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FREEPRESS
Voters have their say in primary

WWW.CHAMPIONNEWSPAPER.COM FRIDAY, AUG. 3, 2012 VOL. 15, NO. 19 FREE

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HYIS SHE HAPPY ?

espite changes of the boundaries of the 5th Congresby Andrew Cauthen a $700 million Clifton Corridor MARTA sional District so that [email protected] rail that would run from Lindbergh more of it is in DeKalb Center to Emory University and County, it appears that There will be no new a $225 million I-20 corridor John Lewis with 83.10 Lewis penny sales tax in DeKalb park-and-ride bus system that percent of the vote at and the rest of metro Atwould have eventually been press time will be the lanta after a vote July 31. converted to high-capacity Democratic contender Voters decided not transit stations. for the seat in Novemto pay a 1 percent sales Other proposed projects ber as he apparently detax for regional transincluded interchange imfeated Democratic chalportation projects. provements at I-85 North lenger Michael JohnJohnson This is truly a at I-285, a bridge replaceson (16.90 percent). blessing for the taxpayment on Clifton Road and He will face Howard ers and voters, said Vipedestrian improvement on Stopeck, the only Reola Davis of the UnhapBuford Highway. publican in the race in py Taxpayer and Voter. Proponents of the sales November. Lewis was This shows that coalitions tax said that there is no alterfirst elected to Congress can overpower money. native plan to the tax. in 1986 and has served Ellis The tax would have raised It means we all go back to as U.S. Representative approximately $6.14 billion for the drawing board, said Leonardo of Georgias 5th Congressional Disregional transportation projects seMcClarty, president of the DeKalb McClarty trict since then. lected by the Atlanta Regional RoundChamber of Commerce. Theyre going to In the 4th Congressional District, table, which represented Clayton, Cherokee, have to look at other alternatives. Henry Hank Johnson with 79.91 Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, McClarty said he knew the vote was going to percent of the vote appears to have deHenry and Rockdale counties and the city of Atbe tough in metro Atlanta. feated Courtney L. Dillard Sr. (17.04 lanta. McClarty said there was a lot of hope among percent) and Lincoln Nunnally (3.05 The transportation referendum, if it had passed, many of the proponents that this would turn out percent), the other Democrats in the would have been a significant stimulus to the more favorably. race. As the winner he would face economic vitality and growth within the region, The failure of the tax means the metro Atlanta either Chris Vaughn or Greg Pallen, said DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis. But the area is not ready to truly act as a region, he said. Republicans who at press time were problem doesnt go away. Were going to have to Trying to get a Cherokee County and a DeKalb too close for an apparent winner to be step back, make sure we understand why the voters County to come together is truly like oil and water, declared. voted the way they did and work toward a plan B. McClarty said. Rep. Johnson practiced civil and Ellis, who served as a member of the Atlanta Much of the opposition to the proposed tax in criminal law in DeKalb County for Regional Roundtable, said the failure of the tax is a DeKalb came from south DeKalb residents who un27 years and served on the DeKalb major blow to the region. successfully campaigned for an I-20 rail system that County Board of Commissioners As of The Champions press time, the vote rewould have connected Indian Creek MARTA station before being elected to Congress in gionally was 36 percent for the tax and 64 against it. with Stonecrest Mall in Lithonia. 2006. In DeKalb County the tax was failing 52 percent to For more than 30 years, residents of DeKalb, The other congressman running 48 percent. Fulton and Atlanta, have paid a penny-sales tax to for re-election whose district includes The projects on the final list were selected from support MARTA. Opponents say that DeKalb Counpart of DeKalb County is Tom Price, recommendations from each city and county in the ty was promised the I-20 rail three decades ago. a Republican who faced no RepubliAtlanta region after being submitted to the GeorThe people spoke and they did not whisper, can opposition. Democrats Jeff Kagia Department of Transportation and the regional said DeKalb County Commissioner Larry Johnzanow and Robert Montigel were roundtable. son, who campaigned against the tax. We wont be too close for an apparent winner to be In 2010, Georgias legislature enacted the Trans- taken for granted anymore. declared. portation Investment Act, which provided for reJohnson said both sides of the transportation tax At press time it appeared that gional referendums throughout the state. In the refissue need to sit down and come up with another DeKalb County Chief Executive Of- Champion. Because she gets her news updates online from the The erendum, voters in the various regions had to decide plan. whether to support a penny-sales tax to fund Because she gets her news updates online taxfrom the The Champion. Burrell Ellis will serve a second various she gets her news updates online stemmed from Johnsons opposition to the from the The Champion.ficer Becausea proposed rail to Stonecrest Mall not being on the term. With 124 of too! precincts reAnd you can 189 Follow us. transportation projects, including transit, roadway, safety, bicycle and pedestrian improvements. final project list. For DeKalb County, there was $1.1 billion to I just heard the sentiment of south DeKalb www.facebook.com/championnewspaper See Primary on Page 17A be divided among 18 proposed projects, including about being left out, Johnson said. www.twitter.com/championnews ews updates online from the The Champion.

A penny saved: Transportation tax fails

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Page 2A

Commissioner says he was not drunk driving

mation about this incident is available at this time. According to the report of an off-duty DeKalb Police officer moonlighting at the club, Watson complained that someone had stolen his wallet. Watson allegedly accused two women of stealing his wallet. One woman was cited for disorderly conduct after refusing to calm down when of chardonnay aint going to do nothing to me anyway. If I had two glasses of chardonnay, I wasnt impaired. Watson said he drove away from the nightclub, but returned shortly because he was afraid the officer might have him arrested. So you know what I did? Watson asked. I turned around and came back to the parking lot. I parked my car. I went inside and asked the club manager to take me home. I left my car there the whole night, Watson said. What else can I do? If thats not a responsible person, I dont understand it.

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

by Andrew Cauthen [email protected]

At the officers request, a supervisor, Sgt. M.B. Porter, went to the scene. Internal investigators at Watson got in his car and the DeKalb County Police later left the scene, accordDepartment are seeking to ing to the police report. Apdetermine whether a county proximately one minute later, commissioner was given he returned, stating that he preferential treatment. would let someone take him A police report from a home. July 12 incident alleges that Due to circumstances beDeKalb Commissioner Stan yond my control, Mr. Watson Watson appeared intoxiwas allowed to have someone cated, but was altake him home, lowed to drive away the officer stated. from a south DeKalb Watson said he I informed Mr. Watsonto nightclub. was not drunk or Watson was obimpaired. please behave like a public ofserved consuming If my eyes cial as if news cameras were several alcoholic were red or beverages at the glassyI had in front of him. nightclub, according been crying for to the report by Ofabout three or ficer O.B. Parker. four days, Wat- Ofcer O.B. Parker. If I havent son said. been charged with Was I trying anything, why are to console myself people trying to make stories warned by the officer. over the death of my sister? up? Watson said. I havent The officer reported that Watson asked. Yes. Had I been charged with DUI. Im Watson used profanity and been crying for a couple of not Jamal Anderson. Im not continued to make accusadays? Yes. Were my eyes Hosea Williams. Im Stan tions against the women. red? I dont know; I didnt Watson. I wasnt drunk. I I informed Mr. Watson look at my eyes. Did I have wasnt drunk at all. to please behave like a public anything to drink? Yes. I had The deal is [that] I official as if news cameras two glasses of wine. Did I havent been charged with were in front of him, the of- leave the place? Yes. Did I anything, Watson said. ficer stated in his report. return? Yes. Was I arrested? According to police spokesThe officer filled out an No. Did I have a DUI ever? woman Mekka Parish, incident report about the alNo. The DeKalb County Police leged theft, according to the I wasnt falling down or Departments Internal Afreport. slobbering, Watson said. fairs unit is investigating I also advised him to Watson said that other this incident to determine if have someone take him media outlets have reported departmental policies and home because he appeared that he had two glasses of procedures were followed intoxicated (slurred speech, chardonnay. and appropriate actions were unsteady walk, glossy red Come on guys, Im a big taken. No additional inforeyes), the report stated. guy, he said. Two glasses

Watson

Watson said he is not going to comment on the matter again until the police department completes its internal investigation. I wasnt drunk driving, he said.

Former Georgia Tech employee arrested for child molestation, pornography

by Daniel Beauregard [email protected] A DeKalb County Superior Court judge is considering whether to allow a former Georgia Tech computer technician charged with child molestation and sexual exploitation of children out on bond. Sami Deen, 43, is charged with five counts of child molestation and 25 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. He was present for a bond hearing July 24 in Judge Gail Flakes courtroom. The allegations against Deen were based on events that took place over a period of 16 months. He was originally arrested in November, according to court documents, and was released on $75,000 bond and ordered to live with his parents in Avondale Estates. However, investigators allegedly found child pornography on Deens computer. He was then ordered back to jail and subsequently released a second time on $30,000 bond, court documents state. Investigators later found hundreds of pictures on his computer and he was jailed again. Deen is currently being held without bond in the DeKalb County Jail and prosecutors asked that Flake require him to remain there, citing his danger to the community. According to information on Georgia Tech College of Computings website, Deen has a bachelors of science degree in computer sciences from Georgia Tech and lived in Kenya, Cyprus and the United Kingdom, as well as Wisconsin and California, before relocating to Georgia. Deens attorney Scott Key has reportedly asked that Deens $30,000 bond be reinstated. Flake didnt give a timetable for when she would make a ruling on the matter.

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Page 3A

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

Browns Mill recreation center gets $500,000 upgrade

by Andrew Cauthen [email protected] The Browns Mill recreation center, originally built in the 1980s, has gotten a half-million dollar upgrade. The building has a new gym floor, bleachers, paint job, tile flooring, front doors and entry way, and renovated restrooms. An electric partition separates the gym from a multipurpose court area and doors throughout the building have been replaced. When you walk into the door you begin to feel the changes, said Marvin Billups, deputy director of the DeKalb County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs. We hope that were going to have the type of programs that will fill every room in this facility with countywide programs as well as programs unique to this center. The center also has a renovated kitchen and concession area with new appliances, cabinets and counters. Outside the center is a new pavilion and outdoor signage. I have a lot of fond memories of this particular center, said Commissioner Stan Watson during the reopening ceremony July 24. I remember when this center opened and I was complaining about the basketball floor. The basketball floor was tile with cement under it, Watson said. Anybody who plays basketball understands that if you have cement and tile, it hurts your knees. Playing basketballwas just not ideal on the old surface, Billups said. This is one of the first buildings we put in back in the 1980s, Billups said. It needed modernizing. We couldnt do an entire new building, but we thought we could bring some modern features to it, Billups said. The Browns Mill facility attracts crowds of patrons daily. Before being suspended for the renovations, the summer day camp program used to be so large that we had a lottery, Billups said. We run a number of major programs from this building. Its one of our main facilities within the southern part of the county. Billups said the county is proud of the improvements at the facility.

Hundreds of children are enjoying a half-million-dollar renovation to the Browns Mill Recreation Center in south DeKalb. Among the upgrades, the centers tile gym floor has been replaced. Photos by Andrew Cauthen

When you begin to take a look at this complex, we started with the athletic field, we moved to the aquatics facility and now weve taken an old building and given it a very new feel, Billups said. DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis, surrounded by youth during the reopening celebration of the center, said, In the worst economic times in our lives DeKalb County is able to do so much. Ellis cited the countys new Wade Walker YMCA, recreation centers at Redan and Exchange parks, and eight parks that have been improved. Were dedicating this to our young people, to our youth, to our future, Ellis said.

