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FRIDAY, SEPT. 5, 2014 • VOL. 17, NO. 24 • 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

Education .............. 18-19ABusiness ........................17ASports ...................... 21-24AOpinion ...........................5AClassified .......................20A

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LOCAL, 11A EDUCATION, 18AEDITORIAL, 4A

WOMAN’S BATTLE CRY IS ‘NO NUKES, Y’ALL’

FEMALE SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS BALANCE TOUGH WITH LOVE

DEKALB COUNTY IS EXHAUSTED

See Foodie on page 15A

Culinary curiosity leads to Buford Highway

by Gale Horton Gay

Whether her global travels or her zeal for cuisine that’s anything

but pedestrian are the catalyst, Emily Allred has embarked on an unusual culinary journey.

Allred and her husband Adam, both 28, began exploring ethnic restaurants and so far have dined at 100 in two and half years—all along Buford Highway.

Allred, who blogs about her culinary adventures on her spatialdrift.com website, said she

Once a week for more than two years Emily Allred has dined at different eth-nic restaurants along Buford Highway. Photo by Gale Horton Gay

Nasi padang

A dish from Machu PicchuAssorted sashimi

Chadolbaegi (Grilled Beef Brisket) at Han II Kwan.

Jeff Brickman, former county commissioner Elaine Boyer’s attorney, said his client “is cooperating in every way pos-sible. There are no limitations on how long or to what extent Elaine is willing to cooperate.” Photo by Andrew Cauthen See Boyer on page 15A

by Andrew [email protected]

Former DeKalb County Commis-sioner Elaine Boyer, who faces federal charges of mail fraud conspiracy and wire fraud, is “extremely remorseful for

what she’s done.”

That’s what Jeff Brickman, Boyer’s court-appointed attorney, said after Boyer’s Aug. 26 hearing in a federal court.

“Today is a sad day, obviously, for her [that has put] a shadow on her otherwise stel-lar career,” Brickman said. “She has done a lot of good for the people of DeKalb County, but

Former commissioner to plead guilty‘Remorseful’

Page 2A The Champion FreePress, Friday, Sept. 5, 2014

See Doreen on page 8A

Secretary of state race is a ‘calling’ for Lithonia woman

15 K-9 officers

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SeeSaysomething

something

If you

*Awarded by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).Use MARTA’s See & Say App.

Txt MPD: (404) 334-5355or

Call (404) 848-4911 if you see something out of the ordinary.

by Andrew Cauthen [email protected]

Doreen Carter of Lithonia believes running for Georgia’s secretary of state position is “a calling.”

“I believe that the people of Georgia need a voice that will stand up for their rights especially when it comes to voters,” said Carter, president of the Greater Lithonia Chamber of Commerce and a former Lithonia City Council member who owns the Wealth and Wisdom Resource Group, a financial services firm.

“I have a business background. I’ve been in the community, engaged in economic development and with my skillset and my passion and my advocacy, that was really what drove me to believe that this is a time for a change in Georgia in that secretary of state seat,” said Carter, who is also chairwoman of the South DeKalb Improvement Alliance and the East Metro DeKalb Community Improvement District formation committee.

The issue that was Carter’s “biggest driver” for entering the race was voter rights.

“Voter suppression has been such an issue in the southeast, especially in Georgia,” Carter said. “We’re still having conversations about equal pay for women, and we’re still having issues around voter suppression.”

Carter is one of four DeKalb residents running for state offices, including state Sen. Jason Carter, for governor; former state senator Connie Stokes, for lieutenant governor;

and former City Schools of Decatur board member Valarie Wilson, for state school board superintendent.

Doreen Carter said it “speaks volumes” that 40 percent of the Democratic ticket is from DeKalb County.

“I don’t think it’s any surprise that you have that many people on this statewide ticket that are from DeKalb,” she said. “It also says that DeKalb leaders are ready to lead the state in the direction in which the people are ready for it to go.”

If each of the DeKalb candidates is elected, “I believe it would definitely give you more eyes looking at DeKalb, and it should cause caution and celebration that with that type of power we must walk with upmost integrity and we have an opportunity to show that people in DeKalb do know how to lead,” Carter said.

Carter is also one of five Black females running for state executive offices—a historic Democratic ticket.

“I didn’t really think about my ethnicity or my gender, I just thought it was time for a change,” Carter said. “When we look at the voters in Georgia, the majority of the voters are first and foremost women. Women drive the polls.”

Additionally, Carter said, approximately 67 percent of the voters in

the Democratic Party are Black. “When you look at …the demographics of

the party and you look at our constitutional officers, it does not look representative of who Georgia is,” Carter said. “As an African- American female, it is only befitting, especially in the current time that we’re in…[that]

someone from amongst us—who I consider myself to

be—to stand up.”Carter said her

statewide reception as a candidate has been “just short of amazing.”

“We’ve gone into predominantly Black

Doreen Carter

The Champion FreePress, Friday, Sept. 5, 2014 Page 3A

This old schoolGroup looks to revitalize old Bruce Street Schoolby Carla [email protected]

Lithonia is in the preliminary stages of coming to an agreement to transfer own-ership of the old Bruce Street School to the Lithonia Downtown Development Authority (DDA).

The Lithonia City Council will meet Sept. 8 to discuss the possible agreement. Once the owner-ship is transferred, the DDA will lease the building to Eagle Rock, an education and community de-velopment corporation. Fred Reynolds, an Eagle Rock representative, said the group plans to reno-vate the property.

“The plan is to bring people in from the com-munity to revitalize the building to get people involved,” he said. “We want to partner with the Lucious Sanders Recreation Center to get the chil-dren involved with the project as well.”

Eagle Rock plans to use the building to offer training in trade jobs such as construction, car-pentry, facility maintenance and more. An agree-

ment with DDA will allow Eagle Rock to have a long-term lease on the property, while the city could only offer an agreement up to five years.

Lithonia City Councilman Al Franklin, who is also the DDA board’s vice chairman, said the rea-son the DDA was interested in taking ownership of the school building is Eagle Rock wants a long-term agreement.

“They want a long-term agreement because they’re investing their own personal capital,”

Franklin said. “For them to have an agreement that’s less than three to five years with a commit-ment coming from the city is not really strong enough for them to say they’re going to take on that particular facility.

“The DDA has the ability to go up to 50 years on an agreement,” Franklin added. “That gives [Eagle Rock] more stability, more comfort in knowing that they can do it.”

Franklin said the DDA will put together an agreement in which the city will have an opportu-nity to be a beneficiary of the DDA taking over the building.

“That means from a financial prospective the city has an opportunity to earn [money],” he said.

Bruce Street School was established as the first school for the Black community in DeKalb County after the Lithonia Public School system was incorporated in 1938. The ownership of the structure was transferred to the city sometime in the 1980s.

The building’s exterior walls of granite remain intact, but the interior and roof have deteriorated.

Eagle Rock hopes to revitalize the old Bruce Street School once ownership is transferred to the Downtown Development Authority.

The Champion FreePress, Friday Sept. 5, 2014 Page 4AOPINIONA prescription for treating runaway CEO payby Marjorie E. Wood

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, your pre-miums are now guaranteed to pay for health care instead of executives’ yachts.

You’ve surely heard many things about the Affordable Care Act, including the website head-aches that embarrassed the Obama administra-tion during the new program’s rollout.

But you probably didn’t realize that when you pay your premium today, you can rest assured that it’s paying for health care and not a CEO’s new yacht. You can thank the way ACA treats CEOs — and other executives — in the health care industry for that.

When lawmakers debated this landmark leg-islation, some members of Congress worried that it might produce a bonanza for health insurers by delivering millions of new customers to them practically overnight. Who would hold those companies accountable as all this new cash rolled into their coffers?

A major concern was that health insurance executives might fatten their own paychecks instead of investing in health care. One way these companies benefit from high executive pay is to

deduct the cost of so-called “performance pay” from their federal income taxes. Corporations use that loophole to avoid billions of dollars in taxes every year.

Why not close this performance pay loophole as a requirement for health insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act?

That’s exactly what Congress did.A new Institute for Policy Studies report I co-

authored takes the first look at the impact of clos-ing this loophole for health insurers. We found that for the 10 largest health insurance compa-nies, the share of executive pay that could be deducted as a business expense fell dramatically from nearly 100 percent to only 27 percent after the Obama administration rolled out the ACA.

For 2013, that translated into $72 million in additional tax dollars.

In the future, this amount will likely be much higher. Why? Because most health insurer execu-tive stock options exercised last year pre-dated the ACA and were therefore exempt from the new rules. From now on, such exemptions won’t be an issue.

Of course, once corporate boards realize how much excessive pay is adding to their corporate

tax burden, they may decide to stop doling out extravagant compensation packages altogether — freeing up money to be invested in care. But even if high pay continues, at least health insurers will have to pay taxes on it — like the $72 million they had to pay for 2013.

And what could that $72 million pay for?Dental care for 262,000 people for an entire

year. Or the annual deductible for 28,000 Ameri-cans for an entire year.

In addition to closing the pay loophole, the Affordable Care Act also requires health insurers to spend at least 80 percent of customer premi-ums on health care.

More than 10 million Americans have already gained coverage because of the new law. That it’s also holding the profit-making side of the health care industry accountable is a great bonus for all of us.

OtherWords columnist Marjorie E. Wood is a senior economic policy associate at the Institute for Policy Studies, the managing editor of Inequality.org, and the co-author of Executive Excess 2014: The Obamacare Prescription for Bloated CEO Pay, a new Institute for Policy Studies report.

OPINIONThe Champion FreePress, Friday, Sept. 5, 2014 Page 5A

Let Us Know What You Think!THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS encourages opinions from its readers. Please write to us and express your views. Letters should be brief, type-written and contain the writer’s name, address and telephone number for verification. All letters will be considered for publication.Send Letters To Editor, The Champion Free Press, P. O. Box 1347, Decatur, GA 30031-1347; Send email to [email protected] • FAX To: (404) 370-3903 Phone: (404) 373-7779 . Deadline for news releases and advertising: Thursday, one week prior to publication date.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions written by columnists and contributing editors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editor or publishers. The Publisher reserves the right to reject or cancel any advertisement at any time. The Publisher is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts.

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STATEMENT FROM THE PUBLISHERWe sincerely appreciate the discussion surrounding this and any issue of interest to DeKalb County. The Champion was founded in 1991 expressly to provide a forum for discourse for all community residents on all sides of an issue. We have no desire to make the news only to report news and opinions to effect a more educated citizenry that will ultimately move our community forward. We are happy to present ideas for discussion; however, we make every effort to avoid printing information submitted to us that is known to be false and/or assumptions penned as fact.

