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HappySt. Patricks

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QUICK FINDER NEW GRESHAMPARK SCHOOL

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LOCAL, 23AEDUCATION, 17A

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Were SocialFRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014 VOL. 16, NO. 51 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 Election on page 17A

by Andrew [email protected]

Election qualiying endedMarch 7 with more than 40people entering 13 county

aces.wenty-two people are compet-

ng or the DeKalb County Board

o Educations seven seats. Tatsa decrease by two seats, afer theGeorgia General Assembly voted toeliminate the super districts seats.

Eight people have entered thesheriffs race and voters will electthree county commissioners, twostate court judges and a soil and wa-

ter commissioner.

Te District 1 seat is the onlyuncontested school board race, withStan Jesterbeing the only candidate.Jester, an education blogger and in-ormation technology proessional,is running or the seat ormerly heldby his wie, Nancy Jester, who isrunning or state school superinten-

dent. Currently, the District 1 seat is

held by John Coleman.In the District 2 race, ormer

school board Don McChesneywilltry to regain the seat rom schoolboard member Marshall Orson.McChesney, aretired educator, lostto Orson,coounder and partnerin the consulting firm Melbourne

Partners, in 2012 afer serving our

Forty-one candidates qualify for 13 county races

DeKalb Dominateshe streak continues for DeKalb County basketball as four teamsMiller Grove boys, Tucker girls, St. Pius girls and Redan girlswere crowned state basketball champions. Miller Grove

made state history with its sixth consecutive state title, Tucker won its first title, St. Pius won its second consecutive title and Redan won its second title in program history. Photos byravis Hudgons. See special coverage on pages 11-16.

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THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014 PAGE 2ALOCAL NEWS

Dunwoody is five and growing

www.gtc.d 404-297-9522 x1602

An Equal Opportunity Institution.

Summer 2014

Admissions

Application/

Document

DEADLINEApril 7, 2014

GPTC has more than 140 programs

to choose from. We have a low

tuition rate with convenient

large campuses in Clarkston

and Covington. Most classes are

available online.

STATE-OF-THE-COLLEGE

ADDRESS

&

HONORS CONVOCATION

Thursday, April 10, 2014

3:30 p.m.

Reception Following

R.S.V.P. | 404-297-9522 ext. 1165 | [email protected]

Conference Center, DeKalb Campus | 495 North Indian Creek Drive

Clarkston, Georgia 30021

www.gptc.edu

by Marta [email protected]

Te city o Dunwoodycelebrated its fifh birthdaywith the annual State o theCity address on March 6, athe Crowne Plaza Ravinia,ocated off Ashord Dun-

woody Road.Mayor Michael Davis

ocused on goals and op-portunities or 2014, smartgrowth, fiscal responsibility,education, economic devel-opment and the key mile-tones and projects expectedo take shape in the coming

year.We started in 2008 with

a lot o hard work and dedi-cated citizens. We created

his city and the effort waso keep our taxes low. Tebusinesses we have in Dun-woody and the businesseswe attracted are what keepour taxes lower and keep theervices high, Davis said.

At the ceremony, StateFarms Insurance Co. op-erations vice president JulieBoltontalked about the na-ional operations center the

company is building in Dun-woody, on a nearly 4-acreite at Hammond Drive and

Perimeter Center Parkway,across rom the DunwoodyMARA station.

Why Dunwoody? Be-cause this city offers manyamenities and people wanto live here and work here.

Tat means we can hirehe right people and we arealking about hiring 2,600

people over the next severalyears, Bolton said.

Davis said o Dunwoodyits a place to be and thats

why its attracting somebig companies like Krystal,he ast-ood company that

had moved its headquar-

ers rom Chattanooga, andComputer Generated Solu-ions, among others.

About inrastructure, Da-vis said the city will repavehe sidewalks and he will

work on fixing the traffi c is-ues the area has.

raffi c is bad. Te gov-ernor is working pretty hardwith us to recreate the junc-ion I- 285 and Georgia 400.

We are working on makinga better commute or peoplebut the reality is that whatused to be a hal hour com-mute is now an hour and ahal or a lot o people, Da-vis said.

Te mayor o Dunwoodyalked about education andaid that the system in Geor-

gia is very county centric.According to Davis in a loto ways cities are secondclass citizens to the countyand thats why he asked staterepresentative Tom Taylorto get Dunwoody its ownschool system.

Tis is going to be ahard task to get throughbut we will try every year.We know we deserve betterand we can do better. Tegraduation rate or DeKalbcounty schools is 58 percentand, in any scale, thats ail-ure. We want to be betterthan has been given to us bythe county school system.I say to my citizens that atleast the Dunwoody schools

bring DeKalb schools up tomediocre.

Davis said that he willsupport and work with thenonprofit organizations inthe city to help them reachtheir goals and congratu-lated Dunwoody police ortheir work keeping the citysae.

Tis Dunwoody that wehave been dreaming aboutand talking about or solong is becoming real beoreour eyes. Tis is happening.And were doing all o this.Just think about what wehave accomplished together.Tink o what we might donext, concluded the mayor.

Dunwoody Mayor Michael Davis speaks during the fth annual State ofthe City celebrated on March 6 at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia, located offAshford Dunwoody Road. Photo by Marta Garcia

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THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014 PAGE 3A

Congressman Johnson seeks re-electionFlanked by his wie

Mereda Davis Johnsonandmother Christine Callierat the Georgia State Capitol,Congressman Hank John-onormally iled to run or

re-election March 3.I am conident that

when the voters look at myrecord as a strong and e-ective voice or the FourthDistrictighting or smallbusinesses, consumers andmiddle-class and workingpeoplethey will know thathey can count on me to

work or them, not big cor-porations or lobbyists andWashington power brokerswho would like to call the

shots in Congress, Johnsonsaid.

hey will realize thatI am the person who cankeep bringing the type oimprovement to the districtthat results in good paying

jobs and a better quality o

lie or all our citizens, hesaid.

Johnson, who is seekinghis ith term, is a membero the House judiciary andarmed services committeesand is the ranking memberon the House judiciary sub-committee on regulatoryreorm, commercial andantitrust.

Since 2007, Rep. John-

son has helped bring morethan $250 million to thedistrict or schools, roadsand police, according to anews release rom his o-ice. From his main districtoice in Lithonia, he hasworked to help secure more

than $32 million or con-stituents seeking help withspeciic ederal agencies.

I am proud o my strongrecord in Congress and lookorward to meeting new

voters and constituents andcontinuing to work or thepeople o Georgias FourthCongressional District,Johnson said.

Georgias Fourth Con-

gressional District includesportions o DeKalb, Gwin-nett and Newton countiesand all o Rockdale County.

Johnson, who has repre-sented the Fourth Districtsince 2007, is ocusing hiscampaign on the economic

issues acing amilies o theFourth District.

When Johnson openedhis Lithonia campaign oiceFeb. 22, hundreds o sup-porters, including his chil-dren, union representatives,community leaders andCongressman John Lewis,

joined him.We need someone who

will vote or the people,

Lewis said. Hes the onlyone who I can count on to

vote with me on just aboutevery issue. his young manbelieves in saving and pro-tecting our environmentthat we have a right to knowwhat is in our ood, what is

in the water we drink andthe air we breathe.

Dont be ooledgo outand tell everyonewe needto support Hank Johnson,Lewis said.

Johnson is acing or-mer DeKalb County SheriThomasBrown.

Congressman Hank Johnson is joined by Congressman John Lewis in Lithonia Feb. 22 as Johnson announces his re-election bid. Photos provided

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ONE MANS OPINION

Its time again for an upgrade!

It has truly been an honor repre-enting our community in Congresshese last seven years, and I hopehat I am afforded the opportunity to

continue my service to you.Con-gressman Hank Johnson(D-4thDistrict).

I want to begin this columnby thanking Congressman HankJohnsonfor his past seven years ofervice in Congress, the years prioro that on the DeKalb County Com-

mission, and for having the politicaland personal courage in 2006 tochallenge then incumbent memberof Congress Cynthia McKinney.

Johnson felt that the citizens ofhe 4th District wanted and deserved

better representation, and he offeredhat choice. We took it, and I wanto thank him for giving us that up-

grade.This campaign is Congress-

man Johnsons fifth to hold thiseat. Though I rarely agree with his

positions on most issues, I respecthe man as well as the office which

he holdsbut very similar to the

needs of this district in 2006itsime again for an upgrade.Former DeKalb County Sheriff

Thomas Brownis also offering

himself to serve the 4th District, andto replace the incumbent congress-man. Sheriff Brown recently retiredafter 29 years of public service inDeKalb County, as a fireman, firechief, public safety commissioner,and since 2001, as our sheriff. Itcan take a bit of memory straining,but in 2001, the Sheriff-electDer-win Brown(no relation), had beenmurdered in a gangland style drive-by shooting at his home. Thoughnot the triggerman, the responsibleparty was later determined to bethe incumbent sheriff, Sid Dorsey.Dorsey continues to serve a lifeprison sentence.

Sheriff Thomas Brown movedinto the office via appointment,and then was returned by the vot-

ers to that same office three moretimes. Brown found a jail anddepartment in disarray, while theFBI, GBI and other law enforce-ment agencies were sifting throughthe debris, sorting out the DerwinBrown murder investigation.

Brown rebuilt the department,streamlined and improved opera-tions at the third largest jail in thenation, and routinely became knownas a prudent manager, who annuallyreturns $1 million or more in un-spent taxpayer funds to the DeKalbCounty Board of Commissioners.