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Opinion The Newslady

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

Hail and farewell to a broadcast news icon

communities. Despite her fame and celebrity status she never lost the common touch. In 1975, then Monica Kaufman blazed the trail as the first AfricanAmerican reporter and major newscast anchor in the Southeast. She waded out into uncharted waters dominated by White men. But she persevered and remained at WSB-TV for an incredible two generations. Retired veteran journalist John Pruitt opined that Monica did more for race relations in Atlanta than many civil rights leaders. To some that might be a stretch. To many it is truth. Unless one has been out there in the trenches in the early years, it is impossible to understand the human relations skills it took to get interviews from people who were unaccustomed to your presence. Monica has won wheelbarrows of awards for her work over the years and covered the greats and near greats. It is very fitting that she has been lauded by the U.S. Congress, the Georgia Legislature, county commissions, municipalities, organizations and certainly other members of the media, including the venerable Oprah. My deep respect for Monica goes well beyond the professional, it is personal. I love her love of humanity, her sparking personality and infectious throw-back-yourhead laughter. Despite toiling in a male-dominated industry, she remained girlie-girlie, shoe crazy and a clothes horse. I love her treatment of her mother, Miss Hattie, who as a single mother often pawned her wedding rings to give Monica the best education possible. Monica brought her mother here from Kentucky many years ago to have her near and see to her care. She had a cottage built for Miss Hattie on the grounds of her former Ansley Park Atlanta home. Monica is a wonderful daughter, a great mother, a devoted wife and friend. When I was reassigned from managing editor at 11Alive to a reporter, Monica was first in line offering encouragement, recommendations and counsel. She is an inspiration for many of us and a mentor to many. There are numerous journalists of every ethnicity who owe their careers and career advancements to Monica, even those at rival stations. And, there are countless children and charities that have benefitted from her generosity. Ten years ago, just before I traded in the microphone ending my 30year career in broadcast news, Monica and I both received Emmys. She quipped, I guess the old girl still has it, referring to herself. Guess what Monica? You still have IT and will share IT with hundreds of students for more years to come. The lesson about the professional career of Monica Pearson is simplehard work, dedication, competence and compassion. In the words of her mother, Miss Hattie, Its what you do with what you have that makes you what you are. You are a light Monica Pearson. Thanks for allowing us to watch you shine on Channel 2 Action News and in our homes and our hearts. Its a wrap for now. Well stay tuned. Steen Miles, The Newslady, is a retired journalist and former Georgia state senator. Contact Steen Milies at [email protected].

Monica Kaufman Pearson has signed off on her final newscast at WSB-TV. She is sincerely wished the absolute best as she embarks on the next phase of her life out of the fishbowl existence of a larger-thanlife television news icon. The venerable broadcast veteran spent 37 years with one station. That is a record not many in the nation can boast of and it is particularly remarkable for a woman and an African American. She is a pioneer broadcast news journalist par excellence. The trailblazer never walks a smooth path. Monicas path was fraught with all kinds of indignities and personal sacrifices. But the trail of tears also brought respect, celebrity, triumphs and awards. Monica is a grand lady who set high standards in the newsroom and in our

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

Opinion One Mans Opinion

Page 5A

Why the T-SPLOST lost

to a landslide routing this past Tuesday, July 31. A tax increase is a tax increase An extra penny of sales tax is in fact a tax increase. In a county with currently 6 or 7 percent sales tax (and most of the metro region just freshly passed E-SPLOSTs), this is a tax hike of 14-17 percent, during a pro-longed recession. In this fast food nation in which we now live, voters want lots of government services at low, low tax rates. That may not make sense, but even with the rabidly successful E-SPLOSTs for public education infrastructure and construction and the city of Atlantas most sales tax referendum to fund water and sewer system improvements, you had a baseline no vote exceeding 30 percent. Deficit of trust After 20 years of tolls and the introduction of the Peach Pass, Georgia and metro Atlanta commuters expected to see the Georgia 400 toll-booth retired in 2012. That didnt happen, and the state made a rather lame case for the continuing needs for the revenue and a 10-year extension of a 20-year agreement. Promise broken. Millions more in state and federal dollars were wasted creating the HOT lanes along I-85 and 985, one of the states most perennially congested corridors. You can still more often than not view the empty lane that most commuters are not willing to pay for twice, or pay higher rates for temporary usage. Millions wasted. In my view the biggest shortcoming for T-SPLOST supporters remains this deficit of trust. Ironic or not, a town built on the transportation industry (rail, trucking, aviation and now logistics), no longer trusts its governments (local and state) to do what they say they will door to deliver expected and paid for government service improvements. MARTA fears stoked Slightly more than half of the $7 billion in identified improvement projects on the T-SPLOST list are for transit. That 52 percent in transit projects wasnt high enough for the Sierra Club, so they too joined the oddly cobbled, yet seemingly evergrowing grass roots jumble in opposition to the referendum. An anonymous but widely distributed internet rumor had the TSPLOST funding massive MARTA expansions into suburban counties, still desperate to keep MARTA and those people from coming their way. Mass ignorance has seldom been accused of keen insight. The largest MARTA project would in fact add a light rail spur along Clifton Road in central DeKalb to Emory University and the CDC, two of the regions largest employers. Weak strategy, worse tactics Two irrefutable laws of politics: all politics are local, and when attempting to educate voters, always keep it simple. The Untie Atlanta website has a projects map which would require a masters level engineering degree to make sense of. And despite some massive and significant planned roadway enhancements, almost until Election Day metro voters knew little or nothing, and were being told even less about what they might get for their billions of pennies. But instead of simple messages and a local focus, we got platitudes and a logo reminding us all of how horrible our traffic is. Yes, traffic is the enemywe get thatbut you never gave us a solution. Voters know all too well that money alone does not solve government problems. While we spend the next several years staring at the taillights in front of us, and inhaling exhaust fumes, we may wish we had voted yes later, but that train never even got close to making it into the stationmuch less pulling away from it. Bill Crane also serves as a political analyst and commentator for Channel 2s Action News, WSB-AM News/Talk 750 and now 95.5 FM, as well as a columnist for The Champion, Champion Free Press and Georgia Trend. Crane is a DeKalb native and business owner, living in Scottdale. You can reach him or comment on a column at [email protected].

One bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.Medieval proverb Georgias Gov. Nathan Deal and the State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA) are probably now feeling some buyers remorse. Come January 2013, they relinquish roughly $21 million in annual Georgia 400 toll fees, and roughly the entire operating budget of the SRTA. Belatedly honoring the commitment to end the Georgia 400 toll this December was an educated bet, which some voters saw as more like a bribe, to engender latebreaking support for the late, great T-SPLOST transit funding referendum. Despite raising and spending nearly $7 million in primarily corporate donations, to secure 50 percent plus one vote in support of the $7 billion in projected transit revenue to be divvied up across the 10-county metro region, Citizens for Transportation Mobility (CTM) and its creation, Untie Atlanta, forgot several political basics on their way

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Publisher: Dr. Earl D. Glenn Managing Editor: Kathy Mitchell News Editor: Robert Naddra Production Manager: Kemesha Hunt Graphic Designer: Travis Hudgons The Champion Free Press is published each Friday by ACE III Communications, Inc., 114 New Street, Suite E, Decatur, GA. 30030 Phone (404) 373-7779.

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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.

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

Opinion

Page 6A

Marching toward greater inequality

The world's super rich, according to a new report, are squirreling away phenomenal quantities of their cash in secret tax havens.
by Sam Pizzigati Are Americas rich getting richer? Certainly. Every official yardstick shows that Americas most affluent are upping their incomes much faster than everyone else. How fast? Between 1980 and 2010, note economists Emmanuel Saez and Thomas Piketty, incomes for Americas top 1 percent more than doubled after inflation. They now average a little more than $1 million. The top 0.1 percent saw their incomes more than triple, to $4.9 million, over that same span. And income more than quadrupled for the top 0.01 percent the richest 16,000 Americans to nearly $24 million. And what about the rest of us? After inflation, average incomes for Americas bottom 90 percent actually fell by 4.8 percent between 1980 and 2010, from $31,337 to $29,840. These numbers tell us how much people make. Measuring wealth gauges how much people have. The two, common sense tells us, ought to be related. If incomes are getting much more unequal, then the distribution of our national wealth ought to become much more unequal too. But that doesnt seem to be the case. A Congressional Research Service of new Federal Reserve data indicates that the gap between the wealth of Americas most awesomely affluent and everyone else is holding steady. In 2010, the Fed data show, the top 1 percent held 34.5 percent of the nations wealth, almost the same exact share as in 1995, and not that much more than the 30.1 percent share they held in 1989. These numbers just dont add up income is increasingly skewed toward the top, but wealth distribution is holding steady. What can explain this paradox? Maybe the Federal Reserve isnt doing a good job of assessing just how much wealth the wealthiest Americans own. Indeed, federal researchers do acknowledge that they dont take into account for privacy reasons the wealth of anyone listed in the Forbes magazine annual list of Americas 400 richest. But including these 400 only moves the top 1 percents share of Americas wealth up by a bit more than a percentage point. It isnt enough to explain the disconnect between the extraordinary income gains of Americas rich and the modest rise in their share of national wealth. Maybe the rich are simply living large, wasting their astronomical incomes on caviar, private jets, and other luxuries. But wasteful consumption cant explain the inequality paradox either. Deep pockets in Americas top 0.01 percent could shell out $5,000 every single day of the year and still have 93 percent of their annual incomes left to spend. So what in the end can explain the inequality paradox? The Londonbased Tax Justice Network has an answer. The worlds super rich, the group has just reported, are squirreling away and concealing phenomenal quantities of their cash in secret global tax havens. The Networks new tax-dodging study conservatively computes the total wealth stashed in these havens at $21 trillion. That total could plausibly run as high as $32 trillion. Americans make up, we know from previous research, almost a third of the global super rich. That would put the American share of unrecorded offshore assets as high as $10 trillion. Add this $10 trillion to the wealth of Americas top 1 percent and the inequality disconnect between wealth and income largely disappears. Paradox solved. Now we have to tackle a much bigger challenge: ending the march to ever greater inequality. Shutting down tax havens would make a great place to start. OtherWords columnist Sam Pizzigati edits Too Much, the online weekly on excess and inequality published by the Institute for Policy Studies. OtherWords.org
The following comments are pulled straight from our website and are not edited for content or grammar.

Brookhaven cityhood, county CEO on July 31 ballot

Regarding the vote on Brookhaven Cityhood; I nd it shameful that Ms. Imlay continues to spread misinformation. The city is very much nancially viable and for her to insinuate that there is a lack of commercial or business property is pathetic. I am sure she is well aware of the hundreds of millions of dollars worth of oce space and corporate headquarters based at Perimeter Summit. How about Town Brookhaven, the businesses on Peachtree, Ashford Dunwoody and Johnson Ferry? To state we only have one oce building shows her disconnect. How can she speak of a huge ethics battle in their new city council when not one person has announced a candidacy? That does of course bring up the ever present ethics issues with Dekalb County. The new cities in the area have shown that services are signicantly improved when taken over by a local, accountable government. Brookhaven will do a much better job at roads, parks, police, permitting and zoning and do it cheaper than Dekalb. To speak of another layer of bureaucrac is another bit of misinformation. Residents will deal with our local representatives INSTEAD of Dekalb representatives. Is not a layer, its a replacement with a better system. If you want the best for your community, do the research and get the facts. Vote yes for the CITY OF BROOKHAVEN. Scott posted this on 7/25/12 at 9:16 p.m. @ Imlays comments Its a whole new government, Imlay said. We dont have the money to support it.Dunwoody has Perimeter Mall and the Perimeter oce park. We only have one oce building. Ms. Imlay is either terribly uninformed, truly ignorant, or intentionally attempting to mislead those that would believe her. Most should be aware that Mrs.Imlays primary motivation is not the nancial viability of the city, rather her motivation is driven by a petty belief that the Brookhaven designation should be used in connection with her neighborhood and nothing else. Ms. Imlays is a self serving elitist that might benet from being thrown into the mix with all of the common neighborhoods that will make up the future City of Brookhaven. GuruLikeDrucker posted this on 7/25/12 at 4:40 p.m.

