FreePress 10-3-14

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

1/20

championnewspaper championnewspaper champnewspaperchampionnews

hechampionnewspaper.com

FRIDAY, OCT. 3, 2014 VOL. 17, NO. 28 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 Fire Chiefs on page 13A

See Ellis on page 13A

Yes man testifies against Ellisby Andrew [email protected]

Courtroom spectators in the corruptiontrial against suspended CEO BurrellEllisgasped when the states key witness re-

erred to Ellis as like a murderer.Te comment occurred Sept. 24 as ormer

procurement director KelvinWaltonwas beingquestioned by LawandaHodges, deputy chie

assistant district attorney at DeKalb County Dis-trict Attorneys Office, about a secret recordingplayed in court.

In his testimony, Walton said he was told byEllis to dry up the work o Power and Energy, acompany that serviced generators or the county.Te company had declined to make a donation toEllis campaign.

We stopped giving them work, Walton said.Tats just like a murderer, you know.Te jury was rushed out afer the comment andan Ellis attorney asked or a mistrial, saying Wal-ton has rung a bell that cant be unrung.

Judge CourtneyJohnsonwarned spectatorsagainst audible gasps like the one heard aferWaltons like a murderer statement. She also

denied the motion or a mistrial.

Ellis is acing our counts o criminal attemptto commit thef by extortion; three counts othef by taking; two counts o criminal attemptto commit alse statements and writings; threecounts o coercion o other employees to give

anything o value or political purposes; onecount o conspiracy in restraint o ree and opencompetition; and one count o conspiracy to de-

by Carla [email protected]

On Sept. 1, the DecaturFire Departmentpromoted StephanieBurtonto deputy ire

chie, making her the irst womano hold this position.

Burton, 40, was promotedby Decatur Fire Chie Toni

Washington, who is thedepartments irst woman irechie. Washington said she wasexcited to promote Burton, and shes excited about what is to come.

he best part about all o thiswas I was able to promote withinhe department and not open the

process up to external candidates,Washington said. We have hithe ground running. here is atrategic plan, we have a vision and

were working hard to make somechanges that we eel will beneitour department.

Along with her duties asdeputy chie, Burton will continue

o provide ire prevention andeducation as the citys ire marshal.

he previous Deputy Fire ChieTim Hatcherretired at the end oAugust.

Burton has nearly 15 years oexperience in ire services. Beoreshe became a ireighter, she was apolice oicer in Valdosta.

I got into that because Iwanted to teach the Drug Abuse

Resistance Education programto kids, Burton said. However,coming into the doors o the policedepartment, it takes you a whileto transition to dierent careerswithin the department. So, I madethe switch to the ire departmentbecause once you walk in the

door youre teaching rom thebeginning. I enjoy the teaching

aspects, prevention and educationo the ire department.

She transerred to the DecaturFire Department in 2004 andworked her way up to her newposition. Burton said she had agoal to have a chie position within10 years o starting her career.

I made it within 10 years herein Decatur, Burton said. Ivebeen in ire services longer, and I

had to start over, but I still think Iacquired my goal.For Washington, who has 22

years o experience in ire services,becoming a ireighter was notsomething she always wanted todo. When she graduated romcollege, she got a job at the statesFire Marshal Oice as an at-willemployee.

As the commissioners changedI needed a job, and because Ihad been working with the iredepartments all over the state[and] being heavily recruited, the46-year-old said. hey neededwomen at the time, so that was

Decatur Fire makes history with women in top leadership positions

Decatur Fire Chief Toni Washington, left, and Deputy Fire Chief Stephanie Burtonare the rst women to hold the top positions in the Decatur Fire Department.

From left, former county procurement director Kelvin Walton testied against his former boss, suspendedDeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis. Photos by Andrew Cauthen

Education .....................15A

Business ........................16A

Sports...................... 18-20A

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

Classified .......................17A

QUICK FINDER

LOCAL, 10ALOCAL, 9A

SHRED ON: SKATERSRAISE MONEY FORCHARITIES

GROUPS BRING ISLANDCULTURE TO DEKALB

SPORTS, 18A

ANDRE BROWN:QUARTERBACK OFOFFENSE AND DEFENSE

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

2/20

Page 2A The Champion FreePress, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014

LOCAL

Second annual Heart of South DeKalb festival

A BETTER WAY FORWARD

Launch youreducational future.

visit gpc.edu/secondhalf

Its not too late to register or apply for second-half classes at Georgia Perimeter

College. You have until September 22 to submit all documents. Nows your chance to

join more than 21,000 students who call GPC home.

Second-half fall classes start October 13, so what are you waiting for?

- . :

The second annual Heart of South DeKalb Festival was held Sept. 27 in the parking lot of the Gallery at South DeKalb Mall. Organized by Paula Tate and sponsored byDeKalb District 3 Commissioner Larry Johnson, the free, family-friendly event included a parade, bands, vendors, food, a kids zone, car show, stage entertainment, perfor-mances and more. Tate said the event highlights all that is good about South DeKalb. Photos by Travis Hudgons

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

3/20

The Champion FreePress, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014 Page 3ALOCAL

DeKalb police academy graduates 100th classy Carla [email protected]

he DeKalb County Police De-

partment increased its orce by15 ater celebrating the 100thPolice Academy graduation class.

he new 15 oicers, includingormer DeKalb Police Chie William

OBriens son Bradley, receive theiradges and took the oath o oice

during their graduation ceremonyept. 26 at Porter Sanord III Per-orming Arts Center.

he decision to take the oath oice to become a police oicer is

not one entered into lightly, interimChie James Conroysaid. I applaudhese dedicated men and women

who are committed to serving thisDepartment and community withhonor and courage.

he new oicers went through26 weeks o intensive training at thepolice academy. hey now will com-plete an additional eight12 weeks o

training in the ield. Interim DeKalbCEO Lee May, who was unable toattend the ceremony, told the oi-cers in a prerecorded video that thecounty needs the new oicers to besuccessul.

I believe my job as the interimCEO is to give you the resources thatyou need to be successul, May said.Because when youre successul,DeKalb County is a saer place.

he new oicers will join 123 o-icers that has been hired so ar thisyear, which is an increase comparedto last year. he department plansto have 160 more sworn oicers and100 more patrol cars on the street bythe end o the year.

East Lake Farmers Market closesy Carla [email protected]

he East Lake Farmers Markets no longer in business.

he market, which opened

April 2009, was held every Satur-day rom April through October athe corner o Second Avenue and

Hosea Williams Drive near the At-anta communities o East Lake and

Kirkwood, and the Decatur com-munity o Oakhurst. Doug Wil-iams, board president o the arm-rs market, announced Sept. 23 onhe markets Facebook page that the

marketclosed or the season Aug. 1due to changes in personnel.

he early closure was a toughdecision, Williams said. An evenougher one has been to accept that

we do not have the resources to

keep this enterprise going. We apol-gize or any inconveniences thislosure has caused, and we thank

you or your community support.Williams said there was some

urnover on the board, and theoard is struggling to replace mem-

bers to run the market.In order or our market to run

well, there needs to be at least 40hours a week o behind-the-sceneswork to support the market man-ager, Williams said. Marketing,

undraising, social media, account-ing and other needs have to be metto be our best.

Williams explained how themarket suered in seasons ive andsix due to low volunteer hours.Vendor participation and atten-dance dropped as well.

At this point, the market doesnot have the volunteer or staingresources needed to properly sup-port it, he said.

he board plans to keeps itsbooks opened or a ew monthsor any outstanding vendor checksto clear.

We will close the books andold the organization by the holi-days, Williams said. Any remain-ing unds, assets and resourceswill be given over to the East LakeCommunity Garden.

The East Lake Farmers Market is shutting down after ve years in business. Photoprovided

Fifteen DeKalb County Police ofcers were a part of the 100th Police Academygraduation class. Photo by Carla Parker

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

4/20

The Champion FreePress, Friday Oct. 3, 2014 Page 4AOPINIONLetter to the Editor

Civility in the communityOn Sept. 19, 2014, The

Champion Newspapereatured aetter to the editor titled, Dismay

over Zoning Vote. he letter waswritten by Donald Broussardupposedly in response to a decision

by the DeKalb Zoning Board oAppeals (ZBA).

he appeal reerred to byDonald Broussard that waspresented to the ZBA on Sept. 10,2014, was an administrative appealand this matter was voted on by theboard.

I believe that this letter to theeditor was written to smear myname and other members o theZBA.

he act is, as chairman o theZBA, I pride mysel in ensuring thatall individuals appearing beore theboard on a monthly basis receive a

air and impartial hearing no matterwhat their station in lie might beand regardless o what organization

or business interest they mayrepresent.

Any suggestions that the ZBAis inluenced by considerationsother than the law are totally alseand without any oundation. Aschairman o the ZBA, I make sureeveryone who appears beore theboard, is measured by the sameyardstick. he attorneys whorepresent the applicants will tell youthis or ree. But Donald Broussardis not interested in the truth. In act,based on his record, he has a seriousproblem associating himsel with

the truth.Decisions made by the ZBA

are based on our interpretation owell-deined county ordinances.

We consult with our board attorneyon concerns should a gray areaappear. he ZBA decisions may not

be avorable on each application;however, the applicant is aordedan opportunity to seek an appeal.he applicant may appeal a ZBAdecision by petitioning the SuperiorCourt o DeKalb County within 30days ater the ZBAs decision hasbeen rendered.

