Champion FreePress: 3-11-16

8/19/2019 Champion FreePress: 3-11-16

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C HA MP IO NN EW SPA PE R C HA MP IO NN EW S CHAMPIONNEWSPAPER CHAMPIONNEWS

thechampionnewspaper.com F REE P RESS FRiDaY, MaRcH 11, 2016 • Vol. 18, no. 49 • 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.

CHAMPION The

See Championship on Page 5A

Miller Grove pulls out a close victory to win seventh state title

by Carla Parker [email protected]

The 10-year anniversary ofthe Miller Grove High Schoolbasketball program became

more special with the programwinning its seventh state title ineight years.

The No. 1-ranked Miller GroveWolverines defeated No. 2-rankedand previously undefeated Allatoona50-48 to win the Class AAAAA state

championship. Coach SharmanWhite called the run to anotherstate title “incredible.”

“This run has been one of themost special runs in the country,”White said. “I’m just proud of theway our kids fought. That was apicture of how we fought all yearlong. Even though we were comingback off of losing [in the playoffs lastyear] and not winning the state titlelast year, we played as if we had toattack a title and that’s what we didall season long—we attacked thetitle.”

Miller Grove had a 49-48 lead

with 19.5 seconds remaining inthe game when Alterique Gilbert missed a free throw that would havegiven the Wolverines a two-pointlead.

On the following Allatoonapossession, Colin Young stretchedhis hand out in the air to steal theball. He was fouled and sent to thefree throw line with ve seconds

remaining. He made one of two freethrows to give Miller Grove the two-point victory.

Young said when he saw the ballin the air he knew right away to goafter it.

“Coach teaches us to go after

loose balls, so hard work did that,”Young said. “Before, I wouldn’thave went for it but working hardwith Coach White, listening to whatCoach White said, I was able to getthat steal and knock down one freethrow, which I should have knockeddown two. But we won the game.”

Allatoona played tight zonedefense on Miller Grove, allowingthe team to hit only 17 of its 40 shotattempts. Gilbert, the team’s leadingscorer this season, was 4 of 13 fromthe eld and 0 of 4 from the three-

point arc.

LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN

he Miller Grove Wolverines won their seventh state title in eight seasons. Photo by Carla Parker

Miller Grove defeated Allatoona 50-48 to win the Class AAAAA state championship. Photos by Travis Hudgons

Business ................................ 18A

Classified .............................. 19A

Education................................17A

Opinion ......................................7A

Sports ................................10-12A

QUICK FINDER

LOCAL, 14A

COMMUNITY PARKGETS CHESS TABLES

BUSINESS, 18A

BOUTIQUE HOTELFOCUSES ON SOUTHERNHOSPITALITY

LOCAL, 2A

FRANK AUMAN ELECTED ASTUCKER’S FIRST MAYOR


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LOCAL The Champion FREE PRESS, Friday, March 11, 2016 • Page 2A

Frank Auman (pictured the night Tucker cityhood was passed by voters) was electedthe first mayor of the new city. Photo by Carla Parker

Chamblee passes on LaVista Hills annexationby R. Scott Belzer [email protected]

Chamblee ofcials decided tonot move forward with the annexa-on of LaVista Hills on March 2

ollowing closed-door discussionsbetween Mayor Eric Clarkson andhe city’s council.

Chamblee provided an openetter from Clarkson on March 2and an informational meeting heldMarch 8 at the city’s Civic Cen-er. The meeting provided council

members an opportunity to stateheir case to the public.

A previous meeting was heldFeb. 16 to gauge public interest.Approximately 100 concerned citi-zens voiced their opinions to Clark-son and the council, rejecting thedea outright.

Clarkson’s reasoning for pass-ing on annexing LaVista Hills andits 35,000 residents was statedclearly in the letter: the requestfrom potential residents requiredtoo fast a decision.

“Many have stated that thetimeline for this proposal is tooshort and that things are movingtoo quickly. The city council andI agree,” Clarkson said. “Unfortu-nately, the timing of a decision isnot always perfect, and in this casethe council, staff, and I have de-cided to take a pause in the consid-eration of annexing any other resi-dents into Chamblee at this time.”

The Chamblee mayor stated he,council members and City ManagerMark Johnson have been workingon a feasibility study and found theannexation nancially viable for the

city. Time constraints required topresent a resolution to the Georgialegislative session made the pro-posal difcult to agree upon.

The letter began by outlin-ing reasons to be grateful to the

original founders of the city, nam-ing services, local government andresponsive representation as spe-cics. Clarkson cited these as rea-sons LaVista Hills – and any otherpart of DeKalb County – wouldseek a municipality or join one suchas Chamblee.

“So, it should come as no sur-prise that others have looked toform new cities or be annexed intoexisting ones,” Clarkson wrote.“Chamblee has practically tripledin both land area and populationsince 2010.”

Clarkson’s letter states Cham-

blee would not hamper its effortsto modernize and draw more resi-dents to their already establishedborders.

“Regardless of our size, Cham-blee will continue to redevelop

even further into a modern com-munity while maintaining that smalltown charm that has lured so manyhere in the past and will continueto draw others to this city in thefuture,” Clarkson wrote. “The city isworking hard to further create thissense of place, complete with bikeand pedestrian trails, landscapedstreets, and architectural designsthat invite people to stroll downwide sidewalks and gather at festi-vals.”

To view Clarkson’s entire letteronline, visit www.chambleega.com/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=265.

Convicted countyCEO out of prisonby Andrew [email protected]

DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis is free.

According to Georgia StateBoard of Pardons and Paroleswebsite, Ellis was releasedearly from prison on parole onMarch 1.

Ellis, accused of strong-arm-ing county vendors to contributeto his re-election campaign, was

sentenced to ve years to serve18 months for attempting to com-mit extortion, and ve years toserve 18 months on three countsof perjury. The sentences were torun concurrently.

Ellis’ incarceration began onJuly 9, 2015.

Ellis, who remains suspendedfrom ofce while his appealmakes its way through thecourts, was replaced by interimCEO Lee May.

May has led the countygovernment operations sincebeing appointed to the positionin July 13. He is lling Ellisunexpired term, which ends atthe end of the year. May hasannounced that he will not run forthe position.

Ellis File Photo/Travis Hudgons

Frank Auman elected as Tucker’s first mayorby Carla Parker [email protected]

Frank Auman, one of theleaders of the Tucker 2015cityhood initiative, was elected asthe city’s rst mayor on March 1.

Auman won the mayoral seatwith 69.89 percent of the vote.Bruce Jackson came in secondwith 16.36 percent and LorneCheek received 12.10 percent.

Auman said he and the votersin Tucker are on the same pageabout turning Tucker into a thrivingcity.

“We’re ready to go to work,” Auman said. “It’s good to have abig majority and I feel like everyoneunderstands what we’re trying toget done and is ready to get to it.”

To become a thriving city, Auman said the residents mustunderstand that the newly electedofcials have to put certain items inplace rst to get the ball rolling.

“We have to get the revenue,get the logistics set,” Auman said.“We don’t have a bank account,

a phone number or anything. Wehave to get all of that in place andbuild a foundation so we can get onto the aspirational stuff.”

Auman has lived in DeKalbCounty since 1974. He graduatedfrom Southwest DeKalb HighSchool in 1981. He moved to theTucker area in 2005 and owns andoperates a business in the city.

Auman said he does not feelany pressure with being the city’srst mayor.

“There is an eagerness to geton doing what we’ve been talkingabout for three years,” he said.

“Managing expectations will bepart of it. There is a lot to do; wehave to build that foundation and ifwe don’t get that right we’re goingto be building in trouble down the

road. We have to be patient, getthings right the rst time and moveas fast as we can while makingsure we’re doing it the right way.”

Four were elected to six of thecity council seats, while two seatswill head into a run-off. HoneyVan De Kreke (District 1, Post 1)and Michelle Pankava (District3, Post 1) ran unopposed for theirrespective seat.

William Roasenfeld won theDistrict 1, Post 2 seat with 53.08percent of votes, beating Jon Carr

who received 46.21 percent.Anne Lerner beat out Ruth

Hoffman for District 3, Post 2council seat with 81.38 percent to17.79 percent.

The District 2, Post 1 seatand District 2, Post 2 seat will bedecided in a runoff election onMarch 29. Katherine Atteberry and Matt Robbins will face offfor the post 1 seat, and NoelleMonferdini and Susan Wood willbattle for the Post 2 seat.

Atteberry received 42.93percent of the vote, while Robbinsreceived 24.78 percent. Woodreceived 19.67 percent of votesand Monferdini received 18.68percent.

The runoff election will be heldon March 29. Early voting will beheld March 16-25 at the DeKalbCounty Board of Registrations andElections in Decatur.


3/20


AROUNDDEKALBCOUNTYWIDECounty recreation department opens seasonal summeremployment opportunities

DeKalb County Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs is acceptingapplications for seasonal summer employment opportunities until March18. Summer job positions include food monitors, camp counselors,recreation assistants, and bus drivers. All applicants must be 18 years ofage or older.