Unrested over Michael BrownThe world is full of unrest; every time you

turn around there are wars, killings, senseless deaths, crimes and stupid challenges—all of which we take very personally. Why? Because it threatens our way of life; you just know that some way, somehow, the craziness that happens outside of your home may just one day find its way onto your doorstep and we would much rather it stop before it gets that far.

When we are young things don’t resonate with us as they do when we are older and are personally and directly responsible for other lives—lives that we have birthed and lives that we have seeded. It is scary to think that there are people out there who would think of these lives as less than human. People who wouldn’t consider that every person is a direct connection to someone’s heart strings. Just because that person has no direct connection, or blood relation to you does not mean they are not special.

As my family sat around the TV [and] we watched the “Unrest in Ferguson” on the news. We watched intently, with lowered brows, heavy hearts and swollen throats. Mike Brown, as far as we know, is no relation to us, but we feel the sorrow that family must be going through all the same. We feel the anger, hurt and pain that the people must be feeling. We feel, and anybody with a heart must feel.

But, for anybody who is a fan of equality, justice, fairness and civility, the feeling is deep. There is no excuse in any situation, county, state, country or world to continue shooting a young man while he is down, and there is certainly no excuse for our police to be the ones doing the shooting.

My sister raised a point which I am sure we all can relate to. When something like this happens the question in the minds of most Blacks or those people who are fans of equality, justice

and fairness is, “If this were a White man or a different neighborhood with a more diverse police force, would the result be the same?”

There is a family grieving in the midst of all this—a mother missing her baby, a father missing his son—while the media seemingly sides with the cops to justify such a thing as killing a boy while he was down. The hell with questioning him, the hell with just stopping him, or making him obey; just kill him. It is unlikely that he could be of any use to the world, or they would rather not know. Despite there was no weapon on him which would [suggest] no real threat to the police—just kill him, we don’t need him anyway.

It’s like watching our young Black men being euthanized because they seemingly hold no value,

because they seem to be up to no good, because if they were up to no good there is no way they can change and become productive citizens. We the people of Black America are tired of our young men being hunted, intimidated, disrespected and deemed unworthy of life.

I will not go on to name all the young Black men who have died at the hands of another who deemed them unworthy to live. I simply can’t. “Blacks kill Blacks all the time,” I heard an analyst say. What does that mean? Does it mean it’s OK? It is never OK for one human being to kill another, but it is especially not OK when they are killed by the very people we trust to protect and serve.

It may not be right for the people to riot the way that they are, but the people are hurting and built up rage has a way of coming out in a sometimes violent way. I watched an interview done with three young Black men from the community who said for them the fear of police is a very real thing. These three men one a generation ahead expressed fear of those given the responsibility to protect them. If this were a family matter, the state would call this abuse. Well, if they won’t call it, I will; it’s abuse of both power and responsibility.

Ultimately these things affect all of us, and none of us will win if we live in a world where things like this continue to be debated without resolution. We will never win if these sorts of things are allowed to happen because of a good spin to the story and a clever twist on words to justify them. I pray every day because only God can protect those closest to us. I suggest you pray too, and give God your “unrest,” because only he can deliver us all from the evils of this world.

– Natasha Session Kanu, Decatur

Letter to the Editor

Page 6A The Champion FreePress, Friday, Sept. 5, 2014

If you would like to nominate someone to be considered as a future Champion of the Week, please contact Andrew Cauthen at [email protected] or at (404) 373-7779, ext. 117.

When Miller Grove High School

boys’ basketball coach Sharman White asked Aretha Watson to join the basketball team’s booster club, she did not hesitate.

“I like to be involved with my child and what’s going on with him,” Watson said. “I don’t just drop him off and leave him there, although he doesn’t need a babysitter, but I like to know what’s going on with him.”

Watson, 47, is the mother of Miller Grove senior shooting guard Kendall Williams. Watson has been involved with the basketball program for four years. She is the president of the booster club where she sets up fundraisers and keeps parents informed of what is going on with the team.

“I pretty much do anything coach White

asks me to do,” she said. “I try to take the business part out of the basketball program. I let him handle the basketball, and I take care of the parents and other stuff.

“[The basketball program] is a good program,” Watson added. “They’re a good team. I like basketball, and it’s given me an opportunity to give back to the school itself.”

Along with her volunteer work at Miller Grove, Watson also gives back through her employer, Voya Investment Management. Watson said giving back and volunteering is important because it gives people an opportunity to see what is going on in the

community and different areas.“There are a lot of parents that don’t get

involved,” she said. “And to see kids’ expressions when you’re giving back to them…a lot of these kids are very appreciative [of] everything that you do for them. That makes me feels good as a parent and in general.”

Watson said she makes sure her two sons understand the importance of giving back.

“They both volunteer at their schools,” she said. “Coach White has [the team] doing a lot of volunteer work. Every Thanksgiving they collect cans for Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless.

“My sons understand that the good you do will come back to you,” she added.

ARETHA WATSON“There are a lot of parents that don’t get involved…a lot of these kids are very appreciative [of] everything that you do for them. That makes me feels good as a parent and in general.”

‘Our focus is more to

incentivize sustainability

so it can improve their

daily lives.’ – Drew Cutright

A tale of sustainabilityDunwoody makes commitment to sustainability

by Lauren [email protected]

The city of Dunwoody is poised to adopt a new sustainability plan, a document intended to help guide city policy to make it more main-tainable.

Many of the city’s other plans have called for the creation of a sustainability plan, according to the city memorandum recommend-ing approval at the city’s August 25 meeting. “The purpose of the sus-tainability plan is to synthesize the sustainability focus from each of our existing plans and implement them,” the memo reads.

Dunwoody development coordi-nator Drew Cutright is a member of the city’s sustainability committee. Through her work with the commit-tee and as a city employee, Cutright helped research and write the sus-tainability plan.

“The major impetus for develop-ing the plan was the comprehensive plan developed in the first years of being a city, which called for having a sustainability plan,” she said. “We have a fairly active sustainability committee through the city, particu-larly with events: recycling events, educational events and that sort of thing. We kind of thought the time was right and we had a lot of sup-port behind sustainability.”

In 2012 the city hosted public meetings for residents to input what they might like to see implemented

as part of the plan. The finished plan includes five years of a short-term work plan and 10 years of action items.

The plan includes four major ac-tion areas: resource conservation and waste reduction; ecology, biodi-versity and health and wellness; edu-cation and outreach; and economic prosperity. Though many do have an “eco-friendly” bent, Cutright said that the focus is not just on green development in terms of recycling.

“Sustainability is one of the city’s focuses – we already have a green space plan, we have a comprehen-sive transportation plan, compre-hensive master plan, and some sub-area plans for Georgetown and Dunwoody Village. This is one more plan. It’s not the singular focus, but it is one thing we’d like to focus on,

making decisions that have long term impacts.”

City planner and director of sus-tainability Rebecca Keefer also said the plan will help focus Dunwoody’s policies.

Since sustainability is a multi-faceted concept, the residents ben-efit from a more holistic perspective for economic decisions (taking into account long-term expenditures and costs), accessibility issues and designed actions for the protection of natural resources — all of which contribute to the character and qual-ity of life of a community,” Keefer said via email.

The plan calls for incorporating sustainability into all city depart-ments. For years Dunwoody has had an unofficial policy in place that when departments wanted to

increase sustainability they would consult with the sustainability com-mittee. The city offices already tried a paperless policy, but found it is more wasteful to use electronic de-vices all the time. The city is also looking at its purchasing policy for a more efficient use of resources. And, according to Cutright, a lot of the sustainability plan will go into edu-cation and outreach for Dunwoody residents.

“We are offering citizens an op-portunity to put sustainability in place in their own lives, even things like a steam cleanup or opportuni-ties for citizens to get involved with city sponsored events,” Cutright said. “Our focus is more to incentiv-ize sustainability so it can improve their daily lives. By saving energy you can also save money, that sort of thing.”

Though Dunwoody is not unique in having a sustainability focus, it is actively getting its residents to think about sustainable options.

City communications director Bob Mullen said Dunwoody is not a didactic town, telling its residents what to do. Rather, they aim to pro-vide resources.

“Somebody who’s looking to recycle a television, recycle paint or find a way to put in place some best practices, they are looking for someone to help educate them and I think the city fulfills that need for its residents,” he said.

The Champion FreePress, Friday, Sept. 5, 2014 Page 7A

COMMUNITY

AROUND DEKALB

CRIME BRIEFS

Atlanta Audubon Society offering backyard sanctuary tour

Atlanta Audubon Society (AAS) will host its annual Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary Tour on Saturday, Sept. 13, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The tour will feature five properties located along an 18.5-mile route between Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Peachtree Corners and Berkeley Lake.

The tour is being hosted in cooperation with Dunwoody Community Garden, Dunwoody Nature Center, Dunwoody Women’s Club, Georgia Native Plant Society, Mt. Vernon Printing, Linda and Steve Edwards, Nancy and Richard Fonde, and Susan Hanson.

Tickets are $15 for AAS members and $20 for nonmembers. The tour is free for children ages 12 and younger accompanied by a paying adult. Tickets also will be available on the day of the tour at the Backyard Sanctuary sites.

All proceeds will support the education and conservation efforts of Atlanta Audubon Society.

For further information, tour details and to purchase tickets, visit www.AtlantaAudubon.org.

Chamblee Website now available in 81 languages

With a diverse population that is more than 58 percent Hispanic, Chamblee has added a new feature to its city website enabling residents to more easily access information. At the bottom of www.chambleega.com, a small box with Google’s

logo is now present. Clicking on the box brings up the Google Translate option that will translate the site’s pages into one of 81 languages from Afrikaans and Zulu.

The city’s motto, “Community Feel, Global Appeal” is reflected in the change, a city statement said.

Decatur Organization to host Ebola panel discussion

Our Seeds Tomorrow will host a panel discussion, EBOLA: Shaping Solutions to West African Crisis, Sept. 4 at Decatur Recreation Center from 5 - 8 p.m. The discussion will center on strategies to address the crisis in West Africa and how to support the cause through fundraising efforts to provide supplies and advanced medical research. Dr. Neil Shulman, professor at Emory University, will be a featured panelist as well as medical professionals from institutions such as the Centers for Disease Control, Morehouse School of Medicine, University of Georgia Medical school, and many others. Decatur Recreation Center is located at 231 Sycamore St. For more information, contact Dazia Fumbah at (470) 257-2600 or [email protected].

Doraville

Volunteers needed for task force on schools

Doraville City Council approved a task force to study academics in Doraville on Aug.

