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Photos by Carla Parker

WWW.CHAMPIONNEWSPAPER.COM FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2013 VOL. 16, NO. 20 FREE

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Serving East Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Clarkston, Decatur, Doraville, Dunwoody, Lithonia, Pine Lake, Tucker and Stone Mountain.

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Nurse teachesbetter healththrough fitness

See Fitness Center on page 13A

LaTasha Tadda Lewis created Taddas Fitness Camp in 2008 to help prevent people in the community fromdeveloping diseases related to obesity and unhealthy eating. Lewis changed the camps name to Taddas Fit-ness Canter and moved into a 12,000-square-foot facility that offers a variety of fitness classes.

by Carla [email protected]

As a registered

nurse it is LaTa-sha TaddaLewisjob to

advise patients to eat rightand exercise to help preventheart attacks, strokes andother diseases.

But in January 2008,Lewis noticed that she wasnot applying that same ad-vice to her life. The formertrack and cross country run-ner saw that she had gottento a size eight, the largestshe has been in her life.

I had back fat, love han-dles, a muffin top, whateveryou want to call it, shesaid. I saw myself being ahypocrite. I was telling [mypatients] the right things todo but was not doing it inmy life.

Lewis joined a fitnessprogram and after six weeksshe lost 15.6 pounds. Inthose six weeks Lewis saidshe saw her body and every-thing else in her life change.

I saw my mental statuschange, my emotional statuschange and my financialstatus change, she said.

Everything changed just inthose six weeks.

Lewis wanted her friendsand coworkers to experi-ence those same changesas well, so in September2008 she started her ownsix-week fitness camp callTaddas Fitness Camp.

Tadda is Lewis child-hood name.

The camp started atDeKalb Medical at Hillan-dale where she worked. Her21 clients included physi-

cians, nurses and medicaltechnicians. Lewis saidshe started the camp at thehospital after an incident. A

patient was in an emergencysituation on the fourth floorof the hospital and Lewis,along with other hospitalstaff, ran up to fourth floorto save the patients life.

When we got up thereIm trying to do chest com-pressions on this patient andeveryone coming up there isout of breath and leaning upagainst the wall, she said.Theyre trying to pass mean oxygen tank and otherthings while out of breathand Im looking like, whodo I need to save first? Thepatient or them?

After that episode, Lewiswrote a proposal to the hos-pital about starting a fitnesscamp. The proposal wasapproved and for six weeksLewis took her coworkersthrough rigorous workoutsessions and taught themabout proper diet.

They all saw great re-sults, she said.

Lewis was on her thirdcamp at the hospital whenshe was approached by anOB/GYN specialist, who

was so pleased with herresults after finishing thecamp that she offered Lewisa space in her new medicalbuilding to hold camp ses-sions. Lewis moved into the4,000-square-foot facilityin Lithonia in March 2009and at the end of its openingweek Taddas Fitness Camphad 110 clients.

I never advertised [thecamp], she said. It wasbasically word of mouthfrom all the great results

2013 High school Football Preview See Page 16

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Trial date set forsuspended CEO Ellis

DeKalb DA re-indicts former school superintendent

See Ellis on Page 8A

by Daniel [email protected]

The DeKalb County District At-orneys Ofce has handed down a

new indictment in the case againstformer DeKalb County SchoolDistrict Superintendent CrawfordLewis.

Lewis, along with former schoolsconstruction chiefPat Reid and herex-husband Tony Pope, are accusedof conspiring to defraud the schooldistrict of approximately $2.4 mil-ion through illegal construction

contracts.All three are charged with violat-

ng the Racketeer Inuenced andCorrupt Organizations Act (RICO)and three counts of theft by takingby a government employee. Thehree were originally charged with

four counts of RICO and one countof theft. This is the second timeLewis and his alleged conspiratorshave been re-indicted since rst be-ng indicted in 2010.

The trial is set to begin Oct. 15n DeKalb County Superior Court

Judge Cynthia Beckers courtroom.

A spokesman for District Attor-ney Robert James ofce said thepurpose of the re-indictment wassimply to streamline the chargesagain Lewis, Reid and Pope.

Reid, formerly known as PatPope, allegedly used her role as thedistricts construction chief to award

contracts to then husband TonyPope. According to ofcials andcourt documents, Lewis signed offon contracts and knowingly partici-pated in the conspiracy.

Reid also red Heery/Mitchell in

2006, which had overseen construc-tion contracts for the district, citingoverbilling and questionable work.Heery managed the school SPLOSTaccount from 2002-06.

Heery has since sued DeKalbCounty School District for$400,000, which it said the system

still owes for work it had done. Theschool system consequently coun-tersued for $100 million, allegingfraud and claiming that the com-pany mismanaged projects. Heerydenies those claims and contends

the real reason the company wasred was Reid wanted to award thecontracts to people she knew andhad connections with.

Heery International and the dis-trict have attempted to agree on asettlement out of court. To date, theDeKalb County Board of Educationhas paid approximately $18 mil-lion to law rm King and Spalding,which is representing the board, andaccrued an additional $19 million inlegal fees.

We are counting on constructivesettlement discussions to continue.We look forward to the DeKalbCounty school board joining us inputting an end to this regrettable ep-isode, Heery International spokes-man David Rubinger said.

Some ofcials have contendedthat for the civil case involvingthe school board and Heery Inter-national to progress, the pendingcriminal case involving Lewis,Reid and Pope must be resolved soboth can be called as witnesses inthe civil trial without incriminatingthemselves.


A DeKalb County Supe-ior Court judge has set an

Aug. 19 dateor the trial

of suspendedDeKalb CEOBurrell El-is, who isccused ofheft, con-piracy andxtortion.

Ellis wasndicted June8 and shortly thereafter, sus-

pended by Gov. Nathan Deal

until the outcome of the trialor the end of his term of of-ce. Deal replaced Ellis withDeKalb County Commis-ionerLee May.

Recently, Ellis attorneysled a motion to dismiss thease on grounds that District

Attorney Robert Jamesbused his authority whenndicting Ellis. A judge has

yet to rule on that motion.A pretrial motions hearing

s scheduled for Aug. 9. El-is attorneys have asked forcontinuance to allow more

ime to prepare for trial.Ellis indictment report-dly stems from informa-ion investigators found

while searching his home inJanuary. While his home was

being searched, Ellis wastestifying before a specialpurpose grand jury impaneled

to investigate alle-gations of corrup-tion in the countyswatershed depart-ment.

In their motionto dismiss the case,Ellis attorneysaccuse James ofusing a special

purpose grand juryto obtain evidence

or information to use againstEllis in an indictment. The

motion also states that theDAs ofce issued subpoenasfor Ellis to testify before thegrand jury and made falserepresentations that Ellis wasnot a target of the investiga-tion.

Erik Burton, a spokes-man for James, said, Westand ready for trial and westand by our indictment.

The indictment againstEllis describes pay-to-playscheme in which he allegedlytried to strong-arm countyvendors by telling them that

if they didnt donate to hiscampaign, their work fromthe county would come to ahalt.

Ellis

Lewis Reid Pope

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NewsBriefs

NOTICE OF ELECTION, QUALIFYING REQUIREMENTS, ANDREGISTRATION

CITY OF AVONDALE ESTATES, GEORGIA

Notice is hereby given that a General Municipal Election for the City of Avondale Estates will be

held on Tuesday, November 5, 2013 to elect two (2) Commissioners to the Avondale Estates Board of

Mayor and Commissioners. The term of office is four (4) years. Voting will take place at Avondale

Estates City Hall, 21 North Avondale Plaza from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Any person who is a resident of

the City of Avondale Estates and who is registered with Dekalb County Board of Registrations and

Elections as an elector within the City of Avondale Estates at least thirty (30) days prior to this election,

shall be eligible to vote in this election. Deadline for voter registration is October 7, 2013.

Persons wishing to qualify for this election may file a notice of candidacy with the Qualifying Officer at

Avondale Estates City Hall, 21 North Avondale Plaza, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to

4:30 p.m. beginning Monday, August 26, 2013 through Friday, August 30, 2013. The qualifying fee

is $3.00.

Application for absentee ballots may be made by mail, fax or in person to: DeKalb County Election

Supervisor, Memorial Drive Complex , 4380 Memorial Drive, Suite 300, Decatur, GA 30032-1239,

Telephone: (404) 298-4020, Fax: (404) 298-4038.This notice is given pursuant O.C.G.A. 21-2-132(d), pertaining to municipal elections, this 8th day of

August, 2013.

Juliette Sims-Owens

City Clerk, City of Avondale Estates

Diverging Diamondntersection weavingssue improved

A trafc weaving issue

hat occurred after the open-ng of the Diverging Dia-

mond Interchange at I-285and Ashford DunwoodyRoad last year has beenmproved by the Perimeter

Transportation OperationsProgram (PTOP).