Those applying for pool lifeguard positions in aquatics are requiredto submit proof of current certication in CPR, rst aid, lifeguarding andwater safety instruction, provided by the Red Cross, YMCA or othernationally recognized aquatic training programs. All applicants selectedwill be required to successfully complete a drug/alcohol screening andcriminal background check prior to employment.

Applicants can apply online through the DeKalb County humanresources employment page by navigating to www.dekalbcountyga.govand clicking on the “job opportunities” link.

For more information, contact, LaShanda Davis, public educationspecialist, at (404) 371-3643.

BROOKHAVENCity to host softball tournament

The second annual Ballin’ for Brains coed softball tournament will beheld March 19 at 8 a.m. at Blackburn Park in Brookhaven. Team entry isa $500 donation to the Southeastern Brain Foundation with a minimumof three females and seven males per team, or $50 per individual. Thepark is located at 3493 Ashford Dunwoody Road. To register, visit www.ballinforbrains.com.

CLARKSTONNonprofit to hold immigration clinic

An Atlanta nonprot will be helping those in need start the process ofbecoming American citizens.

Asian American Advancing Justice Atlanta (AAAJA) will be hostinga free immigration legal clinic on Sunday, March 13, from 2 to 6 p.m. atClarkston Community Center.

The four-hour clinic will specialize in U.S. citizenship and Green Cardapplication assistance. An AAAJA trusted lawyer will be present to providelegal assistance in starting and carrying out the application process.

Those interested in applying for U.S. citizenship are advised to bringtwo passport style photos, their Green Card, Social Security number,employment and residence history for the past ve years and evidence ofpublic benets (food stamps and Medicaid).

Those interested in attending for assistance in applying for a GreenCard are advised to bring their birth certicate with an English translation,foreign passport and a completed I-693 form.

Clarkston Community Center is located at 3701 College Avenue. Formore information, contact AAAJA at (404) 585-8446 or [email protected].

DECATURCamp Funtastic offers summer fun for campers withmoderate disabilities

Registration for DeKalb County’s Department of Recreation, Parksand Cultural Affairs Camp Funtastic is now open at the Mason MillRecreation Center, at 1340-B McConnell Drive in Decatur.

Camp Funtastic is a summer day camp designed and staffedespecially for participants ages 13 to 21 with mild to moderate disabilities.Summer camp runs June 13 through July 22, Monday through Friday from8 a.m. - 4 p.m., at a cost of $85 per week.

Participants must bring their own breakfast and lunch. A copy of thestudent’s Individualized education program is required upon registration.

To access online registration, visit www.dekalbcountyga.gov/parks andclick the “register online” button on the department’s homepage or registerin person at the Mason Mill Recreation Center.

For more information, contact LaShanda Davis, public educationspecialist, at (404) 371-3643.

Library supporters to hold book & bake sale

The Friends of Scott Candler Library will hold Book & Bake Sale onSaturday, March 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Monday, March 21,from 3 to 6 p.m.

“Libraries need friends and our efforts are important to maintain a

dynamic and exciting library for the community to come and partake of thenumerous benets the library offers,” states an announcement about theevent. “The Friends of Scott Candler library provides that additional layerof excellence that allows our library to offer programming for children,workshops for adults and other services.

“Through membership dues, donations, book and bake sales andother fundraising activities, the Friends enable our library to providea level of service and quality that patrons have come to expect,” theannouncement states.

The Scott Candler Library is located at 1917 Candler Road, Decatur.For more information, call (404) 286-6986.

DUNWOODYNature Center holding wine class series

Those looking to educate their palates in cheese, chocolate andwine may want to visit the Dunwoody Nature Center on March 16 andMarch 30 from 7 to 9 p.m. For two hours at each session, attendeeshave the chance to participate in wine tasting classes on the facility’snewly renovated porch and deck space. On March 16, Alon’s Bakery,located along Ashford Dunwoody Road, is lending the class itschefPeyman Farzaneh to educate the public on ve different wines and theirappropriate cheese pairings. The following week, Farzaneh will switchgears to chocolate pairings. Classes are $40 each for members and $45each for non-members or $70 for both. For more information, contact theDunwoody Nature Center at (770) 394-3322.

STONE MOUNTAINCelebrate St. Patrick’s Day at Art Station

ART Station, in historic Stone Mountain Village, will hold its 20thannual St. Patrick’s Day Celebration and Fundraiser, “Raising of theGreen,” on Thursday, March 17, from 6 to 10 p.m.

The event will feature silent and live auctions, “A Taste of StoneMountain,” music and complimentary green beer. Tickets are $25 at thedoor or $20 in advance. For more information or to purchases tickets call(770) 469-1105 or visit www.artstation.org.

The live and silent auctions offer art work, theater tickets, meals at Atlanta restaurants and various goods and services. All items in theauction have been donated to ART Station by local theater companies,restaurants, businesses and ART Station’s individual members. Theproceeds will benet ART Station.

“A Taste of Stone Mountain” will highlight restaurants and caterers inthe Stone Mountain area.

“Complimentary green beer, good music and lots of fun make ‘Raisingof the Green’ one of Atlanta’s most unique St. Patrick’s Day celebrations,”

states the event’s announcement. ART Station is located at 5384 Manor Drive, Stone Mountain.For additional information regarding “Raising of the Green” or ART

Station programming call (770) 469-1105 or visit www.artstation.org.


4/20


Rochelle Callender

Rochelle Callender

History Center brings education to lifeby R. Scott Belzer [email protected]

For more than an hour onMarch 2, hundreds of stu-dents from three elemen-tary schools saw historybrought to life.

Second-, third- and fourth-grad-ers from Glenwood, E.L. Miller andCedar Grove elementary schoolsattended the two-person produc-ion Struggle for Freedom: The Life

of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., host-ed at the DeKalb History Center indowntown Decatur.

Actors Joe Penn and Ali Foleyof the Bright Star Touring The-atre company took students on a

ourney through the life of MartinLuther King, Jr. in honor of BlackHistory Month. Penn and Foleywere able to educate the studentson one of American history’s most

memorable gures in approximate-ly 45 minutes before answering

questions.Though the play dealt withsuch subjects as racism, segrega-tion, civil rights, peaceful protestsand assassination, programs andpreservation coordinator JennyGoldemund said Bright Star tin-kers its subject matter to be ageappropriate.

“[Bright Star] develops storiesand makes it so you can use it in-side the classroom,” Goldemundsaid.

Penn and Foley navigatedseveral characters throughout theproduction, going from playing ahumorously nagging couple one

second to portraying the titularcharacter and a racist store ownerthe next. The variety had studentsboth laughing and paying strict at-tention.

“Imagine living in a world wherepeople told you that you couldn’t

sit somewhere or do certain thingsbased on the color of your skin,”Penn said to the audience.

Penn and Foley also brought tolight such famous historical scenesas Rosa Parks’ 1955 bus boycott,in which 42,000 people were ableto refuse public transit service for381 days, as well as lunch countersit-ins, Birmingham’s Freedom Rid-ers from 1963 and King’s famous“I Have a Dream” speech in Wash-ington, D.C.

Though the production didtouch on King’s assassination, theactors insisted the play was a cel-ebration of the historical gure’s

life and accomplishments whenquestioned further by students.

“We’re trying not to focus toomuch on [King’s] death today,”Foley said. “We’re trying to focus

on what he was able to do duringhis life.”

The duo responded to ques-tions such as why King wanted todevote his life to knowledge. Theactors, seemingly familiar to deal-ing with elementary school chil-dren, answered the questions withease.

“The more you know about theworld around you, the more youknow how to change it,” Penn an-swered.

“With greater knowledge comesgreater change,” Foley said.

For more information on theDeKalb History Center’s programsfor schools, contact Goldemundat [email protected].

or visit www.dekalbhistory.org.For more information on BrightStar Touring Theatre, visit www.brightstartheatre.com or call (336)558-7360.

Ali Foley, left, and Joe Penn, right, of the Bright Star Touring Theatre company. Students from Glenwood, E.L. Miller and Cedar Grove elementary schools attendedthe two-person production. Photos by R. Scott Belzer

Rochelle Callendersaid she started volunteer -ng as a child.

“Whether it was knock-ng on doors to get NAACPmemberships, working with

he Urban League, UnitedWay, YMCA—all along, asa part of my life...came aheightened awareness tovolunteer,” Callender said.

Callender is presidentof Hartwood Estates Home-owners’ Association, chair-woman of the Recreation,Parks and Cultural AffairsCitizens Advisory Board forDistrict 7, and is on leavewith the National Coalition of

00 Black Women.She attends Spirit of

Truth Sanctuary in Decatur,where she is a foundingmember of the prayer shawlministry.

“We make lap blanketsand shawls and baby-

christening blankets,” shesaid. The lap blankets andshawls are for people whoare going through sometype of challenges—whetherit’s cancer, dementia, sometype of medical or emotionalor physical challenge. Wepray over the items that aregiven away.”

