7/31/2019 Free Press 10-19-12

1/24

WWW.CHAMPIONNEWSPAPER.COM FRIDAY, OCT. 19, 2012 VOL. 15, NO. 30 FREE

FREEPRESS A PUBLICATION OF ACE III C OMMUNICATIONS

www.facebook.com/championnewspaper

www.championnewspaper.com

www.twitter.com/championnews

Follow us.

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

See Fire Station on Page 15A

New Avondale fire station on the wayby Carla Parkercarla@dekalbchamp.com

Fireghters at the Avondale Fire Stationwill get a new station soon.

Construction for Avondale FireStation, DeKalb County Station No. 3,

s expected to start in 2013. NormanAugus-in, the DeKalb County Fire Rescue depart-

ment deputy chief of operations, said gettinghe station approved has been a long process.

Were just waiting on the funding, heaid. Everything else has been approved ands ready to go.

The project is part of a Housing and UrbanDevelopment (HUD) Community Develop-

ment Block grant. Chris Morris, the countysdirector of community development, said thedepartment is working really hard to make

sure it begins the process on the $2.6 millionproject early next year.Weve already been able to get the plan,

the specications done, the architectural workand the documents ready to go out for bids onconstruction, Morris said.

The Brown Design Group was selected asthe architect.

The new re station will be built on a va-cant lot next to the current station. Morris said

Avondale Fire Station, built in 1947, will bereplaced by a new station which is expected

to constructed next year.

David Owens slides down the fire pole at the Avondale FireStation. The station is the only one in DeKalb County with afire pole.

A design of the new Avondale Fire Station is posted on the refrigerator in the station. Photos by Carla Parker

7/31/2019 Free Press 10-19-12

2/24

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Oct. 19, 2012 Page 2ALocal News

DeKalb Medical at Hillandale to open Comprehensive Breast Center

VisitAtlantasDeKalbCounty.c

om

DeKalb Convention & Visitors BureausReunion Specialist will teach you everythingyou need to know to plan the perfect FamilyReunion from 9 a.m. to Noon.

T-Shirts, Attractions and Tour Informationwill be available at the Vendor Showcasefrom 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

Hilton Garden Inn Perimeter

1501 Lake Hearn Drive, Atlanta, GA 30319

Call 770-492-5050 ext. 1181Pre-registration is required

Saturday - November 10, 2012

FREE Family Reunion Planning

Workshop & Showcase

Host your Family Reunionin DeKalb County!

y Alice Murray

DeKalb County residents

re seeing pink this Octobers local healthcare providerstress the need for screen-ng during Breast Cancer

Awareness Month.At DeKalb Medicals

new Comprehensive BreastCenter at Hillandale, morehan 70 women took advan-age of reduced-rate mam-

mograms Oct. 6 during acreening event. A grandpening for the facility iset for Oct. 28. Billed as aFacing Your Fears Hal-oween carnival, the Sundayfternoon event will provide

amily fun such as play ar-as and trick-or-treat activi-ies for children, tours of the

new breast center, healthnd wellness information,nd a chance to meet staff

members.The 3-6 p.m. carnival

s free for the public, butguests must call (404) 501-WELL to register in ad-vance.

The new breast center atHillandale was designed tomeet an increased demandrom the community. The

enter experienced a 20 per-ent increase in patient visitsver the past three years.

More than twice theize of the previous center,he new facility includes,170 square feet of wait-ng, dressing, and procedureooms convenient to freearking and physician of-

ces. The original space was,600 square feet.

Dr. Kenneth W. Harper,hief of staff at DeKalb

Medical Hillandale, citedhe importance of regular

mammograms as he showed

the new space to visitors.When cancers are diag-nosed early, treatment is

generally more successful,he said.All women should talk

to their primary care doctorabout their individual riskfor the disease and deter-mine a screening schedulethats right for them, Harpersaid.

The more risk fac-tors you have, the moreimportant it is for you tobe screened at appropriatetimes, he said.

Research indicates thatrisk factors for breast cancerinclude family history, diet

and lack of exercise.The American Can-

cer Society recommendsmaintaining a healthy bodyweight by eating a well-balanced diet that includesplenty of fruits, vegetablesand whole grains to staywell and limit cancer risk.

The group also recom-mends that individuals limitthe amount of red meat theyconsume, especially high-fatand processed meats, and toexercise at least 30 minutesa day ve or more days each

week.While the AmericaCancer Society guidelinescall for women to start an-nual mammograms at theage of 40, some women inhigh-risk groups may needto start screening earlier,Harper said.

He cited research fromthe National Cancer Instituteshowing that White Ameri-can women have the high-est incidence rate for breastcancer, but Black womenare more likely to die fromthe disease.

Please Recycle This Paper

Staff at DeKalb Medical Hillandale are proud of their new 4,200-square-foot Comprehensive Breast Center which is twice the size of the previous center. A Facing YourFears Halloween carnival is planned for Oct. 28 during which tours of the center will be given. Photos by Alice Murray

7/31/2019 Free Press 10-19-12

3/24

Page 3A The Champion Free Press, Friday, Oct. 19,, 2012

I was fortunate enough to at-tend the grand opening of the newEdenPURE factory in North Can-ton, Ohio. The new plant broughthundreds of new jobs back to Ohioand reversed the common practiceof sending Midwest manufacturingjobs to Chin a. Now, EdenPURE

continues to ramp up productionfor the coming Winter with excit-ing new models and hundreds of

new employees as this Made inAmerica success story continues togrow.

American Labor, AmericanQuality

With over 3 million portableheaters sold EdenPURE is thebest selling portable infrared heat-ing system in North America.However, like any classic, Eden-PURE has dozens of would-becompetitors who create Asiancopies at low prices using cheap,foreign labor. Dont be fooled bythese imitations. Look for theEdenPURE logo and the Made inNorth Canton, Ohio stamp. Savelike millions of others on yourheating bills and say NO tocheap foreign imitators.

Save up to 49% on 2013 Eden-PUREs

Now readers can save up to49% ($229 the largest savings everon new EdenPUREs). Eden-PURE is not just the best-sellingportable heating system in NorthAmerica. As an EdenPURE own-er I rank EdenPURE #1 for quali-ty, safety and efficiency. And nowis the perfect time to save like nev-er before on our expanded 2013EdenPURE line made in our

brand new North Canton, Ohio fa-cility.With two models EdenPURE

can meet all of your heating re-quirements 365 days a year.

Stay Comfortable 365 Days aYear

Never be cold again is theEdenPURE promise. EdenPURE

provides you insurance against thecold all year long. Stay comfort-able on those unseasonably chillyevenings no matter the season. Ilive in California but believe me itgets cold at night. Keep your ex-pensive furnace turned down untilits absolutely necessary. And ifwe are fortunate enough to experi-ence a mild winter as many of usdid in the Midwest last year, youkeep your furnace off all season

and save even bigger.New, More Efficient ModelsThe engineers at EdenPURE

listened to their millions of cus-tomers and somehow managed toimprove the #1 portable heater inNorth America. Through old fash-ioned American ingenuity the new

EdenPURE line is more efficientto save you even more money.

The EdenPURE PersonalHeater now heats a larger area, anincrease from 350 square feet to500 square feet. Thats a 30% in-crease in efficiency! And Eden-PURE is proud to introduce the2013 Model 750. The new Model750 is perfect for larger areas andheats up to 750 square feet. Butthe best thing about the Model 750is the price. We priced the Model750 at only $50 above the PersonalHeater. This means you receive a33% increase in performance foronly $50. Thats American engi-neering at its best!

The EdenPURE can cut yourheating bills and pay for itself in amatter of weeks, and then start

putting a great deal of extra moneyin your pocket after that.

Super Safe Infrared HeatNow remember, a major cause

of residential fires in the UnitedStates is carelessness and faultyportable heaters. The choice of fireand safety professional, Captain

Mike Hornby, the EdenPURE hasno exposed heating elements thatcan cause a fire. And a redundanthome protection system that sim-ply shuts the EdenPURE down ifit senses danger. Thats whygrandparents and parents love theEdenPURE.

The outside of the EdenPURE

only gets warm to the touch so thatit will not burn children or pets.And your pet may be just like mydog who has reserved a favoritespot near the EdenPURE. Yousee the EdenPURE uses infraredheat. And just as pets enjoy bask-ing in a beam of sunlight they try

to stay close to EdenPUREsbone-warming infrared heat.

The Health Secret is in theCopper

EdenFLOW technology usescopper heating chambers to takethe energy provided by our specialSYLVANIA infrared bulbs and dis-

tribute our famous soft heat evenlythroughout the room.Now our copper isnt ordinary.

Its 99.9% pure antimicrobial cop-per from an over 150 year oldAmerican owned company in Penn-sylvania. So your EdenPURE

heater is continuously pushing soft,healthy, infrared heat throughoutyour room.

How to OrderDuring our 2013 introduction

you are eligible for a $202 DIS-COUNT PLUS FREE SHIPPINGAND HANDLING FOR A TOTALSAVINGS OF $229 ON THEEDENPURE MODEL 750 AND

A $175 DISCOUNT PLUS FREESHIPPING AND HANDLINGFOR A TOTAL SAVINGS OF$192 ON THE EDENPURE

PERSONAL HEATER.This special offer expires in 10

days. If you order after that we re-serve the right to accept or rejectorder requests at the discountedprice. See my attached savingsCoupon to take advantage of thisopportunity.

The made in North Canton,Ohio EdenPURE carries a 60-day, unconditional no-risk guar-antee. If you are not totally satis-fied, return it at our expense andyour purchase price will be re-funded. No quest ions asked.There is also a 3 year warranty onall parts and labor.