For the record, during my eightyears o service on the ZBA, ewZBA decisions have been appealedto the Superior Court o DeKalbCounty. Since I became chairman othe ZBA, even ewer ZBA decisionshave been appealed to the Superior

Court o DeKalb County.here is too much ugliness and

hatred, too much mean-spiriteddiscord and zero-sum politics being

spread and it is destroying theabric o our county. I have chosento promote civility in diicult

dialogues on a number o criticalsocial issues. My character andintegrity are well known throughoutDeKalb County. hereore, I reallydo not need to deend mysel, butI do want people who lie on me toknow, as Rhett Butler said, Frankly,my dear, I dont give a damn whatyou think. I will continue to serveas chairman o the ZBA or DeKalbCounty to the best o my ability. Iwill continue to stand up or what isright and just and or the quality olie o all citizens in DeKalb County,Georgia.

Darryl Jennings Sr.Chairman, Zoning Board o Appeals

DeKalb County

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

5/20

OPINIONThe Champion FreePress, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014 Page 5A

Let Us Know What You Think!

THE CHAMPION FREE PRESSencourages opinions from its readers.Please write to us and express your views. Letters should be brief, type-written and contain the writers name, address and telephone numberfor verification. All letters will be considered for publication.

Send Letters To Editor, The Champion Free Press, P. O. Box 1347, Decatur, GA 30031-1347; Send email to [email protected] FAX To: (404) 370-3903 Phone:(404) 373-7779 . Deadline for news releases and advertising: Thursday, one week priorto publication date.

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.

Publisher:John HewittChief Financial Ocer: Dr. Earl D. GlennManaging Editor: Andrew CauthenProduction Manager: Kemesha HuntPhotographer: Travis HudgonsSta Reporters: Carla Parker, Lauren RamsdellAdvertising Sales: Louise Dyrenforth Acker

The Champion Free Press is published each Friday by ACE IIICommunications, Inc., 114 New Street, Suite E, Decatur, GA.

30030 Phone (404) 373-7779.

www.championnewspaper.com

DISPLAY ADVERTISING (404) 373-7779 x 110

FREEPRESS

STATEMENT FROM THE PUBLISHERWe sincerely appreciate the discussion surrounding this andany issue of interest to DeKalb County. The Championwasfounded in 1991 expressly to provide a forum for discourse

for allcommunity residents on all sides of an issue. We haveno desire to make the news only to report news and opinionsto effect a more educated citizenry that will ultimately moveour community forward. We are happy to present ideas fordiscussion; however, we make every effort to avoid printinginformation submitted to us that is known to be false and/orassumptions penned as fact.

ONE MANS OPINION

Come walk a mile in a smile at the Buddy Walk

Dont walk behind me; I maynot lead. Dont walk in front of me; Imay not follow. Just walk beside meand be my friend.Albert Camus,1913-1960) a French-Algerian

Nobel Prize winning author,ournalist and philosopher.

Albert Camusmay never haveattended a Buddy Walk, but hecertainly captured the essence ohe day. Across America this year,

dozens o Buddy Walks will raiseunds, riends and awareness or

our nations Down syndrome com-munity. Down syndrome, the mostcommon genetic chromosomalbirth disorder, still occurring inoughly one out o every 1,000

births, was irst documented anddiscovered by Dr. John LangdonDown(1828-1896) in the UnitedKingdom as a speciic mental dis-ability in 1862.

Our younger daughter Oliviahas Down syndrome, and you o-en hear, particularly among Down

children growing up, that they wishhe good doctor had been namedUp and that their syndrome

would thus be called Up syn-drome. More oten than not, it hascertainly been that way in our un-

conventional amily since Oliviasarrival on July 1, 2007.

As a nation, we have largelyended the massive institutional-

ization o Down syndrome adultsand children, though there are stillless enlightened parts o the worldwhere that is not the case. Per-haps more than any single requestmost Down syndrome childrenand adults share is simply to beaccepted, welcomed and treated

just like anyone else. Cognition,speech skills and ability to live andunction independently can varyconsiderably, but the similarity omany physical markers and eaturesstill cause some to lump togetherand occasionally treat our belovedamily members as village idiots.

But not at the Buddy Walk.

housands o adults and kids withDown syndrome, their amilies andriends gather and spend the day ina love cloud that eels like a mile-long hug. Collectively, the BuddyWalks raise nearly $3 million peryear with the bulk o unds stayingin the local community where thewalks are held, unding Down syn-drome amily support and therapyservices, service and therapy cen-ters such as Gigis Playhouse At-lanta, and ongoing research to im-prove the health and independenceo those living with risomy 21 (thegenetic marker and cause o Down

syndrome).We would love to have youconsider joining us or the At-

lanta Buddy Walk, this upcomingSunday, Oct. 19, at 3 p.m., in Cen-tennial Olympic Park, or i yourcalendar or health does not permit,

then we would be honored to haveyou support this worthwhile causeand upliting day with a smalldonation. You can easily Googleand ind the Atlanta Buddy Walkonline, or support our Olivias e-orts and team directly here: www.ds-stride.org/atlantabuddywalk/proiles/team/OliviaandCompany.

he Atlanta Down syndromecommunity is oten joined byseveral hundred acing their ownmobility or other developmentalchallenges, including olks withcerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy,muscular sclerosis, Amyotrophiclateral sclerosis and autism, among

others. Whether walking, rolling orstrolling, they all seem to enjoy thecool all afernoon, as well as sim-ply enjoying each others company.

eams seek sponsors and sup-port or their short walk, and thecontributions are received by theDown Syndrome Association oAtlanta. Our team has been blessedwith many riends and supportersover the years, and is usually a pe-rennial top five undraising finisheramong the several hundred teams.

It is hard to ully put into wordsthe celebratory and loving mood othis day. Our loved ones are so o-

ten told or inormed by a world or-ever reminding them o what theycannot do. And yet there is so

very much that they can do and dowell. Te Buddy Walk ocuses manymore spotlights on those abilities,and orgives, at least or one day,

the challenges o their disabilities.Some make the walk with astruggling gait, others in wheel-chairs, and many o the youngerchildren run ahead o their par-ents, amily and riends, eager toclaim the gold medal that awaitsthem when crossing the finishline. Yes, everyone is a winner onthis day. You can be, too, in per-son, or in spirit; just walk along-side a ew thousand o our closestriends. Youll be glad you did. Be-sides relearning an appreciation orseveral o lies simplest pleasures,you will also be reminded o yourown good ortune and the good

health and wellness o the vastmajority o your riends and am-ily. And you may even make a ewdozen new riends, especially someo those kids with Up syndrome.

Bill Crane also serves as a politicalanalyst and commentator for Channel2s Action News, WSB-AM News/Talk 750 and now 95.5 FM, as wellas a columnist forThe Champion,Champion Free Press andGeorgiaTrend. Crane is a DeKalb native andbusiness owner, living in Scottdale.You can reach him or comment on a

column at [email protected].

Bill Crane

Columnist

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

6/20


LOCAL

If you would like to nominate someone to be

considered as a future Champion of the Week,

please contact Andrew Cauthen at andrew@

dekalbchamp.com or at (404) 373-7779, ext. 117.

Maureen andRoy Vandiverwerehonored recentlyat a special eventat DeKalb Medical

or their 40 years oeadership, visionand philanthropyhat has been criti-

cal to the successand growth o heDeKalb MedicalFoundation and DeKalb Medical.

he reception area o DeKalb MedicalsComprehensive Breast Center was named at theevent, in their honor, as a tribute to the inspira-ion and example o hope their lies journey has

given so many.We are so blessed to have the Vandivers as

part o our Foundation amily and as pillars ohe community and proponents o quality care

or everyone, said Leigh Minter, executive di-ector o the DeKalb Medical Foundation. hey

have been integral to the growth o the DeKalb

Medical Foundation and their caring spirit isevident throughout every inch o DeKalb Medi-cal and in each patient interaction.

A trained social worker and breast cancersurvivor, Maureen Vandiver has devoted her lie

to championing breast cancer, AIDS, seat beltlaws and the perils o smoking while serving asthe president o the DeKalb Medical AssociationAlliance, member o the Medical Association oGeorgia Alliance, program coordinator o theDeKalb Medical Cancer Center and chairwom-an o the DeKalb Medical Foundation.

We want to be good citizens o the hospitaland o our county, said Maureen, who was bornin Decatur and has lived there all o her lie.

DeKalb County and DeKalb Medical havegiven us a very rich and rewarding lie, and itstime to pay it back, added Roy Vandiver. Weare enthusiastic about the growth o DeKalbMedical and proud to do our part in helping ourcommunity have the best care and diagnostictests modern medicine can provide.

A well-respected neurosurgeon, Roy Van-diver has applied his medical moxy and leader-

ship to better understanding brain disease andbringing the latest innovations to DeKalb Medi-cal. He was elected chie o sta o DeKalb Med-ical in 1988, served as president o the DeKalbMedical Society, the Georgia Neurological Soci-

ety and the Medical Association o Georgia. Heserved as chairman o the political action com-mittee o the American Medical Association. In1999, Roy Vandiver let DeKalb Medical to be-come CEO and board chairman o the MagMu-tual Insurance Company, a proessional liabilitycompany, insuring some 17,000 physicians inthe southeast. He served in this capacity untilhe retired in 2011.

he couple has also been named Mr. andMrs. DeKalb by the American Heart Associa-tion.

