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Weekly newspaper and legal organ for DeKalb County, GA. Serving East Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Clarkston, Decatur, Doraville, Dunwoody, Lithonia, Pine Lake, Tucker and Stone Mountain.

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We’re Social
FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 • VOL. 17, NO. 10 • FREE
• A PUBLICATION OF ACE III COMMUNICATIONS • Serving East Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Clarkston, Decatur, Doraville, Dunwoody, Lithonia, Pine Lake, Tucker and Stone Mountain.
FREEPRESS
6,000 grads fip their tassels in DeKalb
FOLLOW THE MONEY
A series revealing purchases on county-issued P-Cards by DeKalb County Commissioners, ofcials and assistants.
From Smoothie King to iTunes
In DeKalb
We Trust?
See page 12A
See story on page 15A
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 2A
LOCAL NEWS
MARTA CEO: ‘We’re continuing to get better’
B e c a u s e y o u g e t
w h a t y o u p a y f o r .
Thanks to the money saving tips on the Georgia Power website, I learned exactly how to turn my renovation into a reward.
First, I got $50 for taking advantage of the Georgia Power Refrigerator Recycling Program. Then, I got a rebate for
purchasing ENERGY STAR
®
certifed appliances, and since these appliances use 10 to 50 percent less energy than
standard models, I get the beneft of a lower monthly bill. For more information on tips and rebates, visit georgiapower.com/save.
Certain restrictions apply. Must be a Georgia Power customer. Rebate available through November 30, 2014.
Customer must submit receipt/invoice for the ENERGY STAR
®
appliance with the rebate form.
That’s why I invested in ENERGY STAR
®

appliances and received rebates in return.
by Carla Parker
[email protected]
When Keith Parker took over as MARTA
general manager and chief executive officer in
December 2012, he said the transit system had a
$33 million deficit, an unfavorable public image
and a tense relationship with state lawmakers.
In the last 17 months, Parker and MARTA of-
ficials have made improvements to move MAR-
TA in a positive direction. MARTA has gone
from a $30 million deficit to a $9 million surplus,
bus and train services have improved–including
the addition of 88 new buses, relationships with
lawmakers have improved, and MARTA is safer
due to the Ride With Respect code of conduct.
Parker said the last 17 months have been trans-
formational.
“We had to take on a number of different
challenges and we focused them on three areas:
employees, customers and financial stability,”
Parker said. “And I think we’ve been able to make
significant improvements in all three areas.”
Parker said the most difficult thing he had
to deal with was the budget. Over the past three
years, MARTA had to make several cuts to stabi-
lize the budget.
“The agency stopped investing in employees
in many respects,” he said. “We had to stop giving
raises and it also impacted our customer service
because we made so many cuts and raised fares
so much that getting the budget stabilized was
necessary before we could do anything.”
MARTA was able to recover from the finan-
cial turmoil. The $33 million deficit that MARTA
was facing when Parker came in turned into a $9
million surplus in less than eight months. MAR-
TA also has balanced the budget for the current
fiscal year, which has only been done twice in the
past 15 years.
“We will end up with a $15 million surplus in
fiscal year ’14,” Parker said. “I think those things
have been a dramatic improvement.”
Parker said another dramatic improvement
has been the relationship with state legislators
and Gov. Nathan Deal.
“Just a year and a half ago when I was com-
ing in, there were very tense meetings with many
of the elected officials and what we’re seeing
now is that they’re very supportive,” Parker said.
“They’ve all made very vocal overt comments
about MARTA’s leadership and how they think
we’re moving in the right direction and some of
them had said that we’ve completely turned the
agency around.”
MARTA has battled with lawmakers and
citizens in the past about extending bus and rail
services to other counties in the metro Atlanta
region. In 2012, voters rejected a Transporta-
tion Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, or
TSPLOST. The tax would have funded $6.14 bil-
lion of regional transportation projects selected
See MARTA on page 16A
MARTA general manager and chief executive offcer Keith
Parker said his time with MARTA has been transformational.
Photo provided
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 3A
by Carla Parker
[email protected]
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation
(CPR) is an easy life-saving tool to
learn, but not many people know
how to perform it.
To change that, DeKalb County
fire rescue partnered with Ameri-
can Medical Response for the AMR
World CPR Challenge Day May 21
in observance of National Emergen-
cy Medical Week. AMR technicians
were at the Fire Rescue headquar-
ters, a few fire stations and other
locations across the county teaching
people how to do compression-only
CPR.
This is the first year DeKalb has
partnered with AMR for this event,
which is a part of DeKalb’s Emer-
gency Medical Service public educa-
tion.
DeKalb Fire/Rescue spokes-
man Capt. Eric Jackson said it is
important that people know how to
perform CPR because a lot of regu-
lation and procedures have changed
in regards to CPR and people need
to know what to do in case of an
emergency.
“Someone could be rendered un-
conscious right in front of you, and
you want to be able to know what to
do,” Jackson said. “You don’t want to
be there standing in front of them
helpless and not knowing what to
do.”
With compression-only CPR,
mouth-to-mouth resuscitation is
not required.
“It’s all about chest compres-
sions,” said Daniel Seagraves, an
emergency medical technician with
AMR. “Once you’ve check for a
pulse and called, you just have to do
chest compression until the EMT
arrives.”
Seagraves said compression-only
CPR is easy and something every-
one can learn. At the fire rescue
headquarters, 34 people had come
in the first two hours to learn how
to do it.
“It only takes 30 seconds, it’s not
hard,” he said.
AMR started the worldwide
event last year in an attempt to train
as many people as possible in one
day. According to AMR’s website,
sudden cardiac arrest unexpect-
edly takes the lives of thousands of
Americans each year.
Annually, AMR crews care for
more than 25,000 sudden cardiac
arrest patients. Studies show that
survival from sudden cardiac arrest
can be doubled or tripled if CPR
is administered until emergency
medical services arrive, according to
AMR.
Crime Briefs
Compression-only CPR lesson taught
MARTA CEO: ‘We’re continuing to get better’
EMT Daniel Seagraves teaches Ramonda Taylor (left) and Willie Adams how to perform compression-only CPR. Photos by Carla Parker
ONE MAN’S OPINION
The Tea Party, Mad Hatters...or Haters?
“I don’t think...” Alice, to The Mad
Hatter, “...then you shouldn’t talk,”
said the Hatter, at the Tea Party from
Lewis Carrol’s Alice In Wonderland.
In March 2009, the Tea Party Pa-
triots (TPP) was founded in Georgia
by Jenny Beth Martin, Mark Meck-
ler and Amy Kremer. In February
2009, Martin, a former GOP staffer
and volunteer, was facing poten-
tial foreclosure of her home. Her
husband’s temp services firm was
facing bankruptcy. The couple had
begun another business cleaning
houses and declined help from a
federal loan program which might
have helped keep them in their
home. While enroute to a cleaning
job, Martin heard a radio rant by
CNBC business commentator Rick
Santelli. “This is America! How
many of you people want to pay for
your neighbor’s mortgages (when
they have) an extra bathroom and
can’t pay their bills?”
Martin says Santelli’s words
goaded her into action and soon
after she organized the first Tea
Party rally in Atlanta. The initial Tea
Party agenda was narrow and well-
defined, as was its mission: “To at-
tract educate, organize and mobilize
our fellow citizens to secure policy
consistent with our three core values
of fiscal responsibility, constitution-
ally limited government and free
markets.”
What had begun simply as a
grassroots organization with con-
ference calls, online chats and
blogs, quickly mushroomed into
a movement. By tax day, April 15,
2009, Atlanta Tea Party cofounder
Debbie Dooley led a rally which
drew 20,000 in protest of excessive
taxation. Colleague and Atlanta Tea
Party co-founder Julianne Thomp-
son became a spokeswoman for
the movement and was frequently
interviewed or appeared on a variety
of network and cable news outlets as
well as leading national dailies.
By the fall of 2010, the Tea Party
reported the existence of 2,200 local
chapters, and an online community
of 115,311 members, and following
the GOP landslide election and re-
turn to majority in the U.S. House,
Tea Party leaders quickly became
sought-after power brokers and
counselors, and in a few cases, can-
didates. By the 2012 election cycle,
the modest enterprise had begun
to expand its footprint, areas of in-
volvement and focus into a variety
of unfamiliar territories, including
national energy policy, ethics and
government transparency laws,
GOP party primaries and party
leadership elections...and ardent
opposition across Georgia to the
T-SPLOST transportation improve-
ments sales tax increase.
But then, a funny thing hap-
pened while grooming that lawn
and maintaining those grass roots.
Tea Party officers, formerly vol-
unteers, frequently began morph-
ing into highly compensated and
self-overseen political consultants
and operatives. The I.R.S. initiated
reviews of the nonprofit status of
multiple Tea Party chapters. Various
Tea Party entities fought to maintain
the privacy and non-disclosure of
their expenditures. And a Tea Party
Patriots Super PAC was created to
finance like-minded candidates and
campaigns.
A recent review by the Washing-
ton Post of the required financial
filings by the TPP reveal that co-
founder Jenny Beth Martin drew a
salary as president of the TPP’s non-
profit arm of reportedly $272,000
during the 2012 fiscal year. And
Martin draws another $15,000 per
month for strategic consulting as
chairwoman of the TPP Super PAC,
bringing her 2014 compensation to
more than $450,000. And while the
TPP has raised an impressive $7.4
million since 2013, it only spent
$184,505 supporting actual can-
didates. Martin also employs her
cousin as another strategic consul-
tant. The largest expense of many
Tea Party entities is salaries for a
limited few.
From the hot whistling kettle
with almost every GOP leader want-
ing to learn their tune, the Tea Party
seems to be falling out of step with
even its own membership, still pri-
marily volunteer activists and retir-
ees disenchanted with self-dealing,
career politicians...and likely to
have a low threshold for self-dealing
activists/consultants cutting them-
selves big checks with minimal over-
sight and gettin’ while the gettin’ is
good.
It was, in part, the Tea Party’s cry
that the sky is falling that elevated
and escalated the national debates
over deficit spending, the debt ceil-
ing, financial market’s bail-out, GM/
Chrysler buy-outs, stimulus spend-
ing, etc. But what started out as an
effort to recall Paul Revere’s mid-
night ride for liberty or the Boston
Tea Party is now starting to more
resemble Alice’s Mad Hatter on a
tear, or–if the re-election campaign
against Georgia House Speaker Da-
vid Ralston is any indication–more
simply Mad Haters.  It’s time to sim-
mer down a bit, and perhaps put
on a pot of some good herbal tea
and clear your collective heads. Sen.
Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and Ted
Cruz (R-Texas) are still counting on
you.
Bill Crane also serves as a political
analyst and commentator for Channel
2’s Action News, WSB-AM News/Talk
750 and now 95.5 FM, as well as a col-
umnist for The Champion, Champion
Free Press and Georgia Trend. Crane
is a DeKalb native and business owner,
living in Scottdale. You can reach him
or comment on a column at billcrane@
earthlink.net. 
Bill Crane
Columnist
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 4A
OPINION
Morehouse School of Medicine,
a historically Black institution, es-
tablished to train physicians, bio-
medical scientists and public health
practitioners to improve the health
and well-being of people of color
and the underserved urban and ru-
ral populations in Georgia and the
nation, invited Nathan Deal—the
conservative Republican governor
of Georgia—to deliver this year’s
commencement address. One of the
reasons given for the invitation is
the governor granted the medical
school $32 million of Georgia tax-
payer money.
A group of community activists,
led by Rev. Timothy McDonald,
Sen. Vincent Forte and Derrick
Boazman, vigorously protested the
invitation and the governor’s speech
the morning of the graduation.
They protested the governor’s
being honored to address the gradu-
ates of this historically Black school
for a number of reasons with the
most notable being the governor’s
refusal to expand Medicaid in Geor-
gia.
Specifically, the expansion of
Medicaid under the Affordable
Health Care Act would have provid-
ed as many as 650,000 low-income
residents health care coverage with
the federal government funding 100
percent of the cost for three years,
and 90 percent thereafter. Gov. Deal
rejected the expansion because he
said it would be too costly in the
long run.
I agree and support the protes-
tor’s charge that the Republican gov-
ernor’s refusal to accept Medicaid
expansion and the federal assistance
that accompanied it, not to mention
other egregious acts of the governor
against minorities, are compelling
reasons for why the governor should
not have been invited to speak. In-
deed Morehouse should not honor
or align itself with those politicians
or political parties that so consis-
tently work against its mission and
interests.
Historically, White politicians
and parties willing to support mea-
sures aimed at assisting Blacks have
consistently commanded the major-
ity of the Black vote.
For instance, from the end of
the Civil War until the beginning of
the Great Depression, Blacks over-
whelmingly supported Republicans.
Republicans earned Black support
because on issues affecting race,
they were more progressive and sup-
portive of Black interests than the
Democratic Party for many decades.
Yet, in spite of the support of the
Republicans during the last half of
the 19th century, Blacks generally
understood that there were limited
alternatives under America’s system
of representative democracy. Under
the circumstances, Black people ne-
gotiated the best deal they could.
The political landscape for Black
and White Americans began to
change dramatically during the
Great Depression and subsequent
New Deal legislation and programs
that gradually turned the Repub-
lican Party into a minority party
among Black voters.
The real political revolution oc-
curred in the 1964 presidential race
between incumbent Democratic
President Lyndon Baines Johnson
and conservative Republican chal-
lenger Sen. Barry Goldwater. Sen.
Goldwater voted against the 1964
Civil Rights Act outlawing racial
segregation in public accommoda-
tions. Johnson supported the act,
got it passed and Black Democrats
rewarded him with 94 percent of
their votes in that election. For
Black Americans the choice between
the Democrats and conservative Re-
publicans was clear.
Goldwater adamantly opposed
any issue or measure that supported
Black interests and by his actions,
specifically indicated a willingness
to have Republicans regarded as a
White party, prepared to represent
White Americans and defend their
interests. This is not to say that the
conservative Republicans were big-
ots or reactionaries, but rather they
felt a need to use racial codes or
themes to consolidate enough White
Americans as a self-conscious racial
majority.
It is clear that Gov. Deal’s many
acts as governor to either ignore or
harm minority interests, such as the
refusal to expand Medicaid, is evi-
dence that he does not deserve and
certainly has not earned the honor
to be commencement speaker at the
historically Black medical school.
Even worse, the governor’s ac-
tions send a very strong unspoken
message that Republicans believe
they can win political offices with-
out Black votes. More importantly,
in sending the message of neither
wanting nor needing Black votes,
Republicans feel that they can at-
tract even more votes from a much
larger pool of White Americans.
It is imperative that Blacks and
other minorities acknowledge and
counter this type of conservative Re-
publican strategy by requiring Re-
publican leaders and office seekers
to identify and address specific is-
sues of interest to minority commu-
nities. Ultimately, minorities must
be vigilant—like the medical school
protestors—to ensure whatever hon-
or or recognition given to elected
officials is legitimately earned.
OPINION
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 5A
Governor Nathan Deal “honored” by Morehouse School of Medicine
Gene Walkerk
Columnist