18. Volunteers are now needed to fill task force positions.

Members will research issues relating to academics at Doraville schools, from learning environment to testing. The task force will make recommendations to city staff on how to improve city schools.

Applications must be turned in to city hall and be received by Sept. 10. The application can be found by going to www.doravillega.us and clicking on “Latest News.”

Brookhaven Police partners with Nextdoor

The Brookhaven Police Department has partnered with Nextdoor, the private social network for neighborhoods, to build stronger, safer communities with the help of residents. The partnership will enable Brookhaven police to communicate online with Brookhaven neighborhoods. Residents and police will be able to work together to improve safety and strengthen neighborhood watch efforts. Those interested in joining their neighborhood’s Nextdoor website can visit www.nextdoor.com and enter their address. Residents who have questions about their Nextdoor website, can visit help.nextdoor.com.

City to recap parks master planBrookhaven Parks and Recreation Steering

Committee will have a meeting to recap the Parks Master Plan process on Sept. 4 at 4 p.m. in the council chamber at city hall, 4362 Peachtree Road. For more information, visit www.brookhavenga.gov.

Convenience store clerk shot in head

A convenience store clerk is in critical condition after an early morning armed robbery.

At 2:45 a.m. on Sept. 2, an armed man entered the Texaco store at 3521 Flat Shoals Road, said Capt. Stephen Fore of the DeKalb County Police Department.

“He robbed the store; the clerk was completely compliant [and] gave the suspect everything he wanted. As the suspect was leaving the location, he turned and fired, striking the clerk in the head,” Fore said.

The clerk is in critical condition. Police are currently interviewing a person of interest, but no charges have been filed.

Decatur couple kidnapped, handcuffed and shot

A couple was kidnapped from Coleen Court in Decatur on Aug. 30 and taken to Atlanta, where they were shot.

The kidnapping occurred Aug. 30 at ap-proximately 12:30 a.m. The couple was returning home “when they were taken by suspects. Before they got to the residence, they were approached and grabbed. They were handcuffed and taken away in a van,” said Capt. Stephen Fore of the DeKalb County Police Department.

“Later they were found in the city of Atlanta suffering from gunshot wounds,” Fore said.

According to the Atlanta Police Department, officers responded at 6:11 a.m. to a call about two shooting victims at 175 Ridge Ave. NW.

“One adult male victim was deceased on scene and one adult female victim was trans-ported to Grady Hospital in critical condition,” according to a statement from the Atlanta Police Department.

Witnesses told police that there were at least two suspects who were dressed in black clothing.

The victims reportedly were both shot in the head and have been identified by family mem-bers as Jeronta Brown, 24, and Briana Brooks, 21. Brown is deceased and Brooks, who was sev-en months pregnant, gave birth to a healthy baby girl and is on life support.

Brown’s family is offering a $15,000 reward for information about the crime.

The Champion FreePress, Friday, Sept. 5, 2014 Page 8ALOCAL NEWS

The Lithonia Amphitheater, which was once a popular entertainment spot, could become a thriving place again once the Lithonia city council transfer ownership to the Downtown Development Authority. File photos

Doreen Continued From Page 2A Brookhaven City Council revises tree ordinance

After lengthy debate and public input, the Brookhaven City Council adopted a revised tree ordinance de-signed to preserve the city’s tree canopy, protect the wooded character that older trees create in the city and respect the rights of private property owners to manage their trees as they see fit.

Brookhaven staff and city council have been working for more than six months on the proposed ordinance after determining that the existing ordi-nance, inherited from DeKalb County, did not meet the needs of Brookhaven. Homeowners were allowed to remove up to five trees per year for any reason, with no requirement for replacement, management of increased runoff or other factors.

Brookhaven’s ordinance is intended to facilitate and promote tree canopy preservation and make tree replace-

ment an integral part of the land development process in the city of Brookhaven.

“We have worked very hard to strike a balance between respecting the rights of property owners to manage their trees and their property as they see fit, and protecting the natural beau-ty that trees bring to Brookhaven,” said city Councilwoman Rebecca Chase Williams. “It’s taken a long time, but I believe we’ve found that balance.”

The new ordinance has been writ-ten to protect specimen trees, create standards for preserving trees as de-velopment occurs, discourage clear-cutting and mass grading of land dur-ing construction that results in the loss of mature trees. If tree loss cannot be prevented, the tree ordinance creates standards for ecologically appropriate replanting or monetary recompense.

Lithonia Amphitheater may get new ownerby Carla [email protected]

Nearly every weekend concertgoers can check out performances and

events at one of the many popular amphitheaters in metro Atlanta.

However, none of those popular amphitheaters are in downtown Lithonia. Kings of Leon fans will have to travel to Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood in south Atlanta to see them. Lyfe Jennings and Carl Thomas fans will have to go to Wolf Creek Amphitheater in south Fulton County.

There will be other concerts at Delta Classic Chastain Park Amphitheater in Buckhead and the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre at Encore Park in Alpharetta. However, Lithonia Amphitheater had not hosted concerts in almost 10 years.

The city of Lithonia and its Downtown Development Authority (DDA) are working to change that. The city council is expected to vote Sept. 8 on an agreement to transfer ownership of the amphitheater from the city to the DDA.

City Councilman Al Franklin, who is also the DDA board’s vice chairman, said the city had a management agreement in the past to move the amphitheater forward.

“For a variety of reasons they decided that it wouldn’t be in the best interest for the city to run the management agreement,” Franklin said. “Therefore, to separate the city from the actual activities and dealing with the amphitheater, we felt that it would be better run if the DDA had an opportunity to run and manage the facility.”

The city’s DDA was inactive for almost a decade, according to

Franklin, and was reactivated in January 2013 by Mayor Deborah Jackson and the city council.

“Our role is to partner with the city to advance any type of initiatives that the DDA may see fitting of what the city wants to pursue,” Franklin said. “Not everything is beneficial or makes sense for the city, but it may make better sense for the DDA.”

Once ownership of the amphitheater is transferred to the DDA, it will appoint a management company that can oversee and manage the amphitheater.

“The benefit of that is when [the amphitheater] is turned over to the DDA, the DDA then has the opportunity to disperse the funds,” Franklin said. “Which means that if it wants to reinvest into downtown or the Main Street area, if it wants to focus on landscaping to improve the city outlay…the DDA deems to have funds to approach those opportunities and also create more community events that may not necessarily be revenue-generating events, but they are events that maybe the city will benefit from.”

The DDA also will be able to have a long-term agreement with a management company, while the city could only offer an agreement up to five years.

Franklin said the amphitheater is in “pretty good condition,” but there are some areas in the amphitheater that are not “operational.”

“The major issue is taking care of the electrical [aspects],” he said. “The other issue is bringing in [portable] potties. We would like to have permanent bathrooms. Once we get building things up to speed in those regards, then it will definitely make us more competitive.”

areas, we gone into predominantly White areas and just last night we were in the most diverse meeting that I’ve seen around the entire state,” Carter said. “And no one’s looking at me like who’s this Black woman running for office. They’re saying, ‘Here’s somebody who is courageous enough and has the heart and intention to serve the people of Georgia.’ And they’re excited.

“I actually have been surprised...at the welcome reception,” Carter said. “Of course you always know your community is going to accept you or you think your community is going to accept you. You don’t know how other people are going to accept you. It’s been amazing.

“It’s so exciting and it’s encouraging and it’s refreshing because you just don’t know when you decide to run how people are going to accept you,” she said.

Carter said she believes her chance of winning the election “is the same as every other Democrat on this ticket.

“We have enough Democrats in Georgia for Georgia to be blue; if they come out to vote, we all win,” Carter said.

“I’m African-American, and we have this historic ticket—the five African-American females—that nobody planned,” she said.

“We have a lot of work to do. I have a lot of work to do. We’ve got to get around the state and keep our message in front of people, but I think if any Democrat can win a constitutional office, all the Democrats can win.”


The State Charter Schools Commission denied the application of Brookhaven Innovation Academy (BIA) to open a charter school.

The ruling came down Aug. 28, but the commission encouraged city officials to re-apply next year.

“Even though we asked the State Charter Schools Commission to give us more time to address the issues and their concerns in their recommendation, they chose not to do that. We respect that decision and feel we will be able to satisfy and address their concerns in our petition next year,” said Brookhaven Councilmember Bates Mattison.

Three of the seven members of the State Charter Schools Commission Board spoke in favor of the BIA and strongly encouraged petitioners to come back next year for the 2015 petition cycle.

“We will begin working with the State Charter Schools Commission staff immediately and feel very optimistic that we will be able to address their concerns in

our 2015 petition,” Mattison said. Although the charter application

was made to the State Charter Schools Commission, the BIA has earned the support of DeKalb County School District Superintendent Michael Thurmond, who has described BIA as “an innovative idea with tremendous potential.”

Current plans call for the BIA to open with 420 students in grades K-six, and later enroll up to 1,300 students as a K-12 public charter school with multiple campuses and a virtual component. BIA will offer a student-centered learning environment implementing a combination of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math focused, project-based and blended learning curricula.

“We’re going to continue to meet with Superintendent Thurmond quarterly and deepen our relationship with DeKalb County Schools,” Mattison said. “This is a state process, but we’ll be working in partnership with DeKalb going forward.”

Brookhaven charter school petition denied

by Carla [email protected]

Citizens for a Healthy and Safe Environment (CHASE) continues to fight against a biomass plant that is expected to be built in Li-thonia, and the organization took its fight to the Georgia Public Service Commission Aug. 28.

Members of CHASE, led by president Renee Cail, voiced their opposition to the proposed gasification/biomass plant that Green Energy Partners—DeKalb wants to construct. The plant, which will be operated by Green Energy Resource Center, would be located on 21 acres at 1770 Rogers Lake Road.

Cail told the commission that she does not under-stand why the commission approved the project that is “detrimental to the commu-nity.”

“We have written the commission, we have deliv-ered information, we have documented evidence that it’s bad for the community and we don’t want it,” Cail said. “So why is it being ap-proved when the public com-mission is supposed to work in the best interest of the consumers?”

A member of the com-mission said President

Barack Obama is encourag-ing the commission through the Environmental Protec-tion Agency (EPA) to cre-ate new forms of renewable energy.

“This is a form of renew-able energy and it’s some-thing that we see popping up all over Georgia,” the com-missioner said. “So biomass is a renewable energy, it’s green energy and it’s some-thing that the president is pulling behind.”

Cail said CHASE visited a biomass plant in Dalton and said it is not green en-ergy.