Additionally, Callenderis president of the Friendsof Flat Shoals Park, a com-munity park she helped de-velop.

For 25 years she playedat a tennis center which ison the site of the currentpark. During that time shebegan to push for the resur -facing of the tennis courts

and for the lights to turnedon.

“I woke up one dayand said, ‘It’s not about thetennis players. It’s aboutthe community. What [we]should really be doing isfocusing on getting a park inthis community,’” Callendersaid.

Now Flat Shoals Parkhas a chess/checker sta-tion, tennis courts, half-miletness walking trail withoutdoor exercise stations,

two playgrounds, pavilion,gazebo, clubhouse and pic-nic tables.

“It took us a couple ofyears but I really think thatif you’re able to partner with

those that have the powerand get the community in-volved in what they reallywant to see in some type ofmaster plan, you can makeit happen,” Callender said.“And that’s what happened.”

Callender said she ofvolunteering, “It’s a lifestylefor me. I really feel as thoughwe should be giving back,especially those that haveunique talents from the cor-porate world.” Callender re-tired from IBM after 38 years.


5/20

The Champion FREE PRESS, Friday, March 11, 2016 local Page 5A

CHAMPIONSHIPContinued From Page 1A

Gilbert, who nished with 15 points and ve steals, said itwas tough to get through Allatoona’s defense.

“They’ve got a great team,” Gilbert said. “They played wellas a team, but we just capitalized offensively, made our freethrows and we got it done.”

White said he was more concerned about the Wolverines’defense than what they did on offense.

“I thought we gave up a lot of easy baskets that we’renormally not accustomed to giving up, and that just shows howwell they were executing their game plan,” White said. “Theywere a great team, a great opponent and I’m just proud of howthey responded.”

Allatoona shot 51.6 percent from the eld, but had 23turnovers, 10 less than Miller Grove. The Wolverines had 15steals.

White said he was proud of how the seniors responded thisseason after falling in the playoffs last season.

“They showed resiliency, they showed the ability to beable to have character and to be able to lose it, and then

gain some from losing,” White said. “I tell them all the time[that] sometimes you have to lose in order to win, and I thinkthat’s what they showed throughout the season. They weredetermined to get to this day and try to win this day.”

Senior Aaron Augustin led the team with 16 points.

Miller Grove fans cheer on the team. Photos by Travis Hudgons Miller Grove coach Sharman White (second left) holds up the state championship trophy.

Miller Grove’s Raylon Richardson backs down a Allatoona defender.

Miller Grove guard Alterique Gilbert prepares to shoot a free throw.


6/20

Thanks a lot, GeorgiaHouse of Representatives.

On Feb. 22, stateepresentatives, with a 113-

59 vote, passed House

Bill 859, which would allowanyone 21 or older with aweapons license, includingcollege students, to carrya gun anywhere on apublic college or universitycampus, except for insidedormitories, fraternity, andsorority houses and atathletic events.

Thanks a lot for givingcollege students the righto carry guns on campus.Thanks for making it attle easier for our sons

and daughters to get shot

n a college classroom,parking lot, library or walkingbetween buildings.

Thanks for allowingcollege students and others

to arm themselves oncampuses and not requiringthem to be trained in howand when to use weapons.

Thanks a lot.

Rep. Karla Drenner (D-Avondale Estates) is justas “grateful” as I am.

“I am disappointed inthe passage of House Bill

859 as school gun violenceis a problem in Georgia andthe rest of the country,” saidDrenner in a statement.

“There are far too

many scenarios that showwhy allowing guns on ourcampuses endanger ourstudents,” she stated.“For example, a studentwho received a bad gradecould show up to class anduse a gun to threaten hisprofessor, or a distraughtstudent could use a gun tointimidate his colleagues.Proponents of this billwill point out that dormsand sporting events areprotected, which shows thatwe understand the danger

of guns. However, allowingguns on campus means weare ignoring it.”

This is a bad piece oflegislation and one problem

with it is where do legal gun-toters who live on campusput the guns? Guns can’tbe in dorm rooms or frathouses. Would they be left in

unattended cars where theycan be stolen? If they are leftin cars, then they’re not veryuseful.

So effectively, onlycommuters, faculty and staffcan carry weapons, as longas they don’t visit studenthousing or go to an athleticevent. But they can go to acampus concert or politicalrally or to the campus gymor student center or cafeteriaor to visit a professor—aslong as the weapon isconcealed, like in a purse

or backpack or gym locker.Sounds like a very bad idea. According to a statement

by Rep. Dewey McClain (D- Lawrenceville), the

bill “creates a dangerousenvironment for ourstudents.

“Our children should beexposed to the wonder of

learning, not the worry ofwho is carrying a concealedweapon,” McClain stated.

“If our goal is to createa safe learning environmentfor Georgia students, thenallowing students to carryconcealed weapons oncampus is not the answer,”said Rep. Patty Bently (D- Reynolds). “We oughtto leave the security of ourstudents and faculty to thewell-trained guards andofcers employed by theschools.”

Thanks a lot,representatives, for givingparents more to worry about.Hopefully, the Senate willsee the light.

The Champion FREE PRESS, Friday, March 11, 2016 opinion Page 6A

Unlock transit funding gridlock

GUEST EDITORIALS

Much attention and controversy has beenocused on expanding transit further into north

Fulton, and those commuters who have toendure trafc gridlock on GA 400 are quick to sayt is greatly needed. No doubt, additional transitwould bring relief and hopefully elected ofcialswill allow the voters to decide what they desire tohave in their community.

But let’s not lose sight of other MARTAprojects on the priority runway also awaiting theopportunity for citizens in DeKalb to decide theirate. One of those projects is an 8.8-mile light rail

expansion from the Lindbergh MARTA stationo the Avondale Station that would serve the

heavily congested Clifton Corridor, which is the

argest employment center in the Metro regionhat has no direct access to MARTA’s rail systemor an interstate highway. The more than 30,000employees who work in the corridor and themany patients, visitors, students and residentswho have no choice but to endure wasted timesitting in their cars on the ancillary roads leadingo the area, beg for an alternative. The Clifton

Corridor is home to Emory, the largest employern DeKalb and third largest in Metro Atlanta;Emory Healthcare, the most comprehensivehealth care system in Georgia; the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention; Children’sHealthcare of Atlanta; the VA Medical Centerand other organizations that contribute billions ofdollars annually into the region’s economy.

Since the 1960s, regional planning maps

have included a proposed transit line connectinghe Clifton Corridor into the MARTA system andhe current proposed light rail project has been

progressing through the federal planning processor over 15 years. Countless community meetings

and stakeholder planning sessions have takenplace over the years and there is overwhelmingsupport in the corridor area for this light railline. In addition to providing an option for thosealready commuting to the corridor, it would givenew transit access to thousands of other jobs forcommuters from the Avondale Station and wouldserve the DeKalb Medical Center and the manylarge commercial and residential redevelopmentsalready planned along the route.

The Metro region is already decades behindin expanding MARTA and the long-awaitedtransit relief for the Clifton Corridor is still stuckin transit funding gridlock. Legislation currentlybefore lawmakers at the state Capitol would

provide the funding desperately needed to buildthe Clifton Corridor line and other rail expansionMARTA needs to keep our region competitiveand provide services our citizens want and need.Rather than let a handful of elected ofcialsdecide our region’s prosperity and fate, it’s timeto let the voters weigh in on their future and thoseof generations to come. We have an opportunityto unlock transit funding gridlock and we cannotafford to wait any longer.

Betty E. WillisSenior associate vice president,Government & Community AffairsEmory University

Executive director,

Clifton Community Partnership

President,Clifton Corridor Transportation Management

Association

To the Editor:

On behalf of the State Bar of Georgia,I would like to thank DeKalb CountySuperior Court Judge Clarence Seeliger for making a generous contribution totaling$15,000 in assistance to three local,nonprot legal organizations.

These admirable contributions of $5,000each will benet the DeKalb VolunteerLawyers Association and Atlanta Legal Aid,both of which provide civil legal services tothose who cannot afford an attorney, andthe DeKalb Lawyers Association, which

presents a local scholarship in JudgeSeeliger’s name. These gifts will havea lasting, positive impact on the lives ofDeKalb County residents.

All Georgia lawyers and judges can beinspired by Judge Seeliger’s continuedcommitment to serving the needs ofthe community, which in turn serves topromote the cause of justice and upholdthe integrity of the legal profession in ourstate.

Sincerely,

Robert J. “Bob” KauffmanPresident, State Bar of Georgia

@AndrewChampNews

Andrew Cauthen

[email protected]

Managing Editor

Thanks for guns on college campuses

Saluting Judge Seeligerfor donations to

nonprofit groups


7/20

Promises, Promises

Bill Crane

[email protected]

Columnist

ONE MAN’S OPINION

“I want to go further,hough. I want us to havean absolute commitment togetting rid of lead wherever

t is. Because it’s not onlyn water systems. It’s alson soil, and it’s in lead painthat is found mostly in olderhome. We will commit to apriority to change the watersystems and we will commitwithin fve years to removeead from everywhere,”ormer Secretary of Stateand Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during theDemocratic Party candidatedebate in Flint, Mich., onSaturday, March 5.