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The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

Local News

Page 7A

Dunwoody youngster chosen for Kids State Dinner at White House

Epicurious and first lady Michelle Obama on July 24 announced the winners of a nationwide recipe challenge to promote healthy lunches as part of the first ladys Lets Move! initiative. Among the 54 winners, ages 8-12, and representing all 50 states, three territories and the District of Columbia will be 12-year-old Haley Matthews of Dunwoody. Her stuffed zucchini boat won her a place at the Kids State Dinner at the White House, which will be hosted by Mrs. Obama on Aug. 20. The group will join the first lady for a healthy lunch, featuring a selection of the winning recipes, followed by a tour of the White House kitchen garden. My garden is my inspiration for creating this menu. I have been growing a garden for three years, a summer and a winter crop. Many of the items in this dish are from my garden. One of my favorite snack items is sliced raw red peppers, sweet and delicious. This recipe is fun to make and is fun to serve to my family. It is pretty on a plate and is full of color and flavors, Haley said. The Healthy Lunchtime Challenge received more dairy foods. I included a Caprese salad as my side dish, the youngster said, noting that it is made with tomato. A tomato is considered to be a fruit, she explained. The winners were chosen by a panel of judges that included Epicurious editor-in-chief Tanya Steel, assistant White House chef and Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives Sam Kass, celebrity chef Jose Andres and representatives from the USDA and Department of Education. Our tasting panel was absolutely amazed at the variety of sophisticated, healthy recipes we received that included not only chicken breast, whole-wheat pasta and fresh fruit, but more surprising ingredients like quinoa and salmon, Steel said. What was especially wonderful were the heartfelt stories about why it was important to eat healthy. These kids understand that you are what you eat and that they need to strengthen their bodies and their minds with the most wholesome food possible. We are so thankful to Mrs. Obama for teaming up with Epicurious to help raise awareness for the importance of a healthy diet among kids.

Ginger Kaderabek
volunteered for the festival because I love books, she said. She commented, Ive met many charming authors, who were happy for the opportunity to participate in the festival. Kaderabek said that most of the attendees are great people, but many have trouble finding their way around even with maps and signs, so much of the volunteers time is spent getting people to the right place. She said that although the audience members usually ask intelligent questions, some get rather long-winded, occasionally wandering from the point. In such cases she helps the author by interrupting the questioner and helping him condense his question. Ive volunteered for much of my life, including serving on a United Way committee for several years and volunteering for a number of Decatur events, Kaderabek said, noting that her philosophy of service is summed up well by Joseph Lowery, who once said, I always heard the rent you pay for living in Gods house is service. She added, Many people have done a lot more, but Im glad to do what I can. To volunteer with the AJC Decatur Book Festival, or for more volunteer opportunities, contact Lee Ann Harvey with Volunteer! Decatur at leeann. [email protected] or (678) 553-6548.

Champion of the Week

Haley Matthews

than 1,200 entries for nutritious, delicious lunches that were both creative and sophisticated, ranging from sizzling tofu with green onions to scrumptious salmon salad, according to a statement from officials of the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge. Entries had to represent each of the food groups, either in one dish or as part of a lunch meal, including fruit, vegetables, whole grains, protein and low-fat

During the seven years it has been in existence, the AJC Decatur Book Festival has grown to become the largest independent book festival in the country. It takes a great deal to put on such a festivalheld each Labor Day weekend in downtown Decaturincluding hundreds of volunteers. One loyal volunteer who has participated each year since the festivals inception is Decatur resident Ginger Kaderabek. An ardent book lover, Kaderabek said of the festival, Its a great place to talk with other book lovers and to hear new authors, although a volunteer rarely gets to hear a whole program. For the last four years, Ive been a stage captain for both days of the festival. A stage captain is the lead volunteer at a festival location and coordinates the other volunteers at that location. They make sure the authors have everything they need; make sure the programs run on time; welcome festival visitors to the venue; and occasionally make impromptu introductions. I first

If you would like to nominate someone to be considered as a future Champion of the Week, please contact Kathy Mitchell at [email protected] or at 404-373-7779, ext. 104.

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

Local News

Page 8A

Council initiates program for students whose primary language isnt English
by Daniel Beauregard [email protected] The DeKalb County Higher Education Advisory Council announced July 25 that it will be working to address the needs of the DeKalb County student population whose primary home language is not English. The council, which consists of several higher learning institutions and county officials, was created by DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis to better accommodate the needs of the countys diverse student population. Ellis and the advisory council announced that its launching the PHLOTEs to the Top Initiative, which will address the needs of non-native-Englishspeaking students as they make their way through high school and continue to college. PHLOTE is an acronym for Primary Home Language Other Than English. DeKalb County has nearly 17,000 English-as-asecond-language students, many of whom qualify for language support services, county officials stated. The city of Clarkston in particular is considered one of the most diverse cities in the country, boasting more refugees from around the world per-square mile than any other city in the United States. In the 1990s many refugee resettlement programs identified Clarkston as a good place for displaced people from different backgrounds, including those from Bhutan, Somalia, Vietnam and other areas. With this partnership, our community will be better prepared to leverage the opportunities of tomorrow and better equipped to serve our culturally diverse citizens, Ellis said of the PHLOTEs to the Top initiative. School and county of-

From left, DeKalb County School Board member Donna Elder, Clarkston Mayor Emmanuel Ransom, DeKalb County School District Superintendent Cheryl Atkinson, DeKalb County Chief of Staff Jabari Simama and DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis announce a new initiative to work with students whose primary home language is other than English. Photo provided

ficials said the initiative will be in the form of extended day programs that will focus on increasing accessibility to educational, social and workforce services for all the K-12 PHLOTE population and their families. The program will begin this fall and will be conducted Monday-Thursday, 5-9 p.m. at schools in the Clarkston area attendance zone. There will be a program for students, as well as one for the family members of students, which will focus on increasing literacy, graduation rates, job readiness and home ownership. Additionally, those involved will have the opportunity to work with leaders from Emory University, DeVry University, Georgia Perimeter College, Georgia Piedmont Technical College and other institutions of higher learning in the DeKalb area. The program will be expanded in the future to include additional high school clusters.

Synthetic drug manufacturer raided in Chamblee

by Daniel Beauregard [email protected] Law enforcement officials arrested four people and seized hundreds of pounds of synthetic drugs packaged and ready for sale at a Chamblee warehouse July 25. The raid was part of a nationwide sweep on synthetic designer drugs performed by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that seized more than $36 million in cash and resulted in 91 arrests. Harry Sommers, director of the DEA in Atlanta, said agents seized approximately 100 pounds of synthetic marijuana that was packaged and ready for sale during the raid in Chamblee and more than 1,500 pounds that was ready to be prepared. Sommers said the estimated retail value of the drugs exceeds $10 million. Synthetic marijuana, often called spice or K2, is an herbal product mixed with acetone and a synthetic compound that mimics the effects of marijuana. DEA agents and officials from the DeKalb County District Attorneys Office held a news conference with other law enforcement officials July 26 to present the results of the nationwide raid, titled Operation Log Jam. Officials said the operation against the companies responsible for the production of synthetic drugs often marketed as incense, bath salts or plant food, is the first of its kind. Synthetic marijuana and bath salts are a danger, DeKalb County District Attorney Robert James said. They are a clear and present danger and an imminent threat to the lives of our young people here in Georgia and all throughout the nation. According to Erik Burton, a spokesman for the DeKalb DAs Office, no more details have been released and federal officials have yet to turn over the Chamblee case to the DAs office. DEA Special Agent Chuvalo Truesdell said he is unable to release any more information, pending the outcome of the chemical analysis of the substances and chemicals seized in the raid. The Associated Press contributed to this article.

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

Local News

Page 9A

Sevananda Natural Foods Cooperative sues members over elections

by Daniel Beauregard [email protected] The Sevananda Natural Foods Market, located in Little Five Points, has filed suit against several of its members, alleging they violated the food cooperatives bylaws and attempted to improperly influence its governing board. The lawsuit was filed July 24 in DeKalb County Superior Court on behalf of Sevananda Cooperative Inc., which is governed by a nine-member board of directors. The lawsuit asks the court to intervene on the cooperatives behalf and accuses nominating committee member Brian Sherman along with nominating committee members Felton Eaddy and Abdullah Muqtsaid of being a vocal minority of members who have sought to improperly shape the policies and governance of Sevananda by violating bylaws. According to the lawsuit, the nominating committee originally contained eight members but five of them resigned for various reasons, including harassment and disrespect by other members of the nominating committee. The suit asks for injunctive relief and an order to be issued declaring the recent elections void. It also asks to have a board representative repopulate the nominating committee and to conduct a new board election. Additionally, the lawsuit is seeking punitive damages and claims breach of contract and fiduciary duties and also states, Sevananda is entitled to recover its cost of litigation including attorneys fees because the defendants have acted in bad faith, have been stubbornly litigious, and have caused Sevananda unnecessary trouble and expense. Elections for Sevanandas board of directors are staggered and each year, three seats become available. Meetings are held twice a year and during the fall members meeting, which is open to the Sevanandas more than 3,000 members, a nominating committee is elected to run the elections. We were appointed during the fall members meeting and proceeded to find candidates. When we found candidates we set the date for the electionit took place and over 300 people voted, said Brian Sherman, a member of the nominating committee. Sherman is named in the lawsuit. Sherman said after the elections took place, the board of directors seized the ballot box before the votes could be counted. At that time, July 13, the board issued a statement that read said, Due to pending legal proceedings, the previously planned ballot count for this years election has been postponed. The ballots have been secured to avoid any possible tampering until that time. Several weeks after the board seized the box the lawsuit was filed. Sherman said he thinks it may have something to do with the fact that Calvin Vismale, the current board president, filed his election paperwork late and was not included on the ballot. Vismale has been a member of the cooperative since 1975 and has served on the board several times. We did not accept his application because it was late, Sherman said. According to Sherman, the seizure of the ballot box is a violation of the cooperatives bylaws because the nominating committee is supposed to be an autonomous body within Sevananda to administer the elections, a step he said is necessary to prevent a conflict of interest for board members who are running for election. He also said the board previously seized the ballot box in 2009. Democracy is not vigorous at Sevananda and some of us are working on that, Sherman said. But, I dont see any underhanded agenda on the part of Calvin aside from the fact he wants to remain president. According to Sherman, Vismale has repeatedly held meetings behind closed doors when there is nothing in Sevanandas bylaws that allow for it. Sherman also said that at each members meeting decisions are made on a consensus basis, which means that one person may block a decision. At last falls members meeting there was a proposal that information concerning

A recent lawsuit filed by the Sevananda Natural Foods Market board of directors against several other members of the Little Five Points food cooperative has revealed internal divisions between members of the governing body. Photo by Daniel Beauregard

any money spent by the board that was more than $100 should be open to the members, Sherman said. In this case, Calvin was the only person who blocked consensus on that issue. Ramsey Knowles, attorney for Sevananda Cooperative Inc., wouldnt comment on the details of the suit but said. We tell the story in the complaint and we dont want to add or subtract anything. Vismale said he would not comment on the lawsuit but any personal attacks and allegations are unfortunate.

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

Local News

Page 10A

Senior services program expands reach with new council, board member
by Daniel Beauregard [email protected] Senior Connections, a nonprofit based in DeKalb County, recently formed an advisory council to do what CEO Debra Furtado calls serious board recruitment. Furtado said creating the advisory council came out of the nonprofits strategic plan as a way to make better connections with community leaders and expand the diversity of its board. Over the years the board has evolved to think very strategically, Furtado said. Were a large nonprofit and we need to raise money and be well-represented in the community. Additionally, Furtado said the advisory council was developed because the organization has a number of board members who retired but want to remain involved. She said instead of working full-time and serving on the board, Senior Connections alumni will now have the opportunity to serve on the advisory council. Its not a governing body but they will still be helping reach out to the community, Furtado said. This year five board members retired from the nonprofit, which spaces the board needs to fill. Furtado said having the newly created council work with current members will allow the organization to more actively recruit members. Recently, the organization has completed a gap analysis of its overall services and the board. With the analysis, Furtado said Senior Connections can take the information and build on areas where adjustments are needed most and connect with communities or people that may have been overlooked. The 40-year-old organization provides a range of services including delivering meals, nutrition advice, inhome care and other services. Furtado said many nonprofits similar to Senior Connections have formed advisory councils and coming up with other ways to bring more diverse board members to the table. Nonprofits have changed the requirements for serving on their boards, and people have to be aware of what theyre getting themselves into. A lot of nonprofits are doing it because its a way to expand membership, Furtado said. We started off as a DeKalb-focused organization and now were one of the largest senior providers in Georgia; that has also caused us to change and look at our board too. Furtado said board members have asked former DeKalb County CEO Liane Levitan to serve on the advisory council. She also said she hopes Jim Miller, chairman and CEO of Fidelity Southern Corporation, will join the council. Additionally, the nonprofit recently welcomed Teah Glenn as a new board member. Glenn is an attorney for the Troutman Sanders law firm and specializes in financial and consumer lending litigation. She is young, which is a good thing, Furtado said. We really look for diversity on our board. Im in my 50s and I think having young people is really important, especially with issues involving seniors.