Richard Karn,North Canton, Ohio

1. Electricity ignites powerfulSYLVANIA infrared lamp.

2. The quartz infrared lamp gently warms thepatented copper heating chambers.

3. The soft heat rides

the humidity in the

room and provides

even, moist, soft heat

ceiling to floor and

wall to wall without

reducing oxygen and

humidity.

CUTAWAYVIEWHeats floor to the

same temperatureas ceiling.

2012 Media Services S-9468 OF26079R-1 Advertisement

EdenPURE

reopens Ohio factorycreates 250 new jobs

New models shipped direct from warehouse at 49% savings

SYLVANIA is a registered trademark of OSRAM SYLVANIA Inc. used under license.

Never be cold again

As Al Borland on Home Improvement I was the man with all theanswers. However, as Richard Karn I still look for money sav-ing and efficient heating in my home. I have an EdenPURE In-frared Portable Heater in my California home and like millionsof others found it to be a super-safe, reliable source of portableheat all year long.

How it works:

RICHARD KARNS SAVINGS COUPONThe price of the EdenPURE Model 750 Heater is $449 plus $27 ship-

ping and the price of the Personal Heater is $372 plus $17 shipping, but,

with this savings coupon you will receive a $202 discount on the Model750 and a $175 discount on the Personal Heater with free shipping and beable to get the Model 750 delivered for only $247 and the Personal Heaterdelivered for only $197.

The Personal Heater has an optional remote control for only $12. TheModel 750 remote is included in the price.Check below the number you want (limit 3 per customer)IModel 750 with remote, number ____ I Personal Heater, number ____I Optional Personal Heater Remote $12, number _____

To order by phone, call TOLL FREE1-800-315-1257 Offer CodeEHS6777. Place your order by using your credit card. Operators are onduty Monday - Friday 6am - 3am, Saturday 7am - 12 Midnight andSunday 7am - 11pm, EST.

To order online, visitwww.edenpure.comenterOffer Code EHS6777 To order by mail, by check or credit card, fill out and mail in this coupon.This product carries a 60-day satisfaction guarantee. If you are not totallysatisfied return at our expense, and your purchase price will be refunded

no questions asked. There is also a three year warranty.______________________________________________________________

NAME______________________________________________________________

ADDRESS______________________________________________________________

CITY STATE ZIP CODE

Check below to get discount:I I am ordering within 10 days, therefore I get a $202 discount plus Free

shipping and my price is only $247 for the Model 750 Heater.I I am ordering within 10 days, therefore I get a $175 discount plus Free

shipping and my price is only $197 for the Personal Heater.I I am ordering past 10 days, therefore I pay full price for the Model 750

or Personal Heater plus shipping and handling.

Enclosed is $______ in: I Check I Money Order

(Make check payable to EdenPURE) or charge my:

I VISA I MasterCard I Am. Exp./Optima I Discover/Novus

Account No. _______________________________ Exp. Date ____/____

MAIL TO: EdenPURE

Offer Code EHS67777800 Whipple Ave. N.W.Canton, OH 44767

Richard Karn is a paid spokesperson for EdenPURE .

All of the testimonials are by actual EdenPURE customers who volunteered their stories, and were given another EdenPURE heater as thanks for their participation. Average homeowners save 10% to 25%.

PERSONAL MODEL 750

7/31/2019 Free Press 10-19-12

4/24

Charter schools yes; state control no

Early voting is under way inGeorgia and a constitutional amend-ment appearing on the ballot isausing as much or more furor thanhe transportation referendum that

was on the ballot in July. Hereshow Amendment I reads: Shall theConstitution of Georgia be amendedo allow state or local approval ofublic charter schools upon theequest of local communities? Its strongly suggested that you vote

NO. Repeat, vote NO.This amendment would givehe state legislature the right to cre-te special schools, trumping localchool boards. Not to in any way

disparage our Greek friends, butorrowing a page from Greek my-hology this issue is a Trojan horse.

One should be very wary of Greeks

bearing gifts. This charter schoolamendment is one gift students,parents and local school systemscan very well do without. Do notbuy this business that it would im-

prove the system. It would merelyclog up the system with more bu-reaucracy, bungling and politicalfavoritism all while killing controlof charter school decisions by localboards.

By way of background, the Geor-gia Charter School Commission wascreated in 2008 in reaction to localschool boards rejecting charter peti-tions. Last year the Georgia SupremeCourt ruled that the commission wasunconstitutional because it approvedand funded charter schools despiteobjections by local school boards.Now here comes the state legislature

passing House Bill 797, which wasdeveloped in direct response to theSupreme Court ruling. This measurepurports to provide for improvingstudent achievement and parental in-volvement through establishing morepublic charter school options. That isAmendment I, which voters are be-ing asked to approve. Vote NO.

Proponents of the amendmentsay giving the state control of char-ter school decisions would allow formore innovation and accountabilitywhile increasing parents options

for education. Others in favor ofthe measure say local school boardsshould not have full say so overpublic education because the stateprovides 50 to 80 percent of theschool systems funding. If you buythat logic, then the state ought to getout of MARTAs business since itprovides zero funding to that agen-cy. But let us not digress.

One of the best argumentsagainst the proposed amendmentcomes from Georgia Schools Super-intendent John Barge, a Republicanwho says he cannot support thecreation of a new and costly state

bureaucracy that takes away localcontrol of schools and unnecessarilyduplicates the good work alreadybeing done by local districts, theGeorgia Department of Educa-tion and the state Board of Educa-tion. Barge goes on to say that theamendment would put taxpayer dol-lars into the pockets of out-of-state

for-profit charter school companieswhose schools perform no betterthan traditional public schools andlocally approved charter schools.

According to published reports

there are 315 charter schools inGeorgia compared to just over 500public schools. Studies show thecharter schools do not apprecia-bly perform any better than publicschools. These state controlledcharter school commissions are partof a decades old national agendato erode public school education.The issue here is not choice, buttrust, power and control. It is OKfor parents to have a choice abouttheir childrens education. Charterschools are fine, but they ought toremain under the authority of localschool districts and not a hand-

picked commission of political op-eratives. Charter schools, yes. Statecontrol, No.

Steen Miles, The Newslady, is aretired journalist and former Geor-gia state senator. Contact SteenMiles at Steen@dekalbchamp.com.

Page 4A The Champion Free Press, Friday, Oct. 19 , 2012Opinion

The Newslady

7/31/2019 Free Press 10-19-12

5/24

Viva La Franceso wrong, its right

Let Us Know What You Think!

THE CHAMPION FREE PRESSencourages opinionsfrom its readers. Please write to us and express yourviews. Letters should be brief, typewritten and containthe writers name, address and telephone number forverification. All letters will be considered for publication.

Send Letters To Editor, The Champion Free Press, P. O. Box 1347,Decatur, GA 30031-1347; Send E-Mail to Kathy@dekalbchamp.com

FAX To: (404) 370-3903 Phone: (404) 373-7779Deadline for news releases and advertising: Thursday, one week prior

to publication date.

EDITORS 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 atany time. The Publisher is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts.

Publisher: Dr. Earl D. Glenn

Managing Editor: Kathy Mitchell

News Editor: Andrew Cauthen

Production Manager: Kemesha Hunt

Graphic Designer: Travis Hudgons

The Champion Free Press is published each

Friday by ACE III Communications, Inc.,

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

Phone (404) 373-7779.

www.championnewspaper.com

DISPLAY ADVERTISING (404) 373-7779 x 110

FREEPRESS

STATEMENT FROM THE PUBLISHER

We sincerely appreciate the discussion surrounding this and any

issue of interest to DeKalb County. The Champion was founded in1991 expressly to provide a forum for discourse forallcommunityresidents on all sides of an issue. We have no desire to make the newsonly to report news and opinions to effect a more educated citizenrythat will ultimately move our community forward. We are happy topresent ideas for discussion; however, we make every effort to avoidprinting information submitted to us that is known to be false and/or assumptions penned as fact.

One Mans Opinion

Let them eat cake. mis-attrib-uted to MarieAntoinette (1755-

793), the soon to be beheadedQueen of France and wife of KingLouisXVI reportedly utteredn the midst of the throes of the

French Revolution.

I am no Francophile, in factwith the exceptions of the EiffelTower, Statue of Liberty and recy-cling of spent nuclear fuel, I findittle to celebrate or pay tribute to

from the government of Franceince their French Revolution.

However their most recent elec-ions and replacement of Conser-

vative President Nicolas Sarkozywith Socialist President FrancoisHollande, is making a move sowrong that its right. French antipathy towards\ its own wealthy,perhaps dating back to the days ofKings Louis, now has the ownerand prodigal son ofLouisVuit-on, BernardArnault, seriously

considering renouncement of his

own French citizenship.President Hollandes 2013

budget includes a tax rate of 75percent on the personal income ofanyone earning more than $1.28million for two years and a new

45 percent tax rate for incomes inexcess of $193,000. Higher busi-ness and corporate taxes rates arealso being proposed. Americanupper-middle classpay heed andtake cover. Due in part to the al-ready high costs of doing businessin France, the French economyis stagnant and 10.3 percent un-employment remains at a 10-yearhigh.

Arnault, considered to be therichest man in France, and fourthwealthiest in the world, has a networth estimated at $41 billionbyForbes magazine. His fashionand mega-brands empire includeLouis Vuitton, Givenchy and Dior,Dom Perignon, Moet et Chandonand Hennessy cognac to name justa few. Arnault has made officialinquiries to Belgium about chang-ing his nationality and declaringcitizenship there. And Arnault isfar from alone. Although the gov-ernment of France currently onlyreports 7,000 households out of2.5 million French citizens liv-ing abroad, a few hundred of that7,000 represent some of Franceswealthiest citizens. According tothe Swiss magazine,Bilan , 44 outof the 300 wealthiest residents of

Switzerland are French. Dottingthe Swiss Alps and countryside

are the tax havens, er...homes, ofthe heirs to the Puegot and Roth-schild fortunes, as well as Alainand Gerard Wertheimer, owners

of the French fashion house Cha-nel.