We improved security and spentmoney to upgrade our computernetwork. We put video systems forsafety and security through the jailand county courthouse And wedid all that without spending one

dime of taxpayer funds...we usedconfiscated drug money, Brownsaid at his recent retirement cere-mony hosted by the DeKalb Countycommission.

Congressman John Lewis(D-5th District) in adjacent At-lanta, is known for his passionatechampioning of civil rights issuesand concerns, including the mostrecent re-authorization of the Vot-ing Rights Act. Congressman Da-vid Scott(D-13th District), on themetro regions south side, is knownfor his huge annual job fair as wellas his work expanding the H.A.R.P.Re-Financing Program, which hasallowed thousands of Georgians tore-finance their upside down mort-gages and stay in their homes.

Johnson, in some respects likeMcKinney during her later yearsin Congress, is better known forcomments he made in jestsuchas an assertion that the heavy pres-ence by the U.S. Navy and militarymight capsize the island nationof Guam, or another very sensi-tive analogy involving a cage fightbetween giants and midgets (hiswords).

Johnson is not particularly well-known for his legislative successes,committee leadership or even serv-ing as a congressional expert on aparticular set of issuesbut he un-abashedly will tout the pork he hasbrought home to his district.

Black incumbents rarely lose inDeKalb County, but as Congress-man Johnson himself has previ-

ously proven, this district, as wellas DeKalb voters, are capable ofmaking a comparison, and seeingwhen the other choice may be equalor better. Tom Brown is not perfect,but he has nearly 30 years of dem-onstrated results and a proven trackrecord, as well as an ability to leadand work with people of all stripesand backgrounds.

The Georgia Congressionaldelegation will lose its seniorsenator and three senior Housemembers this fall, due to a retire-ment and candidacies for that sameseat. Georgias delegation deanis leaving the House Appropria-tions Committee, and on the Sen-ate side, Senator Chamblissholdssignificant leadership positions

on the Senate Armed Services &Intelligence and Agriculture com-mittees. Georgias Congressionaldelegation will in aggregate losesignificant clout and seniority onCapitol Hill in 2015, so as we choseour leaders, we need to factor in se-lecting members of Congress readyto lead, and not just follow.

Bill Crane also serves as a politicalanalyst and commentator for Channel2s Action News, WSB-AM News/Talk750 and now 95.5 FM, as well as acolumnist forThe Champion, Cham-pion Free Press andGeorgia Trend.Crane is a DeKalb native and businessowner, living in Scottdale. You canreach him or comment on a column [email protected].

Bill Crane

Columnist

THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014 PAGE 4AOPINION

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Let Us Know What You Think!

THE CHAMPION FREE PRESSencourages opinions fromits readers. Please write to us and express your views. Lettersshould be brief, t ypewritten and contain the writers name,address and telephone number for verification. All letters willbe considered for publication.

Send Letters To Editor, The Champion Free Press, P. O. Box 1347,

Decatur, GA 30031-1347; Send E-Mail to [email protected] To: (404) 370-3903 Phone: (404) 373-7779Deadline for news releases and advertising: Thursday, one week prior topublication date.

EDITORS NOTE: The opinions written by columnists and contributing editorsdo not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editor or publishers. The Pub-lisher reserves the right to reject or cancel any advertisement at any time. ThePublisher is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts.

Publisher: John Hewitt

Chief Financial Offi cer Dr. Earl D. Glenn

Managing Editor: Kathy Mitchell

News Editor: Andrew Cauthen

Production Manager: Kemesha Hunt

Photographer: Travis Hudgons

The Champion Free Press is published each

Friday by ACE III Communications, Inc.,

114 New Street, Suite E, Decatur, GA. 30030

Phone (404) 373-7779.

www.championnewspaper.com

DISPLAY ADVERTISING (404) 373-7779 x 110

FREEPRESS

STATEMENT FROM THE PUBLISHER

We sincerely appreciate the discussion surroundingthis and any issue of interest to DeKalb County. TheChampionwas founded in 1991 expressly to providea forum for discourse for all community residents onall sides of an issue. We have no desire to make thenews only to report news and opinions to effect amore educated citizenry that will ultimately move ourcommunity forward. We are happy to present ideasfor discussion; however, we make every effort to avoidprinting information submitted to us that is known tobe false and/or assumptions penned as fact.

Printed on 100%post-consumerrecycled paper

March is known or its erraticweather, but i February is a sample,his year were in or a weather ridenlike any weve had or a while. Iont personally recall a year in re-ent history in this part o the coun-ry in which we had two separatehut-the-city-down weather eventsn the same winter.

Te old saying is that i Marchomes in like a lionwhich is to say

with harsh weatherit will go outke a lamb with pleasant weather.

Conversely, i March comes in like a

lamb, it will, according to the adage,go out like a lion.

Te weather around here hasbeen so changeable recently that aday may begin with the lamb onlyto have the lion show up in time or

afernoon rush hour. We may go tobed with the lion raging and waketo find the lamb grazing peaceullywith the dawn.

Our local groundhog on Feb. 2saw his shadow and called or sixmore weeks o winter. I hes ontarget, spring weather should showup just in time to coincide with thestart o spring on the calendarandin time to have the proverbial lambusher March into history.

While in our part o the countryweve had brie visits rom the lamb,the king o the jungle has ruledmost o the country in recent weeks.Actually, the beast thats been domi-

nating much o the nation northo us has been more like an angrypolar bear. Many o us learned a newtermpolar vortex.

Across two-thirds o the nationduring the week March came to

greet us temperatures averaged 15to 30 degrees below normal, accord-ing to the National Weather Service.Tat old polar jet stream bringingstinging cold air directly rom theArctic Ocean was at it again.

Te weekend that welcomedMarch brought our neighbors to thenorth what Accuweather.com pre-dicts will be a long-duration snowevent, developing in the centralUnited States and moving slowlyeastward. Forecasters are saying thatwintry conditions are likely to keepa grip east o the Rocky Mountainsuntil the third week in March, whenthe nation will see a chilly spring

weather pattern. Its a good thingtheres a late Easter this year; no oneenjoys a white Easter.

In the meantime, were likely tosee more delicate blossoms peekingrom trees only to be dashed to the

ground by rough winds or with-ered by chilly temperatures. Werelikely to see many o those aroundus sniffl ing and sneezing rom aller-gies brought on by a rollercoaster oweather their poor bodies are unableto cope with. All we can do is keepa jacket handy, dress in layers andpay close attention to weather ore-castssometimes theyre even right.

By the way, heres a riddle foryou: what comes in like a fox? Theanswer is daylight-saving time. Itseemed to slip in without warningon March 9 this year.

Kathy [email protected]

Editor

Lions, lambs and other weather critters come to visit

OPINIONTHE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014 PAGE 5A

REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE

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COMMUNITY in

If you would like to nominate someone

to be considered as a future Champion

of the Week, please contact Kathy

Mitchell at [email protected] or

at (404) 373-7779, ext. 104.

PATTY CLARK

ChampionoftheWeek

State school superintendentcandidate wants to focus on equity

Patty Clarkhas al-ways believed in helpingothers; thats one reasonshe became a registerednurse. After two of herfive children were bornwith physical and mentaldisabilities, she becameespecially interested inhelping those with specialneeds.

When her sons Jefferyand Christopherwerechildren she volunteered

at their DeKalb Countyschools. She now volun-teers at the day programfor those with develop-mental disability at theDeKalb Services Centerin Brookhaven. For morethan 30 years she has beena volunteer at the centerand a member of the Par-ents Auxiliary, going inat least twice a week todo what she can to makethings better for every-one.

Paid staff who work

with children and adultswith special needs usuallyhave a heavy workloadand arent paid a lot forwhat they do. Many havesecond jobs. Thats onereason volunteers are sovital to this work, Clarksaid.

She recalled that whenher oldest son was bornand found to have specialneeds, support from other

parents, staff and volun-teers made a tremendousdifference in their lives.

Now retired from her

nursing career and fromher work as a substi-tute teacher, Clark saidshe helps however shecanwith much of hervolunteer work being donethrough the Parents Aux-iliary. Ive held severaloffices in the organiza-tion including secretary

and president, she said.

Right now Im serving asthe treasurer.

Clark explained thatthe Parents Auxiliaryfocuses on getting clientswhat they need. It might

be physical therapy equip-ment or simply comfort-able chairs. We have par-ties for the clients aboutonce a month. The idea isto create an environmentthats as educational andenjoyable as possible.The auxiliary has been in-strumental in the purchaseof four houses to be usedas group homes.

Many of the adult cli-ents, including Clarkssons, live in group homesthat house four or fivedisabled adults. Clark alsohas over the years helpedto maintain the homes.

Clark sometimes vol-unteers in other commu-nity programs, includinggiving injections to pre-schoolers.

The program Clarkssons are in is adminis-tered through the DeKalb

County Community Ser-vice Board. I cant praisethem enough, she com-mented. Its a wonder-ful organization. Withoutthem so many familieswho have family memberswith disabilities would beleft out of the loop.

y Andrew [email protected]

Tarnisha Dent, an in-tructional coach in the At-anta Public School system,oined the crowded race ortate school superintendent

March 10.I stand beore you today

nervous but readyreadyo advocate or the students Georgia, or the teachers Georgia, and or equity

n Georgia, she told sup-orters who gathered at the

Community AchievementCenter in Decatur.