There is no questionhat what is happeningo the people of Flint,Mich., and the continuingcontamination of their watersupply is a tragedy. Theres no easy, silver bulletor simple answer. Thecorrosive water of the FlintRiver, used temporarily asa less expensive optionhan Detroit’s municipalwater supply, broke looseyears of sediment, heavymetals and has donepermanent damage to leadpiping throughout the water

delivery system in Flint.Readers may recall,

hat facing a federal courtorder, the city of Atlantaborrowed and spent $3billion, primarily during theadministrations of then-Mayor Shirley Franklin toseparate a then combinedcentral sewage overowCSO) system. Prior to the

construction of undergroundsewer pipes—100 feetn diameter—and a newunderground sewagereatment plant underneath

he lower lawn in PiedmontPark, raw sewage wouldback up onto Atlanta streetsand ll the banks of ClearCreek (which was anythingbut that) running through a

culvert in the same area ofPiedmont Park.

DeKalb County isspending more than $1

billion on its water system,replacing leaking and agingwater mains across thecounty, as well as dealingwith decades of neglect andclogs to waste lines causedby illegally discarded oils,commercial grease andother contaminants.

This brings me backto the poor people ofFlint. Their need is real, butI’m not sure it is the properresponsibility of our federalgovernment to step in andre-plumb that city. Given thedeclining population of Flint,it might be more realistic andnancially feasible to simplyrelocate the town’s entirepopulation. Re-plumbingFlint would cost billions. Wehave known of the dangersof lead, as well as asbestos,for decades. And yet, tothis day the city of NewYork employees 300 full-time people engaged in theongoing removal and safedestruction of asbestos.

If there is one easylesson to be learned fromthe palpable anger and

frustration of many votersin this presidential electioncycle, it is with the brokenpromises of politicians, whowill say what they thinkvoters want to hear prior to

an election, and then notdeliver. This resentment ispresent in both parties, andmanifesting to some extent

in the surging candidacies ofDonald Trump and BernieSanders.

And yet, Trump drawscheers, as well as some

jeers, forever promising anever-growing wall betweenthe United States andMexico, paid for by ourneighbors—without legal titleto the border lands, accessfor construction, budgetestimates or a constructiontimeline.

Sanders promises freecollege education, on top

of existing K-12 publiceducation. The latter(K-12) costs nearly $30billion per year in Georgia(combined state and federalexpenses). Where is thefunding source for “freecollege?” There are simplynot enough “rich people” to

overtax.Clinton is now promising

to rid the United States oflead, again without any

cogent thought offered onhow to pay for this, simplybecause lead is bad. Well,cancer and AIDS are prettydamn scary as well, and theUnited States did not supplythe non-ending funding toend those two critical threatsto public health.

Clearly, some type offederal disaster relief isappropriate for Flint, startingwith a long-term supply ofbottled water. And duringthe decade ahead, this crisisshould become a wakeup

call for the beginning ofmassive reinvestments inour crumbling infrastructure;but as with Atlanta’s sewerpipes, the majority of thoseexpenses should fall on thelocals and those who willuse and benet from thenew investments. Empty

promises without detailor funding are about asuseful and lasting as arainbow. Perhaps beautiful

and making you feel goodfor a few seconds, butquickly fading and vanishingin the harsher sunlight ofreality. And as it specicallyrelates to eradicatinglead and lead pipes, evenSuperman could never seethrough lead.

Bill Crane also serves asa political analyst and com-mentator for Channel 2’s Ac-tion News, WSB-AM News/ Talk 750 and now 95.5 FM,as well as a columnist forThe Champion, ChampionFree Press and GeorgiaTrend. Crane is a DeKalbnative and business owner,living in Scottdale. You canreach him or comment ona column at [email protected].

The Champion FREE PRESS, Friday, March 11, 2016 opinion Page 7A

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8/20


Stone Mountain downtown group reveals plans for revitalizationby Carla Parker [email protected]

Stone Mountain DowntownDevelopment Authority (DDA)s looking at different ways toevitalize the city’s downtown area.

The DDA presented its 2016DDA/Main Street Work Plan onFeb. 18. The plan outlined the2016 task forces that will helpbring in new business and growcurrent business, according toDDA Executive Director MechelMcKinley.

“Instead of having four pointcommittees like we had in thepast, we’ve identied six differentask forces that we’re going to be

working on,” McKinley said. “We’rerying to help our existing and new

businesses thrive and succeed.The six task forces will focus on

communication, cycling, real estate,he historic train depot, business

develop and the look of the city.With the communications task

orce, McKinley said the DDA willry to reach all subdivisions insidehe city limits as well as those

outside and adjacent to the citymits to see if residents identify with

Stone Mountain as their downtown.“We want to make sure that

hey are aware of what’s goingon in Stone Mountain and we’re

encouraging them to participate inhe things that we have going on,”she said. “We’re also going to reachout to the campgrounds at StoneMountain Park ve different times

a year to give information aboutthe village, the businesses and thedifferent city events to park goers.”

Stone Mountain is a city thatcyclers usually ride through.McKinley said the cycling task forcewill be used to share information tocyclists about cycling in the city andDeKalb County.

“We want to take advantage ofthat opportunity by partnering withthe DeKalb Convention and VisitorsBureau, Clarkston, Decatur andLithonia on an interactive web pagethat provides information aboutcycling in DeKalb County,” shesaid. “We’re a featured destination

on that site, and we’re also lookingat other ways we can help ourbusinesses be more cycling-friendly.”

McKinley said the real estate

task force would stay “in touchwith property owners and connectpotential businesses with the rightproperties for their businesses.

“Making sure that if somebodywants to open an ofce they’re notlooking at a retail space,” she said.“We’re also working with potentialinvestors, bringing them to town,showing them what we got goingon and getting them excited aboutStone Mountain as well.”

In 2015, the city had $352,000worth of renovations done to thehistoric train depot. McKinleysaid the city in on the communitydevelopment block grant budget for

2016 for a $149, grant that wouldhelp the city comply with ADAregulations, including adding an

ADA compliant bathroom.“We’re hoping to get that grant,”

she said.McKinley also said the DDA is

trying to get more things done to

the train depot so it can be usedregularly.“We will be looking at [having]

exhibits for this summer that wouldallow people to come into thedepot,” she said.

The business developmenttask force will continue providingmore grants for business owners tocontinue to grow their businesses.

“We have access to otherprograms like the downtowndevelopment revolving loan fundtax credits available to help peoplewith their business plan,” McKinleysaid. “The big thing is we’re goingto be starting a Stone Mountaindowntown revolving loan fund thissummer. They will be small loans toassists business property ownerswho needs upgrades and thosekinds of things. They will be lowinterest loans with a short paybackperiod so that we can constantlyloan out money.”

The sixth task force will focuson improving the look of the city byadding more welcome signs at thevarious entrances of the city.

“We’ve been working with thedesign studio out of Athens andwe’re working on ve differentgateway areas,” McKinley said.

McKinley said the gate entranceproject is $75,000.“We’re looking for sponsors

and partners, and we’re looking forgrant opportunities,” she said.

Stone Mountain Downtown Development Authority will use six task forces torevitalize the downtown area. Photo by Carla Parker

DeKalb leaders discuss county’s positives, negativesby Andrew [email protected]

DeKalb County Com-missioner Sharon BarnesSutton held a communitymeeting Feb. 29 in Tuckerso residents could ask ques-ons and learn about some

of the county’s positives andnegatives.

Sutton said attendees

had the opportunity to “hearabout the good things inDeKalb County—what we’redoing with your tax money,how we’re protecting you,how we’re taking care of ournfrastructure, how we’reeducating our children, howwe’re making this place an

even better place to live.”DeKalb County District

Attorney Robert James talked about how his ofceis attacking gangs and hu-man trafcking.

“We have gotten to aplace now where we havenational gangs. They havemembers of their leader-ship that live here in DeKalbCounty and they operate out

of DeKalb County,” Jamessaid.

“We have had severalgang-related murders inthe course of the last twoyears,” he said. “I hate to bethe bearer of bad news butthis has become more com-monplace. We’re starting to

see more and more of this.”James said it is impor-

tant to continue funding hisgang unit, made up of twoprosecutors, two investiga-tors and a victims advocate.

Funding also is neededin the police department be-cause “myself and the chief

just can’t be reactive to stuffall the time,” he said.

“I’m pleased with the

budget that was passed; wecan start addressing someof these things on the frontend,” James said. “I feellike we’re nally getting toa place where we’re gettingthe resources where wedon’t have to be reactive.”

In addition to gangs, the

county has a human trafck-ing problem, James said.

