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New families formed during National Adoption Dayby Andrew [email protected]

The courtroom of Superior Court Judge Gregory Adams was dec-orated with balloons and teddy

bears as children yelled and played Nov. 16.

The children, more than 30 of them accompanied by their parents, were at the courthouse for DeKalb County’s second observance of National Adop-tion Day, an event that brings aware-ness to the need for more adoptive parents.

“It’s just wonderful to see all the beautiful families here,” said Debra De-Berry, DeKalb County’s clerk of Superior Court, who started the DeKalb event last year.

“Adoptions are probably the great-est thing we do in this office,” DeBerry said. “It’s a joyous and happy occasion to provide a warm, nurturing home for a child who doesn’t have one.”

DeBerry said there are more than 1,000 children waiting to be adopted in DeKalb County. Nationally, 4,500 adoptions were expected to take place on adoption day.

“Our purpose is not only to cel-ebrate the families who have joyously opened their hearts and opened their homes to provide a family for a child, but to also bring recognition to the event and to urge others to consider doing the same,” she said.

“Families that adopt children are special people,” DeBerry said. “There’s no greater love and service

See Adoption on 7A

Patrick and Amanda O’Neill, of Tucker, used a private agency to adopt Morgan, 20 months old, from China. The couple plans to adopt again next year.

Kash, Beautiful and Diamond await the finalizations of their adoptions. Kash and Diamond were adopted by Delois Spencer, while Beautiful was adopted by Gwendolyn Lee.

From back left, Devon and Dian Mott pose for a picture with Judge Gregory Adams in his chambers after the adoption finalization of Justin, McKeithan and Raven.

McKeithan, Justin and Raven pose with their father Devon Mott, before their adoptions were completed.

Children played balloons while waiting to go into a judge’s chamber for the finalization of their adoptions during National Adoption Day. Photos by Andrew Cauthen

The courtroom of Superior Court Judge Gregory Adams was decorated with teddy bears and balloons for DeKalb second annual observance of National Adoption Day.

DeBerry

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 ALocal News

Dunwoody dedicates Georgia’s first Diverging Diamond Interchange

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by Carla [email protected]

Since June, motorists who travel along the Ashford Dunwoody Road interchange at I-285 have driven through Georgia’s first Diverging Diamond Interchange.

On Nov. 16, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle along with Dunwoody Mayor Mike Da-vis, and representatives from the Perim-eter Community Improvement Districts (PCIDs) and the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) dedicated the in-terchange.

The $6 million Diverging Diamond Interchange was initiated in 2009 by the PCIDs to improve the 40 year old inter-change.

The Diverging Diamond Interchange design, which originated in France, shifts the flow of traffic to the opposite side of the road to reduce points of traffic con-flict and improve traffic flow and safety. Under normal free-flowing traffic condi-tions on surrounding highways, traffic delays are expected to be reduced by 15 to 20 percent during evening rush hours.

Traffic studies are now underway to determine the impact. PCIDs officials said results should be available by next summer.

“This innovative project is a testament to the drive and dedication of the Perime-

ter Community Improvement Districts to improve traffic congestion in the impor-tant Perimeter market and to the Georgia Department of Transportation for being receptive to creative, low cost ideas to meet traffic challenges,” Cagle said. “The economic health of the Perimeter market is important not only to the businesses and cities located in this area, but also to local and state government that depend on the tax revenues generated in the Pe-rimeter area.”

The PCIDs initiated the Diverg-ing Diamond Interchange project and secured more than $1 million funding for the engineering and project design. GDOT funded the $4.6 million cost of construction which began in mid-January interchange re-opened to crossover traffic June 3.

Recent work has included final paving and completion of crosswalks and a pro-tected pedestrian median on the bridge.

Davis said that he is excited about Dunwoody being the showcase for Georgia’s first Diverging Diamond Inter-change.

This is working better than what some expected,” he said. “It’s not only bring-ing traffic relief and safety to this major entry way into the city of Dunwoody, but it’s also helping to brand Dunwoody as a great place to live, work and play.”

See Interchange on Page 13AThe Diverging Diamond Interchange at the Ashford Dunwoody Road and Interstate 285 is the first in Georgia. The project was completed in June.

Georgia Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle (bottom row, center) poses for pictures with representatives from the Perimeter Community Improvement Districts, the Georgia Department of Transportation and DeKalb County officials at the Diverging Diamond Interchange dedication on Nov. 16. Photos by Carla Parker

A The Champion Free Press, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012

by Daniel [email protected]

A DeKalb County mother pleaded not guilty Nov. 14 to giving her 4-month-old son a lethal dose of cough medicine.

Carlitha Yvette Hardy, 34, is charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct following her son’s death in November 2010. She was indicted Sept. 25.

Although prosecutors say they believe it was an accident, they said she acted recklessly by administering the child cough syrup meant for adults.

“We also believe it may have been multiple types, and the child wasn’t sick,” District Attorney Robert James said.

According to the indict-ment, Hardy received the reckless conduct charge for “consciously disregarding a

substantial and unjustifiable risk” by providing her son with the medicine.

The indictment also states that Hardy acted with a gross deviation from the standard of care any reasonable person would exercise in the situation.

At the time she adminis-tered the medicine to the child, prosecutors said, there were others in the house who were sick but Hardy should have known better than to give the child adult cough medicine.

“It wasn’t an accident she gave the medicine to the child,” James said. “But, we’re not accusing her of purpose-fully killing her child, which is why the charge is involuntary manslaughter.”

Hardy is currently out on $15,000 bond; court officials said a trial date has not yet been set.

Stone Mountain city manager Barry Amos suspended from duties

Audit uncovers school district problemsby Daniel [email protected]

An audit released Nov. 13 shows the DeKalb County School District (DCSD) has had a series of accounting difficulties and central office errors in recent years.

The 31-page audit, performed by firm KPMG, is addressed to Superin-tendent Cheryl Atkinson and states the data included in the report was obtained “on or before November, 8, 2012.”

The district hired the firm in May to perform an analysis of the move-ment of cash between DCSD’s specific funds, the district’s purchase and ap-proval process, SPLOST III activity, Title I and II activity and aspects of budget reductions from 2011.

SPLOST III is the third round of a penny sales tax implemented to pay for school construction projects. Dis-tricts receive Title I federal funding for being in low-income areas and Ti-tle II federal funding for teacher train-ing and technology improvements.

The report states that the findings within the report are limited to the data KPMG was provided by the dis-trict.

According to the audit, the DeKalb County school board approved a budget reduction in 2010 that was to eliminate 150 central office positions. However, the audit states the district’s finance and human resources depart-ments differ on the number of cuts

made. “The district was not able to pro-

vide a list of central office individuals who comprised the 150 people/posi-tions eliminated by the board,” the audit states.

The audit states that only 109 were eventually eliminated and 56 were ei-ther rehired into a different position or reassigned.

David Schutten, president of the Organization of DeKalb Educators, said the findings of the audit raise the question of whether district employees were actually doing their jobs.

“It’s obvious that for the last sev-eral years the human resources reports have been inaccurate and there’s peo-ple working there’s that aren’t on the organizational chart,” Schutten said.

Schutten said many of the prob-lems being uncovered date back to the district’s previous administration un-der former Superintendent Crawford Lewis, who is currently under indict-ment for running a criminal enterprise within the school system.

“Atkinson keeps on uncovering more and more problems like this,” Schutten said. “We have this billion dollar enterprise and who’s steering the ship? It seems like it didn’t have a captain until Dr. Atkinson started ask-ing questions.”

Additionally, the report states that the manner in which cash is disbursed and transferred between accounts is inconsistent with the process that DCSD employees indicated to KPMG.

The firm also took a random sampling of the transactions of the districts ac-counts.

“There are instances of cash being transferred between SPLOST III, Title I, and Title II bank accounts; support could not be located for all sampled transactions,” the report states.

Other observations made by KPMG in the audit refer to missing documentation for transactions from the district’s SPLOST III account and missing board minutes relating to the purchasing fees of textbooks.

“The district does not use the state approved codes to account for federal funds,” the report states. Addition-ally, the audit said using the wrong codes could lead to the misreporting of funds expended and requested for reimbursement of different federal programs.

Recently the district was ordered to pay back nearly $1 million in misspent federal Title I funds.

In March, as part of its sampling, Georgia Department of Education (GDOE) selected DCSD’s Communi-ties In Schools (CIS) contract. Like many other metro Atlanta school dis-tricts, DCSD has been under a CIS contract since 2008.

“This year, [GDOE] deemed that the CIS services provided in the con-tract did not qualify as an allowable activity,” a DCSD press release stated.

As a result, the district is required to repay $885,000 from its general fund to the GDOE to resolve the issue.

School officials said since the expen-diture had not been cited in the past four years, the district had no indica-tion it was unallowable.

School spokesman Jeff Dickerson said the districts Title I administration is currently undergoing restructuring to ensure more accountability in the future.

Additionally, GDOE has ordered the district to repay approximately $25,000 of expenditures that are un-related to the district’s CIS contract, which brings the total to $910,000.

Schutten said he has heard frustra-tions from both parents and staff mem-bers and said the recent audit confirms many of the allegations made against DCSD in a report from AdvancED, the district’s accrediting agency.

“I guess now everyone is just waiting for the [AdvancED] report,” Schutten said.

The accrediting agency visited the school district

Oct. 17-19 to investigate claims such as undue influence by the board in the hiring of personnel, interfer-ence with budgeting procedures and accounting and lack of financial over-sight by district officials.

Jennifer Oliver, a spokeswoman for AdvancED, said officials from the agency interviewed staff members, board members and community mem-bers. Oliver said the agency expects to release a report of its findings before Thanksgiving.