I have waited all o myareer or this moment,

Dent said. I have workedhard. I have been chal-enged. I have had some suc-esses, but I have a plan orhe children o Georgia.

I want each districto have the resources thathey need to support ourtudents, she said. I wantn evaluation system inlace thats there to help oureachers with growth to sup-

ort good practice.A product o Atlanta

Public Schools, Dent ma-ored in biology at Alabamatate University, and earned

a master o science in educa-tion at roy State UniversityAtlanta. She also earned aneducation specialist degreein curriculum and instruc-tion K-12 rom Argosy Uni-

versity Atlanta.Dent has worked in sev-

eral metro Atlanta schooldistricts.

Dent said she is runningnot because its another jobto me, but this has been mylies dream. Every positionthat I have had has preparedme.

Dent said she believes shecan win the election becauseshe is in the trenches.

I know what studentsneed. I know what supportteachers needs, she said.

Her jobs in educationhave given her insight toa group o students thatmay all behind, said Dent,who works in an alternativeschool.

As the state school su-perintendent, Dent said oneo her priorities would bemore equity in Georgia.

I want us to pay moreattention to the group opre-K students that weremissing that dont get in alottery, she said.

he state needs to lookat our pre-K students thatwere missing as they enterkindergarten to make surethat we have things in placewhere theyre not behind,Dent said.

Im a little concernedabout pre-K because rightnow a large number o ourchildren are not enteringpre-K, Dent said theyre en-tering kindergarten withoutthe necessary skills.

One problem in the stateeducation system is the eq-uity o support.

Some districts havemoney and technology andsome districts dont, Dentsaid.

he teacher evaluationsystem is a problemmak-ing sure our teachers are un-derstanding whats going onwith their evaluations andthat the evaluations are be-ing used to evaluate and notto eliminate, she said.

Im a student advocate, ateacher advocate and an eq-uity advocate and I hope to

serve the students o Geor-gia, Dent said.

I have waited all of my career for this moment, said Tarnisha Dent, an instructional coach at Atlanta PublicSchools, who has entered the race for state school superintendent. Photo by Andrew Cauthen

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COMMUNITY

AROUNDDEKALBDeKalb History Center hosts Champion lunchand learn

he DeKalb History Center, located in Decaturquare at the old courthouse, will host a Lunchand Learn March 18 with Carolyn Glenn, co-owner and publisher o The Champion Newspaper.

he ree event begins at noon and attendeesare encouraged to bring their lunch.

Glenn will tell the story behind the newspa-per she publishes with her husband Earl Glenn,which over the past 20 years has grown rom apublication created to spotlight the achievementso south DeKalbs Black community to the coun-ys newspaper o record.

For more inormation contact the DeKalb His-ory Center at (404) 373-1088.

Clarkston hosts monthly movie night

On the irst Friday o each month, ClarkstonsK.D. Moore Community Development Center,ocated at 4007 Church Street, will host a movie

night.All movies will be amily-riendly and popcorn

and drinks will be sold. he schedule is as ollows:April 4, The Blind Side; May 2, The Smurfs; andune 6,Monsters University.

For more inormation contact Christin Taylorat (404) 292-5686 ext. 248 or email [email protected].

Dunwoody United Methodist Church hostsBurt Bacharach concerts

Te perorming arts group o Dunwoody Unit-ed Methodist Church, located at 1548 Mt. VernonRoad, will perorm the music o Burt BacharachMarch 21-22 at 7 p.m. and March 23 at 3 p.m.

Bacharach penned such songs as What theWorld Needs Now is Love, Raindrops Keep Fall-ng on My Head and Close to You.

For more inormation visit www.dunwood-yumc.org or call (770) 394-0675.

Village to host annual bluegrass festival

Stone Mountain Village is hosting its annualbluegrass and arts and crafs estival, located on

Main Street in Stone Mountain.Te fifh annual Bluegrass Roots Music and

Arts Festival will also commemorate the 175thanniversary o the ounding o Stone Mountain.

Entertainment includes bluegrass music, artsand crafs, olk dancing and other genres o re-gional music.

Te estival will also eature glassblowing, ablacksmith, ood, train rides and inflatables orchildren. Parking, admission and all musical per-ormances are ree and open to the public.

Te estival will be Saturday, March 29, 10a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday, March 30, 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

For more inormation contact Chris Straw-bridge at (770) 413-0607.

Registration open for second annual Race forhe Arts

Registration is open or this 5K run/walk

starting at the Porter Sanord Perorming Artsand Community Center, 3181 Rainbow Drive,Decatur. Cost or an individual is $20 and $25 or

teams with ive or more participants. he racetakes place March 29.o register go to www.ac-tive.com/decatur-ga/running/distance-running-races/second-annual-porter-sanord-race-or-the-arts-5k-walk-run-2014.

Free tax assistance and preparation available

his service, available or low- and moderate-income taxpayers, is available rom AARP Foun-dation ax-Aide rom through April 15. You donot need to be a member o AARP or a retireeto use this service. AARP Foundation ax-Aidevolunteers, trained in cooperation with the Inter-nal Revenue Service, will oer help with personalincome tax returns at various locations aroundGeorgia. Last year, AARP Foundation ax-Aidevolunteers in the United States helped more than2 million people ile their ederal, state and localtax returns. he program is oered at many sitesin Georgia, including senior centers, libraries andother convenient location. Call the toll-ree num-ber, 1-888-AARPNOW (1-888-227-7669) or visitwww.aarp.org/taxaide during this tax season, tolocate an AARP Foundation ax-Aide site.

Stone Mountain church to hold prayer, praiseevent

Grace Presbyterian Church is inviting the com-munity to An Evening o Praise and Prayer on

Sunday, March 23, 6:30-8:00 p.m.Come prepared to lit your voice in song and

to pray or our amilies, communities and nation,states an announcement rom the church. hechurchs worship team will lead the service.

Grace Presbyterian Church is located at 650Rowland Road, Stone Mountain. For more inor-mation, call Deanna Cauthen, (404) 510-4634.

Wine and Bark event set for Brookhaven

own Brookhaven will host the Wine and Barkevent March 29 rom 1-6 p.m. he event supportsAngels Among Us Pet Rescue and will eatureood and drink specials rom own Brookhaven

bars and restaurants. ickets will include raleor prizes rom area merchants and restaurants.he Angels Among Us Pet Adoption Day will takeplace on the green noon-4 p.m. Advance ticketsare $10 and tickets at the door are $20. Regis-tration will be held in ront o Noche On theGreen, 4330 Peachtree Road, NE, in Brookhaven.

History center to host annual meeting, silentauction

he DeKalb History Center will host its annualmeeting and silent auction on Friday, March 21,rom 6-8 p.m. Participants can enjoy an eveningo wine, beer, hors doeuvres and music while bid-

ding on items donated by local businesses.Silent auction packages may include eventtickets, gol, dinner certiicates, art, jewelry, hotelstays, special tours, books, proessional services,childrens activities, itness opportunities and

more. Please contact Nicoleat [email protected] to donate to the silent auction.

his undraiser is ree and open to the public

and will be held at the historic DeKalb court-house, 101 E. Court Square, Decatur.

Decatur spring electronics recycling

he city o Decatur will host an electronicsrecycling day March 22 rom 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. atthe Decatur Public Works acility, located at 2635alley Street.

Additionally, residents can also recycle shred-ded paper and Styrooam.

For a list o acceptable items to recycle visitwww.decaturga.com or contact Sean Woodson at(678) 898-8562.

Health Mart Healthy Living Tour to make stopin Tucker

he Health Mart Healthy Living our willmake a stop in ucker to recognize communitypharmacists or the role they play.

Aboard the Health Mart Healthy Living ours40-oot health screening unit, tour sta will pro-vide complimentary health screenings or risksassociated with high blood pressure, diabetes,cholesterol and obesity. Attendees will also takehome a sample bag.

he tour will stop at racys Medicine Centero Atlanta, 3171 ucker Norcross, ucker, Roadon March 25, rom 9 a.m. to noon.

Sawbones play Jawbones for charity

A beneit basketball game, Jawbones vs Saw-bones, pits prominent physicians (Sawbones)against prominent lawyers (Jawbones) at the De-catur High School gym on Saturday, March 15, at7 p.m.

here will be a silent auction in connectionas part o the event. Entertainment will includeFalcons cheerleaders, Kids Corner, NBA legendGerald Wilkins, cyr wheel perormer BobbyCooksonand more.

Proceeds rom the game beneit the Side BySide Brain Injury Clubhouse in Stone Mountain.ickets are $10. For more inormation, visit www.sidebysideclubhouse.org.

Clarkston holds annual festival and 5K

he annual Clarkston Community Festival and5K Run/Walk will be held April 26 at the AtlantaArea School or the Dea, located at 890 North In-dian Creek Drive.

he event will last rom 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. andwill oer ood and arts and crats or attendees.

According to a press release, the estivalstheme this year is Educate, Appreciate and Cel-ebrate.

For more inormation about the estival con-tact the Clarkston Festival Committee at (678)753-5188.

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Restaurant Health InspectionsEstablishment Name: Mobeta WingsAddress: 2759 East College AvenueCurrent Score/Grade: 96/AInspection Date: 03/04/2014

Observations and Corrective ActionsBoxes of raw chicken wings in walk-in cooler stored uncovered. Informed PIC food mustbe stored covered with lid or wrappings to protect from contamination. Advised PIC toclose or cover boxes of chicken wings.PIC covered food. Corrected On-Site. New Violation.