“The average age that ayoung girl enters prostitutionor the sex trade or trafck-ing trade is 13 and 14 yearsold,” James said. “We’re nottalking about grown womenthat are standing on thecorner like you may see onMemorial Drive. Even someof those women started out

as young girls.“We are talking about

13- and 14-year-old girlsthat are sold into trafcking,”James said. “It’s serious. It’smodern-day slavery. Theyare losing their lives. Theseyoung girls are branded,these young girls are beat-

en, some of them are mur-dered and we have to dosomething about it.”

A positive that DeKalbCounty Solicitor GeneralSherry Boston said she isproud of is her communityprosecutor program.

“We have [two] prosecu-tors embedded in the com-munity,” Boston said. “Theyeach have a precinct within

the county and they havedirect relationships with thepolice in that community,with the homeowners as-sociations, with the com-missioners whose area thatcovers, with the churches,

See Leaders on Page 9A

From left, DeKalb Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton hosted a forum with District Attorney Robert James, Solicitor General Sherry Boston, Police Chief James Conroynd county CEO candidate Michael Thurmond. Photos by Andrew Cauthen


9/20


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he civic associations, theCIDs if they exist—all theentities in that area.

“The reason we do thats we want to nd out whathe concerns are in yourarea and address them spe-cically,” Boston said. “Wedo that by being a part ofhe community. We can’t as-sess all the problems by sit-ng down at the courthousen Decatur because we can’tsee what is happening inyour neighborhoods.”

DeKalb County PoliceChief James Conroy an-nounced that his departmenthas “a clearance rate that’sabove the national averageor every crime and categoryhat’s tracked by the FBI.”

“One big reason forhat is our relationship with

the community,” he said.“Community-oriented polic-ing is our philosophy here

in DeKalb County. The rela-tionship between the policedepartment and the commu-nity is vitally important.”

Conroy said, “Aroundthe country, where there’sfriction between the policedepartment and the com-munity,...the clearance ratesare horrendous. If you lookat Chicago, if you look atNew Orleans, their clear-ance rates for homicides are30 percent and less.

“Our clearance rate isover 80 percent, so we havea tremendous clearancerate for homicides,” Conroysaid.

“Our detectives pridethemselves on clearing cas-

es and making sure they arecleared appropriately so thatthey can be prosecuted by

the district attorney and thesolicitor,” Conroy said. “I canarrest people all day long,but if they are not gettingprosecuted, we’re not doingour job properly.”

County planning direc-tor Andrew Baker said thatwhile the trend once was forpeople to move out to ar -eas such as Alpharetta, thetrend is now for people tomove back to inside or nearthe perimeter.

“I like to tell anybodythat’s in DeKalb: stickaround, because with allthat trafc and congestion,people are trying to moveback into the metro [and]inside the perimeter,” Baker

said. “I expect that all your[property] values are goingto continue to improve.”

DeKalb County CEOcandidate Michael Thur-mond told the group that ifthe county takes positives“and leverage them againsta population that’s poorand unemployed and un-derserved, leverage themagainst challenges we havewith our infrastructure, le-verage them against anychallenge we may have,and we can x it.

“I don’t come to this jobwith any lack of optimismor enthusiasm,” Thurmondsaid. “I’m extremely prag-matic, but I can tell yousomething: we’re gettingready to move in a newdirection. This government

will be about learning fromthe past but shaping a newfuture for the county.”

Clarkston council amends game machine ordinanceby R. Scott Belzer [email protected]

The city of Clarkston tightenedts grip on stores with coin-operatedamusement machines (COAMs) onMarch 1 during a regularly sched-

uled council meeting.Clarkston’s city council unani-

mously voted in favor of amendingChapter 11, Article 4 of Clarkston’scity ordinances, clarifying protmitations, legal ramications and

due process for businesses hostingCOAMs.

A bona de COAM is dened asany type of machine or device that

will automatically provide music orsome other type of entertainmentwhen a coin, token or some otherobject, such as a credit card, is de-posited,” by the Internal RevenueService (IRS). This includes arcade

video games, pinball machines,ukeboxes, pool tables and slot ma-chines.

Clarkston ofcials state approxi-mately 60 COAM machines exist in0 businesses throughout the city.

State law prohibits any busi-ness housing COAMs from earningmore than 50 percent of its totalprots solely from the machines to

avoid the issue of “gaming rooms,”or businesses acting as miniaturecasinos.

“Gaming rooms is the term thatfolks in the COAM business usewhen referring to businesses thatprimarily exist only for the purpose

of collecting revenue from COAMs,”said Keith Barker , city manager ofClarkston. “This is a term used bymany master license holders, thefolks that own machines. In conver -sations with them, they are not infavor and oppose gaming rooms.”

The proposed amendment,written by Barker and city attorneyStephen Quinn, states how thepotential for gambling on COAMsis “deleterious” to the city and, assuch, requires strict regulation.

An exposé published by Cre-ative Loafng in July 2015 high-lighted Clarkston’s struggle in

dealing with gaming rooms, as onebusiness took a $250 COAM neto the Georgia Supreme Court. Thecity’s current ordinances are copieddirectly from state law, but Clarkstonis having a hard time enforcingthem.

The city hopes the amend-ment approved March 1 will quellany doubts on COAM laws as well

as the consequences for breakingthem. Barker said the current ordi-nance was “not real explicit” on the50 percent limit or the due processfollowing a violation.

“We’re currently in the processof reviewing license applications for

COAMs,” Barker said. “We’ve foundinstances where they fail to reportmonthly gross revenues, which arerequired by state and city law; someof them are exceeding the 50 per -cent limit. This amendment to ourordinance closes a loophole in ourcity ordinance.”

In addition, the amendment out-lines a track in which violators canface nes up to $1,000, six monthsimprisonment, and revocation ofCOAM and alcohol licenses.

During the council’s work ses-sion, Mario Williams proposedClarkston set its own percentage

lower than 50 percent in an effort todiscourage COAM use. Quinn saidthe city must be in accordance withstate law and Clarkston did not havethe option of being more restrictive.

Quinn said the problem in deal-ing with COAMs is not restrictiverules, but enforcement. While citypolice have the option of enforc-ing state law, a city ordinance only

gives Clarkston ofcials the authori-ty to cancel or suspend a business’slicense.

“The rules are in place at a statelevel,” Quinn said. “But what we’renot having is agents of the statecoming here and enforcing them.

We’re bringing it to the local level.”Barker said the state, with “lim-

ited resources” was focusing on the“bigger picture” at the state level.

The city manager said Clarkstonis doing more than most cities inensuring businesses are knowl-edgeable about current and futureCOAM law.

“We probably do more in termsof frequent, face-to-face, handson education with our businessesthan any city in the state,” Barkersaid. “Our business owners knowabsolutely what the regulationsare. Sometimes they say we visit

them too much. I want to be veryclear, the city in no way targetingbusinesses that have COAMs, weare merely trying to ensure the ma-chines are utilized in the method atwhich they are legally authorized.”

Mayor Ted Terry said the issuegoes beyond Clarkston’s borders.

“This is not just a Clarkston is-sue,” said Terry. “This is statewide.”

Clarkston City Manager Keith Barker, left, explains the issue of coin-operatedmusement machines (COAMs) to board members, including Beverly Burks, right.

Clarkston City Council members Mario Williams, left, and Dean Moore, right, listen tothe issue of COAMs in the city. Photos by R. Scott Belzer


10/20

SPORTS The Champion FREE PRESS, Friday, March 11, 2016 • Page 10A

Southwest DeKalb wins fifth state title in nine years

Coaches upset championship baskets were not at regulation length


The No. 1-rankedSouthwest DeKalbLady Panthers shot

26.4 percent from the eld,but still managed to pull outa 49-48 win over Winder-Barrow to claim the ClassAAAAA state championshipon March 4 at the MaconCentreplex.

The state title was thefth in nine seasons forcoach Kathy Walton andthe Lady Panthers program.

“That was probably thetoughest of all ve of them,but they’re all nice,” Walton

said. “I’m so happy for thekids.”

Southwest DeKalb was19 of 72 from the eld and1 of 14 from the three-pointarc. The team’s two topscorers—Daisa Alexander (8 of 29) and Jada Walton (2 of 25)—struggled to gettheir shots to fall.

“We really struggledoffensively,” Walton said.“The main reason westruggled offensively was

because we were reallyfocused on our defense andrebounding. When we playdefense and rebound, that’sgoing to at least keep us inthe game. Sometimes youhave good scoring nights,sometimes you don’t, butyou can always play gooddefense and rebound andthat’s basically what wefocused on.”

The Lady Panthersoutrebounded Winder-Barrow 44-41. They had

22 steals and forced 27turnovers for Winder-Barrow. One of thoseturnovers occurred in thenal second of the game.

With 1.5 secondsremaining in the game,Southwest DeKalb forceda turnover on a Winder-Barrow pass that wentout of bounds, giving theLady Panthers the nalpossession of the game toseal the victory.

With a poor offensive

night, Alexander said sheand her teammates had to“dig deep and believe ineach other.”

