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We’re Social
FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 • VOL. 17, NO. 14 • 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
Gannon: Commissioners ‘should know right from wrong’
Teens help police stop drunk
drivers during roadblock
See Roadblock on page 15A
See P-card on page 15A
Editor’s note: Te Champion will look at the
purchasing card use of the DeKalb County Board
of Commissioners and those of other select P-card
holders.
by Andrew Cauthen
[email protected]
T
he controversy surrounding commissioners’
use of county purchasing cards (P-cards)
is “really hurting the county,” said DeKalb
County Commissioner Kathie Gannon in a June
23 interview with Te Champion.
She called the controversy “embarrassing,”
“sad,” and “disappointing.”
“I’m out in the community trying to respond
to constituents that are saying ‘what can we do to
help fx DeKalb County because we don’t neces-
sarily want to go into a city but we don’t feel like
we can trust the commission,’” Gannon said.
“When a prospective company is Googling
DeKalb County, what are they going to fnd? Tis
Kathie Gannon
Decatur Beach Festival
A child enjoys bubbles at the Decatur Beach Party. Photo by Travis Hudgons
by Carla Parker
[email protected]
Alcohol is the most
commonly used and abused
drug among youth in the
United States and is responsible
for more than 4,300 annual
deaths among underage youth,
according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC).
People ages 12 to 20 years
drink 11 percent of all alcohol
consumed in the United States
and more than 90 percent of
this alcohol is consumed in the
form of binge drinks, according
to the CDC. Underage drinking,
binge and heavy drinking among
18- to 25-year-olds have been
identified in DeKalb County as
issues affecting the community.
To address the issue,
Beyond The Bell along with
the Department of Behavioral
A suspected drunk driver is given a feld sobriety test during a June 18 road block.
Photo by Carla Parker
Business ........................19A
Classifed .......................21A
Education .....................18A
Sports ...................... 22-23A
QUICK FINDER
LOcAL, 9A
COUNTY BREAKS
GROUND FOR
FIRE STATION
LOcAL, 16A LOcAL, 3A
KIRKWOOD
CONTINUES TO
GROW
COUNTY
WON’T RAISE
TAXES
PAGE 2A THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014

Thank you
Connecting Atlanta for 35 years...
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 3A
News Briefs
County won’t increase taxes,
proposes raises for employees
by Daniel Beauregard
[email protected]
Interim DeKalb County CEO Lee
May told commissioners during a mid-
year budget retreat June 19 that the
county’s tax rate will stay the same, and
full-time employees will receive a 3 per-
cent cost of living increase in August.
“We are seeing the first signs of a
fiscal recovery. Our property values are
beginning to rebound and we are turn-
ing a financial corner,” May said.
The 3 percent increase will cost the
county approximately $4.3 million but
May said it is in a positive financial po-
sition.
Additionally, May said DeKalb
County’s tax rate will remain at 21.21
mills and approximately 80 percent of
unincorporated county residents will
see no change in taxes. The rest of the
county will see a one-year reduction
between 23.3 percent and 16.5 percent.
County officials said the net county-
wide digest is expected to grow from
$19 billion to $20 billion, or approxi-
mately 5.9 percent.
“In a standalone situation, this
growth would be considered robust;
however, DeKalb must plan for the
future, including possible new annexa-
tions and incorporations,” May said.
The net digest of the incorporated
areas of the county is expected to in-
crease from approximately $8 billion to
$9 billion or approximately 13.1 per-
cent.
“This growth is phenomenal and
an indicator that when the newest cit-
ies were developed, the best properties
were included,” May said.
May said the projected end-of-the-
year reserves for the county’s tax funds
will total approximately $37.9 million.
Chief Operating Officer Zach Wil-
liams said the county is in a positive
financial standing so far in 2014 and
is line with its $553 million projected
budget priorities.
To date, the county has implemented
cost-saving measures, Williams said, by
eliminating unfunded positions, imple-
menting a cost allocation plan, initiat-
ing countywide grants and renewing a
focus on economic development.
“The county has had a history of
holding an excess of a couple of hun-
dred positions that are unfunded. What
that does is give the misperception that
the county workforce is in fact larger
than it is,” Williams said. “The reaction
to that is cleaning that up and removing
a number of those positions—approxi-
mately upwards of 200.”
Williams also listed a number of
budgeting priorities the county has
implemented this year including en-
hancing public safety, facilitating jobs
and economic development, increasing
efficient operations and investing in
employees.
“Our target this year is to hire 100
police and 100 firefighters and cur-
rently we are on track with 92 police of-
ficers hired thus far and more than 400
firefighters certified,” Williams said.
Additionally, the county has also im-
plemented incentive programs to retain
officers such as a take-home car initia-
tive and education reimbursements.
Williams said historically the county
has faced a 10 percent turnover rate but
so far this year that rate has remained at
approximately 2.5 percent.
The county also has increased the
budgets of several offices including the
child advocacy, medical examiner and
public defender’s offices. An additional
$195,000 will be added to the DeKalb
County District Attorney’s Office to
fund a public integrity unit.
County officials also have set aside
approximately $943,000 for repairing
county facilities and $244,000 for an
analysis of the impact of incorporation
and annexation on the county.
Commissioners are required to ap-
prove a finalized budget by July 8.
Inmate death being reviewed
at DeKalb County Jail
The DeKalb County Sheriff ’s
Office is reviewing the appar-
ent suicide of an inmate in the
DeKalb County Jail June 18, ac-
cording to a news release.
The inmate has been identi-
fied as Stefanos Andreas Leon,
33.
Leon was taken to Grady
Memorial Hospital late June 18
after officers found him hang-
ing and unresponsive in his cell,
according to the news release.
Emergency medical assistance
was administered, and he was
transported by DeKalb EMS to
Grady Hospital, where he was
pronounced dead just before
midnight. Family members
have been notified of his death.
At the time of the incident,
Leon was in custody on various
charges, including cocaine and
marijuana possession, obstruc-
tion, abuse of the elderly, and
interference with government
property, according to the news
release.
Two walking initiatives
approved for south DeKalb
district
The DeKalb County Board
of Commissioners approved
two projects June 10 designed
to get District 3 residents and
other DeKalb residents walking
in the community: the South
River Trail Phase 1B and the
Constitution Lakes Nature Trail
improvements.
South River Trail Phase 1B
is for use by the Department of
Public Works. This transporta-
tion division project consists of
the installation of a 16,100-lin-
ear-foot, 12-foot wide concrete
trail along a linear corridor
from Gresham Park to Georgia
Perimeter College.
The second project is the
Constitution Lakes Nature Pre-
serve Trail Improvements and
is for use by the Recreation,
Parks and Cultural Affairs De-
partment. This project consists
of constructing an 8-foot wide
boardwalk trail that will serve
as a connection to the existing
trail system which is within
Constitution Lakes Nature Pre-
serve Improvements.
“Walking is such an inte-
gral part of maintaining good
health,” states District 3 Com-
missioner Larry Johnson,
who spearheaded the “DeKalb
Walks…For the Health of It”
initiative and championed the
south DeKalb projects. “These
projects will be wonderful as-
sets to our community by pro-
viding our residents with two
additional avenues for staying
fit. We look forward to their de-
velopment.”
Dunwoody Police issues
pedestrian crosswalk
citations
The Dunwoody Police De-
partment conducted a pedes-
trian crosswalk detail June 18
on Mount Vernon Road after
receiving several complaints
about vehicular traffic failing to
stop at the designated crosswalk
which has multiple safety fea-
tures in place.
During the detail a plain
clothes officer utilized the
See Briefs on page 6A
ONE MAN’S OPINION
Playing through and keeping score on our roads
“The road to success is always
under construction,” golf legend
Arnold Palmer.
The Dwight D. Eisenhower
National System of Interstate and
Defense Highways (commonly
known as the U.S. Interstate/
Highway System), are named for the
president who championed their
creation. Congress authorized the
first interstate highway construction
funding with the Federal Aid
Highway Act of 1956. Originally
planned as a national defense
enhancement for troop mobilization
and transit during the Cold War,
interstate system development
continued for the next 35 years. Not
counting our separate but connected
state highway systems, as of 2012,
the U.S. interstate systems contains
47,714 miles of roadway, and as of
2011, one out of every four vehicles
miles is driven on our interstates.
And yet, due to congressional
gridlock and the ongoing inaction
of Washington, D.C., our U.S.
Transportation Department’s
Highway Trust Fund will run out
of money as early as August of
this year. A pending $265 billion
transportation bill is among
the many awaiting passage by
Congress. According to an analysis
by the Pew Charitable Trust, our
bright red home state of Georgia
receives roughly 52.3 percent
of the Georgia Department of
Transportation’s budget from
Congress and the U.S. DOT
Highway Trust Fund. And that
cupboard is about to run dry. 
Since 1993, Congress has capped
our federal gas tax at 18.4 cents a
gallon (for 21 years). At the same
time significant increases have been
made in vehicle fuel efficiency and
the performance of each of those
gallons of fuel, driving annual
revenues from that fuel excise tax
down to roughly $34 billion per
year. Current congressional funding
levels for maintenance and new
construction are nearly $50 billion
once appropriated. During 2012,
Georgia voters additionally declined
transportation special purpose
local-option sales tax increases
(T-SPLOSTs) by overwhelming
margins in all but two multi-county
transit districts. Tough several
metro counties do fund local road
and highway improvements in part
with their own SPLOST and sales
tax revenues, those dollars do not
improve, maintain or widen our
interstates.
Excluding Florida, southern
states remain extremely averse to
toll roads. Georgia 400’s toll booth
is now nearly disassembled and
Georgia’s only other toll road of
signifcance, formerly the St. Simons
Island Causeway, was reopened
and again made toll-free well over a
decade ago.
Te American Automobile
Association (AAA) is
recommending a 12.5 cent increase
in the federal motor fuel tax,
bringing the per gallon excise tax
up to just under 31 cents per gallon,
and bringing the projected resulting
revenues up to current federal
transportation spending levels. 
Sounds reasonable to me.
Yet just as Georgia declined a
massive expansion of Medicaid
due to concerns over the later
evaporating federal funding,
Georgians should be willing to
step up and step forward with
options to fund more of our own
roadway construction. Tolls can
be introduced for certain types of
transit, such as rigs, large trucks,
tractor trailers, etc., all of which also
have a disproportionate impact on
interstate and roadway wear and
tear.
Florida has express tolls which
vary based on the amount of road
miles driven, and the technology
exists to track your car via satellite,
deducting tolls electronically via a
Peach Pass or similar card, without
even requiring slowing down for a
toll booth.
As a Libertarian-leaning
Independent voter and fscal
conservative, I see little present day
justifcation for continuing massive
federal investment in expanding or
even maintaining the most basic
miles of our interstate system. Let
the feds have the bridges, tunnels
and any massive new projects
identifed and funded through
the congressional appropriations
process, and hand the major day-
to-day maintenance and new
construction back to pit crews in the
states.
Tis could become a very basic
case of conservatives and the GOP-
controlled U.S. House putting its
money down the way its mouth
rolls, and who pays and how much
for where our rubber meets the
road. We’ve been bouncing these
checks for too long. Tough the
transit needs are real, our states
need to start stepping in to build as
well as to fund, paying as we go, or
borrowing and funding. And that
also, of course, means the states
which want and need the most
roads, lanes, of-ramps, etc., are also
going to have to fnd ways to pay for
them. If there is truly no free lunch
or free healthcare as someone else
defnitely pays for those, then we
all need to collectively bite down
hard and understand there are no
free highways or gallons of fuel to
burn on them anymore either. Drive
safely.
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
columnist for The Champion, Cham-
pion 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
[email protected]. 
Bill crane
Columnist
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 4A
OPINION
LETTER TO EDITOR
All eyes on DeKalb
Race continues to be problematic
for the nation. Americans gener-
ally look to the political process for
positive social change and piecemeal
remedies. From this vantage point,
politics is seen as a means to achieve
compromise and cope with mean-
ingful social change.
Minus a violent revolution, the
political process can work to redis-
tribute resources, redress injustices,
and improve the atmosphere in
which people live and work. At least
this is what Americans hope for.
Professor Martin L. Kilson in-
forms us that the political class of
both Black Americans and White
ethnic groups has undergone three
rather distinct stages of political
development: A protest stage, an
electoral empowerment stage and a
power consolidation stage. Indeed,
the patterns of the Black political
class have been both similar to and
different from those of the Irish,
Jewish, Italian, and other White
American ethnic groups. For exam-
ple, among Irish-Americans, elec-
toral political power and protest pol-
itics occurred simultaneously, but
this is not the case at all for Blacks.
Because of racism and discrimina-
tion, Blacks were almost completely
excluded from mainstream Ameri-
can processes. The rigid exclusion
from mainstream political, social
and economic processes meant that
Blacks had to employ the practice
of protest politics for a much longer
time than White ethnic groups.
Indeed, from the 1920s to the
1960s White ethnic groups were
pursuing electoral empowerment
policies and advancing to power
consolidation politics, while nation-
al Black organizations, Black pro-
fessional association, and religious
and trade union organizations were
engaged in major pragmatic–activist
political protests. Simultaneously,
the Nation of Islam and its leader-
ship practiced an ethnocentric-
militancy type political protest
focusing on Black cultural pride and
on autonomous Black-group devel-
opment.
These political protests evolved
into a civil rights movement that
attracted massive intervention of
the federal government to break the
violence-riddled barriers the White
south had in place against Blacks for
almost a century. Thus the political
protests and the federal government
intervention led to the passage of
the Voting Rights Act in 1965 and
subsequent legislation, resulting
in the climb from some 300 Black
elected officials in the 1960s to
around 8,000 in the 1990s.
The combined protests and pres-
sure of the Civil Rights Movement
successfully appealed to majority
opinion to officially end many dis-
criminatory practices and helped
move the Black middle class toward
racial equity.
According to professor Andrew
Hacker, for a period of about 30
years–roughly from 1945 to 1975–
White Americans found themselves
embarrassed by blatant cases of dis-
crimination.
However, starting in the 1970s,
the attitudes of some White voters
who had been willing to support
measures aimed at assisting Blacks
began to change. There began to be
a significant ideological and organi-
zational transformation of the Re-
publican Party with Richard Nixon
setting the stage for the triumph of
racial conservatism. The accelera-
tion of the Republican’s move to
the far right, especially on the issue
of race, was boosted as supporters
of George Wallace flocked to the
party.
The political transformation
needed must begin with some can-
did and honest acknowledgments
about race. Though legal slavery
is in the past, White America has
made being Black a hopelessly sad
state of affairs by allowing segrega-
tion, subordination and racism to
continue to persist. Equally impor-
tant, despite the aforementioned
state of affairs, it is incumbent upon
the Black community to embrace
the American tradition that every-
one is expected to make it on his
own. Thus, Blacks must accept the
responsibility and correct what Dr.
Cornell West called, “Nihilism in
Black America”–widespread sense of
worthlessness and self-loathing.
Against this backdrop, Black
leaders at all levels should revive and
implement the Rainbow Coalition
Campaign. That is a multiracial,
multi-class political movement with
strong participation and leader-
ship from racial minorities, labor,
women’s organizations, and other
left-of-center groups to effectively
articulate important interests and
concerns of the most marginalized
and oppressed, as well as the middle
class sectors of society.
by Allyson Gevertz
My fellow DeKalb voters and
taxpayers, we are at a critical
juncture in the state of our county.
A few short weeks ago, the
DeKalb Board of Education election
garnered a meager 10 percent voter
turnout. Of the seven board seats,
three will be decided in the July
22 runoff election. Six candidates–
representing Districts 3, 4 and 5–are
on the campaign trail right now,
engaging with parents on the future
of our school system and how best
to ensure academic growth for all
DeKalb children.
Not only will the new school
board select the next superintendent,
but it will also lead the district to
full accreditation and guide the
transition to charter system status.
Transparency must be the rule
of law in order to unite parents,
community stakeholders, and
business leaders across the district.
While full accreditation is still at
stake, the silver lining is that people
have awakened to the realization
that we must be laser-focused on
our schools. Our current board is
on the right track as evidenced by
the return to accreditation, with
warning, earlier this year by the
Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools. In fact, during the
accreditation announcement,
SACS head Mark Elgart urged the
community to “pay close attention”
to board candidates.
The superintendent search is
in its nascent stage with current
board members setting expectations
regarding search firms, timeline
and community involvement.
As the process continues, public
engagement will ensure the new
board hires an individual who will
understand the challenges facing
our students. Additionally, the new
board and superintendent must not
muddy the waters of responsibility.
Rather, they must work
collaboratively while understanding
each party’s responsibility to the
district.
To that end, the board should
not serve as a rubber stamp for
this or future administrations. In a
recent work session, a significant
amount of time was spent discussing
particular budget items. Some
board members objected, stating the
governing body was micromanaging
rather than assuming the
administration’s funding request
needed no further discussion. As
residents of a county fraught with
questionable spending approved by
elected leaders, we cannot afford to
assume a recommended budget is
beyond refute.
Funding transparency ought to be
the new standard for the incoming
DeKalb school board. A culture
of transparency will rebuild trust
in our district and strengthen our
county. Gwinnett leads the way for
exemplary openness in its budgeting
process. One way to ensure our
tax dollars meet the needs of the
district at the local school level is to
implement zero-based budgeting–
fund classrooms first.
All eyes are on DeKalb. Let’s
show them we understand what is at
stake.
Allyson Gevertz is a Lakeside
area resident, mother of two, and co-
founder of DeKalb Parent Councils
United.
OPINION
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 5A
Gene Walkerk
Columnist

