase thatclearly is grammatically in-correct and why associatesdid not correct them at thefirst utterance o the phrase.Why do news editors al-

low news writers to use thephrase? Why do news an-chors not reuse to use thephrase?

Im araid this phrase isyet another example o thedumbing down o America.I can promise that as longas I am around, readers willnever see this phrase on thepages o Te Champion, un-less it is a direct quote.

Te last grammaticallyincorrect word or phraseI recall being misused andabused at this level was con-versate. Tankully, that one

didnt stay around very long.Do your riends, amily

and associates a avor. Reachout and correct them whenthey use incorrect words andphrases; theyll eventually ap-preciate it.


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OPINIONThe Champion Free Press, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 Page 5A

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EDITORS NOTE: The opinions written by columnists and contributing editors do notnecessarily reect the opinions of the editor or publishers. The Publisher reserves theright to reject or cancel any advertisement at any time.The Publisher is not responsiblefor unsolicited manuscripts.

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FREEPRESS

STATEMENT FROM THE PUBLISHER

W sinrly appriat th disussion surrounding this andany issu of intrst to DKalb county. The Championwasfoundd in 1991 xprssly to provid a forum for disours

for allommunity rsidnts on all sids of an issu. W havno dsir to mak th nws only to rport nws and opinionsto fft a mor duatd itiznry that will ultimatly movour ommunity forward. W ar happy to prsnt idas fordisussion; howvr, w mak vry ffort to avoid printinginformation submittd to us that is known to b fals and/orassumptions pnnd as fat.

ONE MANS OPINION

Hit the Road TaxHeroes arent born....

heyre cornered,actor, singerand dancer Mickey RooneySeptember 1920-April 2014).

here are times in politics,when even against their bestudgment, our elected leadersimply need to stand up andake the lead. Such is the case

with Georgia ever indinghe political will or unding

mechanism to deal with ourver-increasing transporta-ion and transit demands.

he days o the ederal gov-rnment picking up most ohe tab may well be history

particularly under the incom-ng and newly elected GOP

dual-majority Congress.

When Georgia voters wereurveyed exiting the pollsn November, traic con-

gestion and transportationhallenges continued to topheir list o concerns. Cobb

County voters passed a localransportation special local

option sales tax (-SPLOS),as Gwinnett voters had donen a prior cycle. And while

Georgias GOP dominatedhe statewide elections, their

nominees largely lost nearlyvery metro population cen-erAtlanta, Albany, Athens,

Augusta, Columbus, Macon

and Savannah all avoredState Sen. JasonCarterandU.S. Senate candidate Mi-helle Nunn, as did the metro

Atlanta suburban countieso DeKalb, Fulton, Clayton,Douglas, Henry, Newton andRockdale, among others. helargest transportation cor-ridor challenges are locatedin areas where the GOP isalready not dominant. Gov.NathanDealhas alreadyappointed a joint study com-mittee to make transportationunding recommendations, apath he has taken previouslywith other major legislativereorms.

echnology innovations,primarily in racking, havecaused domestic oil pro-duction to soar, while thecombination o more energyeicient vehicles and the lin-gering recession has caused

both demand and consump-tion to decline. Energy ana-lysts and economists orecastthis combination to deliverpetroleum at less than $3 a

gallon or the immediatelyoreseeable uture. Georgiasstate motor uel taxes remainamong the nations lowest, at19.3 cents or every gallon tothe state, including a 7.5 centexcise tax, with the rest com-ing rom the states 4 percentsales tax on every gallon sold.he revenue rom that latternumber loats, along with theprice o the product. Only14 o the 50 states currentlyhave a lower state motoruel tax, including three oour neighbors, Alabama (18cents), Florida (17.1 cents)and South Carolina (16.75cents). North Carolina andennessee motor uel taxesare markedly higher.

he largest transportationproject already on the booksand scheduled or a 2016start is the planned $1 bil-lion rebuild o the congestedI-285/Georgia 400 inter-change, currently handling400,000-500,000 commuterson the average weekday. henew interchange will includenearly 30 ramps, bridges andentry/exit points, extending4.3 miles rom Roswell Roadon 285 in Fulton County toAshord Dunwoody Roadin DeKalb and 6 miles alongGeorgia 400 rom the Glen-

ridge Connector to SpaldingDrive. he cost and scopeo this project will dwar theSpaghetti Junction inter-

change o I-85 and 285.But the start o this project

came rom a nontraditionalmodel worthy o consider-ation as an exemplar. hePerimeter Center Commu-nity Improvement Districts(PCIDs), two sel-taxingcommercial property tax dis-tricts straddling two counties,three cities and the very sameinterchange, raised and ex-pended the irst $10 millionin research, transit planning,community impact hearings,environmental assessmentsand design.

he I-285 at 400 In-terchange Improvements,and GA 400 Lane CD LaneSystem projects, have been

proclaimed by Gov. Deal asthe largest surace transporta-tion inrastructure projectsin Georgias history, withthis project regarded withstatewide signiicance on ascale o the Ports o Savannahimprovements, said YvonneWilliams, president o thePCIDs.

he governor and GeneralAssembly should assemblean expanded transportationunding package which bringgasoline prices per gallonback closer to $3 per gallon,with at least a hal cent o new

sales tax, and a commensu-rate adjustment in the excisetax. Perhaps choosing whoseprojects get unded irst could

ollow the PCIDs model ohelping those who irst helpthemselves. Area chambers ocommerce, CIDs and othereconomic development enti-ties could und and conductthe early assessments, andabsorb a portion o the designand environmental impact as-sessments, bringing orwardprojects which will create themost ripple and impact, likethe deepening o the shippingchannel leading into the Portso Savannah.

Absent a major multibil-lion dollar reunding o theFederal Highway rust Fund,states and regions going or-ward will be expected to domore with less and to carry

more o the ball and the cost,at least in part on their own.Absent a ground swell or tollroads, the model put orthby the PCIDs is one to watchand possibly to mimic in thenear uture.

Bill Crane also serves as apolitical analyst and commen-tator for Channel 2s ActionNews, WSB-AM News/alk750 and now 95.5 FM, as wellas a columnist forhe Cham-pion, Champion Free PressandGeorgia rend. Crane isa DeKalb native and business

owner, living in Scottdale. Youcan reach him or commenton a column at [email protected].

Bill [email protected]

Columnist


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The Champion Free Press, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 Page 7A

COMMUNITY

AvondaleEstatesCity to conduct road demonstration

Avondale Estates will conduct a demonstrationproject on U.S. Route 278 on Dec. 6 rom 10 a.m.o 4 p.m. he city received a grant rom the Atlanta

Regional Commission to urther study the redesigno U.S. Route 278 (East College Avenue, North Avon-dale Road, North Avondale Plaza, Covington Road)rom Ashton Place to Sams Crossing.

As part o the grant, the proposed roadwaychangesincluding a road diet and intersection im-

provementswill be set up on the street Dec. 6 sodrives and residents can visualize the impact. hedemonstration will be temporary using cones, lagsand chalk, among other materials.

For more inormation, visit www.avondaleestates.org/downtownmaster.html.

DecaturPorter Sanford Center to host 2014tree lighting

The Porter Sanford III Performing Arts andCommunity Center will host its annual HolidayVillage on Thursday, Dec. 4, from 5:30-8 p.m., at3181 Rainbow Drive, Decatur.