Teenage girl shot at Stone Mountain party

STONE MOUNTAIN (AP) Police are investigating a double shooting that left a teenage girl wounded at a Stone Mountain birthday party. WSB-TV reported that police arrived at the home early the morning of July 29. A resident, who did not want to be identified, told the TV station that a birthday party was being held at the home when the shooting happened. A man was also taken to a hospital. Police have not released a motive for the shooting or identified any suspects.

DeKalb Co. police captain red for stolen goods

ATLANTA (AP) A DeKalb County police captain accused of having stolen goods at her home has been fired. DeKalb police spokeswoman Mekka Parish said in an emailed statement July 27 that the employment of Suzanne Kaulbach was terminated. Kaulbach was arrested July 16 by Clayton County authorities. The Atlanta JournalConstitution reported that Kaulbach allegedly had stolen property at her home, including a boat, two ATVs and a dirt bike. Kaulbach was charged with theft by receiving stolen property.

Emory study confirms that childhood music lessons may prevent memory loss in old age
by Nigel Roberts Those violin or piano lessons that mothers often force on their children rarely lead to a successful music career. However, learning to play a musical instrument early in life may produce other benefits that last well into old age. Brenda Hanna-Pladdy, a clinical neuropsychologist at Emory School of Medicine, led a study published in July that confirmed and offered further evidence that learning a musical instrument at an early age may reduce the effects of memory loss as one ages. This is an exciting finding in light of recent evidence suggesting that high educational levels are likely to yield cognitive reserve that may potentially delay the onset of Alzheimers symptoms or cognitive decline, Hanna-Pladdy said. She added: This also highlights the promising role of musical activity as a form of cognitive enrichment across the lifespan, and it raises the question of whether musical training should eventually be considered an alternative form of educational training. Hanna-Pladdys recent findings confirmed her original study published last year in The Journal of Neuropsychology. It shows that individuals with at least 10 years of musical instrument training retained a higher level of mental acuity than those with fewer or no years of taking music lessons. Additionally, the study revealed crucial periods in early life when learning an instrument yield the greatest benefits later in life. The study involved three groups of 70 individuals ages 60 to 83. All the participants had attained similar education levels, were in roughly the same physical condition and showed no signs of Alzheimers disease. What distinguished the members of each group were their years of musical training. Members of one group had no training; the second group had up to nine years of musical study, and the third group had 10 or more years. Those who studied music the longest outperformed the other groups on cognitive tests. And those with less than 10 years of musical study did better than those who never studied music. Hanna-Pladdy broke new ground. Several studies from other sources had examined the cognitive benefits of musical activity on children. But Hanna-Pladdys experiment is the first to analyze those benefits across a lifetime. Musical activity throughout life may serve as a challenging cognitive exercise, making your brain fitter and more capable of accommodating the challenges of aging, she explained. Since studying an instrument requires years of practice and learning, it may create alternate connections in the brain that could compensate for cognitive declines as we get older. In addition to the number of years one studies music, the age at which one begins also matters. Hanna-Pladdy explained, There are crucial periods in brain plasticity that enhance learning, which may make it easier to learn a musical instrument before a certain age and thus may have a larger impact on brain development. She discovered that seniors who studied music before age 9 showed greater verbal working memory functions such as remembering and reorganizing digits in their head. But it is never too late to learn. Research from several other sources suggest that learning how to play an instrumenteven in old age offers many benefits.

Page 11A Local News

Council to combat youth violence

by Andrew Cauthen [email protected] A shooting after a funeral in June ago has prompted community leaders to form council to address youth violence. The DeKalb County Council on Youth Violence Prevention is an initiative that is going to combat senseless tragedy that occurs as a result of youth violence in our community, said DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis during an media conference. Youth violence is a growing state and national issue thats reaching epidemic proportions and we will address it together as a community, Ellis said. Just a few days ago we witnessed senseless killings in Aurora, Colo., at a movie theater as a result of youth violence. Last month, Ellis convened a summit on youth violence at Victory For The World Church in Stone Mountain, the site where two people were killed after a funeral. According to DeKalb County Police statements, Carlos Henderson, 19, and Delmetrius Heard, 28, killed each other June 7 in an altercation that broke out on the church parking lot at the conclusion of a funeral for 19-year-old Ryan Guider, who was shot to death May 26 in what police say may have been an act of vengeance. The council is charged with developing a comprehensive youth violence prevention plan that promotes awareness, streamlines access to resources, mitigates attributive factors, and fosters a commitment to ending this destructive behavior, Ellis said. The council, chaired by Rev. Ken Samuels, pastor of Victory For The World Church, is made up of various government and community leaders. Once the school year begins, youth representatives will be added to the council. Were going to provide our young people with the most valuable tool available to overcome violence: a voice at the table, Ellis said. Jasmine Ponder, 17, a student at Miller Grove High School, said, This youth council is very significant to the community because it allows students and young people like myself to come together on certain issues that ail the community such as violence and bullying. Ponder and two dozen other youth attended the announcement wearing anti-violence T-shirts. Jarrod Hester, 16, who attends Arabia Mountain High School and is a member of the DeKalb Youth Commission, said the council will help give students hope. Especially after the Colorado shootings, thats what everybody needs, Hester said. If you give the youth hope, then they sprout up more hope for everybody else. The council will help inspire kids to not be violent and to be positive in their schools, said Ashley Wrushan, 17, a Martin Luther King Jr. High School student. I do believe violence in the community is still going on and it is still a problem, Wrushan said. I believe violence is one of the biggest problems we have today in our county and it starts in our schools, said Willie Moody, a 17-year-old Miller Grove High School student. We need to get it known that violence is the wrong thing to do.

In the wake of killings after a June funeral, CEO Burrell Ellis has launched an initiative to combat youth violence. The DeKalb County Council on Youth Violence Prevention will give youth the most valuable tool available to overcome violence: a voice at the table, Ellis said. Photos by Andrew Cauthen

Page 12A

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

Asha Johannaber and Mary Ellen Layden stand off Peachtree Road and show their support, and opposition, for the Brookhaven cityhood. Photo by John Hewitt

Voters support Brookhaven cityhood

by Daniel Beauregard [email protected] DeKalb County voters said Yes to the proposed city of Brookhaven at the polls July 31. In what appeared to be a close race, by press time 75 percent of polls reporting showed 55.61 percent of voters in favor of Brookhaven and 44.39 percent against it, with 3,532 voting yes and 2,819 voting no. The creation of the city has been a point of discussion for nearly a decade. In 2010, the University of Georgias Carl Vinson Institute released a study that stated the creation of the city was feasible and would result in a $135,000 surplus for the proposed city. Since the results of that cityhood study were released however, county officials and various special interest groups have sprung up, some in support of the city and some against it. An analysis released by the DeKalb County June 19 said if created, the city would start out with a deficit rather than the surplus mentioned in the Vinson Institute study. According to DeKalb County Commissioner Lee May, chairman of the boards finance committee, at the time of the Vinson study, officials were unaware of what the tax digest would be. Rep. Mike Jacobs, who pushed the cityhood referendum through the General Assembly, said the countys analysis is inaccurate because it doesnt include increased Homestead Option Sales Tax (HOST) collection and said every city is going to receive larger HOST proceeds. He said the additional HOST funds would equal believe the city of Brookhaven can do a better job than the DeKalb County government. Davis said many residents cited the countys current budget deficit and shifting resources as just a few of the reasons they support the cityhood movement. A well-run, efficient city can only improve the surrounding area, Davis said. Groups such as Ashford Neighbors and NoBrookhavenCity say there is not enough financial support for a new city and if it was created, it would have to cut back on services. Opponents also cite the problems the areas neighbor, newly incorporated Dunwoody, is having. Theyre in a huge ethics battle in their new city council, Mary Ellen Imlay, co-founder of NoCityBrookhaven, said. We cant expect to be any different. - Mary Ellen Imlay Imlay, who was monitoring her computer as the results came in, said she and fellow NoBrookhavenCity members fought a good campaign and approximately $1.3 million. they are deeply disappointed in the results. Max Davis, president of Brookhaven Yes, a In a race this close Im going to wait until all grassroots organization promoting the cityhood of the votes are counted, Imlay said. of Brookhaven, said supporters of the movement

In a race this close Im going to wait until all of the votes are counted.

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

Page 13A

The community had an opportunity on July 7 for a First Look at the new Wade Walker Park Family YMCA, located at 5585 Rockbridge Road in Stone Mountain. Visitors toured the 60,000-square-foot facility, viewed departmental displays and took part in games and other forms of entertainment. Upon completion, the facilities will include a full court basketball (with two cross courts and retractable bleachers), an indoor track, indoor lap pool with a separate whirlpool and sauna, exterior leisure pool and 4,000-square-foot wellness center with aerobic and weight equipment. The facility, which also will have a daycare and teen center as well as a multipurpose community room, is expected to open in September.

DeKalb County Wants to Hear From You Regarding the Proposed Franchise Agreement Renewal with Comcast Cable Communications
Send your comments and/or concerns regarding Comcasts current performance under the current franchise agreement and/or the future cable-related needs and interests of your community to www.dekalbcountyga.gov.

The Champion Weather

Seven Day Forecast THURSDAY
Scat'd T-storms High: 94 Low: 74

Aug. 2, 2012
Today's Regional Map Weather History
Aug. 2, 1989 - Low pressure representing the remains of Hurricane Chantal deluged north central Texas with heavy rain. Up to 6.50 inches drenched Stephens County, and Wichita Falls reported 2.22 inches of rain in just one hour. Aug. 3, 1970 - Hurricane Celia struck the coast of Texas producing wind gusts to 161 mph at Corpus Christi. The hurricane was the most destructive of record along the Texas coast causing 454 million dollars in damage and claiming 11 lives. Dunwoody 92/73 Lilburn Smyrna Doraville 93/74 93/74 93/74 Snellville Decatur 94/74 Atlanta 94/74 94/74 Lithonia College Park 95/74 95/74 Morrow 95/74 Union City 95/74 Hampton 96/75

In-Depth Local Forecast

Today we will see mostly sunny skies with a 40% chance of showers and thunderstorms, high of 94, humidity of 55%. West wind 5 mph. The record high for today is 99 set in 1957. Expect partly cloudy skies tonight with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms.

FRIDAY
Isolated T-storms High: 92 Low: 73

*Last Weeks Almanac

Hi Lo Normals Precip Date Tuesday 92 73 90/71 0.00" Wednesday 95 76 90/71 0.00" Thursday 95 75 90/71 0.00" Friday 93 76 89/71 0.00" Saturday 95 73 89/71 0.00" Sunday 91 73 89/71 0.00" Monday 94 69 89/71 0.00" Rainfall . . . . . . .0.00" Average temp . .83.6 Normal rainfall . .1.11" Average normal 80.2 Departure . . . . .-1.11" Departure . . . . .+3.4
*Data as reported from De Kalb-Peachtree Airport

SATURDAY
Isolated T-storms High: 91 Low: 73

SUNDAY
Isolated T-storms High: 92 Low: 72

MONDAY
Partly Cloudy High: 92 Low: 71

TUESDAY
Isolated T-storms High: 91 Low: 72 Last 8/9

Local Sun/Moon Chart This Week

Day Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Sunrise 6:50 a.m. 6:51 a.m. 6:51 a.m. 6:52 a.m. 6:53 a.m. 6:53 a.m. 6:54 a.m. Sunset 8:36 p.m. 8:36 p.m. 8:35 p.m. 8:34 p.m. 8:33 p.m. 8:32 p.m. 8:31 p.m. Moonrise 8:48 p.m. 9:23 p.m. 9:55 p.m. 10:27 p.m. 10:59 p.m. 11:32 p.m. No Rise Moonset 7:22 a.m. 8:26 a.m. 9:27 a.m. 10:26 a.m. 11:24 a.m. 12:20 p.m. 1:16 p.m. First 8/24

Tonight's Planets
Mercury Venus Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Rise Set 6:25 a.m. 7:50 p.m. 3:36 a.m. 5:30 p.m. 12:09 p.m.11:36 p.m. 2:25 a.m. 4:30 p.m. 12:39 p.m.12:09 a.m. 11:11 p.m.11:32 a.m.