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
verifcation. All letters will be considered for publica-
tion.
Send Letters To Editor, The Champion Free Press, P. O. Box 1347,
Decatur, GA 30031-1347; Send email to [email protected]
FAX To: (404) 370-3903 Phone: (404) 373-7779
Deadline for news releases and advertising: Thursday, one week
prior to publication date.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions written by columnists and contribut-
ing editors do not necessarily refect 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: John Hewitt
Chief Financial Of cer: Dr. Earl D. Glenn
Managing Editor: Andrew Cauthen
Production Manager: Kemesha Hunt
Photographer: Travis Hudgons
Staf Reporters: Daniel Beauregard
Carla Parker
Lauren Ramsdell
Advertising Sales: Louise Dyrenforth Acker
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 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.
[email protected]
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 6A

COMMUNITY
by Lauren Ramsdell
[email protected]
Dunwoody Mayor Mike
Davis confrmed May 23
that he has selected Nor-
cross-based Slavin Manage-
ment Consultants as the
search frm to select a new
city manager.
“Tere were several ex-
cellent frms,” Davis said.
“But the tiebreaker was the
success we had [with Slavin]
last time.”
Slavin helped select the
Dunwoody’s frst city man-
ager, Warren Hutmacher, at
its incorporation in 2008.
Hutmacher announced
his resignation March 25
in order to become the city
manager of neighboring
Johns Creek. Hutmacher
was previously the city man-
ager of Norcross. Dunwoody
Chief of Police Billy Grogan
was appointed Dunwoody’s
acting city manager on April
25.
Te job posting on
Slavin’s website states the
city is looking for “an ex-
perienced, knowledgeable
manager who is creative,
enthusiastic, entrepreneur-
ial, progressive and proac-
tive. Te individual will be
receptive to new ideas, very
customer service oriented,
outgoing and friendly.”
Te cost of the frm’s ser-
vices is estimated to be in
the mid-$20,000 range, ac-
cording to Davis. No salary
has been posted for the city
manager position, but Hut-
macher earned an estimated
$166,000 plus benefts,
including an automobile
stipend. Te minimum base
salary outlined in the city
manager employment agree-
ment is $145,000.00, with
benefts and the opportunity
for annual merit increases.
If you would like to nominate someone
to be considered as a future Champion
of the Week, please contact Andrew
Cauthen at [email protected]
or at (404) 373-7779, ext. 117.
DWAYNE ROWELL
Champion
of
theWeek
A lifelong volunteer,
Dwayne Rowell frst
found Te Society of St.
Vincent de Paul – an inter-
national Catholic service
organization – during a
Hands On Atlanta event in
2009.
He knew of the So-
ciety’s thrif store on
Chamblee Tucker Road.
Afer years as a volunteer
and employee of the At-
lanta Food Bank, Rowell
started volunteering at the
thrif store. Later, when it
converted to the Society’s
Georgia Area Conference
Support Center, Rowell
stayed on.
Rowell grew up around
the globe, as his father was
in the Army. One of his
frst memories of serving
others came from when he
was living in France.
“ I remember being on
a school bus, and the nun’s
habit used to be blowing
in the wind, and she’s driv-
ing the bus,” he said. “And
once a week they took all
of us kids to … a senior
care home. We were re-
quired to go to this place
once a week, to see the
elderly people, and they
loved us. We played cards,
they talked to us, they read
us books, so it was an en-
joyment factor for them to
have us coming. But that
was my frst taste of vol-
unteering, of going some-
place and doing something
for other people, and I
never forgot it.”
At St. Vincent de Paul,
Rowell does everything.
He ofen comes straight
from his job at Georgia
State.
“It’s important for vol-
unteers... that we learn
diferent phases of the op-
eration he said. You can do
everything and then you
can apply these skills to go
somewhere else to actually
work.”
Rowell said that, in the
past, he struggled with ad-
diction. He was homeless,
and relied on support for
clothes, food and access
to computers for his job
search. He is now six years
sober and advises others
on their own job searches.
“I tell you, as a person
who has been in need in
the past... there’s more of
an initiative to volunteer
someplace.”
Rowell said he has seen
volunteering lead directly
to employment, like his
own time at the Atlanta
Community Food Bank.
A woman he counseled
to spend time volunteer-
ing during her job search
was then hired at Grady
Hospital, where she spent
four hours a week for two
months.
“You might feel like
you’re somewhat alone,
you can’t network or you
don’t know people and
then you start to realize,
no, everything is kind of
connected,” he said. “It
may not seem that way in
the big picture but it actu-
ally is. Volunteering is a
door-opener.”
NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE
The Mayor and City Council of the City of Lithonia has tentatively adopted a millage
rate which will require an increase in property taxes by 22.25%.
All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearing on this tax increase to be held at
City Hall, 6980 Main Street on June 16, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. A third public
hearing will be held at City Hall on June 23, 2014 at 6:00 p.m.
This tentative increase will result in a millage rate of 19.869, an increase of 3.616 mills.
Without this tentative tax increase, the millage rate will be no more than 16.253 mills.
This proposed tax increase for a home with a fair market value of $26,000 is
approximately $37.00. The proposed increase on non-homestead property with a fair
market value of $53,000 is approximately $76.00.
The proposed tax increase will enable the City to meet anticipated obligations and to
establish a reserve fund.
 
 
 
 
NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE
The Decatur City Commission has tentatively adopted a combined millage rate of 13.00
mills which will require an increase in property taxes of 6.62% for fiscal year 2014-2015.
This is the same millage rate adopted for the current fiscal year 2013-2014 which
generates revenue necessary to fund the City of Decatur’s general operations, bonded
indebtedness, downtown development authority and capital improvements. The millage
rate is not increasing.
All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearing on this tax increase to be held at
the City Commission Meeting Room, Decatur City Hall, 509 N. McDonough Street,
Decatur, on Monday, June 9, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. Time and place of an additional public
hearing on this tax increase is at Decatur City Hall on June 16, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. This
tentative increase will result in a millage rate of 13.00 mills, an increase of 0.817 mills
over the rollback millage rate. Without this tentative tax increase, the millage rate will be
no more than 12.183 mills. The proposed tax increase for a home with a fair market
value of $300,000 is approximately $106 and the proposed tax increase for nonhomestead
property with a fair market value of $300,000 is approximately $123.
Dunwoody selects city manager search frm
REDUCE • REUSE • RECYCLE
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 7A

COMMUNITY
AROUND
DEKALB
Atlanta
Group ofers free summer lunch at
high school
Family Choices, Inc. will be
providing free lunch to all children
18-years-old or younger without
charge at McNair High School, lo-
cated at 1804 Bouldercrest Road in
Atlanta.
The group will be offering meals
from June 2-July 25 from 2:30-4 p.m.
as part of the Summer Food Service
Program.
Summer camp at the historic
Swanton House
The DeKalb History Center is
holding a summer camp from June
16-20, for ages 8-12, at the Swanton
House in Decatur.
Attendees will be able to play,
work and learn about what it was like
to live in DeKalb County as settlers
during the pioneer days. Children
will explore the way people lived by
performing chores, playing games
and making crafts.
Additionally, campers will learn
about 1850s music, pastimes, food
and transportation. Activities include
candle making, cooking, gardening,
sewing and washing laundry.
For more information or to reg-
ister contact Jenny Goldemund
at (404) 373-1088, ext. 20 or email
[email protected].
Speed limit reduced on Sycamore
Drive
On May 19, the speed limit on
the portion of Sycamore Drive in
Decatur was reduced to 30 miles per
hour (mph). In addition, Decatur
has classified this location as a “resi-
dential zone,” which means police
officers are not required to extend a
10 mph grace before issuing a cita-
tion. The Decatur Police Department
began speed enforcement based on
the reduced speed limit immediately,
however warning citations will be is-
sued for speed violations for the next
30 days. An exception to this will be
violators whose speed would have
been 10 mph or more over the previ-
ous speed limit.
Sports centers to ofer summer
breakfast, lunch
Sport Center Academy, located at
5330 Snapfinger Woods Dr., Decatur,
and CheerTyme Allstars of GA., lo-
cated at 2575 Park Central Blvd., De-
catur, will be offering free breakfast
and lunch to DeKalb County chil-
dren ages 5-18 through the U.S.D.A.
summer food service program.
Breakfast will be served from 8 to
9 a.m., lunch will be from noon to
1:30 p.m. June 2 through Aug. 8.
For more information call (770)
593-3149.
Mall to host Kidgits Club ‘Lil Chefs’
cooking demonstrations
Northlake Mall is hosting a cook-
ing demonstration geared at kids, but
with food for the whole family. Chef
Carlos Brown will help prepare a va-
riety of healthy foods and fun activi-
ties. Any non-perishable food items
brought to the event will be donated
to area food banks. The cost is free
for Kidgits Club members and $5 for
nonmembers. Call (770) 938-3565
for information and registration.
Chamblee
Chamblee Library hosts eBook
class for seniors
The Chamblee branch of the
DeKalb Public Library is hosting a
lesson on eBooks for those 55 and
older. Topics will include types of
eBooks, what titles are available
through the public library and how
to access them. Pre-register by call-
ing (770) 936-1380.
Decatur
Community Yard Sale
Antiques and collectibles such as
Coca Cola memorabilia will be part
of this yard sale. May 31, 9 a.m. - 5
p.m. at the pool. Tere will be a fsh
fry from noon - 5 p.m. Spring Valley
Subdivision, 3526 Springside Drive,
Decatur.
Dunwoody
City to hold amnesty program