MAUREEN AND ROY VANDIVER

Maureen and Roy Vandiver


A Brookhaven Police oicer is re-covering at home ater he was attackedby multiple yellow jackets Sept. 24.

While trying to catch a suspect, O-icer John Ritchstepped on a yellowjacket nest. He and his K-9 Grizz were

stung multiple times. Ritch was stungmore than 50 times.

Brookhaven spokesman Maj. Bran-don Gurleysaid Brookhaven Police re-ceived a call rom DeKalb County PoliceSept. 24 around 6:30 p.m. or assistanceon catching a suspect.

[DeKalb] had a patrol car on I-85in the area o North Druid Hills Roadthat was struck by a vehicle, Gurleysaid. he driver wrecked, got out andran on oot and entered the woods oNorth Druid and I-85 behind the Salva-tion Army building in Brookhaven. Sowe were called or assistance.

Gurley said Brookhaven oicers re-

sponded to the area and set up a perim-eter around the woods. Ritch respondedand entered the woods with Grizz tosearch or the suspect. hey located thesuspect hiding in the woods.

He was down in a hole area wherehe was saying that he had allen and washurt, Gurley said. he oicers were

trying to move to get in a better positionto be able to see him and make sure hedidnt have any weapons.

Brookhaven oicers had learnedrom DeKalb police that the man mayhave been a burglary suspect and pos-sibly armed, according to Gurley. Whiletrying to move into position to see thesuspect, Ritch stepped on a yellow jacket

nest.He was swarmed by hundreds, i

not, thousands o yellow jackets, Gurleysaid. hey were going in his clothes, hispants leg, in his mouth, anywhere thatthey could go.

Ritch had an immediate negativereaction to the stings, despite not beingallergic.

he medical sta at the hospitalindicated that anyone wouldve had areaction to this number o stings, Gur-ley said.

Ritch experienced tightening in hischest and had an increased heart rate.He was transported to Grady Memorial

Hospital by Brookhaven Oicer RussellChatham, who was also stung by yellowjackets while transporting Ritch. Cha-tham was treated and released rom thehospital that night.

he dog was taken to an emergencyveterinarian hospital where he was treat-ed and released.

Officer hospitalized for multiple stings

Brookhaven ofcer and dog: Brookhaven Police Ofcer John Ritch andhis K-9 dog Grizz were stung multiple times after Ritch stepped on ayellow jacket nest while chasing a suspect.

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

7/20

The Champion FreePress, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014 Page 7A

COMMUNITY

AROUNDDEKALB

Referendum committee to hostcommunity chats

The Brookhaven Redevelopment ReferendumCommunity will host a series of Community Chatvents to inform voters about the possibility of more

powerful and unaccountable government coming toBrookhaven this fall, according to an announcementabout the event.

The Redevelopment Powers Law referendum on theNov. 4 ballot will be discussed. The Community Chatwill feature guest speakers who will explain why theyhinkthe proposed law is not in the best interest of theesidents and taxpayers of Brookhaven. Attendees also

will have an opportunity to ask questions.The chats will be held Oct. 6, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at

616 Sunderland Circle; Oct. 14, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. atTHERE, pub, 305 Brookhaven Ave.; and Oct. 22, 7 to 9p.m. at 2709 Redding Road NE.

For more information, visit www.brookhavenrefer-ndum.org.

School to host food tastingevent

Arabia Mountain High School will host itsfourth Annual Taste of Arabia on Saturday, Nov.

1, at the school, located at 6610 Browns MillsRoad, Lithonia.

Doors will open at 3 p.m. and tastings willtake place in the commons area from 3 to 7 p.m.

Guests can visit with others in the commu-nity, tasting culinary treats, listen to music andcheer for their favorite competitor in the cookingcompetitions. Tasters will vote on the top threeculinary businesses at the end of the event.

Tickets are $1 for a taste and discountpackages start at $10. A tasting will consist ofa sampling of the restaurants cuisine. Ticketscan be purchased from the schools PTSA at theschools front office.

There is no fee to participate for anyone in-terested in showcasing his or her culinary busi-

ness. For more information, send an email [email protected].

NAACP to hold annual awards dinner

The DeKalb County Branch of the NAACP willhost its annual Freedom Fund Dinner on Oct. 18 atSaint Philip AME Church, 240 Candler Road S.E., At-anta.

The event will begin at 7 p.m., with doors openingat 6:30 p.m.

The keynote speaker will be XernonaClayton,ounder, president and CEO of the Trumpet Awards

Foundation. Emcees for the program will be AlexisScottand Bishop QuincyCarswell.

Honorees will include: Benjamin L. HooksAwardAdrienneWare; David C. Albert AwardAl Chatman; Thurgood Marshall AwardSen.SteveHenson; Patricia C. Jones Community Service

AwardNadine Ali; Narvie J. Harris AwardLanceHammonds; Thomas C. Wilson Youth ServicesAwardThe Enchanted Closet; Faith Based AwardRev. Darryl Roberts, pastor of Mt. Welcome Bap-ist Church; Medgar Wiley Evers Freedom Legacy

AwardDeKalb County Commissioner Larry John-on; John H. Evans Lifetime Achievement Award

Rev. Joseph Lowery, Rev. Jasper Williamsand Sen.Vincent Fort.

Church collecting shoes for Liberia

Clarkston First Baptist Church has partnered with TheSoul Project Inc. to collect 5,000 shoes (no heels) to sendo Liberia.

So far, we have collected about 200 pairs of shoes,nd we really want to reach our goal, states an announce-

ment from the church.The shoes will be donated to women, children and

men in Liberia who do not have shoes.

Shoes can be dropped off at the Clarkston First BaptistChurch Family Life Center, 4007 Church Street, Clarkston,rom 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4 and Saturday,

Oct. 11.For more information, call (404) 292-5686, ext. 239.

Church to hold annual barbecue

The 53rd annual Oak Grove United Method-ist Mens Barbecue will be held Saturday, Oct.18, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The fundraiser eventalso will include United Methodist Womensbake sale, arts and crafts, live bluegrass and gos-pel music and a used book sale.

Barbecue plates are available for takeout andeat-in. The cost is $10 for adults and $6 for chil-dren. Proceeds benefit 29 church and communitycauses.

Oak Grove United Methodist Church islocated at 1722 Oak Grove Road, Decatur, be-tween LaVista and Briarcliff roads.

Call (404) 636-7558 or visit www.ogumc.orgfor more information.

Church to hold pet blessingservice

Rev. TomHagoodof Columbia Presbyte-rian Church, 711 Columbia Drive, Decatur, in-vites residents to bring their pets for a blessingservice.

The service will be held on the front lawnof the church Oct. 4 at 10 a.m.

All Gods creatures are welcome, no mat-

ter if great or small, furry, feathery or scaly,states an announcement from the church.For more information, visit www.cpcdeca-

tur.org, email [email protected] or call (404) 284-2441.

National leadership speakerseries kicks off

The National Society of Leadership and Suc-cess, has announced that on Oct. 4, StephenBardo, sports analyst, author and former NBAplayer, will kick off its Broadcast Speaker Seriesat Georgia Perimeter College in partnership withDeVry Universitys Alpharetta and Decatur cam-puses, and Mercer University for the 2014-2015academic year.

Georgia Perimeter Colleges Dunwoodycampus is located at 2101 Womack Road, Dun-woody. Each event will begin at 7 p.m. Interac-tive broadcasts streaming live from the host cam-

puses will be available for over 400 society chap-ters, enabling all members to participate throughthe societys social media channels.

For more information or to attend a Broad-cast Speaker Series event, visit www.societylead-ership.org/events/speakers.

Decatur Dunwoody

Lithonia

County-wide

Brookhaven

Clarkston Photo by Travis HudgonsWilderness Act celebration atArabia Mountain

he Wilderness Act Perormance Series,scheduled orOct. 5, 4 to 7 p.m., at Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Center, 3787 KlondikeRd., Lithonia, will eature Myles Browncomposer; Connor Waycomposer; AbiKonnigpoet; Simon Saltphotographer andJanna Dudleyvisual artist. here is no charge toattend.

he Wilderness Act Perormance Series isa musical and artistic celebration o the 50th

Anniversary o the Wilderness Act o 1964.hrough the commissioning o new musicand art, this perormance series builds publicappreciation o the Wilderness Acts impact onnatural and cultural preservation.

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

8/20

The Champion FreePress, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014 Page 8ALOCAL NEWS

CDC official: Tackling Ebola could take a long timeby Andrew [email protected]

CDC: End Ebola Now was thechant o more than a dozen peopleSept. 26 across the street rom theCenters or Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC).he event was scheduled to

continue to raise the awareness owhats happening in West Arica,aid AlphaJabbie, the events

organizer. Whats happening inWest Arica is unacceptable. heecent prediction thats coming

rom the CDC is unacceptable1.4million people at risk o gettingnected and possibly 70 percent ohose people will die i the world

community doesnt step up and domore.

One thing the CDC can do iso work with the pharmaceutical

ndustry to ast-track a drug tocombat the disease, said Jabbie, anative o Sierra Leone, where morehan 1 million people have been

quarantined because o the disease.We know the drug is available

because the two doctors thathave been treated at Emorygot something, and we knowt available, Jabbie said. Is it

available or thousands, possiblymillions o people? We dont know?We know the United Statescando whatever it can to ast-track thatdrug.