Rewarding the productive, oreven the idle wealthy, with ex-cessive tax rates only guaranteeshigher incomes for lawyers, taxadvisors, brokers and accountants.Though not all assets are liquid,most can be liquidated. The re-ally rich have options. They canmove and their money usuallygoes with them. Return Americato marginal federal income taxrates of more than 50 cents on thedollar and watch the flood of as-sets off-shore. While higher ratesmight bankrupt many small busi-nesses, or negate the possibilityof transfer of wealth from a firstgeneration to its heirsthe superrich can simply move their money.The capital markets of this world,as well as the safe haven banks ofmany Caribbean islands are all toowelcoming and now only a fewweb clicks away.

According to a 2012 reportfrom the Tax Justice Network anestimated $21 trillion to $32 iscurrently sheltered in unreportedtax havens worldwide. And fortu-nately, many of the nations host-ing these banks, as their second

largest industry, often just behindtourism, have a very clear under-

standing of the many benefits ofzero income tax rates on their resi-dents and ex-patriate guests. Sim-plifying and streamlining our U.S.

tax code and rates, and removingcomplicated tax breaks and havenscertainly makes better businesssense.

And perhaps if the worldsconsumers start to understandthat Chanel, Givenchy, LouisVuitton and other leading Parisdesigner labels are now in effectthemselves knock-offs from Swit-zerland, by way of a Caribbeanbank and via sweatshops in China,those prices too may see a bit ofdeflation. I would certainly wel-come pricing on a bottle of Dom abit closer to a nicer bottle of Cal i-fornia bubbly In fact, Ill drink tothat. A toast to cheaper LV knock-offs, and perhaps even the realthingpass me some of the goodstuff, that American champagne.Touche!

Bill Crane also serves as apolitical analyst and commenta-tor for Channel 2s Action News,WSB-AM News/Talk 750 and now95.5 FM, as well as a columnistforThe Champion, ChampionFree Press andGeorgia Trend.Crane is a DeKalb native andbusiness owner, living in Scott-dale. You can reach him or com-

ment on a column at billcrane@earthlink.net.

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Oct. 19, 2012 Page 5AOpinion

7/31/2019 Free Press 10-19-12

6/24

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Oct. 19, 2012 Page 6AOpinion

Letter to the Editor: Letter to the Editor:

Dear Mr. Cauthen:

I am shocked by the tone of your article publishedon October 11, 2012 entitled 2013 county departmentalbudget requests up $44 million. I am disappointed that

neither I, nor any other constitutional ofcer that Imaware of, was contacted to provide information for amore accurate and balanced article. The incompletestory misleads the public and does not do my ofce andts dedicated employees/public servants any justice;herefore I would like to set the record straight.

The article reports my budget, Clerk of Superior Court,has increased by 14 percent during the past ve years.n those ve years, I acquired two additional legislated,

mandated responsibilities, which impacted andncreased my budget, the Board of Equalization and theoreclosure registry. The Board of Equalization increased

my budget nearly $500K annually and the foreclosureegistry increased my budget approximately $100K

annually. Group insurance went from $453,155 in 2011o $632,891 in 2012, a total increase of $179,736, easily

accounting for my 14 percent budget increase through

circumstances beyond my control.I am a demonstrated true partner to the county and

o the taxpayers. I operate an efcient ofce. I voluntarilysurrender passport fees I collect to the countys generaloperating fund. If I were not a true partner I would keephese fees in order to make mandated improvements in

my ofce in lieu of working with the county. I came in at98 percent under budget as requested by the county in2011 and I defunded two positions to demonstrate beinga true partner. My ofce is one of the few revenuegenerating ofces within the county. I saved the countyhousands of dollars with my image trade, an imaging

process I instituted through sacrices in other areas ofmy ofce. Additionally, when the economy decreases,crime increases along with criminal and domestic lings. Iam operating my criminal division with the same amount

of staff today as the ofce was operating ve yearsago and nearly twice the lings. Yes, after my budget isapproved, I am going to spend my budget the way it isneeded to deliver mandated services to the citizens ofDeKalb County.

Several county departments can predict their workoad; however, in the Ofce of the Clerk of SuperiorCourt, my work load is unpredictable from one day to thenext, much less from year-to-year. I still must work withinhe allocated budget constraints regardless of the workoad and I do.

I understand the Finance Department to be thedepartment responsible for the administration of thescal affairs of the county and for administering countycontrolled funds, according to the Department ofFinance website, yet are they not considered expertswho can review the service delivery strategies of

constitutional ofcers and make recommendations to thecounty administration and the board of commissioners onhow we can squeeze economies from their budgets. Iam curious to know why my ofce is voluntarily auditedup to ve times per year by the Finance Department ifhey are not subject matter experts.

I am a vested partner in DeKalb. The successes andailures of DeKalb County affect me and my employees

and I know I have demonstrated scal responsibility. Inhe future, I welcome any party to come and discuss with

me articles of this nature prior to publication.

Respectfully,Debra DeBerryClerk, Superior Court

Interesting article in The Champion Free Press on Friday, Oct. 12, 2012 concerningthe 2013 county departmental budget requests up $44 million. I just wish Mr.Cauthen [the writer of the article] had at least contacted any of the constitutionalofcers to check the facts.

As for the Sheriffs Ofce, I have been nothing but transparent with my budget

expenditures every single year that I have been the sheriff. Each year I submit aproposed budget to the chief executive ofcer for consideration within his overall totalcounty budget. I then, at either the Board of Commissioners request or my request,meet to discuss the budgetary needs of my ofce. At the end of the process, the Boardof Commissioners reduces my budget, increases my budget or approves the CEOsrecommendation for my budget.

Commissioner [Stan] Watson is correct when he states that the Board ofCommissioners passes my budget. They do what they want to do anyway, [Watsonsaid.] Well, what will he have me do? By law it is my budget to manage once it isapproved by the Board of Commissioners, the same way he manages his approvedofce budget without interference from the other commissioners or me for that matter.If the commissioner is suggesting that I or any constitutional ofcer is doing somethinginappropriate, then an investigation is in order, for which he can ask.

I really dont know what Commissioner [Lee] May means by stating we need tobe true partners throughout the budget process. He can expand on that later in thebudget process if he would like.

I am particularly puzzled by Commissioner [Jeff] Radars comments, Were hard

pressed to reduce them beyond what theyre willing to accept, wanting to developa capacity to expertly review their budget. The truth is that they run for electionbased upon expansion of excellent service delivery. We on the other hand have topay for the services. I, for one, have never run for election on a platform of expandingservices. Each function that my ofce provides is constitutionally or statutorilymandated.

Commissioners, with all due respect, if you would speak to your budget staff, or thecounty Finance Department staff or just read my press releases once in a while you willsee that I have returned approved budget money back to the county for the last FOURYEARS! In fact, you have defunded seventy ve (75) of my positions and didnt evengive me the professional notication that you were doing so.

Let me share with the readers the increases or decreases in the Sheriffs Ofcebudget has had over the past four years. These numbers do not reect any increasesthat I have requested. Rather, the slight increases in 2009 and 2011 are due to theCounty Finance Departments directive to include increased employee benets such ashealth insurance, vehicle maintenance, water, natural gas and electricity costs.

2009 - 2.83% increase2010 - 0.453% decrease2011 - 1.939% increase2012 - 0.161% decrease

Interestingly, in the current 2013 budget process, I received an Aug. 10memorandum from the county Finance Department directing me to include the followingincreases to my 2013 budget request:

Natural Gas and Fuel Oil 20% rate increaseElectricity 10% rate increaseTelephone Service 6% rate increasePostage 4% rate increaseWater & Sewer 11% rate increase

In the area of boots on the ground, the following is a breakdown of approved

positions over the past four years that the Board of Commissioner DID NOT fund for theoperation of the jail even though they have them on the books as approved positions:

2009 25 positions at a cost of more than $1.3 million2010 26 positions at a cost of more than $1.3 million2011 30 positions at a cost of more than $1.3 million2012 75 positions at a cost of more than $3.2 million

As I am writing this letter the population of the jail is more than 2,900 persons.Each year I overspend my overtime budget by $1.3 million because the Board ofCommissioners has never adequately funded my overtime budget. Despite that, andthe failure to fund approved positions, I still managed to balance my budget each year.

So to be clear, at least my ofce, my budget cuts have not been voluntary and yet Ihave been a true partner throughout the years. My ofce has not come under mediascrutiny about how I mange my budget as the Board of Commissioners managementof their budget has over the past few years.

At least with respect to my ofce, if I was a fact checker, I believe the Oct. 12 articlewould have to get a pants on re.

Thomas Brown,Sheriff

7/31/2019 Free Press 10-19-12

7/24

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Oct. 19, 2012 Page 7ALocal News

Champion ofthe Week

If you would like to nominate someoneto be considered as a future Champion of

the Week, please contactKathy Mitchellat kathy@dekalbchamp.com or at(404) 373-7779, ext. 104.

Thomas Smith

Dr. Thomas Smithcompiled a collection ofquotations, observationsand advice that he offershis students at M. L. KingHigh School, Keys to a Suc-cessful Year at M. L. King,to help them succeed inschool and in life. Oneof the quotes is, Investin the human soul. Whoknows, it might be a dia-mond in the rough.

It is a philosophy dat-ing back to his youth thatSmith lives inside andoutside classroom as heteaches and coaches atMLK.

In the summer of mysenior year of high school,I had the opportunity tospend two months in Ni-caragua, Central America.Each day, I would volun-teer to teach teenagersand children English as asecond language (ESL) atthe local Christian highschool. When the summerwas over, I returned tothe U.S.A. with the inter-est and desire to teach

and serve others, Smithrecalled.