Establishment Name: Lalibela CafeAddress: 3096 North Decatur Road, Suite GCurrent Score/Grade: 79/CInspection Date: 03/04/2014

Establishment Name: Whos Got Soul Southern Cafe DekalbAddress: 3818 Covington HighwayCurrent Score/Grade: 88/BInspection Date: 03/05/2014

Establishment Name: Raging BurritoAddress: 141 Sycamore StreetCurrent Score/Grade: 96/AInspection Date: 03/05/2014Observations and Corrective Actions

Employees personal items (coats & shoes) stored directly on top of bags of food in backstorage room. New Violation.Fruit flies observed in bottles of liquior behind bar. New Violation.

Establishment Name: Supreme Fish DelightAddress: 3037 Panola RoadCurrent Score/Grade: 92/AInspection Date: 03/05/2014

Observations and Corrective ActionsBrown and black mildew was observed on the interior surfaces of the ice machine.Drain the ice machine and deep clean. New Violation.Upon inspector arrival, not all foods were stored 6above the floor inside the kitchen.Corrected to relocate the foods to food storage containers. Corrected On-Site. RepeatViolation.

Establishment Name: Fellinis PizzaAddress: 333 Commerce DriveCurrent Score/Grade: 97/AInspection Date: 03/06/2014

Observations and Corrective ActionsFood not protected from contamination of an uncommon source.Observed sugar stored in a black garbage bag in walkin cooler.Advised to use a food liner to store sugar in or keep sugar in original bag then store ingarbage bag. New Violation.

Establishment Name: Arbys #944Address: 2382 North Druid Hills RoadCurrent Score/Grade: 96/AInspection Date: 03/06/2014

Observations and Corrective ActionsViolation of Code: [.03(5)(i) ] Observed three employees handling food with no hairrestraints. PIC advised at last inspection that food handlers must restrain hair. COS-Employees donned hats, hair nets, and placed long loose pony tail in bun. CorrectedOn-Site. Repeat Violation

Establishment Name: Dream WingsAddress: 2315-B Glenwood Avenue

Current Score/Grade: 78/CInspection Date: 03/06/2014

Food employees not washing hands at a frequency to prevent contamination of foodand/or equipment. .03(5)(c)Observed cooks (several times) touch clothing and hat then prepared customer orderwithout washing hands. Advised to wash hands.Cooks washed hands. Corrected On-Site. Repeat Violation.Observed soil bowls for mixing wings with sauce. CFSM said they were washed lastnight. Advised to wash every 4 hours.Advised to wash now. Current time 3:30 PM. Corrected On-Site. New Violation.Potentially hazardous foods not thawed under an approved method.Observed fish thawing at 3 compartment sink in standing water.Advised to thaw under running water. New Violation.Plumbing system not maintained in good repair (plumbing leaks).Observed pipes leaking near hand sink under meat sink.Advised to repair. Repeat Violation.Facilities for storage of employee belongings not used appropriately.Observed personal drinks in multiple locations on prep counters and above food forcustomers. Advised to remove personal food from prep counter and to store on bottom

shelf. New Violation.Lights not shielded or shatterproof in areas where there is exposed food, cleanequipment, utensils, linens, or unwrapped single-service articles.Advised to provide light shield for light in walk in cooler. New Violation.

Meet the voice of the morning

See Radio on page 22A


Monday through FridaySteve Gosss alarm clocksounds at 4:01 a.m.

Four a.m. oclock is waytoo early, jokes this radioanchor o the morning edi-tion on WABE, an Atlantaradio station ailiated withNational Public Radio(NPR) and Public Radio In-ternational (PRI).

Goss, a DeKalb residentor more than 22 years,serves the Atlanta commu-nity with his morning edi-tion program, a two-hourmix o news, analysis, inter-

views, commentaries, arts,eatures and music.

I really enjoy interview-ing people who have some-thing interesting to sharewith our listeners. Our audi-ence is pretty loyal and weoer them a large variety oprograms, the Stone Moun-tain resident said.

Gossjoined WABE, anonproit organization, sev-en years ago ater 30 yearsat Peach 94.9 FM (WPCH,later WLM).

Commercial radio wasso dierent. It was all aboutratings. Here at WABE itsmore about serving thecommunity by knowingwhats worrying them and

addressing those issues. Webroaden perspectives, create

joy, and expand knowledge,he said.

he ormer teacher re-membered his early days inradio back in 1978 when hestarted working at WGSwhile he was teaching his-tory and political science

at Woodward Academy inCollege Park. Soon he real-ized radio was his real pas-sion and dedicated the resto his proessional lie to thisindustry that, in the recentyears, has been regarded bysome as a dying one.

I believe that radioneeds to continue its evolu-tion to embrace a variety o

Steve Goss, a Stone Mountain resident, hosts the morning show on WABE, an Atlanta radio station afliatedwith NPR. Photo by Marta Garcia

Petofthe

Week

Freesia (A22111364)Freesia is a very happy, super sweet mixed breed. Shes not too large and not too small; shes just the right size.Freesia weighs about 40 lbs soaking weight. She is approximately 1 years old and has the love of play like apup, but she is much more mature. Her maturity will make it easier to train her and she is much less likely to chew yourfavorite shoes. Freesia shares her space with other shelter pups and they get along well. She would like to sharespace with you. If you have a little available space and a big heart; give Freesia a chance to share your home.

The adoptions number: (404) 294-2165 For adoption inquiries: [email protected] rescue inquiries: [email protected]

For volunteer and foster inquiries: [email protected]

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by Daniel [email protected]

Representatives and legis-ators rom the proposed cit-es o Lakeside and Briarcli

appeared beore the govern-mental aairs committeeo the General Assembly todiscuss the aspects o eachbill.

Currently, there are threeproposed citiesLakeside,Briarcli and ucker.

Rep. Mary Margaret Oli-ver, who sponsored the city

o Briarcli bill (HB 665),aid she is the only member

o the General Assemblywho lives in one o the pro-posed cities.

Many things are uniqueabout our position beorehe General Assembly to-

day, Oliver said.Oliver said there are

many successul cities inDeKalb County, all o whichhave annexation plans. Ad-ditionally, Oliver said, all ohe current cityhood pro-

posals are good ones, there

s just a lot o overlappingand conusion.In eect, you are asked

o redraw borders or telleach group o citizens whichborders you preer and Ihink thats a very diicult

and unique circumstance,Oliver said. he creationo cities in DeKalb Countyhas been, essentially up untilnow, a northern partisan e-ort versus a more southern

partisan opposition. hesehree cities are a more com-

plex mixture o republicansand Democrats and have

much greater diversities inerms o their national pop-

ulations.he commercial areas in

Briarcli, Oliver said, con-

sist o Emory University, theAtlanta VA Medical Center,Centers or Disease Controland Childrens Healthcare oAtlanta.

A comprehensive plan-ning process or our citizensto engage in to make a pro-posal that is best or all threeproposed cities or best orthe county has been lack-ing, Oliver said. I say toyou that the 75,000-80,000citizens o the proposed cityo Briarcli are here to askor your help ask or your

respectul consideration othe city they wish to create.

President o the Cityo Briarcli Initiative Al-len Venet said he believesthe recently incorporatedcities o Dunwoody andBrookhaven have shownthat they do a better job obringing eicient, eective,locally driven governmentor their residents than thecounty.

It is regrettable that thevolunteers o all the threegroups have not been able

to work out their dierencesand we all share the blameor that, Venet said.

Each o the three pro-posed maps includes theNorthlake Mall area withinits boundaries, an economicengine and revenue streamthat none o the proposedcities wants to part with.

As you make your deci-sion I would encourage youto keep three key principlesin mind: everyone deservesa vote; the borders shouldbe logical and make sense;and new cities should be i-

nancially strong, Venet said.Briarcli is very proud thatthe study shows conclusivelythat we are inancially stron-ger than any other proposal.

According to the resultso a easibility study romthe University o GeorgiasCarl Vinson Institute, Briar-cli would be operating witha reserve o approximately$6.5 million in its irst yearo incorporation.

he proposed city oLakeside (SB 270), spon-sored by Sen. Fran Millar,would be operating withreserves o approximately

$2.5 million its irst year, iallowed to incorporate.

Lakesides boundariesoriginally included EmoryUniversity, which wouldhave brought the surpluscloser to $5 million. Howev-er, Millar said the universitywas removed ater repre-sentatives rom Emory re-quested it be removed romthe map.

I dont believe theres

going to be another city thisyear, Millar said. I dontwant to leave people behindand thats why Im the advo-cate or this bill, because Ithink its that important.

he area o Lakeside,Millar said, is the last part ohis district that remains un-incorporated.

Brad Bryant, a 50-yearresident o Lakeside, said hesupported the bill because

See Cities on page 23A

Supporters of proposed cities appear before state committee

CITY OF CLARKSTONNOTICE OF REFERENDUM ELECTION

Notice is hereby given PURSUANT TO O.C.G.A. 48-5-48.2, 48-5-48.6, and 21-2-540 that a Referendum Election will be held on Tuesday, May 20, 2014 in the City ofClarkston, for the purpose of submitting to the qualified voters of the City of Clarkston

the questions:

Shall the City of Clarkston be authorized to enact a Freeport Exemption to exempt

goods in the process of being manufactured from taxation?


inventory of finished manufactured goods still held in the possession of the original

manufacturer from taxation?

Shall the City of Clarkston be authorized to enact a Freeport Exemption to exemptfinished manufactured goods destined for distribution out of state from taxation?


retail business inventory from taxation?