Dazia Fumbah, a Liberiannative and ounder o the nonproit

Our Seeds omorrow, said theCDChas done a great job but onlycan do so much.

We want the Chinese onboard, Fumbah said. We want the

Germans on board. We want theEuropeans on board because theissue is people are dying by theminute. hey are dying. One o thebiggest issues we are acingis thatits a timing issue. Its identiyingwho has Ebola to be able to controlit.

We appreciate what [the CDC]is doing, but we just want a littlemore eort, Fumbah said.

John OConnor, the associatedirector or communication

science in CDCs National Centeror Emerging and ZoonoticInectious Diseases, met with theadvocates during the event.

He reminded the participants

o the recent visit to the CDC byPresident BarackObamawhoannounced a strategy to step upthe response and part o that is tohave [3,000] U.S. military troopsgo over who are going to constructthese Ebola treatment units so wecan get more beds on the groundso that people who are sick andneed the care will get it.

Jabbie said he appreciatedthe president coming to Atlantaraising the bar, so to speak, or

how the response should look.hat was a irst, good step,

Jabbie said. We need more action.We need more robust action. Weneed CDC to keep us inormed

as to what theyre doing and whatsthe progress or lack thereo.

Currently the CDC isdeveloping a plan to addressthe outbreak while the specialEbola care acilities are beingconstructed, OConnor said.

We have to ind a way that wecan take care o people right now,OConnor said. We are putting aplan in place that will [use] existingbuildings[as] Ebola communitycare centers that will be able to be[opened] aster.

his interim measure,OConnor said, is a collaborativeeort between CDC, WorldHealth Organization, UnitedStates Agency or InternationalDevelopment and UNICEF.

OConnor said there is noway he could predict when theinternational eort to combat the

Ebola virus will turn around thespread o the disease.Were all hopeul that it will

happen soon, but the way that thenumbers have been escalating,we are concerned that were goingto be [there] or a long time,OConnor said.

Addressing the CDC predictionthat the 1.4 million people couldbecome inected by the disease,OConnor said, hats the arend o the prediction and thats inothing more is done.

One o the reasons or tryingto go public with that, get thatinormation out there is to stress

the urgency to the rest o theworld that this is going to be acatastrophe i we dont do more,OConnor said.

A group gathered in front of the CDC on Sept. 26 to raise the awareness of the Ebola crisis in West Africa. Photos by Andrew Cauthen

Dazia Fumbah and Alpha Jabbie organized the event to support the CDCs effortsand ask for more help.

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

9/20


Groups bring island culture to DeKalbby Kathy Mitchell

More than2.5 millionAmericans tracetheir ancestry to

Caribbean nation, according

o recent census igures. Whilehe largest concentrations ohis population are in Floridand New York, Georgias among the other states

with signiicant Caribbean-American populations.

Charles Baker, whoheads the Atlanta CarnivalBandleaders Council, oneo many local organizationsdevoted to the perpetuationo Caribbean culture in theAtlanta area, said he has nooicial igures but estimateshat approximately 70 percent

o people with Caribbean

ncestry living in the Atlantarea live in DeKalb County.

Decatur, in act, is homeo he Karibbean Konnections

Cultural Center, whichegularly hosts events ocused

on Caribbean culture.Caribbean Americans

ctually hail rom more than0 countries o origin andepresent a variety o culturalraditions, still, locally they

oten come together to enjoyhe varied aspects o islandulture.

Groups such as theDecatur-based rinidad

nd obago Association oGeorgia regularly sponsorocial and charitable events.

Almost weekly, there aregatherings rom picnics toports tournaments to musical

presentations sponsored byCaribbean organizationsn DeKalb. However, thevent that brings the entire

Caribbean population togethers the annual carnival. In act,

many o the smaller eventsre designed to raise unds toupport the carnival.

Caribbean carnivals are tradition dating back to the

8th century and inspired,ccording to various sources,by a blend o European, NorthAmerican and Arican culturalraditions. he Mardi Gras-ike carnivals were once alwayscheduled or the Lenteneason that precedes Easter.n act, the word carnival,ccording to some dictionaries,

may have derived rom takingway meat, relecting the onceommon practice o abstainingrom meat consumption

during Lent. Carnivals in theUnited States and other sitesoutside the Caribbean are nowheld throughout the year.

he Atlanta CaribbeanCarnival, a 27-year-oldradition, is oten held in late

May, leading up to CaribbeanHeritage Month in June.

rinidad native AshakiSharpe, who now lives inDeKalb, said or many yearsCaribbean-born Americanswould travel to New York orMiami or carnival season.hen we started to think,

why not host our own? sherecalled. Georgia now has oneo the largest and oldest in thenation, she said.

Each year, the AtlantaCaribbean Carnival is monthsin the making. Kim Peterson,a native o rinidad whodesigns costumes or thecarnival, said she has alreadystarted work on the 2015celebration, scheduled or May23 at Morris Brown CollegesHerndon Stadium.

Peterson said that whilethe designs are hers, she hires a

seamstress to put together thecolorul, elaborate costumes,each o which may havedozens o eathers, jewels andother details. Designers, shesaid, each year work to createnew spectacular eye-popping

designs. Its un seeingthe crowds reaction as thecostumes come into view.

A leader in the AtlantaCaribbean BandleadersAssociation, Peterson saidmany who come to carnivalare attracted by the traditionalisland musiccalypso, reggaeand other types.

Sharpe, who heads theDeKalb County InternationalCaribbean-American Fest,noted that the music isntjust or carnivals. Caribbeaninluenced bands perorm at

venues across Georgia romStone Mountain Park to schoolcelebrations to Macons CherryBlossom Festival. he AtlantaCaribbean estival, however, iswhere many bands put orwardtheir best eorts. At the

carnival, bands may choose tocompete and be judges basedon quality, originality andother actors, she said.

Its a wonderul event. Wejust come together and haveun, Sharpe said. Its a chancenot only or those o us whoshare a heritage to celebrate,but its an opportunity to invitethe larger community to comeand get to know usto sharethe music, the ood and thecustoms o the Caribbean.

Baker, who also designscostumes, said he also look

orward to carnival time.Many who live in the area aresecond and third generation,he said. he carnival gives ourchildren and grandchildren theopportunity to experience theirheritage.

F C

O ALL ALUMNI OFDeKalb Area Vocational School (1961 - 1963)DeKalb Area Technical School (1963 - 1972)

DeKalb Community College-Technical Division (1972 - 1986)DeKalb Technical Institute (1986 - 2000)DeKalb Technical College (2000 - 2011)

Georgia Piedmont Technical College (2011 - 2014)

Please join President Jabari Simama for

Fall ConvocationBridging from Our Past, Building for Our Future

Tursday, October 23, 201411:00 a.m.

Georgia Piedmont echnical CollegeConference Center, DeKalb Campus495 N. Indian Creek DriveClarkston, GA 30021

RSVP by October 16, 2014, toSeddrick Hill at [email protected] or (404) 297-9522 ext. 1828

Celebratory lunch to follow

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

10/20

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

11/20

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

12/20


Nineteen indicted for cashing stolen U.S.Treasury checks and credit card fraud

A

DeKalb County business was raided byFBI agents Sept. 24 afer a ederal grand

jury indicted 19 people or stealing

government money, credit card raud andaggravated identity thef.Family Reunion -shirts, at 3446 Midway

Road, Decatur, was the site o the ederal activityas agents removed computers, hard drives andeveral boxes rom the business.

Te -shirt business was on o severalocations involved in the extensive scheme toteal and cash U.S. reasury checks and useraudulently obtained credit cards, according to

a news release rom the U. S. Attorneys Office.Fraud and identity thef crimes are now

perceived as lucrative alternatives or criminalorganizations, said U. S. AttorneySallyQuillian Yates. People who commit these

crimes prey upon unsuspecting victims, stealinghe victims money and compromising theirivelihoods, sometimes causing lielong financial

consequences.J. Britt Johnson, special agent in charge

o the FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated, Tesendictments and arrests are a direct result o an

extensive 16-month multi-agency investigationocusing on a network o individuals whoacilitated their criminal enterprise through

various raudulent schemes and other criminalactivities. Te elaborate networking o this groupallowed them to expand their criminal activitieshroughout multiple states as they increased their

victim base.According to the charges and other

normation presented in court, the deendantsworked together to steal and then cash U.S.reasury checks rom various sources, includinghe U.S. mail service, rom approximately June

2012 until September 2014.Te checks were originally issued to those

entitled to the ederal unds, including taxpayerseceiving reunds, retired ederal employeeseceiving pension benefits, military amilies,

and Social Security beneficiaries receiving socialecurity and disability payments, according to the

news release.Te indictment alleges that some o

he deendants acted as check suppliers,obtaining and selling the stolen checks to other

deendants. Others, check purchasers, wererequent customers o the check suppliers andpurchased checks by either paying 25 percent othe checks ace value or splitting the proceedsrom the check in hal with the supplier,according to the news release.

Afer purchasing the stolen checks,the deendants would pay identificationmanuacturers to make ake Georgia drivers

licenses matching the names and addresses othe victims but containing photos o checkrunners, the release stated. In exchange or a ee,the runners would use the ake drivers licensesto cash the stolen checks at retail locationsthroughout the Atlanta area such as Walmart,Kroger and Publix.