“It may be renewable; it is renewable because it comes back as toxin and pollution and it gets in our lungs,” she said. “President Obama wants what’s best. Maybe he didn’t read the report yet, and I will send it to him. He wants reliable sustainable and healthy projects.”

Cail said CHASE will continue to fight the con-struction of the plant.

After the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners approved the facility in June 2011, CHASE filed a lawsuit against DeKalb County to prevent the construction of the facility. The lawsuit claims the county engaged in “contract rezoning” when it granted a special land use permit for the facil-

ity after the county already had signed a contract with Green Energy Partners to sell wood waste for an estimated $200,000 per year.

In July 2011, Green Ener-gy Partners pulled its permit application after failing to complete the environmental permit application in time. The withdrawal was in re-sponse to a Georgia Environ-mental Protection Division (EPD) request for additional information on the planned gasification process to be used in the plant.

On Feb. 14, 2012, the Development Authority of DeKalb approved a resolu-tion declaring its intent to issue $53 million in bonds to help Green Energy Partners get started. The authority later approved a 10-year tax abatement for the facility.

Green Energy Partners filed its air permit application to the Georgia EPD April 24, 2012, and it received the per-mit April 26, 2013.

Green Energy Part-ners proposed to use wood biomass, purchased from DeKalb County and deliv-ered by truck, to generate electricity by processing ap-proximately 165,000 tons per year of untreated wood and yard waste.

The facility would be constructed on property in a heavy industrial zone.

Wood biomass would be stored uncovered in an ini-tial receiving area capable of storing a minimum of a sev-en-day supply. The biomass

would then be transferred to a covered area. Follow-ing screening, the biomass would be fed to two bio-mass units.

CHASE pleads case to Georgia Public Service Commission

No charter, for now

CHASE president Renee Cail, right, speaks with supporters after the Georgia Public Service Commission Public meeting. Photo by Carla Parker


Notice is hereby given that the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority will hold public hearings for the purpose of considering:

Proposed Bus Modifications for December 13, 2014

Notice of Public Hearings: September 8 & 9, 2014

Copies of the proposed service modifications will also be available at MARTA’s Office of External Affairs, 2424 Piedmont Road, N.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30324 during regular business hours, Mon-Fri 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Sat 9:00 a.m.– 12 Noon and on the website at www.itsmarta.com.

For formats (FREE of charge) in accordance with the ADA and Limited English Proficiency regulations contact 404-848-4037. For those patrons requiring further accommodations, information can be obtained by calling the Telephone Device for the Deaf (TDD) at 404-848-5665.

In addition, a sign language interpreter will be available at the hearing. If you cannot attend the hearing and want to provide comments you may: (1) leave a message at 404-848-5299; (2) write to MARTA’s Office of External Affairs, 2424 Piedmont Road, N.E, Atlanta, Georgia 30324-

3330; (3) complete an online Comment Card at www.itsmarta.com; (4) or fax your comments no later than September 15, 2014 to 404-848-4179.

All citizens of the City of Atlanta and the Counties of Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton and Gwinnett whose interests are affected by the subjects to be considered at this hearing are hereby notified and invited to appear at said time and place and present such evidence, comment or objection as their interests require.

The Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority complies with all federal regulations and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color or national origin, in its programs, benefits, services or activities. Complaints or inquiries regarding Title VI compliance may be directed in writing to the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity at 2424 Piedmont Road, N.E., Atlanta, Georgia 30324 or 404-848-5240.

Route 89 – Flat Shoals Road/Scofield Road will be realigned to assume the Old National Highway (between Godby Road and Jonesboro Road), Jonesboro Road, Londonderry Way, Lancaster Lane, and Shannon Parkway segments currently operated by Route 189-Old National Highway/Union Station on all service days. Route 89 will be renamed Route 89 – Old National Highway/Union Station.

Route 140 – North Point/Mansell Road Park and Ride will be realigned to provide service along the east side of Old Milton Parkway via Haynes Bridge Road, Left onto Old Milton Parkway, right onto Brookside Parkway, right onto Alexander Drive, and left onto Old Milton Parkway and continue regular routing. The proposed new service along Old Milton Parkway would operate non-peak hours (9:00 am -3:00 pm) on weekdays only.

Route 143 – Windward Park and Ride will be realigned to provide service along the east side of Old Milton Parkway via GA 400 to Old Milton Parkway exit (Exit 10), right onto Old Milton Parkway, right onto Brookside Parkway, right onto Alexander Drive, and left onto Old Milton Parkway then continue regular routing. The proposed new service along Old Milton Parkway would operate alternating trips during peak periods. During A.M. peak periods, service would be operated in the Northbound direction to Windward Park and Ride. During the P.M. peak periods, service would be operated in the Southbound direction to North Springs Station.

Route 180 – Fairburn/Palmetto will be realigned to operate a short turn alignment from College Park Station to the Fulton County Comprehensive Career Center-Fulton County DFCS Service Center (South Branch) via Stonewall Tell Road and Camp Drive and continue operation from College Park Station to Palmetto every other trip (alternating) during peak periods (6:00 am - 9:00 am and 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm) on weekdays only.

Route 189 – Old National Highway/Union Station will be realigned to assume the Godby Road, Scofield Road, Surrey Trail, Pleasant Hill Road, Old National Highway (between Pleasant Hill and Flat Shoals Roads), Flat Shoals Road, Feldwood Road to South Fulton Park and Ride segments currently operated by Route 89-Flat Shoals/Scofield on all service days. Additionally, the alternating trip service along Hillandale Drive, Carriage Lane, Ocean Valley Road, Old Farm Road, Harper Valley Drive, Kimberly Mill Road, and Cadiz Circle will be provided by Route 189 realignment. Route 189 will be renamed Route 189 –Flat Shoals Road/Scofield Road.

Keith T. Parker, AICP, General Manager/CEO

2424 Piedmont Road NEAtlanta 30324

MARTA HQHEARING: 7:00 p.m.

Community Exchange: 6-7 p.m.

Riding MARTA: Across the street from

Lindbergh Center Station.

Monday, September 8 Tuesday, September 93595 Webb Bridge Rd

Alpharetta 30005North FultonALPHARETTAHIGH SCHOOL

HEARING: 7:00 p.m.Community Exchange: 6-7 p.m.

Riding MARTA: Rt. 140 from Windward Park and Ride.

5600 Stonewall Tell RoadCollege Park 30349South Fulton

SERVICE CENTER &GOVERNMENT CENTER

HEARING: 7:00 p.m.Community Exchange: 6-7 p.m.

Riding MARTA: Rt 180 from College Park Station.

Proposed routing and/or segment adjustments for the following bus routes:

State brings orderto cityhood driveby Carla [email protected]

Overlapping boundaries on the proposed maps for three DeKalb County cities was one of the reasons why the cityhood bills failed in the 2014 legislative session, according to state officials.

To help solve the boundary issues between Briarcliff, Lakeside and Tucker, State Reps. Mike Jacobs (R-Brookhaven) and Tom Taylor (R-Dunwoody) met with cityhood proponents to discuss directions issued by House Governmental Affairs Committee Chairwoman Amy Carter (R-Valdosta) for the cityhood boundary line proposals.

The House Governmental Affairs Committee oversees legislation in the Georgia House of Representatives involving the creation of new cities.

“Tom Taylor and I worked with Rep. Carter, chair of the House Governmental Affairs Committee, to develop a process for DeKalb County cityhood proponents to follow as we approach next session,” Jacobs said. “Our goal for this process is to en-courage all stakeholders to engage in con-versations now about cityhood boundary lines and to ensure any remaining disputes are resolved prior to 2015.”

The maps of the three proposed cities had overlapping areas, including the Northlake area. Lakeside’s map also included part of Tucker’s 30084 ZIP code.

Each of the three cityhood proponent groups was instructed to identify one authorized signatory for a compromise

boundary map by Sept. 5. They have until Nov. 15 to come to a mutual agreement on city boundary lines and submit the agreed-upon map bearing three signatures from the authorized signatories to the House Governmental Affairs Committee.

The cityhood proponents also were told that if an agreement cannot be reached by that date, Carter will appoint a panel of five state House members to carry out the task of drawing city boundaries for the proposed cities. The panel’s sole charge will be to produce a boundary map no later than Dec. 31 by majority vote of the panel. Either the agreed-upon map by cityhood proponents or the map drawn by the legislative panel will be the only version that the House Governmental Affairs Committee will consider.

“This process Rep. Jacobs and Rep. Taylor developed gives cityhood proponents in DeKalb County the best chance for successful passage of legislation that will allow new city proposals to go before the voters for consideration,” Carter said. “There is a need to bring order to this process and the directions outlined to the stakeholders today will accomplish just that.”

In a post on the “City of Tucker 2015” Facebook page, a representative said, “We are fully confident this will produce a positive outcome for Tucker.”

Lines on a map

Jacobs Taylor

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State Representatives Mike Jacobs and Tom Taylor met with Briarcliff, Lakeside and Tucker cityhood proponents to discuss directions for DeKalb County cityhood boundary line proposals.


Decatur woman’s battle cry is

by Andrew [email protected]

In April 1986 a reactor at the nuclear power plant near Chernobyl, Ukraine, exploded. A fire there burned for 10 days,

31 people died after the explosion and more than a quarter of a million people were permanently driven from their homes.

It is considered the worst nuclear disaster ever.

The next year in metro Atlanta, hundreds marched protesting the use of nuclear power, and Glenn Carroll was one of them.

Carroll, now the coordinator of Nuclear Watch South (www.nonukesyall.org), was attracted to the organization, originally founded as Georgians Against Nuclear Energy, after the Chernobyl accident.

“I was horrified because my understanding of nuclear power is that …it’s a hunky-dory way to boil water and generate steam and make electricity if nothing goes wrong,” she said. “If something goes wrong there’s such an unprecedented amount of radiation concentrated in running reactor.”

Founded in 1977, Nuclear Watch South is possibly “the oldest grassroots environmental group in Georgia,” Carroll said.

Nuclear Watch South was “founded to react to reactors that were being built in Georgia and have been built,” she said.

One “ongoing focus of the group” has been the “large nuclear weapons complex on the South Carolina side of the Savannah River.”

Once called Savannah River Plant, “in its heyday…it was one of the biggest nuclear weapons complexes in the country. It’s now mostly shut, but it’s got enormous quantities of nuclear wastes,” Carroll said.

The major focus of Nuclear Watch South currently is Plant Vogtle near Waynesboro where two new nuclear reactors are under construction. According to Georgia Power, “the new units…are among the first new nuclear units being

built in the United States in 30 years. The addition of the new units will make Plant Vogtle the only four-unit nuclear facility in the country.”

