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AVAILABLE ONLINE AT WWW.CHAMPIONNEWSPAPER.COM FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011 VOL. 13, NO. 42 FREE

FREEPRESS A PUBLICATION OF ACE III COMMUN ICATIONS

Happy Martin Luther King Day

See Snow and Ice on Page 15A

Snow and ice shut down county

Photos by Andrew Cauthen and Kathy Mitchell

Monday, January 17

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THECHAMPION,THURSDAY,JANUARY14,2011PAGE2ANEWS

er AmbassadorAndrewYoung, former U.S. Ambas-sador to the United Nations,will speak in Cannon Chapel.There will be a reception and

book signing in Brooks Com-mons.

Wednesday, Jan. 19 noon - Words That Changedthe World - Emory students,faculty and staff will readfrom speeches and letterswritten by prominent civilrights leaders from aroundthe world, including Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.,Mohandas Gandhi, CesarChavez and Aung San SuuKyi.

At 1 p.m. Unite, Up-lift and Inspire, an African

drum circle to honor the lifeof Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.featuring The Drum Caf Atlanta will be on Coca ColaCommons, Dobbs UniversityCenter. Up to 40 people mayjoin the drum circle. TheDrum Caf will perform onWest African djembe drums.

At 4 p.m. Women Talk-ing With Women: Reectingon Race, Ethnicity, and Cul-ture, the universitys 15thannual open discussion incelebration of King Week atEmory, will feature women

of different backgroundsand experiences sharing andcreating conversations withone another. The moderatorwill be Pamela Epps of theEmory University Counsel-ing Center. The event will bein the Dobbs UniversityCenter, Room 362.

At 6:30 p.m. David Mal-ebranche, Emory assistantprofessor, general medicine,Grady Memorial Hospital,will present Journey of self:catalyst to discovering ourpurpose. Following intro-ductory comments, local

high school participants inthe S,O.U.L. poem and es-say contest will present theirwork and winners will be an-nounced and awards present-ed. A reception will follow.

At 8 p.m. there will be aconcert and birthday cakecelebration. A choral concert,honoring the legacy of Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr. andrecognizing the Martin Lu-ther King, Jr. and BenjaminE. Mays scholars of EmoryUniversity, will feature theVoices of Inner Strength gos-

pel choir. The event will beon the Coca-Cola Commons,Dobbs University Center.

Thursday, Jan. 20 There

Local colleges announce King Week programs

The Championnewspaper iscalling on thecommunity tohelp less fortunatechildren by makingtheir winter seasona little warmer withthe Champion CoatDrive.

Please donate

new or gently usedwarm winter coatsto the DeKalb CountyDepartment of Familyand Children Services(DFCS) for children,from infants to 18 years.

The Champion

COAT

DRIVE

Coats may be dropped off at TheChampion, 114 New Street, Suite E,in Decatur, through Jan. 17.

Agnes Scott College

Agnes Scott College hasannounced that it is present-ng Martin Luther & Coretta

Scott King Jr. Week of Hu-man Rights A Voice for theVoiceless: Untold Stories.

Jan. 17 - MLK Day of Ser-vice with City of Decatur,City of Decatur Solarium 9a.m. 1 p.m.

Jan. 18 - Brother Outsider:The Life of Bayard Rustin,Buttrick Hall G-4 6 p.m.

Jan. 19 - Silent No More:Agnes Scott Student Voic-es, Fireplace Lounge 6 p.m.

Jan. 20 - Annual Martin Lu-ther King, Jr. Convocation,Gaines Auditorium 1 p.m.

Jan. 21 - She Stood HerGround: The Story of Con-stance Curry, FireplaceLounge 2 p.m.

Jan. 22 - ATL Outing pres-ents A Visit to the KingCenter, Front Loop 10 a.m.

Emory University

Emory University has an-nounced these King Weekprograms:

Monday, Jan. 17 - 8:45a.m. 1 p.m. Remem-

bering Martin Luther KingThrough Service. Volun-eers will plant trees in the

Martin Luther King, Jr. his-oric district in conjunction

with Trees Atlanta and reecton their service over lunch.Volunteer pre-registration isrequired.

At 7 p.m. at GlennChurch there will be a paneldiscussion, Open doors andopen minds: The intersec-ion of race and gender in

service. The moderator willbe Doug Shipman, execu-ive director of the Center

for Civil and Human RightsPartnership.

Tuesday, Jan. 18 3p.m. -Members of the Na-ional PanHellenic Council at

Emory University will makeno-sew blankets for inner-city pre-school children atJumpstart locations and forchildren at Our House, achildcare and support centerfor homeless families. Theactivity will be in room 355of the Dobbs UniversityCenter.

Chapel service: 11:05

a.m. Service of Word andTable, sponsored by the Can-dler School of Theology, willbe in Cannon Chapel.

At 4 p.m., keynote speak-

will be a chapel service at11:05 a.m. in Cannon Chapel.

At 4 p.m. there will becommunity service awardswith Dr. Bernard LaFay-

ette, senior distinguishedscholar, Candler School ofTheology, as the speaker. Theevent will be held in the newClaudia Nance Rollins Build-ing, Rollins School of PublicHealth, 1518 Clifton Road. Areception will follow.

At 7 p.m. there will be ajazz vesper service featuringDwight Andrews, associateprofessor of music, and theAtlanta Jazz Chorus.

Friday, Jan. 21 - 11:30a.m. - international student

coffee hour will be in theWinship Ballroom.

At 3 p.m. Soundtrackfor a Revolution, a lectureby Dr. Vincent G. Harding,

professor emeritus of religionand social transformation,Iliff School of Theology, willbe given in the Joseph H.Jones Room, Woodruff Li-brary. A reception will follow.

Sunday, Jan. 23 11 a.m.- Dr. Vincent G. Harding, au-thor, civil rights activist andprofessor emeritus, religionand social transformation,Iliff School of Theology, willpreach at a worship servicein Cannon Chapel. Musicwill be by the Voices of Inner

Strength, gospel choir. A re-ception will follow in BrooksCommons.

At 8 p.m. there will bea State of race discussion

at Glenn Memorial Church.Soledad OBrien, host ofIn America documentary atCNN, will speak. Tickets areavailable at the DUC and freeto students, staff and facultywith University ID.

For more information onthe Emory events, visithttp://www.religiouslife.emory.edu/pdf/KING%20WEEK%202011.pdf.

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www.championnewspaper.com THECHAMPION,THURSDAY,JANUARY14,2011 ASectionPage3A

Doravilles alcohol law has problemsby Andrew [email protected]

For years the alcoholicensing and renewal pro-

cesses in Doraville were verybusiness-friendly, said Ger-ald Benda, an attorney forFar West Rodeo, an enter-ainment facility in the city.

Now, the city is giving

a new message to the own-ers of businesses that sell orerve alcohol: Go away. We

dont want you here, Bendaaid.

Benda said Far WestRodeo, a 4,000-person occu-pancy concert facility, couldbe put out of business byhe ordinance, which wentnto effect Jan. 1. Far West

Rodeo, which has been inbusiness for 20 years, attractsnational and internationalmusic acts, according toBenda.

The ordinance, passed in

November, states that Noicense for the sale of maltbeverages, distilled spirits orwine by the drink for con-umption on the premises

shall be issued to or renewedfor any establishment unlessthe establishment has ad-equate, paved, on-premisesparking facilities for its pa-trons.

Far West Rodeo, whichdoes not have enough on-premises parking for itslarger events, has contractswith adjacent businesses to

use their parking lots.We wont be able to geta license, Benda said. Itsgoing to end up costing thecity because theyre going tolose money.

Benda said he is hopefulthat the ordinance is still awork in progress and that thecouncil will amend it to al-low Far West Rodeo, whichlast year had 25 events, toremain in business.

Another aspect of theordinance that is troublingto business owners is the re-quirement for all employees

who dispense, sell, serve,stock, handle, take orders foror mix alcoholic beveragesto have a permit. Ownersobject to the need for em-

ployees who stock and sellalcohol in grocery stores tohave permits.

Extending this require-ment to include supermarketsis highly unusual, costly andunnecessary, said HaroldShinn, owner of the BufordHighway Farmers Marketat 5600 Buford Highway inDoraville.

The employee permit re-quirement would add $5,800in fees to his renewal appli-cation, Shinn said. Turnoveris usually high in the entry-level positions that wouldnow need the employeepermits and based on lastyears data, it would cost thefarmers market an estimated$11,500 to be in compliance.

Shinn said he wouldhave to pay approximately$20,000 a year to sell beerand wine in his store, whichhe said has been free ofalcohol-related violations for

several years.The ordinance states that

everyone who receives analcoholic beverage license oran employee permit must be

of good moral character andcannot have been convictedof the following misdemean-ors in the two years prior tothe ling of such application:noise, sign code offenses,driving under the inuence,ghting words, abusive lan-guage, providing false iden-tication, indecency, obscen-ity, littering, nuisance, bad

checks or stalking.Council memberPamFleming said the alcohol or-dinance, which took severalmonths to develop, containsseveral problems.