I saw firsthand howchildren and teenagerslives could be influencedand changed by a lovingand dedicated teacher.From that day forward, mydecision was made to be-come a teacher and serveothers in the community,

he said.I immediately began

working with children andteaching in the childrensoutreach program of mylocal church. During mycollege years, I wouldvolunteer in after-schoolprograms, tutoring chil-dren and teens in readingand working with them ontheir homework.

Janauvia McCall-Anthony, a civics stu-

dent who nominatedSmith as Champion of theWeek, called him one thebest teachers that I havebeen taught by, addingthat he shows personalconcern for each student.I remember having a verydifficult time dealing withmy mother being in thehospital and he was ableto comfort me and talkto me at a time when Ineeded it the most.

Among the many orga-nizations Smith volunteerswith are the USO, where

he helps militsry person-nel who are departing andreturning from the MiddleEast, and World Reliefsrefugee resettlement pro-gram in Clarkston, wherehe teaches ESL. He alsoteaches ESL and citizen-ship studies through hischurchs community out-reach program. Smith re-ceived the Atlanta BravesCommunity ServiceAward for his dropoutprevention work.

Serving others and

being active in the com-munity is important forthe wellbeing of our so-ciety. Each of us has theability to influence othersfor the good of our com-munity and society. Hav-ing the ability to do so,requires that each of usassume the responsibilityto do so, Smith said.

Its almost time for the biggest games of the season. Dont miss outon all of the game-day highlights in next weeks Sports section.

Complete the subscripon form below to start your subscripon. One Year (52 issues) at just $39.00.

Return to:The Champion, P.O. Box 1347, Decatur, GA 30031-1347

Name:

Address:

Phone: E-Mail:

Method of Payment: Check enclosed Visa Master Card AMEX

Credit card No: Expiraon date:

For addional informaon, call 404.373.7779 or visit us online at championnewspaper.com

HEY

FOOTBALLFANS!

Walmart Neighborhood Marketplanned for Lithoniaby Andrew Cauthenandrew@dekalbchamp.com

Plans are under way fora Walmart NeighborhoodMarket near Lithonia.

A Walmart spokesmanconrmed Oct. 10 thathere are plans to build a

41,000-square-foot WalmartNeighborhood Market at6150 Covington Highwaynear Lithonia at the site cur-ently occupied by Big Lots,

a closeout retail chain.Currently, Big Lots is

easing the site through Feb-uary 2013, said Walmartpokesman BillWertz.

The lease potentially canbe extended a little beyondhat for their moving plans,

Wertz said. I dont knowwhether that option will bechosen or not.

We cant really moveforward until Big Lots hasvacated the premises andhen we will build a newtore on that site, Wertzaid.

Two other NeighborhoodMarkets are under construc-ion in DeKalb County, in

Dunwoody at 5025 WintersChapel Road and Tucker at

3201 Tucker Norcross Road.The Dunwoody storewill be 35,000 square feet,while the Tucker store will

be 42,000 square feet. Thestores are expected to openby the summer of 2013.

Walmart NeighborhoodMarkets have a pharmacyand a limited assortment ofother merchandise, but pri-marily theyre about freshproduce, meats, deli itemsand other things youd ndin a good grocery store,Wertz said.

To date, in 2012 Walmarthas opened NeighborhoodMarkets in Alpharetta, Snell-ville and Lawrenceville.Two other markets are underconstruction in Marietta.

First opening in 1998in Bentonville, Ark., thestores format is designedto provide convenient shop-ping for groceries, pharmacyitems and general merchan-dise. Currently, there areapproximately 200 Neigh-borhood Markets throughoutthe nation.

Neighborhood Markets,which average approxi-mately 40,000-square-feetand employ 90 associates,feature a self-serve deli withpre-packaged foods, a widevariety of fruits, vegetables,meats, cheeses and prepared

foods. The stores also carrya full line of groceries, in-cluding frozen foods, meatand dairy products and or-

ganic items.The markets will offer

an expanded selection of

general merchandise, includ-ing beer and wine, babyitems, storage containers,stationery, paper goods, petproducts, hardware items,gift wraps and bags, greet-ing cards and party supplies.The stores, which will beopen 24 hours a day, sevendays a week, will also havea pharmacy.

On Oct. 10, Wal-MartStores Inc. announced thatit plans to accelerate open-ings of small stores aroundthe country, particularly itsNeighborhood Markets.

Walmart plans to openmore than 240 Neighbor-hood Market stores by scalyear 2013, bringing the totalnumber of NeighborhoodMarkets to more than 400.More than 500 Neighbor-hood Markets will be openby scal year 2016 generat-ing over $10 billion of sales,Walmart U.S. Chief Execu-tive BillSimon said at thecompanys analyst meeting.

In addition to the Neigh-borhood Markets, construc-tion of a Walmart Supercent-

er near the corner of SouthHairston Road and Memo-rial Drive is under way.

7/31/2019 Free Press 10-19-12

8/24

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Oct. 19, 2012 Page 8ALocal News

Library usage increasesdespite lack of fundingby Carla Parkercarla@dekalbchamp.com

It appears everybodyoves a new thing and thateems to be the case withhe DeKalb County Public

Library.The DeKalb library

branches have seen theirfacility usage increase inhe wake of the remodeling

and expansion of old facili-ies and the construction of

new facilities. Seven newibrary facilities have been

constructed since 2009.The new facilities includemeeting rooms, designatedareas for children and teens,public access computers andelf-checkout stations.

The 12,000-square-footScott Candler Library inDecatur was the latest fa-cility to open Aug. 20. InSeptember 2011, the oldScott Candler facility had a

circulation of 2,700 itemsand 6,780 people comingo the library, according to

DeKalb County Library Di-ectorAlison Weissinger.

Last month, the new facilityhad 8,187 come to library,a 20-percent increase, and acirculation of 4,798 items, a27-percent increase.

The Hairston Crossingbranch in Stone Mountainclosed in 2009 for expan-ion and remodeling. Beforet closed; the branch had a

circulation of 2,882 items amonth and 4,900 people us-

ng the facility. When it re-opened in 2011, the branchhad a circulation of 8,000tems a month, a 200-per-

cent increase, and 12,000

people using the facility, a140-percent increase.

The funding for the li-brary construction comesfrom a $230 million bondreferendum passed bycounty residents in Novem-ber 2005. Of that revenue,approximately $54.5 millionwas allocated for libraryconstruction and improve-ments while the remainder

was set aside for transpor-tation improvements andparks and greenspace acqui-sition.

Weissinger said whileshe is happy that more peo-ple are using the facilities, itis providing challenges forthe department.

Even as we opened allthese facilities our fundinghas remained at and in cer-tain cases has decreased,she said. So, it makes itharder for us to meet thedemands because we are not

able to buy as many materi-als as we need to and keepour doors open as much aswe need to.

Last year, budget cutsforced library administratorsto trim staff, reduce oper-ating hours, and purchasefewer materials.

Were under what werefer to as a reduced sched-ule where we had to closethe regional libraries thathad Sunday hours, Weiss-inger said. Most of the oth-er branches got cut back onenight and the very smallest

branches lost their weekendhours so that we can reas-sign those staff membersto work their weekends atlarger branches to keep the

larger branches with moreresources open on week-ends.

During the scal year2011, the department re-quested $15.9 million butreceived $12.5 million. Statefunding, which representsa smaller share of funding,has also decreased over thepast few years.

Even though there are

other departments lookingfor funding, Weissinger saidshe hopes the county willlook at the success of the li-brary and provide additionalfunding.

Weve proven overthe years that were a verykeenly operative system andwe provide a lot of directservices to residents on avery small amount of mon-ey, she said. System-widewe only get less than 2 per-cent of the general moneyto operate 22 branches and

to provide services to any-body that wants to come usethem.

The library system hastwo more projects to com-plete under the $230 millionbond referenduma newEllenwood branch and thereplacement facility for theBrookhaven branch.

Both of those projectswill add to our operatingand stafng cost needs,which still havent been ad-dressed from our past bondproject, Weissinger said.

Weissinger said they are

hoping to break ground forthe Ellenwood branch andhire an architecture rm forthe new Brookhaven facilityin early 2013.

by Daniel Beauregarddaniel@dekalbchamp.com

The DeKalb Countyschool board voted earlierthis month to waive a policysetting the indemnity capfor former SuperintendentCrawford Lewis legal rep-resentationat $100,000.

In 2010 a grand jury re-turned an indictment alleg-ing Lewis, former schoolsconstruction chiefPat Reidand her ex-husband TonyPope conspired to defraudthe school district of approxi-mately $2.4 million throughillegal construction contracts.All three are currently await-ing trial.

The boards decision towaive the indemnity cap alsorelates to a civil case involv-ing construction rm HeeryInternational, which is close-ly related to the criminalcase. Lewis is expected tobe one of the main witnessesto testify in the civil trial, onwhich the DeKalb CountySchool District has alreadyspent nearly $30 million inlegal fees to date.

Since both of the casesinvolve issues regardingdecisions made when Lewiswas superintendent, schoolspokesman Jeff Dickersonsaid the district has a legalobligation to pay for Lewisrepresentation.

Theyre lifting that capbut we dont know whatthose fees are going to looklike, Dickerson said.

The board also voted thatany further costs incurred

by Lewis legal rm Good-man, McGuffey, Lindsay andJohnson, would come beforethe board for approval on amonthly basis. Additionally,the board has the right to im-pose further caps if it deemsit necessary.

Board chairman EugeneWalker said that raising thecap was in the best interest ofthe district.

You should also knowthat we have discussed thesecases in executive sessionthese are not cases that wecan discuss in the publicbut these are not just rubberstamping and we just want

the public to know that,Walker said.Several months ago, Su-

perintendent Cheryl Atkin-son told a DeKalb Countygrand jury that the districtwould be paying an addition-al $6 million in unanticipatedlegal fees. However, Dicker-son said that she was sayingessentially that we haventbeen budgeting the legal feesas we should have.