The annual event brings together DeKalbCounty residents, community organizations andbusinesses to kick off the holiday season.

The Holiday Village will be held in conjunc-ion with Commissioner LarryJohnsons seventh

annual community tree lighting, which will takeplace at 7:15 p.m. at the Porter Sanford III Per-forming Arts and Community Center. The events free and open to the public.

Musical guest performances, artist appearanc-es and activities during the event and tree lightingnclude: Lou Walker Senior Center Choir, Atlanta

Young Singers, A Soulful Christmas Chocolettes,

Love Divine Music Conservatory, Dwayne BoydPhotography, Mike Bend the ELF, DeKalb CountyFire Rescue Explorers Holiday Mocktails, HankStewarts Hot Chocolate Affair, and a sneak pre-view performance by McClendon PerformingArts Institute.

For more information on the Porter SanfordII Performing Arts and Community Center, visit

www.dekalbcountyga.gov/PorterSanford.

Community to discuss water mainreplacement and repaving project

Upcoming water main replacement and re-paving will be the topic of a meeting Dec. 4 at

6:30 p.m. at Oak Grove United Methodist Church,1722 Oak Grove Road, Decatur.The DeKalb County of Watershed Manage-

ments Capital Improvement Projects Divisionwill host the meeting to update residents on con-

struction activities in the Fair Oaks community.Residents are encouraged to attend to find out

how these improvements will affect the commu-nity.

Light refreshments will be served.

New Years Eve dance eventannounced

Ring in the New Year and dance the nightaway! Come out and dance with the DeKalb His-tory Center as a professional DJ plays hits fromthe 1970s to the present. Reservations are avail-able at the History Center office or online throughPayPal.

Admission fee includes appetizers, festiveparty favors and two drink tickets. Additional

drink tickets available at the event. Festive dress isencouraged. Dress to represent a favorite musicalstyle or decade or just show up prepared to dance!

Admission is $25 for History Center mem-bers, $35 for non-members and $15 for guests un-der 21. The event will be Dec. 31, 8:30 p.m.12:30a.m. at DeKalb History Center, Historic DeKalbCourthouse, 101 E. Court Square in downtownDecatur.

Catering for the event is courtesy of by BaddaBing and event design provided by Soiree South& Co.

The History Center has a block of roomsavailable at the Courtyard Marriott less thana block away. Reservations must be made byDecember 12. Check the events page at www.dekalbhistory.com for detailed information.

DunwoodyGeorgetown Gateway ProjectInformation Open House set

he city o Dunwoody is hosting a public in-ormation open house or the Georgetown GatewayProject on hursday, Dec. 11. he event will begin at6 p.m. at 5 Dunwoody Park South.

he intent o this project is to upgrade Chamblee

Dunwoody Road rom I-285 to North ShallowordRoad to improve the visual appeal, saety, walkabilityand traic low o the corridor.

Plumbers group to beneft openhouse

he Plumbing andMechanical Associa-tion (PMA) o Georgiais hosting a communityOpen House BeneitingMarine oys or ots, At-lanta Community FoodBanks Food and Funds,and United Cratsmen

Childrens Shoe Drive.he open house will

be Sunday, Dec. 7, rom1-4 p.m. at the Geor-gia Power Customer

Resource Center, 4404 N. Shalloword Road, Dun-woody.

he event eatures special guest appearance bySanta Claus.

Spend time visiting with Santa Claus, enjoygames and activities all while assisting amilies inthe community, states an announcement about theevent.

he suggested donation per amily is one un-wrapped toy, one can ood item and $10.

o volunteer or the event, which is event is opento the public, contact the PMA oice at (678) 947-3473.

LithoniaChurch to host Christmas Cantata

Saint Paul A.M.E. Worship Center will presentits second annual Christmas Cantata Dec. 5 at 7p.m. The event will include the Lou Walker SeniorCenter Performance Arts Group.

Admission is $15 and the doors will open at6:30 p.m. Saint Paul A.M.E. Worship Center islocated at 1704 Stone Mountain-Lithonia Road inLithonia.

CountywideBoard of Health receives safe

communities grant

The DeKalb County Board of Health has re-ceived a $72,400 Safe Communities grant fromthe Governors Office of Highway Safety. It willallow Safe Communities DeKalb to make roadssafer for children, teens and pedestrians of allages.

The program will install and check childsafety seats, hold child passenger safety classesand provide low cost or free safety and boosterseats to eligible families. The funds will also helpto promote walking to school, including checkingthe walkability of school areas.

Safe Communities DeKalb plans to offer

the Parents Reducing Injuries and Driver Errorprogram to teen drivers and their parents. It willalso partner with Students Against DestructiveDecisions groups to educate teens on the respon-sibilities of driving. In addition, the program willengage stakeholders along Buford Highway inpromoting pedestrian safety education and trafficcalming measures.

In DeKalb County, between 2006 and 2010,motor vehicle crashes were responsible for 30,214emergency room visits, 2,317 hospitalizations and369 deaths, according to the Georgia Departmentof Public Health.

For more inormation about Sae CommunitiesDeKalb, call (404) 508-7847.

AROUNDDEKALB


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LOCAL

Helping those who help homelessby Carla [email protected]

HomeAid Atlanta in Tuckerhas helped manyorganizations with their missions to end homeless-ness.

HomeAid Atlanta is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit or-

ganization that builds and renovates multi-unitransitional housing facilities used by agencieserving homeless families and individuals in nine

counties in the metro Atlanta area. The organiza-ion is the designated charity of the Greater Atlanta

Home Builders Association and is a local chapter ofHomeAid America, a leading national provider ofransitional housing for the temporarily homeless.

Jean Hilyard, executive director of HomeAidAtlanta, said some builders who at the time wantedo assist a transitionally homeless facility formed

HomeAid America in California.They were going to their friends and asking

hem to donate cash, she said.However, their friends would not give them

money, but they were able to find people in the

building business who would donate their time andupplies.So they just asked people to do what they do

and help groups like this, she said. And thats howHomeAid was formed.

After that, more chapters were formed, includ-ng the Atlanta chapter, which was founded in

2001.The organization has done 18 shelter projects.

For the shelter projects, HomeAid builds or remod-els facilities for organizations so that they are ableo provide beds for the homeless. Some of the orga-

nizations the group has worked with include Deca-ur Cooperative Ministry and the United Method-st Childrens Home.

Weve also renovated a major kitchen, sheaid. So those are the larger projects. Were in the

middle of one now, but weve also done a lot ofwhat we call Care Days.

Care Days are single-day events when a groupof volunteers go to facilities where HomeAid hasdone projects and help with the maintenance. SinceHilyard came on board in 2012, she has commu-nicated with new groups to see if they need assis-ance.

I try to reach out to new groups and help othergroups that might not necessarily qualify for a shel-er from us, but I think they are good groups that

we want to help anyway, she said. So, weve doneabout 30 HomeAid Care Days.

Hilyard came from Druid Hills United Meth-odist Church in Atlanta where members servehomeless people. After seeing how great the need

s, she got involved with HomeAid.The organization also does outreach activities.Each year it conducts a drive to collect baby itemsand donates them to facilities that serve homelessmothers and their babies.