WEDNESDAY
Partly Cloudy High: 94 Low: 72 New 8/17

Full 8/31

Local UV Index

National Weather Summary This Week

The Northeast will see isolated thunderstorms today, mostly clear skies Friday, scattered thunderstorms Saturday, with the highest temperature of 96 in Carbondale, Ill. The Southeast will see mostly clear to partly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms today through Saturday, with the highest temperature of 97 in Augusta, Ga. The Northwest will see isolated thunderstorms today, mostly clear skies Friday and Saturday, with the highest temperature of 96 in Torrington, Wyo. The Southwest will see mostly clear skies today through Saturday, with the highest temperature of 108 in Bullhead City, Ariz.

Weather Trivia
What was an unexpected impact of Hurricane Andrew?

0 - 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11+

UV Index 0-2: Low, 3-5: Moderate, 6-7: High, 8-10: Very High 11+: Extreme Exposure

Answer: 250,000 Americans were left homeless.

www.WhatsOurWeather.com

StarWatch By Gary Becker - Great Year for the Perseids

I always think of the meteor season beginning with the August Perseids. It is true that rates pick up somewhat after the Lyrid Meteor Shower which reach maximum on April 21, but it really does not become dramatic until the Perseids. This year, Perseid action is slated to be normal, but the moon is being more then cooperative. On the morning of maximum, August 13, when activity can approach one meteor per minute, Luna will rise as a thin waning crescent just after 2 a.m., a delicate ornament to the brightening dawn sky. The annals of Perseid activity go back for nearly two thousand years. The Chinese wrote about an abundant display of summer meteors in 36 AD, and references appear in early Japanese and Korean records, but it wasnt until 1835 when the Belgium astronomer, mathematician, and sociologist, Adolphe Quetelet, brought the Perseids to the scrutiny of the scientific community. In the mid-1860s, Giovanni Schiaparelli, the Italian astronomer who introduced the world to channels (canals) on the Martian surface, discovered that Perseid meteors orbited the sun in a similar path to periodic Comet Swift-Tuttle. Thus the association of meteors having parent bodies, mostly comets, but later also asteroids, was conceived. The summer Perseids are undoubtedly the most observed meteor event of the year. I have traveled several times to dark locations in New England and even as far west as New Mexico in 1994 to view them. When Swift-Tuttle made a return appearance in 1992, astronomers anticipated the Perseids might storm in 1994. Numbers were much higher than normal, but storm activity, rates of 1000 or more meteors per hour, failed to materialize. Sadly, my 11-day stay in the mountains north of Las Vegas, NM yielded only one clear period, but fortunately, that was the night of Perseid maximum. Ill write more about observing the Perseids next week. www.astronomy.org

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

Local News

Page 14A

Burglars ransack disabled mans home

by Andrew Cauthen [email protected] When 87-year-old, scooterbound Floyd Thompson returned to his Stone Mountain home July 22 after a trip out of town, he could not open his front door. Burglars had ransacked the home on Sheppard Way in unincorporated Stone Mountain where Thompson and his late wife raised their six children. Breaking the frame off the back door which had three locks, the burglars destroyed and piled up furniture against the front doorthe only wheelchair-accessible entrance to Thompsons home. I couldnt believe what I saw, Thompson said. I couldnt even get in. As Daddy said, they were mean, said Judy Parker, Thompsons oldest daughter. They didnt want him to be able to go back into this house. They blocked the door because they knew that he was disabled. The burglars broke the coffee and end tables, ripped couch cushions, destroyed a recliner and cut the answering machine wires. The freezer door was left open, the contents of cabinets strewn on the floor and medicine bottles emptied. Thompsons belongings were piled a foot and a half high all over this house, Parker said. I havent even gotten into two rooms. Parker, who uses a walker, needed a rake and two hours to clear a path for her father to get in. Roaches, rats and rainwater came in through a door left open when the burglars left. They stole phones, a TV, jewelry and two shotguns. We havent even discovered everything thats gone yet, Parker said. Thompson does not know precisely when the crime happened. He left town July 18 to visit a son in Oxford, Ga., and returned to Stone Mountain July 22. Parker said she believes the burglars are familiar with her father. They know who he is, Parker said. Personally, I think it was a gang or group of teenagers that were up to no good. Or a group of hoodlooms. Im pretty sure they live around here and they see him all the time on the scooter or they see him crawling around in the yard, because he cant walk and he cant even stand up, she said. Thompson built the twobedroom, one-bath house in 1955 and later added a third bedroom. I mostly built it myself, Thompson said. I laid all the brick myself. Its been a home for 57 years, Thompson said. Theres a lot of memories hereprecious memories. I didnt have an idea it would come down to this. Parker said the destruction in the house has been hard on the family. Its like ripping out not only his heart, but the familys heart as well, Parker said. Parker said the response of the DeKalb Police officers who came to the scene added to the familys distress. We asked [the police] to please take fingerprints and investigate, Parker said. They said it was not considered a crime scene and there was nothing they could do. They wrote a report, but theyre not investigating. Were very angry with the DeKalb County Police Department because they would do nothing, Parker said. Despite media coverage of the crime, Parker said her father has received little community support to help him get his life back to normal. All the help they have had cleaning the house so far has been paid workers. A fund for Thompson at Wells Fargo Bank has $400 in donations thus far, but Parker said she has had to spend that much on a credit card to replace some of the bare necessities for her father. I keep having to spend money I dont have, Parker said. Thompsons homeowners insurance will pay $5,400 for the damage, but will not be enough, Parker said. The homes carpet and linoleum is being replaced. The backdoor frame needs repairing. And Thompson needs a newer refrigerator. They have no respect for anybody else, Parker said of the burglars. They pooped and wiped it all over the bathroom walls up as high as they could reach. I dont understand it. They urinated on some of his clothes and on [the] carpet. I would tie them to a balland-chain and make them clean up what they did, she said.

Burglars wrecked the home of Floyd Thompson, an 87-year-old disabled Stone Mountain man, causing thousands of dollars in damage. They urinated on his clothes and wiped feces on walls while he was out of town. They were mean, said daughter Judy Parker. Photos by Andrew Cauthen

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

Local News

Page 15A

Sara Fountain to step down as Leadership DeKalb executive director

by Kathy Mitchell
[email protected] Leadership DeKalb had been around only five years when Sara Fountain joined its class of 1992. She was so impressed with the organization that she stayed involved. When the executive director position become available 11 years ago, she expressed an interest and was chosen. As she prepares to retire after the graduation of the 2012 class, Fountain said there could not have been a better match between a person and a job. I love this job. It has been a perfect fit for me with my skills set and my personality and interest in sustainability, Fountain said. What could be better than getting up every morning and going to a job that doesnt feel like a job? It just feels like my life what Id choose to be doing even if I werent earning a living at it. Her favorite part of the job, Fountain said, is bringing people together. I try to get people to bond early, and some lifelong friendships have grown out of it, she said. When people who meet through Leadership DeKalb become friends, they help each other personally, professionally and within the community. They stay connected and form a network that makes our community stronger. Fountain observed that one might expect that a group of 40 to 50 people, each of whom is often accustomed to being the boss in his or her own organization, would have a hard time working together. Thats not the case at all. Even though we have people from some lofty positions, they all are giving, considerate and eager to help others, said Fountain, who added that she has personally worked with more than 800 adult and youth leaders during the past 11 years. She laments that leaders at the state and national level are not as effective in reaching consensus as Leadership DeKalb members are. Its inspiring to see how hard these people work in their communitieswilling to do whatever it takes to make their communities stronger whether its running for public office, volunteering or some combination of those, she said. As she has connected community leaders with issues facing the county and the region, Fountain said, shes met great people and had a lot of fun. Ill never forget the class of 2002, my first class as executive director, Fountain said. Like many classes, the class of 2002 poked a little goodnatured fun at Fountain and she laughed harder than anyone. Columnist and former broadcast journalist] Steen Miles was in that class and she and a couple of others cooked up a skit and a song about meit was just hilarious. Fountain said she also has had experiences that moved her deeply. We have had three blind people go through Leadership DeKalb and they didnt back off any of the activities, including the ropes course [an exercise that involves class members helping each other through a series of physical challenges]. Their courage just brought tears to my eyes. Of Leadership DeKalb, which this year celebrated its 25th anniversary, Fountain said each year builds on the previous years success so the organization just keeps getting better.

Fountain

She acknowledged that it was tough deciding when would be the right time to retire. This was a very difficult decision for me to make as there is really no good time to leave. I will truly miss leading each [member] through the unforgettable class experience as well as the ongoing connections we have all made through our committee volunteer work and member events, she said. Sara is the model of a servant leader, said Leadership DeKalb board chairman Arnie Silverman. She has led hundreds of events for Leadership DeKalb class members and alumni, including the organizations 25th anniversary last year. She has steered the leader-

ship development of more than 800 adult and youth graduates. We sincerely thank her for her contributions to DeKalb County and wish her all the best in her retirement. Fountain said, I am so grateful to so many of you for your leadership, friendship, inspiration and selfless service. What a moving experience and journey this has been for me. Please know that I will still be very active as a member of Leadership DeKalb. But, the time has come to begin a new chapter. The Leadership DeKalb Board of Directors has chosen Caroline Moise of the class of 2001 to succeed Fountain on an interim basis.

Ex-president of Alpha Phi Alpha sues fraternity

by Errin Haines DECATUR, Ga. (AP) The ousted president of Alpha Phi Alpha is asking a judge to restore him as head of the nations oldest Black Greek letter organization, claiming he was unfairly and illegally removed from office. Judge Mathew Robins on July 24 delayed ruling on the issue, saying he needed more time to review additional information in the case filed in DeKalb County Superior Court on July 19 by Herman Skip Mason. At an emergency hearing July 27, the judge denied Masons request for a temporary restraining order against the fraternity. At issue during the July 24 twohour hearing was whether the judge had jurisdiction over the fraternity, which is based in Baltimore, Md., or whether Mason is still in charge. According to the complaint, Mason was ousted at the fraternitys regional convention in Las Vegas in April after questions arose regarding Masons use of fraternity funds to pay for dependent care and tuition. Mason has denied that his use of the funds was a violation of his duties as president, and indicated in the complaint that he has made arrangements to reimburse Alpha Phi Alpha. The fraternity contends his membership was suspended and he was removed from office because of allegations of financial mismanagement. Alpha Phi Alpha was founded in 1906 on the campus of Cornell University. Among its members were the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., historian and activist W.E.B. DuBois and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. Communications director Bryan Kelly said the organization has an estimated 20,000 active members. Mason was elected 33rd general president of Alpha Phi Alpha in 2008. His four-year term would have ended this year. His attorney, James Walker, told the judge that Masons removal would damage his reputation and finances. As the president of the organization, to have it released publicly and nationally that youve been suspended for the last six months of your term and youre a member in bad standing ... You have none of the privileges, none of the honors, Walker said. Its a harmful thing. Eric Barnum, an attorney representing Alpha Phi Alpha, told the judge that Mason tarnished his own reputation. Mr. Mason stood up in front of thousands of members of the fraternity and admitted to misappropriating funds, Barnum said. He admitted to acting beyond the scope of his duties. If there is a blade to Mr. Masons neck, his hand is on the handle. After the hearing, Barnum said he remained confident in the fraternitys position. Mr. Mason is not the general president, Barnum said. He has been removed. His status has not been changed. Independent of that, the fraternity develops leaders, promotes brotherhood and academic excellence while providing services and advocacy for our communities and we will continue to do that. Walker said he was encouraged by the judges comments. He didnt rule yet, but ... he stated repeatedly throughout, In my opinion, Skip Mason is still the president, Walker said. That is what we portended all along.