Votingwill take place at Clarkston International Bible Church, 3895 ChurchStreet, Clarkston, GA from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Any person who is a resident of theCity of Clarkston and who is registered at least thirty (30) days prior to this election with

the DeKalb County Board of Registrations and Elections as an elector within the City ofClarkston shall be eligible to vote in this election. Deadline for voter registration is April21, 2014.

Application for absentee ballots may be made by mail or in person to the Absentee

Ballot Clerk, DeKalb County Elections Division, 4380 Memorial Drive, Suite 300,Decatur, GA 30032, 404-298-4020.

This notice is given pursuant to Chapter 21 of the Official Code of Georgia, as

amended, pertaining to municipal elections, this 5th day of March, 2014.

Tracy Ashby, City Clerk and Municipal Elections Superintendent.

eft, city of Briarcliff Initiative president Allen Venet and Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, and right, Lakeside City Alliance President Kevin Levitas and Sen. Fran Millar discuss the details ofheir proposed cityhood bills. Photos by Daniel Beauregard

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When Stephen Renner contactedDeKalb County Code Enforcementwith a complaint he knew it mighttake a while to get in touch withenforcement officials, but he neverexpected it to take more than twomonths to get the issue resolved.

Renner, who has lived in DeKalbCounty nearly all his life, saida trailer at an intersection in hisneighborhood that was causing asafety hazard.

I got no response that the

complaint had been received andyou call and cant get anybody toanswer the phone, Renner said.

Email correspondence be-tween Renner shows his repeatedcalls and emails were not re-turned. Additionally, Renner said,in one case a county employeeaccused him of lying about hisaccusations.

I received a call from CodeCompliance Supervisor [Jerry]Silverhe wanted to talk to meabout the complaint but I did nothave my noteshe was challeng-ing me as to the accuracy of my

accusations on receiving no con-tact from the code enforcementoffice. He is the first person I havetalked to [via phone] since the inci-dent began, Renner said.

It was only after Renner con-tacted a friend at the DeKalb CountyPolice Department and interimDeKalb County CEO Lee Maysoffice that the issue, a trailer leftunattended at an intersection, wasresolved.

DeKalb County spokesmanBurke Brennansaid what happenssometimes is that code enforce-ment will receive a complaint fromsomeone and then cite the property

owner rather than communicate withthe resident who filed the complaint.However, if a residents calls arent

being returned thats an issue, Bren-nan said.

We want to know if calls arentbeing returned because thats a directproblem with service delivery and itneeds to be corrected immediately,Brennan said.

Brennan provided The Championwith emails showing Renner wascontacted by code enforcement of-ficials several times regarding hisissue. However, it doesnt appearRenners calls were returned in a

timely fashion. Brennan said he thecounty is following up to see whyRenners calls werent returned.

Renner said the issue is a symp-tom of a bigger problem facing the

county.When I came out of college, I

came back to Atlanta and DeKalbCounty was a jewel for many years,Renner said. I think all of these

problems started with the CEO sys-tem.

Originally, DeKalb County wasrun by the Board of Commissionersand a county manager but in 1982residents voted to change that form

of government and Manual Maloofbecame the countys first CEO.

Its the equivalent of a mayorbut you need a county administratorwho answers to the commission,Renner said. Theyve been trying torun [the county] like a city and theycant do that.

Renner said he thinks the reasonthere has been such a push for newmunicipalities relates directly to thecountys service delivery issues,such as the one he recently experi-enced with code enforcement.

I called code enforcement once

a week during January and neverreceived a phone call from them,Renner said.

May recently announced thecounty will be hiring seven newcode enforcement officers butRenner said it likely wont beenough.

I believe code enforcementrecognizes they have a problem butadding seven more officers with-out leadership isnt going to help,Renner said. How about a phonecall folksjust let us know that yougot the message.

Renner did applaud May on the

job he is doing to bring the countytogether and his support to changeDeKalb Countys form of govern-ment.

Code enforcement issuessymptom of bigger problemwith government, man says


Legislators introduced twobills that would allow the city ofDoraville to annex several areasoutheast of the city consisting

mainly of industrial and commercialproperty, and single-family homes.

The bills were introduced byRep. Scott HolcombMarch 10 andnow make their way to the HouseGovernmental Affairs Committee.

The first bill, HB 1138, deals

with the annexation of commercialnd industrial areas and does notprovide for a referendum. How-ver, HB 1139 does provide for aeferendum because it deals mainly

with residential areas consisting ofingle-family homes.

According to a boundary mapssued by the city, the proposed areaonsists of 1,064 parcels of landhat would generate approximately

$3.2 million of tax revenue eachyear.

The proposed annexation areaborders parts of Buford Highwaynot currently included in Doravillend stretches along DeKalb Tech-

nology Parkway and Northeast Ex-pressway to the south.

Doraville spokesman LukeHowe said the city wants to an-nex the proposed areas because it

will make it easier for the areas toreceive essential services from thecity.

Some businesses in the proposedannexation area, Howe said, havehad trouble obtaining permits fromthe county. Howe said some resi-dents in the proposed area have re-quested to become part of Doravillein hopes of streamlining the pro-cess.

Doraville Mayor Donna Pitt-man said the annexation isnt abouta land grab but to bring closure

to the area. Pittman said that dueto the location of some of the un-incorporated parts of the city nearDoraville, it can be difficult for boththe city and the county to deliverservices.

Pittman said there are currentlyresidential areas where one housemay be in the city of Doraville,while a neighboring house willbe part of unincorporated DeKalbCounty.

It makes it a nightmare for codeenforcement and code compliance,Pittman said. I just know this areais kind of like an island of its own.Its really about closure and publicsafety.

If reported favorably out of com-mittee, the bill then goes to the Sen-ate for approval.

Doraville annexation

bill introduced

I called code

enforcement once

a week during

January and never

received a phone

call from them.

Stephen Renner

egislators recently introduced two bills that propose annexing commercial and residentialreas in Doraville. The citys current map is gray; the proposed annexation areas are darkray and light gray.

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THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014 PAGE 11ASPORTS

Basketball State

Championships Coveragepgs. 12-16

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P E R F ECT ION !Redan ends record season with state championshipby Carla [email protected]

he magical run the RedanLady Raiders had been onthis season come to a suc-

essul conclusion as they becamehe third DeKalb County girls bas-

ketball team to inish undeeated astate champions.

he No. 1 ranked Lady Raidersdeeated the No. 2 ranked ColumbusLady Blue Devils 63-53 March 6.

Redan joins the 1997 Stone Moun-tain Lady Pirates (32-0) and Redans2010 team (27-0) as the countys

only undeeated champions, whilesetting a school record with a 33-0season record.

With a state championship addedto his resum, head coach Jerry Jack-sonis now on a 33-game winningstreak ater starting his coaching ca-reer with a 31-0 streak beore losingin the 2011 state championship. Jack-son said ater the game that inishing

the season undeeated along withwinning a state championship meansa lot to him and the team.

hats what we came to do,Jackson said. We just told [theteam] today that we came to pick upwhat belongs to us.

Jackson said that ater losing toSandy Creek in a close game lastseason in the Elite 8, the teams wasto win the state championship in2014. Senior guard Jada Byrd saidthis season was all about overcom-

ing adversity rom last season andproving their doubters wrong.

Coming out strong and inish-

ing our senior year meant a lot tous, Byrd said.Redan started the game strong

with Jamese Abneyand DestiniMcClaryhitting three-pointers togive Redan a 19-12 lead ater theirst quarter.

Redan went on a 12-3 run in the

See Redan on page 16A

The Redan Lady Raiders basketball team completed a perfect 33-0 season with the Class AAAA girls state championship after defeating Columbus 63-53. It was the firststate championship for head coach Jerry Jackson (right) and the second championship for the program. Photos by Travis Hudgons

edan senior guard Brea Elmore (5) looks to pass duringe championship game.

Jada Bryd goes up for a layup as Columbus TatyanaWyatt defends.

Senior guard Jamese Abney shoots over theColumbus defense. Photos by Travis Hudgons

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Ladies FirstTucker dominates Southwest DeKalb to win its first state titleby Carla Parker

[email protected]

hey were told they did not have a chanceto beat the No. 1 ranked SouthwestDeKalb Lady Panthers, but the No. 2

ranked ucker Lady igers proved its doubterswrong when they convincingly beat SouthwestDeKalb 83-65 in the Class AAAAA statechampionship game in Macon Mach 7.

Tis is uckers first girls basketballstate title in its first championship gameappearance.

Its completely unbelievable, ucker headcoach Robin Pottersaid. Its remarkable. I

knew we had it in us. We just had to put it alltogether tonight. I believe this is the best gamewe played all season.

It was probably the best game o theucker senior class o Erykah Davenport,Naimaand Nuba Jacksonand Tori Robinson.Each senior scored in the double digits, withNuba leading the way with 26 points andRobinson right behind her with 21.

Nuba opened the game with a three-pointer, which led to an 8-0 run. TeLady igers never looked back as they ledSouthwest DeKalb by as many as 20 points.Davenport, who finished with 11 points and13 rebounds, said doubters gave ucker extramotivation.

[An Atlanta newspaper] said we had a40 percent chance o winning this game andwe came out and beat them by 20 points,Davenport said. Tat was our incentive. Weplayed with a purpose tonight and I told theteam that we have to play with a purpose.

Potter said her senior players, especiallyRobinson, came through or the team.