We help rebuild lives through housing andoutreach, she said.

HomeAid has also started HomeAid care kits,which are hygiene kits with shampoo, conditioner,combs, soap, granola bar and razor, and are do-nated to food pantries.

HomeAid is currently working on a project inDuluth and broke ground on another project inRoswell. The shelters that HomeAid builds for or-ganizations have programs that help people get onheir feet.

The people who live there dont just live thereo get a free place to stay and thats it. They have to

go through financial education classes, parentingclasses and counseling, she said. Theyre gettinga hand up, not a handout, so they are able to findobs.

Volunteers from the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Associations Professional Women in Building Chapter participate inthe HomeAids HomeAid Care Day at United Methodist Childrens Home in Decatur in September.

HomeAid renovated The Drake House in Roswell, a short-term transitional housing program for single mothers withchildren; participants may live in the apartment for up to 90 days while rebuilding their lives.

Decatur Cooperative Ministry home, located in Decatur, is for homeless families that can live in the home for up to twoyears.


9/24


by Kathy Mitchell

Troy Fleethas been inand out of temporary hous-ng situations since he was 7

years old. Now 20, Fleet saidCHRIS Kidsa nonprofitorganization that serveshomeless youthis like adream come true.

For the first time in myife I feel safe and protected.feel that Im surrounded by

amily, he said of the agencyhat has arranged shelter,

counseling, an opportunityo complete his schooling

and other services. I wanto become an entertainer,

and theyre even helping mewith that, he said.

Fleet grew up in Virginiawhere he was physically,exually and psychologically

abused by a family member.Rolling up his shirt sleeve,he said, Here are the scarswhere he burned my arm onhe stove. He once threw me

off a balcony. Fortunately,my jacket caught on some-hing and stopped the fall.

Someone had to climb upand get me.

Eventually, a neighbor

ntervened and Fleet andhis brother were placed inoster care. When he becameoo old for foster care, Fleet

moved to the Atlanta areawith a friend, who was com-ng to Georgia to be withamily. I lived with them for

a short time, but that didntwork because they wereaking advantage of me,

he said, explaining that theamily had been taking his

government benefits. Fi-nally, I just left.

CHRIS Kids was cre-

ated to help young peoplelike Troy, explained Kathy

Colbenson, chief execu-tive officer at CHRIS Kids.Homeless kids need morethan a place to sleep. Thecircumstances that left themhomeless usually leave themwith emotional issues andother matters to deal with.

Founded in 1981 byJunior League of Atlanta,CHRIS KIDS is headquar-tered in DeKalb County,but serves the entire metro-politan area. We cant servekids based on where theylive. They dont live any-wheretheyre homeless,Colbenson said.

She continued, CHRISKIDS was created to fill thegapsto serve young peoplewhose needs werent beingmet at existing organiza-tions. Some have emotionalneeds that arent being metin the foster system. Othersfound it difficult to find asuitable home within agen-cies that serve homelesspeople.

Fleet describes himselfas openly gay and said thathas made it harder for him

to be placed.We realized that thissegment of the populationwas having a harder timegetting the services theyneed. At the time we firstopened, many agencies hada policy of not accepting gaykids. They have always beenwelcome here, Colbensonsaid.

She estimates that theagency has served approxi-mately 30,000 young peoplesince its founding. CHRISKids receives 75 percent of

its funding from county,state and federal grants.The rest comes from privatesources.

Those private dona-tions are so important, Col-benson said. Governmentgrants come with restric-

tions, but there are needsthat cant be met withinthose restrictions. We dont

just serve youngsters in ourprogram, we serve the wholecommunity. We try to getthem food, hygiene productsand other things for home-less people who arent ourclients.

CHRIS Kids raisesmoney through its an-nual CHRIStal Ball, but stillneeds individual donations,Colbenson said. She urgedthose who would like to help

to visit the website: www.chriskids.org.

Fleet lives alone in aone-bedroom apartment inan independent living apart-ment complex that CHRISKids operates for youth whohave aged out of the foster

care system. Colbenson saidtheres always a waiting listof people wanting to moveinto the complex, where ten-ants sign a lease, agree toagency rules and pay 30 per-cent of their income.

Its wonderful. Its cleanand safe, Fleet said of theeast Atlanta housing com-plex. Other agencies do thebest they can and Im notcriticizing them, but someput homeless young peoplein with older adults andthats not always a safe situ-

ation.The agencys name is

an acronym formed fromits core values: creativity,honor, respect, integrity andsafety. We become the fam-ily that many young peoplenever had. Like parents,

we do for them things theycant do for themselves,coach them and encouragethem in things they can dofor themselves and care forthem even when they makemistakes, Colbenson said.

She added, There aredefinite consequences forthose who dont follow therules. Some may even beasked to leave, but were hereto help when they need usagain.

Kathy Colbenson, right, and Troy Fleet stand in front of artwork that depicts one of CHRIS Kids core valuesrespect. Photo by Kathy Mitchell

CHRIS Kids serves youthwho fall into societys gaps

By the end of the year, half of DeKalb Countys tractornd front loader fleet will be fueled by CNG. Additionally,he police department which uses more than $3 millionn fuel annually to power its fleethas piloted four propane

units, with plans to expand that number to 50 units over thenext eight months. This will cut yearly fuel costs by morehan half.

Construction to install the charging stations is estimatedo begin by early 2015.

AwardsContinued From Page 6A

MagistrateCourtofDeKalbCounty

Public

Notice

EffectiveDecember8,2014,theCriminalDivisionoftheMagistrateCourtofDeKalb

CountywillbetemporarilyrelocatingfromitscurrentlocationonCampCircleinDecatur,to

theDeKalbCountyCourthouse,4th

floor,JudicialTower,556NorthMcDonoughStreet,

Decatur,30030. TheCampCirclelocationwillbeclosedduringrenovationsthatareexpected

tolastsix(6)months.WhiletheCriminalDivisionoftheMagistrateCourtwillcontinueto

operateseven(7)daysperweek,thehoursofoperationswillchangeslightly.Specifically,the

Courtwillcloseat11pmeverydayinsteadofmidnight. Forfurtherinformation,pleasecall

(404)2942150.

BerrylAnderson,ChiefMagistrateJudge,DeKalbCounty


10/24


LOCAL

Body cams pendingin Pine Lake

by Ashley [email protected]

Wearable video cameras,or body cams, might soon be-come standard equipment forpolice on the beat a possibil-ty that has led to both praise

and concern from civil libertiesgroups.

Pine Lake Police Depart-ment discussed at the Nov. 25city council meeting, addingminiaturized video camerasand microphones to capture, inull detail, officers interactions

with civilians.In a proposal submitted to

he council, the department

tated, We believe the imple-mentation of on-body record-ng systems will significantly

assist our agency in obtainingan ever increasingly, higherdegree of enhanced account-ability to the communities weerve and protect.

Police Chief SaraiYHudah-Greensaid the de-partment is looking to adopthe policy in 2015. An official

date has not been decided on.Right now were in the

process of doing research inding a device that is tailor-

made for an agency such asours, Green said.

Even though such camerasmay produce the benefit ofending police abuse, they couldbe a serious threat to consti-utional rights. In particular,he cameras could violate the

Fourth Amendments ban onwarrantless surveillance andearches.