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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]
Revive rainbow politics
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 6A

COMMUNITY
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.
SUZI LAWRENCE
Champion
of
theWeek
Investment consultant arrested,
charged with fraud
by Carla Parker
[email protected]
A man accused of scam-
ming New Birth Missionary
Baptist Church members
out of nearly $1 million has
been arrested.
Ephren Taylor II was ar-
rested June 17 on a federal
indictment charging him
and another defendant with
defrauding investors across
the country of more than
$5 million, the U.S. Attor-
ney’s Office in Atlanta an-
nounced.
According to U.S. At-
torney’s Office, from April
2009 through October 2010,
Taylor, then CEO of City
Capital Corporation, and his
codefendant Wendy Con-
nor, the former chief oper-
ating officer of City Capital
Corporation, participated
in a conspiracy to defraud
investors. The scheme al-
legedly defrauded hundreds
of investors of more than $5
million nationwide.
“Mr. Taylor came into
our community, promising
hard-working citizens a way
to make their retirement
money go farther,” said U.S.
Attorney Sally Quillian
Yates. “The investments he
pitched proved to be worth-
less, along with his prom-
ises.”
As part of the scheme,
Taylor, of Overland Park,
Kan., traveled around the
country on a “Building
Wealth Tour,” giving wealth
management seminars to
church congregations, ac-
cording to the U.S. Attor-
ney’s Office. During this
tour, Taylor claimed to be a
“socially conscious investor”
and falsely claimed that 20
percent of profits were do-
nated to charity.
One of the churches on
the “Building Wealth Tour”
was New Birth Missionary
Baptist Church in Lithonia.
In 2009, Bishop Eddie Long
sponsored the investment
seminars at the church,
which took place from Oct.
17-23, according a lawsuit
filed against Long by 12 for-
mer church members.
During the seminar,
Taylor, 31, and Connor met
church members to discuss
possible investments. More
than 80 individuals from
Georgia lost more than $2
million because of Taylor’s
scheme, according to Yates.
The investments in-
cluded investing in promis-
sory notes, where the funds
invested would be used to
support small businesses,
such as laundries, juice bars,
and gas stations. Taylor is
alleged to have falsely rep-
resented the revenues and
returns for these businesses
knowing that they were
not profitable, according to
Yates.
Taylor also pressed an
investment in sweepstakes
machines. Sweepstakes ma-
chines are computers with
games that allow players to
win cash prizes. Taylor pub-
lished offering materials that
falsely claimed the average
sweepstakes machine would
generate 300 percent inves-
tor returns. He also stated
that the sweepstakes ma-
chine investments were 100
percent risk free, according
to Yates.
Taylor allegedly knew
that the investments he was
touting were not profitable
and that investors were not
receiving actual returns
from their investments, ac-
cording to Yates.
In the church members’
lawsuit, filed last year, Long
allegedly was warned be-
forehand about a fraudulent
investment scheme that
caused them to lose nearly
$1 million.
Jason Doss, the attor-
ney who is representing the
plaintiffs, said last year that
his clients would not have
lost their money if Long had
heeded the warning.
“When a church receives
a warning that is so specific
about what was going to
happen….they should have
stopped the seminar, not
allowed the seminars to hap-
pen,” he said. “Had that hap-
pened we wouldn’t be here
today.”
As part of the scheme,
Taylor encouraged investors
to use self-directed IRAs
to make their investments.
Many victims transferred
retirement savings to trust
companies that acted as
custodians for self-directed
IRAs, expecting these funds
to be used to fund the in-
vestments pushed by Taylor,
according to Yates.
After victims funded
their self-directed IRAs,
Taylor and others directed
the use of those funds. The
money allegedly was not
invested as promised, but
rather was used to pay on-
going business expenses of
City Capital, pay personal
expenses for Taylor, and in
some limited instances, to
pay supposed returns to ear-
lier investors, according to
Yates.
Suzi Lawrence’s clients
at Our House rarely speak
to her. They cry and grab,
and you don’t want to
hear about their hygiene
skills.
That’s because they’re
infants. Our House is a
childcare and resource
center for homeless
families. Lawrence goes
to the facility on Colum-
bia Drive several times
per week to offer loving
support in the infant pre-
school class.
“My background is be-
ing a mother,” Lawrence
said. “I was not an educa-
tor, but I have always been
drawn to babies. I have
two sons of my own, and
there’s something about
babies that brings me a lot
of joy.”
Previously, Lawrence
volunteered at a similar
organization called My
House. She then tran-
sitioned to Our House
where she has done every-
thing from kindergarten
to 3- and 4-year-olds, to
now infants. She estimates
she’s been volunteering at
Our House for eight years.
“The two attendants in
the nursery are fantastic
ladies,” she said. “What I
basically do is help them.
I feed and play with the
babies and rock them to
sleep.”
Lawrence said she’s
been volunteering most
of her life, since she was
about 15. Now 75, she
started volunteering more
often after her retirement
at 65. In addition to Our
House, she also volunteers
with the elderly.
“It’s important to me to
go out; it just makes my
day,” she said. “How many
people go to work and it
makes their day? Not a lot
of people. I feel like I have
contributed: I have re-
ceived love and I’ve given
love–it gives me goose
pimples to think about it.”
The backgrounds of
the babies are unknown
to Lawrence; she treats
them all the same, like
she would her own child.
Many parents ride long
bus routes to jobs, then
come back to Our House
before finding respite for
the night at a shelter.
“The amazing part of
babies is, they don’t know
they’re homeless,” Law-
rence said. “Some of the
older children don’t know.
All they need is to be fed
changed and loved. They
just need a parent
Taylor
crosswalk 26 times, each time the officer ac-
tivated the flashing yellow lights, according
to a news release. As a result of the detail,
six citations for violation of the state’s “right
of way in crosswalk” law were issued.
“One accident involving a car and a pe-
destrian or cyclist is too many and could
have catastrophic results,” said Dunwoody
Police Chief Billy Grogan. “Undercover
details such as this one help bring much
needed attention to this important safety
concern. Our hope is the attention generat-
ed as a result of this detail and the citations
issued will cause our motoring public to use
more caution when approaching crosswalks
and pedestrians and yield to the pedestrians
as required by law.”
Briefs Continued From Page 3A
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 7A