The DeKalb County School Board voted during a business meeting Nov. 12 to search for a new legal firm after learning their general counsel, Southerland Asbill & Brennan had resigned.

Spokesman for the DeKalb County School District (DCSD), Jeff Dickerson, said that by canceling the contract the district will save approximately $2.5 to 3 million a year.

“They’re going to continue to manage some of the pending litigation,” Dickerson said.

When the board does hire a new general counsel, Dickerson said it will use the opportunity to explore how the district can realign its legal structure.

In the past year, DCSD has spent millions in legal fees for various things including more than $30 million in accrued legal fees to firm King & Spalding, which is representing the district in its civil suit against construction firm Heery International.

News BriefsWoman pleads not guilty to charge of killing baby with cough medicine


The Stone Mountain City Council suspended city manager Barry Amos of his duties at its business meeting on Nov. 6.

A released statement by the city council, states that the council will “decide the next course of action, which is unknown at this time.”

Amos has been the city manager since 2008. City council member Steve Higgins said there were “problems with communications between [Amos] and the council.”

“And also between him and other city personnel,” Higgins said. “That’s all I can really say.”

The council hired former Stone Mountain mayor Gary Peet as the interim city manager for the next six months.

School district loses one of its two legal teams

Grateful 2012

“For each new morning with its light, for rest and shelter of the night, for health and food, for love and friends, for everything Thy goodness sends.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you’re reading this at home, look around into the faces of your family and even the family pet. How grateful we should be to have them. Many of us will have an empty seat at the table this year, but cherish the memories of Thanksgivings past and all the other wonderful years with our loved ones. Think how fortunate we are to be able to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast in the comfort of a warm home.

There are those among us who have lost our homes to foreclosure and have had to downsize. Think of those among us waiting in long lines for a decent meal. And, if you’re reading this at a restaurant,

barbershop, gym, spa, nail or beauty salon, be grateful for the luxury to be able to eat out or to those little creature comforts in these difficult economic times.

We should be grateful that, be it ever so humble, homes in America are lavish compared to many places in the world. Case in point, in the beautiful island of Jamaica there are places most tourists rarely see. I am especially grateful this year to Dr. Earl and Carolyn Glenn, owners and publishers of this Champion Newspaper and founders of Unconditional Love for Children Inc., for affording me the opportunity to see Jamaica through another lens. Each year the Glenns through their ULC sponsor a month-long summer camp for children in a remote mountain village outside Montego Bay.

Picture in your mind’s eye a small enclave high in the hills above the posh hotels and shimmering sea accessible only by a deeply rutted one-lane unpaved road. The village is anchored by a small church along with a three-room cinderblock school. The houses are crude dwellings built into the hills. The only commerce is a little shanty on the side of the road with an enterprising dread-

locked merchant selling sodas, chips, candy and such.

I taught elementary and high school children basic public speaking and presentation skills. I also produced and coordinated the closing program with the assistance of John Hewitt The Champion’s chief operating officer, and some wonderful Georgia Perimeter College students and staff. The program incorporated Jamaica’s history and its 50th year of independence, which occurred this year. But the children and their families were amazing.

Even with so precious little in the way of material goods, the children were bright, happy, well-mannered and eager to learn. Their parents made sure the children were freshly scrubbed and in place on time. They were extremely grateful for the Glenns’ benevolence and that of other loving strangers the Creator sent their way. Their names and smiling faces are indelibly etched in my mind and on my heart. My problems became shameful and miniscule in the faces of their gratitude. My own gratitude soared.

So even in these difficult and sometimes harsh economic times,

let us be grateful for the abundance we enjoy in this land of the free and home of the brave. Let us be grateful for the democratic process. Whether our candidate won or lost, we should pledge to move forward in a spirit of cooperation and for the greater good of our communities and country.

Let us be grateful for our armed forces fighting on foreign shores protecting the freedoms we enjoy throughout the year. Let us be grateful for the men and women of our emergency responders—EMTs, firefighters and DeKalb police who go into harm’s way each day. Let us support our leaders and elected officials, who—though they don’t always get it right and often times have horrific lapses in judgment— still make the personal and family sacrifices for service.

Thanksgiving Day is a wonderful American tradition. It is steeped in relationships. So let us dare not take for granted life, health, food, shelter, clothing and most of all each other. Grateful!

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

A The Champion Free Press, Friday, Nov. 23 , 2012OpinionThe Newslady

Eat more chicken, buy more gas

The Trojan Horse in the debt debate

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, typewritten 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 E-Mail 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.

Publisher: Dr. Earl D. GlennManaging Editor: Kathy MitchellNews Editor: Andrew Cauthen

Production Manager: Kemesha Hunt Graphic Designer: Travis Hudgons

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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.

Anderson

Dozens of CEOs are running a misleading campaign that would just make matters worse

by Sarah Anderson

It’s budget showdown time in Washington. With various tax increases and spending cuts set to kick in at the end of the year, the pressure is on for Republicans and Democrats to make a deal.

A major player in this hot debate is a new corporate coali-tion called “Fix the Debt.” They’ve recruited more than 80 CEOs of America’s most powerful corpora-tions and raised $60 million for a big media and lobbying blitz.

Their ads call for what appears to be a moderate agenda of balanc-

ing spending cuts with some tax increases to bring down the deficit and ensure a bright future for the United States. But a closer look suggests the Fix the Debt campaign is a Trojan Horse.

Behind their moder-ate slogans is an extreme agenda focused on further reducing corporate taxes and shifting the burden onto the poor and elderly.

Take a look, for exam-ple, at a slideshow presenta-tion the campaign has pre-pared as a “CEO tool” for wooing supporters. You can check it out right on their website. It says flat out that the so-called “fiscal cliff” is an opportunity to push for “considerably less” spending on Medicare and Medicaid. It also calls for a shift to a “territorial tax system,” which would permanently exempt U.S. corporations’ foreign income from U.S. taxes.

At the Institute for Policy Studies, we analyzed how much the Fix the Debt member corpora-tions would have to gain from this particular corporate tax break. The results are staggering.

We focused on the 63 Fix the Debt member companies that are publicly held and therefore must report how much they’ve amassed

in overseas profits. Combined, these firms stand to gain as much as $134 billion in tax windfalls if the territorial system is adopted. That’s $134 billion that won’t go

toward fixing the debt. To put that figure in perspec-tive, it would be enough to cover the salaries of two million elemen-tary school teachers for a year.

One of the biggest potential winners from a territorial tax system is Microsoft, which could

reap a savings of $19.4 billion on its $60.8 billion in accumulated foreign earnings.

Why does Microsoft have so much dough stashed overseas? A Senate investigation this year shed light on this question. They found that Microsoft takes the patents for software developed at its U.S. re-search facilities and registers them in tax haven countries. That way, when a U.S. customer buys a copy of Microsoft Office, a hefty chunk of the profits is recorded in no-tax zones.

Under current rules, Microsoft would have to pay U.S. taxes on such foreign earnings if they bring them back to the United States to invest or pay shareholder divi-

dends. But under Fix the Debt’s favored territorial system, they would be permanently exempted.

The Fix the Debt campaign’s CEOs are attempting to portray themselves as the reasonable com-promisers. Some of them have even offered to give up the Bush-era tax cuts for the rich in exchange for other parts of their agenda. But given the massive windfalls they could get from a shift to a territo-rial tax system and other corporate tax breaks, this is hardly surprising. If their companies save billions in tax dollars, corporate profits will soar — and their CEO pay will skyrocket too.

Beware of this Trojan horse. These CEOs may try to conceal their tired old agenda of more corporate tax breaks in a patri-otic package. But if they’re seri-ous about helping America, they wouldn’t be trying to balance the budget on the backs of the most vulnerable.

Sarah Anderson directs the Glob-al Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC and is a co-author of the new report: The CEO Campaign to ‘Fix’ the Debt: A Trojan Horse for Massive Corporate Tax Breaks. www.ips-dc.org

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 A Opinion

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 ACommunity

Champion of the Week

If you would like to nominate someone to be considered as a future Champion of the Week, please

contact Kathy Mitchell at [email protected] or at (404) 373-7779, ext. 104.

Champion of Champion of the Week





Brian Ego

TOGETHER WE’RE

Hunger is closer than you think. Reach out to your local food bank for ways to do your part.

Visit FeedingAmerica.org today.

HunGER kEEps up On cuRREnT EVEnTs, TOO.1 in 6 AmERicAns sTRuGGlEs WiTH HunGER.

Brian Ego has been a resident of the Oakhurst neighborhood for 10 years.

Ego has also been a vol-unteer with Trees Atlanta for more than 15 years. He said the nonprofi t has made an enormous posi-tive impact on the city of Decatur, as well as all over Atlanta.

Each month, Ego works two to four Saturdays planting 25 to 50 trees with volunteers. Ego is a project manager and works with volunteer groups such as fraternities or ROTC mem-bers, who are helping plant the trees.

“I also help from the fundraising standpoint and we have an annual tree sale,” Ego said.

In 1996, when Ego fi rst started volunteering with Trees Atlanta, he said the organization was being run out of a small shed on DeKalb Avenue donated to the nonprofi t by MARTA. Now, Ego said, Trees At-lanta has a beautiful facility located off Chester Avenue in Atlanta.

In addition to planting trees nearly every week-end, Ego also volunteers with the Chattahoochee

Riverkeeper organization, an environmental advocacy organization with more than 6,000 members dedicated solely to protecting and re-storing the Chattahoochee River Basin.