PTOP is a collaborativeprogram between the Perim-eter Community Improve-ment Districts (PCIDs) andhe cities of Brookhaven,

Dunwoody and SandySprings to upgrade and syn-chronize signals to improve

rafc congestion in thePerimeter business districtand adjacent main thorough-fares. The three-year $2.8million program is fundedby the Georgia Departmentof Transportation.

Drivers exiting I-285westbound and turning rightonto Ashford DunwoodyRoad were facing problemsmerging with free owingnorthbound trafc that wascoming through the DDI,aid PCIDs Program Man-

agerJennifer Harper. Itwas especially challengingfor right turners who neededo access the ofces at Ra-

vinia on the right or to crossfour lanes of trafc and turneft onto Hammond Drive.

Through PTOP, wehave worked with the cityof Dunwoody to greatly im-prove the situation by reduc-ng the amount of time thatrafc signals were overlap-

ping and maximizing theynchronization of signals

through the DDI and alongthe Ashford Dunwoody cor-ridor, Harper said.

The change in the signaltiming plan has virtuallyeliminated the weave issuewith the exception of theweekday morning peak pe-riod, which was reduced 70percent, Harper said.

DeKalb Police aerialsupport unit receivesnational honor

The DeKalb CountyPolice Departments aerialsupport units use of nightvision goggles to locate andassist in rescuing a stranded

hiker has received nationalrecognition. The unit waspresented with the Markof Excellence Award dur-ing the recent Airborne LawEnforcement Associationsconvention in Orlando, Fla.

Aviation SpecialtiesUnlimited and Night FlightConcepts presented the unitwith the honor for assistingthe Stone Mountain PoliceDepartment Aug. 4, 2012,with the night rescue of ahiker.

It is an honor for theaerial support unit to receive

a service award for its use ofnight vision goggles duringmissions. The units workis a glaring example of theDeKalb County Police De-partments commitment tosafety and providing qualityservice to the communityand our police ofcers, saidDeKalb County Police ChiefCedric Alexander.

The aerial support unithas own with the night vi-

sion goggles for more thanseven years and was therst law enforcement unitin metro Atlanta to y withthe equipment, according toa news release from the de-partment.

The department was alsopresented the 5 Years ofService Award for its con-tinued use of night visiongoggles.

Alarm registrationrequirements beginin Dunwoody, SandySprings

Residents and businesseswithin the cities of Dun-

woody and Sandy Springswho use a monitored alarmsystem to protect theirbuildings have until Oct. 1to register their alarm sys-tems in accordance withrecently passed ordinancesin each city. In the cityof Dunwoody, monitoredalarms can be registeredat www.dunwoodyga.gov/alarm; in the city of SandySprings, the URL is www.sandyspringsga.gov/alarm.

The cities have contract-ed with Cry Wolf to imple-ment online registration,

tracking and collection offees associated with exces-sive false alarms. Alarm us-ers are assessed a graduatedne ranging from $50 to$500 based on the numberof false alarms. Fire alarmedlocations must be registeredin Sandy Springs, while realarm locations are excludedfrom registration require-ments in Dunwoody. Com-mercial alarmed locations

must pay a $25 registrationfee annually in Dunwoody,with no charge assessed inSandy Springs. Registra-tion for residential alarmsystems is free in both cit-ies. There is a $100 nefor failure to register anymonitored property alarmsystem.

City councils in bothcities approved alarm ordi-nances with the goal of re-ducing the number of falsecalls requiring public safetypersonnel efforts. It is esti-mated that at least 95 per-cent of all alarmed calls arefalse alarms. In 2012, Dun-woody Police responded tomore than 4,000 alarm calls,

and the majority of thosewere false alarms.

Residents and businessesin the two cities have untilOct. 1 to register their alarmsystems in order to avoidthe $100 nonregistrationpenalty. Residents and busi-nesses that are unable toaccess the Internet or havequestions on the registrationprocess can call (866) 889-2365 or email [email protected] [email protected]. Detailsabout the ordinance andpenalties for false alarmscan be found on each cityswebsite.

A tow truck loads up a white sedan as the DeKalb County Police

Department investigates the scene where a woman was found deadin her car. Someone called 911 around 2 p.m. Aug. 5 to report anunresponsive woman in her car in the Belvedere Plaza parking lot onMemorial Drive, according to news reports. The woman was determinedto be dead when police and EMS arrived. The police department isreportedly considering the matter a death investigation. Photo by TravisHudgons

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One Mans Opinion

From little acorns, mighty oaksdo grow.American proverb.

About 13 years and nearly $13million ago, WSB-Radio in Atlanta,the nations highest rated news/talk station, was doing a bit of soul-searching on what project or causeit could illuminate and support, togive back to Atlanta, north Georgiaand its listening audience. A

50,000-watt blow-torch, as thestation was often referred to, canthrow off a lot of light. And therewas no shortage of suggestions ofworthy causes.

Scott Slade, the host ofAtlantasMorning Newson WSB, conveneda small summit of his peers acrossthe broadcast day, and then satdown with the talk-masterNealBoortz and consumeradvice guruClarke Howard to discuss thepros and cons of several charitablecauses and entities which eachadvocated or supported.

Boortz talked of Angel Flight,a worthy nonprofit for which hehas volunteered for decades, andseveral causes supported by hisspouse Donna, and the DonnaBoortz Foundation. Clark Howard,

as you might expect, dominated thediscourse with passionate advocacyfor Clarks Christmas Kids,Habitat for Humanity and building

playgrounds in economicallydistressed neighborhoods forchildren with few places to go.

Scott Slade, sat quietly at themiddle of the table, pensive andwith his arms folded and said,Those are all good, but they dontbeat kids with cancer.

At the suggestion of a friend,Slade had visited two of the threecampuses of the AFLAC CancerCenter at Childrens Healthcare ofAtlanta (CHOA), and witnessedup close the hope, life affirmationand fast improving treatmentrealities of research and medicalimprovements closing on a cure for

many pediatric cancers. He sharedmore of the details of his visit withthe group. Howard again pressedthat listeners are more willing todonate to others during the holidayseasona soft second pitch for hisChristmas Kids. Slade smiled, butheld firm, Really good stuff, butthat still doesnt trump kids withcancer.

And in a moment, the debatewas done, the trio unanimous intheir resolution. The somewhatrare unanimity was shared withWSB-Radio programming directorPete Spriggs. Shortly after, in a

meeting with Childrens Healthcareof Atlanta, Spriggs made the offerof 36 hours of free airtime andan annual Care-a-thon to helpChildrens fight pediatric cancers.

The first year raised almost$750,000. Two years ago, CHOAdedicated its newest treatmentfacilities at their Scottish Rite

campus to the loyal listeners,donors and supporters of the WSBRadio Care-a-thon in thanks forraising in excess of $10 millionto fund research, hires staff andsupport family initiatives. The Care-a-thon has become CHOAs largestand most successful fundraiser;donor loyalty and repeat givingsurpass the low 90 percentiles. Andeach year since, the donor tally hasincreased, this year totaling nearly$1.6 million, despite this long-lasting recession.

Slade annually shares ananecdote of a father saying goodbyeto his child, one of the rare patients

whose life was still taken all tooearly. A nurse noted the fatherlingering and was attempting torelieve and comfort him. The father,clutching the childs pillow againsthis face quietly said, Ill only bea minute. Im gathering a memory,smells, her smile, and sayinggoodbye to our angel. Slade tearsup every time he tells the story, andso do those listening and watchinghim shareand then those phonesring and you give, and you give andyou give.

Along with online giving,much of the Care-a-thon now has

corporate and large donor support,with matching gifts regularlydoubling the tally of individualgifts. Dan and Kathelen Amos, theCEO of AFLAC and co-founder

of the AFLAC Cancer Centerrelationship with Childrens HealthCare of Atlanta, annually turn thelast hour of the Care-a-thon during

afternoon drive-time into a hardcharging Give-a-thon.Cure rates for most pediatric

cancers treated at each of thethree AFLAC Cancer and BloodDisorders Services Centers arereaching into the 80 percentiles. Nochild in Georgia now needs to seekthe best treatment available otherthan right here in Atlanta and atCHOA.

I certainly hope that the vastmajority of you parents andgrandparents reading this columnnever have to support your childor grandchild facing a battle withan insidious cancer, but if you do,

be glad you are here, and thanks tomany of you and your generosityeach year, a few more hundred littleacorns may one day get their chanceto become a big and strong tree.

Bill Crane also serves as a

political analyst and commentatorfor Channel 2s Action News, WSB-AM News/Talk 750 and now 95.5FM, as well as a columnist forTheChampion, Champion Free Press

andGeorgia Trend. Crane is aDeKalb native and business owner,living in Scottdale. You can reachhim or comment on a column [email protected].

From small acorns

Page 4A The Champion Free Press, Friday, August 9, 2013OPINION

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Let Us Know What You Think!