Dunwoody Municipal Court is
holding an amnesty program for
individuals with past due traffic cita-
tions and or active bench warrants
for failing to appear in court.
The incentive of the program is
to promote lawful driving privileges,
settle outstanding violations with the
court and reduce arrests.
Amnesty will run during the
months of June and July at the Dun-
woody Municipal Court located at
41 Perimeter Center East, Suite 103.
Individuals may walk-in to Mu-
nicipal Court on Mondays as well as
Wednesday through Friday of 8:30
a.m.-4:30 p.m. If individuals pay
their fines in full, all contempt fees
will be forgiven. If the individual’s
offense requires a mandatory court
appearance, the individual will be
granted a future court date to appear
before a judge and all warrants will
be cleared and warrant fees forgiven.
For more information, call (678)
382-6973.
North Atlanta Rotary Club to
collect home medical equipment
for nonproft
On Saturday, May 31, the North
Atlanta Rotary Club will collect new
and used home medical equipment,
such as wheelchairs, walkers, stroll-
ers and shower benches, to donate to
Friends of Disabled Adults and Chil-
dren (FODAC).
FODAC is a nonprofit organiza-
tion providing more than $10 mil-
lion annually in refurbished home
medical equipment and home modi-
fications in Georgia and across the
United States at little or no cost to
the recipients.
Home medical equipment can
be dropped off on May 31 between
10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at YMCA Dun-
woody, 3692 Ashford Dunwoody
Road, Atlanta. Prior to May 31,
equipment can be dropped off at
various north Atlanta Rotary collec-
tion sites found at www.fodac.org/
northatlantarotary.
To schedule a pickup, contact
Suzanne Girone at suzannegirone@
fodac.org or (770) 491-9014 by 4:30
p.m., May 30. Visit the FODAC
website (www.fodac.org/how-to-
help/donate/medical-donation) to
find a list of equipment donation
sites to drop off equipment.
Lithonia
Police department expands hours
of service
The Lithonia Police Department
recently announced that their office
hours have been extended. The new
hours are Monday through Thurs-
day 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Friday 8
a.m. to 8 p.m. During these hours,
the public can pay fines, bonds and
reschedule court dates. Background
checks can be conducted up until 5
p.m. For more information, contact
the department at (770) 482-8947.
City to host market and music
event
On Saturday, May 31, the city of
Lithonia will host a market and mu-
sic event on Main Street.
The Market Place will be from
4 to 8 p.m. and the Music on Main
event will be from 7:30 to 11 p.m.
and will feature free live jazz and
R&B music.   
For more information, contact
Ms. Rodriguez at city hall at (770)
482-8136 or leah.rodriguez@litho-
niacity.org.
Stone Mountain
City to host Color Vibe run
The Stone Mountain Village will
host the Color Vibe 5k run May
31. Throughout the course, partici-
pants run, walk, or dance their way
through color stations, where vibrant
color chalk dust will be tossed in
the air. When the run is over, every-
one is invited to stick around for a
dance party hosted by a professional
sound crew and DJ. A portion of the
proceeds will be donated to support
the Stone Mountain Village Visitors
Center. For more information on the
Color Vibe event and registration,
visit www.thecolorvibe.com or send
an email to support@thecolorvibe.
com.
Tucker
City to host farmers market
The Tucker Farmers Market will
be held June 5, 4-8 p.m., located at
2333 Main St. The market will in-
clude more than 30 local farmers and
food producers and pony rides for
children. For more information, visit
www.tuckerfarmersmarket.com.
Library to kick of vacation
reading program
Big Thinkers Science will kick
off the summer with a science and
reading program for students at
Tucker-Reid H. Cofer Library. The
kick-off for 2014 Vacation Reading
Program will be held May 29, 3-4:30
p.m. Students also will take pictures
with DeKalb County Public Library’s
mascot, Dog in the Woods. To sign
up for the program, call the library at
(770) 270-8234.
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 8A
LOCAL NEWS
Restaurant Health Inspections
Establishment Name: Starbucks Cofee Co. #8206
Address: 133 East Court Square
Current Score/Grade: 88/B
Inspecton Date: 05/15/2014
Establishment Name: Ponce Cafe
Address: 3924 East Ponce De Leon Avenue, Suite A
Current Score/Grade: 80/B
Inspecton Date: 05/15/2014
Observatons and Correctve Actons
Observed personal water botle and can of Coca-Cola in main
kitchen area. Coca-Cola opened with straw inside. Informed em-
ployee beverages must be consumed from single service cup with
a lid and straw. COS- PIC discarded soda.
Beef stew in Roper refrigerator observed holding at 46-47F. Beef
stew prepared yesterday, 5/14/14. Informed PIC all potentally
hazardous foods must be held at 41F or below. Advised PIC to cool
beef from 135F to 70F within 2 hours and from 70F to 41F within 4
hours when it is prepared. Advised PIC to discard beef stew. COS-
PIC discarded beef stew. (Repeat Violaton)
Feta cheese in Frigidaire commercial refrigerator holding at 45F.
Cheese pulled out of cooler. Advised PIC to lower temperature of
refrigerator.
Observed container of four as well as various seasonings and
sauces throughout main kitchen area without labels. Informed
PIC non-easily identfable foods removed from original contain-
ers must be labeled with common name of food. COS- PIC labeled
items.
Observed scoop in ice machine stored directly inside with handling
touching ice. Informed PIC dispensing utensils stored in bulk con-
tainers should be stored with handles above the top of the food.
New Violaton.
Shelves in front serving area lined with aluminum foil. Informed
PIC non-food contact surfaces must not be corrodible, absorbent
or unsmooth. Advised PIC to purchase vinyl mesh liner. New Viola-
ton.
Establishment Name: Fireside Restaurant
Address: 7046 Covington Highway
Current Score/Grade: 86/B
Inspecton Date: 05/15/2014
Establishment Name: Zoe’s Kitchen
Address: 1385 Oxford Road NE
Current Score/Grade: 91/A
Inspecton Date: 05/15/2014
Observatons and Correctve Actons
Blade/plate of vegetable slicer (stored on shelf as clean) observed
to be unclean with food debris. PIC had employee clean blades.
Food pans and food pan covers (stored as clean) were unclean
with food debris. some utensils also had pooled water that had
not properly drained due to the way the utensils were stacked. PIC
advised to have employee clean and sanitze these utensils prop-
erly. PIC also advised to allow proper air drying of utensils.
Observed raw beef (beef kabobs) cooked to 109F-112F. PIC stated
that the target temperature for beef and salmon kabobs was a
fnal cook temperature of around 130F. When questoned, PIC
initally indicated that a consumer advisory was provided on the
menu. Upon inspecton of the menu, consumer disclosure and
reminder are not provided on menu or any other manner. PIC ad-
vised to provide consumer disclosure by identfying menu items
to be served undercooked on the menu or signage at menu board.
Consumer reminder can be provided by printng the following on
menu or displaying on menu board: “Consuming raw or under-
cooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfsh, or eggs may increase
your risk of foodborne illness.” Signage must be posted within 24
hours or discontnue serving undercooked raw animal foods.
Employee belongs/foods were stored next to facility food in cool-
ers. PIC advised to store employee foods and other belongings
separate from food and utensils used for consumers.
Establishment Name: Waterside Restaurant
Address: 4021 Lakeview Drive
Current Score/Grade: 85/B
Inspecton Date: 05/19/2014
Decatur sets tentative millage rate,
presents preliminary budget
by Daniel Beauregard
[email protected]
The Decatur City Com-
mission adopted a tentative
millage rate May 19 that is
the same as last year’s but
will reportedly garner an in-
crease in tax revenue.
Decatur spokeswoman
Casie Yoder said the mill-
age rate, set at 13 mills,
will represent an average
increase of 6.62 percent on
property taxes. The revenue
generated will be used for
general operations, capital
improvements, bond repay-
ments and downtown de-
velopment authority opera-
tions.
Yoder said the increase in
property taxes is due to new
home development and an
increase in property values.
The commission also
passed a tentative budget
for fscal year 2014-15 that
is approximately $40.8 mil-
lion.
In the preliminary bud-
get for fscal year 2014-15,
the city lists several of the
budget’s guiding principles
based on Decatur’s 2010
strategic plan. The prin-
ciples include managing
growth while retaining the
city’s character, encourag-
ing a diverse and engaged
community, serving as good
stewards of the environment
and supporting a safe com-
munity.
According to the budget,
the city plans to spend ap-
proximately $21.8 million
on general fund items such
as economic development,
$1.8 million; police, $5.3
million; fre, $3.6 million;
and public works, $2.8 mil-
lion
The remaining $18.9
million of the budget will
be used to pay back gen-
eral obligation bonds and
implement pilot programs
and capital improvement
projects. This year’s pre-
liminary budget is less than
last year’s $68 million bud-
get due to the large amount
of general obligation bonds
the city had to pay last year
from capital improvement
projects.
Since 2007, Decatur has
added at least $2 million to
its operating fund reserve—
this year it is adding approx-
imately $5.9 million, which
is 27 percent of the city’s
operating budget. The city’s
policy states that the fund
balance be 20-30 percent of
the operating budget.
The Decatur City Com-
mission will hold public
hearings regarding the
budget June 2 at 7:30 p.m.;
June 9 at 6 p.m.; and June
16 at 7:30 p.m. All meetings
will be held at Decatur City
Hall, located at 509 N. Mc-
Donough St.
The fnal millage rate
will be set June 16 at the
commission’s regular meet-
ing.
NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE
The City of Doraville has tentatively adopted a new millage rate of 9.00 which will require an increase in property taxes by
4.63 percent.
All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearing on this tax increase to be held at the Doraville City Hall located at
3725 Park Avenue, Doraville, GA 30340 on June 9, 2014 at 6:30pm.
Times and places of additional public hearings on this tax increase are at the Doraville City Hall on June 10, 2014 at
6:30pm and on June 16, 2014 at 6:30pm.
This tentative increase will result in a millage rate of 9.00 mills, an increase of 4.63 percent. Without this tentative tax
increase, the millage rate will be no more than 8.602 mills. The proposed tax increase for a home with a fair market value
of $82,000 is approximately $13 and the tax increase for a non-homestead property with a fair market value of $427,000
is approximately $67.
CITY OF DORAVILLE
NOTICE OF FIVE YEAR HISTORY
Pursuant to the requirements of O.C.G.A. Section 48-5-32 does hereby publish the following presentation of the current
yearʼs tax digest and levy, along with the history of the tax digest and levy for the past five years. All citizens of Doraville
are invited to attend.
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Real & Personal 420,366,507 384,994,288 379,732,939 361,679,814 395,990,311 416,515,498
Motor Vehicle 16,436,920 15,899,150 15,898,760 15,848,630 15,906,220 14,025,040
Mobile Homes 200 200 200 0 0 0
Timber 100% 0 0 0 0 0 0
Heavy Duty Equip 6,506 0 2,494 4,530 4,530 0
Gross Tax Digest 436,810,133 400,893,638 395,634,393 377,532,974 411,901,061 430,540,538
Exemptions 73,116,589 70,854,876 69,611,752 35,478,708 35,478,708 37,668,686
Net Tax Digest 363,693,544 330,038,762 326,022,641 342,054,266 376,422,353 392,871,852
Net Millage 7.50 8.00 9.00 9.00 9.00 9.00
Net Tax Levy
100%
2,725,452 2,640,310 2,934,204 3,078,488 3,387,801 3,535,847
Net Incr/(Decr) -400,591 -85,142 293,894 144,285 309,313 148,045
Net Levy %
Incr/(Decr)
-12.81% -3.12% 11.13% 4.92% 10.05% 4.37%
All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearing on this tax increase to be held at the Doraville City Hall located at
3725 Park Avenue, Doraville, GA 30340 on June 9, 2014 at 6:30pm. Times and places of additional public hearings on
this tax increase are at the Doraville City Hall on June 10, 2014 at 6:30pm and on June 16, 2014 at 6:30pm.
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THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 9A
LOCAL NEWS
Doraville Downtown Development Authority takes
setbacks in stride, looks forward to new opportunity
COUNTY WIDE 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Real & Personal 102,732,611 97,052,662 68,582,587 67,583,220 56,816,226 67,083,820
Motor Vehicles 6,667,830 5,667,510 5,558,380 5,831,000 5,971,380 4,758,250
Mobile Homes 600 600
Timber - 100%
Heavy Duty Equipment 2,545 0 0 0 0 0
Gross Digest 109,402,986 102,720,172 74,140,967 73,414,220 62,788,206 71,842,670
Less M& O Exemptions 1,859,151 2,060,566 1,578,133 1,813,313 1,652,449 2,074,380
Net M & O Digest 107,543,835 100,659,606 72,562,834 71,600,907 61,135,757 69,768,290
State Forest Land Assistance
Grant Value 0 0 0 0 0
Adjusted Net M&O Digest 107,543,835 100,659,606 72,562,834 71,600,907 61,135,757 69,768,290
Gross M&O Millage 10.000 10.000 14.300 18.800 28.030 22.000
Less Rollbacks
Net M&O Millage 10.000 10.000 14.300 18.800 28.030 22.000
Total County Taxes Levied $1,075,438 $1,006,596 $1,037,648 $1,346,097 $1,713,635 $1,534,902
Net Taxes $ Increase -$136,634 -$68,842 $31,052 $308,449 $367,538 -$178,733
Net Taxes % Increase -11.27% -6.40% 3.08% 29.73% 27.30% -10.43%
The Stone Mountain City Council does hereby announce that the millage rate will be set at a meeting to be held at the
O.C.G.A. Section 48-5-32 does hereby publish the following presentation of the current year's tax digest and levy, along with the
NOTICE
City Hall, 875 Main Street, Stone Mountain, GA on Monday, June 16, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. and pursuant to the requirements of
history of the tax digest and levy for the past five years.
CURRENT 2014 TAX DIGEST AND 5 YEAR HISTORY OF LEVY
PUBLIC NOTICE
NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX MILLAGE
The City of Stone Mountain has tentatively adopted a millage rate of
22.00 mils which is less than the rollback rate of 23.991 mils.
All citizens are invited to a public hearing on this proposed millage rate to
be held at Stone Mountain City Hall, 875 Main Street, Stone Mountain, GA
on Monday, June 16, 2014 at 6:00 PM.
The public hearing will be followed by a Special Called Meeting to be
held at 6:00 p.m. on June 16, 2014 at City Hall, 875 Main Street, Stone
Mountain, GA to set and adopt the 2014 millage rate.
by Lauren Ramsdell
lauren@dekalbchamp.
com
A little more than one
year ago, the Doraville
Downtown Development
Authority (DDDA) rocketed
into action to capture and
retain a business seeking
space in its community. The
deal then fell through at the
last minute, leaving a group
with a big mission and not
much to do.
“We started off with a
bang, but we didn’t publicize
it at the time,” said Luke
Howe, the city’s Economic
Development Director and
DDDA staff liaison.
That bang was the prom-
ise of an animation studio
moving its office into a
building for sale by a lo-
cal wholesaler. The DDDA
organized rapidly, secur-
ing bonds and funding
to encourage the studio
to redevelop the site. The
wholesaler, Jae Jun Bae, had
bought the property with
the intent to continue sell-
ing wholesale lingerie but
did not realize the site wasn’t
zoned for wholesale, as his
previous storefront was
grandfathered in to the new
zoning requirements.
After negotiations where-
in Bae reportedly asked for
more than market value for
the property, the deal fell
through. The animation
studio, Floyd County Pro-
ductions, which produces
the FX show “Archer,” de-
cided to buy elsewhere. And
a city official allegedly was
approached by Bae with a
bribe. Bae was caught by the
FBI in an undercover sting.
“It was heartbreaking,”
Howe said. “It would have
established an economy
here.”
Despite the setback, the
DDDA is still pursuing
development opportuni-
ties and undergoing state
training for their roles. All
Georgia downtown develop-
ment authorities have seven
board members made up
of community taxpayers.
At least four must be busi-
ness owners with locations
in the downtown zone. The
Doraville board members
are Jack Halpern, Chris
Avers, Kevin McCarron,
Jonathan Wallace, Barry
Brown, Seth Fischer and
Harold Shinn.
Through the Carl Vinson
Institute of Government
at the University of Geor-
gia, board members have
gone through educational
programs to help them
understand the nature of
their roles with the DDDA.
Downtown development
authorities are government
organizations tasked with
policy- and decision-making
and fund- or bond-raising
for downtown development
projects in their respective
cities.
“We’ve started the ramp
up this year and are estab-
lishing ourselves in this
role,” said McCarron, the
DDDA’s secretary. “Our
goal is to share some of the
burden with city council, by
understanding what busi-
nesspeople want and need.”
McCarron is a local busi-
ness owner and consultant.
He emphasized a thorough
approach to any develop-
ment in the area.
“We are establishing
these channels for the up-
coming GM plant redevel-
opment,” he said. “We are
coming up with steps and
measures that will be taken
to ensure it’s done right. It’s
a huge role for us.”
Another development
may be coming the DDDA’s
way soon. The Kmart at
5597 Buford Highway
NE closed last year and a
developer has planned a
30,000-square-foot medi-
cal complex at the site. The
developer will have a formal
presentation within a few
weeks, Howe said.
“For any proposal of that
nature and size, everything
needs to be locked in,” Mc-
Carron said of the future
redevelopment. “Any major
institution that wants to
come into Doraville needs to
be thought through.”
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 10A
LOCAL NEWS
Chamblee hopes to become more cohesive with updated zoning
by Lauren Ramsdell
[email protected]
Te city of Chamblee is undergo-
ing a massive overhaul of its zoning
codes in response to the recent an-
nexations of properties north and
south of the historic Chamblee city
center.
“It’s like a crazy house that’s been
built on to too many times,” said Au-
dra Rojek, a transportation planner
with Jacobs Engineering. Jacobs is
partnering with Chamblee to rec-
ommend initiatives for the project,
dubbed Chamblee Next.
With the annexations–the frst in
2011 north of Chamblee up to I-285
and the next in 2013 south of the
city extending to I-85–both the pop-
ulation and land area in Chamblee
more than doubled. Te city already
had to extend its current zoning or-
dinance to cover these new areas, so
when expanding the coverage area,
planners felt it might be time to up-
date the nearly-decade old plan.
“Te zoning ordinance was ad-
opted back in 2006 when the city
was one third the size it is now,” said
Gary Cornell, development director
for Chamblee. “Te city has grown
and these areas that have come in
have a diferent character and need
additional treatment that is not in
the original zoning ordinance.”
Some of those areas include part
of the Buford Highway corridor, one
of the most ethnically diverse places
in the country. Te road is populated
by shopping plazas and small busi-
nesses, many owned by immigrants
and second-generation Americans
from around the world. Te 2013
annexation captured a large part of
that road, so much so that it is now
the longest roadway in the Chamblee
city limits.
“[We’re concerned with] what can
be done in our comprehensive plan
and zoning ordinance to be more
open in that regard [to diversity] so
we’re not penalizing the people from
those groups,” Cornell said.
Chamblee also has physical bar-
riers in the form of Buford High-
way, Peachtree Boulevard and the
MARTA Gold line all running di-
agonally across town. Furthermore,
Peachtree-Dekalb Airport takes up
a huge swath of land separating the
2013 southern annex from the his-
toric city center and the northern
annex.
“How do you make one cohesive
Chamblee out of that?” Rojek said.
“Especially with the annexation you
want to say, ‘we didn’t just gobble
you up, we’re all in this together.’ But
how do you make that feeling?”
Rojek said one way they are rec-
ommending is to redevelop some
of historic Chamblee in to a green
space and mixed-use development
for gatherings, much like Decatur
did within the last two decades with
its downtown.
“[We want] people to feel like yes,
that is my city, that’s my place, and
I’m a part of that,” Rojek said. “Tat
will make it easier going forward to
actually be Chamblee if people feel
like they are Chamblee.”
Te city hosted a public view-
ing of recommendations for the
proposed unifed development
ordinance, or UDO, on May 22 at
Keswick Park. Phase I of Chamblee’s
2040 Strategic Planning Initiative in-
volved updating the comprehensive
plan. Te UDO is Phase II, looking
to unify all zoning and development
regulation under one document
for the eventual implementation of
the comprehensive plan. Phase I is
wrapping up in June, while UDO
development was launched in April
and is expected to be completed by
December 2014.
“We’re trying to streamline [the
code], make it more efcient, easier
for developers and public to under-
stand as well as for us to administer,
said Jim Summerbell, the Chamblee
Next project manager with Jacobs
Engineering.
Summerbell said developers
had run into roadblocks or overly
stringent requirements and turned
away from locating a business within
Chamblee.
“You can tell when you come out
to the public, they’re excited,” Rojek
said. “Usually, the public’s not too
interested in zoning, so if they are
interested, that means they’ve been
running into problems.”
Chamblee conducted a public
survey that asked questions about
what kind of development or chang-
es residents would want to see. An
overwhelming amount of support
was ofered for making Chamblee
a more walkable and bikeable city,
with improved sidewalks, trails and
bike lanes.
Cornell said the city is looking
to attract and retain not only busi-
nesses, but also the residents who
will work in those businesses.
“We want people to be comfort-
able living and working here,” he
said. “It’s great to live here. It’s a fun
place to go at night, or is it? What
can we do to make it a more hospi-
table place for young people who are
looking for things to do and choos-
ing a place to live?”
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 11A
LOCAL NEWS
Tucker CID annexes Northlake area, adds millions in property value