Ego works for Auto Trader, which is owned by Cox Enterprises, and said his company is very in-volved with the community through volunteer projects. Twice a year, Ego and his co-workers team up with Habitat for Humanity and build houses.

Recently, Ego worked with the Outdoor Activity Center in Atlanta to help build ADA accessible trails for the disabled.

Growing up in Boston, Ego said, he and his fam-ily volunteered at several organizations but when he moved to Atlanta he began to volunteer at local non-profi ts to meet people who had the same interests as he.

“A lot of my close friends today I’ve met through nonprofi ts and volunteer-ing,” Ego said.

Ego said for him the most important thing in life is getting out and helping the community. When he thinks of all the projects he has done in the past 15 years with Trees Atlanta and other organizations, he said, he could simply walk down the street and see they have made a differ-ence.

“I can walk or ride my bike through Decatur and see all of the trees we planted, and how beauti-ful they look and the shade that they offer people,” Ego said. “So, you get that intrinsic reward out of it as well.”

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 ACommunity

ATLANTADine & Dance returns to Northlake Mall

Northlake Mall will hold its monthly Big Band event Tuesday, Nov. 27, 6 – 8 p.m. Visitors can swing, sway and savor the sounds of the Atlanta-New York Connection in Northlake Mall’s Food Gar-den. Held the last Tuesday night of every month, this so-cial affair is free and open to the public. This month, Santa will make a special visit. Par-ticipants can come early to have dinner before dancing the night away. Northlake Mall is located at 4800 Briar-cliff Road., N.E., Atlanta. For more information, call (770) 938-3564.

DECATURPoetry event to be held at library

Poetry Atlanta will return to the Decatur Library Wednes-day, Nov. 28, 7:15 - 9 p.m. for another evening of read-ings featuring some of the finest poets in this area. Once again poet/novelist Collin Kelley will be the host. De-tails on the guest artists will be announced. The Decatur Library is located at 215 Syc-amore Street, Decatur. For more information, call (404) 370-3070.

Musicians to perform at library

Smithsonian record-ing artists Bob and Shelia Everhart will perform at the Decatur Library Tuesday, Nov. 27, 7 – 8 p.m. The Everharts are founders of the National Traditional Country Music Association, an organiza-tion dedicated to keeping traditional, classic, old-time,

acoustic, rural, country music alive. The Smithsonian calls their adventure, the “Traveling Museum of Music.” The Ever-harts will present a variety of music, including country, blues, blue grass and more, highlighting the historic sto-ries of how songs came into being, why they became pop-ular, and why they have lasted throughout time, according to the library. Funding for the event was provided by the Friends of the Decatur Library. Decatur Library is located at 215 Sycamore St., Decatur. For more information, call (404) 370-3070.

Library to show movie Contagion

Toco Hill-Avis G. Williams Library, as part of its Friday Movie Series, will show Con-tagion, starring Matt Damon and Kate Winslet, Friday, Nov. 30, 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. The 2011 movie is rated PG-13 and runs 106 minutes. Toco Hill-Avis G. Williams Library is located at 1282 Mc-Connell Drive, Decatur. For more information, call (404) 679-4404. The Friday Movie Series features a mix of new releases and old favorites. When available, movies are presented with closed cap-tioning to assist the hearing impaired.

Author to discuss leading Southern architect

Robert M. Craig, pro-fessor emeritus of architec-tural history at Georgia Tech, discusses his latest book, The Architecture of Francis Palmer Smith, Tuesday, Nov. 27, 7 – 8 p.m., at the Toco Hill-Avis G. Williams Library. Francis Palmer Smith was one of the leading Southern architects of the early 20th century. He trained some of

the region’s most significant architects, including Philip Trammell Shutze. His own architectural designs had a lasting impact on the metro-politan Atlanta area, including his most well-known work, the Cathedral of St. Philip. Funding for the program is provided by the Friends of the Toco Hill-Avis G. Williams Library. Toco Hill-Avis G. Wil-liams Library is located at 1282 McConnell Drive, Deca-tur. For more information, call (404) 679-4404

LITHONIAEPD to hold public hearing on biomass plant

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Envi-ronmental Protection Division (EPD) will hold a public meet-ing and hearing at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 18 at the Lou Walker Senior Center, 2538 Panola Road, Lithonia.

The purpose of the meet-ing is to discuss Green Energy Resource Center’s application (Air Quality Permit Application No. 21128) to construct and operate a bio-mass fired boiler for the pro-duction of electrical energy for sale. Immediately following the public meeting, a hearing will be held to receive formal comments on Green Energy Resource Center’s applica-tion. At the public hearing, anyone may present data, make a statement, comment or offer a viewpoint or argu-ment either orally or in writing.

EPD has provided an un-official draft permit and tech-nical narrative online at http://www.georgiaair.org/airpermit/html/meetings/index.htm.

Written comments are welcomed. To ensure their consideration, written com-ments must be received on or by Dec. 26. Comments should be addressed to Eric

Cornwell, Georgia Depart-ment of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Divi-sion, Air Protection Branch, 4244 International Parkway, Suite 120, Atlanta, Georgia 30354.

For more information, con-tact Thomas Smith at (404) 362-2790.

STONE MOUNTAINVillage to hold annual Christmas parade

The annual Stone Moun-tain Village Christmas parade and fireworks will be held Nov. 23 in the historic village of Stone Mountain.

Festivities run from 4-8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 23. The parade starts at 6 p.m. and includes bag-pipers, the am-phibious duck from Stone Mountain Park, classic cars and motorcycles, elves, mer-chant cars and floats, choir music and the Conundrums Women’s Drumming group. Pony rides, marshmallow roasting and a letter writing station for letters to Santa will be available from 4-8 p.m. Santa’s arrival in the parade and the lighting of the tree are highlights before the fireworks extravaganza at 7:30 p.m.

The Christmas Parade is sponsored by Main Street Stone Mountain. For more information, contact Susan Ryles, executive director of Stone Mountain Main Street and Downtown Development Authority at (770) 413-0607.

Church to hold Christmas program

Grace Presbyterian Church will hold its annual Christmas program titled “Christ the Savior is Born” on

Sunday, Dec. 9, at 6:30 p.m. The program will feature a children’s nativity scene, Christmas carols and dra-matic readings of the story of Jesus’ birth.

The church is located at 650 Rowland Road, Stone Mountain.

The public is welcome and refreshments will be served following the program. For more information, call (404) 292-5514 or visit the church website at www.grace-pca.org.

TUCKER

Tucker groups to hold holiday decorating contest

The Tucker Business As-sociation, Main Street Tucker Alliance and the Tucker His-torical Society have partnered to sponsor a holiday deco-rating contest for downtown Tucker businesses. Busi-nesses within the downtown area, as defined by Brockett Road, LaVista Road, Law-renceville Highway and Tucker Industrial Road, are encouraged to celebrate the holidays with festive and imaginative decorations for their windows and buildings. There is no registration fee to enter; all that is required is that the business decorates for the holiday.

A panel of judges with rep-resentatives from all three of the sponsoring organizations will view the area businesses on the evening of Saturday, Dec. 1. Winners will be an-nounced on Monday, Dec. 3 and will be posted on www.tuckerbiz.org as well as listed in Tucker Patch.

Prizes awarded are as fol-lows: first place, $500; sec-ond place, $300; and third place, $200.

AROUND DEKALBAROUND DEKALBAROUND DEKALB


Mechanic wants to open car repair shop on Memorial DriveA DeKalb County man has plans to convert four bays of a 10-bay car wash on Memorial Drive into minor car repair bays. The county’s Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing on the matter in January. Photos by Andrew Cauthen

It’s almost time for the biggest games of the season. Don’t miss out on all of the game-day highlights in next week’s Sports section.

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by Andrew [email protected]

Vietnam refugee and master mechanic Chen Dzo-an Le, who has lived in the United States since 1995, believes he is close to fulfill-ing a dream.

“My American dream is to own my own automotive repair shop,” he wrote in a letter to the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners.

Le is trying to get county approval to convert part of a 10-bay car wash at 5030 Memorial Drive into a car repair shop. He plans to con-vert four bays for car repair and two for office space, and hire three technicians and a receptionist.

The Board of Commis-sioners is considering Le’s application for a special land use permit.

Located on the northwest side of Memorial Drive, near Memorial College Avenue, the property has approxi-mately 100 feet of frontage on Memorial Drive and con-tains 1.01 acres.

Some residents of the Memorial Drive corridor who have been longing for a revitalization of the area say the road does not need another car repair shop.

The “saturation of [these] types of businesses…doesn’t enhance a neighborhood,” Joe Arrington, a member of Pride Rings in Stone Mountain, a community action group, told commis-sioners during a Nov. 13 meeting. “In fact they have a tendency to take away from it. The whole reason this ap-plication is before you is to act as an intermediate check-and-balance, which you are in control of.”

Arrington said he and other residents have been engaged in a 20-year effort “to support and, not stabi-lize, but to enhance and re-build Memorial Drive.”

The District 4 Commu-nity Council for the area recommended a denial of the application citing potential pollution impacts within the 100-year flood plain and nearby streams from fluids draining from the auto repair facility. The council also stated that there could be potential code enforcement problems with the restric-tion of outdoor storage of vehicles on the property that have been repaired or are awaiting repair.

“The site is not suitable to accommodate auto repair activities,” according to the community council.

The county’s planning commission and planning staff also denied the applica-tion, but the planning staff has since reversed its deci-sion, approving the applica-tion with conditions after the applicant submitted a letter from Accurate Engineering Inc. stating that the site can be designed so as not to al-low contamination of the adjacent Snapfinger Creek Tributary.