COMMUNITY
AROUND
DEKALB
Atlanta
Group ofers free summer lunch at local high
school
Family Choices Inc. is providing free lunch to
all children ages 18 or younger without charge at
McNair High School, located at 1804 Boulder-
crest Road in Atlanta.
The group is offering meals at the high school
from through July 25 from 2:30-4 p.m. as part of
the Summer Food Service Program.
Brookhaven
Brookhaven library to host “Read to Rover”
Children ages 5‒8 can practice their new read-
ing skills by reading aloud to Ellie, a therapy dog,
at the Read to Rover event. The event will be
held July 2 at Brookhaven Library from 1‒2 p.m.
The event is open to the first eight participants.
Group of five or more are asked to call the library
at (404) 848-7140.
City’s District 2 to hold a community update
Brookhaven officials and staff will a hold a
community update for the residents of the city’s
District 2 on Tuesday, July 1, from 6:30 to 8:30
p.m. at Ashford Park, rain or shine.
Residents are invited drop by, enjoy some light
refreshments, learn about the com prehensive
plans for Brookhaven parks, transportation and
zoning. Residents also can get information about
the upcoming special election for District 2
scheduled for Nov. 4.
Decatur
Huferiot Tour stops at Decatur Library
Fans of the Harry Potter book series like to
take the magic off the page and into the real
world. Friday, June 27, two wizard rock bands –
Tonks and the Aurors and Justin Finch-Fletchley
and the Sugar Quills bring their charming riffs to
Decatur Library.
The concert starts at 6 p.m. Dress up and
bring wands, or come as you are and rock out.
The bands’ music can be found at tonksandthe-
aurors.com and jffismybff.com.
Church concert to fund scholarships
The Mt. Welcome Missionary Baptist Church
of Decatur will present “Love in Any Language,” a
benefit concert.
The concert will feature soprano Sherry
Dukes, and classical, spirituals and inspirational
selections by Jean Derricotte-Murphy, Ruth
Randall and Zipporah Taylor with accompanist
Ella Lewis.
The event is a fundraiser for the church’s
Myrtice Bell Memorial Scholarship Fund to help
youth attend college or any other certified pro-
gram.
The benefit concert will be held at the church,
located at 581 Parker Avenue in Decatur, on Sat-
urday, June 28, at 6 p.m.
 The admission is free and donations will be
collected. For more information, contact Rose
Porter at (770) 279-2999.
Library hosts ‘Book Buddies’ book club
Friends of the Decatur Library are hosting a
monthly book club July 15, from 4-5 p.m., for
early chapter book readers at the Decatur Library,
located at 215 Sycamore Street in Decatur.
The event is geared toward children between
7-8 years of age and features a book each month,
followed by activities, snacks and discussion.
Those interested in participating can sign up
at the front desk of the Decatur Library or call
(404) 370-8450.
The book club is open to the first 10 partici-
pants to sign up.
Dunwoody
Movie in the Park at Brook Run Park
Dunwoody’s Brook Run Park is showing the
box-ofce smash “Frozen” on June 28. Te event
starts at 6 p.m. and the movie begins at sunset.
“Frozen” is a re-imagining of “The Snow
Queen” by Hans Christian Anderson and fea-
tures Kristen Bell as plucky Anna, Idina Menzel
as snowy Elsa and Jonathan Groff as rugged
Kristoff. The Oscar-winning movie, which first
opened in theatres in November 2013, was the
highest grossing movie of that year and is cur-
rently the highest grossing animated movie of all
time.
The showing is free and will take place at the
lawn near the playground and the park’s main
entrance.
Accreditation team seeks comments on
ChatComm 911
The Chattahoochee River 911 Authority
(ChatComm) is seeking communications accred-
itation from the Commission on Accreditation
for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. (CALEA).
Members of the community and employees of
the city of Dunwoody are invited to offer com-
ments by phone at (404) 843-6615 on Monday,
July 21, from 1 to 3 p.m.
Telephone comments are limited to 10 min-
utes and must address ChatComm’s ability to
comply with CALEA’s standards. A copy of the
standards is available at ChatComm. For more
information, call Michelle Allen at (404) 843-
6600.
Written comments about ChatComm’s abil-
ity to meet the standards for communications
accreditation should be sent to: Commission on
Accreditation for Law Enforcement Inc., 13575
Heathcote Blvd. Suite 320, Gainesville, VA 20155;
or be emailed to [email protected].
CALEA’s accreditation program requires
communications centers to comply with 218 ap-
plicable state-of-the art standards in three basic
areas: policy and procedures, administration and
operations.
Established in 1979 by the International As-
sociation of Chiefs of Police, the National Orga-
nization of Black Law Enforcement Executives,
the National Sheriffs’ Association, and the Police
Executive Research Forum, CALEA is recognized
internationally as the key credentialing authority
for law enforcement agencies.
For more information regarding CALEA, write
the commission at the above address or call (703)
352-4225 or email at [email protected].
Oakhurst
Wylde Center hosts medicine-making
workshop
The Wylde Center, located at 415 East Lake
Drive in Decatur, is hosting a medicine-making
workshop July 27 at 4 p.m.
Located in the Sugar Creek Garden, the work-
shop will be taught by garden manager Dara
Suchke. Materials to bring and details will be an-
nounced closer to the date of the workshop and
depends on what is harvestable at the time.
For more information contact Suchke at
[email protected] or visit www.wyldecenter.
org.
Stone Mountain
City to host children’s festival
Stone Mountain will host the Second Street
Children’s Festival June 28 from 5 to 7 p.m. The
festival is a part of the city’s 175th anniversary
celebration. The day will also include a com-
munity concert on the Baptist Lawn from 7
to 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.
stonemountainvillage.com.
Countywide
Superior Court ofers free notary training
DeKalb County Superior Court Clerk Debra
DeBerry and the Georgia Superior Court Clerks’
Cooperative Authority are hosting two free no-
tary training sessions Aug. 1, from 9-10:30 a.m.
and 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
The workshop will take place at the Maloof
Auditorium, located at 1300 Commerce Drive in
Decatur, and is open to the public.
For more information or to RSVP contact
Twinette Jones at (404) 371-2250 or tajones@
dekalbcountyga.gov.
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 8A
LOCAL NEWS
Anti-recidivism court gives
ofenders a second chance
Restaurant Inspections
Establishment Name: Third Eye Bar & Lounge
Address: 3939 Lawrenceville Highway
Current Score/Grade: 80/B
Inspecton Date: 06/11/2014

Observatons and Correctve Actons
Cold-held potentally hazardous foods not maintained below
41F; no tme controls/documentaton in place (see * at temp
log). PIC advised that proper cold hold temperature shall not
exceed 41F. Corrected to lower ambient temperature of low
cooler and to relocate PHF items to working prep top cooler.
Open RedBull can stored inside ice bin (ice used for drinks)
at bar area; empty pinapple juice can stored inside ice bin at
bar area. Corrected to discard drink cans and to discard all
ice inside bin. .
Floors, walls, and/or ceilings not constructed and/or
installed so that they are easily cleanable. Unapproved
material on ceilings in kitchen. Replace with material that is
non-absorbant & easily cleanable.
Holes or other gaps along foors, walls, and/or ceilings
present risk for pest entry. Visible light present at numerous
doors in facility. Advised to install weather strip to prevent
entry of pests
Establishment Name: Yum Yum Thai Restaurant
Address: 3977 Lawrenceville Highway
Current Score/Grade: 85/B
Inspecton Date: 06/11/2014

Observatons and Correctve Actons
Food employees not cleaning hands immediately before
engaging in food prep. Observed employee return into
kitchen and engage in food prep without washing hands.
Employee corrected. Corrected On-Site. Repeat Violaton.
Employee wearing jewelry other than a plain ring while
preparing food. PIC advised that all jewelry must be
removed while preparing food, food employees may not
wear jewelry including medical informaton jewelry on their
arms and hands, except for a plain wedding band.
The most current inspecton report not posted. PIC
corrected by postng most recent score.
Establishment Name: Jersey Mike’s Subs
Address: 2458 Jet Ferry Road, Suite 220
Current Score/Grade: 96/A
Inspecton Date: 06/11/2014
Observatons and Correctve Actons
Wiping cloth soluton 0ppm Cl-. PIC advised to maintain
wiping cloth soluton between 50 and 100ppm Cl-. COS-
bleach added to soluton. Corrected On-Site. New Violaton.
Scoops in sugar and corn meal stored with handle touching
product. PIC advised that if scoops are stored in product
handle must remain up out of product. COS- scoops
adjusted. Scoops without handles observed in spices. PIC
advised that all scoops must have handles. COS- scoops
removed. Corrected On-Site. New Violaton.
Establishment Name: Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
Address: 5768 Buford Highway NE
Current Score/Grade: 96/A
Inspecton Date: 06/11/2014
Observatons and Correctve Actons
PIC unable to present employee health policy in verbal or
writen form. COS- PIC provided with health policy.
Establishment Name: Boston Market #0262
Address: 4754 Redan Road
Current Score/Grade: 85/B
Inspecton Date: 06/19/2014

Observatons and Correctve Actons
No soap available at one of the kitchen handwashing sinks.
PIC advised that soap must be available at all hand sinks at
all tmes. COS- soap provided. No paper towels available
at one of the kitchen handwashing sinks. PIC advised that
paper towels must be available at all hand sinks at all tmes.
COS- paper towels provided. Buter on countertop and milk
in display cooler not holding at 41F or below. PIC advised of
use of tme as a public health control for buter as an opton.
COS- PIC placed buter on ice bath and discarded milk.
Pans observed stacked wet. PIC advised to allow all dishes
and equipment to air dry before stacking
by Daniel Beauregard
[email protected]
DeKalb County Supe-
rior Court Diversion Pro-
gram Director Kaleema
Thomas said those who
want a chance to turn their
lives around can have it, but
they’ll have to work hard for
it.
Thomas runs the Anti-
Recidivism Court, which
was created by District
Attorney Robert James
in 2011 as a way to give of-
fenders ages 17-25 a second
chance. Since the program’s
inception, 22 participants
have successfully completed
the program.
“The participants have
to be committed to change
and willing to work on
themselves throughout the
process,” Thomas said. “The
program is not a fit for every
applicant.”
The yearlong program is
intense, Thomas said, and
those who participate are
required to report to proba-
tion, perform community
service, report to monthly
compliance hearings and
undergo random monitor-
ing. Additionally, partici-
pants must pay any restitu-
tion involved with their ar-
rest, enroll in an academic
program if they have not
obtained a high school di-
ploma/GED and attend be-
havior modification classes.
Currently, there are 20
participants in the program.
Thomas said it has grown
over the years as her office
has started taking on more
complicated caseloads.
“The program is very vig-
orous—these young people
are charged with pretty seri-
ous offenses—so we want to
make sure that we’re break-
ing the cycle of being rear-
rested,” Thomas said.
James said that it’s impor-
tant the program isn’t just a
“get out of jail free card.”
“It allows them to learn
from their prior missteps,”
James said.
The Anti-Recidivism
Court is a collaborative
partnership among DeKalb
County Public Defend-
ers’ Office, DeKalb County
Magistrate Court and
DeKalb County District
Attorney’s Office. Accord-
ing to national statistics,
approximately two-thirds
of individuals arrested will
be re-arrested within three
years.
“We not only provide
them with life skills train-
ing but also a strict guide-
line to follow. Many do not
complete the course. For
those participants who do
complete all of their require-
ments, they will have their
cases dismissed,” James said.
Currently, Thomas said
the program, is in the pro-
cess of developing an alumni
network for those who have
already been through the
program.
“When people finish the
program they generally tell
us how much they’ve ben-
efited from the program. We
want the people who actu-
ally graduate remaining ar-
rest free for the rest of their
lives,” Thomas said.
In 2011, DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James began a program to help troubled youth get a second
chance at life. Photos provided
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 9A
LOCAL NEWS


NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE


The City of Chamblee has tentatively adopted a new millage rate of 6.40 mills for the portion of the City annexed on December
30, 2013.

All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearings on this tax increase to be held at the Chamblee Civic Center located at
3540 Broad St, Chamblee Georgia on June 12, 2014. There will be one hearing at 11:30 AM and another at 6:00 PM.

An additional public hearing on this tax increase will be held at the Chamblee Civic Center on June 30, 2014 at 6:00 PM.

This tentative new millage rate of 6.40 mills for the newly annexed properties will result in an increase of 6.40 mills. Without this
tentative tax increase, the millage rate will be 0 mills. The proposed tax increase for a home with a fair market value of $125,000 is
approximately $320.00 and the proposed tax increase for non-homestead property with a fair market value of $450,000 is
approximately $1,152.00.

State of Georgia statues do not specifically address the setting of the initial millage rate for a newly annexed area by a municipality but the City of Chamblee is
advertising a Notice of Property Tax Increase, with associated public hearing notification, in order to ensure full disclosure of its intent to levy property taxes in the
area annexed on December 30, 2013. The millage rate of 6.40 proposed for the annexed area is the same as that proposed for the rest of the City and is below the
rollback millage rate and therefore would not constitute a tax increase for the rest of the City.