We did come up with adocument that is palatable,however corrections need tobe made, Fleming said. Weneed to take a major lookat the current alcohol ordi-nance.

Although the councilwas unable to agree on anychanges to the ordinance, themembers were successful in

getting rid of a 48-page per-mit application that businessowners said requested toomuch information. The coun-cil voted to use the much

shorter application that wasused last year.

We dont need to knowwhat school they went to,how many children theyhave and what their namesand birthdates are, Flem-ing said. Im not sure whywere using those types ofquestions to license.

Council memberKaren

Puchata said she was in fa-vor of much of the extensivedata collected in the forms,because the city has a historyof problems with alcohol-related establishments, in-cluding suggestive dancingby underage girls, nudity atclubs and DJs announcingbackroom cocaine sales.

Not all the informationwe collect is for the policedepartment, Puchata said.I want as much informa-tion as possible about who isfunding these clubs, who isthe money behind the clubs

and who is responsible foreverything that is going on inthe clubs.

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Let Us Know What You Think!

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

Send Letters To Editor, The Champion Free Press, P. O. Box 1347,Decatur, GA 30031-1347; Send E-Mail to [email protected]

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

to publication date.

EDITORS NOTE: The opinions written by columnists and contributingeditors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editor or publishers.The Publisher reserves the right to reject or cancel any advertisement atany time. The Publisher is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts.

Publisher: Dr. Earl D. Glenn

Managing Editor: Kathy Mitchell

News Editor: Robert Naddra

Production Manager: Kemesha HuntGraphic Designer: Travis Hudgons

The Champion Free Press is published each

Friday by ACE III Communications, Inc.,

114 New Street, Suite E, Decatur, GA. 30030Phone (404) 373-7779.

www.championnewspaper.com

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FREEPRESS

The Newslady

I see you

Hunger increases in Americaby Judge Greg Mathis

Reports that corporations that re-ceived federal bailout dollars are doingbetter, even making a profit,gives many economists a rea-son to smile. Unfortunately,that corporate cheer isnttrickling down to the averageAmerican, many of whomstill struggle to make endsmeet. This isnt about payingbills. Rather, many Americansarent getting their most basicneed met: the need for food.

Data released by The U.S.Conference of Mayors shows that the

nations food banks saw a 24 percentincrease in visits. And nearly 43 millionAmericans a record were using foodstamps this past fall. The reality of oureconomy and the effect it has had ourcitizens is sobering. Fifty-six percentof those seeking help getting food werefamilies, while 19 percent were seniors.Before you think that only the poorest ofthe poor are struggling with hunger, con-sider this: 30 percent of those in need ofhelp are employed.

We hear elected officials talk moreand more about reducing our nationsdebt. Unfortunately, many want to reduceit by hurting the poor. They believe that

cutting aid to heavily funded governmentprograms Social Security, Medicaidand Medicare, three programs that sup-port the poor, among them is the only

way to bring down the nationsdebt. While this approach mayseem logical, its not the correctone. And the news from the Con-ference of Mayors confirms that.

With unemployment holdingat nearly 10 percent, more Amer-icans are slipping into poverty.Now, more than ever, the poorneeds the government to supportthe, not reduce the services avail-able. The safety net that is sup-

posed to cradle the needy during difficult

times must not only be preserved, it mustbe extended.

As we enter a new year, its time thatAmerica gets its priorities in check. Ofcourse, we must continue to strengthenthose industries that drive our economy.But, more importantly, we must also holdup those individuals and families thatmake up the fabric of our nation.

Judge Greg Mathis currently provideslegal advice to more than three millionlisteners on the Steve Harvey MorningShow and also on his website, www.ask-judgemathis.com.

Mathis

PLEASE RECYCLE THIS NEWSPAPER

Its said that a good photogra-pher has a good eye. One wouldbe hard pressed to find a better ex-ample of one seeing an excellenthot than the case of the Columbus

Dispatch photographer who sawTed Williams begging on the sideof the road in Columbus, Ohio.

With one video shared on You-ube, Williams was turned into

an overnight sensation with guest

appearances on all the nationalalk shows. Williams might still be

on the streets begging for a sec-ond chance to showcase what hedescribes as his God-given giftof voice had not that photogra-pher seen Williams and allowedothers to see his unique, velvetypipes.

No doubt most of us have

heard Williams story: A downand out former radio disc jockeywith a golden voice plagued bythe demons of alcohol, drugs and

petty crimes to feed his drug habit,estranged from his family, beggingon the side of the road. Many peo-ple would stop and indulge himby listening to his golden voicewhile tossing him a few coins, butthey never really saw him.

He was part of the barren,concrete cityscape, as noticeableas the traffic light. There, but notreally. But something dramati-cally different happened recently.A photographer actually stopped,looked and listened. He madeWilliams do camera work for hisalms. The photographer not onlysaw superior talent, but he shared

it. Almost instantly there weremillions of hits on Youtube. Wil-liams, who until a few days agowas living in a tent near a Colum-bus highway, is now mulling overdozens of job offers and hundredsof well-wishes from all over theworld. He was also reunited withhis 90-year-old mother whom hehadnt seen in a decade.

As I watched him on NBCsTodays Show I was particularlystruck by his spirit. He was sohumble and mannered and pos-

sessed a joy that the national me-dia spotlight did not give him. Itwas evident in his Youtube video.Williams says hes been free ofdrugs and alcohol for two years.

When asked by the TodayShows Matt Lauer how this re-habilitation is different from thepast. Williams said the differencethis time is God in his life, his deepspirituality. The scriptures tell usto wait on the Lord. The scripturessay to humble ourselves and Godwill exalt. The scriptures also in-struct us to do unto others as wewould have others do unto us.

Williams repeated the Golden

Rule, which he said his mothertaught him long years before. Hismother told the army of newsmedia that God had answered herprayers that her son would oneday make something of himself.At 53, Williams has benefittedfrom a second chance. He saidtheres no way he could have everimagined that he would be in the

international spotlight being of-fered dozens of opportunities toshowcase that gift of voice he saysGod gave him. He described his

experiences as outrageous andcautioned us not to judge a bookby its cover. There are so manystories out there on the street.

Among Williams job offersis one from the NBAs ClevelandCavaliers for a two-year contractthat could include announcinggames plus living expenses. Iloved the quote from a Cavs of-ficial who said, We believe insecond chances and second oppor-tunities. When you see somethingthat feels good and seems right,you just have to launch. Whatwould happen in our communi-ties if we really began to see each

other? Ah, the possibilities withsecond chances and prayers for re-demption. What was the line in themovieAvatar? I see you.

Steen Miles, The Newslady,is a retired journalist and formerGeorgia state senator. ContactSteen Milies at [email protected].

THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, JANUARY 14, 2011 PAGE 4AOPINION

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Modern mad men,targeting our kidsFood and beverage corporations certainly

know that advertising works

Guest Opinions

by Kelle Louaillier

The television series Mad Men, setn the early 1960s, shocks young par-ents today with scenes of children rid-ng in station wagons without seat beltsand putting dry cleaning bags overheir heads for fun. Thank goodness weknow so much more about keeping ourkids healthy, we chuckle.

But as any one of the smooth ad-vertising executives from the showwould tell you, dont underestimate thepower of a well-crafted sales pitch.

Today, one of the most troublingand fastest growing threats to our chil-drens health is their diet. Pediatricianshave seen an astounding jump for theirpatients in dangerous, diet-related ail-ments, such as cardiovascular disease,Type 2 diabetes and asthma.

The best-documented cause is thencreased consumption of fast food.ts a trend propelled in large part byophisticated and pervasive advertising

aimed at children too young to under-tand the difference between marketing

and facts. Don Draper would be proud.The American Academy of Pediat-

ics believes that advertising directedoward children is inherently deceptiveand exploits children under 8 years ofage. This past June, a study publishedn the journalPediatrics reported thatchildren significantly preferred theaste of food when it was packagedwith cartoon characters, and that effectwas magnified for calorie-dense, nutri-ent-poor foods.

Food and beverage corporationscertainly know that advertising works.

Thats why these corporations spendmore than a half billion dollars eachyear on advertisements for fast foodand toy giveaways targeting teens andchildren. Despite the attention paid tohe childhood epidemic of diet-relateddisease, they arent slowing down theirmarketing.