Ive said it throughout the year, even lastyear, that Robinson makes us go, Potter said.She doesnt get all the attention Erykah andthe twins get but she makes us go and shecame through.

Southwest DeKalb was able to cut thelead to 16-10 at the end o the first quarter.However, Robinson, who had 13 first halpoints, opened the second quarter with a

three-pointer and two ree throws to extenduckers lead to 21-10.Southwest DeKalb did make a run late in

the third quarter to cut uckers lead to 10.Casey Kelly scored our points during the10-2 run to cut the score to 53-43 with 46seconds lef in the third quarter.

However, ucker dominated in the paintand played pesky deense to extend their leadto 15 late in the ourth quarter. Te LadyPanthers cut the lead again back down to 10,but Nuba was hot rom the ree throw line,hitting five o six ree throws to extend thelead to 15 points and on the way to sealing thegame.

Afer the game, Naima said every playerhustled and played with heart.

We played our game, she said. Nobodydid anything other than what they know howto do. We played our role, we did what we hadto do and we came out with a win.

Senior Erykah Davenport (44) holds up the championship trophy and game ball after Tucker defeated SouthwestDeKalb 83-65 in the Class AAAAA championship game. Photos by Travis Hudgons

Senior Naima Jackson dribbles up the court.

Senior Tori Robinson dribbles by a Southwest DeKalb defender.Erykah Davenport (44) goes up for a layup as South-west DeKalbs Daisa Alexander tries to defend.

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by Carla [email protected]

Together we attack;

number six for 24.Miller Grove coach Sharman Whitestated

those words afer the Miller Grove Wolverinesdeeated Warner Robins 70-43 in the boys ClassAAAAA state title game March 7 at the MaconCentreplex.

It was the sixth consecutive state title or theprogram, a state record. Te journey to numbersix was not easy. Beore the start o the season,reshman Terrell Coleman, 15, died Oct. 27afer collapsing during an all-star game in StoneMountain. Coleman was diagnosed with a heartmurmur approximately a year ago.

Beore his death, Coleman said to teammatesthat he came to Miller Grove because all he wanted

was to win a state championship ring. Te team,which dedicated the season to Coleman andcarried his jersey to every game, was able to honorhis last wish.

Its so gratiying because errell was veryspecial to us, White said. He was a great kid, agreat part o our program, so when that happenedthe kids were devastated. We were all devastated.

But, the thing about it was we rallied and wesaid we were going to do this in the beginning,

White added. For us to be able to do it is just anawesome eeling, not just or them but or me as acoach personally.

Colemans mother, Raeshones, has attendedevery Miller Grove basketball game this season and

when the team was presented with the trophy, sheand Colemans ather, Willie, were standing withthe team holding their sons No. 24 jersey.

I know i he was down here on this earth andhis eet were standing on solid ground hed be over

there in the corner with tears o joy and happinessin his eyes, she said.Te championship win came a day afer

Coleman would have celebrated his 16th birthday.Raeshones Coleman said this was a wonderulbirthday present or her son and said she could notwait to get her sons championship ring.

Im going to hold on to that ring, she said.Im going to show so much love to that ringbecause I know its or errell.

Senior guard Keith Pinckney, who led theteam in scoring with 21 points, said it elt great towin it all or Coleman.

We came out here to try to give it our allor our brother errell and thats what we did,Pinckney said. It eels awesome.

Afer a shaky first hal when the Wolverines

only made 11 o their 26 shot attempts, it wasPinckney who led the charge in the second halthat led to the blowout win over Warner Robins.He scored 11 points during Miller Groves 26-7third quarter run, which led to a 24 point leadheading into the ourth quarter.

Pinckney said that White asked them onequestion during halfime afer their shaky first hal

For TerrellMiller Grove wins its sixth consecutive title for fallen teammate

See Miller Grove on page 16A

The jersey of the late Terrell Coleman covers the in seat on the Miller Grove bench. Coleman died before the season and the Wolverines dedicated the season to him andcarried his jersey to every game. Photos by Travis Hudgons

Raeshones Coleman, mother of Terrell Coleman,points to the sky as Miller Grove celebrates its sixthconsecutive state title.

Searching for Our Sons and Daughters:

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

Finding DeKalb Countys MissingStories of our missing residents offer profound

insights and hope for a positive reunion.

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

Photos brought to you by DCTV

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BACK 2 BACKDurr, Carter lead St. Pius to second consecutive state title

by Carla [email protected]

I

t came down to the finalseconds, but when the clockhit 00:00, the St. Pius girls

basketball team was onceagain state champions.Te Golden Lions deeated the

Buord Wolves 48-45 in the ClassAAA state title game March 8 athe Macon Centreplex.

At the end o the first quarter, itooked as though St. Pius did not

have a chance to win the game,being down 15-3. Junior AsiaDurr, the No. 1 player in her class,missed her first six shots, and theGolden Lions started the game 0or 11.

Teir first field goal came with20 seconds lef in the first quarteron a layup rom junior Obi Okafor.

However, St. Pius flipped the switchn the second quarter and went on

a 20-6 run in that second quarter toake a 23-21 lead into halfime.

Durr led the charge with three3-pointers in the second quarter.

I knew we just needed to get acouple o stops and the shots wouldtart alling, Durr said.

St. Pius never gave up the leadhe rest o the game but Buord

continued to fight back. In theourth quarter, St. Pius was held toone field goal in the final quarter,but Durr was 10 or 10 rom theree throw line. Buord ound

hemselves down 47-45 with 14.2econds lef in the game. Buordouled senior Jasmine Cartertoend her to the ree throw line orwo oul shots.

Carter made one o her two reethrow attempts to bring the scoreto 48-45. Buord had a chance tobring the score back within one,but a missed layup stalled Buordspotential comeback and the GoldenLions went on to celebrate its

second consecutive state title.Head coach Kyle Snipeswas

breathing a sigh o relie afer thegame.

Its more relie than anything

because it was expected o us towin but we almost did not pull itoff, he said. But the girls did andIm proud o them.

Carter, who was celebrating herbirthday as well, said it elt good tohelp her team pull out the win in

the end with the ree throw.I had to stay ocused she said.

You cant get down when you domiss [ree throws] because theyare crucial, but you have to stay

ocused and keep shooting them.Carter finished the game with 12

points and seven rebounds. Durrled the team 23 points, with mosto her points coming rom the reethrow line. She was 12-14 rom theline.

Junior Miah Allen, who was 3or 4 behind the arc, finished withnine points.

Tis is St. Pius fifh state title in10 seasons.

Seniors Anna Nelson, left, and Jasmine Carter hold the trophy after St. Pius defeated Buford 48-45 in the Class AAA state titlegame. Photos by Carla Parker

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RedanContinued from page 12A

Miller GroveContinued from page 14A

second quarter to take a 37-25 lead. However, Colum-bus rallied to come within eight points. McClary was hotrom behind the arc, hitting three more three-pointers inhe inal two minutes o the irst hal to end Columbus

rally and give Redan a 40-28 lead at haltime.Columbus came out o the locker room at haltime with

ire and opened the second hal on a 6-0 run to bring thecore to 40-34 with 4:51 let in the third quarter. Columbusoutscored Redan in the third quarter 16-6 and was down46-44 heading into the ourth quarter.

Columbus Brittany Floydtied the game at 48-48, butColumbus would never grab the lead as Redan went on a13-3 run and had a 10-point lead with 45 seconds remain-ng. Brea Elmores ree throws with 43 seconds to play

made it 63-53. Columbus only scored ive points in the lastix minutes o the game.

Elmore led the team with a game high o 20 points.Byrd and McClary inished with 16 points each.

Redans title is DeKalb Countys 26th state title since2004. It is also the 11th consecutive year that a DeKalbbasketball team has won a title. his is Redans second as aprogram in its ith championship game appearance.

Columbia falls in secondconsecutive title gameby Carla [email protected]

It was bad dj vu or theColumbia boys basketballteam as they lost or the sec-ond straight year in the ClassAAAA title game. Columbiaell to the Jonesboro Cardi-nals 56-51 March 6 in a close,

intense game.Columbia trailed most othe game and was down 11-10 at the end o the irst quar-ter. Columbia took the lead inthe opening o the second quar-ter on an Anthony Ricebasketbringing the score to 12-11.

Jonesboro got a three-point-er rom James Walker Jr. and a couple o ree throws togo with a basket by Jyair Mincyto take an 18-14 lead with4:28 to play in the irst hal. he Cardinals went on an 11-2run to a 26-16 lead at the hal.

Columbia rallied in the third quarter, which included a10-6 run, to tie the game at 36 at the end o the quarter ona Nick Singletons buzzer beater.

Columbia ought hard in the ourth quarter to keep

up with Jonesboro, but the Cardinals ound a way to pullaway rom the Eagles. Jonesboros DeAntre Mackopenedthe ourth quarter with a three-pointer to regain the lead.he Eagles responded and took a brie 42-41 lead with3:46 to play on a Keuntay Puckettlayup.

However, Jonesboro pulled away rom Columbia,mostly on ree throws. Jonesboro scored 15 points in theinal 3:46 with 13 coming rom the ree throw line.

Singleton hit a couple o ree throws with 42 secondsremaining to pull Columbia within 50-48, and hit a three-pointer to bring them within three points with 9.5 secondlet. However, Jonesboro hit six consecutive ree throws toput the game away.

Maurice Riversled the Eagles with 13 points and 10rebounds to lead the Eagles (28-4). Singleton inished with13 points and Rice had 12 points.