The City of Chamblee City Council does hereby announce that the millage rate will be set at a meeting to be held at the Chamblee Civic 
Center located at 3540 Broad Street, Chamblee, Georgia on June 30, 2014 at 6:00 PM and pursuant to the requirements of Ga. Code 
48‐5‐32 does herby 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.
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Real & Personal 575,089,705 533,197,959 797,623,949 729,978,100 723,574,965 996,371,051
Motor Vehicles & Heavy Equipment 16,118,770 14,546,770 14,131,410 22,076,110 27,471,830 23,809,872
Public Utilities 10,769,822 9,563,181 11,087,937 9,128,386 9,726,659 10,289,198
Gross Digest 601,978,297 557,307,910 822,843,296 761,182,596 760,773,454 1,030,470,121
Less Exemptions 44,074,131 44,896,783 88,432,680 83,119,557 86,685,769 135,524,124
Adjusted Net Digest 557,904,166 512,411,127 734,410,616 678,063,039 674,087,685 894,945,997
Gross Millage Rage 6.31 7.95 7.4 7.4 6.4 6.4
Net Taxes Levied 3,520,375 4,073,668 5,434,639 5,017,666 4,314,161 5,727,654
Net Taxes $ Increase 762,814 553,293 1,360,970 (416,972) (703,505) 1,413,493
Net Taxes % increase 27.66% 15.72% 33.41% ‐7.67% ‐14.02% 32.76%
CURRENT 2014 TAX DIGEST AND FIVE YEAR HISTORY OF LEVY
NOTICE
by Daniel Beauregard
[email protected]
Interim DeKalb County
CEO Lee May said before
being torn down to make
way for a new facility, Fire
Station No. 3 had gotten to
the point where “it almost
should have been con-
demned.
“The mayor here was
talking about it, but we’re
thankful that we were able
to accommodate this new
facility,” May said. “I have
long stated that the quality
of life of any county rests on
the foundation of its public
safety apparatus and we have
to make sure that people are
living safe and secure lives.”
May and other city and
county officials were present
June 19 to break ground on
the new fire station facility,
located where the old one
stood at 24 North Clarendon
Ave.
Residents, city officials
and public safety personnel
have been calling for a new
station to be built for more
than a year. Before it was
torn down to make way for
the new station, Avondale
Estates Mayor Ed Reiker
said the old facility was in
disrepair for years.
“It [was a] rotted out
building with asbestos in it
and the roof caving in,” Riek-
er said. “The females didn’t
have their own restroom and
the [firefighters] live and
work there.”
The previous fire station
was built in 1949. DeKalb
County Fire Chief Darnell
Fullum said he hopes the
new one will last just as long
and remain in good condi-
tion.
“I’d like to thank the com-
missioners and the interim
CEO for their unwavering
support for public safety and
this is a demonstration of
their support,” Fullum said.
“There are three things that
will make a fire chief smile
any day and that’s more fire-
fighters, more equipment,
and a new fire station, so I’m
smiling today.”
As Fullum spoke, the fire
truck belonging to station
No. 3 was parked behind
him. Fullum said the truck
also will be replaced with
an upgraded vehicle within
the next several weeks. The
new station will have three
bays for fire engines, a com-
munity room and private ac-
commodations for male and
female firefighters.
“This station, though it
sits in Avondale, runs ap-
proximately 80 percent out-
side of Avondale so it sup-
ports not only the city but
the community as a whole,”
Fullum said.
Avondale Mayor Pro-
Tem Terry Giager said the
new station will bring a lot
of support to firefighters
and improve morale. Several
months ago Avondale resi-
dent Tami Willadsen, 43,
and her 10-year-old daugh-
ter Jess died in a fire that
broke out at their Lakeshore
Drive home.
“We’ve recently had a
tragedy here, but we are just
very thankful of all the sup-
port in making this come to
fruition,” Giager said.
May said the new station
will be complete no later
than spring 2015.
County breaks ground on new Avondale fre station
Interim DeKalb County CEO Lee May, DeKalb Fire Chief Darnell Fullum and other city and county offcials
celebrated the ground breaking of a new frst station located in Avondale Estates. Photos by D. Beauregard
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 10A
LOCAL NEWS
DeKalb SWAT forces:
Special ops in the county
by Lauren Ramsdell
[email protected]
Up to 120 individual crimes oc-
cur each day in DeKalb County, ac-
cording to CRIMETRAC, the crime
statistics website used by county
police. With those numbers, it’s only
a matter of time before one situation
becomes too volatile to handle with
regular patrol officers.
Luckily, it doesn’t happen often.
And when it does, they call in the
SWAT team.
DeKalb County actually has a few
SWAT units–the acronym stands
for Special Weapons and Tactics.
The DeKalb County Police Depart-
ment has a full-time team of 20 of-
ficers, while Dunwoody, Brookhaven
and Sandy Springs have a joint unit
with officers from each team. And
Doraville has a force made up of
patrol officers who undergo specific
training.
“SWAT is a term that is used a lot
haphazardly,” said Assistant Chief
B.C. Harris, commander of DeKalb
County Special Operations. “To be
a true team you must be certified by
the NTOA (National Tactical Of-
ficer’s Association). You have to have
negotiators, you have to have a full
entry team, you have to have snipers
and you have to have containment.
A lot of agencies will say, ‘We have a
SWAT team,’ when they are a tactical
team, but under the national SWAT
guidelines they are not a SWAT
team.”
Harris said that was not a criti-
cism of smaller tactical departments
and that the joint training could be a
net benefit for the departments.
That’s how Officer Gene Callaway
of the Doraville Police Department
(DPD) sees it. Doraville’s SWAT force
is made up of patrol officers who also
train for high-stakes operations and
are certified through the NTOA. The
DPD has one unique vehicle in its
arsenal, too–a M113 armored per-
sonnel carrier.
“It is a tool,” Callaway said. “Just
like when we go out on a call, we
make sure we wear our vests. We
want to make sure our officers go
home at the end of the day. The 113
is a tool to move around like that.”
Callaway said the vehicle isn’t
used very frequently but has been
employed with success during armed
standoffs and barricaded suspects.
“The last time the 113 was used
was during the snowstorm when
we were pulling 18-wheelers out of
ditches,” he said.
SWAT units usually respond to
the highest-risk warrants issued, such
as those for drugs or known shooters.
Recently, the DeKalb SWAT unit was
called for a hostage and robbery inci-
dent at a Chamblee AutoZone.
“You’re not supposed to use a
SWAT team for things that can be
done by a uniformed officer,” Har-
ris said, “But that was an appropriate
use. He had already taken hostages
and he hadn’t been cleared. You don’t
know how many gunmen there are.
Could a uniform officer do it? Abso-
lutely, but it wasn’t a misuse at all.”
The DeKalb force also has several
armored vehicles, including a Lenco
BearCat. Armored vehicles, like the
BearCat or M113, are usually either
purchased through grants or granted
by the government in exchange for
upkeep.
“You apply for it and you get it, so
it comes to the department at zero
cost,” Callaway said. “We have to
maintain it – what we had to do with
[the M113] was find rubber tracks so
it could run on the road. It’s been a
great tool. Because it’s zero cost to the
department, we don’t mind having it.”
A recent article by the New York
Times states that as military opera-
tions oversees wind down, surplus
is directed to local law enforcement.
There are about 25 military-grade
surplus items in Georgia, including
vehicles and ammunition, according
to the article.
Calloway said the department
hosts citizen police academies at least
once per year, so residents can learn
about what the officers do. He said
it’s important for the community to
understand what the department
does.
But, Calloway says, it seems like
crime in Doraville has tapered off at
least partially because of the SWAT
force and its sturdy M113.
“We’re going up against a more so-
phisticated criminal,” he said. “When
you have a criminal who has an auto-
matic rifle, the police officer’s action
is we will take the level of force just
above to subdue the suspect. If you
pull a knife on me, I’m going to pull
a gun – there’s an escalation there.
And when they’re pulling out auto-
matic weapons we have to be able to
respond in an appropriate manner to
subdue that situation rapidly.”
Most cities and towns in
DeKalb don’t have SWAT teams,
but many are interested in start-
ing special operations divisions.
Stone Mountain Chief Chanc-
ey Troutman: “We do not have
that type of resource here in the
city of Stone Mountain. We use
DeKalb County Police and Sher-
iff’s Department for SWAT.”
Chamblee Chief Donny Wil-
liams: “We have always opted
into the service of special re-
sources like SWAT, helicopters
and bomb squad units from
Dekalb County PD. The city resi-
dents pay a little more taxes for
that service. So, when the need
comes for those services we can
rely on highly trained units from
DeKalb.”
Lithonia Chief Eddie Moody:
“We are working on putting a
response team together. It will be
some time before that is created.
We are putting it together just in
the event that something hap-
pens, and DeKalb is not able to
respond … to make sure we can
cover ourselves.”
Avondale Estates Chief Gary
Broden: “We’re a small agency.
“We don’t have a SWAT team
and we do have an agreement
with DeKalb county if the situa-
tion arises. I have been in eight
years, and we haven’t had to use
them, and I hope we never have
to.”
Brookhaven Chief Gary Yan-
dura: “We are part of North Met-
ro SWAT, which involves Sandy
Springs, Dunwoody, Johns Creek
and Brookhaven. Each of the
jurisdictions have officers try out
for it. We have one command
vehicle and an armored vehicle
Dunwoody was able to acquire. I
think it’s best to share resources
and it’s better for all the munici-
palities.”
Clarkston Chief Christine
Hudson: “If we grow and we end
up doing some annexation, yes,
we would probably have our own
SWAT team. We are working on
annexation and hopefully within
the next couple of years I see
us being able to do a lot more.
Right now we have an 18-man
police department so it’s kind of
hard to have guys dedicated to
special operations.”
Dunwoody Chief Billy Gro-
gan: “We are a member of the
North Metro SWAT team. We av-
erage about five to eight callouts
a year. We meet those [NTOA]
standards. One of the things
that’s kind of unique but interest-
ing about the North Metro SWAT
when you look at the popula-
tions, we serve about 275,000
people–we cover a pretty large
area.”
Doraville Police Department has an independent SWAT division made up of patrol offcers who undergo additional training. One of the
vehicles is this armored M113 personnel carrier used in offcer down or other high-risk engagements.
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 11A
LOCAL NEWS
hour.
“VLS addresses a safety
issue,” Hoenig said. “There
are many more interchanges
on the north side so we have
weaving up on the upper por-
tions, which can be danger-
ous. Now we will try to more
closely match what is actually
happening.”
The increased speeds
will not actually cause more
accidents, said Lieutenant
Wade Chaffin of the Georgia
Department of Public Safety,
and may, in fact, be safer than
a speed limit lower than how
drivers typically behave any-
way.
“Speed in and of itself
is not the ultimate cause of
these accidents,” Chaffin said.
“NASCAR has speeds of up
to 200 miles per hour, so if we
were all doing that and turn-
ing left it would be fine. But
we have external input: from
the dawn of car creations, we
have had radios, getting fast