Te indictment charges several deendantswith a separate credit card raud schemeagainst Walmart and Sams Club. Between April2011 and November 2011, these deendantsallegedly obtained and used countereitidentification documents to pose as real SamsClub members. Afer presenting the raudulentdocuments at various Sams Club locations in

Georgia, ennessee, and Alabama, the deendants

requested replacement store credit cards in thenames o the victims, which the deendantsthen used to buy gif cards, gas, groceries andother items at various Sams Club and Walmartlocations, authorities said.

Across the two schemes, the deendantsderauded the ederal government and Walmart/Sams Club o approximately $350,000, accordingto the news release.

Te 19 deendants have been indicted onmultiple charges o thef o government unds,credit card raud, related conspiracy offenses,and aggravated identity thef. Te indictmentalso contains other charges against individualdeendants, ranging rom passport raud toillegally obtaining a firearm.

Te deendants were indicted by a ederalgrand jury on Sept. 11, and some have alreadymade their initial appearances beore a U.S.magistrate judge.

Tis case is being investigated by the FederalBureau o Investigation, with assistance by severallocal agencies including the Atlanta, Brookhaven,Chamblee, Dunwoody and DeKalb County police

departments.

Family Reunion T-shirts was raided recently by the FBI. Photo by Andrew Cauthen

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

13/20


Fire Chiefs Continued From Page 1A

Ellis Continued From Page 1Araud a political subdivision.

Walton, who endured our dayso questioning, said he did not eelcomortable calling vendors to askhem to return Ellis campaign so-icitation calls.

As the procurement director,you dont want companies to eelike they have to give because the

procurement director is calling,Walton said. Im the person thatsgoing to evaluate their contract. Imhe person thats got to take it to the

board o commissioners or approv-al. It was like I was strong-arminghem.

Walton said that during oneconversation, complaining about avendor who reused to donate unds

to his campaign, Ellis said, Kelvin,I want you to call them, and I wantyou to tell them that I told you tocall them. I want you to tell themwho you are and your position.

He was upset, Walton said, andwanted the vendor to know thathe had clout with the procurementdirector.

When asked why he compliedwith Ellis directions about the callsand the compilation o vendor lists,Walton said, I was his yes man.I had 18 months beore I retired. Iwas ollowing his directions.

Reerring to a particular vendordescribed as unresponsive by Ellis,Walton said, I was kind o pushy withher because I wanted to get results.

In a recorded conversation withWalton, Ellis described companyowners who werent interested inmy services as some odd people.

He wont return my calls, Ellissaid. I dont understand why wewould continue to do business withthem.

Upset about a man who wouldntreturn his phone calls, Ellis said,Im the CEO.

About another vendor, Ellis on arecording said, Tey have this pol-icy that they dont eel comortablegiving to political campaigns. I havea real problem with them gettingbusiness again.

Under questioning, Walton saidcontractors are not obligated to call

the CEO back i [the call] was per-sonal.

When Hodges asked Walton i hewas doing legitimate county busi-ness when he helped Ellis with the

vendor lists or campaign solicitations,Walton answered in the negative.

Not when Im working on ven-dor lists, no, said Walton, addingthat he was the procurement direc-tor and not a campaign manager.

Te director o procurementis responsible or procuring goodsand services or the county and acampaign manageris responsibleor working with that candidate andraising unds, Walton said.

Te Ellis trial is expected to lastseveral weeks.

kind o my introduction into theire department.

Washington went to ire recruitchool and began her career as

a ireighter at another metroAtlanta department. She movedup through the ranks with thatdepartment and was hired asDecaturs ire chie in 2009.

Washington said Decaturwelcomed her and Burton withopen arms.

he city o Decatur hasembraced us as women and aseaders, Washington said. I

have not been challenged by our

external stakeholders at all. heywelcome us, they love us and theyupport us.

Washington said she did aceome challenges internally, but

not because o her race or sex, butbecause she was considered anoutsider.

I didnt start in the city oDecatur, she said. I came romanother department, and I came inhe ranks.

Becoming a ire chie wasomething Washington aspired to

be when she began her ireightercareer. She admitted that it was not

an easy journey.here were a ew bumpsalong the way, and I kind oquestioned i I really wanted to dot, she said. But as you can see, I

continued on my journey and wasuccessul.

Washington said there havebeen challenges within operations,with personnel and with sometakeholders.

We are in a male-dominatedield, Washington said. here

are over 300,000 ireighters inhe country. Out o that 300,000,here are 7,000 women. hat a lone

kind o speaks to the challenges

ve had because in the ire servicemost o the ireighters are used toanswering to males.

Having to answer to a emales challenging or some people,

not only at the management levelbut also outside on the operationslevel, she added. Ive been tocalls where Ive been over-lookedand theyve said, where is the manin charge? And at that time I wasthe oicer in charge. here weretimes where people did not wantto talk to me, even as the oicer incharge they did not want to talk tome. heir preerence was to speakto a male.

Burton said her experienceshave not been as blatant asWashingtons experiences.

She has been in here longerthan I have, Burton said. Ithink I was still in that wholetransition where they began sexual

harassment training, and I thinkthat educated a lot o people.

Since they are women in amale-dominate ield, they said theyhad to work 10 times as hard astheir counterparts.

I knew when I came in thedoor that I was going to have todo more than just the minimum,which actually drove and pushedme to do more, to be more,to make sure that when theopportunity arises I was alreadywaiting or it instead o it waitingor me, Burton said.

As emales in ire servicethe spotlight is always on us,Washington said. So we haveto do a lot more than our male

counterparts to be successul.Just not as Arican Americans,but as women, we have to do alot more to show that we actuallyare capable or show that we canperorm the job.

Both women hope theirjourneys can be an inspiration toyoung people.

I would hope that it wouldempower young women and youngmen to know that they can doanything in this world that theywant to do, Washington said. Itdoesnt matter your age, size, raceor gender. I you set your goalsand strive high, then you can do itbecause we did it.

Decatur Fire Chief Toni Washington, left, was hired as the citys re chief in 2009. Washington promoted Stephanie Burton todeputy re chief Sept. 1.

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

14/20


LOCAL

Electric car owners can now recharge in Chamblee.

Chamblee offers electricvehicle drivers place to fill up

PATH cycle track under construction

y Lauren Ramsdell

[email protected]

In December 2013, Chambleemade national news, and notin a good way.A Chamblee resident was

rrested and charged with stealing10-15 worth o electricity rom a

ocal school. He had plugged in hisll-electric Nissan Lea to an outlett Chamblee Middle School.

It turns out that ater charginghe car or only about 20 minutes,he owner, Decatur resident Kaveh

Kamooneh, had only used aboutnickels worth o electricity. He

pent a total o 15 hours in jailor the thet, though charges wereventually dropped.

he incident got ChambleeMayor Eric Clarksonthinking. Heaw the negative publicity about

his city and realized there were noasily accessible charging stationsn the area.

I know the owner o CapitolCity Nissan, located in Chamblee,Clarkson said. I asked him, ellme about Leas; tell me aboutlectric cars. Its pretty new. I dont

drive an electric car. I wouldntknow where to go to charge it. Idont know how much it costs.

Dealership owner Pat Hobansaid there was a charging stationat Capitol City Nissan, as well as aew other places nearby. Clarksonlearned that Capitol City Nissan isone o the top Nissan Lea sellersin the country.

Hoban contacted Nissansheadquarters, where company

representatives knew about theincident with Kamooneh. he Leais the best-selling highway-capableelectric car in production.

hey agreed to donate threecharging stations to be set uparound the city, Clarkson said.Right about that point we had arelatively newly ormed downtown

development authority. I said,

Heres a project Id like you to getstarted on, and gave it to them.Only one has been set up so

ar, in the parking lot o the newSouthbound restaurant. Another isscheduled to be installed near theplayground at DeKalb-PeachtreeAirport.

According to VanPappas,chairman o the Chambleedowntown development authority,several airport employees driveelectric vehicles and would beneitrom the station.

I drive a Yukon XL that getsabout 10 miles to the gallon, butI am thinking, Man it would benice to go in and have lunch andrecharge, Clarkson said. Asmuch as I drive around I wouldneed to.

Clarkson said he is aproponent o public-privatepartnership, o which this is anexample.

We didnt know, he had hiscar plugged in to a public school,Clarkson said o the initialarrest that sparked his interest.I was shocked to ind out howinexpensive it is to charge yourcar. Especially i you have acorporate sponsor like Nissan.


Bicyclists will soon be ableo ride rom the Stone Mountain

rail to Centennial Olympic Parkwithout mixing with traic.

PAH started construct ion onhe John C. Portman Cycle rack

project in mid-August, which willconnect the Stone Mountain railwith Centennial Olympic Park.Construction began downtown,ong Williams Street and John

Portman Boulevard in Atlanta.he year-long project will be

one o many trail connectionshat PAH is working on that will

enable trail users a direct trail linknto Centennial Olympic Park.

he 18-mile bikers-only route willnclude a bridge over I-285 by the

end o next year.PAH Executive Director Ed

McBrayersaid PAH does nothave a bike trail that t ravels to

downtown Atlanta.his will go all the way in toCentennial Olympic Park, he said.his connects the Freedom Park

rail to Centennial Park. herewont be any gaps rom CandlerPark to downtown.

he cycle track is toencourage people that dont

normally bicycle because they haveto get in traic, McBrayer said.hey will be biking in the streetbut they will have separation romtraic so they wont be mixing

with traic.Last year, PAH Foundation

presented a proposal to theDeKalb County Board oCommissioners to build a trail

between Church Street and theCSX railroad to complete the trailrom downtown Atlanta to StoneMountain Park. One segment othe trail starts in Atlanta and ends

at Glendale Road in Clarkstonthen picks up at Erskine Road.