A lot of that additionalanticipated expense is forthe upcoming jury trial withHeery International but ithas been added as a line iteminto the budget, Dickersonsaid. She has also closed thegap between line items andactual expenditures.

Both trials are expectedto begin late this year or inearly 2013.

School board waivespolicy for Lewis lawyers

by Kate Brumback

ATLANTA (AP) EmoryUniversity in Atlanta isapologizing for years ofanti-Semitism at its dentalschool, when dozens of Jew-ish students were unkedout or forced to repeatcourses, leaving many feel-ing inadequate and ashamedfor decades despite success-ful careers.

The school invited manyof those former students tomeet with President JamesWagner on Oct. 10 and then

attend a screening of a docu-mentary about the discrimi-nation, which heavily relies

on video interviews collect-ed by one of those students,Dr. Perry Brickman.

We knew individuallyand collectively what thetruth was, Brickman said.But the truth in a situationlike this is never really vali-dated until the perpetratorsays sorry.

In one interview, formerstudent Ronald Goldsteinrecalls the dean asking him,Why do you Jews want togo into dentistry? You donthave it in the hands. Anoth-er, George Marholin, re-

calls a professor coming intoa room cursing at him andcalling him a damn Jew.

Emory apologizes foranti-Semitism

See Emory on Page 11A

The Hairston Crossing branch in Stone Mountain is one of the DeKalb County libraries that has hadn increase in usage since the branch expanded in 2011. File photo

7/31/2019 Free Press 10-19-12

9/24

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Oct. 19, 2012 Page 9ALocal News

Ofer valid at the Kirkwood Sherwin-Williams store ONLY. Valid 10/4/12 -10/10/12

*Retail sales only. Minimum purchase of $50, before sales tax& after all discounts have been applied. Discount is applied toqualifying items purchased on a prorated basis; if you return aportion of your purchase, some of the discount may be lost.Limit one coupon per transaction. Excludes Multi-Purpose primersand gift cards. Other exclusions may apply, see store for details.Must surrender coupon at time of redemption. Cash value: 1/100of 1 Not valid on previous purchases. Void if copied, transferred,purchased or sold. 2012 The Sherwin-Williams Company.

10$ Off *

Purchase of$50 or more

sherwin-williams.com

Kirkwood1966 Hosea L. Williams Dr.

404-373-5338Mon-Fri 7am-7pm Sat 8am-6pm Sun 10am-6pm

. .

Funeral

Home

SHERWIN-WILLIAMS

BP

Gas Station

Kirkwood

Grill

Kirkwood

Station

HowardSt.NE

HowardSt.NE

Hosea L. Williams Dr.Hosea L. Williams Dr.

HowardSt.SE

HowardSt.SE

Asksherwin-williAms

about our NEW Store at

1966 Hosea L. Williams Dr. in

Kirkwood

Long-running DeKalb Symphonybegins another season

Woman accused of GeorgiaPowers scam found guiltyby Daniel Beauregarddaniel@dekalbchamp.com

A woman accused ofscamming more than 50 in-

dividuals was found guiltyOct. 5 of tar-geting seniorsand trickinghem into giv-ng up their

credit cardand personalnformation.

A DeKalbCounty juryfound San-tee ShericeRoberts, 36,guilty of rack-eteering, iden-ity fraud andhree counts

of elder exploitation for herrole in a scam known as theGeorgia Powers scam.

Prosecutors said Roberts,along with co-conspiratorsDonald Crane and Char-ene Merkerson, defrauded

at least 86 DeKalb Countyresidents by phoning themand masquerading as of-cials from Georgia Power.An indictment stated thata signicant number of thevictims were over 65-years-old.

On June 25, 2009,prosecutors said the threeobtained a Metro PCS cellphone and registered it un-der the name of GeorgiaPowers. The majority ofcalls made were from thiscell phone, which appearedon the victims caller ID asGeorgia Powers.

Roberts and her co-con-spirators called would-bevictims claiming they wereemployees from GeorgiaPower and told them theirelectrical service was abouto be disconnected due toack of payment.

They told the victimshat they were required to

make an immediate pay-ment to ensure the continu-ation of their electrical ser-vice, prosecutors stated.

The victims were thenricked into revealing their

credit card information, So-cial Security numbers andother personal information,

which the three used to pur-chase electronics, gift cardsand other goods.

In some cases, pros-ecutors said Roberts or her

conspirators told the victimstheir credit cardshad been compro-mised and advisedthe victims to putthe cards in theirmailbox.

The conspira-tors then drove tothe victims housesin cars or taxicabs,removed the cardsfrom the victimsmailboxes and im-mediately usedthe cards to makepurchases or moneyorders, ofcials

said.According to the indict-

ment, all of the victims con-tacted Georgia Power to in-quire about the phone callsthey received. Based on thenumber of complaints, thecompany opened an investi-gation.

Roberts was reportedlyarrested in April 2009 butmanaged to evade policeafter faking a medical emer-gency and escaping from anunsecured room at Grady

Memorial Hospital.In August 2009, and

Merkerson were arrestedwhile attempting to steal avictims credit card out of amailbox in East Point.

Deputy Chief AssistantDistrict Attorney JeanneCanavan said when Merk-erson was arrested she im-mediately said the she wasill.

The police transportedher to Grady for treatmentand she disappeared fromthe hospital. There is a war-rant pending for Merker-sons arrest, Canavan said.

Crane, whom Canavansaid played a lesser role inthe conspiracy than Roberts,entered a guilty plea in July2011, and was sentenced toserve four years in prisonand six years on probation.

Roberts is expected to besentenced Oct. 19.

Roberts

by Daniel Beauregarddaniel@dekalbchamp.com

Since 1964 the DeKalbSymphony Orchestra (DSO)has been performing con-certs with both contempo-rary and symphonic reper-toire and the majority of its85 musicians dont get paida dimethey volunteer.

Were just continuingour wonderful journey ofgreat music with anotherseason, conductorFyodorCherniavsky said.

Cherniavsky said he isvery proud that the DSO hasno debt and has not had tomake any cuts to program-ming this year. Additionally,he said the orchestra has asubscriber renewal rate ofmore than 95 percent.

The orchestras nextconcert is Nov. 13 withviolin soloist DanijelaZezlj-Gualdi. Cherniavskysaid the concert with Zezlj-Gualdi is of particular sig-nicance because she is fea-tured in a scene in the newmovieParental Guidance,where she is playing withthe orchestra.

The lm, which comes

out Christmas Day, starsBilly Crystal, MarisaTomei and Bette Midler.Cherniavsky also makes an

appearance playing his nor-mal rolethe conductor.

What were going to do

is pay homage to some lmmusic. Were going to playsome of the music weregoing to play in the lm,Cherniavsky said of thecoming concert.

Next year, DSO will becelebrating its 50th anniver-sary and one of the thingsCherniavsky said has helpedthe orchestra ourish hasbeen its partnership withGeorgia Perimeter College(GPC). The orchestra re-hearses and performs in thecolleges Marvin Cole Audi-torium in Clarkston.

Together, were provid-ing the community withthese uplifting performanc-es, Cherniavsky said. Itcan open this door to a life-long appreciation of classi-cal music and that also con-nects with the educationalmission of the college.

Cherniavsky, who hasbeen conductor and musicaldirector for six years, saidthat he has seen the orches-tra grow during his tenure ashe introduced music moretechnically difcult and ob-

scure.If youre an orches-tra builder youre seekingpieces which enable the

orchestra to grow both artis-tically and technically. Witha community orchestra its

a real challenge because ithas to be music within theirmeans technically but youalso have to think of the au-dience, Cherniavsky said.

A fan of modern and con-temporary music, Chernia-vsky said that when creatinga program he balances themore cutting edge musicwith familiar classics.

I have to really thinkabout the audience that issupporting us, he said.

Other highlights ofDSOs upcoming seasonincludes a concert featur-ing cello soloist BenjaminKarp, an all-orchestralconcert featuring musicfrom Czech composerAn-tonn Dvokand RussiancomposerNikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. In January, theDSOs annual childrensconcert will be a perfor-mance ofSergei Proko-fevsPeter and the Wolf,which will be narrated byWSB-TV anchorwoman Jo-vita Moore.

For season subscriptionsor to reserve individual tick-

ets call the DSO Box Ofceat (678) 891-3565 or visitwww.dekalbsymphony.com.

Printed on 100%

post-consumerrecycled paper

7/31/2019 Free Press 10-19-12

10/24

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Oct. 19, 2012 Page 10ALocal News

Students, volunteers clean up trash behind Indian Creek Elementaryby Carla Parkercarla@dekalbchamp.com

More than 50 Indian Creek El-ementary students, college studentsand volunteers spent their Saturdaymorning getting down and dirty toclean up trash in the wooded area be-hind the school.

The Oct. 13 event was a partof the effort to clean up the schooland surrounding area. Since March,groups of volunteers have cleanedup the campus and the woods, builtpaths, initiated an on-going litterabatement program and improve vari-ous areas of the campus by mulching,removing black mold, washing win-dows and more.

The project was started by SusanRawlings,a community volunteer,who saw the condition the school wasin and wanted to do something aboutit.

When I came over here originallyyou wouldnt believe the garbage that

was on the property, she said. Thewoods had been over. grown andthere was black mole. I mean it waslike nobody was paying attention tothe school.

Since the project began, Rawlingssaid the students have been very in-volved in cleaning up their school. Sofar, nearly 540 have put in volunteerhours. At the Oct. 13 cleanup, kidswere picking up trash, digging up de-bris, sawing and cutting over growntree branches along with volunteersfrom Emory University and the com-

munity.They always show up and theyare taking ownership [of the proj-ect], she said.