Council member GeorgeChidisaid, Its important towarn someone that they arebeing taped and its more thanust having a light on. When weinally adopt a formal policy,

part of that should be a changen the uniform to have a buttonor badge that is physically nearwhere the body cam is that saysbody cam is in use.

He said it should be a partof the departments standardpractice to notify civilians thathey are being recorded.

Officers issued a wear-able camera will be requiredo make sure that the device is

working properly by conduct-ng a brief recording of himself

or herself which will includehe officers name, badge num-

ber, unit of assignment, dateand time. After recording, theofficer also will be responsibleor reviewing the video to

verify the audio and video testecorded properly. If there are

any problems detected fromthe camera, officers are to no-tify a supervisor immediately.

The department has not yetdecided on the placement ofthe body camera but is debat-ing having the officers wear itas a part of their uniform.

According to the proposal,the body camera equipmentmay be manually deactivatedduring non-enforcement ac-tivities such protecting anaccident scene from other ve-hicular traffic or when an of-ficer may need to use restroomfacilities. Nothing in the pro-cedure shall prohibit an officerfrom activating their camera

whenever the officer deems theuse of it is appropriate.The Pine Lake Police

Department is committed toprotecting the constitutionalright of all people, said statedthe departments proposal. Werecognize the need to continu-ously improve our knowledgeand application of the law asit pertains to our members intheir individual capacity aslaw enforcement officers, andcollectively, as a law enforce-ment agency. In pursuit of ourmission, we further recognizethe benefit of employing equip-ment and technology that willassist us in our ethical, legaland moral obligation to iden-tify, collect and preserve the

very best evidence of everyencounter between our officersand the public. This is espe-cially true where the possibilityexists that our officers may de-termine it necessary to exercisetheir legal discretion, powerand authority in concert with apolice intervention, under thecolor of law. As such, we havechosen to implement the use ofon-body recording systems as

the primary means of attainingthis goal, according to the de-partments proposal.

Access to camera units willbe restricted to supervisors forassignment as deemed neces-sary, the proposal stated.

All original recordings willbe downloaded onto depart-ment approved storage devicesat the end of an officers dutyand stored for 90 days.

Any request for an A/V filewould have to be submittedbefore the end of the 90-dayretention period. All requestswill be honored according tothe department approved pro-tocol for the release of infor-mation and in compliance withthe Georgia Open Records Act.

Jewish book festivalsupports readingby Ashley [email protected]

Through Project GIVE, a commu-nity action project coordinated at theMarcus Jewish Community Centersannual book festival, more than 1,000gently used books were provided tometro-area students, according to a re-cent press release.

Project Give co-chairwoman EllenChalefsaid, We are so appreciative tothe members of the community whohave participated in this special com-munity action project.

The books that are donated by thecommunity are taken to schools where

volunteer tutors and books are mostneeded, Chalef said.

The Jewish Center, which collectedbook donations from festival guestsand center visitors, made a bulk dona-tion to the Atlanta Jewish Coalition toLiteracy. The books were distributed toarea schools where extra resources wereneeded the most.

The coalition also brings volunteer

reading tutors into classrooms to helpstudents struggling with reading com-prehension.

Tutors choose the books to readwith their children, and once the childhas mastered a book, the book is giftedto the student, said Project GIVE co-chairwoman Kim Urbach.

These tutors, as well as the books,are making such a difference in the livesof these students, added co-chairwom-an Susie Sommer.

Not only are they receiving thepresent of a book, but they are gainingthe gift of being able to read it, indepen-dently, Sommer said.

The community-centered annualbook festival celebrated 23 years this

fall; it is the second largest Jewish bookfestival in the country.The festival was initially started as

an offering to the community and inhonor of Jewish Book Month in No-

vemberwhich is when the festival takesplace.

This year, the lineup included 40authors including Bob Saget, Dr.EbenAlexander, Mark Bittman, Andy Co-hen, Tracey Davis,Ezekiel Emmanuel,Daniel Gordin,Dan Harris,WalterIsaacson,Anna Quindlen, Ron Sus-kind and RabbiJoseph Teluskin.

Each year, the book festival high-lights a charity to support through itsProject Give program. This year it is the

Atlanta Jewish Coalition for Literacy,which tutors children in kindergartenthrough second grade who are strug-gling with reading.

For more information about ProjectGIVE, send an email to [email protected] or call (678) 812-3978.

From left Project Give co-chairwomen Kim Urbach, Susie Sommer and Ellen Chalef. Photo courtesyof the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta


11/24


Residents relieved fromobsessive handbills

Terrific Thurs

Dekalb Watershed

DeKalb Countys Department of Watershed

Management Reminds You of the Best

Practices for Proper Disposal of FOG

What are Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG)?

FOG is composed of the animal and vegetable fats and oils that are used to cook and prepare food.

Where does FOG come from?

Baking goods Food scraps Dairy products Butter and margarine

Sauces Meat fat Lard Cooking oil

Shortening

What happens when FOG is not properly disposed of?

FOG should be properly disposed of or recycled. It enters the plumbing system through home

garbage disposals, kitchen sinks and toilets, coats the interior of pipes, and empties into theCountys sewer system. Excessive accumulation of FOG in the sewer system will result in sanitary

for the County and its citizens, and can result in increased costs for water and sewer services.

Here are three simple practices to help keep FOG out of our pipes and sewers:

POUR cooled fats, oils or grease into a sealable container and throw it in the trash. Do not pour

down the sink or toilet.

SCRAPEplates and cookware before washing. Do not throw scraps of any kind down the sink.Instead, place them in waste containers or garbage bags.

WIPEexcess grease from all plates, pots, pans, utensils and surfaces with a paper towel before

washing. Throw the greasy paper towels away.

1.

2.

3.

Remember, you can make a difference!

Visit the DeKalb CountyDepartment of Watershed

Managements FOGProgram Online!

www.dekalbwatershed.com/FOG

Stone Mountain, GA 30083 (770) 621-7200

Vivid Boutique

Butter & Cream

Razz Dazz Girls

Worthmore Jewelers

get gifty!

visitdecaturga.com

Do your holiday shopping

and dining here. Find special

deals on Terrific Thursdays Dec. 4, 11, and 18 with

festivities and local cheer all

through the season.

TERRIFIC

DECATUR

THURSDAYS

o

RoastfreemarshmallowsduringourbonfireonthesquareDec.18!

- - - . :

by Ashley [email protected]

After many unsuccessful

attempts to assist residentsn opt-out delivery, the cityof Chamblee has adopted anew ordinance regarding thedistribution of handbills.

The new ordinance ap-plies to any printed or writ-en material, leaflets, papers

or flyers.Chamblee Police Chief

Donny Williamssaid, Theprimary purpose of the or-dinance is to assist residentswho want to reduce thenumber of unwanted hand-bills and opt out of deliverieswith those companies.

Williams said the ordi-nance was put in place toprovide a service for thosewishing to stop receivinghem and perhaps reducehe accumulation of hand-

bills at locations where theyare not being picked up.

The ordinance statesthat no person shall throw,deposit, leave, place or causethe throwing, depositing,

leaving or placing of anyhandbills, upon any private,public or vacant properties,unless exempted by the ar-ticle.