In November, Yale University re-earchers found that preschoolers were

exposed to 21 percent more fast foodadvertisements in 2009 than in 2003.The study from the Rudd Center forFood Policy & Obesity also concludedhat large fast food chains only offer

parents healthy alternatives for theirchildren 15 percent of the time. Expertsconsider it the most comprehensivetudy of fast food nutrition and market-

ing ever conducted.Five years before the Yale Rudd

Study, the Institute of Medicine, partof the National Academies, concludedthat television ads sponsored by foodand beverage corporations succeedin getting children to consume largeamounts of unhealthy food, leading toa dramatic increase in childhood obe-sity and diabetes.

The institute recommended thatCongress should step in if the food and beverage industry doesnt change itsways. Advertising Age said the reportcould be a watershed on the scale ofthe 1964 surgeon generals report ontobacco.

It certainly feels like societal at-titudes have made a clear shift fromviewing the marketing of junk food tokids as an accepted practice to some-thing to be shunned, or even resisted.

By adopting voluntary codes toreduce it, the industry tacitly acknowl-edges that marketing junk food to kidsis wrong. But these steps have provedless than half-hearted and, predictably,ineffective.

For our part, my organizationlaunched a campaign in March to con-vince McDonalds to retire RonaldMcDonald, its iconic advertising char-acter, and the suite of predatory mar-keting practices of which the clown isat the heart. A study we commissionedby Lake Research Partners found thatmore than half of those polled say theyfavor stopping corporations from us-ing cartoons and other childrens char-acters to sell harmful products to chil-dren.

Local elected officials are joiningthe cause, too. Los Angeles recentlyvoted to make permanent a ban on theconstruction of new fast food restau-rants in parts of the city. San Franciscohas limited toy giveaway promotions tochildrens meals that meet basic healthcriteria. The idea is spreading to othercities.

Elected leaders will find growingsupport for taking action. People nowrealize that protecting our childrenfrom diet-related disease requires pro-tecting them from junk food advertis-ing. Theres nothing mad about that.

Kelle Louaillier is executive direc-tor of Corporate Accountability Inter-national. www.stopcorporateabuse.org

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ASectionPage6A THECHAMPION,THURSDAY,JANUARY14,2011

America the exceptional

by Donald Kaul

Columnist

Surely the greatest country on earth would have the

leading educational system in the world, but we don't

Printed on 100% post-

consumer recycled paper

The following comments are pulled straight from our Web site andare not edited for content or grammar.

Ex-ear ge $35K r ewer campag

How much is the county already paying its communica-

tions staff? Why this make work position?

Korpov posted this on 1/7/11 at 8:48 p.m.

Burrell Ellis can call this message regarding sewersanything he wants, but the simple matter of fact, is this isnothing more than HUSH money for Steen Miles. Steenhas been broadcasting all over the county about themismanaging of the sewer system and Ellis finally founda way to shut her up.......$35000 worth !!! Afterall, it isnthis money, its the taxpayers. What does Ellis care aboutspending tax dollars. Basically,he is not any different from the rest of the bunch.

All the BOC know how to do is spend, spend and spendsome more. Even if the county doesnt have a pot to _ _

_ _ in, they will spend tax money. It doesnt take a rocketscienetist to figure this out. The beat goes on.

gracie posted this on 1/7/11 at 10:41 a.m.

Dwdy file $7 mll law agaDeKalb r park

The issue is that these bond monies were already col-lected by the county with the specific purpose of renovat-ing the park, but the renovations have not been performedby the county. Likely, the county took the money and optedto use it for something else, which would, frankly, be fraud

on their part. As stated in the article, the law on this subjectis very clear. The onus is on the county to show where themoney is since theyve already collected it.

Chester Payne posted this on 1/7/11 at 4 p.m.

Arabia Park ? That is the park that The DeKalb Boardof Commissioners and our past CEOs have built for theCitizens of Rockdale Counties and Henry Counties ?

DeKalbs Elderly and Handicapped have little to dothere ! Those on Public Transportation = How do they getthere ?

And Dunwoody they got the Park Lands for 100-200$an Acre / A Steal / and now Im gonna get sued ! Just Fan-tastic !

JerryMyer Jackson Jr. posted this on 1/7/11 at 12:57 p.m.

We are the greatest

country on earth. If youdont believe it, just askus.

American exception-alismthe declarationof which produces thatwarm feeling of knowingheres nobody as good as

you areis a growth indus-ry these days, particularlyn the right wings work-

shops.Hardly a day goes by

without a conservativepolitician telling us howerrific we are and how

anybody who disagreesshould be deported.

The reorientationaway from a celebration ofAmerican exceptionalisms misguided and bank-

rupt, writes presidentialhopeful Mitt Romney inhis new book,No Apol-ogy: The Case for Ameri-can Greatness.

Not to be outdone,another candidate, MikeHuckabee, told an inter-viewer: To deny Ameri-can exceptionalism is todeny the heart and soul of

his nation.Rick Santorum,

Newt Gingrich and MikePence (youre not goingo believe this, but hes

a Republican presiden-ial hopeful too) have all

spoken out on the issue;Sarah Palin devoted awhole chapter in her booknot a picture book, either)

on America the Excep-ional.

OK. Im as willing togo along with a joke as thenext guy. Before I accept

a claim of greatness, how-ever, Id like to see a littleproof. How are we thegreatest country on earth?

Education? Surely thegreatest country on earthwould have the leadingeducational system in theworld.

We dont.

The Organization forEconomic Cooperationand Development recentlypublished the results ofachievement tests given to15-year-olds in 65 coun-tries of the world.

Our kids came in 25thin math, 17th in science,and (heres the good news)14th in reading.

Add to that weveslipped to 12th in theindustrialized world inpercentage of collegegraduates. When mosthigh school seniors canttell which came first, theMexican War or the Span-ish-American war, or findRussia on a map of theworld, its Mission Con-trol, we have a problem.

So maybe were notso hot in education. Theleaders in that categoryare South Korea, Finland,

and Singapore, along withsome regions of China.But were still the great-est military power in theworld. We have a greatArmy, a terrific Navy, anincredible Air Force anda Marine Corps to die for.We spend as much on ourmilitary as the rest of theworld put together.

But I would point outthat we keep having trou-ble winning wars againstopponents that have nonavy, no air force and notanks. They hide in caves

and in trees and they makebombs in their kitchensto blow up our troops. Sowhat good is our militarymight if it cant bring vic-tory in the wars we fight?

What about other cat-egories?

Health? Nearly a third

of the country is obese.

Fifty million people donthave health insurance, andthey wont be getting anyif the Republicans get theirway about repealing ourlandmark health reformbill. And we have one ofthe highest infant mortal-ity rates in the civilizedworld. Not great.

Transportation? Yourejoking, right? I once triedto take a train from De-troit to Washington D.C.and they told me Id haveto transfer to a bus inPittsburgh. It takes threehours to get on a plane,and thats if they dontmake you take off all yourclothes. No greatnessthere.

Oh, I know, our politi-cal system. As Newt Gin-grich put it:

American exception-alism refers directly to thegrant of rights assertedin the Declaration of In-dependence [It stemsfrom] our assertion of anunprecedented set of rightsgranted by God.

Except when it cametime to write the Constitu-tion, God seemed to forgetabout Blacks and women.Neither were granted fullcitizenship, or in the caseof Blacks, fully humanstatus. Good maybe; notgreat.

Im an American bybirth and I like being anAmerican. I couldntimagine living anywhereelse.

But so far as excep-tionalism goes, I think

its a close cousin to Dr.Samuel Johnsons de-scription of patriotismthe last refuge of a scoun-drel.

OtherWords columnistDonald Kaul lives in AnnArbor, Michigan. www.otherwords.org

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Re Lmm-GreeChampion of the Week

If you would like to nominatesomeone to be considered as afuture Champion of the Week,

please contactKathy Mitchellat [email protected] or

at 404-373-7779, ext. 104.

Doraville mayor may lose powerby Andrew [email protected]

While Doraville mayorRay Jenkins was in a hos-pital recovering from a bout

with pneumonia, the citycouncil was considering amove to limit his powers.

Citing the need for com-petent management, councilmemberBob Roche calledfor an immediate vote lastMonday on hiring a city man-ager.

Citizens want somethingdifferent, Roche said.

Nearly a year ago, thecouncil agreed to ask the state legislature toallow residents to decide in a referendumfor a city manager form of government. ButRoche said the city cannot wait for the pos-ible July vote.

A city administrator would be respon-ible for the daily operations, management

and budget of Doravilles government. Thisposition would have the authority to su-pervise, hire and re employees and wouldeport to the council.

Roche said the ideal candidate wouldhave a masters degree in public administra-ion and 10 years experience as a city man-

ager, assistant city manager or city man-agement consultant. The salary would be

a maximum of $120,000, whichis about $10,000 higher than thatpaid in other comparable cities inthe area.

If that person is capable ofproviding a balanced budget, that

would save us $2 million a year,which to me sounds like a goodinvestment, Roche said.