“It’s not about [Waltonand me]. It’s about the teamand we had to realize that,”

Alexander said. “We’re thetop two scorers on the teamand when it wasn’t fallingfor us, it just felt like ourworld was falling apart, butwe had our teammates tofall back on, to encourageus and we just had to come

together and play as ateam.”

Alexander, a senior,

said she felt on top of theworld after winning the statetitle.

“It feels amazing,” shesaid. “Not winning my juniorand sophomore years—it

just feels good to leaveknowing that I won a statechampionship.”

“[The senior class] just missed one theirsophomore year and lastyear was just a total asco,but that’s the reason whythey got here,” Walton said.“After last year they reallyworked hard. They went towork right after we lost andit’s been a year-long battlefor them and they made the

journey.” Alexander nished the

night with 19 points and vesteals. Freshman RavenThurman added 13 pointsand seven rebounds.

This is the fourthconsecutive year a DeKalbCounty team has won theClass AAAAA girls’ statetitle since 2013.


Some basketball coacheswho played in the Georgia HighSchool Association basketballchampionship games March3-5 in Macon were upset thatthe basketball goals were notat the regulation length for allchampionship games.

The Marietta Daily Journal rst reported that the GHSA

conrmed that the stanchions thatsupport the baskets were placedroughly one foot farther back fromthe baseline. The baskets aresupposed to measure 15 feet from

the foul line; however, they wereplaced 16 feet from the foul line.

GHSA Executive DirectorGary Phillips said in a releasedstatement that the GHSA will notchange the results of the titlegames.

“The goals were the samedistance into the court at bothends of the oor,” Phillips said.“The playing conditions wereexactly the same for both teamson the court and for all of the 14

championship games that wereplayed. So I can’t see any reasonwe would consider changing theoutcomes.

“Only one coach even

mentioned a possible problem,and my basketball staff watchedthe games closely and did notnotice any appreciable effect onthe shooting or the play of any ofthe teams,” Phillips said. “Someof the teams even shot extremelywell from both the oor and thefree throw line. But, overall, itlooked like typical championshipplay.”

Southwest DeKalb girls’basketball team, which won the

Class AAAAA championship, hada eld goal percentage of 45 thisseason. During the championship

See GHSA on Page 12A

The GHSA confirmed that the basketballgoals were not at the regulation length for

ll championship games. Photo by TravisHudgons

Cori Bostic (right) and Daisa Alexander embrace afterwinning the Class AAAAA state title.

Southwest DeKalb won its fifth state title in nine seasons. Photos by Travis Hudgons

Daisa Alexander led the team inscoring with 19 points.

Chantz Cherry goes up for alayup.

Cori Bostic had seven reboundsin the game.


11/20


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The Greenforest Christian AcademyEagles never let go of the bad tastethey had after losing to St. Francis in theClass A-Private championship game last

season.The Eagles used that loss as fuel to help

drive them back to the title game with the goal ofwinning. They did return to the state title game,

against St. Francis, and accomplished their goal.The Eagles defeated St. Francis 78-66 towin the Class A-Private championship on March5 at the Macon Centreplex. The state title isGreenforest’s second title in four seasons. Headcoach Larry Thompson, who was an assistantcoach on last year’s team, said the team wentnto the game remembering that losing feelingrom last year.

“They didn’t want to have that feeling againhat we had in the locker room this time last

year,” Thompson said. “That was in the back ofheir minds the whole entire way. They wantedo come out, especially my seniors, and go out

as champions, and that’s exactly what they didoday.”

Greenforest, the No. 1-ranked team in Class

A-Private, faced a St. Francis team with the No.-ranked player in the state, Kobi Simmons.

Simmons averaged 26.5 points per game thisseason on a 62 shooting percentage.

Although Simmons scored 31 points, mostlyrom the free-throw line, in the championship

game, he was 8 of 25 from the eld and 3 of7 from the three-point arc. Greenforest seniororward Precious Ayah said he and the other

players were given an assignment coming intohe game to keep Simmons from getting hot.

“We had to get the ball out of his hands andhat’s basically what we did,” Ayah said. “We hado limit his touches because we know St. Franciss built around him. We had an assignment,which was that, and we had to come out and

execute it.”“He’s a guy that when he gets touches in hiscomfort zone he’s going to hurt you,” Thompsonsaid about Simmons. “He’s an incredibleballplayer; we knew he was going to score. Wewanted to make sure that when he caught theball it was not right at the three-point line togive us time to come and double-team him. Wewanted to front him, face guard him all night longand keep the ball out of his hands and keep him

as uncomfortable as possible.”Greenforest’s defense held St. Francis to a

30.2 shooting percentage from the eld and 33.3percent from the three-point arc.

Greenforest shot 40.9 percent from the eld,led by senior guard John Ogwuche who scored27 points. Ogwuche said it felt good to nish hishigh school career as a champion.

“I feel blessed to be among this group ofguys,” Ogwuche said. “It’s a dream come true forme.”

Thompson said he is proud of how hisseniors played.

“They grew up today,” Thompson said. “Ifthey weren’t grown already then they grew uptoday. John Ogwuche played incredible. Hecarried us the entire second half. Our pointguards fouled out, but he just said ‘not today.’He said there was no way we were losing thisbasketball game and he persevered. He wantedthe ball in his hands and he made play after play.I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

Class A-Private girls’ title game

The Greenforest Lady Eagles suffered theirrst loss of the season with a 63-37 loss to St.

Francis in the Class A-Private title game onMarch 5 at the Macon Centreplex.It was the team’s rst trip to a state title

game in program history after having its rstundefeated season and winning its rst regiontitle. Despite the championship loss, CoachAllison Prather said she was proud of the teamand what the players accomplished this season.

“We accomplished all of our goals that we setforth in the beginning of the season, except for

Sweet revengeGreenforest knocks off defendingchamps to win state title

one,” she said. “I’m proud of them for ghtingand not giving up. It’s a hard loss because wehaven’t lost this year. So it’s hard but I’m proudof them.”

Sophomore Chioma Nnamani led the teamin scoring with 17 points and nine rebounds.

Greenforest won its second state title in four seasonsafter beating defending champions St. Francis. Photosby Travis Hudgons

Abayomi Lyiola holds up the Class A-Private statechampionship trophy.

John Ogwuche led Greenforest with 27 points.


12/20


Tucker girls fall to McEachern in 6A title game

GHSA Continued From Page 10A

Former Tucker footballplayer diesby Carla Parker [email protected]

The Tucker High School community ismourning the loss of a former student andstandout football player.

The Tucker football Twitter account an-nounced March 1 that Solomon Jackson passed away that morning. Jackson, asophomore defensive end for the Univer-sity of Buffalo football team, was hospi-talized Feb. 21 after suffering a medicalemergency during a conditioning session,according The Spectrum, the university’sstudent newspaper.

The newspaper said Jackson was incritical condition on Feb. 22, but no updatewas given on his condition.

Jackson played in 19 games for Buf-falo where he accumulated 16 total tack-

les, three tackles for a loss and two sacks.During his senior year at Tucker in 2012,Jackson had 33 total tackles, four sacksand 10 tackles for a loss.

Tucker football coach Bryan Lamarsaid Jackson was more than a talentedfootball player.

“He was a great kid,” Lamar said. “Hewas a leader, a hard worker, [and] he hadan infectious personality. He had a hugesmile on his face all the time. He wastalented but more so he was just a greatperson.”

Lamar said he will miss Jackson’ssmile the most.

“Every time you would see him he[had] this huge smile on his face,” Lamarsaid. “He was just a jovial person, he wasa fun kid. We’re going to miss that energyfrom him.”


The Tucker Lady Tigers did not haveenough to top McEachern and fell 71-51 tothe now three-time defending champions inthe Class AAAAAA title game on March 5 atthe Macon Centreplex.

After being down 15-9 in the rst quarter,

Tucker went on a 15-14 run in the secondquarter to come within a ve-point decit athalftime.

However, McEachern opened the thirdquarter on a 7-0 run to pull away for the20-point victory. Tucker coach Robin Potter said after the game that despite the loss herteam had a great season.

“We talked about at the beginning [of theseason] getting back to the championshipgame,” Potter said. “We were returningnearly the whole team. We graduated two[players] last year, so I knew we were seniorheavy and we would be very competitive.

Adding Kierra Johnson-Graham and JaylaMorrow really solidied the whole group. Wedid it. We got back, even though I think we

were not expected to necessarily. We proveda lot of naysayers wrong, but McEachern isa great team.”

Morrow and Najla Shamsid-Deen ledthe team in scoring with 15 points each.Shamsid-Deen added 10 rebounds andJohnson-Graham led the team in reboundingwith 12.

game, they shot 26.4percent from the eld.Southwest DeKalb shot66.7 percent from theree throw line, which

was slightly better thants season average of 57

percent.Southwest DeKalbcoach Kathy Waltonsaid the placement ofhe backboards was

unfortunate and shouldhave never happened.