THE CHAMPION FREE PRESSencourages opinionsfrom its readers. Please write to us and express yourviews. Letters should be brief, typewritten and containthe writers name, address and telephone number forverification. All letters will be 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 edi-tors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editor or publishers.ThePublisher reserves the right to reject or cancel any advertisement at anytime. The Publisher is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts.

Publisher: John Hewitt

Chief Financial Officer Dr. Earl D. Glenn

Managing Editor: Kathy Mitchell

News Editor: Andrew Cauthen

Production Manager: Kemesha HuntGraphic Designer: 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

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FREEPRESS

STATEMENT FROM THE PUBLISHER

We sincerely appreciate the discussion surrounding this and anyissue of interest to DeKalb County. The Champion was founded in1991 expressly to provide a forum for discourse forallcommunityresidents onall sides of an issue. We have no desire to make thenews only to report news and opinions to effect a more educatedcitizenry that will ultimately move our community forward. We arehappy to present ideas for discussion; however, wemake everyeffort toavoid printing information submitted to usthat is known tobe false and/orassumptions penned as fact.

Churches 2 Falcons 0

The Newslady

The news blares in the head-ines: The Georgia World Congress

Center Authority walks away fromnegotiations with churches. Onewould have to be a sleep under thebleachers not to know that the GW-CCA has been trying for monthso acquire two churches in the pre-

ferred south site of the new AtlantaFalcons Stadium.

Those two churches are MountVernon Baptist and FriendshipBaptist, churches steeped in the his-ory of Black Atlanta. Friendships Atlantas oldest Black church,

established in 1866. Spelman Col-ege was founded in its basement

and Morehouse College held classeshere in its early days. The late At-anta MayorMaynard Jacksons

father was one of Friendships mostprominent pastors. In more recentyears, actress Jasmine Guys father,

Rev. William Guy, was a longtimepastor of Friendship and is cur-rently pastor emeritus. In short, thechurches are rich repositories of

Black Atlanta history.In the latest play, the GWCCA

couldnt get the ball in the endzone. It officially terminated nego-tiations with Mount Vernon whenthe church refused GWCCAs finaloffer of $6 million. According topublished reports, Mount Vernonwas holding out for more than $20million, claiming the value of thesite alone was worth more than $6million, not to mention the cost ofrelocating, and lost parking revenue.One has to agree with Mount Ver-non. In todays economy, the cost ofrelocating and or rebuilding wouldbe considerably more than $6 mil-lion. That figure is almost insulting.Friendship Baptist reportedly wasoffered $15.5 million, but wanted$24.5 million.

The real question that remainsunanswered is how much would itcost to replace the rich history ofthe two churches? Is there a suitableprice tag? The history of Friend-ship and Mount Vernon is priceless.There simply ought to be things that

money cannot buy, such as love,integrity and, yes history. Sadly, toomuch of the rich history of AfricanAmericans has been purchased, lost

and distorted.Some accuse church elders and

both Mount Vernon and Friendshipof being greedy and uncooperative.If their terms were out of range, thatmight have been a perfect play, fakethe ball.

Lets put this in a pure historicalcontext. With all due respect andlove, who would dare think abouttearing down the century-and-a-half-year-old Temple on PeachtreeStreet, the first Jewish house ofworship in Atlanta for instance, towiden the road or make way for anew development? What about the100-year-old Peachtree Presbyte-rian? The phone call would not bemade; the quarterback would besacked at the line of scrimmage.

The GWCCA and the city ofAtlanta have long favored the so-called south site, which includesMount Vernon and Friendship.Without Mount Vernons property,there is no reason for the new sta-dium planners to buy the Friendshipproperty. So now, the Falcons have

to begin working toward the alter-nate north site located a half milenorth of the current Dome at IvanAllen and Northside Drive. Its not

ideal because it is about a 10-minutehike from the Vine City MARTAstation, which sits right outsideMount Vernon and Friendship.

While negotiations have brokenoff on the south site, talks couldresume at some point. In the mean-time, stadium planners ought tobe in conversation with MARTAfor a long-term agreement for busshuttles from the Vine City stationto the north stadium site. Shuttleshave been provided for year fromthe Five Points MARTA station tothe Braves games. With construc-tion on the new stadium set to be-gin early next year and completionscheduled for 2017, there is plentyof time to work out that shuttle dealwith MARTA. Its the best solutionfor all parties involved and certainlymoves the ball downfield. Touch-down!

Steen Miles, The Newslady, is aretired journalist and former Geor-gia state senator. Contact SteenMiles at [email protected].

Printed on 100%post-consumerrecycled paper

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Champion of the Week

If you ould 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.

Decatur book festival celebrateseighth year with civil rights speaker

Vivian Price saffold


This year congressman andconic civil rights leaderJohn

Lewis will deliver the keynoteaddress for the eighth annualAJC Decatur Book FestivalAug. 30, at 8 p.m. at EmorysSchwartz Center for Perform-ng Arts.

Lewis will kick off the fes-

ival and discuss his recentlyeleased graphic novelMarch:Book One, the rst in a trilogyaimed to engage the next gen-eration of readers on lessonsabout the Civil Rights Move-ment. The festival begins twodays after the 50th anniver-ary of the famed 1963 march

on Washington at whichLewis was a speaker.

John Lewis is an iconicAmerican gure of equalityand freedom, a hero. Addi-ionally, he is a phenomenal

author who writes stories ofignicant events of our na-

ions historyevents that hedirectly participated in, saidDaren Wang, executive di-ector of the book festival.

Wang also runs the literarymagazine Verb and the syndi-ated radio show The Spoken

Word.Lewis new novel is a rst-

hand account of his lifelongtruggle for civil and humanights. In it he depicts roles he

played as an integral leaderduring the march on Wash-ngton, as well as the 1965

Selma-Montgomery march.

The festival has continuedto grow throughout the yearsand this year, Wang said, ithas developed more strategic

partnerships with local orga-nizations, features more high-

prole authors and has moreactivities for adults and chil-dren than previous years.

Additionally, the festivalrecently hired new program-ming directorPhilip Raf-

shoon, who is the formerowner of Outwrite Bookstore,a popular Midtown bookstoreher ran for nearly two de-cades.

Our mission is to encour-age a love of reading andwriting for people from allwalks of life, and this yearslineup exemplies our com-mitment to that mission, Raf-shoon said.

Each year, the festival hasgrown, bringing more than80,000 to the Decatur SquareLabor Day weekend. It is nowknown as ones of the largest

book festivals nationally andworldwide.This years festival will

feature hundreds of authorsfrom all over the country andaround the world. Addition-ally, the festival will featureseveral new panels, includingones about the arts, civil andhuman rights, beach reads, alocal prose stage sponsored byWrite Club Atlanta and more.

For more information onthe festival visit www.deca-turbookfestival.com.

Vivian Price Saffoldsaid her love for historicpreservation has alwaysbeen a part of her. Shesaid its her lifelonginterest.

Saffold has writtentwo books on the historyof DeKalb County andhas spent lots of timevolunteering for theDeKalb County HistoryCenter.

Currently, Saffoldvolunteers with the

Campaign to Save theGeorgia Archives.

Each jurisdictionin the state sends itsdecommissioned recordsto the Georgia RecordCenter. From there,records considered tohave historical valueare sent to the GeorgiaArchives.

Last year, GeorgiaSecretary of State BrianKemp announced thatthe archives would beopen by appointmentonly and its staff wouldbe reduced to save costs.

However, Saffold

and her colleagues at theCampaign to Save theGeorgia Archives ralliedin support of keepingthe archives open to thepublic.

We mobilized peopleto talk to state lawmakersand we got an increasedbudget, Saffold said.

Saffold said theshow of support fromGeorgians helped thearchives remain open andseveral staff members

to keep their jobs.Currently, the archives

are open four days aweek.

It was up to thepeople of Georgiareally, Saffold said.Its important to allGeorgianseveryhistoric recordevenprivate records are heldat the Georgia Archivesand those records areimportant to just aboutevery aspect of Georgialife.

Additionally, Saffold

is a member of theChamblee ArchitecturalDesign Review Board,which reviews all largedevelopments thatcome into the city; thereview board makesrecommendations to theChamblee City Council.

A resident ofChamblee, Saffold saidshe also has a long-standing interest inlearning more about theman whom the city isnamed after and saidthat it is the only town inGeorgia named after anBlack person.

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ATLANTA

Church to hold anniversarybusiness breakfast

For its seventh anniversary, theChurch of Christ at Bouldercrestwill celebrate with an all-whitebusiness breakfast, featuring Jan-nice Almansur of Redberry Sup-port Services. Redberry Servicess an agency specializing in online

marketing solutions, brand identityconsulting, website design and host-ng for small businesses. The events part of the churchs Not By Bread

Alone series. Those attending areasked to wear white. The breakfasts Saturday, Aug. 10, starting at 8

a.m. The cost for breakfast is $5.The Church of Christ at Boulder-crest is located at 2727 Boulder-crest Road, Atlanta. For reservationemail [email protected] or call404) 622-9935.