Doraville city attorney Mur-ray Weed told the council thatthe citys charter allowed for thehiring of a city manager who isdelegated any of the budgetaryand administrative duties of themayor.

According to the currentcharter, although the council can

create the city manager position, it is themayor who selects and hires the person. Thecouncil also has the authority to re the per-son and fund the position, Weed said.

But some council members said theywere concerned about hiring a city managerwho could essentially be a temporary em-ployee if voters decided not to change theform of government.

A native of Doraville, Jenkins waselected to the city council in 1974. He waselected mayor in 2003 and re-elected in2007. His term ends this year.

Luke Howe, the mayors assistant, saidJenkins is expected to be released from thehospital this week.

Everybody is busy,observed Re Lm-

m-Gree. You canttaketime to volunteer.You have to maketimeto volunteer. Thatsexactly what she dideven when she wasworking full-time as ateacher and caring fora family at home.

I worked with everyextracurricular activ-ity at school you couldthink of from the seniorclass project, to bandto student government.I worked with more

than 30 different proj-ects, she recalled.After a day of teach-

ing she often devotedher evening hours toteaching language artsclasses to juvenilesincarcerated at theDeKalb County juve-nile facility. I workedwith young people whohad been through drugcourt and were takingevening classes asan alternative to bootcamp, said Lummus-Green, who said she is

very concerned about

the futures of the com-munitys young people.

Now retired, Lum-mus-Green is busierthan ever because, shesaid, the need is great-er than ever. Peoplewho are homelesstoday arent just thepeople you might ex-pect to nd homeless.There are people whohave jobs and childrenwho are living in cars.Churches arent ableto help as much asthey used to because

theyre struggling, too.Lummus-Greenoften helps peopledirectly rather than go-ing through agencies.Some people justwont go to charitiesfor help. I dont knowwhether its pride orthey just dont knowhow to go about it,she said. You canthelp everybody, butwe all have to do whatwe can. She saysthat she prays to Godfor a discerning heartso that her help goesto those who are trulyin need. She works toprovide food and othernecessities to those inneed, especially elderlypeople whom she oftendrives to the grocerystore or to medical ap-pointments.

She is compas-sionate and puts theneeds of everyoneelse before her own,said Barbara Lee, whonominated Lummus-

Green.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGFor February 10, 2010

In accordance with Section 206, Chapter 94 of the Zoning Ordinance of the Cityof Chamblee, Georgia, the Mayor and City Council of the City of Chamblee,Georgia will hold a public hearing regarding Chapter 94, Zoning, Section 902,Sidewalks, requesting a variance to not require sidewalks with landscape zonealong Irvindale Rd at 111 Ingersoll Rand Drive. The hearing will be held onFebruary 10, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. to receive citizen input on the proposedamendment. The public hearing will be held at the Chamblee Civic Center, 3540Broad Street, Chamblee, GA 30341

Jenkins

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Parent takes local issues to heartInfrastructure, education top issues for new District 81 state rep.

Copies of the proposed bus service modifica-tions will also be available at MARTAs Office ofExternal Affairs, 2424 Piedmont Road, N.E. Atlanta,Georgia 30324 during regular business hours, Mon-Fri 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

For formats (FREE of charge) in accordancewith the ADA and Limited English Proficiency regula-tions contact (404) 848-4037. For those patronsrequiring further accommodations, information canbe obtained by calling the Telephone Device for theDeaf (TDD) at 404 848-5665.

In addition, a sign language interpreter will be

available at all hearings. If you cannot attend thehearings and want to provide comments you may:

(1) leave a message at (404) 848-5299; (2) writeto MARTAs Office of External Affairs, 2424 PiedmontRoad, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30324-3330; (3) completean online Comment Card at www.itsmarta.com; (4)or fax your comments no later than January 31,2011 to (404) 848-4179.

All citizens of the City of Atlanta and the coun-ties of Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton and Gwinnett whoseinterests are affected by the subjects to be consideredat these hearings are hereby notified and invited toappear at said times and places and present such evi-dence, comment or objection as their interests

require.

Beverly A. Scott, Ph.D. General Manager/CEO

METROPOLITAN ATLANTA RAPID TRANSIT AUTHORITY

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS JANUARY 24, 2011

Notice is hereby given that the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid TransitAuthority (MARTA) will hold public hearings for the purpose of considering

Proposed Bus Service Modifications for April 23, 2011

Monday, January 24 at either location:

Route 42 Pryor Road/McDanielStreet: Alternate weekday trips until 7:00pm to restore service along Amal Drive,Bond Drive and Ashwood Avenue.

Route 56 Adamsville/CollierHeights: Alternate trips to restore week-

day peak hour service to Waits Drive, AlexDrive, Alex Way and Tarragon Way.

Route 120 East Ponce de LeonAvenue/Tucker: Modify route to operatefrom Avondale Station via E. Ponce de LeonAvenue to Tucker.

Route 121 Stone Mountain/Memorial Drive: Modify service to reflectall trips operating via North Hairston Road,E. Ponce de Leon Avenue, Main Street, W.Mountain Street and Memorial Drive termi-nating at Goldsmith Park & Ride Lot.Service along Memorial Drive between

North Hairston Road and Goldsmith Park &Ride Lot will continue to be provided by theRoute 119.

Route 125 Clarkston/Northlake:Reroute from Kensington Station toAvondale Station along North Decatur Road

and Winn Way to relieve congestion andimprove bus movement in and aroundKensington Station. Service would nolonger be provided along Northern Avenuebetween North Decatur Road andRockbridge Road.

Route 126 Northlake/Chamblee:Provide more service along the Chamblee

Tucker Road to Henderson Mill Roadsegment and reduce the frequency of serv-ice along the Flowers Road South andMercer University segments from alternat-ing trips to selective trips only to reflectcurrent service demand on weekdays only.

Proposed routing and or adjustments for the following bus routes:

2424 Piedmont Road NE, Atlanta, 30324

MARTA HEADQUARTERS7:00 P.M.

Community Exchange from 6-7 pmRiding MARTA:

Across street from Lindbergh Center Station.

215 Sycamore Street, Decatur, 30030

DECATUR LIBRARY6:00 P.M.

Community Exchange from 5-6 pm

Riding MARTA: 1 block east of Decatur Station.

by Robert [email protected]

A keen interest in publicpolicy motivated Elena Par-ent to attend law school, andhat same passion pushed

her to run in last years elec-ion for the Georgia House

District 81 seat then oc-cupied by Republican JillChambers.

Parent, a graduate ofhe University of Virginia

School of Law, defeated

Chambers in Novemberand was sworn in last week.Parent defeated Chambers3,342 votes to 3,056.

After graduating lawschool, Parent moved toAtlanta and spent six yearswith the law rm Souther-and, Asbill and Brennan.

But it was her time as chiefof staff for former Demo-cratic state SenatorDavidAdelman (now the UnitedStates ambassador to Sin-gapore) that cemented hernterest in political ofce.

I spoke with [Adelman]about my interest in policywork and he suggested Iwork with him in his cam-paign, Parent said. Hewas my political mentor. Heencouraged me to run, andworking with him gave me achance to see rsthand whatId be doing.

Her run for the District81 seat was Parents rstforay into politics.

The victory over Cham-bers was a signicant onefor the Democratic Party.Parent was the only Demo-

crat on the state level inGeorgia to unseat a Repub-ican and one of fewer than

10 to accomplish the featnationwide, according toEric Gray, communicationsdirector for the DemocraticParty of Georgia.

Shes extremely quali-ed, young, energetic andvery smart, Gray said. Ihink thats just the kind of

person the party needs.District 81 covers the

northern half of DeKalbCounty and includes Cham-

blee, Doraville, Brookhavenand parts of Dunwoody,said Parent a resident ofBrookhaven. Parent, herhusband Briley Brisandine

and their 10-month-old sonBrooks live in the AshfordPark community.

Education and infrastruc-ture are two issues that Par-ent said she feels stronglyabout.

There is a lot of locallegislation that interestsme, Parent said. Wellbe looking at shifting thesize of the DeKalb CountySchool Board. I think thereare benets to shrinking it.Gwinnett County has ve[board members] and theyseem to be doing well.

Gwinnett is the largestschool district in the statewhile DeKalb County, withnine board members, is thethird-largest system in thestate.

Parent said she also isinterested in seeing the re-development of the propertythat formerly was the site ofthe General Motors plant inDoraville. Parent sees thesite as having great potential

beyond a typical mixed-usedevelopment.I dont know if it will

sustain itself for a long timewith housing and commer-

cial businesses, she said.Its a great location forbiotech and bioscience com-panies. Its close to the CDC(the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention),Emory and the Universityof Georgia. Its a fantasticlocation. The state has puta lot of effort into pushingbiotech and bioscience in theeconomic platform.