The reactors, Carroll said, are being funded in part by a nuclear construction cost recovery included in the bills of Georgia Power customers.

“It amounts to a tax that’s up to about 9 percent,” she said. “Only residences and small businesses are paying it. It’s only the little guy that’s getting charged this.

“We are still calling for a repeal of the tax,” Carroll said. “What we’re saying is that now that we know that [nuclear power] isn’t needed, we need to stop it.”

Approximately a decade ago, Nuclear Watch South entered a major lawsuit about the MOX plutonium fuel factory at the Savannah River Site.

“We are opposing license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for this fuel factory,” Carroll said. “They want to put weapons-grade plutonium fuel in commercial nuclear reactors. We have opposed the license for 13 years, and they don’t have a license yet, and we’re still opposing it. There are no reactors that are willing to use the fuel, so it may be a moot point.”

Carroll described the members of Nuclear Watch South as “just really humble regular people who are moved and have studied.”

The organization keeps members informed about commission meetings and the environmental impact statement hearings.

The committees “transcribe what you say and then it seems like they never do anything with it, but then somehow or another we add up to getting the results we want,” Carroll said.

“There’s nothing to be done with nuclear waste, and if you have an accident, it’s too much,” Carroll said. “Since you can get your energy from the sun and the wind now—which wasn’t the case when we started with nuclear, but it is the case now—it’s time to move on. We don’t need it. We don’t need to work it out. We don’t need to perfect it.”

‘no nukes, y’all’

Upcoming Seminars at DeKalb Medical

For a referral to a DeKalb Medical physician or to reserve your space for these free seminars, please call 404.596.4772. Light refreshments will be served. Parking is free.

Doc Talks

www.dekalbmedical.org dekalbmedical

Celebrating Women’s Health: Ladies’ Night Out to Empower Women to Make Health a PriorityTuesday, September 23, 2014 6:00–8:00 p.m. Community Room Hillandale campus

Our expert panel of doctors will offer information on a wide range of women’s health topics such as healthy aging, breast cancer, fitness and nutrition, menopause and more. Come early and receive a complimentary bone density scan of the heel which indicates whether you may need further osteoporosis testing.

Call 404.596.4772 or visit www.dekalbmedical.org.

The DeKalb County Board of Registration & Elections will hold a special election to fill the District 1 commission seat vacated by Elaine Boyer.

This election will be held in conjunction with the gen-eral election on Nov. 4.

Qualifying for the special election will begin Monday, Sept. 8, at 8:30 a.m. and close Wednesday, Sept. 10, at noon and will be in the office of the DeKalb County Board of Registrations and Elections, 4380 Memorial Drive, De-catur.

The fee to qualify is $1,151.24.

The special election will

be held in all the regular polling places in Commis-sion District 1.

The last day to register to be eligible to vote in this special election is Oct. 6. If a runoff is required, it will be held on Dec. 2.

For more information, visit www.dekalbvotes.com and look under “Notices” and “Current Election Infor-mation.”

Special election set to replace commissioner

Glenn Carroll has been campaigning against nuclear reactors for more than 25 years. Photo by Andrew Cauthen


Arabia Mountain: A county treasure


Arabia Mountain National Heritage area is a little smaller and weirder than its bigger, more famous cousin, Stone Mountain. It offers no Instagram-worthy view of

downtown Atlanta’s skyline from the top. But it’s every bit as fun.

The hike to the top starts at a little parking lot near AWARE Wildlife Center. That’s the Atlanta Wild Animal Rescue Effort. The parking lot fills up quickly with hikers, bikers and PATH walkers, though, so parking a half mile away at the Davidson-Arabia Nature Center and walking along the road may be necessary. There’s no gondola to take visitors up, so if you want to see the top, they should bring sturdy shoes.

At the trailhead, stop to apply sunscreen. You’ll needed on the bald granite slope. Very few trees offer shade along the half-mile trek with an elevation of 954 feet. Along the way are the shallow depressions Arabia Mountain might be famous for. These depressions fill with water that slowly leeches out minerals and contributes to soil formation. Some plants, including the vibrant diamorpha smallii, make their homes exclusively in these pools. They’re most colorful in the winter, but nature abounds throughout the year.

On a Saturday afternoon hike there were only a handful of people on the trail, which is marked by cairns. Along the way, hikers can use odd, geometric rock formations—leftovers from when Arabia Mountain was an active quarry, supplying building materials for homes and businesses around DeKalb

County. Some of the historic buildings in nearby Lithonia, named in reference to the mountain, have facades made from Arabia Mountain stone.

Ranger Robby Astrove said it’s hard to keep a tally of people who visit the mountain because there are six parking lots and trailheads throughout the park. He said around 80 percent of people who visit the nature center don’t sign in.

However, that doesn’t mean the spot’s not popular. Just a little hidden.

“I always refer to Arabia as DeKalb’s best kept secret,” Astrove said. “I do take a lot of pride that all of our entrance fees and programs to the public are free. That’s different compared to the sister mountains Panola and Stone Mountain.”

Astrove leads guided hikes around the park on Fridays and Sundays. He said his goal is to get people interested and excited about nature.

“The real goal of mine is that people come out here and they appreciate what they have in their backyard,” he said. “They have a greater understanding of how the world works and their place in it. For example, when they’re washing their car, they may think ‘Do I even need to wash my car because of precious water resources?’ I am seeking behavior change in people.”

At the top of the mountain, it’s easy to feel small standing on hundreds of cubic feet of solid, rock surrounded by dense forest.

“If I blindfold you and brought you up top, would you believe you were in DeKalb County?” Astrove said. “This is what real DeKalb county is – it’s a good reminder for people. Who owns the park? It’s us. It’s the public.”

Remnants of the quarrying operation that used to support the community of Lithonia are still apparent on the mountainside.

Reaching the top of Arabia Mountain is a half-mile hike with a more than 900-foot elevation change. Photos by Lauren Ramsdell

A variety of plants and animals make Arabia Mountain their home.

Shallow depressions worn away by time and water collect moisture, which can support rare plants.


WEEK PICTURESIn

Searching for Our Sons and Daughters:

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

Finding DeKalb County’s Missing Stories of our missing residents offer profound

insights and hope for a positive reunion.

Searching for Our Sons and Daughters:

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

Photos brought to you by DCTV

Robert “Bob” Statham, a deputy chief assistant district attorney in the trial division of the DA’s Office, was recently recognized for 31 years of service to DeKalb County. Photo by Andrew Cauthen

Members of the ML King marching band perform during the Battle of the Borders games Aug. 30. Photo by Travis Hudgons

Kindergarten students at Ashford Park Elementary have the option to learn in a German language immersion class. Students sort bären (bears) by color and count in German how many there are. See page 19 for full story. Photo by Lauren Ramsdell


A BETTER WAY FORWARD

Launch your educational future.

visit gpc.edu/secondhalf

It’s not too late to register or apply for second-half classes at Georgia Perimeter College. You have until September 22 to submit all documents. Now’s your chance to join more than 21,000 students who call GPC home.

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

ChampionAd9-4.indd 1 8/25/14 3:06 PM

It’s a happy world7-year-old author featured at Decatur Book festival

By Kathy Mitchell

The Decatur Book Festival Labor Day weekend featured dozens of authors at various stages in their careers. Perhaps the youngest was 7-year-old Decatur

resident Myles Shulman. Myles, a second-grade pupil at Laurel Ridge

Elementary who also illustrated the work, presented his book Make the World Happy! on the children’s stage on Aug. 29, to second- and third-graders who were bused to the festival from local schools as part of the festival’s opening day tradition.

Banker Judy Turner, a member of the festival board of directors, learned of the book and squeezed it in as a last minute addition to the Decatur Book Festival.

“Myles has always enjoyed creating stories and telling them to us,” explained his mother, Zoe Haugo. “He loves to draw and as he draws pictures he tells the story behind the picture. His dad [physician and author Neil Shulman] suggested that we help Myles turn one of his stories into a book. This became our spring break project.”

The book was produced as a PosterBook, a copyrighted concept created by Neil Shulman, who has written more than 30 books, including the novel that became the major motion picture Doc Hollywood. As with other PosterBooks, this one was designed to teach life lessons. Through the story of an elephant that’s having so much fun spraying water that he doesn’t notice how the water spray is annoying a cat, Make the World Happy! offers readers advice about conflict resolution and controlling anger. Novelist Carl Hiaasen said the book is “funny, touching and very, very wise, whether you’re 70 or 7.”

Dr. Shulman has created PosterBooks on the dangers of smoking, how to behave when

stopped by the police and other issues. Each of the books opens into a poster that can be displayed to remind people of the book’s message.

Haugo, called it ironic that Myles should become an author as such a young age. “He has some learning disabilities that have made language more of a challenge for him than it is for most children. Writing this book has been a big help to him as well as a big confidence booster,” she said.

Working on the book became a big mother-son bonding experience, according to Haugo,

who created “comments by Mom” sprinkled throughout the story. “We could have done a lot of things together while Myles was on vacation, but I don’t think anything could have brought us closer than creating this book,” she said.

The book debuted in Haugo’s native Canada, where Myles held a book signing at a large bookstore in Kingston. He also was on radio there, where his message was, “Hey guys, do you want to be nice? Be nice to each other. Do good things. Be happy. Think of others. Do all the things you want to do. Learn about all people. Be like Cat, Dog and Elephant at the end of my book. My book is called Make the World Happy! It turns into a big poster.”

The Canada book signing event was a fundraiser for a local food bank and that’s in keeping with the vision Haugo and Shulman have for their child’s project. “We want to offer it to nonprofits at a very low price so they can sell copies to raise money,” Haugo explained. The book was published by RxHumor, a publishing company owned by husband-and-wife team Schulman and Haugo.

Among the young author’s experiences has been teaming with Naomi King, sister-in-law of Martin Luther King Jr., and author of AD King and ML King: Two Brothers Who Dared to Dream, in a joint book presentation. Haugo noted that each of the books is designed to inspire readers to work toward creating a happy world. “The common message embodied in these two works will appeal to a wide age spectrum,” she said.

Haugo said she hopes that in addition to spreading a positive message and being a source of funds for nonprofits, she hopes the book will inspire other youngsters to tackle similar projects. “It’s a great tool for empowering children to express their creativity and building their self-esteem,” she said.

The Champion FreePress, Friday, Sept. 5, 2014 Page 15ALOCAL NEWSBoyer Continued From Page 1A

Foodie Continued From Page 1A

and her husband have stayed away from chain restaurants and focused on Mexican, Korean, Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese and other eateries along the well-known strip. Most are mom and pop operations, and often communication can be challenging when owners and staff have limited English skills. Many of the restaurants have an exterior that is less than inviting but offer great food, she said.