It was Columbias second consecutive season inish-ing as runners-up in Class AAAA under second yearhead coach Kerry Sandiferater winning three consecu-tive AAA titles and making ive straight title game ap-pearances.

Redan fans cheer on their team during the Class AAAA championship game. Photo by Travis Hudgons

Columbia head coachKerry Sandifer lookson as his team falls toJonesboro. Photo byTravis Hudgons

Head coach Sharman White, center, holds up six fingers in celebration of Miller Groves sixth con-secutive state title. Terrell Colemans parents, Raeshones, left of White, and Willie, right, celebrate the

eams state title. Photos by Travis Hudgons

Miller Grove senior Deven Dorsett, left, goes up for a layup over a Warner Robins defender. SeniorKeith Pinckney steals the ball from a Warner Robins player.

perormance.He just asked. Do we want it? and we

did, Pinckney said. I just had to be a mannd step up or my team as a senior. I did thatnd I was glad to pull it out.

White said the team had to clean up a ewhings afer leading by just five points afer the

first hal.We werent doing the little things, White

aid. We were playing inconsistently and iteally was an ugly basketball game in the first

hal or us. We told them to clean it up and wehad to make adjustments and make those playshat we shouldve been making in the first

hal.Te Wolverines made those adjustments

and went on the beat Warner Robins by 27points, their second largest-margin victory ina championship game. Te largest (32 points)came in 2010 when they deeated Mays 67-35in the Class AAAA state title game.

With the win, Miller Grove became thefirst boys basketball program in Georgia towin six consecutive state titles. White saidmaking history is not only good or the pro-gram but or the school and the community aswell.

Tis school started in 2005 and wevebeen able to grow in leaps and bounds in ashort period o time, White said. Im justproud o all o the young men that camethrough here with the expectation on the line.

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Election Continued From Page 1A


Detailed market assessment outlinesDeKalb County strengths, weaknessesears.Four people are challenging incumbent Mi-

hael Erwinfor the District 3 school board seat.rwin, an assistant professor at Georgia Gwin-ett College, was one of six school board mem-ers appointed in 2013 by Gov. Nathan Deal

when he replaced six school board members whowere serving when the school district was placedn accreditation probation.

Also seeking the District 3 seat are Jerrie Ba-on, Jarrod Jordan, Atticus LeBlancand Willie

Mosley Jr.wo incumbent school board members will

ace off in the District 4 race. Te district seat isurrently held by Jim McMahan, the boards cur-ent vice chairman. McMahan, a loan originatort AmStar Mortgage Network, has been servingince 2013 when he defeated the incumbent in aunoff.

Te other incumbent in the race is KarenCarter, a Georgia Perimeter College facultymember who was appointed to the Super District

by the governor. Carters current seat was onef two eliminated by the state General Assembly.

Joining the two incumbents in the District 4ace are John Oseletteand Ella Coach Smith.

Former school board member Jesse JayCunninghamis the only one suspended and re-

laced by the governor last year who is seekingo regain his seat. Cunningham, served on theoard from 2007-2013, is seeking the District 5eat.

He faces four candidates, including incum-ent Tad Mayfield, who was appointed byhe governor. Mayfield, is a senior partner with

Georgia-based business development firm FO-COM Inc., currently represents Super District

. Te District 5 seat is currently held by DavidCampbell.

Also vying for the District 5 seat are PiaChaz Afzal Bhatti, R. Alexander Fitzhughnd Vickie B. urner.

Incumbent Melvin Johnson, the schooloards chairman, has one challenger for his

District 6 seat: Bridgeman Bolger. Johnson waslected to the board in 2011 and is one of threeoard members who was not replaced by theovernor last year.

Tere are three contenders for the District 7eat, including incumbent Joyce Morley,who

was also appointed to the position by the gover-or. Morley is the CEO of Morley and Associatesnd a nationally known public speaker and train-r. She faces Kim Aultand Lee V. Dukes.

Eight candidates are vying for the DeKalbheriff position vacated in February by Tomas

Brown,who is trying to unseat CongressmanHenry Hank Johnsonfor the 4th Congressio-

al District seat.Te candidates include interim Sheriff Jeff

Mann, who was appointed to the position byrown; DaleBernardCollins, ed Golden, R.ony Hughes, former DeKalb County CEO

Vernon Jones, Melody Maddox, Melvin Mitch-lland LaSalle Smith Sr.

State Court Judges Johnny Panosand Alvin. Wongare seeking reelection, while two can-

idates are vying for a soil & water commissioneat: Jeff Braggand H. Anthony Gobert.

Tree county commissioners are up for re-lection in November. District 2 CommissionereffRaderand District 3 Commissioner Larry

ohnsonhave qualified for the Democratic Partynd have no opponents.Super District 7 Commissioner Stan Watson

will face Gregory Adams, pastor and formerDeKalb County Police officer.


A recently released $300,000study, comparing DeKalbCounty to other areas in thestate and country, gives an in-depth look into the countysstrengths and includes a longlaundry list of weaknesses.

he market assessmentstudy, performed by exas-based firm Angelou Econom-ics, is the first in a four-phaseprocess aimed at developing astrategic five-year action planfor the county.

According to the study,in December 2013 and Janu-ary 2014, officials interviewed

more than 200 stakeholders andlaunched an online survey tocollect input from businessesand residents.

In order to improve theeconomic environment, thecounty must overcome a num-ber of issues impeding recov-ery, said Angelous Angelou,the author of the study.

Angelou said one of the ma-

jor issues the county is facingis the loss of approximately 50percent of unincorporated taxrevenue over the past six years.his drop in tax revenue, Ange-lou said, is the result of incor-poration, annexation, foreclo-sures and decreasing property

values.Infrastructure in the unin-

corporated areas of the countyis older and in need of repairand replacement, but the drasticreduction in revenues leaves thegovernment unable to reinvestin roads and other infrastruc-ture, Angelou said.

he study states that politi-cal issues related to governance,financial oversight and ethics

have compounded its issuesand reverberate into economicconditions.

o develop a broader under-standing of DeKalb Countyscurrent conditions the studycompares it to three othercountiesCobb and Gwinnettcounties and Prince GeorgesCounty in Maryland.

Among the key points the

study touches on are DeKalbCountys quality of life, work-force and education, educationand the countys business cli-mate.

Interim DeKalb CountyCEO Lee May said the assess-ment does a good job of illus-trating the countys strengthsand the work it needs to do tobe competitive in the future.

his is just one of the manysteps that were taking as far aseconomic development is con-cerned, May said.

Recently, the DeKalb CountyBoard of Commissioners ap-proved an intergovernmentalagreement that will allow theDeKalb Development Author-

ity to become the countys mainarm for economic development.

What is great in all of thisis that once this strategic plan isdone, the [development author-ity] will take it and implementit, May said. Its really whatthe cutting-edge local jurisdic-tions are doing.

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THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014 PAGE 18ABUSINESS

Oakhurst embraces its newest eateryThe Imperial

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

[email protected] happens when a group of

friends decide theyd like to openheir own restaurant/bar with the

kind of food they like, the kind ofbeer they like and the kind of atmo-phere they like? The result might

be something similar the recentlyopened Oakhurst eatery The Impe-ial, the creation of four longtime

friends.Even the name, Jeff Bowie, one

of the owners, explained, surfacedon a buddy outing. The friends weren New Orleans when a Chevro-

et Imperiala car that hasnt beenmanufactured since 1983came by.Hey, one of them said. Thatsan Imperial. Another added, Youknow, that would be a good namefor a bar.

We wanted to create a neigh-borhood pub type of place, Bowieaid, a place where you can relax,

watch a ball game, have a cold beerand a really good burger.

Bowie, who said hes transition-ng to his role as a pub owner after

being an attorney and a stay-at-home dad, explained that business

partner Robert Hollandhas a long

resume in the hospitality industrythat includes years as a bartenderand part-owner of another Oakhurstestablishment. His industry con-tacts made him aware that the longvacant space at West College andMead was available.

Its a great spot. People walkup, bike up, drive up, Bowie said.About half the people who comein say they live across the tracks,meaning in the downtown Decaturarea.

Open since mid-December, theImperial already is getting involvedwith the community. On March1, it hosted the wrap-up party fora Mardi Gras celebration that fea-tures a parade down Mead Street.The annual event raises funds forthe Decatur school systems musicprogram.

Bowie acknowledges that theplace could use more parking space,and a notice on the menu asks thatpatrons not park on property be-longing to the church across thestreet. But, Bowie noted, thebusinesses that share a lot with usare closed after 7 p.m., then its allours.

The cozy little pub seats about

60 inside, and when the weather ispleasant, an additional 40 diners canbe seated outside. Even in Januarythere were days when patrons optedfor patio seating.

The owners and the kitchenstaff had input into the menu, saidBowie, who has a hamburger namedfor him. We all had ideas aboutwhat we thought would be good toinclude, he added. The result is aneclectic mix of Tex-Mex, New Or-leans, Mediterranean, classic South-ern and such items as the Filipino-style spring rolls. A favorite seemsto be pimiento cheese, which canbe found among the appetizers andsandwiches as well as being avail-able as a topping for hot dogs andburgers.

While making their selections,patrons may enjoy the quirky com-ments that accompany the menuitems. One notes, for example, thatthe beef on the roast beef po boysandwich is cooked forever andserved the right way: gravy coatedand messy

Among the soft drink listingtheres Mexican Coca-Cola, for-merly just Coca-Cola if you grew

up before Satans Agribusiness

Lobby cornified every damn thing.Tastes exactly like your childhood.