Rawlings said the project hasalso become an educational tool forthe students. With the help of KeepDeKalb Beautiful, the students havelearned about litter through the litterabatement program and how to keeptheir area clean.

There were no trash cans exceptfor the one on campus and we got20 trash cans donated to the school,Rawlings said. Each homeroom hasadopted [the program] and the kidsare responsible for the area and emp-

tying the trash cans.Litter and debris found in the

woods included broken glass, bedsprings, air mattresses and a brokenceiling fan. Rawlings said that there

has been drug activity and prostitu-tion in the woods. When she went tothe DeKalb County Police with theinformation she was told that it is outof the police departments jurisdic-tion.

Apparently the school district po-lice department manages all the po-lice activity around the school prop-

erty, she said. And theyve beentotally [nonexistent]. Sometimesthey show up, sometimes they dont.Theyre aware of this problem andtheyve been aware of it for many,many years and have done nothing.

DeKalb County School Districtspokesman Jeff Dickerson said thewooded area is own by the school dis-trict but security resource officers onlypatrol areas where children are.

If weve got a three-acre cam-pus but own another surrounding twoacres, the school resource officers aregoing to patrol the three-acre cam-pus, he said.

Dickerson said the district has

heard complaints of drug activitybut said he doesnt know if there hasbeen an actual case of the illegal ac-tivity.

Its been evidence of it back there

and I think thats what the real con-cern is, he said. But our [securityresource ofcers] are very limitedin what they can do and its difcultenough for them to police our schoolgrounds much less police the areasaround our school grounds that arebeing used by people other than stu-dents.

Dickerson added that he thinks itis encouraging that the communityand the school are working togetherto try to x the problem.

The school is very engaged mak-ing sure that the area is cleaned upand stays clean, he said. There areefforts to try to get lights back thereto cut down on any illegal activity.

Rawlings said volunteers are inthe process of working with GeorgiaPower to do an estimate of how muchit would cost to put security lights inthe back of the school. She also saidshe hopes to have the project com-pleted by next summer.

Its going to be where we want

because we would like to focus onother things like getting benches,plants and the nice things in life, shesaid.

More than 50 Indian Creek Elementary students and volunteerscleaned out the wooded area behind Clarkston school. Photos byCarla Parker

7/31/2019 Free Press 10-19-12

11/24

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Oct. 19, 2012 Page 11ALocal News

Woodard jury now decides whetherto sentence defendant to death

PUBLIC NOTICE :

The DeKalb Regional Land Bank Authority is seeking

Applicants for its Executive Director Position.

All information about the job and how to apply for it can be

found on the DeKalb County Website:

www.co.dekalb.ga.us/commdev/index.html

Applications will be accepted through November 2, 2012

.

by Daniel Beauregarddaniel@dekalbchamp.com

A jury found William Woodardguilty Oct. 12 of murdering twoDeKalb County Police ofcers in2008 and must now choose whethero sentence him to death, or life in

prison.A separate sentencing phase of

he trial began Oct. 15 during whichprosecutors and defense attorneyspresented witness testimony to ju-ors.

Woodard previously turned downa deal for life in prison without pa-ole.

Woodard admitted to shooting theofcers but claimed he did it in self-

defense after the ofcers pulled himfrom a car and began beating andhooting at him.

According to prosecutors, Wood-ard, 34, shot DeKalb County Po-ice ofcers Eric Barker, 34, and

Ricky Bryant Jr., 26, while theywere working off-duty security atGlenwood Gardens Apartments. Theofcers approached a vehicle in theapartment parking lot and Woodardgot out of the car and began shoot-

ing.Police said Woodard shot Barker

in the head and Bryant in the torsoand drove away.

Both Barker and Bryant weremarried with four children. DeKalb

County District Attorney RobertJames argued that Woodard, a three-time convicted felon, didnt want togo back to jail.

James called the fallen police of-cers heroes and said the fundamentalissue in the case was whether jurors

believed the defendants claim thathe was beaten.

Im going to ask you to reach averdict that sends a message, Jamestold jurors before they began delib-

erating. Woodard isnt a victim, likeRodney King orTreyvon Martin,

but a murderer.

Defense attorneys argued thatBarker and Bryant were bullies witha badge and accused both ofcersof shaking down residents and ly-ing about owning a private securitycompany.

The badge does not give you theright to break the law while youretrying to enforce the law, Defenseattorney Dwight Thomas told jurors.Thomas also accused both ofcers ofsoliciting work from the owner of theapartment complex, which is againstDeKalb County Police Department

policy.Thomas also accused the DeKalb

County Police Department of manip-ulated evidence at the crime scene.This is a case in which DeKalb

Countynot some other neutralagencyis investigating and theyreout to protect the reputation of theirown, Thomas said.

During the trial, both sides pre-sented evidence, including ballisticsexperts and eyewitness testimony,as well as 911 recordings made thenight of the shooting.

Im sorry. We are sorry, Wag-ner said before a ballroom packedwith several hundred people.

Under dental school dean JohnBuhler from 1948 to 1961, about65 percent of Jewish students

were unked out or forced torepeat courses, while the rate offailure or repeats was dramaticallylower before that period, accord-ing to statistics compiled by then-director of the Anti-DefamationLeague, Art Levin. Anti-Semi-tism at the dental school spreadbeyond Buhler to other membersof the faculty as well, said univer-sity vice president Gary Hauk.

An admissions quota at thetime allowed about four Jew-ish students a year, so there werelikely about 50 Jewish studentsadmitted during Buhlers tenure,Hauk said. At a private meetingwith Wagner on Oct. 10, 31 for-mer students or their families werepresent.

After Wagners apology and ascreening of the lm the eveningof Oct. 10, some of the men andtheir families had tears in theireyes and expressed a feeling ofrelief and vindication, grateful theapology came while theyre stillalive.

EmoryContinued From Page 8A

Woodard

7/31/2019 Free Press 10-19-12

12/24

Page 12A The Champion Free Press, Friday, Oct. 19,, 2012

DeKalb hosts second InternationalFood and Music Festival

DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis reminds you

of the Best Practices for Proper Disposal of

Plumbing and sanitary sewer systems are simply not designed to handle the F.O.G. that accumulatesin pipes. When it gets into the pipes and hardens, blockages occur and cause sewage to backup andoverow out of manholes or into homes. This is expensive for you, and for the County.The damages caused by fats, oils and grease in the sewer system are costly to repair. Over time,they increase the costs of our water and sewer services.

F.O.G. enters plumbing through garbage disposals, sinks and toilets. It coats the inside of plumbingpipes and also empties into DeKalb Countys sewer system. Here are three simple guidelines to helpkeep F.O.G. out of our pipes and sewers:

1.

2.

3.

POURfats, oils or grease into a sealable container, allow it to cool and throw it

in the trash. Do not pour down the drain or toilet.

SCRAPEplates and cookware before washing. Do not throw scraps of any kinddown the drain. Instead, place them in waste containers or garbage bags.

WIPEexcess grease from all plates, pots, pans, utensils, and surfaces with apaper towel before washing. Throw the greasy paper towel away.

Hundreds of visitors moved abouthe Northlake Mall parking lot on a

crisp Saturday afternoon for the returnof the DeKalb International Food andMusic Festival Oct. 13.

More than 32 countries were rep-esented at the festival, coordinated

by Commissioner Stan Watson, whicheatured multi-cultural cuisine and en-ertainment from around the world.

We are excited to bring back theDeKalb International Food and MusicFestival and I am condent this yearsestival will unite the dynamic blend of

cultures and traditions that continueto exist in our county, Watson said.

As Georgias most diverse county,we are proud to embrace DeKalbsvibrant population, traditions and cul-tures, CEO Burrell Ellis said.

The festival, the second of its kindhosted by the county, included cul-tural, educational and entertainmentactivities for residents of all ages. It

included a host of interactive vendordisplays, samples of cuisine fromaround the world, and retail vendorshighlighting their countrys markets.

In addition, agencies with an objectiveto serving the international communitywere present.

The festival is also presented byEllis and former DeKalb CEO andState Senator Liane Levetan, in part-nership with the DeKalb Chamber ofCommerce; the DeKalb Convention& Visitors Bureau; and representa-tives from the Asian, European, West

Indian, Middle Eastern, Hispanic andAfrican communities. Photos by KathyMitchell

7/31/2019 Free Press 10-19-12

13/24

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Oct. 19,, 2012 Page 13A

Send your comments and/or concerns regarding Comcasts current performance underthe current franchise agreement and/or the future cable-related needs and interests ofyour community to www.dekalbcountyga.gov.

DeKalb County Wants to Hear From YouRegarding the Proposed Franchise Agreement Renewal

with Comcast Cable Communications

County mulling manufacturers energy taxy Andrew Cauthenndrew@dekalbchamp.com

As DeKalb County lead-rs look for new revenueources during its 2013 bud-et planning process, theyre toying with the idea of anxcise tax on energy used in

manufacturing.The tax is an optional

ocal tax designed to replacehe local sales tax revenuesost to the new statewideales tax exemption on en-rgy used in manufacturingeginning Jan. 1, 2013,ccording to report by the

Association County Commis-ioners of Georgia(ACCG).

It should not be consid-red a new tax but a method

f replacing local sales taxevenues, according to theACCG report.

The Georgia General As-embly has exempted manu-acturers from most salesaxes on energy to attract

more companies and manu-acturing jobs to the state.

Approved earlier this year,he repeal will be phased inver four years beginning inanuary.

On its website, the Geor-ia Chamber of Commerce,

which supported the [sales]ax exemption, states that

eliminating this burdensometax will help existing manu-facturing businesses survive,ourish and compete withother facilities around thenation by reducing the costof goods manufactured inGeorgia.