One condition of the planning staff’s approval is limiting the business to minor automobile repair, which would exclude trans-mission and engine repair or painting. Other conditions include the requirement that all automobile repair work be done completely inside the building with the bays closed; and the prohibition of outdoor storage of equip-ment and materials. Cars could not be stored beyond

24 hours. All temporary storage of vehicles would be limited to the back por-tion of the parking lot and if a new sign structure is constructed, it must be a monument sign with a brick base not to exceed 10 feet in height or 32 square feet in size.

Sonia Muhammad, an agent with Avant Architec-ture, which is representing the business owner, said Le wants to improve Memorial Drive.

“I love Memorial Drive,” Muhammad said. “I’ve live in that area for a long time. Nothing that we would want to recommend would be to

make it worse than it is right now.”

The Board of Commis-

sioners deferred voting on the application until Jan. 22 when a public hearing will be held.


Commissioners approve part of disputed Druid Hills projectby Andrew Cauthen [email protected]

A proposed fence and wall in the Druid Hills com-munity is proving to be divi-sive, but one of the owners of the three-lot property said he is just following county guidelines.

In 2004, Robert H. Buckler and Anthony Mc-Cullar bought three lots on Clifton Road with plans to sell them after subdividing them into seven lots, rang-ing from two-thirds to four-tenths of an acre.

The property is located in the historic Druid Hills which was designed by re-nowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed Central Park in New York and the grounds of the Biltmore Es-tate in Asheville, N.C. The community is listed on the National Register of His-toric Places.

The Board of Commis-sioners voted 5-2 Nov. 13 to approve the appeal of Buckler and McCullar and reverse the decision of the county’s Historic Preserva-tion Commission (HPC) which denied the two prop-erty owners a certifi cate of appropriateness for a proposed façade of a reten-tion pond wall and fence required by the county.

Commissioner Jeff Rad-er, whose district includes the Druid Hills community, moved to uphold the deci-sion of the HPC and deny the appeal.

“A decision to reverse the HPC on this particular decision is not going to make this issue go away,” he said before the board’s vote. “There will be re-quired multiple…new HPC applications that, if this de-velopment is to go forward with a cloud over it that exists, it will continue to re-quire decisions by the HPC, the potential for appeals to this board and ultimately to the courts. This is opening up a huge can of worms that will be open on a regular basis.”

Rader reminded his fel-low commissioners that “this is a matter that has been litigated and debated over 10 years and that the county has never lost on this matter.”

“This is not a matter

of some insignifi cance,” Rader said. “If indeed this development goes forward, there’s great potential for many parcels in this historic district to be subdivided. The district’s primary and essential character, which is that of a landscape plan would be undermined and ultimately destroyed by this type of subdivision activity.

“The commission is cer-tainly getting into very deep water if it chooses to ap-prove this and I hope every-one can swim really hard,” Rader said.

The county’s attorney, Lisa Chang, told commis-sioners that their vote on the appeal would have nothing legally to do with the pend-ing litigation.

“The lawsuit is a sepa-rate action,” Chang said. The vote against the appeal “may have a practical effect, but it’s not going to have a legal effect. The lawsuit that’s pending has to do with the propriety of the planning commission grant-ing the right to subdivide.”

“In other words, Mr. Buckler went to the plan-ning commission without getting a certifi cate of ap-propriateness from the HPC. The Druid Hills Civic As-sociation is challenging that action,” Chang said. “This has to do with the retaining pond. It deals with the same property but it’s not the same issue.”

Commissioner Elaine Boyer, who made the mo-tion approved the appeal, said, “This issue is about a fence and about a façade. All these other issues are not germane. The historic commission was not right in going beyond those two issues.”

Commissioner Kathie Gannon, whose Super Dis-trict 6 contains Druid Hills, joined Rader in opposing Boyer’s motion.

“Based on the number of appeals that come to [the Board of Commissioners], a good number of them have had to deal with fences and walls,” Gannon said. “It’s one of those guidelines that is diffi cult for people outside of the community to understand, but they go along with the rules,…the design and vision of Olm-sted, to create a park-like community where the lawns

and properties all fl ow to-gether so that you have the appearance of a park.”

Gannon said she and Rader represent the area and “have had many hours looking at and dealing with walls and fences.”

“Commissioner Boyer…does not live in District 2 or District 6 nor does she represent that area,” Gan-non said. “For the 16 years that this district has been in existence, never once has one of the other commis-sioners moved in to make a motion or decision on this district—an area they do not represent, guidelines they have probably never read and an issue they do not un-derstand.

“I fi nd this highly ir-regular and I would question motivation.”

Boyer countered, say-ing, “I really am offended by Commissioner Gannon’s comments that because we have a difference of opinion or a different reading there’s some ulterior motive or cor-ruptness going on. That’s absolutely offensive. People can have different readings and different ideas and not be corrupt.”

DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis reminds you of the Best Practices for Proper Disposal of DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis reminds you of the Best Practices for Proper Disposal of 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 accumulates in pipes. When it gets into the pipes and hardens, blockages occur and cause sewage to backup and overflow 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 plumbing pipes and also empties into DeKalb County’s sewer system. Here are three simple guidelines to help keep F.O.G. out of our pipes and sewers:

1.2.3.

POUR fats, 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.

SCRAPE plates and cookware before washing. Do not throw scraps of any kind down the drain. Instead, place them in waste containers or garbage bags.

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

See Druid Hills on Page 13A

Residents of the historic Druid Hills community are opposing the subdivision of a property adjacent to Burbanck Park on Clifton Road. Photos by Andrew Cauthen


DeKalb County breaks ground for two new senior centers

News Briefs


DeKalb County senior citizens and elected officials had a lot to cel-ebrate as they broke ground for two new senior centers.

On Nov. 14, DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners, and the City of Chamblee held a ground-breaking ceremony for the new 15,000-square-foot North DeKalb Senior Center at 3393 Malone Drive.

The next day, Ellis and the com-missioners joined the seniors of the South DeKalb Senior Center for the groundbreaking ceremony of the new center at 1931 Candler Road, which will also be 15,000 square foot facility.

The centers cost $5 million each to construct. The county received a total of $15 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban

Development to build three senior centers. The third center will be lo-cated in Decatur in the Toco Hills area.

All three are expected to be com-pleted next year.

Chris Morris, the county’s direc-tor of human and community devel-opment, said she and her staff are excited about the new senior centers.

“When you look at each of the centers there’s something special about them,” she said. “They are about lifelong community initiative.”

Each center will have a com-mercial kitchen, community meeting rooms, computer lab, fully equipped fitness room, access to walking trails and sitting areas both inside and around the grounds.

The main dining hall at both centers will accommodate approxi-mately 120 people for dining and is designed to easily convert and serve as a meeting space for educational

seminars and civic events. Activ-ity rooms will be made available for ceramics billiards and games such as chess, bridge, and backgammon. A large social lounge will also be in-cluded in the new facilities.

The North DeKalb Senior Center will be in walking distance to Senior Connections, Mercy Housing, the Chamblee MARTA station, a future city of Chamblee pathway and other existing mixed-use developments.

South DeKalb Senior Center will be a part of a mixed use develop-ment along Candler Road, including the new community senior center, a new library and future senior hous-ing. Parking will be provided and in-corporated within the overall mixed use development.

The location of the South DeKalb Senior Center provides direct ac-cess to a MARTA bus line and the recently completed streetscape and sidewalk along Candler Road, con-

nectivity to the new Scott-Candler Library, and access to the surround-ing residential neighborhoods.

During the ceremony for the South DeKalb Senior Center, Ellis thanked the seniors for partnering with the county on this project.

“For the last four years we have been working overtime to bring quality of life improvement to DeKalb County,” he said. “And we would have not done it without you.”

District 3 Commissioner Larry Johnson said building a new center on Candler Road was a long time coming.

“This is just the beginning of the plan we talked about a couple of years ago to have a library, a senior center, senior housing and a park,” he said. “I can’t wait to come here in 2014 and see all of these things come to fruition.”

DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners, and other DeKalb of-ficials celebrate the groundbreaking of the new South DeKalb Senior Center on Nov. 15

A construction worker digs up concrete and dirt with a bulldozer dur-ing the groundbreaking ceremony of the South DeKalb Senior Center on Nov. 15. Photos by Carla Parker

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 ALocal NewsCourt overturns death sentences for man found guilty of killing wife, children

Send your comments and/or concerns regarding Comcast’s current performance under the current franchise agreement and/or the future cable-related needs and interests of your community to www.dekalbcountyga.gov.

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

with Comcast Cable Communications

The Supreme Court of Georgia has unanimously thrown out the death sentences given to a man who was convicted in DeKalb County of the 2006 murders of his wife and their 2-year-old twin sons.

However, in the Nov. 19 opinion, the court upheld the murder convictions, and Justice David Nahmias wrote that the state may again seek the death penalty against Clayton Jerrod Ellington, whose case is being remanded to the trial court for resentencing.

In his direct appeal to this court, Ellington’s attorneys had argued that the trial court was wrong to prohibit them during jury selection from asking prospective jurors whether they would consider a life prison sentence for someone convicted of murdering young children, rather than only considering the death penalty.

While the court concluded that Ellington’s death sentences must be reversed, it affirmed his murder convictions in the 77-page opinion. “We hold that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury’s findings that two statutory aggravating circumstances existed as to each murder,” and as

a result, “the State is not barred from seeking the death penalty again in a new sentencing trial before a properly qualified jury.” State law requires the presence of at least one aggravating circumstance to impose the death penalty.

According to evidence reported by the court, Ellington was married to Berna Ellington, although he had been having an affair with Tomeka Patillo for several months. The couple had identical twin sons, Christian and Cameron,

and the family lived in a house on Rambling Way in Lithonia. Patillo testified that Ellington had told her he was separated from his wife and in the process of divorcing her.