BROOKHAVeN

City introduces new policedepartment

The Brookhaven Police Depart-ment began patrols July 31, markinghe ofcial launch of the citys rst

police force.With lights ashing and sirens

blaring, more than 40 patrol ve-hicles proceeded on to HermanceDrive in Brookhaven follow-ng a formal ceremony at Town

Brookhaven.One year ago today, residents

voted to take ownership in this com-munity and become a city. We votedfor safer neighborhoods and strongeadership, MayorJ. Max Davisaid. Today, that promise becomes

a reality with the launch of theBrookhaven Police Department.

Police ChiefGary Yandura dis-ributed ofcial challenge coins to

his ofcers while Deputy ChiefRonFreeman called the rst roll call ofhe new department. The military

has presented challenge coins dat-ng back to World War I as a way toecognize special achievements andymbolize department unity.

It is an honor to see Brookhavenofcers now patrolling our citytreets and responding to 911 calls,

Yandura said. Launching a newpolice department is something Inever dreamed of when I started mycareer as a rookie ofcer. Now, I amproud to say we accomplished thisas a team in just three months.

Combined, the 54-ofcer depart-ment has more than 600 years inaw enforcement experience from

agencies across the nation, in addi-ion to decades of military service.

There is an average of 11 years ofexperience per ofcer.

Three months ago, I hired Chief

Yandura and tasked him with amomentous task that only few haveaccomplished: start a new policedepartment from the ground up,City ManagerMarie L. Garrettsaid. After reviewing more than1,200 resumes and interviewing 156candidates, I am condent that wehave some of the most experiencedofcers in the state proudly servingand protecting our city.

Ofcers are divided into twoshifts, and assigned to six patrolbeats.

DeKalb County ofcers, whichhave patrolled Brookhaven since

the citys start in December 2012,ceased patrols July 31. The county911 system is providing emergencydispatch service to Brookhaven.Non-emergency callers can reachBrookhaven Police at (404) 637-0600. Police records can be ob-tained between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. atthe Brookhaven Municipal Court at2 Corporate Blvd., Suite 125.

Police net assault rifle, drugs, fakeID and stolen car

Brookhaven Police seized an as-sault rie, narcotics, stolen vehicleand several fake identication docu-

ments within their rst hours on thestreet.

Brookhavens 54-ofcer depart-ment began patrols on July 31 andduring the rst 48 hours on patrol,ofcers made seven arrests and is-sued several trafc citations. Policealso issued numerous warnings forspeeding, failure to obey stop signsand other violations.

CHAMBLee

Republican women honor

founding member

The North DeKalb RepublicanWomen (NDRW) held a Bring aFriend to Lunch event at the 57thFighter Group Restaurant in Cham-blee on July 13. Founding memberWilli Richardson was honored forher years of dedication and hardwork. She helped start NDRW in1976.

Richardsons son, Rick Richard-son, accepted the award on behalfof his mother. NDRW PresidentNatalie Olmi presented a gift andthanked Richardson for his motherscommitment to the group.

Olmi said, Willi is a ne ladyand we stand on her shoulders. Shepaved the way for us.

Willi Richardson has been in-volved with the GOP since the

1950s. Her son Rick is the assistantto the state GOP chairman.

At the luncheon, ve new mem-

bers were inducted by Olmi andTreasurerDebbieFountain, whogave a history of the local chapter,the Georgia Federation of Repub-lican Women and the NationalFederation of Republican Women.Former Georgia Secretary of StateKarenHandel and Niki Broun,wife of Congressman Paul Broun,were in attendance.

Friends of Chamblee Library tohost book sale

Friends of the Chamblee Librarywill host a book sale on Aug. 9, 10

and 12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. BagDay will be on Aug. 12, when at-tendees can ll a bag with booksfor only $3. Chamblee Library islocated at 4115 Clairmont Road. Formore information, call (770) 936-1380.

CLARKsTON

Creative writing group to meet

A creative writing group willmeet at the Clarkston LibraryTuesday, Aug. 13,6-7:30p.m.The

event is a chance for aspiringwriters to share their work andnetwork. Those interested inattending may call or visit thebranch to register.ClarkstonLibraryis located at 951 N. IndianCreek Drive, Clarkston. For moreinformation,call(404) 508-7175.

Event to celebrate 51 years ofTrinidad independence

Trinidad & Tobago Associationof Georgia Inc. is sponsoring ANight of Pure Elegance, a formaldinner/dance in celebration of Trini-

dad and Tobagos51st anniversaryof independence. The event will beSaturday, Aug. 24, 7 p.m.-1 a.m. atGeorgia Piedmont Technical Col-lege, 495 N Indian Creek Drive,Clarkston. There will be a live bandand DJ. Cocktail hour will be 7-8p.m. followed by dinner and danc-ing. Tickets are $65 for membersand $70 for non-members. For tick-ets, call Alan at (404) 210-9493,Joyce at (678) 602-2424 or TnT-GA at (678) 318-1460.

DORAVILLe

Library to hold discussion ofFranklin autobiography

The Doraville Library AmericanShort Stories Discussion Groupwill

meet Saturday,Aug. 10, 10:3011:30 a.m. The selection for AugustisAutobiography of BenFrank-

lin, parts II, III and IVby BenjaminFranklin. TheDoraville Libraryis located at3748 Central Ave.,Doraville 30340. For more informa-tion, call (770) 936-3852.

Driving safety course offered atcivic center

The Doraville Recreation De-partment will host an AARP DriverSafety class for all interested motor-ists Sept. 5, 9:30 a.m - 4 p.m., at theDoraville Civic Center, located at3770 Central Avenue.

The course is designed to refresh

driving skills and defensive drivingtechniques.Attendees are encouraged to

bring a sack lunch, drinks andsnacks. Those who complete thecourse may be eligible for a 10 per-cent discount on automobile insur-ance.

For more information or to regis-ter, contact the Doraville RecreationDepartment at (770) 936-3850.

LITHONIA

Stonecrest LCI master plan readyfor public review

Residents and stakeholders willhave the opportunity to review andcomment on the Stonecrest TownCenter Livable Centers InitiativeMaster Plan on Aug. 17, 2-5 p.m.

There will be a pop-up town hallmeeting in the Stonecrest Mall foodcourt where the plan will be avail-able for review. Participants mayalso bring their bikes and helmets,or borrow provided ones, for a biketour of the proposed improvements.The tours will begin outside themovie theater.

The event will be at The Mall AtStonecrests food court and court-yard, 2929 Turner Hill Road, Litho-nia. For more information, contactJen Price at (404) 377-9147 [email protected] can also be found onthe Internet at https://sites.google.com/site/stonecrestlci/.

Library to host book sale

Friends of the Stonecrest Libraryis hosting a book sale Friday, Aug.16, and Saturday, Aug. 17, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. each day. Stonecrest Libraryis located at 3123 Klondike Road,Lithonia. For more information,

call (770) 482-3828.

AROUNDDEKALB

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Th Champ Fr Pr, Fray, Agt 9, 2013 Pag 8AloCAl news

Columbia residents, Emorystudents working togetherto improve the community

DeKalb school district decit no more

See Community on Page 9A

CITYOFCHAMBLEE,GAPUBLICNOTICE

QUALIFYINGPERIODNoticeisherebygiventhataGeneralElectionfortheCityofChambleewillbeheldonTuesday,

November5,2013forthepurposeofelectingtheCityMayorandtwo(2)CityCouncil

Members. PursuantofO.C.G.A212132(d)(3),thequalifyingforsaidelectionwillbeheld

Tuesday,August27,2013throughThursday,August29,2013from8:30a.m.to4:30p.m.(Out

1:30p.m.to2:30p.m.dailyforlunch).

QualifyingfeesweresetbytheCityofChambleeMayorandCouncilinaccordancetoO.C.G.A.

212131(a)(1)(A),duringtheregularlyscheduledCouncilMeetingheldonJanuary15,2013as

follows:fortheofficeofMayor $324.00(threehundredtwentyfourdollars);fortheofficeof

CouncilmemberDistrictOneandCouncilmemberAtLarge $216.00(twohundredsixteen

dollars).

ThelastdayapersonmayregisterandbeeligibletovoteintheMunicipalGeneralElectionand

RunoffisMonday,October7,2013(O.C.G.A.212224(a)). Advancevotingwillbeheldatthe

DeKalbCountyBoardofRegistrationandElections,4380MemorialDrive,Suite300,Decatur,

Georgia30032,MondaythroughFriday,8:30a.m.to4:00p.m.,October14,2013through

November1,2013. ThepollswillbeopenonElectionDay,Tuesday,November5,2013,from

7:00a.m.until7:00p.m. ThedateoftheGeneralElectionRunoff,ifnecessary,isTuesday,

December3,

2013.