Williams said, Resi-dents approached councilwho directed staff to find asolution. The ordinance wasborrowed from one in useby Gwinnett County. Resi-dents complained they havebeen unable to stop unwant-ed handbills after repeatedlyattempting to deal with thecompanies.

The ordinance also ap-

plies to vehicles, utilitypoles, trees and other struc-tures.

Decals are to be placedon the bottom right handcorner of the mailbox lid ofresidents who do not wantto receive handbills.

Williams said, Thecost savings truly are withthe manufactures of thehandbills by getting them to

those who want them andnot in the garbage can.City police department

officials communicated withseveral local organizationsto advise them of the ordi-nance and description of thedecals.

The green mailbox de-cals can be picked up at theChamblee Police Depart-ment Records Section onMonday through Friday be-tween 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The city announced ifunwanted deliveries con-tinue to decaled locations,

residents should [email protected] with the addressof the complaint and nameof the unwanted handbill.

CITYOFBROOKHAVENFY2015PROPOSEDBUDGETPUBLICHEARING

The

City

of

Brookhaven

will

hold

a

public

hearing

on

the

proposed

FY2015

Budget

during

the

regular

scheduled

City

Council

meeting

on

December

16,

2014

at

7:00

p.m.

Following

the

publichearingonDecember16,2014,theCityCouncilwillvotetoadopttheFY2015Budget.

The

FY

2015

Budget

is

available

for

public

inspection

at

City

Hall,

4362

Peachtree

Road,

and

on

thewebsitewww.brookhavenga.gov.

Residents decal opposes unwanted handbill deliveries.


12/24

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 Page 12ALOCAL NEWS

Eagle Scout CeremonyThomas Cowanof Stone Mountain was recognized Nov. 30 for attaining the rank of Eagle

cout, the highest rank of the Boy Scouts of America. Above, Scoutmaster Ronald Vaughnpre-pares to present Cowan with Eagle awards. Bottom left, several Boy Scouts participate in CowansEagle Scout Court of Honor. See story on page 6A. Photos by Andrew Cauthen


13/24

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 Page 13AWEEK IN PICTURES

WEEKPICTURESIn

Searching for Our Sons and Daughters:

For a programming guide, visit www.yourdekalb.com/dctvNow showing on DCTV!

Finding DeKalb Countys MissingStories of our missing residents offer profound

insights and hope for a positive reunion.

DCTV Your Emmy Award-winning news source of DeKalb County news. Available on Comcast Cable Channel 23.

Photos brought to you by DCTV

Decatur Active Living receives marketing awardsat annual conference

Decatur Active Living Division recently receivedtwo awards at the Georgia Recreation and Parks Asso-ciation annual conference held in Jekyll Island.

The Team Decatur 2014 poster won a marketingand visibility award for a single event and the newathletics brochure won for multiple events in the mar-keting and visibility category. Both the poster and the

brochure were designed by Decatur graphic designfirm Lampe Farley Communications.Decatur Active Living staff members were on hand

to receive the awards. The Georgia Recreation andParks Association is the professional organization forrecreation professionals. Active Living director Greg-ory Whiteis on the board of directors of the organiza-tion and several staff members are active committeemembers.

Stone Mountain Park is aglow with more than 2 million lights. Photo by Travis Hudgons.


14/24


LOCAL

Stone MountainChristmas Parade

The city of Stone Mountain held its annual Christmas parade andireworks show Nov. 28. The parade included organizations and businessesrom Stone Mountain and featured Santa Claus. Photos by Carla Parker


15/24

SuspectContinued From Page 1A

HomeContinued From Page 1A


Stop bullying now

stand up speak out

details of those crimes.On Nov. 23, at approximately 10

a.m., Dawkins was robbed and shot todeath while she waited for the bus at aMARTA stop on Fairington Road, ac-

cording to police.The thing that strikes me the most

s that were talking about 10:00 in themorning at a crowded street and bustop and the brazen way that he came

across and assaulted this lady, saidAssistant Police Chief MichaelYarbor-ough.

Yarborough said the suspect hadintent to rob. And there is the po-ential for sexual assault, but we dont

know what was on his mind at thatime.

To have him off the streets todaybrings security to my mind and, I hope,o the DeKalb County citizens, Yar-

borough said.Detectives investigating the casecanvassed the area, speaking to po-ential witnesses. They also obtained

a video of the incident from a nearbybusiness. Arrest warrants were ob-ained for Merritt and turned over tohe DeKalb Sheriffs fugitive squad on

Nov. 26.Merritt was located by deputies Nov.

28 in an abandoned apartment build-ng in Lithonia.

I would like to commend theDeKalb County Police Department forquickly identifying the suspect, saidDeKalb County Sheriff Jeff Mann.When they turned the warrants overo the DeKalb County Sheriff s Of-ice on Nov. 26, our fugitives detec-ives,quickly responded into action

and within 48 hoursapprehendedMr. Merritt in a vacant apartment inLithonia.

Conroy said Merritts capture prob-ably prevented additional crimes.

Additionally, Merritt has beencharged with three counts of false im-prisonment in three other cases.

We do have physical evidence andother evidence that leads us to believehat Mr. Merritt is involved in these in-

cidents and other crimes as well, Yar-borough said. All of the sexual assault

victims are from DeKalb County andhe crimes date back to 2013.Some of the evidence connects Mer-

itt to a June sexual assault, accordingo police.

Police said additional charges forother crimes may be pending.

Were still investigating a numberof other cases to try to determine howmany Mr. Merritt may have been in-volved in them, Conroy said.

Including Dawkins, police arelooking at a minimum of four victims

and upwards of five to seven victimsover the last couple of years, Yarbor-ough said. We have quite a few peopleo talk to, including some that might be

witnesses and other victims, in order todentify other items that will help us inhis case.

made it to the Milledgeville facil-ity. He served a month or so ofhis sentence in the DeKalb youthdetention center.

While there, My court serviceworker told me about this Paul

Anderson Youth Home. Little didI know that my mother had beentalking with the court serviceworker, Sullards said.

Located in Vidalia, the PaulAnderson Youth Home is the onlynon-government-funded youthhome in Georgia that provides analternative to jail for boys.

Drew Read, COO of the PaulAnderson Youth Home, said thehome is a ministry that workswith families who have boys whohave made some poor choices.

We give them an opportunityto rebuild their homes and theirlives and family, Read said.

During the organizations 53-year history, many of the boyshave come from DeKalb County.

I know in the early years of thehome, DeKalb County was wherePaul Anderson, our founder,would often go to get young men,Read said about the youth home,which addresses the spiritual,emotional, mental, social andphysical needs of the participants.

Sullards said his mother andthe court service worker workedit out where I could go down tothe Paul Anderson Youth Home asan alternative sentence.

That was Paul Andersonsphilosophyto take the boys whowere in trouble, who didnt haveanywhere else to turn, Sullardssaid.

Its a hard program. You workvery hard, said Sullards, who cur-

rently works with the Hall CountyFire Department and is in para-medics school. Paul Andersonsphilosophy was youre no longergoing to be a liability to society;youre going to be an asset. And

you learn to work. You work allday long, through the summer[and] on the weekends.

Sullards said he buckedagainst the system down there fora couple of months but thenIwas really on board with it and Ilearned a lot about working hard. Ilearned how to respect authority.

After being in the youth homefor a couple months, Sullards said,he became a Christian.