On May 17, 2006, Ellington made plans with his friend Sean Fennell to watch a basketball game at Patillo’s home. When the two arrived, Patillo was not yet home from work, but Ellington let himself in. After watching the game for about 10 minutes, Ellington said he had been unable to

reach his wife and asked Fennell to go with him to his house to check on her and the children.

At the Ellington home, Berna and the children were found dead. According to the medical examiner, all three died from blunt force trauma caused by the claw end of a hammer. Initially Ellington claimed his family was killed by an intruder, but later he told an officer that he found Berna beating the twins with a hammer, grabbed the hammer and lost control, hitting her

with it until he killed her. In October 2008, a jury found Ellington guilty of the three murders and recommended the death sentence. Ellington then appealed to the state Supreme Court.

On appeal, his attorneys argued that numerous errors were made at various stages of his trial. The Nov. 19 opinion examines most of them, finding that the majority have no merit, but the trial court made a reversible error in limiting questions about the child victims.

Full11/28

New12/13

The Northeast will see mostly clear to partly cloudy skies today, isolated rain andsnow Friday and Saturday, with the highest temperature of 57º in Germantown,Md. The Southeast will see mostly clear skies today through Saturday, with the

highest temperature of 77º in Perry, Fla. The Northwest will see partly cloudy to cloudy skieswith scattered rain and snow today through Saturday, with the highest temperature of 62º inColville, Wash. The Southwest will see mostly clear skies today through Saturday, with thehighest temperature of 82º in Gila Bend, Ariz.

THURSDAYSunny

High: 67 Low: 44

Last12/6

The Champion Weather Nov. 22, 2012Seven Day Forecast

Local UV Index

WEDNESDAYPartly Cloudy

High: 62 Low: 38

TUESDAYMostly Sunny

High: 65 Low: 41

MONDAYPartly Cloudy

High: 60 Low: 39

SUNDAYSunny

High: 58 Low: 36

SATURDAYMostly Sunny

High: 54 Low: 32

FRIDAYMostly Sunny

High: 68 Low: 41

In-Depth Local Forecast Today's Regional Map

Sunrise7:16 a.m.7:17 a.m.7:18 a.m.7:19 a.m.7:20 a.m.7:20 a.m.7:21 a.m.

Sunset5:31 p.m.5:30 p.m.5:30 p.m.5:30 p.m.5:30 p.m.5:29 p.m.5:29 p.m.

Moonset1:49 a.m.2:46 a.m.3:42 a.m.4:37 a.m.5:32 a.m.6:26 a.m.7:19 a.m.

Moonrise2:02 p.m.2:34 p.m.3:06 p.m.3:41 p.m.4:18 p.m.4:59 p.m.5:43 p.m.

First12/20

www.WhatsOurWeather.com

Weather HistoryNov. 22, 1988 - Wet and windyweather prevailed across thewestern U.S., with heavy snow insome of the higher elevations.Winds gusted to 62 mph atVedauwoo, Wyo., and reached 75mph at Tillamook, Ore. ShelterCove, Calif. was drenched with4.37 inches of rain in 24 hours.

Weather Trivia

Tonight's Planets

The zone of atmosphere thatwe stand in is known as?

Answer: The lithosphere.

?

DayThursdayFridaySaturdaySundayMondayTuesdayWednesday

National Weather Summary This Week

Local Sun/Moon Chart This Week

StarWatch By Gary Becker - Sixty Second Sky Sprint

Today we will see sunny skies with a hightemperature of 67º, humidity of 55%. Northwind 5 mph. The record high temperature fortoday is 74º set in 1940. Expect mostly clearskies tonight with an overnight low of 44º. Therecord low for tonight is 19º set in 1937.

Nov. 23, 1943 - Northern NewHampshire was in the grips of arecord snowstorm that left a totalof 55 inches at Berlin and 56inches at Randolph. TheRandolph total was a 24-hoursnowfall record for the state.

I get to bed late, usually after 1 a.m. It is a perk that I have taken advantage of since retirement. Usually before showering, I pop outside for a few minutes to survey the skyand say “Hi” to my celestial friends. Since Sandy’s arrival three weeks ago and the nor’easter about one week later, virtually all of the hours of darkness have been cloudyat my location. But a few days ago when I literally sprinted from my front doorway into the chilled night air to perform my routine sky check, the heavens were clear andablaze with the winter constellations. It was quite lovely, even as I shivered, cross-armed, my breath condensing in ethereal puffs of white around my face. I was looking

south and brilliant white Jupiter caught my attention first. It was high in the heavens, just about five degrees above Aldebaran, the mad, orangey eye of Taurus the Bull. To the right of the“eye” were the seven sisters, also known as the Pleiades, looking like a tiny, frozen patch of exhalation. Jupiter dazzled, the unmatched lord of the heavens, at least for that moment. Next,blue-white Sirius caught my attention, flashing conspicuously in and out of the skeletal branches of my neighbor’s maple. Because of this tree and the glare of a nearby yellow sodiumvapor lamp, Sirius of Canis Major and the brightest star of the night, is always hiding behind something. Shifting my gaze between Jove and the Dog Star, however, revealed the true prizeof the upcoming winter season, Orion the Hunter. The stars of his body and much more were all there, red Betelgeuse and blue Rigel and midway between them, Mintaka, Alnilam, andAlnitak, the three bluish diamond stars of his belt. Even Orion’s dagger-like sword was noticed beneath his leather strap. I drank in this winter sky for about 60 seconds, and then bound-ed back into the house. It was obvious that the next time I did this, a warm jacket would be necessary. www.astronomy.org

Rise SetMercury 6:24 a.m. 4:58 p.m.Venus 4:50 a.m. 4:01 p.m.Mars 9:55 a.m. 7:39 p.m.Jupiter 6:09 p.m. 8:19 a.m.Saturn 5:14 a.m. 4:17 p.m.Uranus 2:41 p.m. 2:55 a.m.

3 50 - 2 4 6 8 107 9 11+

UV Index0-2: Low, 3-5: Moderate,

6-7: High, 8-10: Very High11+: Extreme Exposure

Atlanta67/44

Decatur67/44

Doraville66/44

Dunwoody65/43 Lilburn

66/44

Snellville67/44

Lithonia68/44

Morrow68/44

Smyrna66/44

Hampton69/45

Union City68/44

College Park68/44

*Last Week’s AlmanacDate Hi Lo Normals PrecipTuesday 59 35 64/44 0.00"Wednesday 51 40 64/44 0.01"Thursday 52 40 63/44 0.00"Friday 61 34 63/43 0.00"Saturday 60 36 63/43 0.00"Sunday 64 43 63/43 0.00"Monday 60 42 62/43 0.00"Rainfall . . . . . . .0.01" Average temp . .48.4Normal rainfall . .0.99" Average normal 53.3Departure . . . . .-0.98" Departure . . . . .-4.9

Place Your Ad Here!

*Data as reported from De Kalb-Peachtree Airport


County residents place in Bike to Work challenge

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NORCROSS4590 Buford Highway

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TOCO HILLS2979 N. Druid Hills Rd.

Behind TocoHills Publix

(404) 633-5555

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Three DeKalb County residents earned individual top-10 places in a metro At-lanta Bike to Work Challenge in October.

The challenge, organized by The Clean Air Campaign, Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, the Atlanta Regional Commis-sion’s RideSmart division and local transportation manage-ment associations, encour-aged bicycle commuters to compete as individuals or on teams with other cycling en-thusiasts in the metro area.

Participants, who compet-ed as individuals and teams of two to five people, regis-tered at www.atlbiketowork.org, and logged their bicycle commute trips, tracked their progress and earned points to compete for prizes. They earned points throughout Oc-tober by riding their bikes to work, participating in bicycle classes and events, and sub-mitting photos for an online contest.

During the challenge Mary Ann Schneider, 59, who lives in downtown De-catur, biked to her job at the corner of 10th and Peachtree in Atlanta. She biked 12 miles a day for 22 work days in Oc-tober, for total of 264 miles.

“Since I ride my bike to work every day, I thought, ‘Well, why not?’” said Schneider, who came in third place in the challenge.

Schneider started biking as transportation in college and continued when she worked in Washington, D.C., and Buffalo, N.Y. She has biked for most of her 30 years in

Atlanta.“I hate cars,” she said.

“I’m a bad driver. I tend to fall asleep at the wheel. I had a couple of crashes that way. That doesn’t happen on a bi-cycle.”

Schneider said she thinks “it’s silly to take one to two tons of steel to get one small person from Point A to Point B if they can do it on their own power.”

Riding an old Raleigh bicycle “because they’re re-ally heavy—sturdy going over curb and speed bumps,” Schneider said she also bikes because it’s cheap, for the exercise and to help the envi-ronment. The “air quality in Atlanta is getting worse and worse and worse.”

Because biking to work is important to her, Schneider said her family moved where that would be convenient. “We save all kinds of money by not owning a [second] car,” she said.

Heather Miller, a speech therapist, said she learned of the challenge on Facebook. She came in sixth place in the challenge.

“It seemed like a fun chal-lenge,” said Miller, who aver-aged eight miles a day, five to six days a week. Living in Kirkwood, she bikes to Geor-gia State University and to work. “I was already biking. It was just fun.”

Miller, who started cycling when she lived in Oakland, Calif., said “social rides are a really good way to get in-volved in cycling. There’s a pretty good community here for bike commuting.”

She said there are some challenging aspects of biking:

the weather and the traffic. “Some mornings, it’s like

35 degrees and there are some crazy intersections,” she said.