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

New analysis shows dramatic decline in sexual risks among Black youth
Progress among students overall plateaued in last decade
The number of Black high school students engaging in sexual risk behaviors for HIV has declined dramatically in 20 years, significantly reducing the disparities in risk between Black youth and youth of other racial or ethnic groups, according to a new analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among students overall, however, behavior change has stalled during the last 10 years studied, the report said. Were encouraged by the progress we see over time in reducing HIV-related risk behaviors, especially among Black youth, but we have more to do, said Kevin Fenton, M.D., director of CDCs National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and Tuberculosis Prevention. Risk behavior remains far too high among all students, and its clear that to realize our goal of an AIDS-free generation, parents, schools and communities will need to intensify efforts to ensure that every young person in America knows about HIV and how to prevent infection. The data, covering 1991 to 2011, were presented July 24 by Laura Kann, Ph.D., at the XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C. and published as an early release in CDCs Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The data come from CDCs National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), a nationally representative biennial survey of public and private school students in grades 9-12. The analysis examines trends in several reported behaviors related to HIV risk by race and ethnicity and found that between 1991 and 2011: Ever had sex: The proportion of U.S. high school students who had ever had sex declined from 1991 (54 percent) to 2001 (46 percent), and has stabilized since that time (47 percent in 2011). By race/ethnicity, the proportion significantly declined among Black students (from 82 to 60 percent); remained stable among Hispanic students (from 53 to 49 percent); and, after an initial decline, has stabilized since 2003 among White students (50 percent in 1991, 42 percent in 2003, 44 percent in 2011). Current sexual activity: The proportion of students who had sex within the preceding three months declined from 38 percent in 1991 to 34 percent in 2011. The proportion declined from 59 to 41 percent among Black students; and remained stable among Hispanic students (37 to 34 percent) and White students (34 to 32 percent). Multiple partners: The proportion of students who had multiple (four or more) sex partners decreased from 1991 (19 percent) to 2001 (14 percent) and has stabilized since that time (15 percent in 2011). The proportion declined among Black students (from 43 to 25 percent); remained stable among Hispanic students (17 to 15 percent); and after an initial decline among White students (15 percent in 1991 to 11 percent in 2003), has stabilized since that time (13 percent in 2011). Condom use: The proportion of sexually active students who used a condom the last time they had sex increased from 1991 (46 percent) to 2003 (63 percent) and has stabilized since that time (60 percent in 2011). Among Black youth, condom use increased from 1991 (48 percent) to 1999 (70 percent) but declined since that time (65 percent in 2011). After initial increases, condom use stabilized among Hispanic and White youth (among Hispanic youth, from 37 percent in 1991 to 61 percent in 2007 and 58 percent in 2011; among White youth, from 46 percent in 1991 to 62 percent in 2003 and 60 percent in 2011). Sexual risk behavior declined most dramatically among Black youth over the 20-year study period. The gap in risk behavior between these students and their White counterparts has narrowed considerably. In 1991, Black students were nearly twothirds more likely to have had sexual intercourse and almost three times as likely to report having multiple partners, compared to white students. By 2011, the disparity between black and white students who ever had sex was cut in half, and the difference in the likelihood of having multiple sex partners declined even more (58 percent). While declines in risk behavior among Black students generally persisted over the entire two decades analyzed, progress among youth overall was significant only through the early 2000s, and has stalled since that time. Since 2001, there has been no significant overall change in the proportion of U.S. high school students who reported ever having sex or who had multiple sex partners, and the percentage of sexually active students who used a condom the last time they had sex has been stable since 2003. Additionally, while Black students made greater progress than youth of other racial or ethnic groups, Black students report higher levels of sexual risk behavior than their White or Hispanic peers, with the exception of reporting higher levels of condom use. Of concern, condom use has been declining in this group since 1999. There has been no significant change in sexual risk behaviors among Hispanic students since 1991. People under the age of 30 represent approximately four of every 10 new HIV infections each year. Reducing sexual risk behaviors among Americas youth is critical to reducing this toll and achieving the goals of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which calls for educating all young people on HIV, as well as intensified prevention efforts for populations at greatest risk, including youth. Our challenge is to build on the tremendous strides made by African-American youth, while again jumpstarting the progress among youth overall, said Howell Wechsler, Ed.D., M.P.H., director of CDCs Division of Adolescent and School Health. We must also confront the persistent lack of progress among Hispanic and White students. YRBS data do not contain information on some of the known social and economic determinants of risk behavior, such as family income and education, so researchers cannot assess the degree to which these factors may account for the higher levels of risk behavior among Black youth in this study.

Health

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The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

Local News
In the only challenged Superior Court judge race, incumbent Gail Flake had 71.11 percent of the vote, leading challenger Michael Rothenberg, who had 28.75 percent. In the only challenged State Court judge race, incumbent Dax Lopez had 57. 66 percent and challenger Dionne McGee had 42.25 percent. In other races on the DeKalb County ballots, here were the results with 124 of 189 precincts reporting: Senate District 44 (all Democrats) Gail Buckner 34.77 % Marcus E. Davis 9.77 % Gail Davenport (incumbent) 55.47 % Senate District 55 (both Democrats) Gloria Butler (incumbent) 81.89% Mark Williams 18.11 % House District 81 Republicans Chris Boedeker 70.35 % Carla Roberts 29.65% Incumbent Scott Holcomb was the only Democrat in the race. House District 90 (both Democrats) Scott Hughes 17.95 % Pam S. Stephenson (incumbent) 82.05% House District 92 Democrats Tonya P. Anderson 29.68 % Doreen Carter 21.84 % Kathy L. Harvey 8.18 % Sherri Len Washington 17.52 Doreen Williams 22.77 % House District 93 Democrats Dexter Dawston 12.83 % Darshun Kendrick (incumbent) 69.63 % Glen Williams 17.54 %

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Primary Continued From Page 1A

porting, Ellis had 59.98 percent of the vote. His challengers, businessman Jerome Edmondson and pastor and former police officer Gregory Adams, Sr. were extremely close at press time with Edmondson with 19.79 percent and Adams with 20.23 percent. Weve always tried to run a platform of listening to the people of this great county and making their priorities the priorities of the county, Ellis said. We were running on our record of working to create jobs and to restore our neighborhoods, working in partnership with our school system, and on the quality of life improvements. It important that we continue on that path and we continue to do everything we can to put many of our citizens as we can back to work which they will begin to see through our One DeKalb Works program. Ellis said his administration will work to make sure were on a strong footing so that DeKalb County can be a leader in the nation as we rebound from the recession. We want to thank all the voters for their support in this election, he said. We think they have spoken very loudly and very clearly. There were no Republicans vying for the seat, therefore the winning Democrat takes office in January. Every county commissioner facing reelection this year had at least one challenger. In District 1, Republican Elaine Boyer was leading fellow Republican Larry Danese by a wide margin. They had 76.13 percent and 23.87 percent respectively. There were no Democrats in the District 1 race. In District 5 Democcrat incumbent Lee May was far ahead with 68.48 percent. His challengers were all fellow Democrats. Gina Mangham had 11.88 percent; Ken Samuel had 13.28 percent and Andre White had 6.36 percent. In Super District 6, incumbent Kathie Gannon was leading opponent Edmond Richardson by a wide margin. Gannon had 73.69 percent or vote to Richardsons 26.31 percent. C. Tina Hoffer is the lone Republican in this race House District 94 Democrats Karen Bennett 63.28% Patricia Bourdeau 16.17 % Tony Lentini 5.36 % Jay Lynn Peabody 15.19 % Clerk of the Superior Court Oretha Brown-John 13.44% John Q. Carter 12.39% Debra DeBerry (incumbent) 60.40% Frank Swindle 5.78 % Cheryl D. Vortice 7.99 % Tax Commissioner Both Democrats Claudia Lawson (incumbent) 85.11 % Melvin Allen Tukes 14.89 % Board of Education District 2 Marshall Orson 57.30 % Don McChesney (incumbent) 42.53 % District 4 Tom Gilbert 14.27 % Jim Kinney 11.27 % Jim McMahan 27.27 Paul Womack 46.90 % District 6 Melvin Johnson 39.42 % Denise E. McGill 29.20% Terriyln Rivers 9.55 % LaTasha Walker 21.53 % District 8 Michelle Clark 47.45 % Pam Speaks (incumbent) 52.31 %

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

Business

Page 18A signs that combine genuine clay brick with aesthetics and sustainability. The national association represents both manufacturers and distributors in the clay brick industry. A jury of architects from around the country independently reviews and scores project entries from throughout North America. Winners will be featured in the November 2012 issue of Brick in Architecture, an insert in Architect Magazine. In addition, all winners are showcased on BIAs website at www.gobrick.com.

New Stone Mountain Walmart to be part of area revitalization

A building on Memorial Drive in Stone Mountain that once was an automobile dealership is about to become DeKalb Countys newest Walmart Supercenter. County officials say that the opening of the new Walmart will be a major step in the continued revitalizing of the once-thriving Memorial Drive corridor in southeast DeKalb County. The more than 149,000-square-foot property is being rebuilt in compliance with zoning requirements, while incorporating design and architecture that reflect the neighborhoods and the countys site redevelopment and building standards, according to an announcement from Walmart. The plan calls for 592 parking spaces for the overall shopping center and the installation of LED lighting in the parking lot. There will be pedestrian sidewalks, including one along Lauren Parkway connecting to the shopping center from Memorial Drive and North Hairston Road. The rear area of the site is to be screened with a wood privacy fence. Bike racks and benches will be installed at the store front. Walmart has met with local neighbors and businesses to ensure that the additional traffic is managed for the safety and convenience of shoppers and deliveries, states a release from the corporation, which said its plans for managing traffic include a new traffic signal at the entrance from North Hairston Road. A right turn lane will be added on Memorial Drive, and the existing right turn lane from Lauren Parkway onto Memorial Drive will be extended. The signals will be interconnected for better function. A traffic control island will be constructed on North Hairston to allow Kenilworth traffic to enter and leave but will prohibit traffic from coming into the community after exiting the Walmart parking lot. There will be a dedicated truck entrance on Lauren Parkway. Walmart officials said the new store will incorporate elements that reflect commitment to safe, eco-friendly and environmentally sustainable stores, including skylights to provide natural lighting and low-energy consumption lighting fixtures, reduced flow water fixtures and the latest in high efficiency air conditioning and refrigeration equipment. Walmart officials say that the new store, scheduled to open in the fall of 2013, will employ approximately 250 full-time and part-time associates and is expected to generate an estimated $4.9 million in sales taxes.

Dunwoody Bakery opens it first retail location

A ribbon cutting on July 17, marked the official opening of Dunwoody Bakery on Vernon Road in Dunwoody. Owner Jill Baker-Lesperance left a career in marketing to start her bakery in 2008. The Vernon Road store is its first retail location. Baker-Lesperances husband, Scott, and daughter Audrey also are involved in the family business. Baker-Lesperance said Dunwoody Bakerys offerings are 100 percent organic and gluten free. Especially popular are the Good For You Breakfast Bars that come in such flavors as peanut butter, chocolate and white chocolate almond. Samples are available daily. Dunwoody Bakery recently added ice cream to its the line-up of offerings, which includes cookies, custom cakes and cupcakes, Baker-Lesperance said her business philosophy includes wanting to be a true community partner. At the rear of the store, in what she calls the Be Nice Shoppe, local artisans are allowed to display their wares. Also, the space is available on a first-come, first-served basis for small meetings, bridge groups, etc. The Dunwoody Bakery and Ice Cream Shoppe is a member of the Dunwoody Chamber of Commerce.

DeKalb County to host small business summit

The DeKalb County Office of Economic Development and the Development Authority of DeKalb County will host a Small Business Summit on Thursday, Aug. 16, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., at Agnes Scott College, Letitia Pate Evans Dining Hall, 141 E. College Ave., Decatur. This years theme is Innovative Strategies for Business Growth. The 2012 DeKalb County Small Business Summit is a part of the countys ongoing effort to promote the growth and development of small businesses in DeKalb County by providing information to help businesses gain access to capital, identify public and private resources, and network with other companies, according to an announcement from the county. Small business owners attending the summit will hear from professionals on a variety of topics, including The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of Entrepreneurship, Retooling for Small Medium Enterprises, and Innovative and Emerging Business Strategies. The summit is open to the public and registration is required. The registration fee for the summit is $25 through Aug. 6; $40 beginning Aug. 7. For more information and to register, visit http://dekalbsummit2012.eventbrite.com or call (404) 687-2730.