“There’s a lot of authentic great food here that just kinda has a lousy exterior,” said Allred.

Allred said their 130-week journey began after she was seeking a creative outlet and one with which she could work on her photography skills. The Allreds rate their experiences on a one-to-five scale, giving details of each encounter. She said they focus on the food with less said about the décor or service, noting that various cultures put different emphasis on service.

“There are always cultural differences,” she said.

Allred has traveled to Tokyo

with her husband, who works in information technology, on one of his business trips as well as to Hong Kong, Amsterdam and Grenada.

Allred, a graphic designer who lives in Toco Hills, said they usually head to Buford Highway once a week and started the endeavor along the southern end and have steadily moved north. Along the

way they’ve had some great meals such as a Korean barbecue at Han II Kwan, ceviche at La Pastorcita, banh hoi at Nam Phuong and Shanghai dumpling at Chef Liu.

Allred said her adventurous spirit has led her to try many new dishes, many of which she isn’t sure of all the ingredients. Asked what was the worst dish she’s eaten during her

Buford Highway dining experience, Allred immediately said tripe soup.

“It still smells like what it is,” Allred said of the soup made from an animal’s stomach.

She said she doesn’t research a restaurant’s health inspection report until after she’s dined there and so far hasn’t gotten food poisoning. Although she admits they both have had rumbling stomachs after a few meals.

To mark the 100-restaurant review milestone, Allred has compiled a list on her blog of nine of their favorite spots and seven others they recommend on Buford Highway.

She encourages locals to be more adventurous when dining out. “It is so easy for us to stick to what we are used to,” Allred said.

Asked for advice for those interested in exploring ethnic cuisine but who have reservations, Allred said, “Keep an open mind and try not to have any expectations. That way you can’t be disappointed but pleasantly surprised.”

Banchan dishes served at Han II Kwan.

unfortunately she has made some errors in judg-ment.”

Boyer “accepts full responsibility for the deci-sions that she’s made and she acknowledges that she has abused the trust…of DeKalb County,” Brickman said.

The 22-year veteran commissioner “is very apologetic to the people she has worked with and for,” Brickman told reporters. “This is somebody who is very ashamed of what she did but some-one who has a very good reputation otherwise who has done a lot of good for the county.”

Boyer will enter a guilty plea at her next court appearance and “continue to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in any way that they ask,” Brickman said. An arraignment hearing was expected to be held within 10 days of her Aug. 26 court appearance.

“She is cooperating in every way possible. She is willing to assist them in any direction the investigation goes,” Brickman said. “There are no limitations on how long or to what extent Elaine is willing to cooperate.”

Boyer’s case was not presented to a grand jury for indictment as is the norm, Brickman said.

Boyer “did not see the need to put the burden to the government,” Brickman said. “Mrs. Boyer fully admits her involvement with those charges.”

U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said that Boyer’s cooperation could help mitigate her sentence, “but it doesn’t wipe the slate clean. This was a very serious crime for which she needs to be held responsible.”

Yates said her office will ask a federal judge to sentence Boyer to some jail time. Boyer’s attor-ney said he will ask for probation and added that no plea agreement had been made with federal prosecutors.

Yates added that there are “a number of ” DeKalb County officials currently under investi-gation.

“We do have a broader investigation of

DeKalb County government going right now,” she said.

Viola Davis of the Unhappy Taxpayer & Voter, released a statement on Aug. 28 saying, “DeKalb County taxpayers and voters deserve leadership that is ethical, transparent, and accountable to the people. We deserve leadership with integrity. With Elaine Boyer resigning from office, she has moved DeKalb County forward in the right direction.”

Davis filed an ethics complaint against Boyer

earlier this year, alleging improper use of county-issued credit cards and using taxpayer money as a bank for “bridge loans.” Boyer’s aide Bob Lund-sten was also named in the complaint which is still under investigation by the DeKalb County Board of Ethics.

Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton “has often claimed the ethics complaints were/are frivolous and political,” Davis stated. “However, we will let the evidence and facts that have been brought to light speak for themselves.”

U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates calls commissioner’s crimes “serious.” Photo by Andrew Cauthen


Tucker CID Continued From Page 9A

DeKalb County schools to become charter district

Change could be implemented as early as 2015-2016 school year

Regional superintendent Trenton Arnold presents the proposal for a charter district in DeKalb County to residents at Dunwoody High School. Photo by Lauren Ramsdell

The DeKalb County School District is plan-ning to proceed and

transform itself into a charter district within the next year.

Following the Georgia legislature’s instruction to de-cide whether to remain a “sta-tus quo” district, an Investing in Educational Excellence (IEE) system, or a charter sys-tem by June 30, 2015, DeKalb County school officials are working towards the charter district option.

“The charter option was one of three options that were available and each of the op-tions has varying levels of dis-tributive governance, flexibil-ity and accountability require-ments,” said Trenton Arnold, assistant superintendent for District 3. “Matching citizen input with advisory commit-tee [showed that] the best of those three options was the charter system option.”

Based on feedback from residents gathered by the

district’s flexibility advisory committee, members of which were selected by school board members and staff, the dis-trict determined at its April 1 meeting that a charter district was the way to go. The district has submitted its letter of in-tent and is now working on drafting the district charter petition.

“In every one of our schools across the district, we have engaged parents,” Arnold said. “We know it’s there; the capacity is there. We want to just further support a process and a mechanism to allow for that localized decision-mak-ing authority so they further take ownership of the success of their schools and their chil-dren.”

The proposed charter district petition may be avail-able for view at the Sept. 8 board of education work ses-sion. Following that, and the open comment section at that meeting, the flexibility adviso-ry committee will meet again and update the petition. The final petition may be available for comment and adoption as early as Oct. 6. Georgia law states that the petition must be received by Nov. 1 the year prior to the start of the fiscal year that the charter system contract would begin.

“The county board of education has the final au-thority to push it forward or not,” Arnold said. “Assuming they were to vote for it, then the next step is for it to go to the Georgia Department of Education, then to the charter advisory committee. They recommend to the state Board of Education approval or not. If everything follows the Department of Education timeline, it would allow for the district to begin operating in school year 2015-2016.”

The charter district will differ from the current or “sta-tus quo” system in a number of ways.

Currently, if a district wants to have any part of state law waived, for example, class sizes, the entire district must request the waiver, which then would be applied to all schools in the district. Under a charter district, all schools would have a blanket waiver, except for public safety and legal requirements such as

asbestos removal and consti-tutional rights. Each school would then be able to request changes from its district and implement them on a school-by-school basis. So if a middle school wanted to eliminate physical education and add a core math teacher in that teacher’s place, it would not affect schools across the dis-trict. However, attendance zones still will be used to de-termine school placement.

Choice programs will remain in place and will be available to be applied for.

“DeKalb has more than 50 choice programs; about 40 percent of our facilities of-fer choice programs,” Arnold said. “So there is that avail-ability there.”

These kinds of changes will be proposed and drafted by local school governance councils, one team for every school. The makeup, appoint-ment or election and level of autonomy given to a council will be spelled out in the dis-trict petition. Any change that a council proposes will have to be reviewed by the central office staff, so as not to in-fringe on any laws or impair student safety – for example, if a council recommended an unsafe jungle gym for stu-dents to use during recess.

To be accepted, the peti-tion must address how the challenges faced by DeKalb County would be addressed by becoming a charter district and what districtwide waiv-ers, if any, it would seek. The petition also must include how growth and performance would be measured and met.

Charter districts’ renewal will be based in part on col-lege and career readiness performance index (CCRPI) scores as well as a charter district-only metric called Beating the Odds (BTO). BTO measures the district’s and schools’ performance ver-sus schools of similar size and demographics from across the state. To pass, the schools must be achieving at the same rate or better than comparable non-charter system schools.

A charter system does not change the election or gover-nance of district leadership, such as elected school board members, Arnold said.

“The key difference from

what’s currently in place: the [local school governance councils] in many cases mir-ror what the DeKalb Board of Education would do from the district perspective,” he said. “They will be under the same rules as the board of educa-tion, with open meetings, a requirement to publish their minutes and to accept com-ments. They will represent the needs of the community. There is a level of gravitas on these school boards to the service of their schools and how they go about making decisions.”

At a community meeting hosted by Arnold, some of the charter district school options were presented. Some, like virtual schools and length-ened school days, would be al-lowed under the blanket waiv-er from certain requirements, like seat time mandated by the state.

Any existing start-up or conversion charters in the district, such as Peachtree Middle School or Chamblee Charter High School, will be able to either continue under their existing charter or to join the new charter district. Also, if any school wants to either start as a new charter or become a conversion charter, it will have the ability to peti-tion and do so.

The charter system schools differ significantly from a start-up charter in that they still must have their variances approved by the county school board, which will function as a governing board does for a start-up charter. The elected school board, the hired super-intendent and the superinten-dent’s organizational chart will remain. Parents at the meeting expressed a desire to not in-crease the number of employ-ees at the central office.

“We hear a lot that it is going to benefit some with the exclusion of others,” Ar-nold said. “That is simply not the case. What the district is hoping is that the decision to pursue charter system status will benefit all of the students in the district.”

However, not all are pleased. The city of Dun-woody is currently exploring options to create a citywide school system, similar to City Schools of Decatur.

The Champion FreePress, Friday, Sept. 5, 2014 Page 17ABUSINESS

The Voice of Business in DeKalb CountyDeKalb Chamber of Commerce

404.378.8000 www.DeKalbChamber.orgTwo Decatur Town Center, 125 Clairemont Ave., Suite 235, Decatur, GA 30030

Soul Food Café features family recipesby Kathy Mitchell

Among Tammy McRae’s favorite childhood memories is the family’s traditional first Monday in August gatherings at her grandmother’s south

Georgia home. Seeing all the relatives was great, she recalled, and the food “was amazing.”

McRae, who recently opened a restaurant in Stone Mountain Village with her sister Keyshaun, said that during many years in the tax preparation business she dreamed of opening a restaurant featuring recipes from her mother and her aunts. The dream came to fruition with the opening of Mazel & Sisters Soul Food Café in August. The restaurant name honors her mother, Mazel, who died in 1994, and her mother’s sisters.

Every dish on the menu, McRae said, is one that either her mother or one of her aunts developed. “I would call my cousins and ask, ‘When you think of this aunt, what food do you think of?’ The answers I got became the restaurant’s specials. Yellow rice and sausage—that would be Ann. Chicken in the pot—that’s Jeannette.”