Legislators gave coun-ties and cities the option ofimplementing the excise taxwhich could reduce the salestax revenue lost to countiesand cities.

Leonardo McClarty,president of the DeKalbChamber of Commerce, saidthe DeKalb Chamber has notdeveloped an ofcial posi-tion on the possible excisetax but many of its memberbusinesses have an invested

interest in the [issue] par-

ticularly from an economicstandpoint.

The purpose of the statesales tax exemption was togive a break to the manufac-turing industry which hasbeen taking it on the chin,McClarty said.

The tax break would helpthese businesses to remainmore protable and competi-tive, he said.

While the counties havethe option of implementingthis tax [excise], not all coun-ties will, McClarty said.

If DeKalb County im-poses the tax while neighbor-ing counties decide against it,manufacturers would haveto determineif its in theirbest interest to stay where

they are, come to DeKalb

or go somewhere else, Mc-Clarty said.

JoelGottlieb, thecountys nance director,said there are several dozenmanufacturers in DeKalb thatwould be affected by the tax.

But county ofcials dontknow how much revenuewould be raised by the possi-ble excise tax and how muchwill be lost from the sales taxexemption.

It is important to rec-ognizethat its a shot indark as to how much moneythis [is], CommissionerJeffRader said at an Oct.5 Board of Commissionersretreat. We need some sortof a benchmark to know howmuch that is going to cost

us.

Gottlieb said homeown-ers will eventually shouldermore of a tax burden if thecounty decides against theexcise tax.

If no tax is added, thetax break is going from thehomeowners to the manufac-turer, Gottlieb said.

DeKalb, and all countiesin Georgia, have until theend of 2013 to adopt an or-dinance to impose the excisetax. Any city in the countythat wants to be includedin the tax, must sign an in-tergovernmental agreementwith the county. If a countydoes not adopt the ordinanceby this time, any city in thatcounty can adopt its own or-dinance and collect the tax.

First

10/21

Last

11/6

The Northeast will see mostly clear to partly cloudy skies with a few showers today,

scattered showers Friday and Saturday, with the highest temperature of 82 in

Germantown, Md. The Southeast will see mostly clear to partly cloudy skies with a few

showers and thunderstorms today through Saturday, with the highest temperature of 90 in Ft. Myerst,

Fla. The Northwest will see mostly clear to partly cloudy skies with isolated showers today through

Saturday, with the highest temperature of 76 in Medford, Ore. The Southwest will see mostly clear

skies today through Saturday, with the highest temperature of 99 in Palm Springs, Calif.

THURSDAY

Isolated T-stormsHigh: 70 Low: 50

Full

10/29

The Champion Weather Oct. 18, 2012Seven Day Forecast

Local UV Index

WEDNESDAY

Mostly Sunny

High: 70 Low: 45

TUESDAY

Mostly Sunny

High: 73 Low: 51

MONDAY

Sunny

High: 74 Low: 51

SUNDAY

Sunny

High: 71 Low: 50

SATURDAY

Sunny

High: 71 Low: 48

FRIDAY

Mostly Sunny

High: 70 Low: 48

In-Depth Local Forecast Today's Regional Map

Sunrise

7:45 a.m.

7:45 a.m.7:46 a.m.

7:47 a.m.

7:48 a.m.

7:49 a.m.

7:50 a.m.

Sunset

6:59 p.m.

6:58 p.m.6:57 p.m.

6:56 p.m.

6:55 p.m.

6:54 p.m.

6:53 p.m.

Moonset

9:44 p.m.

10:46 p.m.11:50 p.m.

Next Day

12:54 a.m.

1:57 a.m.

2:57 a.m.

Moonrise

11:17 a.m.

12:18 p.m.1:13 p.m.

2:02 p.m.

2:44 p.m.

3:21 p.m.

3:55 p.m.

New

11/13

www.WhatsOurWeather.com

Weather History

Oct. 18, 1910 - Winds as high as

70 mph, caused by a hurricane

moving up the Florida peninsula,carried water out of Tampa Bay

and the Hillsboro River. The

water level dropped to nine feet

below average. Forty ships were

grounded as a result.

Weather Trivia

Tonight's Planets

What is the average

diameter of the eye of a

hurricane?

Answer: 14 miles.

?

Day

Thursday

FridaySaturday

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

National Weather Summary This Week

Local Sun/Moon Chart This Week

StarWatch By Gary Becker - It's Showtime for the Orionids

Today we will see partly cloudy skies with a 30%

chance of showers and thunderstorms, high

temperature of 70, humidity of 52%. Light winds.The record high temperature for today is 86 set in

1984. Expect mostly cloudy skies tonight with a

slight chance of showers and thunderstorms.

Oct. 19, 1844 - The famous

Lower Great Lakes Storm

occurred. Southwesterly winds

were at hurricane force for five

hours, driving lake waters into

downtown Buffalo, N.Y. The

storm drowned 200 people.

The meteor season has been underway since the Perseids of mid-August. Now its time for the big three autumn spectacles to commence, starting f irst with Octobers Orionid

Meteor Shower, followed by the Leonids of November, and finally, the biggest shooting star event of the year, the December Geminids. Orionid activity peaks on the morn-

ing of Sunday, October 21, with meteors radiating from an area above and to the east (left) of Orions super red giant star, Betelgeuse. Even the crescent moon is cooperat-

ing by setting around 11 p.m. local time on the 20th. Orionid meteors begin to fly in earnest after midnight when the radiant is about 30 degrees above the eastern hori-

zon. As the hours roll by, Orion and the area from which the meteors are diverging, get higher and higher in the sky. By 5 a.m. this point reaches its maximum altitude, about 65 degrees,

allowing observers to see shooting stars streaming from above and below the radiant. This is when events max at about 25 meteors per hour from a rural locale. In addition to the Orionids,there are two other minor showers which bear mentioning. They are the Northern and the Southern Taurids with meteors emanating from the constellation of the bull. Even combined, these

streams produce little activity, but when a Taurid flares, often it is in the form of a slow moving, long duration fireball which can be really spectacular. In comparison, the normal Orionid

meteor is swift and much fainter. Remember that for mid-latitude observers, October nights are not for the fainthearted. When contemplating your apparel and the equipment you should

be bringing, think winter. Although the shower might be rocking and rolling, you will be lying stationary looking towards the SE. Ground tarps, sleeping bags, headgear, gloves, and

thick socks will help keep you comfy so that you can enjoy the show in style. www.astronomy.org

Rise Set

Mercury 9:39 a.m. 7:56 p.m.

Venus 4:46 a.m. 5:23 p.m.

Mars 11:14 a.m. 9:10 p.m.

Jupiter 9:40 p.m. 11:52 a.m.

Saturn 8:12 a.m. 7:22 p.m.

Uranus 6:01 p.m. 6:17 a.m.

3 50 - 2 4 6 8 107 9 11+

UV Index

0-2: Low, 3-5: Moderate,

6-7: High, 8-10: Very High

11+: Extreme Exposure

Atlanta

70/50

Decatur

70/50

Doraville

69/50

Dunwoody68/49 Lilburn

69/50

Snellville

70/50

Lithonia

71/50

Morrow

71/50

Smyrna

69/50

Hampton

72/51

Union City

71/50

College Park

71/50

*Last Weeks Almanac

Date Hi Lo Normals Precip

Tuesday 68 52 75/55 0.00"

Wednesday 73 48 75/55 0.00"

Thursday 74 46 74/54 0.00"

Friday 76 57 74/54 0.00"

Saturday 73 59 74/54 0.00"

Sunday 76 58 74/53 0.00"

Monday 75 55 73/53 0.11"Rainfall . . . . . . . .0.11" Average temp . .63.6

Normal rainfall . .0.66" Average normal 64.1

Departure . . . . .-0.55" Departure . . . . .-0.5*Data as reported from De Kalb-Peachtree Airport

7/31/2019 Free Press 10-19-12

14/24

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Oct. 19, 2012 Page 14ABusiness

Two Decatur Town Center, 125 Clairemont Ave., Suite 235, Decatur, GA 30030

404-378-8000 www.DeKalbChamber.org

The Voice of Business in DeKalb CountyDeKalb Chamber of Commerce

New DeKalb County facilities open for vehiclesthat operate on compressed natural gasby Kathy Mitchellkathy@dekalbchamp.com

Motorists driving along Buford

Highway are doing a double takeas they pass the American FuelingSystems (AFS) station; some haveven turned in at what appears to

be a gas station. What is catchingdrivers eyes is the $2.34 price. Infact, the facility is a gas station oforts except it doesnt sell gasoline.t sells compressed natural gasCNG), which can be used to fuel

only cars and trucks equipped fort.

One day [before the station wasopen] we had 500 cars come in.Drivers wanted to know if their carwould run on this, how they could

get a car that runs on thisthat sortof thing, said Rahim Charania,CEO of AFS. Compressed naturalgas is sold in units called GasolineGallon Equivalents or GGEs. Be-ause each unit is the equivalent of

a gallon of gasoline, price compari-on is easy.

The AFS station opened forbusiness Oct. 11; however, most ofts customers right now are trucks

and eet vehicles designed to runon natural gas. One of its best cus-omers is DeKalb County, which

has 40 CNG garbage trucks in itseet. Because of their size andweight and the stop-and-go nature

of their use, garbage trucks normal-y get only two miles to the gallon,ounty ofcials say.

Some trucks in AT&T and UPService eets as well as airporthuttle vans are equipped to useompressed natural gas as well.

The facility is the states largestpublic compressed natural gas fuel-ng station and one of the rst to

be built on a major thoroughfare.Usually, these are built on an out-

of-the-way side street and onlyhave one or two pumps. More than

4,000 automobiles pass the sta-ion here on Buford Highway every

day, Charania said. The station hasight pumps and is open 24 hoursa day.