Infrastructure in DeKalbCounty as well as the stateis another issue that Par-ent sees as critical over thenext few years. DeKalbCounty is feeling the pinchof an antiquated water andsewer system as the countyrecently agreed to pay a$453,000 penalty from thefederal Environmental Pro-tection Agency after havingnearly 850 sewage spillssince 2006. The county alsoconsented to implement a$600,000 stream cleanupproject.

Additionally, the countys

Board of Commissionersapproved $1.345 billion inimprovements to DeKalbswater and sewer system,which will be nanced by

an 11-percent rate hike eachyear for three years begin-ning in 2012.

Infrastructure has beenneglected and I dont thinkthe state has put enoughemphasis on it, Parentsaid. Its been the main im-pediment for attracting newbusiness.

Fixing the present prob-lems is the only way to startimproving the infrastruc-ture, Parent said.

I have a little bit ofreticence to tackle aginginfrastructure issues if wedont make improvements,she said. Were not go-ing to be able to reboundand it doesnt set the stagefor attracting business andimproving the quality oflife. Its an issue all over thestate. We have to do it in asmart way and provide thefunding in a smart way.

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Legislation will address allegedovermedication of foster care children

GEORGIAPOWER.COM

A hand like this.

It took a skillful hand like this to draft the plans of our nations capital city.

It was a visionary hand like this which pointed out the moral superiority

of a way based on character and not color. It was a thorough, good hand

like this that championed our rights before the U.S. Supreme Court. It took

millions of laboring hands like this to build the wealth and infrastructure

of this mighty country. And it was a raised hand like this that was sworn

in and gave kids of all complexions and cultures the legitimacy to believe

they can achieve anything.

In honor of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, Georgia Power takes pride

in celebrating the countless hands like this which have worked to uplift us

all. Weve got to hand it to you.

by Nigel Roberts

Too many children inGeorgias foster care sys-em are overmedicated, ac-

cording to advocates whoare calling for changes.Now that the 2011 legisla-ive session is under way,awmakers will consider a

measure that Rep. MaryMargaret Oliver (D Decatur) pre-filed in No-vember that would createndependent oversight ofhe system.

Oliver said House Bill23 would require DFCS to

implement rules creatinga process for independentmedical review of mentalhealth treatment programsfor foster care children.Despite improvements inhe states child welfareystem over the past de-

cade, there are still spe-cific, complex problemshat must be addressed and

not merely endured, sheadded.

About half the teenag-ers in the states fostercare system are on psycho-

ropic drugs (such as anti-depressants) and a thirdare taking anti-psychotics,tated Melissa Carter,

executive director of theBarton Child Law andPolicy Center at EmoryUniversity, who supportshe legislation.

Children in custodybecause of behavior man-agement issues are reallyoverprescribed a lot ofmedication, Carter saidn an interview posted onhe law schools Web site.

So it costs the state a lot

of money in Medicaid bill-ngs and of course its nothe right quality of care

for the children who are intate custody.

The legislation definespsychotropic medicationas drugs intended to af-fect or alter thought pro-cesses, mood or behavior.t includes antipsychotic,

antidepressant and anx-olytic (anxiety) drugs,hough not limited to those

categories.It would require the

Department of HumanServices to hire an inde-pendent clinic to reviewemiannually each childs

medication and psycho-

logical treatment. The re-

view team would includea child psychiatrist butprohibits the inclusion ofanyone involved in theprescribing of medicationsunder review or otherwiseinvolved in the childsmental health treatment.

In addition to providing

oversight, the legislation

also aims to manage thestates high health careexpenses by ensuring thatchildren under the statescare are not taking unnec-essary medications.

Olivers legislation ad-dresses one of the recom-mendations from the Cold

Case Project report that

calls for independent re-view of the states mentalhealth treatment of fostercare children. The stateSupreme Courts Commit-tee on Justice for Childrensponsored the projectand hired attorneys and aspecialized research firm

see Medca Page 10A

Melissa Carter, executive direc-tor of the Barton Child Law andPolicy Center. Photo provided

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PUBLIC NOTICE

City of Doraville 2011 Municipal ElectionNotice is hereby given that in accordance with O.C.G.A. 21-2-132 (a) (1), the qualifying fees are set for the

City of Doraville as follows:Councilmember District 1 $ 432.00Councilmember District 2 $ 432.00Councilmember District 3 $ 432.00Mayor $2,100.00

Qualifying for the offices listed above will begin on August 29, 2011 and end on September 2, 2011. Hours

of qualifying are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.The Municipal Election will be held on November 8 th, 2011.

Homeless family gives back to Decatur

Printed on 100%post-consumerrecycled paper

o review more than 200cases, according to Oliver.

The review uncoveredcases that detailed tragicconsequences of over-medicating children withpsychotropic drugs, theawmaker said in an ar-icle she published. Oliver

pointed to cases involv-ng 12-year-old children

prescribed more than fourpsychotropic drugs at the

same time.Research is clear that

over medication can resultin negative symptoms,can be used for disciplineor control issues, and isparticularly a problemfor children in foster carewhere there is no lovingfamily member who advo-cates for, or is connectedto, the child and to his orher future, Oliver stated.

Medication Continued From Page 9A

Decaturs Park Renewal

Day was a huge success,with a large swath of Dear-born Park reclaimed frommasses of privet and Eng-ish ivy.

There was a good na-ured crowd of the usual

volunteers, including theDecatur Rotary Club, Bull-dog Boosters and some en-ergetic high school clubs.But heads down on Plot 2,pulling ivy with a passion,Geneiva Dyes and herwo boys really stood out

as examples of volunteer

ervice and communitypride. They are staying inHagars House, a shelterun by Decatur Coopera-ive Ministry, while Dyesooks for work in the area.

We really appreci-ate the way Decatur hasopened its doors for us,and wanted to give some-hing back. We dont have

money, but we can workas hard as anybody, Dyesaid.

John Post, fellow vol-unteer team member con-curred, They were attack-

ng that thick ivy like theywere ghting an enemyarmyand smiling thewhole time.

Dyes team, the Deca-ur First United Methodist

Church PIGS (People InGloves), earned 149 out ofa possible 150 points from

Homeless, but far from helpless, new Decatur family digs in to make a difference

the landscaping judges,which came with a $300check from sponsor Re-newal Design Build. ThePIGS gave the check to theDyes family to help them

during her job search. Wedid not expect to walkaway with anything morethan mud on our shoes, butwe are so grateful to ourteam and Decatur for thisblessing, Dyes said.

Six months ago, theDyes family moved from

New York City to the At-lanta area, where GeneivaDyes found work with acleaning service. WhenMARTA was forced tocut bus routes recently,

the cleaning service couldno longer reach many ofits clients, and had to layoff several employees, in-cluding Dyes. Her moneyran out fast, and she andthe boys were forced out

of their house and ontothe street. With no foodor shelter, Dyes came toDecatur Emergency As-sistance Ministry (DEAM)for help feeding her family

and nding a safe place tosleep. Thanks to HagarsHouse, a shelter run byDecatur Cooperative Min-istries, the family now hasa safe place to live whileDyes looks for work in the

area.The Dyes family wasted

no time plugging into thecommunity. My boyslove their new schools inDecatur. Its a big changebecause the teachers reallyseem to care about them,and are pushing them to dotheir best. Its more work,but they already have acouple of As, Dyes re-ported. After school, theboys play ball at DecaturRecreation Center anddo their homework at thelibrary. Dyes joined the

choir at Decatur First Bap-tist Church, and soon afterbegan rehearsals to sing atChristmas services.

Everyone has beenwonderful. The folks atDecatur First United Meth-odist helped get us off thestreets, and we wanted tobe on their team at Dear-born Park. Decatur is ourhome now, and I just needto nd a job soon to beable to stay. With an as-sociate degree in account-ing from SUNY and ofceand retail experience, Dyeshas solid skills, but saidshe would be happy to ndany type work to be able tostay in the Decatur area.

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Raw sewage spillsinto local creeks

Save up to 25% on your 2011

Property Taxes by filingyour return before

March 1, 2011

An online return is available

at

www.etax.dor.ga.gov

Simply search for form

PT-50R

You will have a SECOND CHANCEThe DeKalb County Tax Assessor will mail appraisals to all

property owners in April-May, 2011. After receiving appraisals,

appeals can be filed at the tax assessors office.

Tax returns or forms can be picked up at or mailed to:

DeKalb County Tax Assessor

120 W. Trinity Place #209

Decatur, GA 30030AVOID THE RUSH---FILE NOW!

Placed by Ray Johnson 404-520-4043

by Andrew [email protected]

During the rst three days of theyear, DeKalb County workers had todeal with four sewer problems thatcaused more than 10,000 gallons ofraw sewage to spill into local creeks.

On New Years Day,approximately 3,060 gallons ofsewage spilled into Ball MillCreek due to grease clogging thesystem, according to reports by thecountys department of watershedmanagement.