QuestionsshouldbedirectedtoEmmieNiethammer,MunicipalElectionsSuperintendent,at

7709865018.

Ellis Continued From Page 2ANone of the companies named in the indictment have spo-

ken up about the allegations but an email sent from attorneysrepresenting Power & Energy Services said the company hasost hundreds of thousands of dollars on projects it should

have gotten.The email doesnt mention Ellis by name but states: Most

disturbing of the events that have taken place has been thesystematic exclusion of our client from providing services toDeKalb County under the terms of the contract when, afterbeing requested to make campaign contributions to DeKalbCounty ofcials, and their refusal they were told by otherrelated DeKalb County ofcials that they had been instructednot to give our client the contractual work for which they

were awarded.The attorneys also state in the email that once they in-

quired about Power & Energys treatment from the county, allof its work dried up.

EstateSalebyTreasureChestEstateSalesSpecialist

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by Andrew Cauthen

[email protected]

Theres some goodnews in the DeKalb CountySchool District.

The decit is no more,said interim school Super-ntendent MikeThurmond

before applause erupted dur-ng the Aug. 5 school board

meeting.At the end of the 2012 s-

cal year, the DeKalb schooldistrict ended with a $14.7million decit. A spendingfreeze was implemented at

he beginning of scal year2013 to help address theshortfall.

I want to compliment theeadership for managinghose very restrictive terms

very well, Thurmond said.We accessed some addi-ional revenue sources that

had not been leveraged inhe past, as well as some in-

creased unexpected revenue.As a result of thatthe

good news is that we haveeliminated the $14.7 million

decit, Thurmond said.

With that, we haveturned the corner and closedthe book on a very difcultchapter in the history of thedistrict, Thurmond said.

The superintendent saidthe district will remainvigilant and continue to begood stewards of our tax-

payers dollars.We have momentum,

Thurmond said. We expectrevenue to continue to grow.As we continue to strengthenour scal condition, the No.1 agenda item, the No. 1 pri-

ority will be the eliminationof the remaining furloughday and to address our salarystructure and compensationstructure that is quite franklylosing ground as it relates to

being competitive.We have to pay our

qualied personnel in a waythats fair and equitable tothem, but we cant do it untilwe get our scal house in or-der, he said.

School board chairmanMelvin Johnson said, I

want to commend [Thur-

mond] and his staff on ajob well done in terms oflooking at the budget in avery realistic way, lookingat ways to fund the differ-ent programs we have, andcertainly looking at each andevery opportunity for morefunds to facilitate our pro-grams.

School board memberMarshall Orson said theschool district is poised forgreat things under the leader-ship of Mr. Thurmond.

I think theres a renewed

sense of energy, Orson said.As a board member andparent, I think were going tohave a great year.


The Columbia AllianceSustainable NeighborhoodsInitiative (CASNI) has be-gun the process to help betterthe community.

Last year, DeKalb Countyand its project partner,Emory University Ofceof University-CommunityPartnerships, announced theimplementation of a pilotcommunity development

program called the DeKalbSustainable NeighborhoodsInitiative (DSNI). In this

program, seven communi-tiesClarkston, Columbia,

Cross Keys, Lithonia, Mc-Nair, Stone Mountain, andTowers (each identied bythe high school serving therespective community orneighborhood)were giventhe opportunity to submit

proposals for sustained, col-laborative, comprehensivedevelopment. Two of these

proposals were selected byDeKalb for implementationof the community develop-ment initiative, to include

potential nancial and othersupport over the next veyears.

The McNair and CrossKeys districts were the rsttwo clusters to start the

initiative. Emory studentDanielle Douez said someof her classmates work with

residents in those areas todevelop a steering committeeto create a quality of life

plan.This year were working

in those two communities tohelp with implementation ofthose plans as well as twonew communities to help de-velop a quality of life plan,she said.

One of those communitiesincludes the Columbia clus-ter, north of Glenwood Road,east of I-285 and west ofCandler Road. The CASNIhad a meeting last month

with residents to receive in-put on how to improve thecommunity.

They broke up in smallgroups to talk about the vefocus areas that we foundthat were most important tothe area, Douez said.

nterim DeKalb school Superintendent Mike Thurmond announced Aug. 5 that the districts $15 million decithad been eliminated. Photo by Travis Hudgons

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CommunityContinued From Page 8ADecatur police le charges in burglary case

Judge sustains suspensions of all ve former DeKalb school board members

Daffodil is a 9-month-old col-lie/shepherd mix with a smoothtan, yellow and fawn colorcoat. She weighs approximately40 pounds. Daffodil is youngenough to have all the curiositythat comes with youth, but is notso young as to chew everythingin sight. If you are always look-ing for someone to go for a briskwalk, look no more you've found

your perfect companion. Daf-

fodil likes lots of exercise andwould thrive in an active home.She is sweet and energetic andwould love a home with largerchildren she could run and playwith. Daffodil knows the sit,touch and down commands. Sheneeds a little reinforcement onthe Down command, but she issmart and learns quickly.

This warm, friendly dog is

also happy lying by your side

and playing with a squeaky toy.If you have an active lifestyleand you want a companion toshare that lifestyle, you will loveDaffodil. Daffodil just wants tohave fun and would like nothingmore than an family and home tocall her own. If you would liketo provide that home please comevisit her; Daffodil is waiting andready to go.

For adoption inquiries: [email protected] rescue inquiries: [email protected]

For volunteer and foster inquiries: [email protected]

DaffodilFemale Puppy

Pet Weekofthe

by Andrew [email protected]

DeKalb County SchoolDistricts suspended boardmembers have permanentlyost their jobsthat is, until the

nal court case makes its way

hrough the legal system.Gov. Nathan Deal an-nounced Aug. 2 that chiefadministrative law Judge Max-well Woods has sustained thesuspensions of the nal threeformer DeKalb County schoolboard members who petitionedfor their reinstatement earlierhis year.

In reports given to thegovernor this week, Woods con-cluded that former board mem-

bers Eugene Walker, DonnaEdler and Jay Cunninghamfailed to show that their pres-ence on the DeKalb schoolboard would improve the abilityof the local school system toretain or re-attain its accredita-tion, according to a statement

from the governors ofce.The judge had previouslysustained the suspensions ofPam Speaks and Sarah Cope-lin-Woods.

Clearly I was disappointedbut not surprised, Walker saidafter the ruling. Im disap-pointed that the judge did notspeak out on what I thought wasa ridiculous law, an impossiblelaw to defend.

Beyond that I expected him

to be consistent with what thegovernor wanted done, Walkersaid.

The remaining legal actionis former school board chairmanWalkers case against the Geor-gia Board of Education.

In June, Walker took his case

to the Georgia Supreme Court.He is challenging as unconstitu-tional the governors suspensionof the six school board membersand the statute that authorizesthe governor to permanentlyremove them.

Walkers lawsuit challengesthe state law that gives the gov-ernor the authority to removeschool board members whentheir school district faces a lossof accreditation.

That state law was triggeredwhen the school district wasplaced on accreditation proba-tion by Southern Association ofColleges and Schools (SACS),the agency that accredits theschool district through its parentcompany, AdvancED.

Acting on the recommenda-tion of the Georgia Board of Ed-ucation, Deal suspended six ofthe nine members of the DeKalbschool board in February andlater replaced them.

Walker said the lawsuit isnot simply about his keeping theschool board position.

Its bigger than me, hesaid. Its the peoples right toselect their representative thatIm ghting for. Im ghting

for the 40,000 people who votedfor me. That right shouldnt betaken away by a governor orsome unaccountable accreditingagency. Clearly my keeping theposition is a part of it, but thatsnot the primary thing.

I wont go to jail if they

uphold [the decision], Walkersaid. Ive not broken the law.Ive not done anything wrong.Im ghting for a right morethan a job. Im providing a ser-vice I volunteered to provideand Im ghting to continueproviding that service until thepeople decide they dont wantme.

The Supreme Court has upto two terms to decide the case.

The ve focus areas wereeducation, health, safety,housing and economic devel-opment.

In the health sectionpeople talked about increas-ing the number of sidewalksthat would help with con-necting different parts of thecommunity, Douez said.It will promote health bygetting more exercise bywalking rather than driving,which will also have neigh-

bors engage with each othereasily, which would also pro-

mote safety.Residents also said thatthey would like more qual-ity restaurants and grocerystores in the area to helpincrease economic develop-ment and healthy living inthe community. In terms ofeducation, residents said they

would like the schools to bemore accessible to parentsand community memberswho do not have children inthe school, Douez said.

They would like theschools to be more of a com-munity meeting space, whichwould require engagementwith school administrators,she said.

The CASNI steering com-mittee is currently workingtogether to create a quality oflife plan draft for the clusterthat will address the most

pressing issues in the com-munity and outline the strat-egies for improvement overthe next several years.