McBrayer said last year thatthe trail was constructed that waybecause the Foundation did nothave the right-o-way or the trailwhen it was originally built in 1995.Te route is one o the busiest othe entire PAH trail and bicyclistsusually travel across the ChurchStreet access bridge to get to theother side o the PAH trail.

PAH wants to peel o about10 eet rom the edge o the CSXright-o-way along the edge oChurch Street to make the trailcontinuous and also to get acrossI-285. McBrayer said PAH is stillworking with the county and CSXon that section.

here is movement going on,he said. Everybody is workingtogether to make it work.

he John C. Portman Cyclerack project also includesimproving sidewalks, repavingstreets, putting in new lighting,

new trees and more.Its a streetscape project aswell as a cycle project, McBrayersaid.

Construction has begun along Williams Street and John Portman Boulevard indowntown Atlanta for the John C. Portman Cycle Track project, which connects theStone Mountain Trail with Centennial Olympic Park.

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

15/20

The Champion FreePress, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014 PAGE 15AEDUCATION

Movement conveys messageby Lauren [email protected]

Speaking American SignLanguage, or ASL, isnt like

speaking American English.For one, youre not speakingwith your mouth and vocal chords,but rather your hands, ace andbody all at once. And, while theanguages are related, theyre nothe same.

hats where sign languagenterpreting takes over.nterpreters bridge the gap

between spoken English languageand signed language. DeKalbsGeorgia Perimeter College (GPC)oers an associates o arts degreen American Sign Language.

he degree program wasestablished in 1978 at when GPCwas DeKalb College.

During that time there wasa prolieration o programs andnterest in American Sign Lan-

guage ollowing legislation thatmade sign language more visibleand possible in local schools, saidDamita Boyd, department chairor the sign language interpretingprogram. A number o interpret-ng programs established all overhe US. It looked very dierenthan it looks now. I dont have data

on this, but I have heard that theearly programs were six week pro-grams. It is not really possible to

earn a new language in that time.Many English speakers dontealize that ASL is a distinctanguage with its own syntax

and grammar. he language wasdeveloped rom French SignLanguage, or LSQ, in the late 1700sand early 1800s.

Just like spoken language,every time you go to a dierentgeographical region, those regionaleparations are really important,

Boyd said. he sign language inBritain is unintelligible to ASLigners in America. Australian

Sign Language is di erent. ASLis used in America, Canada andPuerto Rico. A coded oshoot oASL has been taken to pockets o

Arica and a ew other developingcountries where there was nodea education and where deaeducation has been started by

missionaries.Boyd also said that creoles

or pidgins can arise just like inspoken languages. ASL speakerssometimes use English signs

or words or concepts not alreadyincluded in ASL.Anne Zimmermanis a 2001

graduate o the interpretingprogram at GPC. She said shewas interested in ASL rom atime when, as a teenager, she

volunteered with a population odea children at her church.

As a young child, I read aboutHellen Kellerand Anne Sullivan,Zimmerman said. My lie wentin a dierent direction or manyyears, and I was a 40 when I wentback to school to reconnect withASL. When you learn about ASLyou appreciate how beautiul it is.

Zimmerman now owns aninterpreting business and isavailable or reelance interpretingaround the metro Atlanta area.She did interpreting during GPCsrecent convocation assembly.

Its very challenging, Zim-merman said. You have to takewhatever the source language is,it could be ASL or English, andyou mentally determine what theconcepts are. You change it intothe other language, ASL or Eng-lish. You pick the best sign choiceor the best English choice, whilewatching the clients ace to make

sure they understand. You neverlet your mind wander. You gettired. We switch o every 20-30minutes because the message tendsto deteriorate over that length.

Zimmerman said that atershe graduated rom the three-yearprogram at GPC, she had to getcertiied to interpret.

It was a lot harder to go romground zero to credentialed thanI thought, she said. It was a ive-year process, but it has been 14years since, and its the best jobever.

Anne Zimmerman, shown here interpreting at the GPC convocation, said studyingsign language at the college led her to the best job ever. Photo by LaurenRamsdell

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

16/20

The Champion FreePress, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014 Page 16ABUSINESS

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

by Kathy Mitchell

For years, Ramone Wardran a successul sanitationcompany, but he knewwhat he really wanted to

do and where he wanted to do it.With a degree in physical therapy,Ward wanted to build a businessaround sports training, and hewanted to do it in the east Atlantaneighborhood where he grew up.

In October 2013, Ward andpartner Jacque MorganopenedAtlanta Sports Complex onGresham Road. It had been our

vision or more than a decade,Morgan explained. Ramone hasa passion or helping kids who arenterested in sportsnot just the

ones who are exceptionally talentedathletes but also the youngsterswho want a wholesome pastimeor who just want to try somethingnew. He spent so much time as avolunteer coach at the high schoolsmany parents thought he was onhe sta.

Atlanta Sports Complex oersraining in a wide range o sports,ncluding ootball, basketball,

ennis, baseball and soccer. herealso is a boxing ring and boxingequipment along with rows ocardiovascular machines inside the

0,000-square-oot complex. Wardand Morgan are in the process odeveloping a two-acre area outsidehe building or training in track

and other outdoor sports.While their original vision

nvolved young athletes, Wardand Morgan have ound that otheregments o the community also

are interested in their acility.Were inding that in addition to

tudents rom elementary schoolhrough college many adults whowant to get it or stay it are cominghere to work out. In the mornings,we get many senior citizens whoare working to stay active, Morganaid.

Were here or serious athletesand those who are athletes at heart.Whether your goal is to becomea stronger, more skilled ootballplayer or just stay able to walkaround the block, we can work withyou, she added. he acility also

includes a physical therapy clinicwhere injured athletes can come orrehabilitation.

Atlanta Sports Complexperiodically oers special eventssuch as weight loss boot camps.Morgan said while shes nota trainer, she eels especially

positioned to help women whowant to lose weight. Ive lost about80 pounds, so Ive been there. Iknow how hard it is and what ittakes, she said.

Clients at Atlanta SportsComplex can work out on theirown, get one-on-one training,train as part o a small group orpart o a class. he sta includesproessional trainers and ormerproessional athletes who inaddition to guiding physicaltraining can help clients develop a

plan or itness and overall healthyliving, Morgan said.

She said shes oten askedwhether Atlanta Sports Complexis part o a ranchise. Its not, butwe see that as a possibility or theuture. I think weve deinitelycreated a business model that can

be duplicated in communitiesthroughout America. Over theyears, Ramone and I have belongedto dozens o itness centers. Weknow what works or people andwhat people dont like. We knowthat people want personal serviceand access to many types oequipment without a long wait.

We oer a lexible, moderatelypriced program without long-term contracts. People can signup or a month or or a one-time

visit. I think we could put gyms

in neighborhoods such as thisone that wouldnt interest the bignational chains, she said.

he neighborhood Wardand Morgan chose to open theircomplex has been welcoming andsupportive, according to Morgan.We have people come here rom

schools and churches, as well asireighters and police oicers.Personal trainers who dont want toown their own acilities come here.Weve even had a ew celebritiesproessional athletes and actorspreparing or movie roles. hey allsay theyre glad were here.

Even though its an area inneed o development, we haventhad any problems. Were hopingthat our success here will promptother businesses to invest in thisarea, she said.

Ramone Ward and, right, Jacque Morgan say opening Atlanta Sports Complex in east Atlanta fullls a dream they had for morethan a decade.

Sports complex ownershelp others live dreams

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

17/20

The Champion FreePress, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014 Page 17ACLASSIFIEDS

DISCLAIMER: We do not knowingly accept advertisements that discriminate, orintend to discriminate, on any illegal basis. Nor do we knowingly accept employmentadvertisements that are not bona-fide job offers. All real estate advertisements aresubject to the fair housing act and we do not accept advertising that is in violation ofthe law. The law prohibits discrimination based on color, religion, sex, national origin,handicap or familial status.

The Championis not responsible for any damages resulting from advertisements. All sales nal.

RATES: $30.00 for up to 40 words, each additional word $0.60.All ads are prepaid! All Major credit cards accepted!

For Prices, Deadlines and Information

Visit www.championclassieds.com

ClassifiedsTheChampion

Ads Due By Friday - Noonfor next publication date.

Bids & Proposals

INVITATION TO BID/CONTRACT WITH FOODSERVICE MANAGEMENT COMPANY. StartingOctober 2, 2014 at 9:00 am, there is an invitationto Bid/Contract with a Food Service for cateringon a menu for one meal per day that is Lunch.Servicing is approximately 60-70 adults daily, 5days per week. The lunch must meet the five (5)components required by Bright from the StartGeorgia Department of Early Care and Learning,which consists of a serving of fluid milk, two (2) ormore vegetable and/or fruit, meat or meat alternate,and bread or bread alternate. The Bid/Contractends on October 16, 2014 at 5:00 pm. Pleasesend the Bid to the address listed below: B. OjoRem-Kiks Adult Day Care 3448 Mountain Drive,

Decatur, GA 30032

HELP WANTEDArt Teacher: Teach art on a regular basis. Developthe art curriculum with the leadership group. Orderand catalog supplies. Develop and submit a budgetfor all the art classes. Evaluate other art instructors.Develop community outreach programs-student artshows. Assist students with building their portfoliosfor college applications. Be an integral part of thefaculty and ensure a smooth operation of the artsdepartment. Must have a Bachelors degree inFine Arts. Must be familiar with the philosophy ofAnthroposophy either through Waldorf Certicationor as a student or through any other demonstratedmeans. Must have completed coursework inDrawing, Color Theory, Intro. to Illustration andThrowing Clay. Must be able to basket weave andbind books. Job Location: Decatur, GA. 40.0 hrs./wk

9:00 AM 6:00 PM Applicants please contact:TaraWyman, [email protected], 404 405-2173.