Fourth-place winner Am-ber Raley said her usual commute was seven miles to work, but with the opening of the Beltline it has dropped to 5.5 miles. She bikes from near East Lake to near the High Museum in Atlanta. Go-ing home from work, Raley often makes various pit stops.

It takes her approximately 45 minutes to get to work by

bike.“It takes about the same

time whether biking or driv-ing,” she said. Since she is allowed to take her bike into her office building, “biking is generally faster.”

Raley began biking in April. “When I got on the bike for the first time, I fell off,” she recalled.

“For me [the challenge] was a no-brainer because I was already coming to work at least three days a week,” said Raley, who participated

in the challenge with a team of four other women.

Raley said her advice to anyone considering bicycle commuting “is to get a good bike mentor—someone who will ride with you the first time [or] give you tips and tricks to get around the first time. Find someone who is already doing it.”

In the team competition, DeKalb resident Aika Yano was a member of Thunder Spokes, which won second place.

Amber Raley was one of three DeKalb residents who won prizes in a metro Atlanta Bike to Work challenge. Raley, who bikes to work from East Lake to near the High Mu-seum, won fourth place in the challenge. Photos by Andrew Cauthen



Andrea Sneiderman was allegedly having an affair with her boss Hemy Neu-man; however, prosecutors suggested in court Nov. 16 that another man may have played a role in the alleged plot to murder her husband Rusty Sneiderman.

Neuman later admitted to killing Sneiderman’s husband in November 2010. He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

In the indictment against Sneiderman, prosecutors said she and Neuman conspired to kill her husband to claim his nearly $2 million in assets.

However, an updated wit-ness list given to defense at-torneys includes the name Jo-seph Dell, whom prosecutors said is currently living with Sneiderman at her parents’ house, where she is under house arrest.

“We believe it credible that Mr. Dell left his wife six months pregnant about six and a half months after the murder of Rusty and at that time, openly took up a rela-tionship with the defendant,” Chief Assistant District Attor-ney Don Geary said.

Prosecutors said Sneider-man may have convinced Neuman to kill her husband so that she and Dell could pursue a relationship.

The Nov. 16 hearing was for a motion filed by Sneider-man’s defense team to allow her to attend, in-person, the depositions for a wrongful

death suit against her that was filed by her late husband’s brother and parents.

Additionally, defense law-yers asked that Sneiderman be allowed to attend a hear-ing in Fulton County, where her assets have been frozen. Sneiderman’s bond condi-tions bar her from having any contact with witnesses, some of whom have been called to testify in both the civil case and the one in Fulton County.

Judge Gregory Adams later denied the motion Nov. 20 and ordered that Sneider-man may listen to the de-positions electronically and confer with her attorneys who are present as long as she is not heard by any other person attending the deposition.

Sneiderman’s defense at-torney’s described the exact nature of her relationship with Dell as “to be determined in

the future.” However, defense attorney Thomas Clegg said Dell’s relationship with the defendant will have no bear-ing on the outcome of the case.

“They are close friends and at this time Mr. Dell is providing invaluable assis-tance for Mrs. Sneiderman by virtue of helping her pick up her kids from school, which she may not do, and taking the kids to dance practice or soccer practice,” Clegg said.

Sneiderman is currently under house arrest and since she is barred from hav-ing contact with any of her friends on the state’s witness list, needs the help Dell is providing, Clegg said.

“To prohibit her from hav-ing any sort of contact with him just because his name has now appeared on a list of wit-nesses seems inappropriate,” Clegg said. “There is abso-lutely no basis whatsoever for doing this to this poor woman.”

However, prosecutors disagreed, saying that recent evidence they’ve discovered indicates Sneiderman and Dell may have been emailing back and forth prior to her husband’s death.

“Evidence is starting to come up that might show it wasn’t Mr. Neuman that was supposed to be with the de-fendant but someone else–Mr. Dell may be someone else,” Geary said.

Adams said lawyers have until Dec. 7 to file any addi-tional motions before setting a trial date.

Interchange Continued From Page 2A

Druid Hills Continued From Page 9A

Plot thickens in Sneiderman’s alleged conspiracy to murder husband

DeKalb PCID Vice-Chair Kay Younglong, a senior vice president of Jones Land LaSalle, who has leased office buildings in the Pe-rimeter market, said the Diverging Diamond Inter-change helps continue the transformation of Perimeter community from a traffic-clogged market into sustain-able model community.

“Companies want to locate and expand in a centralized area with good transportation infrastructure that provides access and connectivity,” Younglove said. “Improvements like the Diverging Diamond Interchange continue to make Perimeter and obvious choice.”

Andrea Sneiderman is accused of having an affair with her former boss Hemy Neuman and conspir-ing with him to kill her husband. Neuman later admitted to killing Sneiderman’s husband. In court Nov. 16 prosecutors alleged Sneiderman may have convinced Neuman to kill her husband, not so she and Neuman could be together, but so she could be with another man she was involved with. Photos by Daniel Beauregard

Mark Goldman, co-chairman of friends of Bur-bank Park, said the Friends of Burbanck Park and “all neighbors of the property are unanimously opposed to Buckler’s plans to turn the three lots into a seven lot cul-de-sac subdivision.”

Goldman said residents in the area have signed a petition against the de-velopment and Friends of Burbanck Park has written a letter “indicating our op-position.”

“Every neighbor that we have talked to has supported leaving the three lots as three lots,” Goldman said. “We fully support the HPC on this matter. The proposed wall and fence changes to the natural landscape and would be inconsistent with the Druid Hills design

guidelines.”Goldman said the pro-

posed wall would negatively impact the immediately adjacent Burbank Park and “would be a dangerous precedent for reconfiguring many other parts of our his-toric neighborhood.”

Reached after the board’s vote, Buckler said commis-sioners did what was “le-gally correct.”

Buckler said to next step is the get a land disturbance permit that will allow con-struction of a road to the subdivision, Buckler said.

The proposed homes in the subdivision “will ex-ceed the value of the homes in the vicinity of the lots,” Buckler said. “It won’t af-fect the character of [Druid Hills]. This is not going to do anything but enhance it.”

Andrea Sneiderman

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 AEducation

Henderson Elementary first STEM certified school in DCSDby Daniel [email protected]

Henderson Mill Elementa-ry school recently became the first STEM-certified school in the DeKalb County School District (DCSD) by the Geor-gia Department of Education. However, gifted students’ teacher Diane Maslia said the school has been moving in that direction for years.

“We believe we’re the first elementary school, too,” Maslia said.

In recent years, many schools have begun embrac-ing a curriculum centered on the hands-on teaching of sci-ence, technology, engineering and math (STEM). There are several other STEM-certified schools in Georgia, including Marietta Center for Advanced Academics, which Maslia said she visited when Hen-derson Mill was working on its STEM application.

“We saw it and said, ‘You know, we’re doing a lot of this stuff anyway and it’s the best hands-on way that we can reach our kids,’” Maslia said.

Several years ago Maslia and other teachers at the school began thinking of dif-ferent ways to meet the needs of its student population, she said Henderson Mill is a Title I school, which means it receives federal funding because many of its students come from low-income

homes. Maslia said Henderson’s

demographics are approxi-mately one-third White, one-third Black and one-third Hispanic.

“We decided that we needed to find a way between all the languages—we have about 20-25 languages spo-ken here—that we could get hands-on math and science to our children,” Maslia said.

Before beginning the STEM application process, Maslia said the school looked at the possibility of becoming a charter school but decided against it because of the con-tentious charter debate hap-pening in Georgia at the time.

“We knew that engineer-ing, math and science was the way of the future,” Maslia said.

Maslia is the school’s STEM chairwoman and teaches most of the engi-neering classes. As a student walked up and handed her his engineering homework, Maslia said many of the chil-dren at the school haven’t had the opportunity to learn about STEM subjects. She said things even as small as gardening gives the students a new hands-on experience that helps reinforce what they learn in the classroom.

“We have a huge garden outside and we’re partners with an engineering firm,” Maslia said.

Outside in the garden

area, each class has a plot and grows vegetables such as broccoli, lettuce and Swiss chard. The garden is watered by a system of pipes that feed into several elevated rain bar-rels. When the vegetables are ready to be harvested, Maslia said, the staff and students prepare them and talk about what they’re eating.

Currently, Henderson Mill uses the Engineering is Elementary program, a research-based curriculum that integrates engineering and technology concepts and skills with elementary sci-ence topics.

The school, like several other schools in DCSD, also participates in the Small Fry 2 Go program, where students hatch fish and raise them in the classroom then release them into the wild. Each year the program releas-es approximately 72,000 fish into the Chattahoochee River.

The fish, or fry as they’re called when they are small, are cared for by the students and parent volunteers, who feed them during the week and check on them each weekend until they’re big enough to be released.

“As we progressed we learned how to take com-mon everyday lessons and develop them into some type of hands-on project,” Maslia said.