It really changed my completeoutlook, Sullards said. For me itwas a real 180-degree turn withmy life and the way I looked atthings.

While in the youth home, Sul-lards attempted to join the army.

But I could not do it becauseof my charges, so they helped meto take my GED and got me intocollege, said Sullards, who gradu-ated from the University of Geor-gia with a resource managementdegree.

I had quit school after theninth grade, and I was a terriblestudent, he said. I quit schooland never had any intentions ofgoing back. They helped me getback on track with all that.

The youth home is a miracle

in the lives of the boys who gothrough that program, said Sul-lards, who worked at Paul An-derson for five years as a fulltimecounselor. Its unbelievable thatyou can actually go there insteadof jail.

Sullards said, The Paul Ander-son Youth Home not only had animpact on me, it had an impact onmy entire family. It really implantsa legacy mindset that just goes onfor generations.

Read, the youth homes COO,said many of the boys who enrollin the program are on drugs.

We try to rebuild them physi-cally, he said. Its the easiest thingto do. We get them feeling betterabout themselves. They begin toeat better and to feel better in gen-eral and there begins to be senseof confidence. That gives us a con-text to work with them and dealwith some of the issues in theirlives.

The magic of the program isbasically we hold up a mirror andsay, This is what you look like. Isthis who you want to be? If youdont like your circumstances thenyoure going to have to changeyour choices, Read said.

Brooks mother, SandraSull-ards, said that in addition to help-ing her son in so many ways, thehome had a positive effect on thewhole family.

We felt like we were totalfailuresthat we failed as par-ents, Sullards said. Knowingthat [Brooks was] on the road tomending, that [he was] were go-ing to get better, that [he was]succeeding in putting all this paststuff behind [him]that brought

peace to everybody.The youth center was a realblessing, Sandra Sullards said.They took everything that was insuch disarray and put it in order.

I am very thankful for the PaulAnderson Youth Home, she said.

Many of the residents of the Paul Anderson Youth Home in Vidalia come from the metro Atlanta area. Photos provided


16/24


LOCAL

BlazeSports:Helping those with physical

disabilities through sportsby Carla [email protected]

BlazeSports America,located in downtown De-catur near city hall, is oftenconfused for a sports or ath-letic gear store.

However, it is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizationthat provides children andadults with physical dis-abilities the chance to play

sports and live healthy, ac-tive lives. BlazeSports hasbeen in Decatur since thesummer of 2010.

Mara Galic, director ofoperation and evaluation forBlazeSports, said the organi-zation was originally estab-lished in 1993, and starteddoing its programing forthe Legacy Organization ofthe 1996 Atlanta ParalympicGames.

Usually after a Para-lympic Games or an Olym-pic Games, there is a legacy

organization created in thehost city to carry on the ef-forts to creating more sportopportunities, Galic said.One of the main reasonsBlazeSports was formed wasbecause there are very fewprograms for individualswith physical disabilities,compared to the opportu-nities available for youngpeople without a disability.

BlazeSports had a rangeof programs for youth andveterans from canoeing towheelchair basketball. Oneof the programs for youth

includes the Atlanta Wheel-chair Hawks basketballteam.

We have a junior divi-sion and a prep division,Galic said. Its year-round.We believe that sports helpthose with disabilities rein-tegrate into the communitymuch faster and easier.

People with disabilitiesare less physically active andhave a higher risk of devel-oping obesity than thosewithout a disability becausethere are few opportunities

to be active, according toGalic.We were formed to fill

that gap as much as we can

in Georgia, she said. Andwe have a national effort,where we actually train andcertify service providersacross Georgia and acrossthe country to developadaptive sports programs.Another reason BlazeSportsformed was because of thelink between being active,health, doing well in schooland gaining employment.

The organization also

has an equipment loan pro-gram to lend sports chairsto communities that want tostart an adapted sports pro-gram. BlazeSports has doneactivities at a few DeKalbschools, including BlazeDay.

During Blaze Daywe teach disability aware-ness, teach physical educa-tion and expose elemen-tary students to Paralympicsports and the fact thattheir friends that are in awheelchair or have official

impairment can play and beactive in sports too, Galicsaid.

Galic also said the or-ganization is working on anew program at the Coral-wood Center School calledBlaze Tots for preschooltoddlers, ages 2 to 5 yearsold who have a physical dis-ability.

Its more active play toget them comfortable withmovement and playing, be-cause thats the age wherethey are really forming theirbehaviors, Galic said. We

want to start early with thatage group along with theirparents and caregivers.

BlazeSports also workswith DeKalb Parks and Rec-reation Department, usingthe facilities for games andpractices.

BlazeSports also hasan international program,where it has been deliver-ing Paralympic and inclu-sive sports opportunitiesworldwide since the 1996Paralympic Games in At-lanta. The organization has

brought the programs toEgypt, Iran and South Afri-ca, and is currently working

See Blaze on page 17A

BlazeSports is a nonprot organization that provides children and adults with physical disabilities the chanceto play sports and live healthy, active lives.


17/24


Great American Smokeoutby Ashley [email protected]

Nationwide, 159,260 men and womenare expected to die of lung cancer in 2014,with 4,690 lung cancer deaths in Georgia.

The American Cancer Society (ACS)held its 39th Great American Smokeout, anevent held every third Thursday of Novem-ber to encourage smokers to quit.

Senior Director of Media RelationsElissa McCrarysaid, Smoking cigarettescauses more than 127,000 deaths from lungcancer each year in U.S. men and women,

accounting for more than 80 percent of alllung cancer deaths in the United States.According to ACS, smoking is the No. 1

cause of lung cancer. An estimated 224,210new cases of lung cancer are expected in2014, accounting for about 13 percent of allcancer diagnoses.

Leading up to the Great AmericanSmokeout, smokers were given informationon how to make a comprehensive plan andgiven tips on planning in advance for quit-ting on that day.

Thanks in part to the societys work,cigarette smoking among U.S. adults has de-creased from more than 42 percent in 1965to around 19 percent today, said RichardC. Wender, M.D., chief cancer control of-

ficer for the American Cancer Society. Yettobacco use still accounts for at least 30 per-cent of all cancer deaths and 80 percent of

lung cancer deaths.Wender said, For every person who

dies from a smoking-related disease, 20 oth-ers suffer at least one serious illness fromsmoking.

Analyzed data by the societys Epidemi-ology Research program from Cancer Pre-

vention Study-II (CPS-II), which began in1982, on the association between smokingand cancer said that women who smoke to-day have a much greater risk of death fromlung cancer than female smokers 20 or 40years ago, likely reflecting changes in smok-ing behavior.

We hope the Great American Smoke-out continues to have an impact, helpingsmokers realize they can add up to a de-cade onto their life by quitting now, saidWender.

Consider these five quitting tips fromthe ACS.

1. Set a date. Picking a quit day is a criti-cal first step.

2. Make a plan.3. Dont smoke on your quit day.4. Avoid rationalizations.5. Bounce back from slips.

Explore free resources and tools at can-

cer.org/smokeout or call 1-800-227-2345.

with Brazil and Haiti.Galic said staff members

train people in those countriesso that the skills and the lead-ership stay there to build more

sustainable programs.Weve been doing work

in Haiti since the earthquakebecause many children andadults became disabled be-cause of the earthquake, shesaid. Weve done many train-ings and camps with youngpeople and now we have threephysical activity programsbeing implemented in threecommunities as a result of thetraining we did in the country.