The other three spills occurredJan. 3. Grease was the cause ofa 2,400-gallon spill, reported onMemorial Drive near AvondaleEstates, which sent sewage intoIndian Creek.

In Dunwoody, sewage leaked intoNorth Fork Peachtree Creek at a rateof 10 gallons per minute for abouthree hours. According to the records,

an overowing manhole on privateproperty was the culprit.

Grease in a manhole on Byrnwick

Road sent 3,150 gallons of sewageinto Nancy Creek. Workers said theyhad to use rods to dislodge the grease.

Last month, DeKalb Countyagreed to pay a $453,000 penaltyfrom the federal EnvironmentalProtection Agency after having nearly850 sewage spills since 2006. Thecounty also consented to implement a$600,000 stream cleanup project.

Additionally, the countys Boardof Commissioners approved $1.345billion in improvements to DeKalbswater and sewer system, which willbe nanced by an 11-percent rate hikeeach year for three years beginning in2012.

After last months vote,CommissionerLee May said he hadrsthand knowledge of the problemswith sewage spills. The sewer systemin his neighborhood clogged up andthe only place it was coming out wasthrough his toilet.

My back yard is full of sewageright nowfrozen sewage, May saidat the time.

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Has DeKalbTechbeen a part ofyour life?

We want to reconnect with you

through our newly launched

DTC Alumni Association website!

DEKALB TECH ALUMNI

(Degree, Diploma or TCC)

Please Register at

dekalbtech.edu/alumni404-297-9522 x1139

County action needed to survive recession, CEO saysby Andrew [email protected]

DeKalb County is beingchallenged by dwindling rev-enue sources, cost increasesfor providing basic services,and the need to raise taxesor reduce services. Thesescal trials are a microcosmof problems being faced byfederal, state and local gov-ernments across the country,said DeKalbs CEO BurrellEllis during his State of theCounty address Jan. 6.

We still struggle to ndour footing in the wake of agreat recession, Ellis toldhe audience in the overow-ng Maloof Auditorium in

Decatur.This great county will

continue to endure as it hasendured, will revive, andwill prosper, Ellis said.

Evoking the memory ofU. S. President Franklin D.Roosevelts struggle to leadhe nation during the Great

Depression, Ellis said hewas committed to boldly and

frankly speaking the truthabout DeKalbs state.Because DeKalb is large-

y residential, it has been hithard by the collapse of thehousing market and the sub-sequent erosion of tax rev-enue. The countys tax base

has also been negativelyaffected by the incorpora-tion of Dunwoody and theannexation of commercialproperty, Ellis said. Thesefactors have cost the county$86 million in lost revenueduring the past two years.

The county currently has$9 million in reserves, whichis like living paycheck topaycheck, Ellis said. As aresult, DeKalbs credit ratingwas recently downgraded.

Ellis said that while hisproposed 2011 budget con-

tains a 2.32-mill tax increase,it is lean, responsible, and isa budget of shared sacrices.

We can act now know-ing that the choices to bemade, while difcult are nec-essary, and that our provenactions are the best course ofprotection for both ourselvesand for those generations ofDeKalb countians who willinherit what we leave be-hind, Ellis said.

One difcult choice thathas already been made wasto increase the water and

sewer rates to pay for the$1.345 billion in upgrades tothe system which has manycomponents that are morethan 50 years old, Ellis said.

Im more than 50 yearsold. I know what that feelslike, Ellis said.

The project to upgradethe water and sewer systemhas a silver lining: it will cre-ate 1,300 local jobs with aneconomic impact of $5 bil-lion, Ellis said.

Ellis said the project isDeKalbs economic stimulusplan with roots dating backto President Rooseveltsimplementation of the NewDeal, a Depression-era gov-ernment program that putmany unemployed Ameri-cans to work building infra-structure projects.

CommissionerJeff Rad-er said Ellis address wasless about accomplishmentsthan in previous years. Ellisspent much of the time talk-ing about the budget and thechallenges of maintainingthe status quo.

I didnt hear any bignew initiatives, Rader said.The success of Ellis ad-ministration is still a work inprogress.

Ellis message did notgloss over the problems thecounty is facing, Commis-

sionerKathie Gannon said.Given the dire straits ofthe economy, it was a well-balanced report, Gannonsaid.

Ph by Adrew Cahe

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Decar eghbr help eghbr hrgh MLK Weeked prjec

Send your comments and/or concerns regarding Comcasts current performance underthe current franchise agreement and/or the future cable-related needs and interests ofyour community to [email protected].

DeKalb County Wants to Hear From You

Regarding the Proposed Franchise Agreement Renewalwith Comcast Cable Communications

by Kathy [email protected]

James Matthews, projectchairman of the MLK Ser-vice Day project in Decatur,compares the work done

hrough the annual effort tohe barn raisings at which

Americans in an earlier timeall gathered for a day to helpheir neighbors build a barn.

This is not charityitsneighbors helping neigh-bors, he said. Most of thepeople whose homes wework on have lived in Deca-ur 40 years or more. Some

of the homes have beenowned by the same familiesover several generations.They are the glue that haskept this wonderful Decatur

community together. I see itas our way of saying thankyou.

Now in its ninth year,he project brings together

a number of local organiza-ions such as Leadership

DeKalb and local Scoutroops as well as individual

volunteers. Last year, thenumber of volunteers peakedat more than 1,200. Withouthelp from volunteer organi-zations and the city of Deca-ur, we wouldnt be able to

do it, said Susan Cobleigh,executive director of the De-

catur Preservation Alliance,he organization that spear-

heads the project.Working Saturday

hrough Monday in half-dayhifts the volunteers use the

Solarium in Oakhurst as theheadquarters from whichhey receive assignments.

The Solarium also is the siteof a celebration cookout forall volunteers after the workwraps up at 5 p.m. on Mon-day.

While volunteers are notequired to have specific

kills, those who are profi-cient at carpentry, home re-pair, painting, plumbing, gar-dening and other such skillsare encouraged to make theiralents known.

Its grown steadily overhe years, Cobleigh said.

She added that its now al-most a year-round projectince work on the 2012

MLK Service Day projectwill start in March. The pro-cess, she said, involves pub-icizing the project to hom-

eowners, accepting applica-ions and making community

and technical assessments.We have to be sure that

he applicant is the home-owner and that he or she fallswithin our guidelines, said

Cobleigh, who explainedthat the services are for olderlow-income homeowners.Then we must do a techni-cal assessmentvisiting thehome to see what needs tobe done. We make a realistic

assessment of what we cando. Some projects are justtoo big or require expertisewe dont have. We only havethat weekend to nish theprojects and most of the vol-unteers are unskilled.

The home improvementsare done for the safety andcomfort of the homeowner,and are never for cosmeticreasons, she said, noting that

improvements for energyefciency are common. Co-bleigh said that most of thework is done in Oakhurst be-cause thats where the great-est need is. Many people inthat area live on Social Secu-

rity alone. Its hard enoughfor them to pay propertytaxes, let alone make homerepairs.

In addition to unskilledvolunteers, a number of localcontractors pitch in to help.Among those who have beenpart of the project for years isMichelle Bray of Bray Elec-trical, who along with someof her employees works on

houses during the entire longweekend.

Homes built before the1950s rarely had insulation,Bray explained. The at-tic wiring was what we callknob-n-tubing wiring. Its

not designed to be covered,so you cant safely put in-sulation over it. We have torewire the attics before theycan be insulated. Thats thebulk of the work Bray andher staff perform thoughthere are other small projectsas well.

Bray said that donatingthe services is a way of pay-ing it forward. We love

the city of Decatur. Thereare such good people here.The volunteers are great towork with; the homeownersare really appreciative. I geta charge out of helping, shesaid.

The 2011 MLK ServiceDay project will be Jan. 15-17. For more information orto volunteer contact Lee AnnHarvey of Volunteer! Deca-tur. She can be reached byphone at (678) 553-6548 orby e-mail: [email protected]. The websiteis www.decaturga.com

Full

1/19

New

2/2

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

snow showers today through Saturday, with the highest temperature of

40 in Metropolis, Ill. The Southeast will see mostly clear skies today

through Saturday, with the highest temperature of 68 in Miami, Fla. The Northwest

will see scattered rain and snow today through Saturday, with the highest temperature

of 57 in Coos Bay, Ore. The Southwest will see mostly clear skies today through

Saturday, with the highest temperature of 76 in Riverside, Calif.

THURSDAYSunny

High: 35 Low: 17

Last

1/26

The Champion Weather Jan. 13, 2011Seven Day Forecast

Local UV Index

WEDNESDAY

Partly CloudyHigh: 54 Low: 32

TUESDAYMostly Cloudy

High: 55 Low: 38

MONDAY

Few Showers

High: 54 Low: 35

SUNDAYPartly Cloudy

High: 50 Low: 35

SATURDAY

Mostly Sunny

High: 49 Low: 31

FRIDAYSunny

High: 41 Low: 23

In-Depth Local Forecast Today's Regional Map

Sunrise

7:42 a.m.