food and trying to eat a four
course dinner in your lap, put
on makeup and do yoga.”
He further said that slow
drivers, those going below
the speed limit or below the
rate of flow of traffic, can be
a bigger problem than those
travelling fast.
During peak times and
when accidents occur, the
Transportation Management
Center will reduce the speed
limit. The overhead signs will
alert drivers to the decreased
speeds, which will drop in
increments of 10 miles per
hour. Georgia also has a law
that grants drivers 500 feet
from the start of a new speed
limit to comply with that
limit before a citation can be
issued. The limit will never
decrease below 35 miles per
hour, the memo states.
“For the top end that is
not a bad ability,” Chaffin
said. “Our folks will have to
be mindful of what is actually
posted at the time, and en-
force that adequately. We have
always–I speak for myself
–but we always give benefit
to the violator, especially in a
changing speed limit area.”
Hoenig admits that the
recent speed limit change on
the south end has actually not
produced a change in driving
habits; he predicts the new
signs also will not have a dra-
matic effect on top speeds.
“When we raised the
speed limit on the bottom
end, top speeds really did not
increase,” he said. “We rec-
ognize that people are going
above 55. The average speed
on a Sunday afternoon with
low traffic conditions is usu-
ally well above that. But, we
are not going above 65 miles
per hour. That’s what we are
allowed to do under Georgia
law.”
Instead, Hoenig said, the
new signs will make the top
end safer by slowing drivers
down well in advance of any
gridlock.
“A good example is a fun-
nel,” he said, “If you pour a
whole bunch of rice in a fun-
nel it will get stuck and go
through slowly. But, if you
slowly pour it in, it will all go
through much faster.”
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Top of I-285 to get variable speed limit signs
by Lauren Ramsdell
[email protected]
Te maximum speed limit
on I-285 north of I-20 will
increase to 65 beginning Sept.
1, according to a memo from
the Georgia Department of
Transportation (GDOT).
Sixty-five is only the maxi-
mum, though. The memo
states GDOT will be imple-
menting variable speed limit
(VSL) signs along the “top
end” of I-285. This is in an ef-
fort to prevent traffic conges-
tion and accidents, the release
says.
Some benefits touted by
the release include breakups
of stop-and-go traffic inci-
dences, reduced rear-end and
lane-change collisions, and
decreased idling.
The speed limit on the
southern half of I-285 was in-
creased to 65 miles per hour
in November 2013. At the
time, officials said due to the
low volume of traffic, increas-
ing the southern portion was
“safer” than increasing the
northern portion.
“We have actually done
some follow-up studies and
we found that average speed
on the [I-285, south of I-20]
corridor didn’t change very
much,” said Andrew Hoenig,
a spokesperson with GDOT.
“It’s much more congested
[on I-285, north of I-20] so
you have speed that fluctuates
a lot more so it’s less safe.”
Hoenig said that the
studies have shown, despite
a 10-mile-per-hour speed
limit increase, the average top
speed of vehicles on the bot-
tom end of I-285 increased by
just one mile per hour.
Now GDOT officials are
saying that, with the variable
speed limit, adjustments can
be made in real time, increas-
ing safety. The memo points
out that Northside traffic
during peak hours already
travels under 65 miles per
The top end of I-285, between I-20, will get variable speed limit signs and the top speed will increase to 65 miles per hour, with system tests starting in August. Photos by Lauren Ramsdell
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 12A
LOCAL NEWS
15 K-9 offcers
you
Innovative thinking about new ways to
improve security helped MARTA achieve
Flagship Agency status, the highest ranking
any police department can earn*. We could
use your eyes, too. If you see something
that’s not right, call us. We’ll take it from there.
See
Say
something
something
If you
*Awarded by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).
Use MARTA’s See & Say App.
Txt MPD: (404) 334-5355
or
Call (404) 848-4911 if you see something out of the ordinary.
by Lauren Ramsdell
[email protected]
It was sometime in spring of 2013.
Decatur-based acrylic artist Julie Ann
McKevitt was working at Glazed &
Fired, a paint-your-own pottery and
art studio in Cumming.
A group of girls came in. They
were from Wellspring Living, a Du-
luth-based home for girls who have
been victims of sex trafficking.
McKevitt helped instruct the girls
in painting and saw how it helped
them open up to their caregivers.
Having previous experience work-
ing in the arts with at-risk youth, an
idea began to form in the back of her
mind.
She now runs Paint Love, a non-
profit that seeks to connect artists
with at-risk youth. Though the artists
are not trained as therapists, there
have been studies that show creating
art can help those with stress, trauma
and anxiety better connect with their
feelings.
“My great grandmother was a
teacher, my grandmother was a teach-
er, my mom was a teacher,” McKevitt
said.
“But I ended up studying market-
ing and dance in college. The idea
of Paint Love came from teaching
dance. At the University of Miami I
taught at-risk students dance. I knew
I wanted to be involved in the arts,
but I never knew it would be painting,
painting was always a hobby.”
McKevitt credits her grandmother,
who had a room dedicated to her art
in her home, with teaching her how
to paint and encouraging her love of
art.
“To me that was so normal, ev-
eryone has their art room,” McKevitt
said.
From working at Glazed & Fired
and working with the Wellspring
girls, McKevitt started looking for
ways to bring art to other organiza-
tions in the area. She also realized
that her lifelong hobby could become
a business. She left her marketing job
and started painting full-time in Au-
gust 2013.
“[Paint Love] really began as a
side business and then in August I
launched my own business,” she said.
“I connected with a girls’ home in
Cumming, Ga. and brought an artist
with me. From there, it started.”
Paint Love provides most of the
supplies, such as acrylic paint, can-
vasses, pencils and pens. That way, all
the artist has to do is show up to teach
their lesson.
But, those lessons don’t always
turn out how you might expect.
“The second time I was at Well-
spring, I had in my mind this set idea
of what I was going to do and what
I was going to teach,” McKevitt said.
“I kind of went in with that idea and
the girls weren’t quite ready or they
wanted to go on their own. It kind of
evolved into what each girl wanted to
do. It really depends on the group of
students or how structured it is.”
McKevitt said she has registered
Paint Love as a nonprofit with the
state of Georgia and is in the process
of submitting tax-exempt paperwork
to the Internal Revenue Service. So
far Paint Love has worked with Well-
spring, Jesse’s House and Kate’s Club.
Kate’s Club serves children that
have lost a sibling or parent, a mes-
sage that resonates with McKevitt.
“I lost my mother about five years
Paint Love draws nonprofts, artists together
See Paint on page 16A
Wellspring Living, a home for girls who have survived sex traffcking, was Paint Love’s frst client. “I love how much they opened up, how
proud they were of their pieces when they were fnished,” said Julie Ann McKevitt of Paint Love. Photos provided by Julie Ann McKevitt
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 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
Led by Marti Yura and Cheryl Burnette, approximately 30 people welcomed the summer solstice with yoga on
the Old Courthouse Square in downtown Decatur. Photo by Travis Hudgons
The Dunwoody Preservation Trust hosted a brief historical lecture June 22 about Ebenezer Primitive Baptist
Church, the oldest church established in Dunwoody.
Approximately 50 children attended a weeklong summer Bible camp
June 16-20 at Grace Presbyterian Church in Stone Mountain. Photos
by Andrew Cauthen
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 14A
LOCAL NEWS
Wafe House Museum serves up nostalgia,
scattered, smothered and covered
by Lauren Ramsdell
[email protected]
The sign says “Good Food Fast”
but you won’t find any cooks sling-
ing hash behind the counter. No
T-bones sizzle on the flat top, no
syrupy smell infuses the air. In-
stead, this Waffle House has been
preserved as it was in 1955, the
very first Waffle House ever, as a
museum to the South’s ubiquitous
breakfast restaurant.
If you blink, you’ll miss it. On
East College Avenue, right on the
border of Decatur and Avondale
Estates, the museum sits shut-
tered most of the time with just an
old-fashioned “syrup-style” sign
directing you in. The museum is
open quarterly for public tours,
or, potential guests can call Waffle
House communications and they’ll
schedule a tour. The next quarterly
opening is the first weekend of Sep-
tember.
“This location was open until the
early ‘70s as a Waffle House, then it
became a mom-and-pop diner, then
eventually it was a Chinese restau-
rant,” said Kelly Thrasher, a com-
pany spokesperson. “Then, in the
mid-2000s, the Chinese restaurant
decided not to stay here, and Waffle
House said, ‘Well, maybe we should
take back this space and turn it into
a museum.’”
Back in 1955, founders Tom For-
kner and Joe Rogers Sr. were good
friends but not yet in the restaurant
business. Avondale Estates was still a
stop on the way to Atlanta but didn’t
have a 24-hour diner of its own.
Rogers worked for Toddle House,
a breakfast-all-the-time restaurant
with a concept similar to Waffle
House but couldn’t convince corpo-
rate that Avondale Estates was the
place to open.
Rogers approached Forkner with
the concept for what would become
Waffle House: a round-the-clock
diner featuring an open kitchen with
just a few steps between customers
and their food. It should take an av-
erage of seven minutes from order
to first bite. Forkner contacted his
brother, John, who built the iconic
“shoebox” building that still stands
today: a long, narrow rectangle with
kitchen in the middle. Forkner and
Rogers filled the menu with made-
from-scratch classics: $.30 hamburg-
ers, $.20 fresh-baked slices of pie
and, of course, waffles for $.40.
For Waffle House’s 50th birth-
day in 2005, the World of Coke put
together a recreation of the high
counter where patrons used to or-
der. Originally scheduled to be com-
pleted that same year, the museum
was not quite finished and opened
instead in 2008.
At the museum, only the floor is
completely original to the building,
but most everything else is as close
as they could get. The founders
didn’t think in 1955 they’d estab-
lish a chain with more than 17,000
franchises, so there aren’t actually a
lot of pictures of the original Waffle
House.
“People back then weren’t as
picture crazy as we are now, so we
didn’t have a ton of photos to go off
of to recreate this,” Thrasher said.
“We basically just went off the mem-
ories of our two founders, and, of
course, they had different views.”
So why a museum? Thrasher
estimates the museum draws two to
three groups by appointment in the
summer months, as well as school
groups throughout the year. Many
are startled that something as ubiq-
uitous as Waffle House–pass any
exit ramp in the South and you’re
likely to spot that blaring yellow sign
–started in a little suburb of Atlanta.
“[The museum] is a way to pre-
serve the history and to show you
that Waffle House is not that much
different today than it was back
then,” Thrasher said. “Obviously
the prices are a little different, and
we have added booth seating, but