Any sports program, club,parks and recreation depart-ment or other organization

that is providing opportunitiesfor children and adults withphysical disabilities to takepart in sports, physical activ-ity or fitness can join the Blazenetwork, by visiting its website:www.blazesports.org.

BlazeContinued From Page 18A

lazeSports has a range of programs for youth and veterans from swimming to wheelchair basketball.


18/24

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 PAGE 18AEDUCATION

See Educators on page 19A

Atlanta Families accepts nominationsfor outstanding educatorsby Ashley [email protected]

While doing a job in a timelyand organized fashion will typicallygo a long way toward being well-regarded at work, a few extra stepscould ensure that the work is recog-nized and appreciated.

Atlanta Families Awards for Ex-

cellence in Education (AFAEE) is anonprofit program that awards edu-cators in the metro Atlanta schooldistricts.

Amber Stewart,executive di-rector of AFAEE,said, Our missions to recognize school leaders andeachers for the excellence that they

demonstrate in their schools and inheir communities.

Each teacher and school leaderwinner is awarded $7,500.

The award includes $3,500 forhe funding of a school project,

$1,500 for the funding of a profes-sional development opportunity toncrease the winners effectiveness

n the school or classroom and apersonal stipend of $2,500.

Educators receive the award by

demonstrating excellence in threeareas: growth in student achieve-ment, enhancing students self-esteem and collaboration with mul-tiple stakeholders for the benefit ofstudents.

Stewart said, We do this be-cause we want to improve educationby retaining excellent educators andwe know that if we spend time rec-

ognizing those that are doing a greatjob, its more likely that they willcontinue to do what theyre doing.

Nominations for the award areopen through Jan. 9. Nomineesmust agree to remain in the districtfor the 2016-2017 school year, musthave worked at least two years at acurrent traditional or charter schooland must be a pre-K-12 gradeteacher, principal or vice principal.

Applications will be availablebeginning Dec. 12.

This is the first year the awardis open and available to the DeKalb,Cobb and Gwinnett school districts.

Previous award recipients have

come from Atlanta Public Schoolsand Fulton County.

The program is funded through

Tri-Cities High School principal and 2014 award recipient Dan Sims.

Feldwood Elementary School Nicole Ford receives 2014 award.


19/24

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 PAGE 19AEDUCATION

EducatorsContinued From Page 18A

CITY OF CHAMBLEE PUBLIC NOTICE

A copy of the proposed 2015 Operating Budget for the Cityof Chamblee will be available for review at Chamblee City Hall,5468 Peachtree Road, on Tuesday, December 9, 2014.

A public hearing on the proposed budget will be held onThursday, December 11, 2014 at 6:00 pm at the Civic Center,3540 Broad Street. Any person wishing to be heard on the bud-get may appear and be heard.

The City Council will adopt the budget on Thursday, De-cember 18, 2014. The meeting will begin at 6:00 pm and will beheld at Chamblee City Hall.

amily donors. Stewart said,These are families that are

committed to making surehat education in the City

of Atlanta improves becauset impacts everyone and if

here is great public educa-ion out there we know thatt will have a positive im-

pact on our communities.AFAEE has reached

more than 100 familieswho personally sponsor theaward.

Stewart said, The pro-gram is always looking fordonors and corporate spon-ors.

AFAEE started the pro-gram in 2005 and gave itsirst awards in 2006.

Over a span of 10 years,he program has recognized27 educators and given

more than $2 million.Award winner for 2014

and Tri-Cities High SchoolPrincipal Dan Simswasecognized for his work

as an educator for 19-plusyears.

Sims said, Im amazedat the depth of support thatcomes from Atlanta Fami-ies. He said, To be a part

of this now, on top of hav-ng the opportunity to pur-ue some elements of my

dream, has been an invalu-

able experience.Sims was nominatedby his colleague and for-mer graduate school friendChristina Rogers.

He said he plans to usehe school project funds for

a project he calls Go Now.It is a project that will

engage up to 50 African-American males on variousearning levels in experienc-ng high school for a wholeemester before they actu-

ally attend, Sims said.He said while working

on his doctorate degree hediscovered that the tran-ition for Black males isometimes insufficient.

The project is set totart in January.

Sims said he plans touse the professional devel-opment dollars to deepenmy understanding of beingan educator in an urbanchool setting.

I consider this a pilotof a bigger dream, Simsaid.

This year AFAEE sur-prised recipients by having

parties for the winners.There are 10 winnersawarded annually.

Our board and selec-ion committee were blown

away by the commitment,talent, creativity and pas-sion of these 10 educators,said Katie McDowell, for-mer executive director ofAFAEE. We look forwardto watching how these grantdollars will be used by thewinners to make a long-term positive impact on thelives of their students whilestrengthening Atlanta Pub-lic Schools from the insideout.

AFAEE worked quietlywith school administra-tors and support staff forthe winners across metro

Atlanta from Milton to Col-lege Park. Some were sur-prised by a knock at theirdoor in the middle of a les-son while others were called

to mandatory meetings.Winners were celebrat-

ed with balloons, over-sizedchecks, gifts for their stu-

dents, and special mascotsand guests.

The 2014 winners wereformally celebrated on Nov.

6 with an awards ceremonyat The Carter Center.

Atlanta Families surprises Springdale Park Elementary School teacher Elizabeth Emerson.

Award ceremony for the Atlanta Families Award


20/24

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 Page 20ACLASSIFIEDS

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The Champion Free Press, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 Page 21ABUSINESS

The Voice of Business in DeKalb CountyDeKalb Chamber of Commerce

404.378.8000 www.DeKalbChamber.org

Two Decatur Town Center, 125 Clairemont Ave., Suite 235, Decatur, GA 30030

Compressed natural gas facilityto serve bulk fuel hauling marketby Kathy Mitchell

An unassuming indus-rial facility in Doraville ishowcasing what may be the

future of Americas truck-ng industry, according to

ofcials of Manseld CleanEnergy Partners (MCEP),which recently opened itsrst card-lock compressednatural gas station, designedo support heavy duty

natural gas tractor-trailers.MCEP is a joint venture ofClean Energy Fuels Corp.and Manseld Energy Corp.

Opening the rst ofmany MCEP stations andeeing trucks fueling today

brings into focus the poten-ial of this venture, said

Michael Manseld, CEOof Manseld Energy Corp,who was among the speak-ers at the Nov. 19 grandopening.

Manselds family-owned company has beenn the bulk fuel hauling

business, a segment of the

transportation industry thatconsumes more than 500million gallons of fuel annu-ally, for more than 50 years.He said he appreciates theirony of trucks fueled bynatural gas hauling petro-leum products as Americastrucking industry transitionsto petroleum alternatives,but the choice makes sense.

Keeping our costs lowallows us to be more com-petitive and deliver bet-ter value to our customerswhile protably growingour company, Manseld

said. We analyzed thebusiness case for our eetand realized that we hadthe potential to save morethan $19,000 per year, pertractor. Manseld Energycurrently has 12 natural gastractors in service and moreare planned.