“Although, the 2016GHSA state basketballournament is over and is

now in the history books,believe the placement ofhe backboards affectedhe quality of play,”Walton said. “I don’tbelieve the teams thatplayed this past weekendwere able to put their bestoot forward, nor given a

chance to showcase theamazing basketball talentn the state of Georgia.”

The team’s twoop scorers—Daisa

Alexander (8 of 29) andJada Walton (2 of 25)—did not have their bestshooting performance inhe championship game.

Coach Walton said sheand her team knew duringwarm-up somethingwas off with the basket

placement.“However, at thatme, we had more

pressing issues, in gettingprepared for the game,and chose to blockhat out,” she said. “Ashe game progressed,

it was apparent thatthe placement of thebackboards was affectingour play. Some ofthe players made theadjustment by telling eachother there was a depth

perception adjustmentthey had to make.However, towards the endof the game, because ourshooting percentage wasso horrible, I nally hadto instruct the players notto take any more outsideshots.”

Greenforest girls’basketball coach AllisonPrather said her playerswere upset about missingtheir free throws.

“Even when theymade adjustments theirshots were still short,”Prather said. “I thinkGHSA should have takencare of this as soon asthey were made aware ofthe situation.”

Greenforest shot 42.9percent from the freethrow line and was 26.4percent from the eld.

Phillips said that whilethe misplacement of thebaskets “was not an idealsituation, we think theconditions were fair for allthe teams.”

“And, more

importantly, it was thesame for all the teams,”he said. “We have plansto make sure this neverhappens again, but wehave no plans to changeanything that happenedthis week in Macon.”

Tucker alum Solomon Jackson died Feb. 29 after suffering amedical emergency during a conditioning session. Photo byTravis Hudgons

Tucker coach Robin Potter looks on as Tucker struggles with its offensive against McEachern. Photo byTravis Hudgons


13/20


Organization helps build shelters to rebuild livesby Kathy Mitchell

A

shelter operated bySolomon’s Temple,a southwest Atlanta

organization that providesransitional housing to women and

children, recently received a freshpaint job and other improvementswith help from Tucker-basedHomeAid Atlanta and workers fromSherwin-Williams’ Pro Paintersnstitute Painter Training Program.

The project, which wascompleted Feb. 24, is the rst ofapproximately 10 HomeAid AtlantaCare Days planned for 2016.Typically, we do six to 10 Care

Day projects a year,” said JeanHilyard, HomeAid Atlanta directorof community engagement.

HomeAid Atlanta, founded in2001, is a nonprot organizationhat assists homeless families andndividuals through housing andcommunity outreach. Housed inhe same building with the Greater

Atlanta Home Builders Association,HomeAid Atlanta works inpartnership with the association andother building industry organizationso provide charitable assistance tohe temporarily homeless.

Through Care Days, short-erm projects are completed using

volunteer labor and donatedmaterials. The Solomon’s Templeproject, for example, took six days.

In addition to its Care Days,HomeAid works year-round toeduce the cost of construction andemodeling for organizations that

serve homeless people. Hilyardcited another recent project throughwhich HomeAid was able to reducehe cost to the service provider of

building a shelter by 45 percentbecause of industry donations.

“With charitable organizations,every dollar counts, so reducinghe cost of building or remodeling

a facility by 40, 50, 60 percent ormore means there is more moneyavailable to help the serviceprovider’s clients,” Hilyard said.On Care Days, 100 percent of the

costs are covered through donatedmaterials and volunteer labor, andor larger projects, the costs are

signicantly reduced.”HomeAid Atlanta is an afliate

of HomeAid, started in 1989 inCalifornia by a building industryassociation that invited its memberso give products and service to

community nonprots. The nationalorganization now has 16 chaptersn communities throughout theUnited States.

“They discovered that manycompanies prefer giving this way

o simply donating money,” Hilyardexplained, adding that donations ofmaterials and labor from local andnational partners make large andsmall projects possible.

“Those in the building andremodeling industries already have

the expertise to build and renovateshelters for America’s homelessfamilies. Many people working inthose industries are willing to givetheir time and skill to help theircommunities,” she said. “Evenofce workers, who may not havespecic construction skills such asplumbing or electrical work, oftenhelp with cleaning and painting.

“One of our challenges is tomatch the needs of a serviceprovider with the volunteer help anddonated materials that are offered,”she added.

Many circumstances leavepeople in need of temporary shelter,

including domestic violence andabuse, job loss, readjustmentafter military service and naturalor manmade disasters, she said.These are the people HomeAid

seeks to help, Hilyard explained,adding “HomeAid takes great pride

in assisting families with obtainingdignied housing, whether we’rebuilding a new facility or helpingupgrade a current one.”

Hilyard cited DecaturCooperative Ministries (DCM), atransitional housing program witheight homes in DeKalb County, asone of several nonprots HomeAid

Atlanta works with to return peopleto stable lives.

In a statement quoted onHomeAid Atlanta’s website, BethVan of DCM said, “Several yearsago two of the older homes usedby the program were in need ofrenovation and repair. HomeAid

and its partners upgraded thehouses, made them more energyefcient and the space much morefunctional and family friendly.”

The website also quotes

a client of DCM who was ableto rebuild her life because of a

partnership between HomeAid Atlanta and DCM. “My nancialsituation took a deep spiraldownward and I just could notkeep up with anything. I felt sodepressed, but when I saw theHomeAid Atlanta-built Glenhillhome, my spirits lifted,” the womanstates. “The home was beautiful.DCM offered counseling, nancialclasses, group support, homenecessities and clothing. Sincebeing at DCM I feel like I’ve had anew birth. My children are so happynow and I must say it’s becausetheir mother is happy, too.”

Since its inception, HomeAid

Atlanta has completed 53 housing,remodeling and care day projects.

For more information, visit www.homeaidatlanta.org.

Picnic tables, playground equipment and other upgrades are added at a nonprofit facility thanks to volunteers from Paran Homes.

Volunteers from Paran Homes, Smith Douglas Homes, Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association and other organizations displaya sign that summarizes their commitment to projects to help the homeless.


14/20


Community park gets chess tablesby Andrew [email protected]

Flat Shoals Park, in unincor-porated Decatur, has two newchess tables, thanks to park

supporters.The two metal tables with

built-in benches on each sideare the result of efforts byFriends of Flat Shoals Park.

The idea for the tables camerom Cherry Ridge Subdivision

homeowners’ association.“When we were in the pro-

cess of laying out the designor the park, we met with many

of the subdivisions around hereo talk about what was goingo be in the park—what they

wanted, what they didn’t want,”said Rochelle Callender ,president of the park group.

Seniors suggested the

chess tables, Callender said,but the idea was put on thebackburner for ve years.

Recently, Friends of FlatShoals Park submitted a grantapplication to Park Pride, anonprot organization thathelps communities improveheir parks. Park Pride gave

Friends of Flat Shoals Park a$1,600 matching grant towardhe $3,600 cost for the tables

and their installation.“We raised the remaining

money through the businessesn the community,” Callendersaid.

The tables will only be used

or games—posted signs readNo Picnicking.”

The ve-year-old parkalready has several picnicables, in addition to tennis

courts, a half-mile tness walk-ng trail with outdoor exercisestations, two playgrounds, pa-vilion, gazebo and clubhouse.

Callender said the chessables will aid in children’s edu-

cation.“We know that there is a

big push for our students,especially African-Americanstudents, to get focused inSTEM—science, technology,engineering and math,” Callen-

der said.“It is a fact...that games like

chess foster that analyticalhinking which aids in math

concepts,” Callender said.Children are learning chessn the chess clubs afterschool and parents andadults...play, so this is a greatntergenerational station.

“When people come to thepark, it’s not just about sittingn the pavilion and havingnothing else to do, except forhe children,” she said. “We

want to have things that theadults and families can doogether.”

Flat Shoals Park is locatedbehind the county-ownedCommunity AchievementCenter, 4522 Flat ShoalsParkway.

Friends of Flat Shoals Park raised $3,600 to purchase two chess tables. Photo provided

Because the table will only be used for games, “No picnicking” signs are posted. Photo by Andrew Cauthen

Commissioners Larry Johnson and Judge Angela Brown play a game of chess. Photo provided


15/20


PUBLIC NOTICENOTICE OF AVAILABILITY

DeKalb County Community Development Department2015 Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER)

The DeKalb County Community Development Department is preparing to submit its Consolidated AnnualPerformance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) to the United States Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment (HUD). The report covers the status of activities and programs carried out through the use ofCommunity Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), andEmergency Shelter Grant (ESG) funds during the most recently completed program year that endedDecember 31, 2015.

The Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report is available for citizens’ review andcomments at the office of DeKalb’s Community Development Department upon request as of March 1, 2016at the following address:

DeKalb County Community Development Department330 W. Ponce de Leon Avenue, 6

th Floor

Decatur, GA 30030Telephone: 404-371-2727

The office hours are 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.Contact: Byron K. Campbell, Grants and Administrative Manager

The CAPER will be available at the local lib raries listed below as of March 8, 2016(Written comments should be submitted to the 330 W. Ponce de Leon Avenue address.)