Diane Maslia, a gifted students’ teacher and STEM chairwoman at Henderson Mill Elementary, points to a broccoli plant growing in one of the class plots at the school. Re-cently, Henderson Mill became the first state-certified STEM school in the DeKalb County School District (DCSD). Photos by Daniel Beauregard

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 ABusiness

Two Decatur Town Center, 125 Clairemont Ave., Suite 235, Decatur, GA 30030404-378-8000 www.DeKalbChamber.org

The Voice of Business in DeKalb CountyDeKalb Chamber of Commerce

Upscale shoe store opens in Dunwoody

Notice of availability of Proposed 2013 Budget, Budget Public Hearing and 2013 Budget Adoption Clarkston City Council

The City of Clarkston Proposed 2013 Budget will be available to view on the Clarkston City Website (www.cityofclarkston.com) and copies to view will be available at the Clarkston City Hall and the Clarkston Public Library on November 6, 2012. The Clarkston Council will hold a Public Hearings on Tuesday, November 27, 2012, starting at 6:30pm, at the Clarkston City Hall, 3921 Church Street for the purpose of taking public comment on the 2013 Proposed City of Clarkston Budget. The Council will vote to adopt the Clarkston 2013 Budget at their regular Council Meeting on December 4, 2012 at 6:30pm. The public is invited to attend.

by Kathy [email protected]

Ninety-year-old Allen Edmonds Shoe Corporation prides itself on two things: At a time when most shoe man-ufacturing has gone over-seas, it remains an American footwear manufacturer; and using a 212-step process, it takes “shoemaking to the level of an art form.”

Wisconsin-based Allen Edmonds recently opened its only Georgia store in Dun-woody.

“We are delighted to open our first store in Atlanta,” President and CEO Paul Grangaard said in a state-ment announcing the store opening. “The Allen Ed-monds offering is a perfect fit for the men of this area.”

Store Manager Lupe Sandoval said the company had been looking for a loca-tion in the Perimeter Mall area for a couple of years. “We were at first concerned that customers might not see the store from the street,” he said of the location at Park Place Shopping Center, across from Perimeter Mall on Ashford-Dunwoody Road, “but the signage is good and customers haven’t had a problem finding us.”

The Allen Edmonds brand is already widely known and has enthusiasts throughout Georgia, accord-ing to Sandoval, who said customers have been coming from such areas as Peachtree City an hour away. He added

that a customer had come recently from Savannah to shop there.

Sandoval said approxi-mately 70 percent of the customers coming to the new Dunwoody store already are Allen Edmonds customers who order online or buy the company’s products that are offered in upscale department stores. The new store carries Allen Edmonds’ full line.

The shoes, according to Allen Edmonds’ literature, since 1922 “have appealed to men from all walks of life, including U.S. presidents, international dignitaries, business executives and ce-lebrities.”

“Only 1.4 percent of the shoes worn in America were made in America,” Sandoval said. “Customers tell us that they like walking around in American-made shoes.”

The company does have a line of Italian shoes that it began offering in response to customer requests. “Italian shoes were the rage world-wide for a while,” Sandoval explained, “but that is chang-ing. The demand for Ameri-can shoes is growing glob-ally. We’re opening our first store in Asia this year.”

Describing Allen Ed-monds’ market niche as “entry point luxury,” Sando-val said shoe prices start at approximately $300 a pair. “That’s really a good value when you consider that these shoes will last 10 years or more compared to shoes that will last six months to a year.

An initial draft copy of the proposed 2013 Operating Budget for the City of Chambleewill be available for review at City Hall on Thursday, November 15, 2012.

A copy of the proposed 2013 Operating Budget for the City of Chambleewill be available for review at City Hall on Friday, December 7, 2012.

A public hearing on the proposed budget will be held on Monday,December 10, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. in the Civic Center, 3540 Broad Street.Any persons wishing to be heard on the budget may appear and beheard.

The City Council will adopt the budget on Tuesday, December 18, 2012.The meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will be held in the Civic Center, 3540 Broad Street.

CITY OF CHAMBLEE PUBLIC NOTICE

You can pay a lot more and get a lot less.”

Sandoval said the com-pany has continued to grow even in an uncertain econo-my.

“At a time when other companies were letting peo-ple go, we hired 100 more since 2010. I think people value quality in a tight econ-omy.”

Allen Edmonds offers what it calls “recrafting” to restore old shoes to “new-like condition.”

“We had a man come in recently with a pair of shoes that had belonged to his fa-ther,” Sandoval said. He said the facility at the company’s home office in Wisconsin not only was able to restore the shoes, but adjusted them to

fit the son’s wider feet.”In addition to offering

shoes from classic dress models to “weekend” shoes and boots, Allen Edmonds also offers clothing items and such men’s haberdashery items as ties, belts and caps as well as accessories such as shoe racks, shoe trees and belt racks.

Although shoes are the flagship product at Allen Edmonds, the store also sells other men’s furnishings. Manger Lupe Sandoval, left, and Assistant Manager Andrew Eck-hardt show shirts, ties and other items the Dunwoody shop features. Photos by Kathy Mitchell


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The Champion Free Press, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 ALocal NewsAdoption Continued From Page 1A

that a family can do than to adopt a child. It’s a beautiful, wonderful thing.”

Patrick and Amanda O’Neill of Tucker, adopted Morgan, now 20 months old, from China.

“It’s been a very rewarding process,” Pat-rick O’Neill said. “We look forward to starting the process again next year.”

Patrick O’Neill offered advice to people considering adoption: “Definitely do your re-search. Definitely find an agency you believe in and feel good with and go for it. It’s been a wonderful journey.”

“It was love at first sight,” Amanda O’Neill said. “We don’t even think of her as adopted. She’s just our daughter.”

Devon and Dian Mott of Conyers finalized the adoptions of three DeKalb County children, Raven, 8; Justin, 6; and McKeithan, 5.

The Motts, who have been foster parents since 1996, worked with a private agency, Community Connection of Stone Mountain, during the adoption, which began in January.

“We love children,” Dian Mott said. “We have two grown children of our own. When these kids came into our home, we loved them so much we didn’t want them to go anywhere else. We just wanted them to be a part of our family.”

Justin said he was glad to be a part of the new family “because my mom can’t work with me—my other mom. So I went from house to house to house.”

During the adoption finalization, one by one each family was called into Judge Adams’ chambers where they were sworn in by an adoption attorney who questioned them to en-sure they understood the adoption process.

“[Do] you understand that you have certain rights and obligations to the children—food, clothing, shelter, education, things that parents do for children?” asked Attorney Willie Hamil-ton. “You’re doing that already because they’re living in your house. You’re going to continue to do that.”

Judge Adams asked, “Mr. and Mrs. Mott, is there anything you want to tell me before I excecute the final judgment? You can’t turn back.”

After the couple said they had no questions, the judge said, “I grant your request. Congratu-lations. It is final.”

Adams, who spent several minutes posing for pictures with the new family, said, “We do adoptions year-round. It’s probably one the highlights of the things we do as a superior court judge—bringing families together. I was more than willing to do this because I think it’s very important to have families united so that children will have support. It’s just the right thing to do.

Adoptions generally take approximately a year, but can range from a few months to sev-eral years, Adams said.

“Some of the adoptive parents are adopting children with special needs,” Adams said. “That is a need within the greater community for peo-ple to step forward and help.

Adams said adoptive parents are to be com-mended.

“I’m doing the easy part—bringing them together and signing the legal documents,” he said. “They’re doing the real work—rolling up their sleeves and providing a loving home, safe environment, nurturing environment.”

Dian Mott receives final instructions from adoption attorney Willie Hamilton. Below, Mott and her husband Devon finalize the adoptions of three children as they are questioned by Judge Gregory Adams and Hamilton.

The courtroom of Superior Court Judge Gregory Adams was filled with parents waiting to finalize adoptions during DeKalb County’s second observance of National Adoption Day. In DeKalb, there are approximately 1,000 children waiting to be adopted, according to Debra DeBerry, clerk of Superior Court, who organized the event. Photos by Andrew Cauthen



Three of DeKalb Coun-ty’s most talented basketball players have already decided where they plan to play college basket-ball next season.

Arabia Mountain’s Bakari Co-peland, Decatur’s Jordan Dillard, and Moses Johnson of Greenforest-McCalep Christian Academy have signed or will sign their letters of intent to their schools of choice.

Johnson on Nov.14 signed her letter of intent to play at University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in front of family, friends and teammates. Johnson said she was excited and overjoyed about signing with UT- Chattanooga.

“I have so many emotions at one time,” she said. “But, I’m very happy.”

The 5-foot-11 center has led Greenforest in scoring and assists for the past three years, averaging 28 points and six assists. She scored her 1,000th point last season against Whitefield Academy on Jan. 17, 2012. She scored a career high of 45 points last season, and finished as the second highest scorer in Geor-gia. For the last three years, she has made the All-Region Team.

Johnson said she chose UT-Chattanooga because she loves the school’s environment.

“The coaches were amazing,” she said. “I had an immediate connection to them. And the players were awe-some.”

Johnson, who is good at driv-ing to the basket, said she has been working to better her shooting skills.

“That’s what [the coaches] are expecting me to do–to be a shooter,” she said. I’m hoping to go down there and knock down some buck-ets.”

Dillard signed her letter of intent to play at Villanova University on Nov. 15. She said signing with Villa-nova was an exciting time in her life and for her basketball career.

“I’m looking forward to this next chapter in my life,” she said.

The six-foot power forward, who averages 20 points per game, is a three-star recruit, according to espn.com and is ranked No. 56 among power forwards in the nation.

She chose Villanova over Geor-gia Tech and Memphis because she wanted to get away from the south.

“[Going up north] is something that I’ve always felt I needed to do,” she said. “I’m looking forward to go-ing up to the Big East [Conference] program that they’re involved in.”

Dillard said she will bring her leadership, scoring and rebounding skills to Villanova next season.

Copeland is set to sign his letter of intent to the University of South Carolina-Upstate this month at Ara-bia Mountain.

The shooting guard is Arabia Mountain’s first Division 1 basket-ball signee. Copeland said he is hap-py finally to be able to sign his letter.

“Now, I can just focus on my

team and win the state champion-ship,” he said.

Copeland said he chose to sign with South Carolina-Upstate because it was the best fit for him.