from day one it was really about the
people and the interaction and the
experience you were going to have.”
The Waffe House Museum, located in Avondale Estates, is a throwback to the chain’s
frst restaurant as it was in 1955. Photos by Lauren Ramsdell
Memorabilia includes period cash
registers, stoves and tabletops.
However, only the foor is original to
the building.
The Waffe House Museum operated as a functioning Waffe House until the ‘70s, when it became
a mom-and-pop diner. Later, it became a Chinese restaurant and, when the restaurant decided to
move, was purchased by Waffe House for its museum.
Roadblock Continued From Page 1A
P-card Continued From Page 1A
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 15A LOCAL NEWS
stuf,” Gannon said. “It’s just got to
stop.”
On April 22, Gannon introduced a
resolution calling for an independent
audit of all spending for the previous
fve years by each county commis-
sioner, beginning with District 1 and
proceeding consecutively.
Te resolution directs the county
to hire a certifed internal auditor or
certifed government audit profes-
sional. Te goal of the audit is “to
determine whether
public funds have been
misused, to provide
complete transparency
to citizens and to begin
to restore public conf-
dence.”
Commissioner
Sharon Barnes Sutton
modifed the resolu-
tion to review 10 years
of commissioners’
fnances, starting with
District 6—Gannon’s
district—and then go-
ing back to District
1. Although Sutton’s
motion passed, she
later unsuccessfully
attempted to call for
a reconsideration of
her own substitute motion that had
passed.
Te audit has not “materialized
yet and I’m trying to track that down
since we said it was of the upmost ur-
gency,” said Gannon, adding that bids
are expected to be in by June 27.
Afer obtaining Gannon’s P-card
records for January 1, 2013, to April
1, 2014, Te Champion learned that
Gannon spent and an average of $400
per month during the time period.
“I use it very sparingly,” Gannon
said. “Te purpose of the p-card is to
…function as a commissioner and
provide services for your constitu-
ents. I try to use it as sparingly as
possible.”
In April 2013, Gannon spent $250
to hire a guitarist for the DeKalb
County Green Expo, which she spon-
sors and organizes.
“He did give us a discount,
though,” Gannon said about the
guitarist’s fee. “I couldn’t get him to
[play] for free.”
When asked if the hired guitarist
was the best use of taxpayer money,
Gannon said, “I don’t know. Probably
not. We probably could have done
without it and it would have been
boring.”
Gannon said she saves county
money by attending the National As-
sociation of Counties annual conven-
tion every other year, unlike some
other commissioners.
“I don’t take staf with me,” she
said. “I don’t pay for everybody else
under the sun to go. I’m an intelligent
person. I can go to these meetings,
take notes, make contacts and do it
all by myself. So that saves money in
the travel column.”
Gannon said she also doesn’t
spend money on lunches.
“When I go to lunch with a con-
stituent, we usually pay our own way,”
she said. “I think that’s the right thing
to do.”
Additionally, “I don’t borrow us-
ing my P-card,” Gannon said. “My
[personal] credit cards are all work-
ing just fne.”
Gannon also said she uses her
private cellphone for county business
and pays 100 percent of the bill.
She said that it is “imperative that
[commissioners] show some leader-
ship” in the way they handle their
fnances.
“To simply say the [P-card] policy
is vague or ‘I didn’t know I was doing
anything wrong because there’s no
policy for it,’ is just not going to cut
it,” Gannon said.
Commissioners “should know
right from wrong—they are adults—
plus they have a special obligation to
do better,” Gannon said.
“We have such a tremendous
responsibility for the money we
spend—we’re spending all this; we’re
looking at the budget and counting
every penny…and we don’t have the
ability to keep receipts in our ofce
for what we’re spending with taxpay-
er money? Give me a break,” Gannon
said.
“I think [some commissioners]
have gotten to the point where they
have grown accustomed to some
power and some perks and they ra-
tionalize,” Gannon said.
Gannon said the P-card contro-
versy has shocked her.
“It has made me just so disap-
pointed in my board that this kind of
behavior has not just been exposed,
but…[been] so prevalent,” she said.
“It’s a shame that we are spending so
much time on [this].”
Gannon added that residents have
a role to play in addressing the con-
troversy.
All of these people are elected,”
Gannon said. “Constituents have got
to wake up and say, ‘Is this what we
want, or not?’”
Research assistance was provided
by Travis Hudgons and Donna Turner.
‘I don’t borrow
using my P-card. My
[personal] credit
cards are all working
just fne.’
–Commissioner Kathie Gannon
Health and Developmental
Disabilities and the Governor’s
Office of Highway Safety provide
programs and strategies to address
these issues based on community
surveys, data collection and
observations.
Beyond The Bell was founded
by Sandra Dean in 2002 to provide
affordable after school and summer
programs to ensure children
were safe and nurtured during
non-school hours. The program
includes academic and enrichment
programs to enhance children’s
school day and to offer educational
field trips, prevention programs,
character education, manners
and etiquette classes, sports and
recreation.
The program focuses on
reducing the impact of alcohol
abuse and other drugs in by
providing prevention programs and
sustainable outcomes.
“We’re prevention providers
for Georgia,” Dean said. “One of
the strategies that we’re working
on this fiscal year with the state is
to prevent underage drinking and
to help reduce heavy and binge
drinking among 18 to 25 year olds,
and people drinking and driving or
reckless driving.”
There are 11 teens who are
members of the program’s youth
council, nine of which have been
with the program since they were
in kindergarten. The students are
taught about the consequences of
underage drinking and drinking
and driving.
Angel Paul, 16, said before she
joined the program had she been
against underage drinking.
“I just knew I wasn’t going to
drink because I really didn’t have
a reason to drink,” Paul said. “But
now I know why I shouldn’t drink.
I have reasons why I shouldn’t
drink.”
Seeing the consequences of un-
derage drinking led 15-year-old
Tyrique Warren to join the pro-
gram.
“I’ve seen what alcohol does to
youth, and I want to prevent it from
happening,” Warren said.
Along with taking classes on
drinking prevention, the students
get an opportunity to see what hap-
pens to those caught driving under
the influence of alcohol. Stephanie
Kootsikas, an implementation
specialist, said they utilize environ-
mental strategies as teaching tools.
“That’s working with law en-
forcement, doing compliance
checks in the community and mak-
ing sure alcohol retailers aren’t sell-
ing to underage buyers,” she said.
“That also includes freeing the kids
and allowing them to be a part of
the sobriety check points and the
saturation patrols so that they can
be a part of their own prevention.”
Paul, Warren and 16-year-old
Jailan Lowton got an opportunity
to work with DeKalb County Police
June 18 during a roadblock on
Lawrenceville Highway in Tucker.
The students were there to collect
statistics of those caught driving
under the influence.
They did not see anyone driving
under the influence, but they did
see officers arrest people for other
offenses, including driving under
the influence of narcotics, driving
with an open container, driving
with possession of marijuana and
driving with a suspended license.
The students also saw a man
who had a warrant for his arrest for
vehicular homicide.
Kootsikas said it is important
for the students to see things like
this because prevention is not just a
“one-time” program.
“It’s not just a one-time speaker
at a high school or middle school,”
she said. “It’s not just a one-time
classroom prevention effort.
Prevention is an ongoing process.”
Beyond The Bell students Jailan Lowton (left), Tyrique Warren and Angel Paul write
down the number of people who were pulled over. Photo by Carla Parker
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 16A
LOCAL NEWS
Paint Continued From Page 12A
Kirkwood continues to grow
by Daniel Beauregard
[email protected]
In the past few years,
businesses have kept sprout-
ing up in Kirkwood—bars,
restaurants, coffee shops,
salons—some have even
grown and expanded like
Le Petit Marche, which
started out styled after a
small neighborhood French
bakery.
Damon Sgrignoli,
president of the Kirkwood
Business Association, attrib-
uted a lot of the Kirkwood
growth to partnerships and
events aimed at beautifying
the area.
Le Petit Marche, one of
the area’s older businesses,
recently moved into a larger,
expanded building across
the street from its old loca-
tion. In a little more than
two years, the business
had become so popular it
outgrew its facility. When
she opened the business,
Le Petit Marche owner
Marchet Sparks said open-
ing in Kirkwood was a “no
brainer.”
“The complexion of the
community was…so diverse
that the decision to invest
my livelihood came easy,”
Sparks said.
Sprignoli also said Urban
Pie, the neighborhood pizza
place, has begun opening for
lunch each day when previ-
ously it was only open for
dinner.
“We want to be the kind
of community where people
walk and feel comfortable,”
Sgrignoli said.
Sgrignoli also attributed
the growth in business to the
fact that people feel com-
fortable on foot, and Kirk-
wood has become a sort of
hub, with businesses such as
Taproom Coffee or the At-
lanta Sport and Social Club
becoming “social ports.”
“We’re doing really good
things behind the scenes,”
Sgrignoli said. Each year the
business association hosts
a wine stroll in which 25
percent of the proceeds go
to local charities. The group
is also partnering with the
Atlanta Bicycle Coalition to
improve bike safety in the
neighborhood.
Businesses like Taproom
Coffee and Savor Wine
Boutique, located in the
Kirkwood Station complex
of Hosea L. Williams Drive,
benefit from heavy foot traf-
fic. Throughout the day one
can see the picnic tables in
front of the coffee shop full
of customers.
Jonathan Pascual, owner
of Taproom Coffee, raised
$20,000 to fund his business.
Pascual, who can be found
at the coffee shop most
mornings chatting with cus-
tomers or behind the coun-
ter, said he chose to open
Taproom because there was
a lack of good coffee in the
area. He also said that since
he was a stay-at-home dad
with four children, it seemed
like the perfect time to open
a business.
Savor Wine Boutique
owner Kyla Cox said there
were several things that led
to her opening up a business
in Kirkwood.
“We wanted close prox-
imity to downtown and a
walkable community. A
mixed-use development was
a high priority and Kirk-
wood Station fit the bill,”
Cox said.
However, Cox said the
thing that made Kirkwood
stand out more than other
metro Atlanta neighbor-
hoods was its residents.
“We took our time and
did our due diligence getting
to know Kirkwood residents
and the business owners in
the area,” Cox said. “This
meant attending neighbor-
hood meetings, networking
with the Kirkwood Busi-
ness Owners Association
and simply being present
well before we ever signed a
lease.”
Cox said she and her hus-
band spent many weekends
patronizing and enjoying the
restaurants and businesses
in the area, and getting to
know the neighborhood.
“We fell in love with
Kirkwood and the commu-
nity has really supported us.
We know so many people by
name and have built a very
dedicated, local following
for our weekly wine tast-
ings and special events,” Cox
said.