Even the standard health depart-ment warning about consuming rawor undercooked items comes with atouch of humor. This seems like agood time to tell you what the FDAand DeKalb County Health Depart-ment want you to know, precedesthe boilerplate announcement,which is followed up with We wishto add that wearing your seatbeltand eating your vegetables, thoughnot necessarily at the same time, arealso fine, fine ideas.

The same whimsy spills overinto the dcor, which featuresamong other items humorous post-ers, a pink cartoon hippopotamusand a window shade that doubles asthe type of world map thats stan-dard in many elementary schoolclassrooms.

Even though in mid-March, theImperials permanent sign was notyet in placea hand-drawn chalk-board served the purposebusinesswas brisk. Even we underestimatedthe power of social media, Bowiesaid.

Jeff Bowie handles paperwork thats part of his new role as a pub owner. Photos by Kathy Mitchell

A window shade doubles as the type of worldmap thats standard in many elementary schoolclassrooms.

La Poutine de Georgia is among the appetizers on theeclectic menu.

The bar features a selection of beers and classiccocktails chosen by the owners.

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THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2014 PAGE 19AEDUCATION

New Gresham Park Elementary to be built at Clifton Elementary siteby Andrew [email protected]

Gresham Park stakehold-ers got their wish March 3when the DeKalb County

Board o Education decidedo change the location o anew school building.

Instead o constructing anew Gresham Park Elemen-ary School building at theite o the building, which

has been closed since June2011, the school board votedo build the new school athe site o the current Cliton

Elementary School.We actually build the

chools or the communi-ies that will be served, said

DeKalb School Superinten-dent Mike Thurmond. he

community supports theproject. hat wasnt therebeore.

School Board memberMichaelErwinsaid he be-came aware o communityopposition when residentsasked, Why cant the deci-ion be reversed?

hats when the schooldistrict decided to start overrom scratch in planninghe new school building, Er-

win said.Ater public meetings in

October 2013 and December

2013, the school board onan. 6 authorized the schooldistrict to explore the useo the Cliton ElementarySchool site or the utureGresham Park ElementarySchool. School district per-onnel sought and received

approval rom the GeorgiaDepartment o Education;conducted required publicnotiication meetings; andprepared a cost estimate re-view or additional design,engineering and construc-ion costs.

he site change will

cost the school district ap-proximately $1.8 million.he extra costs are due tohe staged demolition o the

Cliton Elementary building;adaptation and engineeringo the prototype school tohe Cliton site; civil engi-

neering; and projected esca-ation o construction costs

due to a later start date.he new cost o the

chool, which will house 900tudents, will be an estimat-

ed $20.2 million.he community is be-

hind it 100 percent, Erwinaid about the new buildingocation. We want to work

with the community. hecommunity wants to work

with us. he Gresham Parksite wasnt right or a 21stcentury school.

Darryl Jennings, presi-dent o the Gresham ParkCommunity Association,

said school district leadersheard the stakeholder con-cerns and they took that toheart. hey listened.

hurmonds administra-tion heard the concerns un-like the previous administra-tion, Jennings said. I believethose that were making deci-sions at that time didnt ullyunderstand the location.

he original decision torebuild Gresham Park El-ementary at the site o thecurrent building was madebased on number o stu-dents. hey did not know

the community, Jenningssaid.

We, the community,want whats best or thestudents in the entire area,Jennings said. he oldGresham Park Elementarylocation was not the bestlocation. Its deep into theneighborhood.

Because most studentshave to ride buses, it wouldcreate a horriic traicproblem to have a largerschool in the neighborhood,he said.

he location at Clitonis the best site because o thelexibility, Jennings said. Itisnt locked in. hree dier-ent roads lead into Clitonwhich is much better or thetraic in the Gresham area.

Stephen M. Wilkins, theschool districts chie opera-tions oicer, said, We areabsolutely convinced thatthis is the best site or theschool.

Wilkins said access issuperior and the Clitonlocation has a park and com-munity center.

We will be able to lever-age those buildings, he said.

While the building willbe state-o-the-art, stake-holders have to understandthat there is, as Supt. hur-mond said, a big dierencebetween the school and thebuildingthe school beingwhos in the building andwhat resources you have inthe building and the build-ing being just the brick andmortar, Jennings said.

Jennings said Greshamstakeholders have to make

sure that weare in on thebuilding and the schoolwhat we want it to look like[and] what resources will beoered at the location.

The old Gresham Park Elementary School building has been closed s ince June 2010. Photos by AndrewCauthen

Under a plan approved by the DeKalb school board, Clifton Elementary will be torn down and a new GreshamPark Elementary building constructed on its site.

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On a hot and stressul day in 1994Atlanta resident Carla Jenkinsstartedto eel extremely tired and noticedthat the muscles rom her waist upwere weak and not responding. Hercondition reached a point where shecouldnt hold her head up, speak, eat orswallow.

I got into an intensive care unitwith a bad crisis. hey didnt knowwhat happened. I was going rom onedoctor to the other. When I got bet-ter I started reading in a medical bookabout myasthenia gravis [MG] and Irealized my symptoms matched so Ibasically diagnosed mysel. he second

neurologist that I visited conirmedthat I had that disease, Jenkins said.Myasthenia gravis is caused by a

breakdown in the normal communi-cation between nerves and muscles.here is no cure or it, but treatmentcan help relieve symptoms, suchas weakness o arm or leg muscles,double vision, drooping eyelids, anddiiculties with speech, chewing, swal-lowing and breathing.

MG is an autoimmune conditionin which the immune system attacksthe neuromuscular junctionthe spacewhere the nerve meets the muscleitsa relatively unknown condition. Par-ticularly among lay people, said Gavin

Brown, a neurologist at Emory Uni-versity Hospital.

On March 15 the Myasthenia Gra-vis Foundation (MGFA) will celebrateits third annual walk in Atlanta to raise

awareness and unds to support theorganization.

Whenever I mention that I have

this disease, people say they have neverheard o it. Its a rare disease so thewalk is a great opportunity to raiseawareness. We want to ind the cureor it, said Jenkins, who will be theGeorgia walk hero and speak at theopening ceremony.

When you have any disease itsgood to know that you are not alone,thats why I want to share my story,she added.

According to Brown, the cause oMG is not known. A genetic predispo-sition to autoimmune diseases can runin amilies, but MG is not thought tobe directly hereditary.

It aects more women and theyare aected more severely and youngerthan men. he most common age atonset is the second and third decadesin women and the seventh and eighthdecades in men, said the neurologist.

Approximately 20 out o 100,000individuals in the United States havebeen diagnosed with MG, accordingto the Myasthenia Gravis Foundationo America, but because MG is consid-ered under diagnosed, the prevalenceis thought to be much higher.

For DeKalb resident Reba Her-zfeld, who was diagnosed with ocularmyasthenia gravis in 2004a form ofMG in which the muscles that move

the eyes and control the eyelids areeasily fatigued and weakened, the MGwalk renews hope, and creates a com-munity of support and strength.

It enables patients like me to talk

about our illness and experience anoutpouring o support, concern and apledge rom amily and riends to do

more, she said.Herzeld had several surgeries in

the last 10 years but she was told thatshe cant have more surgery becauseshe would not be able to close her eye-lids.

At 8 oclock in the morning myeyes are open; at 5 in the aternoonthey are hal closed because theydroop. I can see ine because my eye-lids dont cover the pupil but it getsworst as the day goes on i my eyes get

very tired, said the Dunwoody resi-dent, who has two daughters, 34 and37, not aected with the disease.

It is a debilitating disease, with

no mercy. Just like octopus tentacles,MG does not give you warning onwhich part o your body it will wrap,sometimes suocating your very be-ing, said Juana Alzaga, a oco Hillsresident diagnosed with MG two yearsago.

For Brown, events such as the walkrepresent hope in terms o inding thecure because they will help raise mon-ey and generate interest to encouragethe pharmaceutical industry to moveorward toward a cure.

he drugs companies wont pro-vide unding or research or rare dis-eases because it is not proitable andthats rustrating or me as a doctor be-

cause I dont care i its proitable I justwant to help the patients, concludedBrown.

Walking for a cause

Facts about MG:

Myasthenia gravisis a rare disease causedby a breakdown in thenormal communicationbetween nerves andmuscles.

Common symp-toms: drooping eyelids,blurred or double vision,slurred speech, difficultychewing and swallow-ing, weakness in thearms and legs, chronicmuscle fatigue and dif-ficulty breathing.

How many peopleare affected in theUnited States: ap-proximately 20 out of100,000 individuals

Third annual

MG walk

What: Georgia MG 1and 3 mile walk

When: Saturday, March

15. Registration: 9 a.m.Walk start at 10 a.m.

Where: ChambleeFirst United MethodistChurch Campus, 4147Chamblee DunwoodyRoad, Atlanta.

Cost: free; donations arewelcome to support thecause.

To register call1-855-MGWALKS (855-649-2557) or visit: www.mgwalk.org/georgia

Ocular myasthenia gravis, isa form of myasthenia gravis(MG) in which the muscles that

move the eyes and control theeyelids are easily fatigued andweakened. Reba Herzfelds eyesbecome so droopy and heavythat by the end of the day shecan barely open them.

Outside we can look ne, but inside we are very weak and sick, said Carla Jenkins, who suffers from myasthenia gravis, an invisible disease.Photos provided

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