Decatur project wins industry award

Brick manufacturer General Shale, the North American subsidiary of Wienerberger AG, was recently recognized by the Brick Industry Association (BIA) as a multiple winner of 2012 Brick in Architecture awards. The top awardGoldwas for Daulton House, which won in the residential/single family period architecture category. BIA awards are the epitome of accomplishment in the brick industry, and I congratulate all those within our company and others who were involved in achieving these honors, said General Shale President and CEO Dick Green. We are excited that our products continue to be featured in awardwinning projects across the country. Each year since 1989, the Brick Industry Association has recognized outstanding de-

Restaurant managing partner recognized

Dorinda Quarshie, managing partner of the LongHorn Steakhouse on North Druid Hills Road, Atlanta, has been presented with Darden Restaurants top honorthe Joe R. Lee Diamond Club Award, named after the companys retired chairman and CEO. Now in its 15th year, the award is presented annually based on customer service and financial performance in the companys previous fiscal year. This year, Quarshie joins a group of 18 managing partners recognized from among more than 380 LongHorn Steakhouse restaurants in North America. Dorinda is a leader who understands the importance of doing things the right way. She sets clear expectations, provides regular feedback and celebrates her teams great performance, said Dave George, president of LongHorn Steakhouse.

I WANT TO GRADUATE BECAUSE THEY SAY I WONT.

404-378-8000

The Voice of Business in DeKalb County

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

DeKalb Chamber of Commerce

www.DeKalbChamber.org

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

Education
Kingfisher Academy relocates

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Kingfisher Academy, a school serving preschool through eighth grade, recently moved to Tucker from southeast Atlanta where it was located for 13 years. It was a hard decision to leave East Atlanta, but this opportunity came up in Tucker and we found all the amenities in place that we need, so we can be the kind of school that gets out into the community: a great library, good restaurants, a wonderful park with nature trails and a small lake, said Debbie Gathmann, head of the school. Everything is close to the school walking distance. Kingfisher was founded in 1999 and is a nonprofit, independent private school. According to its website, the school has a diverse student population consisting of students from such places as Eastern Europe, Jamaica, Argentina, Latin America, as well as metro Atlanta. The schools new address is 5072 LaVista Road. It is currently registering elementary students for the fall quarter. For more information, call (678) 615-2313.

Cross Keys solar car returns from Texas Triumphant

by Daniel Beauregard [email protected] Four members of the DeKalb County Engineering Team sat in the shade of an empty trailer that was used to house the solar car they recently took to Texas for the 2012 Winston Solar Car Challenge from July 14-19. The team consisted of nearly 20 students from high schools throughout the DeKalb County School District (DCSD) as well as interns from school districts in other metro areas. Against tough odds, it managed to be the first high school team in Georgia to send a carnamed Endeavordown to the Texas Motor Speedway for the 2012 Solar Car Challenge and it received the Guntis Terauds Award for outstanding achievementheres the catch: they didnt even drive it. We got the engineering award and it was for endurance, said Patrick Gunter, the director of the Cross Keys Manufacturing Center. We actually got the wrong foot pedal and when we got down there, there was no way we could have gotten the right one in time. We were really struggling to get the car together and had a lot of help from different teams. David Hernandez, an upcoming senior at Cross Keys High School, held in his hand the correct pedal, which they got after they came back from their trip to Texas. Although the team was unable to race their car on the speedway with the other teams, each of the members said they learned a lot. There were times where we were all questioning whether wed make it down to Texas, especially the last week, said Lord Nicklyn Labiano. Labiano said in the fall he and his friend Elberth Romero will be attending the Southern Polytechnic Institute majoring in mechatronics, which combines several types of engineering disciplines. Both Labiano and Romero did the welding and made the carbon fiber body of the car. Were looking at doing some partnerships with Southern Poly next year, Gunter said. He hopes Labiano and Romero will help pave the way for that and come back next year to give the new members of the solar car team their guidance. Usually, the race is a cross-country tour that goes from Dallas to Los Angeles, but this year organizers decided to hold the race at the Texas Motor Speedway due to the economy and gas prices. Although each car is solar-powered, Gunter said a large team has to accompany each car on the road and having a caravan consisting of several SUVs, including one pulling a trailer for the solar car, can be quite expensive. Renae Irving is an up-

File Photo

$2.5 million gift to Emory law school aims to promote diversity

A $2.5 million gift from Mary E. and C. Robert Henrikson will double the reach of the Henriksons endowed scholarship, which has promoted diversity in the student body at Emory School of Law since its inception a decade ago. The donation is the largest individual gift in the law schools history. Of the total amount, $1.5 million will go to the Henriksons endowed scholarship fund. The remaining $1 million will be allocated for additional financial aid and will serve as a challenge grant for matching gifts that will go to Emory Laws annual fund. Robert Henrikson, who graduated from Emory Law School in 1972, is former chair of the board, president, and CEO of MetLife Inc. and serves on the Emory University Board of Trustees. He was named a Distinguished Alumnus by Emory Law in 2006.

coming junior at the Gwinnett School of Math, Science, and Technology, who is serving as one of the interns. She said she enjoyed the trip to Texas, although it was hot and the state is experiencing an unprecedented drought. Building the car taught us how to work together and get things done as soon as possible, Irving said. The top of the carthats my domainas well as being public relations and media. All of those solar panels I helped put together, encapsulate and put on the car. Irving said she will be a member of the team next year and Gunter said the race will most likely be back to the original cross-country route from Dallas to L.A. He said next year will be much easier because now that the car is built all they need to do is fine tune it. Thats one thing about solar racingeverybody that makes it to the race with a car has achieved a lot of success by just completing a car and getting it there, Gunter said. I guess they were just kind of amazed by the resilience of the team to just hang in there and complete the car. On July 28, the team celebrated their success with a parade down Buford Highway, which ended with a display of the car at Chamblees Buford Highway Flea Market and Doravilles Honeysuckle Park Fleming Sports Arena.

PUBLIC NOTICE
DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS OF DISABLED STUDENTS
The DeKalb County School District, Department of Special Education, announces its intention to destroy records that were developed to provide a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) in DeKalb County Schools. This notice is in compliance with the federal, state and local policy. Records will be destroyed on October 1, 2012 based on the following criteria: Students who graduated with a high school diploma in 2011. Students who became twenty-two (22) years old between June 1, 2010 and June 1, 2011. Special Ed. Students born during 1987 who graduated with a Transition Diploma, Certificate of Performance or reached maximum age of 22. Students who became deceased between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011. These records will be destroyed as they are no longer needed for educational planning purposes. The parent, legal guardian or the student (18 years old or older) may request records prior to destruction by contacting the Special Education Records Office at 678-676-1802. You will be required to produce identification or provide verification data to acquire these records.

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The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

AROUND DEKALB
CHAMBLEE
City clerk position available in Chamblee The city of Chamblee is looking for a director of administration/city clerk to perform administrative, supervisory, and clerical work in managing and overseeing all operations of the citys administrative department. According to the citys website, the position includes serving as a clerk to the mayor and city council, preparing council agenda and minutes, attending meetings and giving administrative support to the city manager. The position is full-time and those interested can contact Chamblee City Manager Niles Ford at (770) 986-5013, email nford@chambleega. com or visit the citys website at www.chambleega.com. Tom Hanks movies to be screened As part of its Classic Movie Mondays series, the Chamblee Library will show The Da Vinci Code Aug. 6, 1 - 3:30 p.m. The movie features award-winning actor Tom Hanks and is rated PG-13. When available, movies are presented with closed captioning to assist the hearing impaired. The Chamblee Library is located at 4115 Clairmont Road, Chamblee. For more information, call (770) 936-1380. for those who seek careers in nonprofit organizations. The Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency, a nonprofit organization whose programs serve recovering addicts and those with criminal backgrounds, will also be providing information about their job readiness and placement assistance services. The event is free and no registration required. For more information call Kelly LaJoie at (404) 371-3681. Website offers cancer care information A new website, GeorgiaCancerInfo.org, is providing patients, families and caregivers a first-ever comprehensive information center for cancer care in Georgia. Launched this spring, GeorgiaCancerInfo.org profiles leading treatment centers including DeKalb Medical Cancer Center and offers real-time information on cancer clinical trialswhich involve promising new treatments currently being evaluated for their effectiveness. The site also provides information on Georgia oncologists as well as a wealth of health knowledge, support and resources. Developed and launched by Georgia CORE, a non-profit working to improve the quality of cancer care in Georgia, GeorgiaCancerInfo.org allows visitors to save search results and easily access the site through mobile devices. For more information, visit www.GeorgiaCancerInfo.org or http://www. dekalbmedical.org/Main/News/DEKALB-MEDICAL-CANCER-CENTER-PARTICIPATES-INFIRST-6762.aspx. Healthy Belvedere announces fall garden program The Healthy Belvedere Initiative is preparing for its fall session of the Garden For All program. A free intergenerational garden education program, Garden For All brings youth participants and adult volunteers together to explore a variety of gardening topics. The program is held on six consecutive Saturday mornings. Classes include planting in the Healthy Belvedere community garden, learning about honey bees, beneficial insects, medicinal plants, water conservation, and composting. Youth will get hands-on experience with building a hoop house, making garden art, preparing healthy foods, planting, and more. The session also includes a field trip. The fall session starts on Saturday, Sept. 8, 9 - 11 a.m. It will be held at the Healthy Belvedere Community Garden at Peace Lutheran Church, 1679 Columbia Drive, Decatur. Youth 6-14 years old who live in the Belvedere Park area may register for the fall session. Registration, which is limited to 20 youth, begins Aug. 13 and closes Aug. 24. For more information, call Celeste at (678) 973-2186. In celebration of the National Night Out is an event designed to strengthen partnerships between police and local communities and heighten awareness of crime, drug prevention, and send a message to criminals to let them know their neighborhood is fighting back. Northwoods neighbors plan to walk beforehand then gather at the park for a picnic.

DUNWOODY
Volunteers to assemble meals Hundreds of volunteers from Dunwoody United Methodist Church and the Dunwoody and Sandy Springs communities will work together to assemble 150,000 dehydrated meals for children in need across the globe through FoodStock 2012. This will be the largest effort of its kind in metro Atlanta for Stop Hunger Now. Volunteers will form large assembly lines for the work. Dehydrated meals ship quickly and have a five-year shelf life. Theyre made of rice, soybeans, vegetables and 21 essential vitamins. Stop Hunger Now primarily targets children through school lunch programs but will also expand to the community it is serving based on need. On Saturday, Aug. 18, volunteers will work in two-hour shifts, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Dunwoody United Methodist Church is located at 1548 Mt. Vernon Road Dunwoody. To register, visit www.dunwoodyumc.org.

DECATUR
Soil and water conservation meeting scheduled The DeKalb County Soil and Water Conservation District monthly meeting will be held on Friday, Aug. 10 at 10 a.m. at the Clark Harrison Building, 330 W. Ponce de Leon Ave. in downtown Decatur. For additional information call (770) 761-3020. County commissioner to hold health and job fair in Decatur DeKalb County Commissioner Stan Watson is sponsoring a second annual health, wellness and job fair on Aug. 11, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event, co-sponsored by the Fulton DeKalb Hospital Authority, will be held at the Greater Travelers Rest Baptist Church located at 4650 Flat Shoals Parkway, Decatur. The fair provides residents with free health screenings and resources to improve physical health and well-being. Watson has partnered with Career Builders and the Hartsfield-Atlanta International Airport to hold the job fair in which companies with current job openings such as DeKalb Countys Workforce Development, DeKalb County Police Department, Georgia Department of Labor, Department of Driver Services, and Wal-Mart and several other companies have agreed to participate. Information about jobs posted on job data sites will also be provided by Career Builders and Opportunity Knocks, an employment resource

LITHONIA
Dance conservatory to hold open house The Conservatory of Dance and Fine Arts recently announced that it will celebrate its 17th year in the community with an open house at its new location, 5424 Hillandale Park Court, Suite B Lithonia. The event will be Saturday Aug. 4, noon 3 p.m. It will include food, fun and of course dance. Guests will have the opportunity to participate in open classes, as well as view class demonstrations. The award-wining DLauren Dance Troupe, just in from the national Starbound Dance Competition in Orlando, Fla., will also be performing. The event is for the entire family

TUCKER
TCA to pack healthful school lunches The Tucker Civic Association (TCA) will hold its monthly Give An Hour activity Sunday, Aug. 5, 1-3 p.m., at the Activities Center of Tucker First United Methodist Church, 4315 Church Street, across from the old Reid H.-Cofer Library. TCA will have a supply drive for the Smart Lunch, Smart Kid program. Supplies needed are drinks (juice boxes, bottled water), fruit snacks (individually packaged dried fruit, applesauce cups, rollups, apples, etc.), and salty snacks (individually packaged chips, pretzels, crackers). TCA will also be preparing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for 150-200 children.