Maintenance Shop:Immediate 2nd & 3rd shiftConley Openings for Experienced Both Tractorand Trailer Techs. Great Pay, Benets! (EOE/AA)Old Dominion Freight Line. Hugh Moore: 404-362-5625 or 404-363-0770, x7.

$1,000 Sign-on Bonus! Dedicated PositionsAvailable Close to Home. Great PercentagePay, Miles, Benets, Paid Orientation & HomeTime Guarantee! Call now 800-441-4271, www.drivehornady.com.

AUCTIONSADVERTISE YOUR AUCTION in over 100newspapers for only $350. Your 25-word classiedad will reach more than1 million readers. CallJennifer Labon at the Georgia NewspaperService, 770-454-6776.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITYWORK YOUR own hours. Determine your ownincome. Own your own medical alert distributorshipin your area. Small investment required. Call 844-225-1200.

SAWMILLS from only $4397.00- Make & SaveMONEY with your own bandmill Cut lumberany dimension. In stock ready to ship. FREE Info/DVD: www.NOrwoodSawmills.com 1-800-578-1363. Ext.300N

DRIVERSATTN: Truck Drivers! Covenant Transport isHIRING! Team & Solo Drivers Needed. No CDL?We can help! 3wk training avail. Call CareerTrucker today! N. GA 866-494-7434; S. GA 866-557-9244.

DRIVERS: Owner Operators and experiencedOTR drivers needed for expanding eet. Call USA

Truck today. 866-545-0078.

Drivers: Need CDL A or B to transfer commercialvehicles to and from various locationsthroughout U.S. Regional & OTR-No ForcedDispatch We specalize in continuationtrips to reduce deadhead!!!! Apply online atmammotransportation.com under Careers or call1-800-501-3783 to speak with a recruiter.

AVERITT EXPRESS New pay Increase forRegional Drivers! 40 tp 46 CPM + Fuel Bonus!Post-Training Pay Increase for Students!(Depending on Domicile) Get Home EVERYWeek + Excellent Benets. CDL-A req. 888-602-7440. Apply @ AverittCareers.com EqualOpportunity Employoer Females, minorities,

protected veterans, and individuals with disabilitesare encourage to apply.

$1,000 Sign-on Bonus! Dedicated PositionsAvailable Close to Home. Great PercentagePay, Miles, Benets, Paid Orientation & HomeTime Guarantee! Call now 800-441-4271, www.drivehornady.com.

Drivers: Run FB with WTI. Be home throughthe week and weekends. Start up to 28% plusfuel bonus. New equipment. BCBS. Experieceneeded. LP available. Call 877-693-1305.

25 DRIVER TRAINEES NEEDED! Learn todrive for Stevens Transport! NO EXPERIENCENEEDED! Earn $800+ per week! PAID CDLTRAINING! Call for Pre-Hire! 1-888-749-2303.

Experienced OTR Flatbed Drivers earn 50 up to55 cpm loaded. $1000 sign on to Qualied drivers.

Home most weekends. Call 843-266-3731/www.bulldoghiway.com EOE.

Needed Entry level Drivers! Covenant Transport,Solo & Team Driving opportunities! Need yourCDL? 3 wk training avail! Dont wait, call today toget started! N. GA 866-494-7435 or S. GA 866-557-9244.

START WITH OUR TRAINING OR CONTINUEYOUR SOLID CAREER You have options!Company Drivers, Lease Purchase or OwnerOperators Needed. (855) 973-9344. www.CentralTruckDrivingJobs.com

Under EmployedWant A New Career? BecomeA Truck Driver!Must Have Good Driving Record No Drug orCriminal Past 5 years. Earn $45,000+ In 4 ShortWeeks. Carrier Sponsored Training. Call 888-694-0712

EDUCATIONAL TRAININGMEDICAL OFFICE TRAINEES NEEDED!Train to become a Medial Ofce Assistant. NOEXPERIENCE NEEDED! Online Training can getyou job ready! HS Diploma/GED & PC/Internetneeded! 1-888-407-7162.

AIRLINE CAREERS start here with HANDS onFAA certied training for cartter opportunities inaviation, manufacturing and more. Financial Aidfor qualied students Job Placement assistance.CALL Aviation Institute of Maintenance (866)564-9634 www.xjets.com

REAL ESTATEBank Foreclosed, UNRESTRICTED Acreage 40 acres up to 350 acres from 49,900 Excellenthunting, Deer, Turkey Creek frontage, Mountain

Views, Towering Hardwoods, Road frontage.Financing available. Call 877-509-2372 orREMAX 423-756-5700.

SERVICES

If so, then you may be able to seek compesation.

Please call the law firm of Weitz & Luxenberg today

at 1-800-921-8888 to discuss your potential claim.

Weitz & Luxenberg is a national leader in represent-

ing victims of defective medical devices and medi-

cines and is eager to conduct a free and confidential

consultation with you.

Were with you every step of the way!

700 BROADWAY | NEWYORK, NY 10003BRANCH OFFICES IN NEW JERSEY & CALIFORNIA

800-921-8888WWW.SurgicalInjuryCenter. COM

ATTORNEY ADVERTISING. Prior results do not guarantee a future outcome. If no recovery, no fees or costs are charged,unless prohibited by state law or rule. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely onadvertisements. We may associate with local firms in states wherein we do not maintain an office. Gary Klein, Esq.

WEITZ LUXENBERG P.C.

Did You Develop Cancer Or The Spread of Fibroids

After a Hysterectomy or Fibroid Removal By

Laparoscopic Surgery?

A T T E N T I O N W O M E N

ll

Get FAA approved Aviaon Maintenance training.

Financial aid for qualied students Job placement

assistance. CALL Aviaon Instute of Maintenance

(866) 564-9634www.FixJets.com

AIRLINE

MANUFACTURING

CAREERS

BEGIN HERE

Hands on training for career opportunies inaviaon, automove, manufacturing and more.Financial aid for qualied students Job and

Housing assistance available.

CALL AIM

877-205-2968

WELDING

CAREERS

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

18/20

The Champion FreePress, Friday, Oct. 3, 2014 Page 18ASPORTS

Andre Brown: quarterback of offense and defense

McKnight hits milestone in Dunwoody win over Marist


F

ootball teams that havegood quarterbacks usuallyhave them playing just thequarterback position.

However, that is not the case orColumbias Andre Brown. Brownplays quarterback and saety or theColumbia Eagles.

Hes our quarterback onoense, quarterback on deense, andquarterback in the locker room, saidColumbia coach David Edwards.

Brown has been playingquarterback since he was 6 years oldand started playing deense when heranserred to Columbia rom Grady

High School two years ago. He andhe coaches realized he was good as

a deensive back and decided to letBrown play both positions.

Playing both sides o the ball

does not aect Browns play as aquarterback or saety. Brown leadsall DeKalb County quarterbacksn completion percentage with 65

percent.Ater ive weeks, he threw or

620 yards, had seven touchdownsand two interceptions. He is secondon the team in rushing yards with

85 and leads the team in rushingouchdowns with ive. Last season,

Brown inished ourth in the countywith a 60.4 completion percentage,hrew or 1,673 yards and had 11ouchdowns and seven interceptions.

Coming into this season, Brown

aid he wanted to be the No. 1quarterback in the county.hat was one o my goals or

his year, he said. Last year I believewas in the top ive. hanks to my

eam, my oensive linemen, myeceiversIm able to achieve these

goals.On deense, Brown is ourth on

the team with 21 total tackles, oneinterception and a orced umble.In the Sept. 26 win against Lithonia,Brown had a passing touchdown, arushing touchdown and intercepteda Lithonia pass.

Brown said playing both sides othe ball is not diicult or him.

Its kind o better, he said.When Im at saety I know what thequarterback does because I play theposition. So I know where hes goingto throw the ball most o the time.

Last season, Brown inishedsecond on the team in deense with

48 tackles, two tackles or a loss,one interception and two umblerecoveries. His skills on and othe ield caught the attention ocollege recruits rom some o the topschools in the country.

Brown, who has a 3.5 GPA,has received oers rom Harvard,Yale, Indiana, Duke, Wake Forest,Pennsylvania, Kentucky, GeorgiaState, Georgia Southern and others,according to ESPNs RecruitingNation. Brown committed toIndiana Aug. 13 as a deensive back.He said he chose Indiana because the

university elt like home to him.When I went up there, I just

loved the acilities. I loved thecoaches, it elt like home and I justloved it, he said.