McRae explained that her mother, who along with other family members taught her to cook, often had been the lead cook at family dinners. “After she passed away, I just took over. You won’t find any hamburgers and french fries on the menu. I don’t think my grandmother ever cooked a french fry. Everything is a family recipe. People who remember how much they enjoyed going to grandma’s house for dinner will love coming here,” she said, adding that cakes and pies are made in-house and the lemonade is fresh squeezed.

The menu includes items diners might expect to find at a “soul food” café—fried chicken, smothered pork chops, creamed corn, collards—along with such offerings as an aunt’s special goulash. At lunch and dinner, customers can request the “Obamacare special”—a half

order of meat at a reduced price. The owners

pride themselves in serving “the freshest ingredients in DeKalb County.” The menu includes the humorous notation “no cans

are harmed in the making of our food.”

After 10 years of gathering recipes from aunts and

cousins she was ready to open an eatery. But, as McRae learned, appealing food is only one side of being a restaurant owner; there’s also the business end. “If anyone thinks opening and running a restaurant is easy, I’m here to tell them it’s a lot of hard work.” Just finding a location and financing for the project took several years, she recalled, noting that because this was her first business venture she had difficulty finding the support she needed.

McRae said she found the city of Stone Mountain Downtown Development Authority (DDA) as well as her business neighbors to be welcoming and helpful. “I don’t know what I would have done without them,” she said, adding that even other area restaurant owners have been cooperative. The owner of Bev’s Place a few doors away has been “just wonderful,” she said. “The other restaurant owners in the village don’t see me as a competitor because my business is different to theirs. Bev’s Place is a bar and grill; it’s not at all like a

soul food café.”Mechel McKinley, executive director of the

DDA, said in the short time Mazel’s has been open “the community has rallied around to support them. It’s another great addition to the village.”

The space Mazel and Sisters now calls home used to be an Italian restaurant, but it had been vacant for years. “When I came to look it over the first thing I noticed was the orange chairs and booths. I knew immediately I was in the right place. Orange is my favorite color,” said McRae, who has continued the orange theme in the uniforms and décor.

The food is pre-cooked and served from cafeteria-type warming trays, but wait staff

bring orders to the customers. “We wanted to be able to serve people quickly, but we didn’t want people to have to stand in line for their food. Mama always brought food to us at the table; I want our customers to have that same experience. I just know Mama is looking down on this

and smiling,” McRae said.

McRae and Mary George, right, her sister-in-law who works at the eatery, show some of the home-style desserts available every day.

City of Stone Mountain officials look on as restaurant owner Tammy McRae prepares to cut the ribbon, symboli-cally opening her café. Photos by Kathy Mitchell

The Champion FreePress, Friday, Sept. 5, 2014 PAGE 18AEDUCATION

It takes a villageFemale school resource officers balance tough with love


DeKalb County elementary school resource officer Zandra Jackson said she remembers when

she worked for the Atlanta Police Department, taking children, sometimes as young as 11, to juvenile detention facilities. She loved kids and wanted to make more of a difference than she was while leading them to their first brush with the courts.

She made the transition to working with the school department of public safety and has been a school resource officer for nine years. She said she is able to confront more directly the issues children are facing before they run into police on the streets.

“A lot of kids do not have a mom and a dad at home,” Jackson said. “Coming from being a parent, we know for a fact the importance of an education in raising kids. A lot of kids, if you see them in the street, they come into school and you can attack it in a different way. You can be a police [officer] but also a mother.”

School resource officer Debra Reeves said she also takes on the role of mother while protecting her campus.

“I’m just trying to make a difference in the lives of someone else’s child,” Reeves said. “I’m a mother and a grandmother, so I know how it is. I have seen them come up and seen where they start

from and where they can end up, so, [I’m] just trying to make a difference in the middle somewhere.”

But, that’s not to say she’s going to let students get away with bad behavior.

“I love them and I would do anything for them that I can but I have some tough love,” she said.

The job

The officers say the majority of their job is showing children that they care. Helping buy food, asking about grades and just being a positive authority figure in their lives is helpful. Many kids they interact with may not have enough to eat, may be acting out to get attention and may have never known a successful adult. The officers often put the “resource” in resource officer.

“A lot of parents even come into the school and they don’t know what to do,” Jackson said. “You’re the police, the unemployment office, the social worker, the mama, the daddy, the grandma — you’re everything. They are new to Georgia, don’t have anything to eat, kids sleeping on the floor — you point them in the right direction.”

School resource officers are fully functional police officers who serve in county schools. Most middle and high schools have at least one full-time officer and this year the district introduced officers to “clusters” of elementary schools. Officers are responsible for the safety of the school and responding to any security

threats. Many, including Jackson and other female officers Linda Philpott and Feliccia Kendrick, have previous experience in city law enforcement.

But, according to the officers, security threats have not increased in recent years. Although kids know not to try them, the officers say they mostly try to resolve conflict peacefully while building trust and rapport with the children.

“It requires a lot of patience — almost a sixth sense in dealing with children because working with children is a lot different than working with adults on a daily basis,” Kendrick said. “You have to have a love for children to do that and be successful. I treat every child the way I would treat my child or I would expect someone to treat my child.”

Ups and downs

That doesn’t mean issues don’t happen. Jackson, who has served nine years with DeKalb schools, said she once had a gun on campus situation when she worked in a high school. She only learned about the gun because a student was confident enough to tell her and knew that Jackson would keep the information confidential. Jackson found the gun in another student’s backpack in a closed classroom; there was no immediate danger to students or staff.

Jackson had to arrest the student who brought the gun, but said that the trust she had built with other students paid off that day.

“Our male counterparts, they

may be a little more aggressive,” Philpott, a 12-year officer with the school system, said. “They treat it like, ‘I’m going into a battle situation.’ We go into it more with a compassionate type approach because we want to solve the problem. They want to get on top of the problem immediately. We are trying to find out the root of the problem and solve the problem in a peaceful manner with less testosterone.”

Sometimes there are downsides though. Children act out, or, as with Jackson’s incident with the gun, make poor choices outside of school that bleed into the classroom.

“You see the ugliness of what a poor home life can lead to in a child,” Philpott said. “They’re hungry; they’re needy because they want attention. They need attention and sometimes they go about it in the wrong way.”

But, Philpott said with a smile, “The rewards are better.”

That includes kids seeing the officers outside of school and running to give them a hug. Jackson and Kendrick, who work in elementary schools, say their students are in awe of them, instead of being afraid like older kids might be.

Some of the kids call the women “Miss Officer,” “auntie” or “mama.” Philpott says she offers candy to students if they come to her office to talk.

“If you had been mean to them, they would have gone the other way,” Philpott said.

From left, Feliccia Kendrick, Zandra Jackson, Linda Philpott and Debra Reeves are school resource officers with the DeKalb County School District. They say they act as both protection and mothers to the children at their schools. Photo by Lauren Ramsdell

The Champion FreePress, Friday, Sept. 5, 2014 PAGE 19AEDUCATION

Guten TagGerman immersion program goes beyond the basics

Recent data collected by Beyond The Bell in unincorporated Decatur and the City of Stone Mountain shows there is no awareness of the issues of heavy and binge drinking in their community and further there was only vague awareness in Unincorporated Lithonia.

Fact: The reality is the level of binge and heavy drinking in DeKalb County is a particular concern; with more than 19% of adults’ or nearly one-fifth of adults report this behavior. This prevalence is higher than both the state and national averages. The younger an individual is when they begin drinking, the greater the likelihood they will develop serious alcohol problems later in life including alcoholism. Long term heavy alcohol use is the leading cause of illness and death from liver disease in the US. Change occurs at the community level so we are asking people to get involved in our efforts to help reduce heavy and binge drinking in DeKalb County.

For more information- Call (770) 285-6037 or E-mail: [email protected]

Did you know?


Kindergarten is a loan-word from German. It literally means “chil-dren-garden:” a place

where kids grow.Some kindergartners and first-

graders are doing some serious growing at Ashford Park Elementary School. The school offers immersion classes in German for students who apply through student choice.

The class is co-taught: Laura Miltner covers math, science and social studies in German, while Dawn Fleming teaches English in English, while reinforcing Miltner’s lessons.

“Honestly, it’s kids from across the spectrum,” Fleming said of her students. “Most of them have par-ents who have done their research or heard about the benefits of dual enrollment program.”

“We do have some parents that their family has German heritage, but in general it’s a wide range of students,” Miltner said.

The program, in its second year, is sponsored by three grants awarded by the Georgia Department

of Education. Fleming said that all students who were in the immersion kindergarten class last year have moved up to an immersion first-grade class this year. None dropped out of the programs.

On one Friday, students were learning how to count from Frau Miltner. The subject of the day was 15, or fünfzehn.

“Ist das fünfzehn?” Miltner asked, holding a red paper with 20 written in black type.

“Nein,” chorused the class. “Das ist zwanzig.”

The kindergarten students walked in the door their first day with big eyes, not understanding a word of German, said Ashford Park Principal LaShawn McMillan. But on that Friday, they confidently counted in German all the way to 15.

It is thought that younger chil-dren are able to pick up subjects a lot faster because they can “absorb” lan-guage rather than “learn” language. Children in an immersion program will lag behind their native-language peers in school subjects for a few years but will eventually catch up, according to the book Foundation of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism

by Colin Baker.The class has even had students

whom English was not their first language. Last year, Fleming said, there was a Spanish-speaking stu-dent who struggled a bit more but ended up learning German and Eng-lish.

“His situation was a little dif-ferent, but he was a great language learner,” Miltner said. “We had a stu-dent who her father was French and she spoke French at home. I some-times think those students are at an advantage in terms of how intensely you need to listen. They are not un-derstanding every word that goes by, but they are picking it up.”

With Spanish being the predom-inant non-English language spoken in DeKalb County, it may be surpris-ing that the immersion programs—there are French programs at Rock-bridge and Evansdale elementary schools—are not teaching Spanish.

But Ashford Park had a plan.“We chose German because our

kids will feed into Chamblee Middle and Chamblee High, and those schools have world-renowned na-tionally ranked German programs,” McMillan said. “We wanted our kids to be able to feed into those pro-

grams. By the time our kids leave in fifth grade, they will be fluent.”

Nearby, Kittredge Magnet El-ementary School also has a German program.

“Research shows that children in these dual learning environments excel,” Miltner said. “It promotes flexibility in thinking, and they also excel in scholastic endeavors. I think it promotes also cultural under-standing, more of a worldview. Uni-versity is free in Germany, it would be an option for scholarships and exchanges. They will have the op-portunity to work for German com-panies; they are looking for bilingual employees.”