Georgia Piedmont Technical College will hold its
Spring Commencement
Ceremony
Reverend Dr. C.T. Vivian
2013 Presidential
Medal of Freedom Recipient
Commencement Speaker
Come Celebrate With Us!
Saturday,
May 31, 2014
10:00 a.m.

at
The House of Hope
Atlanta
(formerly Greater Traveler’s Rest Baptist
Church)
4650 Flat Shoals Parkway
Decatur, Georgia 30034

www.gptc.edu
Discover DeKalb’s Reunion
Specialist will teach you
everything you need to know
to plan the perfect Family
Reunion in DeKalb County!
Workshop - 10 a.m. to Noon
Showcase - Noon to 2 p.m.
Saturday, June 21, 2014 - Comfort Inn Suites Northlake
2060 Crescent Centre Boulevard, Tucker, GA 30084
Call 770-492-5018
Pre-registration is required
FREE Family Reunion
Planning Workshop & Showcase
AtlantasDeKalb.com
by Daniel Beauregard
[email protected]
The DeKalb County
Board of Commissioners
has approved the Tucker
Community Improvement
District’s (CID) request
to annex more than 67
Northlake commercial prop-
erties. The expansion adds
more than $110 million in
property value. The new
boundaries extend along
Lavista, Henderson Mill and
Northlake Parkway through
the Northlake shopping
district and the Montreal in-
dustrial corridor.
“We exceeded our ex-
pansion goals,” said Tucker
CID President Ann Rosen-
thal. “This new footprint
will allow us to more rapidly
revitalize this area so that it
can be an economic bridge
on the east side.”
The Tucker CID formed
in 2013 and in that short
time, improved the I-
285-LaVista Road gateway
project. With the annexa-
tion of the Northlake com-
mercial districts, two board
seats will become open in
early July in time to begin
work on a master plan for
revitalization. The board will
also vote to change the name
to the Tucker Northlake
CID.
“We want to extend our
appreciation to Michael
Paris, president of the
Council on Quality Growth,
Tad Leithead, chairman of
the Cumberland CID, Chris
Owens of Lowe Engineering
and Doug Stoner, managing
director of the Development
Authority of DeKalb County
who took the time to talk
to Northlake property own-
ers about the benefits of
the CID,” said Rosenthal.
“We also want to recognize
David Marvin, president of
Legacy Property Group, who
hosted our lunch and learn
event at the Doubletree Ho-
tel.”
CIDs are public-private
partnerships that allow
commercial districts to
self-fund infrastructure,
security, transportation and
quality-of-life improvements
through a special tax paid
by the non-residential, com-
mercial property owners
within the district. These
funds are further leveraged
for state and federal grants
applied to re-engineering
projects. Funds raised by
CIDs remain in the districts
and use of those funds are
determined by the CID
board of directors.
(Left) Board members of the Tucker CID. (right) A property owner in the Northlake area signs an agreement to become part of the expanded Tucker CID. Photos provided
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 12A
LOCAL NEWS
by Andrew Cauthen
[email protected]
Editor’s note: Te Champion
will look at the purchasing
card use of the DeKalb Coun-
ty Board of Commissioners
and those of other select P-
card holders.
“A P-card can certainly be
a useful tool, but there’s got
to be accountability.”
Tat’s what DeKalb
County District 2 Commis-
sioner Jef Rader told Te
Champion on May 22.
“If you can’t abide by the
record-keeping and other
restrictions on it, then you
should certainly lose that
privilege, and if you have
converted public funds to
private beneft then that is a
crime,” Rader said.
Gwinnett County District
Attorney Danny Porter “has
prosecuted two public of-
fcials on exactly that same
charge,” Rader said.
According to records Te
Champion obtained afer
an Open Records Request,
Rader’s of ce spent $6,699
between Jan. 1, 2013, and
April 1, 2014.
Comparatively, Commis-
sioner Elaine Boyer’s of ce
spent more than that—
$8,249—on food alone dur-
ing the same time period.
Rader: Donations on
P-cards useful
Rader’s of ce used P-
cards to donate nearly
$1,200 to various organi-
zations in 2013. He has
donated $500 to Georgia
Budget and Policy Institute;
$500 to PEDS, a pedestrian
advocacy and technical ex-
pertise group; $150 to South
River Watershed Alliance
for a partnership; and $35 to
Georgia River Network.
“When I make a contri-
bution in that way it is in
recognition of real and tan-
gible assistance that they are
making either to me in my
capacity as a commissioner
or to the citizens of DeKalb,”
Rader said about using P-
cards for donations.
Rader said he consulted
PEDS afer a man was struck
by a vehicle and killed on
North Decatur Road in June
2013.
“I consulted with them
about that situation and
PEDS worked in DeKalb to
do pedestrian safety educa-
tions and they work on safe
routes to schools,” Rader
said. “I ofen refer con-
stituents and people that are
interested in those issues to
that organization for assis-
tance.
“Tat’s a resource that we
use in the public interest and
it only makes sense to me to
support that at some level,”
Rader said.
Rader said a $3,000 dona-
tion to the DeKalb History
Center was an “endowment
to study the ranch house as a
historical development form
in DeKalb County which are
eligible for historical protec-
tion now that they are more
than 50 years old.”
He hopes neighborhoods
will use the information
in the study to form his-
toric districts to protect their
communities, Rader said.
“Tat’s of direct public
beneft under an area where
we have regulatory power,”
Rader said.
Organizations that he
supports through P-card
funds “have to be active and
focused on issues that are
relevant to DeKalb County
and they have to have a
work product that is relevant
to that mission.”
Rader: Meals aren’t best
way to get job done
Rader’s logs contain just
one restaurant charge in
2013. Describing himself as
“stingy,” Rader said he usu-
ally brings a sandwich for
lunch or eats at home.
“I try to avoid restaurant
costs, both out of my own
pocket as well as out of the
county’s pocket,” Rader said.
“Tat’s why I typically don’t
use a P-card for that.”
Instead of having lunches
with constituents, Rader said
he typically meets with them
in his of ce.
“We can do the most for
them in the of ce,” he said.
“I can have other staf there.
I fnd that it’s best to meet
with constituents on county
property because you can
actually serve their needs in
that way.
“Tere are other times
that I may have lunch with
a constituent that I will just
go ahead and pay it[out of
pocket],” Rader said. “To a
certain extent, I don’t want
to pull out a county credit
card when I meet with a
constituent. If it were me
sitting across the table I’d
be thinking, ‘Well, I wonder
how ofen he does that.’
“I don’t want to refect
poorly on the county,” he
said.
Rader: Gas should only be
for county use
Rader also only had one
charge for gasoline. He said
he rarely uses his P-card for
fuel because “there’s no way
of being able to document
the use of that gasoline for
business or personal use.”
For example, if “you were
driving around today, you
may have had some work
business, but then if you did
some personal business, that
is not really an appropriate
use of county resources. I
don’t think that you should
charge gas. I think that you
should claim mileage [on
your taxes],” Rader said.
“If you fll up your car on
the way home from work
or on your way to a night
meeting, then you’re going
to be using that gas for every
reason that a vehicle moves,”
Rader said. “So I would con-
sider the purchase of gas,
unless there was some way
to ensure that all of that gas
used for an authorized pur-
pose, to be an inferior way
of absorbing that expense.”
Rader said county work-
ers who receive a vehicle
allowance should not use P-
cards for fuel.
“Tere’s no justifcation
for those people putting gas
on their P-cards because
they are already getting
$400, $500, $600 a month
because they already have
a vehicle allowance,” Rader
said. “Anybody that is get-
ting a car allowance, in my
estimation, shouldn’t be us-
ing a P-card to buy gas and
shouldn’t be charging mile-
age either.”
Rader: All should be
accountable
All P-cardholders need to
be accountable for the pur-
chases on the cards, Rader
said.
“We have had a policy all
along that holds them ac-
countable,” Rader said. “Tis
notion that there wasn’t a
P-card policy for commis-
sioners is just not true. We
signed an acknowledgment
of that policy.
“I think that is a misper-
ception that somehow there
was a gap in policy as it af-
fected county commission-
ers,” Rader said. “We may
not have had a superior to
review and approve our P-
card purchases, but it doesn’t
in any way relieve us of the
responsibility to abide by the
policy that we acknowledged
and signed a confrmation
of.”
Research assistance by Travis
Hudgons and Donna Turner.
Rader: ‘I don’t want to refect poorly on the county’
Jeff Rader
stand up • speak out
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE
2014-2015 PROPOSED BUDGET
FOR THE CITY OF DECATUR, GEORGIA