For more informationabout the CASNI, call (678)632-3764 or email [email protected].


Decatur police havecharged a suspect in a burglarycase that occured on Dec. 10.

Antonio Demarcus Hunt-er of Lilburn was charged withburglary, according to reports.Hunter is accused of breakingnto a residence in the 1100

block of South Candler Streeton Dec. 10.

According the DeKalbCounty Sheriffs Ofce, Hunt-er was already in custody sinceDec. 18 for an incident thatoccurred on Dec. 18 in Decatur

as well. He was charged withentering an automobile andpossession of a tool for com-mission of a crime.

Hunter is still in the DeKalbail on a $50,000 bond.

The Decatur police havebeen investigating a string ofrobberies and burglaries thathave occurred since December.On Aug. 3, Decatur Police re-sponded to an armed robberyof two pedestrians in the 400block of Fayetteville Road, ac-cording to Sgt. Jennifer Ross.

The suspects ran upbehind the victims and onepointed a handgun and de-manded everything from thevictims pockets, Ross saidin an emailed statement. Awallet and set of keys weretaken. The suspects then ran toa newer model charcoal grayDodge Charger (unknown tag)and ed south toward HoseaWilliams Boulevard.

The two suspects have beendescribed as Black males, be-tween the ages of 14 and 17.Police said one suspect is ap-

proximately 5 feet 8 inches talland 130 pounds. He has a dark

brown complexion, a shortafro, thin build, clean shavenand was wearing a dark hoodieand jeans and armed with a

black semi-automatic handgun.The second suspect is ap-

proximately 5 feet 11 inchestall, dark brown complexion,thin build and was last seenwearing a red and white cloth-ing

Ross said the Atlanta Policeand DeKalb Police were noti-ed of this incident.

The three police agencies

are working together to solvethe string of violent robberiesand burglaries that have oc-curred in those area that could

be related.I believe its a part of

a bigger group thats doingthe same thing over and overagain, Decatur Police ChiefMike Booker said last month.

According to police, all ofthe homes were unoccupiedat the time of the burglaryand entry was made by forc-ing doors and windows. Themajority of the homes tar-geted have notable vegetation,driveways with inclines or

driveways that continue behindthe home or rear alleys, whichall provide concealment forsuspect vehicles, according to

police.Police said in the burglary

cases, teenage boys are usingstolen vehicles and targetinghomes with lots of shade anddriveways where they can backin. Ross said the suspects aretaking electronics such as largeat screen televisions, laptopsand jewelry.

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Stone

Mountain

Bluegrass

Jam

Session

www.decaurbbqfestival.com

festival

13th

Annu

al

DECATU

R

for musical Line-up &more information:

SaturdaY, August 174:00pm

Until10:00pm

HarmonY ParK in OakhurstVillage

no charge forkids 10 & under

Wednesday evenings, 6p.m. until dark, residentsare invited to the gazebo inStone Mountain Village for abluegrass jam session. Theinformal gathering attractsvarious local musicians whoenjoy playing bluegrass andfolk music. Recently, theSoutheast Tourism Societyselected the Stone MountainVillage Blue GrassRoots Mu-

sic & Arts Festival as a Top20 Event. Photos by TravisHudgons

Beth Berry plays bass.

rom left are Garry Motter, Mark Etheredge, Rebbeca Lawson, John Bonhomme.

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The City of DunwoodyDepartment of Parks and

Recreation celebrated the grandopening of the 0.7 mile Phase Iof the Brook Run Park multi-usetrail with a Wheel-a-Palooza andPedal Parade.

The event also includeda bike-decorating contest.Children decorated their bikes,

wagons and scooters, competingfor top prize in the following

categories: most colorful; mostcreative and; best theme.

This is going to be the keyto getting people to come to thispark. Were going to have fun-runs and other fabulous events,Dunwoody Mayor Mike Davissaid. Photos by Travis Hudgons

Keith Dyche and son Carter

Porter Donlay, 2, enjoys his frozen treatcourtesy of King of Pops.

BrookrunPedalParade

Searching for Our Sons and Daughters:

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

Finding DeKalb Countys Missing

Stories of our missing residents offer profoundinsights and hope for a positive reunion.

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

Brought to you by DCTV

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Th Champ Fr Pr, Fray, Agt 9, 2013 Pag 12AeduCATion

tors, they worked at severalGeorgia sites, includingforests, coastal areas andbarrier islands.

Jadas group worked inMoody Forest in Baxley,St. Simons Island and themarshes of Sapelo Island.

In Sapelo Island it wasvery muddy marshes, Jadasaid. It was quick mud. Myfoot actually got stuck. Iwas waist-deep in mud.

Arabia Mountain, aDeKalb County SchoolDistrict school, focuses onenvironmental curriculumand has been The NatureConservancys partner inGeorgia for the LEAF pro-gram since it began here in2010.

Its a transformativeexchange program for theseyoung men and women,said Blaine Sergew, direc-tor of the LEAF programin Georgia. Its an educa-

tional, environmental andcultural exchange to get stu-dents with similar interestsfrom different places talkingabout solutions to some of

our most challenging envi-ronmental issues.

Jada said she learned alot in the program.

Throughout this pro-gram, youre living withgirls you dont know, shesaid. Ive learned to com-promise. At home, youre apretty little princess, you geteverything you want, theresno compromising.

During the internshipJada realized, Im not athome. This is not Mommy,she said.

Jada said, I learned alot about myself, honestly.I never knew that I wouldlike to be outside. Com-ing from the city, Im usedto the fast pace, cars andbuildings and everything.

At rst I didnt like it,Jada said. Now that Imback in Atlanta, I want togo back. I like to be in the

forest. I like to be outsideworking.

PUBLIC NOTICE

DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS OF

DISABLED STUDENTS

The DeKalb County School District, Department of Special Education,

announces its intention to destroy records that were developed to

provide a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in DeKalb County

Schools. This notice is in compliance with the federal, state and localpolicy.

Records will be destroyed on October 1, 2013 based on the following

criteria:

Students who graduated with a high school diploma in 2012. Students who became twenty-two (22) years old between June

1, 2011 and June 1, 2012.

Special Ed. Students born during 1988 who graduatedwith a Transition Diploma, Certificate of Performance

or reached maximum age of 22.

Students who became deceased between January 1, 2012 andDecember 31, 2012.

These records will be destroyed as they are no longer needed for

educational planning purposes.

The parent, legal guardian or the student (18 years old or older) may

request records prior to destruction by contacting the Special Education

Records Office at 678-676-1802. You will be required to produce

identification or provide verification data to acquire these records.

PUBLIC NOTICE

The City of Stone Mountain will hold a general municipal electionfor Mayor and three (3) Council Member seats on November 5,2013 for four-year terms. All persons desiring to run for any ofthese offices shall qualify at City Hall located at 875 Main Street,Stone Mountain, GA, 30083. The qualifying period shall begin at8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 27, 2013 and end at 4:30 p.m. onThursday, August 29, 2013. The qualifying fee for the office ofMayor will be $360.00 and $108.00 for the office of CouncilMember. The qualifying fee must be paid during the qualifyingperiod.

Arabia Mountain students experience nature for a monthby Andrew [email protected]

Before her monthlong in-ernship this summer, Jada

Allred didnt know what ca-reer she wanted to pursue.

I was very confused,said the 16-year-old risingsenior at Arabia MountainHigh School. Everythingwas a big blur. I actuallywanted to own my own hairsalon, but I was kind of iffyabout that. And I was think-ng I would be maybe a

psychologist. But I was stillconfused.

That was before Jadaand 21 of her classmatesworked with The NatureConservancy for four weekshis summer as

2013 Leaders inEnvironmentalAction for theFuture (LEAF)nterns.

In its 19thyear and fundedby the ToyotaUSA Founda-ion, LEAFs The Nature

Conservancysnational intern-ship program,which allowsstudents fromurban environ-

mental schoolso work with

Nature Conser-vancy scientists,partners and col-eges while beingaught about environmental

careers, natural area restora-ion and college environ-

mental programs.Now Jada is considering

a career in biology and envi-ronmental psychology.

During the internship,we did everything fromnvasive species work to

coastal work, trail mainte-nancewe blazed trails,Jada said.

Living with a groupof girls for a month, weworked outside, all day,every day, from morning tonoon to the evening time,Jada said.

The interns also touredGeorgia Institute of Tech-nology and the University ofGeorgia.

In Georgia, students fromChicago High School ofAgricultural Sciences joinedJada and three other Arabia

Mountain students: NjeriBennett, Kristi Campbelland Brianna Smith.

With Nature Conser-vancy staff and two men-

Students from Arabia Mountain High School and a Chicago school team up during a month-long nature-based internship.Photos provided

From left, Rachel Milonas of Chicago works with JadaAllred of Arabia Mountain High School to removeinvasive species during the internship.