7:42 a.m.

7:42 a.m.

7:41 a.m.

7:41 a.m.7:41 a.m.

7:40 a.m.

Sunset

5:50 p.m.

5:51 p.m.

5:52 p.m.

5:53 p.m.

5:54 p.m.5:55 p.m.

5:56 p.m.

Moonset

1:44 a.m.

2:42 a.m.

3:41 a.m.

4:41 a.m.

5:38 a.m.6:31 a.m.

7:19 a.m.

Moonrise

12:29 p.m.

1:07 p.m.

1:52 p.m.

2:45 p.m.

3:45 p.m.4:51 p.m.

6:01 p.m.

First

2/11

2010. Accessweather.com, Inc.

Weather History

Jan. 13, 1888 - The mercury

plunged to 65 degrees below

zero at Fort Keough, located

near Miles City, Mont. The

reading stood as a record for

the entire continental United

States for 66 years.

Weather Trivia

Tonight's Planets

What is brontophobia?

Answer: It is the fear of thunder.

?

Day

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

MondayTuesday

Wednesday

National Weather Summary This Week

Local Sun/Moon Chart This Week

StarWatch By Gary Becker - Morning Sky Still Looks Christmassy

Today we will see sunny skies with a h igh

temperature of 35, humidity of 59%.

Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph. The record

high temperature for today is 76 set in

1932. Expect mostly clear skies tonight

with an overnight low of 17.

Jan. 14, 1989 - A winter storm

spread snow and sleet and

freezing rain from the Middle

Mississippi Valley to the north-

eastern U.S. Freezing rain in

West Virginia caused fifteen

traffic accidents in just a few

minutes west of Charleston.

Hooray, the 12 days of Christmas are now officially behind us with the arrival of the Wise Men in Jerusalem to visit the Christ Child. Epiphany occurred last Thursday. Alright,

its not that I really hate Christmas. I just dislike the 75 days of nonstop commercialism that lead up this one celebratory moment which is really about love and hope. However

throughout this past Holiday Season, there was one very Christmassy aspect to the sky which I saw every clear morning when I padded outside into the frigid air to grab the

morning paper. It was that huge, brilliant, slowly twinkling, white star suspended low in the southeast. It was also the most frequently asked question that I have received about

the sky during the past several months. Its still unmistakably there in the dawn and predawn sky, if you care to look and brave the cold, and it is Venus. Venus orbits the sun in a period of 225

days, but because the Earth does the same in just over 365 days, it makes Venus change its position slowly against the backdrop of the local landscape of your back or front yard. In fact, it takesVenus about 584 days to repeat its same configuration with respect to the sun. This means that Venus will be west of the sun by approximately the same angle during the spring of 2012 and not

a very fitting Star of Bethlehem during the fall and early winter of 2011. But by late 2018, Venus will be making its climb into the late fall and winter sky just like it did during this past year,

another very fitting Star of the Magi. Depending upon when your workday begins, you can catch bright Venus in the ESE starting about 5 a.m. By 7 a.m., Earths rotation has carried her into

the southeast, not quite one third of the distance from the horizon to the zenith. Thats about when I send my wife off to work, waving good-bye to her and giving a nod to gorgeous Venus flick-

ering behind the branches of my neighbors swaying maples. www.astronomy.org

Rise Set

Mercury 6:08 a.m. 4:06 p.m.

Venus 4:13 a.m. 2:39 p.m.

Mars 8:07 a.m. 6:10 p.m.

Jupiter 11:04 a.m.10:59 p.m.

Saturn 12:24 a.m.12:04 p.m.

Uranus 10:59 a.m.10:53 p.m.

3 50 - 2 4 6 8 107 9 11+

UV Index

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

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

11+: Extreme Exposure

Atlanta35/17

Decatur

35/17

Doraville

34/17

Dunwoody

33/16 Lilburn

34/17

Snellville

35/17

Lithonia

36/17

Morrow

36/17

Smyrna

34/17

Hampton

37/18

Union City

36/17

College Park

36/17

*Last Weeks Almanac

Date Hi Lo Normals Precip

Tuesday 55 29 52/34 0.00"

Wednesday 51 31 52/34 0.24"

Thursday 47 36 52/34 0.00"

Friday 56 32 51/33 0.00"

Saturday 45 24 51/33 0.00"

Sunday 34 18 51/33 0.00"

Monday 29 26 51/33 0.00"Rainfall . . . . . . .0.24" Average temp . .36.6

Normal rainfall . .1.08" Average normal 42.4

Departure . . . . .-0.84" Departure . . . . .-5.8

*Data as reported from De Kalb-Peachtree Airport

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THECHAMPION,THURSDAY,JANUARY14,2011PAGE14AHEaltH

CDC dy fid ea bel e p

85 perce aally

Almost six out of sevenU.S. drivers surveyed reporthat they always wear a seat

belt when driving or ridingn a motor vehicle, accord-ng to a recently released

study by the Centers forDisease Control and Pre-vention. Seat belt use has

become the national normn most states, though rates

of self-reported seat belt usevary widely from state tostate, with a high of 94 per-cent (Oregon) and a low of59 percent (North Dakota).

Still, every 14 seconds,an adult in the United Statess treated in an emergency

department for crash-relatednjuries.

A simple step that mostdrivers and passengers inhe United States alreadyakebuckling their seat

beltscuts in half thechance of being seriouslynjured or killed in a crash,

said CDC DirectorThomasR. Frieden. Yet, about one

in seven adults do not weara seat belt on every trip.If everyone in the vehiclebuckled up every time, wecould further reduce one ofthe leading causes of death.

The study was in VitalSigns, a section of CDCsMorbidity and Mortality

Weekly Report (MMWR).The study found that

states with primary seat beltenforcement laws, wherepolice ofcers can pull carsover and issue tickets solelybecause drivers and pas-sengers are unbelted, havehigher rates of seat belt usethan states with secondaryenforcement laws, whichonly allow ofcers to is-sue tickets to drivers whohave been pulled over forviolating another law. Stateswith primary enforcement

laws had an overall seatbelt use rate of 88 percent,whereas states with second-ary enforcement laws hadan overall seat belt use rate

of 79 percent. The nationalaverage for seat belt use is85 percent.

If the secondary lawstates had achieved 88percent belt use in 2008, itwould have resulted in anadditional 7.3 million adultsbuckling up.

Though one in three U.S.adults lived in states withsecondary enforcementlaws in 2008, residents ofthese states accounted for 49percent of the unbelted driv-ers and passengers on U.S.roads. Nineteen states donot have primary enforce-ment seat belt laws.

As seatbelt use in-creases and more statespass primary enforcementlaws, we are seeing crash-related injuries decline,said Linda Degutis, direc-

tor of CDCs Injury Center.This indicates that primaryenforcement laws, pairedwith vigorous enforcementprograms, get more people

to wear seat belts. We knowthat buckling up can make alife-saving difference.

For the study, CDCresearchers analyzed twonational sources: 2009 Na-tional Electronic Injury Sur-veillance System-All InjuryProgram data on non-fatal

injuries treated in emergen-cy departments nationwideand 2008 Behavioral RiskFactor Surveillance Systemdata on self-reported riskbehaviors.

To help increase seat beltuse and protect more peopleon the road, CDC supportsprimary enforcement seatbelt laws that cover alldrivers and passengers ofappropriate age and size, re-gardless of whether they aresitting in the front or backseat of the vehicle.

According to previous re-search by CDC and others,everyone is encouraged totake the following steps: Use a seat belt on every

trip, no matter how short. Encourage everyone in thecar to buckle up, includingthose in the back seat. Make sure children areproperly buckled up in aseat belt, booster seat, orcar seat, whichever is age-and size-appropriate.

Have all children ages 12and under sit in the backseat.

CDC is also releasingPolicy Impact: Seat Belts,one in a series of briefshighlighting key publichealth issues and importantscience-based policy ac-tions that can be taken toaddress them. Through thisnew publication, CDC sup-ports state-based efforts tostrengthen seat belt policiesand prevent crash-related in-juries and deaths. For more

information, visit www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/seatbeltbrief.

Still, 1 in 7 adults do not wear a seat belt on every trip

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Snow and Ice Continued From Page 1A

by Andrew [email protected]

Life as normal came to astop in DeKalb County thisweek as about 4.5 inches ofsnow and ice encased theAtlanta area, shutting downbusinesses and government

offices, halting MARTAbus service and cancellingschools.