Edwards said Brown is a playerwho does not talk much, but leadsby example.

heyre [players] that I havethat need somebody that can showby example, Edwards said. hatswhat he brings to the table, notonly with his athletic ability, but interms o his character and leadershipabilities.

by Mark Brock

Senior setter/outside hitter Paige McKnighthita career milestone o 1,000 kills in Dunwoodyscome-rom-behind, three-set victory over

Class AAAA No. 5 ranked Marist Sept. 25.McKnight has had 55 kills in her last eight

matches to reach the milestone o 1,000 or hercareer. She also has more than 60 assists in thoselast eight matches to improve her career assists totalover 1,300.

She was awarded a Golden Spike by theDunwoody Volleyball Booster Club or herachievement, and Wesleyan School presented thegame ball to her in honor o the event.

McKnight and her teammates all had a bignight as the Class AAAAA No. 2-ranked LadyWildcats swept Class AA No. 2 ranked Wesleyanand Marist in a tri-match at Wesleyan. It was

Dunwoodys second victory over Wesleyan thisseason.

Dunwoody opened the night with a 25-22victory over Wesleyan and ollowed it up with acomeback against Marist.

Marist won the first set 25-7 to take the earlylead, but behind McKnight and her 1,000th career

kill, Dunwoody rallied or wins o 25-23 and 26-24in the final two sets to win or the second time inthree tries against Marist this season. Dunwoodywon a five-set match against Marist early inthe season and dropped a three-set match intournament play or one o its only three losses.

It was Dunwoodys 10th victory over a rankedopponent this season including Classes AAAAAA,AAAAA, AAAA, and AA ranked opponents. Teteam is now 33-3 on the year with the three lossescoming to Class AAAAA No. 1-ranked Sequoyah,Class AAAAAA No. 8 Johns Creek and Marist.

Dunwoody has moved into second place onthe all-time wins list or DeKalb County with a370-255 record behind Chamblees 404-277. Te33 wins this season is also just three ewer than theDunwoody school record o 36 (36-9 in 2005 under

Angela Nash) and is sixth overall in county historybehind Chamblees 56-8 record under BrookeKlinein 2005. Dunwoody needs nine wins tomove into second place ahead o the 41-7 record byKevin Doves 2003 Druid Hills squad.

Columbia quarterback Andre Brown, who also plays safety, leads the county in quarterback statistics. Photo by Travis Hudgons

Paige McKnight (right) is shown with her sister,Madison McKnight, after being presented withhe Golden Spike Award and game ball following

her 1,000th career kill.

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

19/20


Columbia rolls past Lithonia in 41-7 win

Miller Groves Sharman White namedto USA basketball coaching staff

More footballscores

Thursday, Sept. 25

Towers (1-4) 38,South Atlanta (1-4) 28

Friday, Sept. 26

Cedar Grove (4-1) 46,

Maynard Jackson (2-3) 20

Chamblee (1-3) 58,

Stone Mountain (0-5) 19

Tucker (3-2) 62, Clarkston (0-6) 0

Tri-Cities (3-1) 10, Druid Hills (2-2) 7

North Clayton (1-4) 7,

McNair (1-4) 6

Marist (5-0) 60,Redan (0-5) 0

Open: Arabia Mountain (1-3), Cross

Keys (0-3), Dunwoody (3-1), Lakeside

(2-3), M.L. King (0-4), Miller Grove (3-1),

SW DeKalb (2-3), Stephenson (2-2)

Miller Grove High School boys basketball coachSharman White. Photo by Travis Hudgons


Miller Grove High School boys basketballcoach Sharman White was named one o the

assistant coaches or the 2014 USA BasketballMens Junior National eam.

White will assist in coaching 53 o thenations top high school basketball players at thesixth annual mini-camp Oct. 4-5, the UnitedStates Olympic raining Center in ColoradoSprings, Colo.

White said he received a call rom B.J.Johnson, the assistant mens national teamdirector, in August and was asked i he wasinterested in coaching at the mini-camp.

It was something that Ive always dreamedo doingrepresenting our country, White said.When the opportunity came I was definitelygratified and thankul or that.

White will coach under Don Showalter

o Iowa City High School in Iowa City, Iowa.Showalter has directed USA teams to six goldmedal finishes as head coach o the USABasketball Developmental National eam since2009.

Other assistant coaches include Cory

Alexandero the Boo Williams AAU team inVirginia, Eric Flanneryrom St. Edward HighSchool in Ohio, L.J. Goolsbyrom the KC RunGMC program in Kansas and Mike JonesoDeMatha Catholic High School in Maryland.

Te training camp handles player evaluationsand to start preparations or upcominginternational competitions, including in 2015 theNike Hoop Summit, 2015 FIBA Americas U16Championship, as well as or the 2016 FIBA U17

World Championship and 2016 FIBA AmericasU18 Championship.

White said the new role will not affect hiscoaching duties at Miller Grove. Te team willhave various training camps beore travelingabroad next summer to play other nations.

White has already worked with some o theplayers at LeBron James Skills Academy thispast summer. White said he was excited aboutcompeting against teams rom other countries.

I get a chance to play against othercountries, which would be a first or me, he said.

Since the inception o the FIBA AmericasU16 Championship in 2009 and the FIBA U17World Championship in 2010, USA Basketballmens teams have dominated the competitions

and won six consecutive gold medals andcompiled a perect 38-0 record at the U16 andU17 championships. Additionally, the UnitedStates has won three consecutive FIBA AmericasU18 Championships.


I

t was a blowout win or the Columbia Eagles,but it was not pretty.

Te Eagles were able to put away the Li-

thonia Bulldogs 41-7 in the 6-AAAA regionalmatchup Sept. 26, despite a high number o pen-alties and a couple o turnovers. Te game wascoreless halway through the first two quarters

until Columbia scored midway in the second quar-er to take a 7-0 lead to halfime.

Lithonia kept the game close late into the thirdquarter trailing only 14-7, but the Eagles were ableo pull away, scoring 34 unanswered points. Co-umbia coach David Edwardssaid his team did

not show a lot o discipline in the game.Even though the score was 41-7, that was very

loppy, Edwards said. Tere was a lot o unchar-acteristic play.

Quarterback/deensive back Andre Brownalso was not pleased with his perormance, despitehaving a passing and rushing touchdown, andpicking off Lithonias Oral Varcciannrom hisaety position.

I think my play was well, Brown said. Icould have done better. I didnt have my best game.Te team did their job, the [offensive] line madeheir blocks and I was able to do my thing. It was aeam effort.

Brown threw an 18-yard touchdown pass toeceiver William Tomlin to give the Eagles a 7-0

lead with 7:26 lef in the second quarter. Brownextended Columbias lead to 14-0 on a 3-yardtouchdown run early in the third quarter.

Lithonia cut the lead to 14-7 on a 39-yardrun by Varcciann, but Columbia responded whenMike Scott ran 64 yards to the end zone to extendthe Eagles lead to 21-7. Scott got his second score

o the game in the ourth quarter on an 85-yard in-terception return, which extended the lead to 28-7.

ouchdown runs by Joshua Jenkins(35 yards)and Keishaun Clark (1 yard) brought the finalscore to 41-7.

Columbia (4-1) will play at St. Pius (2-2) Oct. 3and Lithonia (2-3) will ace Marist (5-0).

Columbia running back Antonio Manson (with ball) runs for extra yardage. Photo by Travis Hudgons

8/11/2019 FreePress 10-3-14

20/20


Weekly ad in hand. Coupons in pocket.

BOGO-vision on. Its time to save.

publix.com/save

Pet of the WeekSeth(ID#:22411957) isan affectionateand extremely

cute two yearold AmericanPit Bull Terrier.When Sethfirst sees youhe wigglesaround on theground fromexcitement andthen sticks toyou like a magnet. He is the most adorablelittle guy and only weighs around 35 pounds.He has been at the shelter for a few months

and would seriously love to go home withyou. Please come and visit sweet Seth at theDeKalb Shelter and ask about our monthly petadoption special.

Please call (404) 294-2165 or [email protected] additional information.

Athlete of

the WeekThe Champion chooses a male andfemale high school Athlete of the

Week each week throughout theschool year. The choices are basedon performance and nominations bycoaches. Please e-mail nominationsto [email protected] byMonday at noon.

MALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Labron Morris,Cedar Grove(football): The senior runningback ran for 268 yards andscored three touchdowns inthe 46-20 win over MaynardJackson Sept. 26.

FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Paige McKnight,Dunwoody(volleyball): The senior setter/outside hitter reached acareer milestone of 1,000 killsin Dunwoodys 2-1 win overMarist Sept. 25.

Next LevelEach weekThe Champion spotlights formerhigh school players from the county who aresucceeding in athletics on the college level.

Josh Dawson,Georgia (football): The juniordefensive end from Tucker had a fumblerecovery for a touchdown in Georgias 35-32 win over Tennessee Sept. 27. He hadanother fumble recovery in the game.

James Vaughters,Stanford (football):The senior linebacker from Tucker led the

eam on defense with nine total tackles, twoackles for a loss and a sack assist in the 20-13 win over Washington Sept. 27.

Taylor Smith, Belmont (soccer): The seniormidelder from Chamblee had one shotattempted and one shot on goal in Belmonts2-2 tie with Morehead State Sept. 26. Smithhas scored one goal and an assist with a500 shot on goal percentage this season.

Dawson Vaughters Smith

Date post:	02-Jun-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	champion-newspaper
View:	226 times
Download:	0 times

FreePress 10-3-14

Documents