And, despite the historical achievement lag with immersion students, Fleming said she has not seen that in the two years the pro-gram has been active. Fleming has been at Ashford Park for 11 years, Miltner for two.

“I really feel like the children that are in our German immersion are far above grade level,” Fleming said. “It’s a unique experience to work with such high-level children. Even by the end of the kindergarten years, I am thrilled to send them on to first grade.”

Student Ben helps complete the number line. The immer-sion program is elective, with parents applying through the choice program. Photos by Lauren Ramsdell

A chart displaying how the students get home. Kindergartner Delaney holds up her work with blau, rot, grün and gelb Kreise.

The Champion FreePress, Friday, Sept. 5, 2014 Page 20ACLASSIFIEDS

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The Champion FreePress, Friday, Sept. 5, 2014 Page 21ASPORTS

Cedar Grove routs SWD in revived rivalryby Carla [email protected]

For the first time in seven attempts, the Cedar Grove Saints beat the Southwest DeKalb Panthers.

The Saints dominated the Panthers 34-6 in their season opener at Panthersville Stadium Aug. 29. Heading into the game, Southwest DeKalb led the series 6-0. The teams last played in 2007, when the Panthers won 17-6.

Cedar Grove coach Jermaine Smith said the win was “really big” for his team.

“What people don’t know is that I told the kids all week that we’ve never beat [Southwest DeKalb],” Smith said. “I got three coaches on my staff that went to Cedar Grove, and they understand that it’s a big thing and it was very important to us to get this win.”

The Saints went 75 yards in their opening drive of the game and scored on a 10-yard touchdown run by running back LaBron Morris to give Cedar Grove an early 7-0 lead. However, the offense stalled the rest of the first quarter.

“We started off kind of slow,” Smith said. “I think we can do a better job passing the ball. We have a young quarterback [sophomore Jelani Woods] right now, and we’re going to bring him along slowly.

“The offensive line did a really good job in quarters two through four, but in the first quarter we started off too slow for me, so we’re going to find a way to fix that,” Smith added.

The offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and blocked well on a touchdown before halftime. Morris ran for 18 yards out of the Wildcat play to the end zone to give Cedar Grove a 14-0 lead.

Southwest DeKalb got back in the game during the kickoff of the second half. Defensive end Ebere Ohaya caught the short kick and returned it for a touchdown to cut the lead to 14-6. However, Cedar Grove responded on the following drive with a 20-yard touchdown run by Trey Shaw to extend the lead to 21-6.

Morris got his third touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter on a 40-yard touchdown run, and James Hartfield scored on a 25-yard

run to bring the final score to 34-6.The Saints defense was able to hold the

Panthers offense out the end zone the entire game.

Cedar Grove (1-0) will face another rival, the Columbia Eagles (0-1) Sept. 5 at Panthersville at 8 p.m. The Saints have a 9-5 record against the Eagles. Southwest DeKalb (1-1) will face Tri-Cities (1-0) at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 6 at Panthersville.

More scores from Aug. 29 Miller Grove (2-0) 20, Pebblebrook (0-1) 14 East Coweta (1-0) 42, Arabia Mountain (0-2) 14 Druid Hills (1-0) 22, Chamblee (0-1) 14 Lithonia (1-0) 39, Clarkston (0-2) 7 North Cobb Christian (1-0) 36, Cross Keys (0-1) 12 Osborne (1-1) 20, Lakeside (1-1) 7 McNair (1-0) 19, Redan (0-2) 6 Campbell (2-0) 33, Stone Mountain (0-1) 8

Cedar Grove running back LaBron Morris scores one of his three touch-downs against Southwest DeKalb.

Quarterback Jelani Woods looks for a receiver down field.

Morris (5) jump over a Southwest DeKalb defender. A Southwest DeKalb player is gang tackled by Cedar Grove defensive players. Photos by Travis Hudgons


DeKalb goes 1-3 in Battle of the Borders

See Battle on page 23A

by Carla [email protected]

The Miami, Fla./Dade County area has been known for breeding football players of great athleticism, talent and dynamic speed.

DeKalb County got an opportunity to see those skills on display and unfortunately, DeKalb players could not keep up with the “fast kids” from Miami as the Florida teams went 3-1 against the Georgia teams in the second annual Georgia-Florida Battle of the Borders Showdown Aug. 30.

Marist 17, Godby 14

The Marist War Eagles defeated Godby of Tallahassee 17-14 on a last second field goal to give Georgia its only win of the day. Marist’s Joey Goegel kicked a 19-yard field goal with eight seconds left to lead Marist to the win.

The game could have been disastrous for Marist after the team fumbled the ball three times in the third quarter. However, the defense held strong and only allowed one touchdown out of the three fumbles, which tied the game at 14 all.

Marist coach Alan Chadwick said his team showed a lot of heart and character.

“We had a number of things that went against us,” Chadwick said. “I’m real pleased with how hard they fought. They didn’t quit.”

Marist went 65 yards on its opening drive to take a 7-0 lead after a quarterback 1-yard sneak by Sam Phelts. Godby responded in the second quarter with a 6-yard touchdown run by quarterback Darius Bradwell to tie the game at 7-7. The touchdown was set up by running back P.J. Simmons, who had runs of 27, 11 and 29 yards in the drive.

Marist took a 14-7 lead before halftime on a 6-yard touchdown run by running back Spencer Taylor.

Marist’s third quarter troubles began after fullback Ian Gipson fumbled. Godby took advantage and evened the score at 14-14 after Bradwell’s 5-yard run. Marist fumbled on its next two possessions, but the defense forced Godby to a 3 and out and Godby kicker Alex Rubes missed a 29-yard field goal attempt with 35 seconds left in the third quarter.

“[The defense] always believed in themselves that they were going to go out there and get a stop regardless of where the ball [was],” Chadwick said. “We talked about putting the fire out regardless of what happens on sudden changes like that and they responded big for us.”

Both teams failed to get a successful scoring

The second annual Georgia-Florida Battle of the Borders was held Aug. 30 at Hallford Stadium. Florida teams went 3-1 against Georgia team. Photos by Travis Hudgons

Marist defensive end Kenneth Brinson (43) tackles a Godby player.

Marist fullback Ian Gipson (42) runs for extra yardage before Godby defensive back Tyrone Tillman (31) closes in for a tackle.


See Battle on page 24A

drive going in the fourth quarter until Marist’s final possession of the game. The War Eagles drove 59 yards to Godby’s 2-yard line to set up the winning field goal.

The winning kick was set up by Chris Martell, who ran 32 yards on a reverse play to reach the 10-yard line. Goegel was Marist’s MVP for the game and Bradwell was Godby’s MVP.

Norland 30, M.L. King 0

The M.L. King Lions were no match for the Norland Vikings of Miami as Norland shut out the Lions 30-0.

The Norland defense held the Lions out of the end zone, allowed only 45 yards of total offense, sacked M.L. King quarterback Jordan Douglas six times and picked him off four times, twice by Norland defensive back Carlton Davis, who was named MVP.

The Vikings first score came on a 25-yard interception return by Kion Holder to give the Vikings a 7-0 lead.

Norland quarterback Rodrick Robinson ran 26 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter and threw a touchdown pass to Steven McIntosh for 22 yards to give Norland a 21-0 lead at the end of the third quarter, before the game was delayed due to lightning.

The game resumed 40 minutes later and

Norland’s defense resumed its dominance with a safety to extend its lead to 23-0. A 21-yard touchdown run by Jaquez Stephens brought the final score to 30-0.

Running back Robert Pritchett III was named M.L. King’s MVP.

Miami Central 21, Stephenson 20

The Stephenson Jaguars battled neck-and-neck with the No. 5 ranked Miami Central Rockets, but missed extra points ailed the Jaguars and they came up short 21-20.

The game was scoreless after the first quarter, but the Jaguars got a drive going in the second quarter and capped it off with a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Dewann Ford to give the Jaguars a 6-0 lead. Stephenson missed a two-point conversion, which kept the score at 6-0.

Late in the second quarter, defensive lineman Fermin Silva recovered a Stephenson fumble, which set up a 7-yard touchdown run. Kicker Beymore Piraquive kicked the extra point to give Miami Central a 7-6 Central lead at halftime.

Central opened the third quarter with a 10-play, 70-yard drive, which ended in a 1-yard quarterback sneak touchdown by Jerrod Thomas to extend the lead to 14-6.

Stephenson answered before the end of the third quarter on a 10-yard touchdown pass from

Ford to receiver Dexter Neal. The two-point conversion was no good and Central held a 14-12 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Running back Cedric Miller had runs of 15 and 16 yards in a 34-yard drive by the Rockets to set up a quarterback sneak by Malik Witherspoon and extends Central’s lead 21-12.

With time running out, Stephenson drove down the field and running back Ivonte Paterson scored from 1 yard out with 45 seconds to play. Ford hit Neal on the two-point conversion pass to pull Stephenson to within 21-20.

Central recovered the onside kick attempt by the Jaguars and ran out the clock. Defensive end Chauncey Rivers, who had two sacks, was named the Stephenson MVP. Miller, who had 125 rushing yards, was named Central’s MVP.

Booker T. Washington 19, Tucker 7

Last year, the Booker T. Washington Tornadoes of Miami, Fla., shocked some Georgia fans and players after defeating defending state champions Norcross 55-0 at Norcross in its home opener.

The Tornadoes returned to Georgia for the Battle of the Borders to face Tucker, and although they had the same results as last year (a win); it

Battle Continued From Page 22A

Photos by Travis Hudgons


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Battle Continued From Page 23A

was not by as many points. The Tucker Tigers defense held Booker T. Washington to 19 points, its lowest point total since 2011, but the Tigers only manage to get 7 points.

The defending national champions struck midway through the first quarter on a 19-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Maurice Alexander to receiver Vaquan Smalls. The Tigers blocked the extra point.

The Tornados extended their lead late in the first quarter to 12-0 after a 45-yard punt return by Antonio Callaway.

Booker T. Washington extended its lead

to 19-0 when Alexander connected with Callaway on an 11-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

The Tigers answered when Yaquis Shelley took the ensuing kickoff at Tucker’s nine-yard line and ran 91 yards for a touchdown to pull Tucker within 19-7 with 6:53 to play.

The Tornadoes were able to run out the clock and gave Tucker its second loss of the season. This is the first time Tucker has started 0-2 since 1991.

Shelley and Washington linebacker Terry Jefferson were named MVPs for their respective teams.

Tucker fans look on in disappointment as their team loses to Booker T. Washington. Photo by Travis Hudgons

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