The Kirkwood area has experienced a large amount of growth and
development over the past few years. Photos by Daniel Beauregard
 
NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE 
   The Board of Education of the City of Decatur has tentatively 
adopted a millage rate of 20.50 mills which will require an increase in 
property taxes by 4.27% for fiscal year 2014‐2015.  This tentatively 
approved millage rate of 20.50 is a decrease from the current fiscal 
year adopted millage rate of 20.90.   
   All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearing on this tax 
increase to be held at the Board Room of the Central Office, 125 
Electric Avenue, Decatur, Georgia on Tuesday, July 8, 2014 at 6:00 
p.m.   
   This tentative increase will result in a millage rate of 20.50 mills, an 
increase of 1.240 mills over the rollback millage.  Without this 
tentative tax increase, the millage rate will be no more than 19.660 
mills.  The proposed tax increase for a home with a fair market value 
of $300,000 is approximately $126.  
ago from breast cancer, so
when I heard about them it
was a great opportunity,” she
said.
Her most recent class at
Kate’s Club brought in a wax
encaustic artist, who uses tex-
tural, pigmented wax to make
images.
“I like bringing these
high-level artists together
that make something unique
and completely new,” McKev-
itt said. “I saw how thought-
ful they were in choosing col-
ors and pieces, how open and
free they talked about their
loss and their lives. It was a
real opportunity.”
Paint Love has only re-
ally taken off in the first few
months of 2014, so McKevitt
says she is still building a
database of organizations she
can bring arts education to,
and gathering artists to help
teach the classes. She said
she’d love to have artists bring
different styles—crochet, oil
paints, abstract art—to the
table.
“We are still really new,
but the ones that we have
had from that first day at
Wellspring, it was kind of
jaw-dropping,” McKevitt said.
“You bring out some paint
and canvass and people just
open up. I definitely think
it gives them a platform and
gives them a safe environ-
ment.
“We’re not counselors, and
it’s not something so struc-
tured but from that flows this
healing process. I have seen it
in my own life where some-
times in stressful situations
I’m like, ‘OK, got to go and
paint.’”
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 17A
LOCAL NEWS
by Carla Parker
[email protected]
Before he accepted the job as Li-
thonia police chief 18 months ago,
Eddie Moody knew he would not
have the same resources he once had
as DeKalb County police chief.
When he realized that he had to
balance many things with little re-
sources, it was an “eye opener.”
“It has made the job really interest-
ing trying to put things in place and
look down the road trying to achieve
a lot of things when [you have] to
slow down a little and work just a
little harder,” he said. “Although you’re
trying to work smarter, you’re still
working hard and we worked so hard
in the beginning to get to ground
zero.”
While Moody and his staff worked
hard to turn the department around
with little resources, they were still
able to put a “platform” in place to
move the department forward.
“That’s when it got interesting –as
to how would we put things together
[while] not having the funding, not
having the equipment and other
things to make it work,” he said.
Moody decided to contact his fel-
low law enforcement officers from
other agencies for help, and they re-
sponded handsomely to that call for
help.
“We were blessed because of past
relationships,” he said. “That helped
to propel us forward and begin to do
some productive things. From there
it’s been a daily grind, just constantly
working on what’s best for the city,
the citizens and the employees.”
Lithonia received donations of
police radios, three police cars from
DeKalb County, bulletproof vests,
drug testing equipment and other
items. The department also received
monetary donations from some agen-
cies, which allowed them to purchase
computers, training equipment, and
equipment to keep the K-9 dog cool
in the car.
The department received dona-
tions, such as furniture, a refrigerator
and microwave from the private sec-
tor and family members of deceased
relatives who used to work for the
city.
“The list just goes on and on of the
kindness of people reaching out to
help,” he said. “With God’s grace and
their blessings, we have done, I think,
very well.”
Since the department received the
help it needed, Moody said his staff
and the 30 officers, including reserve
officers, can focus on doing their job
to make the city safer.
“To a large degree, the officers are
able to go out and do their job with
a little less concern about equipment
because we had some things added,”
he said. “We believe the citizens are
seeing a difference in the police de-
partment, and they are noticing the
commitment and the hard work that
the officers are making in the com-
munity.”
According to Moody, crime is
down in all areas in the city and he
attributes that to the relationship with
the community and to the officers’
“commitment and hard work.”
“We want to continue to build on
that,” he said. “We want people to
come here and feel safe and know that
they are safe. We are meeting some
good expectations, even a small staff
and small group of officers.”
With year one under his belt and
halfway through his second year,
Moody said the department is still
working on projects on the adminis-
trative level to make it better, which
includes a new policy manual. The
department also will work with the
community to start a neighborhood
watch program.
With a new title—public safety
director—Moody and the department
are also looking at the vision of the
mayor, city council and the vision of
the city.
“We’re looking at the vision in
terms of our contribution and putting
the pieces together so we can really
work hard on increasing our efforts
when it comes to code enforcement
because we got a number of vacant
properties,” he said. “And how to
incorporate our public works depart-
ment.”
Moody said the main goal of the
department now is to become a certi-
fied police agency.
“That certification announces that
we have been scrutinized and that
we are compliant [in] a certain set
of standards that put us in the arena
with other agencies that have gone
through the same kind of scrutiny,” he
said.
Chief Moody: Lithonia police are ‘blessed’
Lithonia Police Chief Eddie Moody stands in front of one of the three police cars that was
donated to Lithonia from the DeKalb County Police Department. Photo by Carla Parker
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 18A
LOCAL NEWS
See Wrestling on page 19A
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DEKALB COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
2
nd
and 3
rd
PUBLIC
MILLAGE RATE HEARINGS
Monday, July 7, 2014
TIME LOCATION
11:00 a.m. J. David Williamson Board Room
Administrative & Instructional Complex
1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd.
Stone Mountain, GA 30083
Monday, July 7, 2014
TIME LOCATION
6:30 p.m. J. David Williamson Board Room
Administrative & Instructional Complex
1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd.
Stone Mountain, GA 30083
Citizens interested in reviewing a detailed copy of the program
based budget 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.
by Lauren Ramsdell
[email protected]
The city of Chamblee is eying property
currently owned by DeKalb County but that
is technically within the city limits.
According to city councilman Brian
Mock the county has failed to maintain
properties in the Gainsborough neighbor-
hood and at Dresden Park, causing them to
both become unsafe eyesores for the com-
munity.
The Gainsborough properties, previously
a residential area, were bought by FEMA
after a 2006 flood of Nancy Creek damaged
them. The structures were razed, leaving
bare ground and some trees.
“I have been contacted a number of times
asking for assistance with upkeep,” Mock
said at the June 12 work session.
“It takes about 12 to 15 man hours every
three weeks to maintain the lots [in Gains-
borough] properly,” he said. Mock directed
city staff to contact the county and, if there
would be no cost, to proceed in transferring
the title of the Gainsborough lots to the city.
Other council members requested city staff
look into what can be done with the prop-
erty, given that it is still owned by FEMA.
“We will find that some neighbors want
nothing done, one guy said let the grass
grow six feet tall and at the other end of the
spectrum they’re like ‘let’s build Six Flags,’
so, it’s all in-between,” Mock said.
But, he said, the primary concern was
with maintenance; the details of what the
property could become would be discussed
at a later date, hopefully with input from
neighbors and the neighborhood associa-
tion.
“The other day when I was out there I
was eaten up by mosquitoes and a coyote
ran right in front of me,” Mock said. “So
there are some issues we need to get out
there and maintain, so that’s my goal right
now, to find out what it would take to bring
it in and maintain it.”
Mock said he has similar concerns about
Dresden Park, described as an underuti-
lized park on Dresden Drive off of Buford
Highway. In his agenda item, Mock claimed
“a recent news report revealed the park has
become a haven for gang activity” and that
“citizens … are afraid to use the park.”
The city can purchase the park from the
city for $100 per acre, for a total of $2,400.
Mock also said that up to two maintenance
workers may have to be hired, as well as an
additional vehicle to maintain the property.
“The first year startup cost is estimated
to be $165,000,” Mock said, “However,
please keep in mind that $120,000 of that is
salary and truck expenditure that would be
spread out over the course of the year.”
Earlier in the work session the city re-
vealed a surplus in the budget of $183,000
– which Mock suggested could be used to
cover the cost of obtaining the park.
“I feel like this is a worthy investment.
It has become a safety issue for the citizens
and furthermore it would turn this park into
an asset rather than a liability,” Mock said.
The city has, prior to the work session,
never attempted to obtain the property.
And, although, the city does not have the
capacity currently to maintain the property,
since the park is within Chamblee limits, it
is policed by Chamblee Police.
“My gut feeling tells me anything with
the county is going to take a long time,”
Mock said. “So my request would be to get
the ball rolling. It’s very important; it’s like a
hole in the middle of the city.”
Recommendations from staff could come
as early as the next city council meeting,
June 17.
Chamblee explores gaining
property from county
Arraignment scheduled for mother who
sufocated 3-year-old
A mother who admitted to sufocating her 3-year-
old daughter afer an argument with her boyfriend
will appear in court July 1, at 9 a.m.
Meriel Bemis, 21, admitted to sufocating her
daughter Feb. 23 because she was upset her boyfriend
broke up with her. Bemis is charged with two counts
of felony murder, malice murder, aggravated assault
and cruelty to children.
Afer Bemis and her boyfriend reportedly argued,
he lef the apartment. He later received a phone call
from Bemis, who told him her daughter was uncon-
scious. When he returned to the apartment, he found
Bemis’ daughter unresponsive in the bathroom.
Tis case will appear before DeKalb County Supe-
rior Court Judge Gregory Adams.
Trial begins for mother who left children
unattended, resulting in two deaths
A trial began June 23 for a DeKalb County mother
who left three children unsupervised in a Stone
Mountain apartment in 2010 when a space heater
caught fire.
According to prosecutors, Angel Johnson and her
boyfriend Keith Lee Pinkney left three of her four
children alone in her apartment while they went to
Burger King. While they were away, a space heater
caught fire to items in the bedroom where the young
children were barricaded.
Johnson and Pinkney are charged with two counts
each of involuntary manslaughter and making a false
statement, and cruelty to children in the second de-
gree. According to the indictment, two of the three
toddlers died from asphyxiation and injuries caused
by the fire. The third survived but suffered injuries.
Pinkney, Johnson’s co-defendant, will not be tried
with Johnson. His trial has yet to be scheduled.
CRIME BRIEFS
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 19A
BUSINESS
by Kathy Mitchell
According to informa-
tion from research company
Trend Hunters, cupcakes
represented the fastest grow-
ing segment of the baked
goods industry between
2008 and 2013. Now a Stone
Mountain entrepreneur is
taking the personal size des-
sert trend in a new direc-
tion.
Darrell Sprattling, who
recently opened Pi-bytes
in Stone Mountain Village,
creates cupcake-size pies
in a variety of flavors, from
caramel apple to tequila
lime. The individual des-
serts, served in crinkled pa-
per cups, even look a bit like
cupcakes.
Sprattling, a full-time
firefighter, said he got into
the baking business by ac-
cident. He decided to try
making a sweet potato souf-
flé for a fire station potluck
dinner. The other firefight-
ers raved about the result.
“Some asked me if it was
my grandma’s recipe. That’s
a real compliment coming
from people who grew up in
the South,” said Sprattling,
who is from Peoria, Ill.
Actually, there was no
recipe, he said, explain-
ing that he “just put in
ingredients that I thought
would blend well together.”
Sprattling tried the same
approach with a pie. “But
I wanted to do something
different,” he recalled, “so I
made a gourmet pie the size
of a large cupcake.” His wife
Carla pronounced it a hit.
“She’s the reason I started
cooking in the first place. I
wanted to impress her when
we were dating. Growing up
I always thought of cooking
as something women did,
but as an adult I tried cook-
ing and discovered I really
like it,” said Sprattling, who
has no formal training as a
cook.
The shop features spe-
cialty coffees and teas in
addition to the pies of the
day. Sprattling said that the
flavors, which include such
offerings as toasted almond
joy and amaretto German
chocolate, are different each
day. “The caramel apple and
turtle pies and customer fa-
vorites and are on the menu
every day,” he said.
Sprattling said the advan-
tage of personal-size des-
serts is that they allow vari-
ety at a party, where guests
can pick their favorites or
sample several. Also, he
added, a person may want
just a taste of something
sweet without bringing
home more than he or she
wants. “I don’t think mini-
desserts are just a passing
fad; I think they’re here to
stay,” Sprattling commented.
The slogan on the wall at Pi-
bytes is “Why buy the whole
pie when you can have just
a byte.”
After winning a FedEx
small business competition,
Sprattling started baking
his pies at a rented com-
mercial kitchen and selling
them online. While the ef-
fort was a success, Sprattling
and his wife wanted to take
the business further. “Rent
is high for a commercial
kitchen—in fact, rent is high
everywhere,” Sprattling said.
“I decided that as long as I’m
paying rent, I’d like to have
a retail outlet. I live in Stone
Mountain, and I want to be
a part of its resurgence.”
After looking at sev-
eral alternatives, Sprattling
settled on a small shop on
Main Street that had been a
candle store. “It just all came
together,” he recalled.
Sprattling said the Stone
Mountain business com-
munity has been welcoming
and helpful. Mechel McKin-
ley, executive director of
the City of Stone Mountain
Downtown Development
Authority, called Pi-bytes
“an asset to our community
and the rebirth of our down-
town.”
While mini-pies are the
signature offering of the new
eatery, Sprattling said, he
creates savories for special
events. “We’re holding a
private party here this eve-
ning,” he said on a recent
Friday afternoon, noting
that the menu included crab
stuffed mushrooms, roasted
red pepper hummus and
Srirachi lime chicken wings.
Sprattling said he plans to
start offering flat bread pizza
soon.
Sprattling continues as a
full-time firefighter while,
his wife of 20 years, runs the
shop. “He’s still the cook in
that he develops the recipes.
I’m a good recipe follower,”
she said. “We both enjoy
good food, and if we don’t
agree that we like some-
thing, we won’t sell it.”
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
Pi-bytes puts new spin on mini-dessert trend
NOTICE OF PROPERTY TAX INCREASE