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The Champion Free Press, Friday, August 9, 2013 Page 13ALOCAL NEWS

Fitness CenterContinued From Page 1A

people saw at the hospital.From there the camp grew

and Lewis began adding classes,hiring fitness trainers and as-istants. Lewis left her job at

DeKalb Medical at Hillandaleo run the camp full time. Lewisaid people who finish the fit-

ness camp usually lose up to 20pounds. The most weight some-one has lost after the six-weekcamp is 35 pounds.

In a testimonial on the cen-ers website, Cynthia Barlowaid Taddas Fitness Camp is the

best fitness camp she has beeno.

I have really enjoyed myselfthe past six weeks, she said. Iespecially loved the variety inthe day-to-day activities.

Taddas Fitness Camp con-tinued to grow and Lewis laterchanged its name to TaddasFitness Center. In June, Lewislocated the center to a larger fa-cility in Decatur.

We have a caf where weserve weight protein shakes

and herbal teas. We have ourown store where we partneredwith Fresh-N-Fit Cuisine wherepeople can get their meals andnutritional meal plans, she said.

We do vitamin B injections, wehave child care and we have a lotof specialty classes.

The center offers P90X,Zumba, Insanity and step classesalong with the fitness camp andhas a yoga studio, a spin roomand a room for cross fit andkickboxing.

The center also hosts schoolsupply drives and members par-ticipate in breast cancer walks.

Lewis and members from thecenter have also travelled to Ke-nya to give school supplies andtoiletry items to children.

Taddas Fitness Center offers P90X, Zumba, Insanity and step classes and has a yoga studio, a spin room and a room

or cross fit and kickboxing. Photos by Carla Parker

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Th Champ F P, Fday, Agt 9, 2013 Pag 14AloCAl news

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Th Champ F P, Fday, Agt 9, 2013 Pag 15ABusiness

Sisters grew up in the family businessplumbing

From left, sisters Melissa and Michelle Cary say their father taught them to do every job well. Photo by KathyMitchell

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 [email protected]

Some people do a doubleake when they read theign for a venerable Deca-

ur plumbing company: M.Cary andDaughters.

But Melissa and MicheleCary delight in telling thetory of how they joinedheir fathers business. Weived in New York City

when we were children andour father used to take uswith him when he went outo do plumbing work just to

keep us off the streets, Me-issa recalled, We were hisittle helpers. She said that

growing up they worked inhe plumbing business any

days they werent in school.When the family movedo the Atlanta area, Mitchel

Cary started a business thatn the mid-1990s movedo Decatur and the older

daughter, Melissa, earnedher master plumber creden-ials, making her at age 20he youngest female master

plumber in the Southeast.The daughters now es-

entially run the business asheir father takes more of aupervisory role. He keeps

an eye on us. He wants tobe sure everything runs justhe way it should, Melissaaid, adding that she and

her sister treasure the val-ues they learned from theirfather.

He taught us to do everyob the right waynot to

cut cornersand to learneverything about the busi-ness. There are people inhis business who only do

certain types of jobs. Well,as far as my father is con-cerned, if you cant do it all,youre not really a plumb-er, she said.

Still a family business,M. Cary and Daughters hascrew membersa term theyprefer to employeeswhoare not strictly speakingfamily. We all feel likefamily. We look out for eachother like family, Melissaexplained. If any one of usneeds something the othersare right there.

She noted that, whilehere are two female plumb-

ers on staff in addition to the

family members, its not anall-female business; thereare male plumbers as well.No matter whom they hireor what their background,they are trained the M. Cary

way, Melissa said.Lots of plumbers are

trained that you line up A toB and B to C, but they dontknow why. We make sureeveryone here understandsthe how and why of everyjob. That way if A, B andC doesnt work, they cangure out what will work,she said.

A favorite saying aroundM. Cary and Daughters is ahacksaw and a can of gluedoesnt make you a plumb-er. They explain that every

plumber working for them istrained beyond what the lawrequires.

You may have put inyour three years and gottenyour license, but were notgoing to turn you loose in atruck if youre not ready,Melissa said.

Although M. Cary andDaughters accepts a widevariety of commercial andresidential projects, thebusiness specializes inolder buildings. Decatur,where many homeownerstake pride in classic older

homes some of which aremore than 100 years old, isan ideal place for them, saidMelissa, adding that she andher colleagues have come tobe known as the old housespecialists.

We dont do much newconstruction, she noted.Often with new construc-tion, contractors want thecheapest plumbers they cannd. If price is your bottomline, we may not be yourplumbers. Were not themost expensive, but were

often not the least expen-sive. Youre not going to getbetter work, however.

Melissa said the com-pany prefers to work withquality materials, includ-ing copper ttings, wherepractical. We understandthat there are places wherepeople dont want to usecopper because its too vul-nerable to theft so we workwith them.

Commenting on whether

their own daughters are like-ly to go into the family busi-ness, Michelle said, Im

going to insist that they goto college. Then if they wantto become plumbers, ne.

But I want them to have op-tions.

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Th Champ F P, Fday, Agt 9, 2013 Pag 16AsPorTs

Nine new coachestaking over the helmby Carla [email protected]

New faces will be on the side-

ines on opening night of the 2013high school football season inDeKalb County.

Nine schools, including Deca-ur High School, have new head

football coaches. Stanley Pritch-ett takes over at Arabia Moun-ain. Cedar Groves new coach is

Jermaine Smith. Scott Jacksonwas promoted to head coach atDecatur. Druid Hills hired MarkAdams. Heath Hinton takes overat Lakeside. Cortez Allen returnedo Martin Luther King to lead the

football program. McNair promotedShelton Carleton from assistant tohead coach, Michael Tanks becameSouthwest DeKalbs rst new headcoach in 30 years, and James Hol-oway moves up from the middlechool level to the high school level

at Towers.Five of the new head coaches are

at programs that had a losing recordast season. Arabia Mountain, Druid

Hills and McNair nished the 2012eason with 4-6 records, Lakeside

nished 1-9 and Towers did not wina game last season. Arabia Moun-ain, Druid Hills and Lakeside have

had ve consecutive years without awinning season.

Turning a losing football pro-

gram into a winning program can bea tough task for a new head coach.Besides learning everything about

each players athletic abilities andteaching them new plays and tech-niques to t the coachs scheme,new coaches may come into a situ-

ation where they have to change thementality and attitude of the pro-gram as a whole.

At Towers, Holloway knows it isgoing to take a lot to turn the pro-gram around but this challenge isnot new to him. When he was hiredas head coach at Bethune MiddleSchool, the football program hada losing record as well. But Hol-loway changed some things withinthe program, which resulted in threeundefeated seasons and ve divi-sion championships.

We did a lot of things [at Bet-hune]. We implemented a lot ofprograms and it caused them tobecome successful and were do-ing the same things here at Tow-ers, he said. I think change startsfrom within. Once we change thementality and create a winning cul-ture then we can facilitate changethroughout everything else.

With Bethune being the feederschool to Towers the transition tothe high school level eased some ofHolloways nervousness about mov-ing up.

In a sense it feels like homebecause Im familiar with some ofthe children who have been on myprevious teams, he said. But in a

way its a different level as far asthem being more mature and under-standing more about the game of

football.Arabia Mountain has not had a

winning season since the footballprogram launched in 2009 when

the school opened. Pritchett, whohas coached in the Atlanta Pub-lic School District for the past sixyears, hopes to change that this sea-son with the high-powered offensethat he inherited.

Arabia Mountain senior quarter-backTrevous Reynolds was one ofthe top quarterbacks in the countylast season, throwing for 2,009yards and 15 touchdowns. Seniorwide receivers Jonathan Slatonand Gregory Phillips were amongthe top 10 of wide receivers in thecounty.

Im expecting a lot more fromthose guys this season, Pritchettsaid. Im setting them up to be therock of this offense. I expect to puta lot of points on the board. Its go-ing to be an exciting season.

Hinton, who is also new toDeKalb County, said he understandshow hard it is for a team to acceptchange in leadership and he creditsthe upperclassmen at Lakeside withhelping the process.

When a new coach comes in itsgood to have mature players thatkind of understand that things aredifcult but there are no other op-tions so they just come to work anddo the best they can every day, he

said. I denitely think were mov-ing in the right direction.

Allen, Jackson, Smith and Tanks

SPECIAL FEATURE:DeKalb County High School Football Preview

M. L. King,Stephensonto takeon Floridateams inShowdown

State bragging rights is bet-ter will be on the line Aug. 31when the M. L. King Lions andthe Stephenson Jaguars takeon two teams from Florida in aGeorgia-Florida high school foot-

ball showdown double-headerat James R. Hallford Stadium inClarkston.

The matchups begin at 5:15p.m. as the Lions take on BlancheEly from Pompano Beach in theopener. The Lions went 11-1 lastseason, advancing to the secondround of the Class AAAAA state

playoffs following an undefeatedregular season (10-0) and a Re-gion 6-AAAAA title. The Lionswill debut rst-year head coachCortez Allen, who was the de-fensive coordinator at King from2002-2004.