DORAVILLE
National Night Out celebration announced Doraville residents are encouraged to gather at Brook Park Aug. 7, at 7 p.m. for the Northwoods Neighborhood Night Out.

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

Page 21A

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The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

Sports

Page 22A

Mark Trail Flying Eagles complete in AAU Junior Olympics

Bantam girls (10 years old) Jada Scott relay Alexia Boyd relay Lauren Euler relay long jump 4x100 meter 4x100 meter 4x100 meter Intermediate girls Ashley Epps 400 meter dash, 800 meter Young women Imani Epps 400 meter dash Sub bantam boys Nolan Johnson 100 meter, 200 meter, 4x100 meter relay Andrew Douglas 100 meter, 200 meter, 4x100 meter relay Tad Logan Jr. 4x100 meter relay Terez Davis-Giles 800 meter, 1500 meter, 4x400 meter Caleb Shoemake 1500 meter, 4x400 meter relay Justin Turner 4x100 meter relay, 4x400 meter relay Bantam boys Dylan Belisle 4x100 meter relay, 4x400 meter relay Boys sub-midget Justin Griffin 200 meter, 400 meter Donovan Moncrief 80 meter hurdles, 4x400 meter relay, 4x800 meter relay Brendon Robinson 80 meter hurdles, discus throw Kyree Rice 4x400 meter relay, 4x800 meter relay Cadarius Smith 200 meter, 4x400 meter relay, 4x800 meter relay Gerald Tillman 100 meter, 200 meter, 4x400 meter relay Boys midget Marcellus Boykin 100 meter, 200 meter, 4x100 meter relay Francisco Hunter 4x100 meter relay, 4x400 meter relay Justin Tomlin 4x100 meter relay, 4x400 meter relay Austin Douglas 4x100 meter relay, 4x400 meter relay Justin Douglas 4x800 meter relay, 4x400 meter relay Norman Johnson 4x100 meter relay, 4x400 meter relay Nicholas Edwards Shot put second place, discus throw third place Boys sub-youth Jaquvious Lane 100 meter, 200 meter, long jump, 4x100 meter relay Tyrique Davis-Giles 200 meter hurdles, 4x100 meter relay Simeon Sneed 4x100 meter relay Mitchell Edwards High jump Desmond Rocker Triple jump Boys youth William Craig 4x100 meter relay Boys intermediate Nigel Brown 200 meter Boys young Jamar Sims Long jump third place

The Mark Trail Flying Eagles, a track team based in Decatur, qualified 46 athletes to the 2012 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Junior Olympics taking place in Houston, Texas, through Aug. 5. The athletes qualified for this meet by running in the AAU National Qualifier in Douglasville in June and in the AAU Club Championship the week of July 16 in Orlando, Fla. The following 46 athletes have qualified to compete in the 2012 AAU Junior Olympics with support from coaches, parents, family members and trainers. A few of the athletes listed below are ranked in the top 10 in their age group according to www.eliteyouth.com.
Primary girls (8 years old) Cydney Everett Asia Rocker 800 meter Shot put

Sub-midget girls (11 years old) Joyne Nichols 4x100 meter relay Celene Stringer relay Jasmine Walker relay 80 meter hurdles, 4x100 meter 4x100 meter

Midget girls (12 years old) Katerria Boyd Jayla Brown 4x100 meter relay 4x100 meter relay

Sub-youth girls (13 years old) Destinee Rocker 100 meter hurdles, 200 meter hurdles, 4x100 meter relay Youth girls Lauren Epps 100 meter hurdles, 200 meter hurdles, 4x100 meter relay, 4x400 meter relay Ivy McDonald 4x100 meter relay, 4x400 meter relay Celeste Stringer 4x100 meter relay 4x400 meter relay Caitlin Tate 100 meter, 200 meter, 4x100 meter relay, 4x400 meter relay

SubBantam girls (9 years old) Victoria Euler Long jump Kendyll Everett Triathlon second, 4x100 meter relay

For more information on the team or to help support the team fundraiser by buying Atlanta Falcons preseason tickets seats, call Coach Stephon Rivas at (404) 213-7444.

Georgia Perimeter coach brings top tennis talent to DeKalb

by Wade Marbaugh DeKalb County tennis fans following the recent Atlanta Classic may be unaware of a classy tennis program located right in their neighborhood. The Georgia Perimeter College (GPC) mens and womens tennis teams play at GPCs Dunwoody campus and have basked in the national junior college spotlight the past two seasons. A dominant power in the Southeast for more than a decade, Georgia Perimeter won four consecutive mens national championships from 1998 to 2001 and one womens title in 2000. However the program began to slip and was disbanded for the 2006-07 seasons. It resurfaced in the past two years thanks to steady rebuilding work by head coach Mohamed Reda Nait Omar. The mens and womens teams have returned to the national tournaments. Our players have been hard workers, and the team dynamics and camaraderie has been great, Nait Omar said. Men and womenits been like one team, with everybody pulling for each other. Its a winning formula, great talent and team spirit. Give some credit to Nait Omars father. The coach grew up in Morocco, where his dad, Ahmed Nait Omar, was the countrys top player. The elder Nait Omar initiated a tennis program that has produced many excellent young players, including his son. When Reda Nait Omar took the helm at GPC in 2008, he declared his goal was to return the program to national prominence. Hes done just that. This spring the womens team traveled to Tyler, Texas, for the Lady Jaguars first appearance at the National Junior College Athletic Association championship tournament since 2003. Dunwoody High alumna Asia Boyd played a big role as the team tied for 12th place in the nation. Boyd, a sophomore, lost her first round in the No. 5 singles competition and then went on a roll in the consolation bracket. She won three matches there, piling up points for the team, and advanced to the final match of the bracket before losing. Asia really fought hard in the back draw, Nait Omar said. She just wanted to go as far as she could. She did wonderful. The mens team dominated the top flights at their nationals in Plano, Texas, finishing in a tie for third place. Menford Owusu and Ismail Lemtouni won national championships in the No. 1 and No. 2 singles flights and Lemtouni and Davis Dawson won the top flight doubles championship. With their championships, Owusu, Lemtouni and Dawson automatically joined the National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association AllAmerica team. It was Lemtounis second All-America honor as he won the No. 1 doubles title in 2011 with Salif Kante. Kante, from Senegal, was instrumental in taking the program to its turning point in September 2010. At the U.S. Tennis Association / Intercollegiate Tennis Association (USTA/ITA) Small College Regional Championship in Alexander City, Ala., Kante and the Jaguars swept all four titlesmens and womens singles and doublesgiving notice that GPC tennis was back. The following spring, Kante won the No. 1 singles national championship and captured the doubles title with Lemtouni. He moved on to Florida A&M to play last spring on a full tennis scholarship. Salif was an outstanding captain and team leader, Nait Omar said. He raised the level for everyone else to follow. Another GPC player receiving a scholarship at an National Collegiate Athletic Association Division 1 school is Salma Dahbi, who led the womens team for two seasons. A Moroccan and product of the developmental program Ahmed Nait Omar began, Dahbi will play at East Tennessee this year. With Dahbis help, the Jaguars last fall again swept the USTA/ITA regional tournament. Whether they will repeat the feat for the third consecutive year is hard to say. Coach Nait Omar, who won USTA/ITA region coach of the year awards in 2011 (men) and 2012 (women), said he doesnt know how strong this years teams will be as the rosters are not finalized. Were still making last-minute recruiting decisions, he said. But Im pretty confident well be very competitive. For more information on Jaguar tennis, visit www.gpc.edu/athletic.

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

Sports

Page 23A

Nick Wilson, at bat, spent the summer playing for the Brookhaven Bucks.

Wood bat league provides unique opportunities for local players

by Wade Marbaugh n a recent hot and muggy evening, the Bucks and Crackers played a doubleheader for their division regularseason championship. Minor league baseball? Almost. It was showdown time in a summer league featuring some of the best college players from metro Atlanta. College playerstherefore composite aluminum bats, right? Wrongwood bats. Atlantas Sunbelt League is one of numerous wood bat leagues that immerse college players in a professional atmosphere. One of the benefits of the league is to give the players a chance to get a feel for the wood bat that professionals use, said Nick Hogan, head coach of the Brookhaven Bucks. College baseball recently converted from the all-aluminum bat which sent batted balls too dan-

gerously fast into the fieldto an aluminum-graphite composite bat that caroms the ball off the bat more like woodbut not quite. You can tell by the end of the summer that our players are more comfortable with wood bats, said Sunbelt League Commissioner Bobby Bennett. The league also gives our players a chance to play almost every day, like in the minor leagues, Bennett added. The leagues eight teams each play 28 games in seven weeks, plus a postseason playoff, averaging four games per week. The Brookhaven Bucks, the leagues only team based in DeKalb County, plays home games at Oglethorpe University, but on a recent evening they visited Norcross High School, home of the Atlanta Crackers. At stake: the Sunbelt Eastern Division championship and a favorable seed in the six-team playoff to begin two days later. The evenings dynamics simulated a typical night at the end of

any professional baseball season. Brookhavens rosterwhich includes Decatur Highs Nick Wilson (Eastern Arizona) and Drew Riley (Georgia State)had been relatively strong all season but now its bullpen was depleted. The Crackers, trailing Brookhaven by a game in the standings, recently had been hot at the plate. So, the outcome probably hinged on the Bucks starting pitchers. The opener didnt go well for Brookhaven. The Crackers jumped out early, benefited from some sloppy fielding by the Bucks, and won 12-4. However, Wilson provided a Bucks highlight, a long home run over the left field wall. With the teams now tied in the standings, the division title depended on the result of the nightcap. Between games Hogan, a former baseball star and All-State wide receiver from St. Pius X, commented on some of the leagues other benefits to players and coaches alike. This is my first stint as a head

coach, he said. Being able to manage a team is a valuable experience for a young coach. Many of the players dont necessarily want to go away for the summer to well-known wood bat leagues in places such as Virginia, Cape Cod and the Great Lakes. They can stay home, hold a day job and play ball in the evenings, Hogan said. Bennett noted that the league also provides exposure to pro scouts. In the last four years, seven players who werent drafted in the MLB draft after their senior year in college signed pro contracts after playing here, Bennett said. We open up one last opportunity for the guys. He noted that over those four years more than 30 players were selected in the draft at one time or another. One drafted by the Atlanta Braves in June played for the Berkley Lake Tides this summerpitcher Matt Kimbrel, brother of
See Baseball on page 24A

Page 24A

The Champion Free Press, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012

Baseball
Continued From Page 23A

Braves closer Craig Kimbrel. As the evening cooled slightly, advancing toward midnight, things hadnt improved for the Bucks. Pitching coach Joel Reeves, a Marist School alumnus, had a virtual workout walking between the dugout and the mound. The Crackers scored six runs in the first inning of the nightcap and won the division title with an 11-1 mercy rule victory. That meant the Crackers earned a bye, and the Bucks now had to win a play-in game with the Windward Braves to meet the well-rested Crackers in the best-of-three semifinal series. The Crackers have scored 37 runs in their last 19 innings, Hogan said. Theyre the hottest hitting team Ive seen in a long while. Now, were hoping their bats cool in the playoffs and we get hot. He shrugged, heading for his car: Any night you can get smacked in the mouth. Its just baseball.

Nick Hogan, left, chats with pitcher Jake Dyer during the Bucks doubleheader with the Crackers.

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