The DeKalb County School District has tentatively adopted a millage rate
which will require an increase in property taxes by 6.54 percent.

All concerned citizens are invited to the public hearing on this tax increase to
be held at 6:00 p.m. June 25, 2014, DeKalb County School District J. David
Williamson Board Room, 1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd., Stone Mountain,
Georgia

Times and places of additional public hearings on this tax increase are at:
11:00 a.m. (NEW TIME) July 7, 2014, DeKalb County School District
J. David Williamson Board Room, 1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd.,
Stone Mountain, Georgia

6:30 p.m. July 7, 2014, DeKalb County School District
J. David Williamson Board Room, 1701 Mountain Industrial Blvd.,
Stone Mountain, Georgia

This tentative increase will result in a millage rate of 23.98 mills, an increase
of 1.471 mills. Without this tentative tax increase, the millage rate will be no
more than 22.509 mills. The proposed tax increase for a home with a fair
market value of $150,000 is approximately $69.87 and the proposed tax
increase for nonhomestead property with a fair market value of $250,000 is
approximately $147.10. 
Darrell Sprattling says he believes personal size desserts are
here to stay.
Pi-bytes come in a wide variety of favors with the choices changing every day. Photos by Kathy Mitchell
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 20A
EDUCATION
Education Briefs
County school board to hold millage rate
hearings
Georgia law requires that the DeKalb County
Board of Education announce its intention not to
rollback the millage rate to compensate for an in-
crease in DeKalb County property tax assessments.
When the total digest of taxable property is pre-
pared, state law requires that a rollback millage rate
must be computed that will produce the same total
revenue on the current year’s digest that last year’s
millage rate would have produced had no reassess-
ments occurred.
Due to the impact of the recession, the DeKalb
County Board of Education is considering main-
taining its present millage rate in order to fully
fund its academic school year and to continue to
rebuild its financial reserves.
In accordance with state law, the DeKalb Coun-
ty Board of Education announced its intention to
increase the property taxes. It will recommend to
be levied this year by 6.54 percent over the rollback
rate. The increase in property tax collections will
result directly from an increase in overall reassess-
ments, not from an increase in the millage rate.
The DeKalb County Board of Education does not
assess property in DeKalb County, and has no con-
trol over the assessed value of county property.
Georgia law requires that three public hear-
ings be held to allow the public an opportunity to
express their opinions on increased revenues that
result from reassessments, during the millage rate
setting process.
All concerned citizens are invited to the public
hearings on setting the millage rate to be held at
the Administrative & Instructional Complex, J.
David Williamson Board Room, 1701 Mountain
Industrial Blvd., Stone Mountain, Georgia on July 7
at 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
National magazine recognizes three DeKalb
schools
DeKalb School of the Arts (DSA) is ranked
third among Georgia’s more than 460 high schools
in a ranking by U.S. News and World Report, and
scored 79th out of nearly 20,000 high schools
around the nation. Chamblee Charter High School
also was among the top high schools in the nation-
al ranking, earning a gold medal alongside DSA,
the highest award for the nation’s top 500 high
schools based on college readiness.
DSA had a college readiness score of 100 per-
cent from U.S. News and World Report.
“DSA is reflective of the district’s demographics
through the audition and acceptance process with-
out it being forced,” said Susan McCauley, DSA’s
principal. “We take students from varying back-
grounds and push them to a higher level through
our combination of rigorous academics and their
passion for the arts.”
Chamblee Charter High earned top honors for
its high percentage of students who graduate fully
prepared for college. Chamblee Charter ranked
11th, statewide. A third DeKalb high school,
DeKalb Early College Academy, received a bronze
medal and national recognition for its consistent
success in producing college-ready graduates.
“The U.S. News and World Report rankings
acknowledge the work we are doing in DeKalb
of academically lifting our students no matter
their socioeconomic background,” said Michael
Thurmond, superintendent of the DeKalb County
School District. “We are proud of the accomplish-
ments of the students and faculty at DSA, Cham-
blee Charter and DECA. And we won’t stop until
every one of our high schools receives top hon-
ors, because we know that all of our students can
achieve at the highest levels.”
Brookhaven native awarded foreign afairs
fellowship
The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship
Foundation recently announced that Mpaza
Kapembwa of Brookhaven is a recipient of the
2014 Thomas R. Pickering Undergraduate Foreign
Affairs Fellowship.
Administered for the U.S. Department of
State by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellow-
ship Foundation, the Thomas R. Pickering For-
eign Affairs Fellowships develop a source of men
and women whose academic backgrounds fulfill
the skill needs of the State Department and who
are dedicated to representing America’s interests
abroad, according to a news release.
Selected in their junior year, Pickering Under-
graduate Fellows receive financial support towards
tuition and other expenses during the senior year
of college and the first year of graduate study. Ad-
ditionally, Fellows participate in one domestic and
one overseas internship. Upon the completion of
their master’s degree, they commit to five years of
service as a Foreign Service officer.
Kapembwa, a bachelor’s of arts candidate in
Chinese at Williams College, expects to graduate in
2015.
Decatur resident named frst Fink Scholar at
UGA 
Elizabeth Claire Grimsley, a senior from De-
catur who covers the gymnastics beat for the Red
& Black campus newspaper, is the first Conrad C.
Fink Scholar at the University of Georgia Grady
College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Grimsley, who will receive a $1,000 scholarship,
was chosen by a faculty committee because she
demonstrates the “promise, journalistic integrity,
intellectual courage and commitment to a career in
journalism” that honors the spirit and achievement
of Conrad Fink, a journalist and news executive
who became one of Grady College’s most revered
professors for three decades, according to a news
release.
Grimsley is pursuing a degree in journalism as
well as Grady College’s new sports media certifi-
cate. The six-course certificate program is the first
of its kind in the Southeastern Conference and of-
fers in-depth sports media curriculum.
 Grimsley, a former gymnast, has an internship
in Indianapolis this summer with USA Gymnas-
tics, the national governing body for the sport.
Before leaving for Indiana, Grimsley completed
a “Sports Media Relations” May term course, in
which students helped UGA Sports Communica-
tions generate and distribute online content about
the 2014 NCAA tennis championships in Athens.
 
DeKalb County schools
superintendent Michael
Thurmond announced June
9 that five DeKalb County
high schools will participate
in the Jobs for Georgia’s
Graduates program.
The five high schools are
Cross Keys, Clarkston, Litho-
nia, Ronald E. McNair and
Towers.
Jobs for America’s Gradu-
ates (JAG) and AT&T are
working together to help
raise the high school gradu-
ation rate in DeKalb schools
by enhancing academic sup-
port for students at risk of
dropping out. AT&T has
contributed $1 million in an
effort to expand the JAG pro-
gram nationally, and Jobs for
Georgia’s Graduates (JGG)
has been a beneficiary of that
gift.
JAG programs help un-
derserved students over-
come barriers to graduation
through mentoring, tutoring,
academic support and links
to social services among
other interventions. With
a high school diploma or
general educational diploma
(GED), students are guided
into post-secondary educa-
tion, entry-level careers or
the military.
“I’ve seen the impact of
Jobs for Georgia’s Gradu-
ates, serving disadvantaged
students to help them finish
high school and move on to
post-secondary education
and a career,” Thurmond
said. “I want to bring the JGG
program to our schools in
DeKalb County to share that
opportunity for success with
our high school students that
need it the most.”
“JGG is wonderful pro-
gram that has helped remove
barriers for students and
increased graduation rates
across Georgia. Superin-
tendent Thurmond should
be commended for his
dedication to the students
of DeKalb County, and I’m
excited about our continued
partnership providing stu-
dents the tools they need for
future success,” said Geor-
gia’s Commissioner of Labor
Mark Butler. Butler serves
on the JAG National Board
of Directors and has been a
long-time proponent of both
JAG and JGG.
The Jobs for Georgia’s
Graduates program cur-
rently operates in 22 schools
elsewhere in the state. Last
year, the program boasted a
96 percent graduation rate
and 87 percent successful
outcomes, meaning students
went on to post-secondary
education, employment or
some combination of the two.
“We are encouraged by
the recent news that for the
first time we are on a path to
reach a 90 percent national
graduation rate by 2020, but
we also know there is more
work to be done,” said Beth
Shiroishi, president of AT&T
Georgia and former president
of the AT&T Foundation.
“Bringing programs like JAG
that are making a measurable
impact on the students that
need it most is one of the key
ways we can stay on track to
meet our graduation goal.”
AT&T, nonproft team up to help local students succeed
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 21A
LOCAL NEWS
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THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 22A
SPORTS
Marist, St. Pius win Region Director’s Cup
by Carla Parker
[email protected]
Marist’s and St. Pius X’s athletic
programs were again awarded the
Georgia Athletic Directors Associa-
tion Director’s Cup in their respec-
tive regions.
This is the 15th consecutive year
that Marist has won the Director’s
Cup and is St. Pius X’s fifth Direc-
tor’s Cup in the last six years. The
Director’s Cup competition, which
has been held every school year
since 1999-2000, awards points to
schools based on its performances
in the playoffs and state meets for
the GHSA’s 24 sports. Each school’s
eight highest-scoring sports for each
gender are counted in the standings.
This award is presented to the
top male program, top female pro-
gram and top overall program in
each classification. St. Pius X took
all three awards in Class AAA and
Marist swept the awards for Class
AAAA. Marist also won the Region
Sportsmanship Award, which stands
as a reflection of the behavior of
players, coaches and fans in the en-
tire school community.
St. Pius X, which earned 1,441
points, won eight state champion-
ships and three state runner-up
trophies this school year. Boys’ cross
country won the AAA state cham-
pionship for the fourth consecutive
year while girls’ soccer took home
its fifth crown in six seasons. Boys’
soccer, girls’ basketball and boys’
track each won state championships
for the second consecutive season.
Boys’ swimming and volleyball cap-
tured the first state titles for their
sports as boys’ tennis took its fourth
overall crown. Girls’ track, girls’ ten-
nis and girls’ cross country finished
as state runners-up.
“Everyone associated with St.
Pius X is thrilled with the recent
announcement that our athletic
program was once again named the
recipient of the Georgia Athletic Di-
rectors Association Director’s Cup,
signifying that we were the best
overall program in the state in our
classification,” said St. Pius X prin-
cipal Steve Spellman. “This award
is significant as it validates the effort
put forth by our coaches in main-
taining an exemplary program in
every sport.”
Marist earned 1,416 points with
the help of championships from
boys’ and girls’ cross country, boys’
and girls’ track and field, boys’ and
girls’ tennis, boys’ golf, and girls’
soccer teams.
Lakeside finished 14th in Class
AAAAA with 619 points. Lakeside
boys’ track, soccer, cross country,
wrestling and tennis teams earned a
total of 314 points. Lakeside’s volley-
ball team along with the girls’ swim-
ming, cross country, tennis and soc-
cer teams earned 305 points.
MARIST
ST. PIUS
Marist girls’ track team
Marist boys’ and girls’ tennis teams
Marist girls’ soccer team
Marist boys’ track team
St. Pius girls’ basketball team
St. Pius boys’ tennis team
St. Pius boys’ swim and dive team
St. Pius volleyball team
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 PAGE 23A
SPORTS
Decatur Bulldogs
Atlanta Dream coach encourages hearing-impaired basketball campers
by Carla Parker
[email protected]
Former NBA star and current
Atlanta Dream coach Michael Coo-
per talked about the importance
of living productive lives outside
of basketball to campers June 17 at
the Mike Glenn’s All-Star Basket-
ball Camp for the Deaf and Hard of
Hearing.
The 50 campers, which included
members of the Southwest DeKalb
girls’ basketball team, sat intently as
they listened to Cooper’s message of
having the five D’s: determination,
dedication, desire, discipline and
decision-making.
“With those attributes they can
take you a lot further than baseball,
basketball and football will,” Cooper
said.
The basketball camp, which is in
its 35th year, was held June 15-20
at Clairemont Presbyterian Church
and Decatur Recreation Center.
Hosted by former NBA player Mike
Glenn, it is the nation’s first basket-
ball camp for deaf and hard of hear-
ing athletes ages 14 to 18. During
the week, the students went through
basketball drills to enhance their
skills.
They also learned about commu-
nication, leadership, nutrition and
life lessons. The camp concluded
with an all-star game at the Decatur
Recreation Center. Glenn said he
was happy that Cooper was able to
speak to the campers.
“I think Cooper represents so
many positive things for the male
and female athletes,” Glenn said.
“He played in the NBA, and he’s
coached extremely well in the
WNBA. He inspired us all with his
talk and presence.”
Cooper, who played alongside
Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-
Jabbar for the Los Angeles Lakers,
said it is always important to give
back to the community.
“When you get an opportunity
to come out to basketball camps like
this I try to take full advantage of
it, whether they can hear or they’re
hearing impaired,” Cooper said.
The camp has continued to grow
every year, and Glenn said the more
they expand, the better it is for the
students and society.
“I tell the kids that they are im-
pacting society just as society is
impacting them,” Glenn said. “The
world is more aware of deaf people,
[there are] more sign language
classes, and more awareness of deaf
people having success in different
industries of life.
“I think it’s important for them
to know that they are important,
they’re recognized and to expand
their reach to include others,” Glenn
added.
Atlanta Dream coach and former NBA player Michael Cooper address the campers at the Mike Glenn’s All-Star Basketball Camp for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. File photo
For the second time in
three years, Oglethorpe
men’s golf head coach Jim
Owen has won the Division
III Dave Williams National
Coach of the Year Award.
The Golf Coaches Asso-
ciation of America (GCAA)
named Owen the winner
June 20. During the 2013-
14 season, the men’s golf
team came within just a few
strokes of winning its third
national championship in
six years, but came away
with the program’s first na-
tional runner-up finish and
fifth Top 5 finish in pro-
gram history.
Sophomore Anthony
Maccaglia was named First
Team All-America for the
third consecutive year in
2014 and became the first
Division III golfer selected
to compete in the Palmer
Cup. Senior Hayden Jones
received Second Team All-
America honors for his
third consecutive All-Amer-
ica designation. Sophomore
David Kleckner received
All-America honorable
mention accolades.
Owen led the team to
three tournament victories
over the course of the sea-
son, including the Camp
Lejeune Championship in
Jacksonville, N.C., in April;
the Callaway Gardens Inter-
collegiate in Pine Mountain,
in March; and the Golfweek
D3 Fall Invitational in Des-
tin, Fla., in October 2013.
Owen was named the
South Region Coach of the
Year at the GCAA awards
banquet as part of the
NCAA Division III Cham-
pionship in Greensboro,
N.C., in May. He also earned
the SAA Men’s Golf Coach
of the Year in April, mark-
ing the second consecutive
season in which he’s earned
that accolade and the 14th
time in the past 17 seasons
in which he’s earned a con-
ference coach of the year
award, dating back to when
Oglethorpe was a member
of the SCAC.
He was inducted into the
GCAA Hall of Fame in De-
cember at the annual GCAA
convention in Las Vegas and
will be presented with his
Dave Williams Award at the
2014 convention, which will
again be in Las Vegas.
Oglethorpe’s Jim Owen wins second Division III National Coach of the Year award
PAGE 24A THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014