All locations are accessible to persons with disabilities.The document may also be reviewed at the DeKalb County libraries listed below.

Please contact the libraries for hours of operation.

Chamblee Branch4115 Clairmont Road, Chamblee(770-936-1380)

Decatur Branch215 Sycamore Street, Decatur(404-370-3070)

Redan-Trotti Branch1569 Wellborn Road, Lithonia(770-482-3821)

Wesley Chapel-William C. Brown Branch2861 Wesley Chapel Road, Decatur(404-286-6980)

Food drive nets tons of donations

The annual DeKalb County Food Drive to replenish theshelves of the Atlanta Community Food Bank has beendeemed a great success after a total of 4,756 pounds wascollected from barrels at DeKalb County public librariesand government buildings, according to a news release.

The donations will provide approximately 4,000 mealsto families and seniors in need. Additionally, $100 wasraised through online contributions. These funds will alsogo toward helping DeKalb County residents through thefood bank.

DeKalb County Commissioner Kathie Gannon or-

ganized the food drive, with sponsorship from Clerk ofSuperior Court Debra DeBerry, Solicitor General SherryBoston, Tax Commissioner Irvin Johnson, Clerk of StateCourt Melanie Wilson, and the DeKalb County Public Li-brary system.

A former MARTA employee and pastcandidate for county commission and CEOhas decided to drop his candidacy forDeKalb County CEO.

Calvin Sims, who currently serves onDeKalb County Parks and Cultural AffairsCitizen Advisory Board, stated in an email

o The Champion, “I am writing to informyou that I have withdrawn my candidacy forDeKalb County CEO, and I am putting mysupport behind Michael Thurmond.”

Sims ran unsuccessfully for countycommission in 2008 and the CEO’s positionn 2004.

Announced candidates for DeKalbCounty CEO include Thurmond andConnie Stokes.

Thurmond is a former state laborcommissioner who served as thesuperintendent of the DeKalb CountySchool District from February 2013 to June

2015Stokes is a former state senator andcounty commissioner who in 2014 wasthe state Democratic Party nominee forlieutenant governor.

Qualifying for all races continuesthrough March 11.

One county CEO candidate drops out

High school student fatally shot


DeKalb County police have identied

a teen shot and killed March 2 as 17-year-old Rakwon Reid.

Reid was a student at StephensonHigh School, according to DeKalbCounty School District spokesman Quinn

Hudson. According to DeKalb County Police

Major Stephen Fore, ofcers responded toa call of a person shot at 722 Shore Drivein Lithonia at approximately 9:15 p.m.

“When the ofcers arrived, they founda 17-year-old male victim lying on theground suffering from a gunshot wound tothe chest area,” Fore said. “EMS arrivedand the victim was pronounced dead at thescene.”

Fore said family members at the scenesaid after hearing several gunshots theywent outside and found Reid lying onthe ground. Fore said the investigation isongoing.


16/20


PET

WEEKOF THE

Dusty ID# 30283013 is a happy guy who willnever fail to make you smile. This friendly and cutethree-year-old boy is very smart and learns quickly withtreats. He has lots of friends here at the shelter andwould make a great canine brother to any dog. He isalso affectionate and cannot wait to meet you and beyour friend!

Dusty qualifies for our March “Adopt a LuckyCharm” promotion. Adoption is only $40 for dogsover 25 lbs. and $25 for all cats! Adoption includesspay/neuter, vaccinations, microchip and more! If you

would like more information about Dusty please [email protected] or call (404) 294-2165. All potential adopters will be screened to ensureDusty goes to a good home.

by Andrew [email protected]

A39-year-old non-prot that focuseson early learninghas changed its

name for the third time.To succinctly communi-

cate its mission. ScottdaleEarly Learning Inc. has

shortened its name fromScottdale Childhood Devel-opment Center and FamilyResource Center of CentralDeKalb.

“Over the years thatname had become a littleunwieldy and it can behard for people to under-stand what all we do,” saidMaryum Lewis, executivedirector for the organiza-on. “Now people talk about

early learning and that iswhat we are all about for allof our programs.

“We wanted to keep the

Scottdale name because its a big part of our history,”Lewis added.

In 1977, the organiza-on began as Scottdale

Day Care.“We were in the Tobie

Grant housing project,”Lewis said. “We were justserving in that community.”

In 1996, the centermoved to its current loca-on, at 479 Warren Ave. inhe Scottdale community.

“When they expandedo this location, the name

expanded to reect thathey were doing more,”Lewis said. That’s when itbecame Scottdale Child-hood Development Center

and Family Resource Cen-ter of Central DeKalb.

“Our board of direc-tors felt a strategic namechange would highlight ourongoing focus on the im-portance of early childhoodeducation,” Lewis said in astatement. “Along with thename, we have a new logoand a comprehensive new

website created by a teamof talented digital marketingprofessionals who donatedtheir time through 48in48,where some of Atlanta’smost innovative thinkersbuilt 48 websites for 48nonprots in 48 hours.”

Scottdale Early Learn-ing Inc. has three mainprograms. The Scottdaleschool, the nonprot’s mainlocation, provides early careand education for childrenfrom 6 weeks to 5 yearsold, Lewis said.

The program has Head

Start and Early Head Startprograms, and uses a slid-ing scale for low incomefamilies “with the wholegoal being that regard-less of a family’s income,their child has access tohigh-quality early learning,”Lewis said.

The program is accred-ited by National Associationfor the Education of YoungChildren. “Only about 8 per-cent of centers nationwideare accredited,” Lewis said.

Scottdale School serves

up to 90 children at a timeand approximately 150each year.

Scottdale Early Learn-ing also has community-

based programs, includingits Parents as Teachersprogram, which serves 75families.

“That program goes intothe homes of low incomefamilies with very youngchildren between 0 and 3years old,” Lewis said. “Theconcept is that parents aretheir child’s rst teacher.

And these are parents whoare not going to use thecenter because maybemom is home or she canwork it out with a familymember.

“We have parent educa-tors that go into the homeand work with the parent ontools and techniques theycan use to keep their childdevelopmentally on trackand ready for kindergarten,”Lewis said.

The third major programof Scottdale Early Learningis Clarkston Ready School,

“an early learning programfor Arabic-speaking chil-dren,” Lewis said.

Scottdale Early Learn-ing is funded by DeKalbCounty, Head Start, Brightfrom the Start, Early HeadStart and United Way in ad-dition to private and corpo-rate donations.

The nonprot’s goal“is that children will startschool ready to learn,”Lewis said. “We want themto go to kindergarten andbe fully prepared. If chil-

dren go to kindergarten andthey’re not ready, then theyquickly fall behind and wehave to do remedial thingswhich are less effective.”

In the future, ScottdaleEarly Learning is “lookingto deepen what we offer tothe community. We want tomake sure we are still beingvery pointed in the way weoffer services to low-incomefamilies,” Lewis said.

Additionally, the non-

prot wants to be “smartin terms of our communitybased support. We’re look-ing to add partnerships inways that can deepen theway families are supportedin early learning evenoutside bringing a child to acenter,” Lewis said.

Nonprofit serving young children gets new nameScottdale Early Learning Center serves approximately 150 children per year at its main building.Photos by by Andrew Cauthen

Tessa Loperfido, left, and Brooklyn-Rose Prempeh pose withMaryum Lewis, executive director of Scottdale Early Learning.

Right, Ronan Critchlow looks at the camera while the classeslistens to a story.


17/20

EDUCATION The Champion FREE PRESS, Friday, March 11, 2016 • Page 17A

DeKalb nutrition official lobbies for schoolsby R. Scott Belzer [email protected]

Considering thenumbers, it may

seem easy todetermine the

mportance of schoolnutrition in DeKalb County.

The DeKalb CountySchool District isesponsible for providing

73,500 lunches and26,300 breakfasts per day,according to its website.These 99,800 daily mealseventually equal 18 millionper school year. As of2015, the district setsaside approximately $50

million for school nutrition,covering costs ranging fromhealthy meals to properequipment.

According to JoyceWimberly, DeKalbCounty School District’sexecutive director of schoolnutrition services, withhe increase in meal and

health standards, this is notenough.

From Feb. 28 toMarch 1, Wimberlyoined hundreds of othernutrition directors inWashington D.C. for the44th annual LegislativeAction Conference hostedby the School NutritionAssociation (SNA), anonprot organizationepresenting 56,000 school

districts throughout thecountry.

For three days,Wimberly joined theGeorgia SNA, whichepresents 6,000 nutrition

ofcials across thePeachtree State.

“[Attending theconference] gives me anopportunity to networkwith other districts anddirectors,” Wimberly said.It gives me opportunitieso discuss the challenges

school districts are havingn terms of funding.”

According to anews release from theorganization, SNA’smain goal in hostinghe conference is toobby the Child Nutrition

Reauthorization bill. Thebill would see federalnvestment in schoolmeals and help provide

healthier menus to studentsstatewide.Wimberly said the

conference would helpher seek

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