Blanche Ely is in its secondyear under head coach CharlesHafley and is looking to reboundfrom a tough 5-6 season in 2012and return to the state playoffs.

The Jaguars and Norland HighSchool from Miami Gardens willface off in the nightcap set for an8:30 p.m. kickoff in a matchup of2012 playoff teams.

Stephenson is led by long-time head coach Ron Gartrelland is coming off a 10-2 and

third-round playoff appearance in2012.Norland nished 8-3 under

Coach Daryle Heidelburg in2012 bowing out of the state

playoffs in the second round.Norland won the state title in2011 with a perfect 15-0 record.

Gartrell said his team is happyfor the opportunity to play againsta team that is known for its speedand athleticism.

We feel like we can matchwhat they have and I think its anopportunity for us to step out onit, he said.

Tickets to the event are $10 in

advance and $12 at the gate. Ad-vance tickets are available at theschools, a DeKalb County Chick-l-A or online at www.totalgate-solutions.com.

See Coaches on Page 18A

Pritchett Smith AdamsJackson

HollowayTanksAllen CarletonHinton

NEW FACES:

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SPECIAL FEATURE:DeKalb County High School Football Preview


When former head footballcoaches Ray Bonner and WilliamBuck Godfrey retired earlier thisyear after 30-plus years of coach-ng, Stephenson head football coach

Ron Gartrell became the currentongest tenure head coach in DeKalb

County.Gartrell, who is entering his 18th

eason at Stephenson, is beginninghis 26th year as a head coach. Mostcoaches at this point of their careersbegin leaning toward retirement.But Gartrell, who does not coach asmuch as he used to, said he cannotdetermine when he is going to retire.

My Christian beliefs lead meand the Lord has led me down thisoad, this path, without even a plan,

he said. That means that he hascontrolled my plans and controlsmy future and one of these days hesprobably going to say theres some-hing else I need for you to do. Butight now Im happy getting up inhe morning and going to work.

[Coaching and teaching] is mypassion and this is my ministry, soo speak, he said. As long as I feel

good and my health is good, Illprobably be doing this for a while.

Gartrells passion for coachinghas led to 16 consecutive winningseasons at Stephenson. The Stephen-son Jaguars have had a playoff teamsince 2000 and won seven regionchampionships. Gartrell said theprograms success is partly due tothe consistency in the coaching staff.Many of the assistant coaches whocame with Gartrell in 1996 are stillwith the program.

We dont like too much

change, he said. Thats probablywhy Ive been at Stephenson for solong. We like how weve built thisprogram so we want to hopefullykeep it going with the same goals,same work ethics and all the otherthings that we do.

The programs success is also at-tributed to the talented players thatcome in the program every year.Stephenson is known for havingsome of the top players in the state,as well as in the country. Hundredsof former Jaguars have gone to col-lege on football scholarships andsome have gone on to play in theNFL.

Gartrell said there is a lot of foot-ball talent in the Stephenson area,but most of his players skills aredeveloped through his program.

We start our kids off early, he

said. Eighth graders start workingout with us in the mornings duringtheir second semester and we dontturn our backs on anybody. Whenwe see potential in a kid, we try todevelop that kid in a way we feellike theyre going to be successfuland out of that come little jewels.

We like to look at ourselves asnot producers of athletes but devel-opers of athletes and if you developthem, they will produce, he said.

Along with developing goodplayers, the program also focuseson developing good students. Thecoaches check the players progressreports three times each semesterand host study halls.

Our real job is teaching, Gar-trell said. Managing these kids isan organization. Ive always saidthat organization is the key to suc-cess and if youre not organized thenall kinds of stuff is going to hap-pen.

Gartrell, who has a pedigree ofrebuilding and establishing winningprograms, said maintaining a win-ning program has not been difcult

for him and his staff. However, win-ning a state championship has beenvery difcult. Stephenson has goneno farther in the playoffs than thestate seminalsonly once in 2005.

The Jaguars has had ve rst-roundand third-round losses each and twosecond-round losses.

Gartrell said his programs fail-ures in the post season are mostlyattributable to bad luck.

It was a situation where luckdidnt happen, he said. We hadsome games in south Georgiaagainst teams that were in theirprime. But there were a couple oftimes where if there was a bounce

here or a bounce there we couldhave been in the state championshipgame.

Its a terrible feeling when yougo through the whole season thenyou get knocked off and you knowthat you probably have the most tal-ented team, he said.

Gartrell said losing in the play-offs is frustrating, but he is proud ofhow well his players have respondedto defeat.

A lot of times its not how youfall but its how you get up, he said.So for us to keep getting up ev-ery year and challenge for the statechampionship has been huge around

here. Were just going to keep ght-ing and hopefully well knock thatdoor open.

Coaching is my ministry

Coach Ron Gartrell:

Stephenson head coach Ron Gartrellteaches junior linebacker ChaunceyRivers the proper stance for alinebacker. Photo by Carla Parker

SEASONED VET:

8/22/2019 FreePress: 8-9-2013

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Marist senior defensive tackleKendall Baker saw his sophomoreeason come to an early end due to

a torn ACL injury.Baker had to sit out of football

for eight monthswhile recover-ng from the in-ury and watch his

eammates go tobattle every Fri-day night duringhe season without

him.It humbled me

o watch my teamgo out there andplay and be therewithout me and I couldnt be outhere with them, he said.

Baker said that experience madehim work harder during his rehab sohe could come back a better playerfor his junior season. However, heuffered a high ankle sprain last

eason. But he refused to let that in-ury keep him off the football eldfor a second consecutive year.

I wasnt going to let that ankleprain stop me, he said. I playedhrough it and did all I could do.

Baker nished the 2012 seasonwith 17 total tackles (ve solo), oneack and three quarterback hurriesn eight games. Because of his suc-

cess on the football eld and in theclassroom, Baker became one of thetop 2014 prospects. Hes consideredthe best lineman prospect out ofMarist since Bob Hodge, the 1985ParadeAll-American who signedwith Notre Dame.

He received scholarship offers

from Georgia, Georgia Tech, Au-burn, Clemson and Florida State.On July 3, Baker announced hiscommitment to Georgia.

Playing for the home state real-ly means a lot, he said. Ive beenhere all of my life and it felt really

good. It felt like a decision that wasright for me.Marist head football coach Alan

Chadwicksaid Georgia is getting agreat player and student.

Kendall is a great individual,Chadwick said. He has an infec-tious personality and attitude. Ev-erybody loves him extensively. Hesa good hard worker for us.

Baker started playing footballat the age of 10. The 6-foot-5,270-pound lineman was alwayslarge for his age so it was a nobrainer that football was the sportfor him.

I played every position on thedefensive line and I played line-

backer, full backand tight end, hesaid. Ive alwaysbeen one of the big-

gest players andIve always triedto dominate andcontrol the line ofscrimmage.

Baker is hop-ing to continue tocontrol the line ofscrimmage when

Marist hits the eld Aug. 30 againstClarke Central; but his main goal isto stay healthy.

I want to be an All-American[player] and help my team get tothe playoffs, he said. And whenwe get to the playoffs weve got to

keep moving forward and hopefullyget to the state championship.Chadwick is also hoping that

Baker stays healthy this year so hecan help lead the defense.

We need him to have a greatyear and we need him to make greatplays for us on defense, he said.

Marists Kendall Baker comes backfrom injuries, commits to UGA

It humbled me to watch

my team go out there andplay and be there withoutme and I couldnt be out

there with them. Kendall Baker

Arabia Mountain RamsHead coach:

Stanley Pritchett(1st season)

Region: 6-AAAAA2012 record: 4-6

Outlook: Under newhead coach StanleyPritchett, the Ramsare looking to have

their first winning season in school history.The Rams are hoping to achieve that goal

with their high-powered offense. Seniorquarterback Trevous Reynolds returns

after completing 62 percent of his passesfor 2,009 yards and 15 touchdowns. Senior

wide receivers Jonathan Slaton andGregory Phillips were among the top 10wide receivers in the county last season.

Slaton caught 38 passes for 690 yards andeight touchdowns and Phillips caught 36

passes for 495 yards and fi ve touchdowns.

Cedar Grove SaintsHead coach: Jermaine Smith (1st season)

Region: 6-AAA2012 record: 6-5

Outlook: The Saintsare beginning a newera under new head

coach JermaineSmith. The offense

will also have a new look without all-timecareer passing yardage leader Johnathon

McCrary, who graduated. The Saintswill look to senior wide receiver Brandon

Norwood and senior running back in DeionSellers to help lead the offense. Norwood

finished last season with 34 catches for501 yards and four touchdowns and Sellersrushed for 753 yards on 82 attempts and

scored nine touchdowns.

Ch

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