There will be public hearings on the proposed 2014-2015 budget for the City of Decatur
at 7:30 p.m. on June 2, 2014, at 6:00 p.m. on June 9, 2014, and at 7:30 p.m. on June 16,
2014 in the City Commission Meeting Room at City Hall, 509 N. McDonough Street,
Decatur. The proposed budget is summarized below and is available in its entirety for
public inspection at Decatur City Hall and at the Decatur Library on Sycamore Street.
After May 21st, the budget will be available on the City’s website at
www.decaturga.com/budget. All citizens are invited to attend the public hearings, to
provide written and oral comments, and ask questions concerning the entire budget.


FY 2014-2015
PROPOSED GENERAL FUND REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES

REVENUES
Taxes 17,422,600
Licenses, Permits & Inspections 1,200,500
Penalties, Fines & Forfeitures 1,370,000
Interest 500
Charges for Current Services 1,670,800
Intergovernmental Revenues 464,300
Miscellaneous Revenue 240,000
Sale of Fixed Assets 10,000
Operating Transfers 222,170
Appropriation From (To) Fund Balance (767,930)

TOTAL REVENUES $21,830,940

EXPENDITURES
Governmental Control Department 203,000
General Government Department 1,429,870
Community & Economic Development Department 1,843,470
Administrative Services Department 3,119,030
Police Department 5,335,350
Fire & Rescue Department 3,607,720
Public Works Department 2,872,830
Design, Environment & Construction Division 1,672,650
Active Living Division 1,747,020

TOTAL EXPENDITURES $21,830,940
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 13A
LOCAL NEWS
WEEK
PICTURES
In
Searching for Our Sons and Daughters:

For a programming guide, visit www.yourdekalb.com/dctv
Now showing on DCTV!
Finding DeKalb County’s Missing
Stories of our missing residents offer profound
insights and hope for a positive reunion.
DCTV – Your Emmy® Award-winning news source of DeKalb County news. Available on Comcast Cable Channel 23.
Photos brought to you by DCTV
A group of young men play basketball at the community courts near
Keswick Park, Chamblee. Photo by Lauren Ramsdell
Art in
the park
The art club at Chapel Hill
Elementary School in conjunc-
tion with the Friends of Chapel
Hill Park (FOCHP) group cre-
ated original nature-themed art
signs that now decorates the
trails at Chapel Hill Park in De-
catur. On May 24, the students,
parents and FOCHP members
held a sign unveiling to show-
case the art.
“This is something that
they’ll remember for a lifetime.
By investing in them and en-
couraging them to be a part of
Chapel Hill Park, they will want
to come back with their fami-
lies,” Chapel Hill Elementary
School’s principle Lawenzer
Smith said.
The three full-color signs
were paid for with grants from
Hands on Atlanta and Park
Pride with assistance from
Dekalb County Parks and Rec-
reation.
Pictured above from left, Chapel Hill Elementary principle Lawenzer Smith, art club members Shania Campbell, Ta’Ja Jackson and Jada Lewis
and visual arts teacher Amber Keen. Art club members not pictured, Omar Claros, Avianna Henderson, and Kennedy Strickland. For additional
photos, visit www.facebook.com/championnewspaper. Photo by Travis Hudgons
Warning sign placed in a yard in unincorporated
Decatur. Photo by Andrew Cauthen
Attendees of the 2014 Good Neighbor Day Open House
airshow at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport watch a stunt plane
May 17. Photo provided
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 14A
LOCAL NEWS
Reward ofered in death of Stone Mountain child
by Lauren Ramsdell
[email protected]
A coalition of DeKalb pastors
is offering a $5,500 reward for in-
formation leading to the arrest of
suspects who killed a 9-month-old
baby.
Bishop Quincy Carswell of The
Covenant Church addressed the
media surrounded by worship lead-
ers from across the county, as well as
the family of KenDarious Edwards
Jr., who was killed in a home inva-
sion May 10.
“We feel it is our spiritual and
moral obligation to speak out on
any issue that affects the citizens of
communities in which we serve,”
Carswell said. “In this case, there
has been in the past days an unprec-
edented number of murders and
violence taking place in this county.”
Carswell and the other pas-
tors are members of a group called
Right Choice Pastors Coalition,
which partners with local police and
schools to offer tutoring, mentoring
and after-school activities for chil-
dren in the community.
Police say that a group of two
to three men broke down the back
door of a home on To Lani Farm
Road in Stone Mountain late on
May 10.
Tanyika Smith, the mother of
KenDarious, said the family was at
home when they heard a knock at
the door.
“I said, ‘Boy, they’re here to get
us,’” Smith said. “We called the po-
lice, and they kicked in our door.
We ran to the bathroom, I covered
my son, [and] I said ‘I love you ’ and
just got down. My mom shut the
bathroom door and they kicked it in
and just started shooting. Shooting,
shooting, shooting.”
Smith, her mother Tracy Smith,
and a friend were all shot multiple
times but have been released from
the hospital. KenDarious was shot
in the chest, arm and stomach, and
did not survive.
The shooting is believed to be in
retaliation for the death of Alexis
Malone, a potential witness in the
May 3 shooting death of Michael
Phillips. KenDarious’ uncles, Os-
lushla Smith and Cutrez Johnson
are suspects in those killings. The
home invaders’ identities are cur-
rently unknown.
“Whoever you are, you might as
well turn yourself in,” Carswell said.
“Because this reward fund will grow
even larger. And the money is yours,
if you call today and say ‘I know
who did it’ to Crime Stoppers.”
Carswell said that those who
provide information to the police or
Crime Stoppers will remain anony-
mous.
Carswell also added that the fam-
ily needs assistance with fixing the
broken back door, food and poten-
tially a move out of the neighbor-
hood.
“The best thing you can do for
us is to let the person who did it be
known,” said Erica Stephens, Ken-
Darious’ paternal grandmother. “Let
them be up front so they can face
what they have done. God, you have
to answer to him. So there’s no way
around it.”
I said, ‘Boy, they’re here to get us,’” Smith said. “We
called the police, and they kicked in our door. We
ran to the bathroom, I covered my son, [and] I said
‘I love you ’ and just got down. My mom shut the
bathroom door and they kicked it in and just start-
ed shooting. Shooting, shooting, shooting.”
Tracy Smith and Erica Stephens, KenDarious’
grandmothers, comfort each other.
KenDarious’ mother, Tanyika Smith, was holding the baby as invaders shot her, her
mother and a friend. KenDarious was killed.
The house at To Lani Farm Road features a
memorial to KenDarious Edwards Jr.
Carswell holds a picture of KenDarious Edwards, Jr. Photos by Lauren Ramsdell
by Andrew Cauthen
[email protected]
“Te very second we toss our caps in the air,
our lives will change forever.”
Tat’s what Towers High School valedictorian
Aliyah Copeland told her fel-
low seniors moments before they
received their diplomas May 22
at New Birth Missionary Baptist
Church.
“Tis diploma is the ultimate
symbol of our journey,” Copeland
said during her graduation speech
at the school’s ffieth graduation.
Approximately 6,000 students
graduated from DeKalb County
schools, while another 200 graduat-
ed from City Schools of Decatur. At
Towers High School approximately
200 graduates earned collectively $2
million in scholarships and fnan-
cial assistance, according the Ralph
Simpson, the school’s principal.
“Towers was not supposed to be
successful,” said DeKalb County school
board member Joyce Morley about expectations
some had about the Title 1 school. “Te students
were not supposed to be achievers.
“‘Tey’ said it could not be done,” Morley said.
“It is done, but it is not fnished.”
A former state trial court judge, prosecutor
and assistant attorney general, Penny Brown
Reynolds, was the guest speaker at Towers’
graduation.
Brown Reynolds said she was impressed with
the students in the program before she spoke: “A
salutatorian who was brought to tears,…a vale-
dictorian who spoke from her heart [and] doesn’t
look like a typical valedictorian [and] a young
man who didn’t have any training in music.
“Young and gifed and talented—that’s what
they are,” she said. “But what happens afer we
leave the pomp and circumstance. What happens
afer today? You will have some cookouts and
some ‘partays’—a whole lot of ‘partays.’ But where
do you go afer that?”
Brown Reynolds urged the graduates to always
remember where they come from.
“Daddy not in the house? Tat’s his loss.
Mama working three jobs? Tat’s alright,” said
the judge, who has a syndicated television show,
Family Court with Judge Penny. “You do what you
have to do. I worked three jobs. Do you know, as
God would have it, I worked part-time cleaning
the very courtroom I would end up being a judge
in.
“One thing you have to remember, gradu-
ates, is that you have to stay humble,”
she said. “You cannot forget who you
are and the legacy of your people and
who you come from. Too many of us get
a position and a title and we turn our
backs on our community. It is impera-
tive that you never forget where you
come from.
“Don’t tell me how you started of
is how you have to fnish,” she told the
graduates. “Your destiny is before you—I
don’t care what anybody says.”
Towers’ salutatorian, Jack Nguyen,
said seniors had to deal with a building
in poor repair, a diferent principal every
year and insufcient supplies for “out-
standing achievement.”
“It still rained on the inside as much
as it did on the outside, but this year was
diferent,” Nguyen said.
“We are Titans. We have had to do so much
with so little for so long that we can do anything
we want,” Nguyen said.
“As we come to the end of our [high school
years], we should focus on the power…our di-
plomas ofer us,” he said. “Class of 2014, no one
decides our fate. We will make mistakes, but we
must never give up.”
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 15A LOCAL NEWS
6,000 grads fip their tassels in DeKalb
‘ We are Titans. We have had
to do so much with so little
for so long that we can do
anything we want.’
–Jack Nguyen
Congratulations DeKalb 2014 Grads
Towers High School graduation services were held at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church. Photos by Andrew Cauthen
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 16A
LOCAL NEWS
Marta
Continued From Page 2A
NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE 
   The City of Brookhaven has tentatively adopted a millage rate which will require an increase in property taxes by 10.94 percent over the Rollback Millage rate.  This increase is due 
solely to the revaluation of real property tax assessments. 
   All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearings on this tax increase to be held at Brookhaven City Hall at 4362 Peachtree Road, Brookhaven, GA 30319.  The first public 
hearing will be at 7:00 p.m. on June 10, 2014. 
   The second and third public hearings will be held at Brookhaven City Hall at special called meetings on June 17, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.  After the final public hearing, the 
millage rate will be formally adopted. 
   The tentative increase will result in a millage rate of 2.85 mills, a millage rate equivalent increase of .281 mills.  Without this tentative tax increase, the millage rate will be no more 
than 2.569 mills.  The proposed tax increase for a home with a fair market value of $300,000 is approximately $28 and the proposed tax increase for nonhomestead property with a 
fair market value of $200,000 is approximately $22. 
NOTICE

The City of Brookhaven City Council does hereby announce that the millage rate will be set at a meeting to be
held at the Brookhaven City Hall on June 17, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. and pursuant to the requirements of O.C.G.A. Section
48-5-32 does hereby publish the following presentation of the current year's tax digest and levy, along with the history of the tax
digest and levy for the past five years.