While natural gas tractorscost approximately $30,000a unit more than diesel-powered trucks the samesize andbecause of the

storage tanksweigh a fewhundred pounds more thantheir diesel counterparts, thecost is offset bya fuel sav-ings of more than $15,000a year, according to MCEP.The payback on the extracosts, according to companyprovided materials, is typi-cally less than two years.

Manseld said the bestcandidates for transition tonatural gas are vehicles thatuse more than 8,000 gal-lons of fuel a year and haveroutes of 350 miles or lessbefore returning to base.

Compressed natural gas isbecoming an increasinglypopular choice for garbagetrucks, he noted. DeKalbCounty is in the process ofconverting its garbage truckeet to natural gas.

We started with anenvironmental plan thatturned out to make sensefrom a business standpoint,said Andrew Littlefair,president and CEO of CleanEnergy. Littlefair acknowl-

edged that the rst naturalgas trucks had not operatedas well as the designers hadhoped but said current mod-els are efcient and reliable.This is the kind of growththat can happen when theright technology and theright leadership come to-gether.

Littlefair said, As theanchor tenant of the rstMCEP station, [the Mans-eld Energy] eet will be arolling case study for otherbulk fuel haulers contem-plating the transition to

cleaner-burning and less-expensive natural gas fuel.Ira Pearl, president and

CEO of Manseld CleanEnergy Partners, praised thecompanys industry leader-ship with the deployment ofits rst natural gastrucks.He said of natural gas as atruck fuel, Its economical,its environmentally friendlyand its American. Virtuallyall natural gas consumed inNorth America is produced

domestically.

The more weuse Americas abundant nat-ural gas, the less we have todepend for energy on coun-tries that dont have our bestinterests at heart. In addi-tion, it boosts the Americaneconomy and provides jobshere at home.

The location at Wood-win Road in Doraville isideal, Doraville MayorDonna Pittmansaid. Lookaround you. Where we arenow is within eyeshot ofseveral terminals. If theresone thing truck drivers hate,

its having to go off route torefuel.Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey

Caglesaid recently passedstate legislation has madeGeorgia one of the nationsbest states in which to dobusiness and he expects tosee more businesses likeManseld Clean EnergyPartners choosing to estab-lish operations in the state.

Corporate and government ofcials cut the ribbon ofcially opening Manseld Clean Energy Partners in Doraville. Photos by Kathy Mitchell


22/24


23/24

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 Page 23ASPORTS

with Ransom Klingerleaping over apile to score a touchdown, extendinghe Golden Lions lead to 24-13.

Dalton Wilsonbrought the finalcore to 31-13 on a 5-yard touchdown

run.St. Pius will host No. 5-ranked

Woodward Academy Dec. 5 in theemifinals. Tis will be a rematch ohe Week 2 matchup between the twoeams, which Woodward won 42-21.

Marists season came to a close atBuord afer the War Eagles lost to theWolves 30-6 in the quarterfinals o theClass AAAA playoffs Nov. 28.

No. 3-ranked Marist only had theead once; midway through the first

quarter afer Joey Gogol kicked a 25-yard field goal to give the War Eaglesa 3-0 lead.

No. 1 ranked Buord went ontocore 21 unanswered points in theecond quarter beore Gogol kicked a

30-yard field goal to bring the score to21-6 at halfime. In the third quarter,he snap on a Marist punt went overhe head o the kicker and out ohe end zone or a saety, extending

Buords lead to 23-6.A 22-yard touchdown pass by

Buord in the ourth quarter broughthe final score to 30-6. Marist finishedhe season with an 11-2 record.

In Class AAAAAA, No. 10-rankeducker was dominated by McEachern62-36 at Hallord Stadium Nov. 28.ucker was down 21-0 in the firstquarter, beore Delvin Weemscut thecore to 21-7 on a 15-yard run late inhe first quarter.

In the second quarter, Weemsumbled, McEachern recovered andcored on a 35-yard pass on the

ollowing play, extending the score to28-7.

ucker responded by orcinga umble, which Akeem Petersonreturned or a touchdown, cuttinghe score to 28-14. McEachern scoredwo more times beore Weems got

his second touchdown o the game,bringing the score to 42-21 beorehalfime.

Te second hal started roughor ucker afer the team did notfield the kick on the opening kickoff,

giving McEachern the opportunityo recover the ball. Tat led to a fieldgoal, giving McEachern a 45-21 lead.

Special eams continued to hurthe igers in the third quarter afer

a blocked punt by McEachern wasreturned or a touchdown, extendinghe score to 52-21. Weems got hishird touchdown o the game on a 40-

yard run, cutting the score to 52-28.A field goal and a 92-yard

ouchdown pass had McEacherneading 62-28 in the ourth quarter.

A 2-yard touchdown run and 2-pointconversion by ucker brought thefinal score to 62-39.

ucker finished the season with a10-3 record.

FootballContinued From Page 22A

Correction:The pictures for the St. Pius vs. Eastside game published in the Nov. 27, 2014 issue were taken by J. David DiCristina.

McEachern wide receiver TJ Rahming (No. 21) runs away from Tucker defenders. Photos by J. David DiCristina

McEachern quarterback Bailey Hockman (No. 10) looks for a receiver down eld while avoiding the pass rush.


24/24


Weekly ad in hand. Coupons in pocket.

BOGO-vision on. Its time to save.

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Concerns for maintaining saferenvironments for judges, inmatesand the public has led county courtand Sheriffs Office officials toexpand use of video hearings forfelony and misdemeanor first ap-pearance hearings.

In a Nov. 14 memorandum ofunderstanding between DeKalbSheriff Jeffrey Mannand DeKalbChief Magistrate Judge Berryl An-derson, both felony first and mis-demeanor first appearance hearingswill take place inside the DeKalbCounty Jail using a courtroom thatcan access judges through secure

video systems.The agreement also expanded

the courtrooms hours of operationfrom 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days aweek.

The [agreement] means allDeKalb County law enforcement

agencies bringing suspects to courtfor first appearance hearings willhave access to the video courtsystem, and they will not have toremove inmates from inside the jailto go to court, according to a newsrelease.

The DeKalb County Jail court-room and its video system greatlydecrease the risks associated withtransporting inmates, Mann said.

With expanded scheduling andsome revisions to procedures forusing this venue, jail officers canfocus strictly on security as wemanage getting inmates to their dayin court.

As of Nov. 24, felony first ap-

pearance hearings are conductedexclusively by video inside theDeKalb Jail courtroom, which is asecure location not accessible bythe public. Inmates will be escorteddirectly from housing units to thecourtroom without leaving the jail.The judge, public and media willbe in the Magistrate Court court-rooms offsite either in the criminaldivision or the main courthouse.

On Jan. 5, 2015, all misde-meanor first appearance hearingswill also be conducted via videoconferencing.

A safe environment for our

judges, staff, law enforcement, in-mates and the public is an issue ofcritical importance for MagistrateCourt, Anderson said. We areexcited about this collaborationwith [the Sheriffs Office] that usesavailable technology to meet thatcritical goal. Sheriff Mann and hispredecessor, Thomas Brown, havebeen great partners in this process.

Security concerns prompt expansion of jail, court video use

Earlier this year, face-to-face inmate visits were changed to a video phone system. Now, aideo system will end off-site rst appearances for felonies and misdemeanors. Photo by

Andrew Cauthen

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