“Not just for basketball for my education as well,” he said. “I felt like they have a real good plan for me after college.”

During his junior year, Copeland had a breakout season, scoring 310 points for a 14.1 average, which was seventh best in the DeKalb County statistics. He was also in the Top 25 in the county in three-point field goal percentage (37.0) and free throw per-centage (71.0).

Copeland was also named to the DeKalb County Tip-off Club All-County Team and the All-Region 5-AAA First Team selections last year.

He said South Carolina-Upstate will be getting a good leader with many offensive tools.

“I’ll be bringing a lot of scoring abilities, a lot of pesky defense and rebounding,” he said.

Before leaving for college Co-peland said he wants to win a state championship and be one of the top scorers in the county.

Basketball stars ink signatures to play college ballOn the dotted line


The Martin Luther King Jr. Lions earned an-other home playoff game after a 34-14 win over the Sequoyah Chiefs.

The No. 2 ranked Lions improved to 11-0 for the second consecutive season after its win on Nov. 16. The Lions will host No. 10 ranked Allatoona (10-1) on Nov. 23 at Hallford Sta-dium in the second round of the playoffs.

The Lions got off to a fast start on offense be-hind backup quarterback Roland Rivers, who was in for injured quarterback Monquavious Johnson. Rivers threw for a total of 338 yards and four touch-downs.

Lions head coach Rob-er Freeman said he knew Rivers would play well.

“He settled down from his first game last week against Miller Grove,” Freeman said. “He had a great week of practice, so we knew he was going to come out and play well.”

On the Lions first two possessions, Rivers con-nected with wide receiver Donald Clark twice on touchdown passes of 36 and 59 yards in the first quarter to give the Lions a 14-0 lead. The defense also played well in the first quarter, forcing Se-quoyah’s offence to back-to-back three and outs.

Sequoyah got on the scoreboard in the second quarter after a bad snap on a Lions’ punt, which gave the Chiefs the football on the Lions’ 8-yard line. A personal foul by the Lions on a field goal attempt gave the Chiefs a first and goal at the 2-yard line and Sequoyah running back Blake Ingleton scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to cut the Lions lead to 14-7.

M.L. King defeats Sequoyah, advances in playoffs

Greenforest-McCalep Christian Academy center Moses Johnson signed her letter of intent to play at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Nov. 14.

Decatur High School power forward Jordan Dillard signed her let-ter of intent to play at Villanova University on Nov. 15. Photos by Carla Parker

Johnson Dillard

See MLK on Page 19A

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 A

MLK Continued From Page 18A

Tucker, Stephenson advance to second round of state playoffsThe Tucker Tigers picked up a

big first round victory along with the Martin Luther King Jr. Lions in the Class AAAAA high school football state playoffs on Nov. 16 while the Stephenson Jaguars won on Nov. 17.

The No. 5 ranked Tucker Tigers fell behind 3-0 early before rolling to a 42-25 road win over Creekview.

The Tigers (9-2) responded to the 3-0 deficit quickly scoring to take a 7-3 before exploding for three second quarter touchdowns to take a 28-3 lead into the half.

The lead would expand to 35-3 in the third quarter before Creekview (9-2) could close the gap to 35-17 early in the fourth quarter. Both teams would score one more time each for the final of 42-25.

Tucker advances to host North Paulding (8-3) on Nov. 16 at Adams Stadium. North Paulding advanced with a 63-43 upset of Flowery Branch in the first round.

Stephenson 31, Pope 11

Evan Jones ran for 97 of his 114 yards and 2 touchdowns in the second half to lead the No. 9 Stephen-son Jaguars to a 31-11 Class AAAAA state playoff victory at Hallford Sta-dium.

The Jaguars (8-2) had a 7-3 lead at the half behind a seven-yard touch-down run by Jahmal Daniels.

Jones took over in the second half on Stephenson’s second possession as he carried five times for 66 yards in the drive including the final six for the touchdown and a 14-3 lead after Wis-dom Nzidee’s point after kick with 6:31 left in the third quarter.

Pope (7-4) got a six-yard touch-down run from Ronald Woods on its next possession. A two-point pass from Stephen Skrunck to Lo-gan Carr closed the gap to 14-11 with 2:57 to play in the third period.

The Jaguars answered with a 33-yard field goal by Nzidee that was

set up by a 45-yard pass from Jus-tin Holman to Bernard Barnes. A fumble on the ensuing kickoff was recovered by Stephenson’s Ronald Peterkin at the Pope 21. One play later Jones went the 21 yards for the touchdown and a 24-11 lead with 9:28 to play, giving the Jaguars 10 points in a 21-second span.

Khalil Ladler closed out the scoring as he intercepted a Pope pass and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown to make the final margin 31-11.

The Jaguars advance and travel to take on No. 3 ranked East Pauld-ing (11-0) on Nov. 16.

Kell 19, SW DeKalb 14

The Southwest DeKalb Panthers pushed No. 4 ranked Kell to the brink before losing in the final 25 seconds by a score of 19-14 at Kell on Nov. 16.

The Panthers (7-4) led early 7-0

before Kell (10-1) tied the game at 7-7 at the half.

Kell then held a 13-7 lead in the second half when the Panthers scored with 7:58 to play to take a 14-13 lead. The Panthers were clinging to the lead as the clock ticked below one minute to play when Kell struck on a 48-yard pass play to pull out the victory.

Buford 41, Cedar Grove 27

The Cedar Grove Saints battled the No. 3 ranked Buford Wolves, but could not catch up in a 41-27 loss at Buford in the Class AAA state playoffs.

Cedar Grove (6-5) got two rush-ing touchdowns and a kickoff return for touchdown by Deion Sellers and trailed just 20-13 early in the third quarter.

Buford (8-3) was able to keep its cushion in advancing to the sec-ond round.

Rivers got his team back to a two touchdown lead after scoring on a quarter-back sneak to give his team a 21-7 lead before halftime. The Chiefs tried to add more points on the board before halftime with a field goal, but the Lions blocked the 36-yard field goal attempt.

The third quarter started shaky for the Lions when they lost16 yards on its first play after a fumble by Clark. The Lions were forced to punt, but defensive back Chaka Diar-rassouba got the ball back for his team after intercepting a pass by Sequoyah quarter-back Lex Laulatta.

The Lions took advantage of the Chiefs’ turnover on the next play. Rivers threw a screen pass to wide receiver Marquis Polite-Bray, who then ran 59 yards to the end zone to give the Lions a 28-7 lead.

Polite-Bray got his sec-ond touchdown of the game in the fourth quarter on a 72-yard touchdown pass from Rivers to give the Lions a 34-7 lead.

Sequoyah got a late touchdown on a run play by Ingleton to bring the score to 34-14.

After the game, Freeman said he was happy with the way his team played.

“The guys played great,” he said. “The coaches prepped very well for [this game]. We just really wanted to get through this first round and start to concentrate on the second round.”

Joshua Outlaw selected to play in Semper Fidelis All-American Bowlby Carla [email protected]

Martin Luther King Jr. Lions senior offensive lineman Joshua Outlaw was selected to play in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl in Carson, Calif. on Jan. 4, 2013.

Outlaw was presented his game jersey on Nov. 16 at halftime of the first round playoff game between M. L. King and Sequoyah. Outlaw said being selected to play in the bowl game is a “great honor.”

Capt. Barry Morris from the Ma-rines Corps said Outlaw is an example of an athlete that’s a good student with a quality of character and physical prow-ess.

“He has proven physical fitness,” Morris said. “He’s an exceptional athlete on the field and a good student.”

“It feels great to be selected to a game of that prestige,” he said.

The U.S. Marine Corps is recogniz-ing exemplary student athletes across the country through the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl. In its second year, the game will feature 100 student athletes selected from across the country based on their athletic prowess, academic success and embodiment of the Marine Corps values of honor, courage and commitment.

“I’m just looking forward to enjoy-ing the opportunity and learning some-thing from the Marines and bring some-thing home to Atlanta,” Outlaw said.

The 6-foot-4, 275-pound, highly recruited, three-star offensive lineman has been playing football since the age of 4. He became interested in the sport after watching football on television.

“I was always a big sports kid,” he said. “Ever since I was little there was a ball in my hand. It gave me the oppor-tunity to play and ever since then I’ve loved it.”

Outlaw played defensive end and tight end before moving to offensive lineman his freshman year in high school.

“I started at the left tackle position,” he said. “It gave me another opportunity to get noticed by major schools.”

Outlaw has been recruited heavily since he de-committed from Florida on Aug. 19.

“It didn’t work out,” he said about the Florida decision. “I’m trying to find a school that’s best fitted for my best possible interest the next four years.”

Outlaw currently has offers from Florida State, Georgia, Miami, TCU, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, UCLA, Utah and others.

He said his athleticism makes him stand out from other offensive linemen.

“I think I have better foot work and better lateral movement,” he said. “I’m also very aggressive and I like to finish my blocks.”

When Outlaw isn’t blocking defen-sive linemen he is volunteering with Hosea Williams Feed the Hungry and Homeless. The student athletes selected for the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl have more than outstanding ath-letic ability – they also exemplify youth leadership and are committed to building life skills both on and off the field.

The Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl is the culmination of the Marine Corps’ Semper Fidelis Football Program, which also includes a series of youth football camps and an All-American Se-lection Tour. Through the program, the Marine Corps purposefully engages with the student athletes to share leadership lessons that will enable future success.

The game will be broadcast live on the NFL Network at 3 p.m. from The Home Depot Center.

Photo by Bruce James

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 ASportsPHOTO HIGHLIGHTS: Lakeside vs. Carver Atlanta Photos by Travis Hudgons

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