CURRENT 2014 TAX DIGEST AND 5 YEAR HISTORY OF LEVY

Brookhaven City 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Real & Personal 2,261,071,691 2,691,060,034
Motor Vehicles 82,633,320
Mobile Homes
Timber - 100%
Heavy Duty Equipment
Gross Digest 0 0 0 0 2,261,071,691 2,773,693,354
Less M& O Exemptions 254,997,596 437,879,638
Net M & O Digest 0 0 0 0 2,006,074,095 2,335,813,716
State Forest Land Assistance Grant Value 0
Adjusted Net M&O Digest 0 0 0 0 2,006,074,095 2,335,813,716

Gross M&O Millage 2.850 2.850
Less Rollbacks
Net M&O Millage 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 2.850 2.850

Total City Taxes Levied $0 $0 $0 $0 $5,717,311 $6,657,069

Net Taxes $ Increase $0 $0 $0 $5,717,311 $939,758
Net Taxes % Increase #DIV/0! #DIV/0! #DIV/0! #DIV/0! 16.44%

 
by the Atlanta Regional Roundtable, which
represented Clayton, Cherokee, Cobb,
DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett,
Henry and Rockdale counties and the city of
Atlanta.
For DeKalb, $1.1 billion would have
funded proposed projects such as a $700
million Clifton Corridor MARTA rail
that would run from Lindbergh Center to
Emory University and a $225 million I-20
park-and-ride bus system. Other proposed
projects include interchange improvements
at I-85 North at I-285, a bridge replacement
on Clifton Road and pedestrian improve-
ment on Buford Highway.
Parker said MARTA has to be excellent
in all aspects to attract other counties to join
the mass transit system.
“Clayton County is really looking at
the potential of joining MARTA as a full
partner for the first time, and I don’t think
that would’ve been in the conversation if
MARTA had not made some fundamental
improvements,” he said. “So if we become
routinely excellent on everything we do the
folks from Cobb, Gwinnett and Marietta
will all look at us as a very valuable option
–being worth the investment. But we got to
get our act together first.”
Over the next few years, Parker said
MARTA wants to find the right funding
source so they begin expansion.
“We have three projects that are ready
to go and if we find the funding source for
them we’ll be able to start the implementa-
tion of those projects,” he said.
The projects include the I-20 East Corri-
dor and the Clifton Corridor. Those projects
would extend bus rapid transit, light rail or
heavy rail.
MARTA also plans to invest in more
technology. Parker said Wi-Fi will be on
some of the buses and trains in the next
year. MARTA also will improve cell phone
connectivity on the trains and add mobile
payments.
“Instead of having to use your Breeze
card you can use your phone to purchase
your fare and use your phone to tap as
you’re going into the rail system or buses
and never have to use a card or cash,” he
said.
MARTA also plans to install a new audio
and video information system that will add
new signage throughout the stations and a
new public service announcement system.
The system also will send out Amber Alerts,
have targeted advertisements and weather
updates.
“We just want to continue to get better
and better as an agency,” Parker said. “Keep
our cost down, we want to have the best
safety record in the nation, we want to be
an employer of choice, and we want to be a
low-cost, high-value provider. If we can get
those things done, then we’ll be doing pretty
good.”
DeKalb Operations Task
Force schedules inaugural
Meeting
Te DeKalb County
Operations Task Force will
hold its frst meeting June 5,
from 6-8 p.m. at the Maloof
Auditorium, located at 1300
Commerce Drive in Deca-
tur.  Te Operations Task
Force was created by DeKalb
interim CEO Lee May with
the support of the DeKalb
County Board of Commis-
sioners through an executive
order in March. 
DeKalb distributes annual
drinking water report
DeKalb County Depart-
ment of Watershed Manage-
ment recently released the
2014 Consumer Confdence
Report (CCR), also known
as the annual water quality
report. The 2014 CCR pro-
vides detailed information
on monitoring data gathered
from water quality testing
during 2013.
By law, tap water must
be tested for various water
quality parameters selected
by the United States En-
vironmental Protection
Agency (EPA) and the State
of Georgia Environmental
Protection Division (EPD) to
ensure that it is safe to drink.
DeKalb County Parks
holds summer day camp
orientation
DeKalb County Recre-
ation, Parks and Cultural
Affairs will host Parents
Orientation Night at all rec-
reation centers May 29 at 7
p.m. The orientation is to
educate parents on activities
and programs that will be
provided during the sum-
mer day camp programs for
youth ages 5-15.
News Briefs
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 17A
LOCAL NEWS
DEKALB COUNTY BOARD OF
EDUCATION
3
rd
PUBLIC BUDGET HEARING
FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2015
Monday, June 2, 2014
TIME LOCATION
5:45 p.m. J. David Williamson Board Room
Administrative & Instructional Complex
1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd.
Stone Mountain, GA 30083
The DeKalb County Board of Education will hold the
public budget meeting to solicit feedback from the public
regarding the 2014-2015 school system’s budget.
FOR INFORMATION, CALL THE OFFICE OF THE
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AT 678-676-0069.
2015 Public Notice Ad #2 Budget
CITY OF DORAVILLE
PUBLIC NOTICE
Fiscal Year 2015 Budget
Notice is hereby given that the proposed budget for the City of Doraville shall be available for
public inspection beginning May 23, 2014, in the City Clerkʼs office from 8:30 to 4:30 p.m.
Monday through Friday at City Hall, 3725 Park Avenue, Doraville, GA.
A public hearing shall be held on the 2nd day of June at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 3725 Park
Avenue, Doraville, GA before the Mayor and Council of the City of Doraville at which time public
comment pertaining to the Fiscal Year 2015 (July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015) budget shall be
sounded. All citizens of Doraville are invited to attend.
A special called meeting shall be held on the 16
th
day of June at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 3725
Park Avenue, Doraville, GA before the Mayor and Council of the City of Doraville at which time
the Fiscal Year 2015 (July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015) budget shall be approved and the
budget ordinance adopted in accordance with O.C.G.A. 36-81-5. All citizens of Doraville are
invited to attend.
The Mayor and Lithonia City Council do hereby announce that the millage rate will be set at a meeting to be
held at the Lithonia City Hall, 6980 Main Street, Lithonia 30058 on Monday, June 23, 2014 at 7:00 PM
and pursuant to the requirements of O.C.G.A. Section 48-5-32 do hereby publish the following presentation of the current
year's tax digest and levy, along with the history of the tax digest and levy for the past five years.
CURRENT 2014 TAX DIGEST AND 5 YEAR HISTORY OF LEVY
COUNTY WIDE 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Real & Personal 28,842,932 $ 26,674,180 $ 20,765,829 $ 19,375,805 $ 17,690,700 $ 20,095,784 $
Motor Vehicles 1,979,710 $ 1,582,040 $ 1,615,590 $ 1,690,000 $ 1,853,380 $ 1,554,440 $
Mobile Homes 191,805 $ 176,149 $ 176,149 $ 117,094 $ 117,094 $ 93,990 $
Timber - 100%
Heavy Duty Equipment
Gross Digest 31,014,447 $ 28,432,369 $ 22,557,568 $ 21,182,899 $ 19,661,174 $ 21,744,214 $
Less M& O Exemptions 566,739 $ 565,746 $ 545,059 $ 562,008 $ 552,462 $ 526,915 $
Net M & O Digest 30,447,708 $ 27,866,623 $ 22,012,509 $ 20,620,891 $ 19,108,712 $ 21,217,299 $
State Forest Land
Assistance Grant Value - $
Adjusted Net M&O
Digest 30,447,708 $ 27,866,623 $ 22,012,509 $ 20,620,891 $ 19,108,712 $ 21,217,299 $
Gross M&O Millage 12.321 13.178 15.205 16.552 17.869 19.869
Less Rollbacks
Net M&O Millage 12.321 13.178 15.205 16.552 17.869 19.869
Total County Taxes Levi $375,146 $367,226 $334,700 $341,317 $341,454 421,567 $
Net Taxes $ Increase #REF! -$7,920 -$32,526 $6,617 $137 80,113 $
Net Taxes % Increase #REF! -2.11% -8.86% 1.98% 0.04% 19.00%
NOTICE
The Decatur Rotary
Foundation awarded fi-
nancial grants to 11 local
nonprofit organizations at
the May 16 meeting of the
Decatur Rotary Club.
Decatur Rotary’s service
focus is youth, youth at risk,
and literacy in the Decatur
area. This annual tradition
of awarding grants to worthy
nonprofits is a continuing
commitment to the missions
of the recipient organiza-
tions.
“These funds will help
blind children learn Braille;
increase literacy in our
youth; enhance the teaching
of math, science and engi-
neering; encourage positive
personal development and
help many children at risk,”
said Dan DeWoskin, chair
of the Rotary Foundation
Grants Committee. “We are
so proud of the many fine
organizations that work with
our youth and Rotary hopes
to encourage these endeav-
ors even more in the future.”
Grants of $2,000 each
were awarded to Decatur-
based National Federation
of the Blind of Georgia and
Clarkston-based Friends of
Refugees.
A grant of $1,500 was
given to Community Guilds-
The Foundery for their
STE(A)M Truck teaching
science, technology, engi-
neering, arts and math edu-
cational initiatives.
Grants of $1,000 each
were awarded to Scottdale
Child Development & Fam-
ily Resource Center; Poverty
Is Real, Inc.; Decatur Hous-
ing Authority; Stride Ahead,
Decatur Rotary Foundation
awards grants to local nonprofts
Pictured in the photo are Jennifer Green with Friends of Refugees; Anne Preston of Stride Ahead, Inc; Garrick
Scott of the National Federation of the Blind of Georgia; Brenda Oprisch and Emily Siegesmund of Girl Scouts
of Greater Atlanta, Inc.; Maryum Lewis of Scottdale Child Development & Family Resource Center; Dan
DeWoskin, Rotary Club Grants Committee; Spencer Smith of Poverty is Real, Inc; Doug Faust with Decatur
Housing Authority; Jason Martin of Community Guilds-The Foundery; Tabitha Michel of Our House, Inc;
Jennifer Halloran of Camp Horizon; Barb Allen with Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta - Samuel L. Jones
Club; Jennifer Green of Friends of Refugees; and Robert L. Brown, President, Decatur Rotary.
Inc; and Camp Horizon.
Receiving grants of $500
each were Our House, Inc.;
Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro
Atlanta - Samuel L. Jones
Club; and Girl Scouts of
Greater Atlanta, Inc.
The Decatur Rotary Club,
founded in 1938, meets for
lunch each Friday in the his-
toric DeKalb County Court-
house in downtown Decatur.
For additional information,
visit www.decatur-rotary.org.
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 18A
BUSINESS
The Voice of Business in DeKalb County
DeKalb Chamber of Commerce
404.378.8000 www.DeKalbChamber.org
Two Decatur Town Center, 125 Clairemont Ave., Suite 235, Decatur, GA 30030
Avondale Estates eatery owner seeks to capture neighborhood spirit
by Kathy Mitchell
[email protected]
A space in Avondale
Estates’ central business
district that sat vacant for
nearly five years recently be-
came the home of the area’s
newest dining option.
“With the opening of
the Museum School and
other area growth I felt the
time is right to invest in
Avondale and work with
the community to rejuve-
nate a very special part of
Atlanta’s landscape,” said
Luellen Marshall, who re-
cently opened The Bishop
restaurant and bar on North
Avondale Road.
The Bishop opened in
mid-May and Marshall said
she’s pleased with how well
the community has received
it. “The business commu-
nity, local government and
area residents have all been
welcoming and supportive,”
she said.
She said the restaurant
features family recipes in-
spired by American, par-
ticularly Southern, classics
and comfort food—but
with a twist. “It’s foods you
know, but prepared slightly
differently,” she said. For ex-
ample, there’s fried chicken,
but it appears on the menu
as “smoked fried chick-
en.”
The restaurant has a full
bar that stretches along the
west side of the room, sepa-
rated by a half-wall from the
dining area, and Marshall
said she’s especially proud
to serve on-tap wines. “It al-
lows us to serve high-quality
wines at affordable prices.
Also, it’s a much more eco-
friendly way of serving wine
than from bottles.”
Marshall, who has been a
resident of Avondale Estates
for several years, said the
city is sensitive to sustain-
ability issues—“that’s one
of the reasons I really love
it”—and she has been mind-
ful of the city’s character in
planning the restaurant. The
menu focuses on all-natural,
locally sourced ingredients.
A number of signature
dishes will remain on the
menu year-round and other
items will be introduced sea-
sonally, according to Mar-
shall. “Right now, there are
no soups on the menu,” she
said, “but in the fall when
the weather’s cooler, there
will be.”
The building was con-
structed in 1926 and has
been home to a number of
businesses. In remaking the
space into a restaurant, Mar-
shall said, she wanted to re-
tain its character. The décor
features exposed brick walls,