With gasoline prices steadilyncreasing, its great to be offering

an alternative, Charania said. Headded that the use of compressednatural gas for transportation alsooffers opportunities for small busi-nesses such as his, not just for ma-or corporations. This is one of thehings that makes America great;

were always looking for a betterway.

The station is great for theounty and great for the state and

the nation, said Kevin Greiner,president and CEO of Gas South,which provides fuel at the BufordHighway station as well as at five

other metro Atlanta public CNGstations, including facilities in At-lanta, Lithonia and Tucker. He saidthe use of compressed natural gasfor transportation not only savesthe user money, but is cleaner forthe environment and reduces thenations dependence of foreign oil.Compressed natural gas emits 20-29 percent less CO and 90 percentfewer emissions than gasoline ordiesel, according to Greiner.

DeKalb CommissionerKathieGannon said she has long beenknown as DeKalb Countys greencommissioner. They used to say

that with a chuckle, she said, not-ing that the county has now fullyembraced sustainability initiatives.Gannon said shes proud to seeDeKalb in the forefront of this is-sue. I hope one day Ill pull inhere to fill up my automobile, shesaid.

A day earlier, DeKalb openedthe nations first renewable en-ergy facility that converts meth-ane gas from county garbage intocompressed natural gas that canbe pumped into county vehicles.The fuel comes from DeKalbsSeminole Road Landfill Renew-able Energy Facility in Ellenwood,

which began operations earlier thisyear. It, too, will be used to fuelcounty garbage trucks, creating acycle in which sanitation vehicleswill be powered by the trash theyearlier hauled. The countys goalultimately is to replace or adapt all306 of its sanitation vehicles so theentire fleet operates on compressednatural gas. Under current marketconditions, DeKalb County is fore-casting fuel savings of $3 millionover the next eight years.

The back-to-back openingsmean the number of fueling sta-tions in DeKalb County available

to owners of compressed naturalgas vehicles doubled in a 24-hourperiod.

We are turning trash to gasand gas to cash, saving $3 millionby using it in DeKalb County ve-hicles, Ellis said. We are, in fact,living up to our vision of being thegreenest urban county in Americaand the place where your futurelives.

Both locations were funded aspart of President Barack Obamasstimulus funds through the U.S.Department of Energy.

Ofcials from AFS, Gas South, DeKalb County and other interested organizations cut theribbon on the Buford Highway facility, which has eight compressed natural gas pumps,making it the largest such facility in the state. A number of eet vehicles, including 40of DeKalb Countys garbage trucks, can operate on the fuel sold there. Photos by KathyMitchell

7/31/2019 Free Press 10-19-12

15/24

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Oct. 19, 2012 Page 15ALocal News

Fire station Continued From Page 1A

he county plans to use the current facility as wellonce the new one is up and running.

The 3,120-square foot station, built in 1947,

was one of the rst stations built in DeKalb County.The station was originally 2,430-square foot, buthe re department later made additions to it, whichnclude a living room, kitchen, a second dorm room

and a second bedroom for on-duty personnel.The station can only hold one re truck and one

ambulance. Because the station was built 65 yearsago, it is not capable of accommodating modernre equipment.

Fire trucks are a lot larger now than they werewhen the re house was constructed, said RodneyReese, project liaison for community development.[The new re house] will provide adequate roomfor the modern re equipment as well.

Augustin said the station, which currently hasve reghters, is one of the busiest in the county.

The men and women that work there are outunning calls a lot, he said. So when they comeback to the station, its good to come back to some-hing nice where they can relax and be comfortable.

Because of the age of the station it makes that kindof hard.

The new station will also cater to female re-ghters. It will include womens restrooms anddorm rooms for both males and females.

When the re station was built the re-ghterswere basically strictly male, Morris said. Overhe years our reghters are not just males but

males and females.The new station will also maintain the Tudor ar-

chitecture to be in accordance with the other build-ngs in Avondale Estates.

Austustin said the reghters, the community

and the department are excited about the new sta-ion.

Its good for the county and its good for ev-eryone all around, he said. Were spending theax dollars in the right way.

Apples and Oranges is a triumph, just dont look for Miss Daisy in the orchardby Kathy Mitchellkathy@dekalbchamp.com

Apples and Oranges, which opened Oct. 10 onthe Alliance Theatres Hertz stage, is the first ofAl-fred Uhrys plays to premiere in Atlanta even thoughits set in New York and Washingtonstate, not

D.C.not in Georgia.Best known for his Pulitzer Prize winning play

Driving Miss Daisy, Uhry is an Atlanta native whoalso has won an Oscar and several Tony Awards.Apples and Oranges is based on a true story, but itsnot Uhrys story. Its adapted from journalist MarieBrenners memoirApples and Oranges, My Brotherand Me, Lost and Found.

Marie and Carl have never seen eye-to-eye onanything from politics to whats appropriate in socialinteraction. After years of estrangement, the adult sis-ter and brother find themselves communicating againeven though they live on opposite sides of the conti-nental United States. Years after their parents deathsthey start to explore the things that baffle them aboutone another. Why did he give up a successful lawcareer to raise apples? Why must she be so dramatic?Why does she waste her writing talent on what hesees as fluff pieces for womens magazines? Howcould he, a Jew, be so fond or the music of RichardWagner, a 19th century German composer who madeno secret of his disdain for Jews?

As they talk about their childhood, the brotherand sister often have arrestingly different recollec-tions of the same event. Still they rediscover the af-

fection they once had for each other.Uhry, in an interview printed in the theater pro-gram, said he was drawn to the subject because hecame from the same setupone brother, one sister.The dynamic, he said, is unique; its not like being anonly child or having multiple siblings.

Jennings Hertz Artistic DirectorSusan Booth,who chose the play and arranged for itto premiere inAtlanta, said in her program notes that she relates to

the theme for the same reason. After happening upona reading of it in New York, she said, I was in tears.As the little sister of an adored brother from whom Icould not be more different, the piece has shaken meto my core.

Those who know Uhry only fromDriving MissDaisy will findApples and Oranges very different

from that more familiar work. The only similaritiesare the exploration of relationships and that both

plays have minimal characters.Driving Miss Daisyas a stage play has only three characters;Apples andOranges has two. Im always interested in writingabout people as opposed to events, Uhry said in theinterview.

A two-character play is a major challenge, notonly for the playwright, but for the actors who are onstage the entire time andin this casemust carrythe action nonstop for an hour and 15 minutes. Patri-cia Richardson (you may remember her as the wifeon the television showHome Improvement) as Marieand veteran stage film and television actorTonyCarlin asCarl carry it beautifully.

Apples and Oranges is excellent theater, justdont come to the theater expectingDrivingMiss

Daisy. The two plays arewell, apples and oranges.Performances are Tuesday through Thursday at

7:30 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2:30 and8 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m., throughOct. 28.For ticket information, call (404) 733-5000or visit alliancetheatre.org/apples. The Alliance The-atre is located at The Woodruff Arts Center, 1280Peachtree Street, Atlanta.

Patricia Richardson and Tony Carlin inApples &Oranges. Photo by Greg Mooney

The living room and dorm room in the Avondale Fire Station will get a facelift when the new station is built.Photos by Carla Parker

7/31/2019 Free Press 10-19-12

16/24

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Oct. 19, 2012 Page 16AEducation

Oglethorpe hosts first sustainability summitby Daniel Beauregarddaniel@dekalbchamp.com

Oglethorpe Universityhosted the Heifer Sustain-ability Summit Oct. 15. The

ummit explored issues suchas global hunger and pover-y and working with small-

holder farmers, teachinghem agriculture and animal

husbandry practices.Heifer International

holds the summit each yearbut this is the rst time ithas ever been held on a col-ege or university campus.

Founded in 1944, Heifernternational is currently

working in more than 40countries to end hungerand poverty and care for

he earth. The nonprotorganization also providesivestock and agriculturalraining to improve the lives

of the less fortunate.Betty Londergan, wife

of Oglethorpes PresidentLawrence Schall, currentlyblogs for Heifer at www.heifer12x12.com. This year,Heifer is sending Londergano 12 countries in 12 months

and she is blogging andphotographing her experi-ences.

Since January, she hasraveled to Uganda, Gua-

emala, Haiti, Peru, China,Nepal, Cameroon, Romania,Appalachia (USA), Rwandaand Armenia, among oth-ers. Each place she visits

she blogs about what HeiferInternationals mission is inthat specic area.

A collection of Londer-gans photographs, titledUnforgettable Faces, was

exhibited in OglethorpesLowry Hall during thesummit and in recognitionof National PhotographyMonth and will remain onexhibit through Dec. 9.

The photographs will beavailable for purchase tobenet Heifer International.

She has taken someincredible photographs,including some in the U.S.Appalachian area wherepoverty and hunger is quiteextensive, said TamaraNash, executive director

of the Center for Civic En-gagement at Oglethorpe.Nash said the goal of

the center is to encourageOglethorpe students, as partof their education, to be-come more actively engagedcitizens.

Last fall we decidedto create an OglethorpeUniversity Heifer Club oncampus, Nash said. Thisis a wonderful example asto how were trying to dothis.

Pierre Ferrari, presidentand CEO of Heifer Inter-

national, discussed duringthe seminar how scaling upagricultural value chainscan help satisfy the increas-ing demand for food. Ad-

ditionally, Doug Shipman,president and CEO of theNational Center for Civiland Human Rights, joinedFerrari onstage.

Our students who are

actively involved in humanrights efforts were thrilledto have an opportunity tomeet him the rst time. Itwas wonderful networkingas well for all of us, Nashsaid.

Nash said another high-light was listening to KeoKeang, Heifer InternationalCambodia Country director.Keang, a former teacher inthe post-Khmer Rouge peri-od, has more than 27 yearsexperience working to pro-

mote and protect the rightsof poor and vulnerable pop-ulations, including women