antique mirrors and rough-
hewn wood in neutral col-
ors, all aimed at maintaining
the historic integrity of the
building, she noted.
“I think there was a ski
shop here at one point and
the space has been vacant
for several years. I saw it and
decided it would be perfect
for the type of bistro I had in
mind. I want it to be a com-
fortable neighborhood place
where people can come for
an early dinner or come
later to socialize over dinner
and drinks. I don’t want it to
be just a weekend restaurant.
“In many of America’s
big cities such as New York
and Chicago neighborhoods
have their own special char-
acter and the restaurants in
those neighborhoods reflect
that character. I feel that’s
true of Avondale Estates.
It’s a very special place and
I feel The Bishop reflects its
character. I hope that resi-
dents of Decatur, Tucker and
the rest of the metropolitan
Atlanta area will want to
come here and experience
that,” she added.
The 2,300-square-foot
eatery seats approximately
80 diners and is open only
for dinner. Marshall said she
plans to start serving brunch
in the fall.
Although The Bishop is
Marshall’s first venture as
an owner-operator, she has
more than 20 years in the
restaurant/hospitality in-
dustry, having held manage-
ment positions at several na-
tional chain restaurants. “I
was managing a bar before I
was old enough to drink at a
bar,” she said with a laugh.
The name is family in-
spired—Marshall’s son is
named Bishop, and he was
named for his great-grand-
father—she said, adding
that she hopes the name will
inspire a family feel in the
restaurant. “There is a chil-
dren’s menu,” she noted. “We
want to be a restaurant for
the entire family.”
Marshall joins city offcials and supporters for the May 20 ribbon-cutting. Owner/operator Luellen Marshall said the time is right for a bistro-type restaurant in
Avondale estates. Photos provided
NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE
The Governing Authority of the City of Avondale Estates has tentatively adopted a millage rate which will require an increase in the property
taxes by 9.80 percent. All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearings on this tax increase to be held at City Hall, 21 North
Avondale Plaza, Avondale Estates, GA 30002 on Wednesday, June 4, 2014 at 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, June 18, 2014 at 5:30 p.m. and
Thursday, June 26, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. This tentative increase will result in a millage rate of 11.20 mills, an increase of 1.0 mill. Without this
tentative tax increase, the millage rate will be no more than 10.20 mills. The proposed tax increase for a home with a fair market value of
$200,000.00 is approximately $80. The proposed increase on non-homestead property with a fair market value of $200,000 is
approximately $80. The proposed tax increase for a property with the county basic homestead exemption is $80.
CURRENT 2014 TAX DIGEST AND 5 YEAR HISTORY OF LEVY
CITY 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Real & Personal 157,621,535 157,295,925 158,471,976 133,021,745 141,146,248 149,130,779
Motor Vehicles 9,411,170 7,917,420 7,854,350 8,014,980 8,451,460 7,456,190
Mobile Homes
Timber - 100%
Heavy Duty
Equipment
Gross Digest 167,032,705 165,213,345 166,326,326 141,036,725 149,597,708 156,586,969
Less M& O
Exemptions 168,873 119,131 102,456 231,089 138,061 260,276
Net M & O Digest 166,863,832 165,094,214 166,223,870 140,805,636 149,459,647 156,326,693
State Forest Land
Assistance Grant
Value
Adjusted Net M&O
Digest 165,863,832 166,094,214 166,223,870 140,805,636 149,459,647 156,326,693
Gross M&O Millage 11.000 11.000 10.957 10.957 10.957 11.20
Less Rollbacks
Net M&O Millage 11.000 11.000 10.957 10.957 10.957 11.20
Net Taxes Levied $1,835,502 $1,816,036 $1,821,315 $1,542,807 $1,637,629 $1,750,859
Net Taxes $ Increase $123,755 -$19,466 $5,279 -$278,508 $94,822 $113,230
Net Taxes % Increase 7.29% -1.06% 0.29% -15.29% 6.15% 6.91%
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 19A
EDUCATION
Decatur students awarded for their empathy
by Andrew Cauthen
[email protected]
Three students from the 4/5 Academy
at Fifth Avenue were recognized May 21
for sharing the gift of reading to refugees.
Fifth-graders Colson Dennis, Gen-
esis Reddicks and Minnie Stanford each
received a $1,000 scholarship for win-
ning first place in the 2014 Belk Service
Learning Challenge, a regional competi-
tion through which students learn about
core subjects such as science, technology
and social studies while making a posi-
tive impact through service in their local
community.
The first place team, A Book for Ev-
eryone, impacted its community by orga-
nizing a book drive for girls at the Global
Village Project, a special purpose middle
school in Decatur dedicated to providing
access to quality education for refugees
whose schooling has been disrupted. 
“I feel really good right now because
this is my good deed of the month,” Gen-
esis said. “I try to do good deeds every
day. I feel really good about this. I’m glad
that these girls get these books.”
The team collected the books for two
weeks from fellow students.
“Seventy-eight percent of high school
refugees don’t graduate,” Genesis said.
“And because they don’t know English
and they don’t get on higher reading
levels. So we’re giving them books so
they can take home and practice reading
so they will be better at academics and
reading and speaking English.”
Jacky Howlett, store manager for the
Phipps Plaza Belk store in Buckhead,
said the department store “always gives
back to our local communities.”
“Service and learning is just a natural
combination, so we partnered with Dis-
covery Education to be able to do proj-
ects just like this,” Howlett said.
Additionally, Belk gave the team
$5,000 to continue its community out-
reach efforts. 
“Because of the efforts that they did
were so great—they were able to help
30 girls with…an average of 20 books
each—that we wanted to be able to keep
that going,” Howlett said. “So we wanted
to be able to surprise them with an extra
$5,000 to do that.”
The team’s advisor, Sandi Dennis, re-
ceived a $250 teacher award. 
“We worked super hard to make li-
braries for some girls who don’t have
books,” Dennis said. “We worked really
hard after school and we planned and…
today we’re going to deliver a big bag of
books to 30 girls.”
Bruce Roaden, principal of 4/5 Acad-
emy at Fifth Avenue, said the students’
project showed that they care for others.
“They did a book drive for the girls of
the Global Village School who are learn-
ing English,” Roaden said. “They did it
all on their own and created separate li-
braries for those girls.
“We’re an International Baccalaureate
(IB) school so they are demonstrating
the IB principles of caring and empathy,”
he said.
Colson Dennis prepares to take donated books to students at the Global Village Project in Decatur.
Genesis, Colson, Minnie and their advisor, Sandi Dennis, are recognized during a surprise ceremony.
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 20A
LOCAL NEWS
AUCTIONS
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Your 25-word classified
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BIDS & PROPOSALS
Real Estate firm seek-
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partnering on a government
solicitation. Contact sub-
contractor. seeker@gmail.
com
Real Estate firm seeking
LSBE A/E firm for space
planning, partnering on a
government solicitation.
Contact subcontractor.
[email protected]
DRIVERS
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VACATION RENTALS
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at 770-454-6776 or online at
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DISCLAIMER: We do not knowingly accept advertisements that discriminate, or intend to discriminate, on any illegal basis. Nor do we knowingly accept employment advertisements
that are not bona-fide job offers. All real estate advertisements are subject to the fair housing act and we do not accept advertising that is in violation of the law. The law prohibits
discrimination based on color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap or familial status.
The Champion is not responsible for any damages resulting from advertisements. All sales fnal.
RATES: $30.00 for up to 40 words, each additional word $0.60.
All ads are prepaid! All Major credit cards accepted!
For Prices, Deadlines and Information
Visit www.championclassifeds.com
Classifieds
TheChampion
Ads Due By Friday - Noon
for next publication date.
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 21A
SPORTS
REDUCE
REUSE
RECYCLE
Gabrielle Robinson continues
to dominate DeKalb tennis
by Carla Parker
[email protected]
Watching tennis star Ser-
ena Williams play was all
it took for then 4-year-old
Gabrielle Robinson to gain
an interest in the sport.
“I told my parents that I
wanted to play tennis and
they went out and bought a
racket,” Robinson said.
At 17, Robinson is one
of the top female players in
No. 1 singles from DeKalb
County schools, has a 42-2
record in three season and
has already received an esti-
mated 20 scholarship offers.
The Chamblee High School
rising senior finished the
2014 tennis season at the
top of female No. 1 singles
with a 14-1 record and
helped lead her team to a
11-9 overall record.
In her first year at Cham-
blee, she had an 11-1 record
as a freshman. She went
undefeated her sophomore
year with a 17-0 record.
Chamblee tennis coach
Christopher Smith called
Robinson a once in a life-
time player.
“She’s doing Chamblee
a favor by playing tennis,”
Smith said. “For someone
who excels as much as she
does on the junior circuit
she doesn’t have to play
high school tennis.”
When she was younger,
Robinson began playing
tennis in the United States
Tennis Association (USTA),
the largest tennis organiza-
tion in the world, with 17
geographical sections, more
than 770,000 individual
members and 8,000 organi-
zational members.
“I realized I was good at
tennis when I was 10, and
I started playing in USTA,”
she said.
She won her first na-
tional tournament when
she was 12 years old at the
Peach State Junior Tennis
Classic. She later won an-
other tournament in Flori-
da. When Robinson began
playing at Chamblee, she
never thought she would be
this successful.
“I thought I would be in
No. 1 singles, but I wasn’t
sure if I would be this domi-
nate playing against other
schools,” she said.
Smith said Robinson
is so good that she makes
good players from other
schools look like average
players.
“Her teammates don’t
always understand the
mental toughness she has
while playing No. 1 singles
match in and match out
and always winning under
that pressure,” he said. “She
makes stressful situations
look very easy, and I find
that extremely impressive
because no matter whom
you play, every team has
one good player.
“When you play No. 1
singles you never have a
day off,” Smith added. “It’s
always somebody good.
Her record of consistency
over the past three seasons
speaks for itself.”
Although she just com-
pleted her junior season,
Robinson has already set
goals she wants to accom-
plish during her final year at
Chamblee.
“I would like to go un-
defeated and I would like
for the team to make it past
the third round in the state
playoffs,” she said.
She is also hoping to get
a scholarship offer from
three schools that she is in-
terested in: Central Florida,
Florida State or Georgia
Tech. She plans to try out
for professional tennis af-
ter college and wants to
become an inspiration to
young Black girls like Wil-
liams was for her.
“I feel like it’s enough of
us playing basketball and
running track,” she said.
“Athletes nowa days play
tennis so I feel like if you’re
athletic and can run then
you can play tennis.” Chamblee tennis player Gabrielle Robinson fnished at the top of girls
No. 1 singles with a 14-1 record in 2014. Photo by Travis Hudgons
DEKALB COUNTY BOARD OF
EDUCATION
TENTATIVE BUDGET ADOPTION
FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2015
Monday, June 2, 2014
TIME LOCATION
7:00 p.m. J. David Williamson Board Room
Administrative & Instructional Complex
1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd.
Stone Mountain, GA 30083
Citizens interested in reviewing the consolidated budget for
the 2014-2015 school year may do so by visiting the
DeKalb County School District website at
www.dekalb.k12.ga.us.
FOR INFORMATION, CALL THE OFFICE OF THE
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER AT 678-676-0069.
‘NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX HEARING’

The Mayor and the Atlanta City Council will
adopt a millage rate which will require no tax
increase.
All concerned citizens are invited to the public
hearings to be held at the Atlanta City Hall
Complex, 55 Trinity Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia in
the City Council Chambers located on the
Second Floor on Thursday, June 5, 2014 at 6:00
p.m.





THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 22A
SPORTS
DeKalb announces all-county baseball teams
by Carla Parker
[email protected]
The 2014 baseball season
ended without a DeKalb
team celebrating a state
championship, but a few
players celebrated post-sea-
son county awards.
The DeKalb County
School District announced
the awards for the 2014 1st
All-County team, 2nd All-
County team, All-County
Defensive team, player of
the year, pitcher of the year,
coach of the year and field
of the year.
Columbia was represent-
ed well on the 1st All-Coun-
ty team with five players
receiving the honor. Catcher
Ronald McGhee, infielder
Trenton Nash, outfielder
Keishaun Clark, pitcher
Jalen Atterburry and Justin
Washington were named
to the 1st All-County team.
Atterburry received the John
Devore Pitcher of the Year
award.
Cedar Grove, Redan and
Stephenson each had three
players named to the 1st
All-County Team. Infielder
Deion Sellers, outfielder
James Hartsfield and in-
fielder Jenard Morris repre-
sented Cedar Grove. Sellers
was also named Player of the
Year.
Redan was represented
by infielder James Nelson
and pitchers Corderius
Dorsey and Daren Osby;
and Stephenson was repre-
sented by outfielder Harri-
son Moore, pitcher Marcus
Young and Tekwaan Whyte.
Other members on the
1st All-County team includ-
ed infielder Will Hudgins
and pitcher Kevin Smith of
Dunwoody, Lakeside catcher
Bobby Tippett, Arabia
Mountain infielder Jakobi
Meyers, M.L. King outfield-
er Jordan Thomas, Decatur
outfielder Zak Schulam,
Tucker pitcher Jake Lovvorn
and Kevin Wimbish from
Southwest DeKalb.
The 2nd All-County
team features Dunwoody’s
Steve Gebhart, Steven
Etcher and Chandler Dins-
more; Lakeside’s Jaret Barr,
Brad Earnest and Will
Cosby; Derrick Lewis and
Austin Ledet of Druid Hills;
M.L. King’s Bakari Gayle
and Tyronn Walker; David
Burke and Jordan Ballou
of Stephenson; and Tucker’s
Aaron Perry and Julian
Sewell.
Also on the second team
are Arabia Mountain’s Tim
Card; Decatur’s Boyd Brim;
Chamblee’s Malik Jones;
Southwest DeKalb’s Malik
White; and Messiah Feagin
from Towers.
Burke, White, Gebhart,
Earnest and Hartsfield were
all named to the defensive
team as well as Stephen-
son’s Jalen Robinson, Ryan
Betts and Dexter Neal;
M.L. King’s Bakari Gayle
and Tyronn Walker; South-
west DeKalb’s Destin Diaz
and Jason Davis; Tucker’s
Booth Vogel; Chamblee’s
Drew Henry; and Druid
Hills’ Emaeus Thomas.
Stephenson head coach
Marco Jackson was awarded
the Marvin B. Pruitt Coach
of the Year award and Tuck-
er was awarded Field of the
Year.
City of Decatur Georgia Ad Valorem Tax Digest History
Decatur - Digest
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Assessment Ratio 50% 50% 50% 50% 50% 50%
Real Property 1,162,026,500 $ 1,157,883,900 $ 1,149,844,600 $ 1,137,427,809 $ 1,168,516,500 $ 1,326,596,200 $
Personal Property 20,387,500 $ 20,069,600 $ 21,146,700 $ 22,174,136 $ 23,211,680 $ 22,248,300 $
Public Utilities 16,473,600 11,673,700 $ 18,933,750 $ 14,297,200 $ 14,639,953 $ 15,152,700 $
Motor Vehicle 50,081,000 $ 46,119,000 $ 46,119,000 $ 49,311,000 $ 52,979,900 $ 47,331,600 $
Total Digest $1,248,968,600 $1,235,746,200 $1,236,044,050 $1,223,210,145 $1,259,348,033 $1,411,328,800
City Operations
General Fund Exemptions 118,900,000 $ $122,579,000 125,075,000 $ 126,914,000 $ 126,332,000 $ 125,393,000 $
Net City Operations Digest $1,130,068,600 $1,113,167,200 $1,110,969,050 $1,096,296,145 $1,133,016,033 $1,285,935,800
City Operations Millage 13.035 13.035 13.000 13.000 13.000 13.000
City Operations Levy $14,730,444 $14,510,134 $14,442,598 $14,251,850 $14,729,208 $16,717,165
Percent Change 7.54 -1.50 -0.47 -1.32 3.35 13.50
Dollar Amount Change $1,032,306 ($220,310) ($67,537) ($190,748) $477,359 $1,987,957
The Decatur City Commission announces that the 2014 tentative millage rate was adopted at their meeting on
Monday, May 19, 2014. Hearings on the budget and millage rate will be held on:
Monday, June 2, 2014 at 7:30 pm
Monday, June 9, 2014 at 6:00 p.m.
Monday, June 16, 2014 at 7:30 pm
The hearings will be held at Decatur City Hall, 509 N. McDonough Street, Decatur, GA. Final adoption of the 2014
millage rate and fiscal year 2014-2015 budget is scheduled for consideration at the Decatur City Commission
meeting on Monday, June 16, 2014. The above table is presented pursuant to O.C.G.A. 48-5-32 showing the
estimated current year's digest and proposed millage rates along with a five-year history of the tax digest and millage
rates.
Redan pitcher Coderius Dorsey, Columbia pitcher Jalen Atterburry and Stephenson pitcher Tekwaan Whyte were named to the 1st All-County baseball team.
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 23A
SPORTS
Decatur Bulldogs
Athletes make up 50 percent
of DeKalb’s honor grads
Asia Durr selected to 2014 USA Basketball
Women’s U17 World Championship Team
by Mark Brock
Twenty-five DeKalb Coun-
ty School District athletes
graduated last week at the top
of their classes, reaching the
50 percent mark of all the top
academic honorees for 2014.
There were 50 valedictori-
ans and salutatorians honored
in 2014 at the 19 DeKalb
high schools and half of them
participated in athletics, in-
cluding magnet programs
at Chamblee, Columbia and
Southwest DeKalb.
Ten athletes lead their
2014 classes as valedictorians
and 15 more earned saluta-
torian honors. In addition to
boasting 288 team state cham-
pionships since 1938, DeKalb
athletes are preparing them-
selves for the future through
their classroom performance.
Athletes swept valedictori-
an and salutatorian honors at
nine of the DeKalb programs
including for the second con-
secutive year at Druid Hills,
Stephenson and Tucker.
Valedictorian Adriano
Iqbal (tennis) and salutatori-
an Vivian Lee (cross country)
made it a two-year sweep at
Druid Hills.
Zoe-Ann Robertson (vol-
leyball) and Nadaysia Brooks
(volleyball/basketball) topped
the Stephenson honors.
Brooks, the salutatorian, was
part of two consecutive Elite 8
basketball appearances for the
Lady Jaguars.
Tucker honored three top
students who also played
tennis for the Tigers’ and ap-
peared in the Class AAAAA
state tournament this spring.
Ummar Jamal (valedictorian)
and co-salutatorians Huy
Diep and Ryan Strickland
took top honors. Diep also
competed in swimming and
Strickland was a member of
the boys’ cross-country team
that went to the state meet last
fall.
School Valedictorian
Chamblee Resident Lizaremi Luna-Sousa (cross country)
Cross Keys Kui Sit (cross country)
Druid Hills Adrian Iqbal (tennis)
Dunwoody Jennifer Hardister (cross country/track),
Mallory Harris (marching band)
M.L. King Jr. Indigo Dill (marching band)
McNair Justin Jenkins (basketball)
Redan TyKeria Davidson (softball/soccer)
SW DeKalb Resident Darsan DeShazier (basketball)
Stephenson Zoe-Ann Roberston (volleyball)
Stone Mountain Thi Thong (soccer)
Tucker Ummar Jamal (tennis)
School Salutatorian
Cedar Grove Chandler Ector (football/track)
Chamblee Magnet Sounak Das (cross country)
Chamblee Resident Nayden Velev (wrestling)
Cross Keys Cristian Padilla Romero (cross country/
track)
Druid Hills Vivian Lee (swimming)
Dunwoody Elizabeth Hardister (cross country/
track)
Lakeside Anna Wickham (track)
M.L. King Jr. Romane Moore (football)
Redan Kiandra Smith (cheerleading)
SW DeKalb Magnet Chelsea Jackson (tennis)
SW DeKalb Resident Gabrielle Ash (gymnastics/cheerleading)
Stephenson Nadaysia Brooks (volleyball/basketball)
Stone Mountain Jamarquise Huston (cross country/
track/wrestling)
Tucker Huy Diep (swimming/tennis)
Ryan Strickland (cross country/tennis)
by Carla Parker
[email protected]
For the second consecutive year, St. Pius guard Asia Durr
was named to the USA basketball women’s world champion-
ship team.
Durr is one of 12 players across the country to make the
2014 USA Basketball Women’s U17 World Championship
Team. Durr is also one of six gold medalists from the 2013
USA Women’s U16 National Team.
The roster was released May 26 after four days of trials
that began with 145 players on the court at the U.S. Olympic
Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo. Carol
Callan, USA Basketball women’s national team director and
chair of the USA Basketball Women’s Developmental Nation-
al Team Committee, said it was a challenge for the committee
to make the roster due to the large numbers and talent.
“However, given that quality of talent, in many ways there
was no way we could fail at picking a good team, and we
certainly think that we’ve done that,” Callan said. “It’s a very
versatile team with good size, good speed and quickness and
good basketball smarts. So, we are really excited to see how
they perform at the world championship.”
Durr and Te’a Cooper from McEachern High School are
the only Georgia natives to make the team. Durr averaged
18.4 points per game during Team USA’s gold medal run at
the 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship for Women last
summer.
This latest accomplishment is one of many Durr has
received this year. She led her team to a 30-3 record and a
second consecutive Class AAA state championship this past
season. Durr averaged 24.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.5 steals
and 1.7 assists per game.
She was named Georgia’s 2014 Miss Basketball by the
Atlanta Tipoff Club and was named the 2013-14 Gatorade
Georgia Girls Basketball Player of the Year.
The 2014 USA U17 World Championship Team will meet
at the USOTC for training camp June 12-17, before the team
departs June 18 for training and an exhibition tournament in
Nogent sur Seine, France, June 20-22.
From France, the team will travel June 23 to the Czech Re-
public for the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship that will
be played June 28-July 6. The team will compete in Group
D, where it will face China June 28, France June 29 and Mali
July 1.
Following the preliminary round, all teams will be seeded
within their groups and will advance to the Round of 16,
which will be played July 2. Winners of the Round of 16 will
advance to the July 4 quarterfinals. The semifinals will be
played July 5, and the gold medal game is set for July 6.
Sisters Jennifer Hardis-
ter (co-valedictorian) and
Elizabeth Hardister (saluta-
torian) were both part of the
2012-13 cross country and
track titles for Dunwoody.
Co-valedictorian Mallory
Harris contributed to foot-
ball for the Wildcats as a
member of the marching
band.
Darsan DeShazier (vale-
dictorian) and Gabrielle
Ash (salutatorian) garnered
the top honors in the South-
west DeKalb resident pro-
gram. DeShazier was a part
of the 2013 state champion-
ship girls’ basketball team
as well as part of runner-up
finishes in 2012 and 2014.
Ash participated in gymnas-
tics and cheerleading.
Other valedictorians in-
cluded Chamblee resident
Lizaremi Luna-Sousa (cross
country), Cross Keys’ Kui
Sit (cross county), Redan’s
TyKeria Davidson (softball/
soccer) and Stone Mountain
co-valedictorian Thi Thong
(soccer).
Cross country (9) and
track (6) led all sports with
academic honors including
several athletes who partici-
pated in both sports. Tennis
was third with five honorees.
Stone Mountain saluta-
torian Jamarquise Huston
(cross county, track, wres-
tling) was part of a group of
10 athletes who participated
in two or more sports while
performing at the top of the
class academically.
Other two-sport stars
include Cross Keys’ salu-
tatorian Cristian Padilla
Romero (boys’ cross country
and track) and Cedar Grove
salutatorian Chandler Ector
(football/track).
Darsan DeShazier
Photos by Travis Hudgons
Ummar Jamal Chandler Ector
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014 PAGE 24A
LOCAL NEWS
Decatur Arts Festival
Photos by Travis Hudgons

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