On Monday, DeKalbsCEO Burrell Ellis askedesidents to stay home untilhe inclement weather sub-

sided.The roads are treacher-

ous, and we have crewsworking around the clocko keep the roads passable

for emergency traffic, Ellissaid in a statement. Driv-ng at this time should be aast resort.

Road closures plaguedthe county throughout theweek as county workers la-bored in the frigid tempera-tures to cover icy roads with

a salt-and-sand mixture.Interim Fire ChiefEddie

OBrien said the firefight-ers were having difficultyresponding to emergencycalls due to stranded motor-

ists who were blocking theroads.

On its Twitter account,the Dunwoody Police De-partment urged residents tostay off the roads: To driveor not to drive, that is NOTthe question! Please dontget out on roads. Treacher-

ous conditions everywhere.During the first 17 hours

after the snow began, thecountys 911 center dis-patched 919 calls, including748 for the police depart-ment and 171 for the firedepartment. That was 15percent more than usual. By9 a.m. on Tuesday, the cen-ter had received more than5,300 calls.

The weather was thecause of an eight-inch wa-ter main break on the 4100block of Lawrenceville

Highway in Tucker Wednes-day morning, according toBurke Brennan, DeKalbschief communications of-ficer.

Other than the ice, ev-erything is moving smooth-ly, Brennan said.

Power outages were al-most nonexistent in DeKalbCounty. In fact, there were

only about 250 outagesin the entire metropolitanAtlanta area, said Geor-gia Power spokespersonLynn Wallace. Elsewherethroughout the state, about52,000 customers lostpower.

Atlanta was spared,

Wallace said. It could havebeen a lot worse. The icejust didnt have enough timeto accumulate on trees andpower lines.

Mail delivery in DeKalbCounty, which was haltedMonday and Tuesday, start-ed back again on Wednes-day in most areas, accordingto Michael Miles, a spokes-man for the U.S. PostalService.

We are getting thingsback to normal, Miles said.There were no reports of

mail carriers getting intoany accidents, howeversome workers had difficultygetting to work.

Even Stone MountainPark, which boasts of itsSnow Mountain attraction,was closed Wednesday be-cause of the real snow andice.

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THECHAMPION,THURSDAY,JANUARY14,2011PAGE16AEducatioN

Learn more about Jaimes skin cancer story at www.aad.org/PSA

No mother should have to visit

her daughter in a cemetery.

Mothers who allow their daughters to tan are putting

them at a huge risk.

My daughter, Jaime, spent time in the sun andfrequently used tanning beds. I didnt know how

dangerous they were.

One person an hour dies from melanoma.

Jaimes hour was at 1:00 p.m., Friday, March 16, 2007.

I hope no one else has to mark his or her hour.

-Donna Regen

EDuCAtion BRiEfs

GPC names newVP for academicaffairs

Following an extensivenational search, longtimeGeorgia Perimeter Collegeemployee Dr. ClarenceAlan Jackson has beennamed vice president of aca-demic affairs.

Jackson joined GeorgiaPerimeter, then known asDeKalb College, in 1992as an instructor of Englishat the Dunwoody Campus.ackson was promoted to

assistant professor in 1996,associate professor in 2000,and professor in 2005.

Jackson assumed the

ole of dean of humanitiesat Newton Campus on July

, 2004. He served in thisole until assuming the role

of interim vice president ofacademic affairs in May.

I am honored and excit-ed about my new position,and look forward to work-ng with President Anthony

Tricoli and other adminis-rators, staff, faculty and stu-

dents, Jackson said. Thiss a tremendous opportunityo carry on the colleges

mission of affordability, ac-

cessibility and outstandingteaching.

Jackson earned a bach-elors of science degree inEnglish from the Universityof Southern Indiana in 1988,a masters of arts in English

from the University of Day-ton in 1990, and a Ph.D. inEnglish from the Universityof Tennessee in 1999.

He is the author ofBy-ron Herbert Reece and theSouthern Poetry Tradition,and co-editor of three books:Reforming College Com-position,Launching FannyHill: Essays on the Noveland Its Influence, andFaith-fully Yours: The Letters ofByron Herbert Reece.

In his 18 years at thecollege, Jackson has taught

the full complement ofEnglish courses, started atutoring center at the for-mer Rockdale site, servedas non-fiction editor ofTheChattahoochee Review, andserved as Faculty Senatechair. He currently servesas a strategic partner on theColleges Executive Team,an ex-officio member of theQuality Enhancement Plan(QEP) Standing Commit-tee, a member of the Strate-gic Enrollment ManagementTeam, a member of the Col-leges Strategic Planning

Team, and co-chair of theRetention and GraduationCouncil.

DeKalb Tech

presidentelected to COCExecutiveCouncil

DeKalb Technical Col-lege President Dr. RobinHoffman has been electedto serve on the ExecutiveCouncil of the Southern As-sociation of Colleges andSchools Commission onColleges (SACSCOC).

The association is the re-gional body for the accredi-tation of degree-grantinghigher education institutionsin the Southeastern statesand Latin America and in-cludes Alabama, Florida,Georgia, Kentucky, Louisi-ana, Mississippi, North Car-olina, South Carolina, Ten-nessee, Texas and Virginia.The 13-member ExecutiveCouncil is the executive armof the Board of Trustees ofthe Commission on Col-leges.

Hoffman currently serves

as a member of the COCBoard of Trustees. She isrounding out her third three-year term as a trustee. Inaddition, she has served aschairperson of one of thecommissions Compliance

and Reports (C&R) commit-tees. During her tenure withCOC she has chaired a hostof accreditation, reafrma-tion and special committeesin most of the 11 states inthe Southeast.

These experiences haveprovided me with invaluableprofessional developmentand enabled me to use theinsight and expertise gainedto successfully guide ourcollege through the accredi-tation processes over theyears, Hoffman said.

IHM CatholicSchool to holdopen house

Immaculate Heart ofMary School is holding anopen house for all prospec-tive K-eighth grade stu-dents and their parents tonSunday, Jan. 23, 3 -5 p.m.Principal Tricia DeWittwill give a presentation at

3:15 p.m. regarding cur-riculum, admissions and thevision and philosophy ofthe school. This is an op-portunity to meet teachersand administrators, tour thecampus, and learn why IHM

is a National Blue RibbonSchool of Excellence.

Immaculate Heart ofMary (IHM) School is aCatholic school that serves500 students in kindergartenthrough eighth grade. Estab-lished in 1958, the schoolhas a long tradition of suc-cess developing the valuesof faith, knowledge, serviceand integrity. In 2009, IHMSchool was one of 50 pri-vate schools in the nationawarded the National BlueRibbon School of Excel-

lence.For more information,contact Julie Tooher, ad-missions director, at (404)636-4488 or visit www.ihmschool.org. Admissionspackets can be also down-loaded. Immaculate Heartof Mary School is located at2855 Briarcliff Road, NE,Atlanta.

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AROUND DEKALBAtLAntA

LitHoniA

tuCKER

DECAtuR

Vl cceraced

As part of theEmory Chamber MusicSociety of AtlantaNoontime Series,CecylaArzewkwill give a free violin

concert Friday, Jan. 21,at noon at the MichaelC. Carlos Museum, 571Kilgo Circle, Atlanta.Arzewski will performhe music of Jha

sebaa Bach. Formore information,contact [email protected] or visit www.arts.emory.edu.

Crche cla ered

The Gresham Librarywill offer a crochet classSaturday, Jan. 22, noon 2 p.m. This class isor all skill levels. Par-icipants are welcomeo bring their own ma-erials; however, theibrary will provide themor those who dont

have supplies. No reg-stration is necessary.Gresham Library is lo-

cated at 2418 GreshamRoad, Atlanta. For morenformation, call (404)244-4374.

Ahr peak abrary

Writer sa Vree-ad returns to the De-

catur Library on Tues-day, Jan. 18,to presenther new novel Claraand Mr. Tiffany. Vree-and again explores theife behind a famousartistic creationinhis case the Tiffanyeaded-glass lamp, the

brainchild not of LCmr tay buthis glass studio manag-er Clara Drcll. Theauthor captures the at-mosphere of gilded ageNew York and its robberbarons, sweatshopsand colorful characters.But the focus remainson Driscoll, the womanbehind the man, and

her remarkable artisticand entrepreneurialinstincts. The eventis at 7:15 p.m. in theDecaturLibrary Audi-torium,215 SycamoreSt., Decatur. For moreinformation, call (404)370-3070.

free mve ered rer

As part of its Brown

Bag Cinema series forthose 55 and older,the Scott Candler Li-brary will present BluesBrothers 2000, featur-ing performances byB.B. Kg, Arehafrakl, Blues Trav-eler, Jame Brw,Edde flyd, WlPcke, Erykah Badand many more. Thoseattending should bringtheir own lunches; des-sert and drinks will be

provided. The screen-ing is open to the first60 participants. Spon-sored by the Friendsof the Scott CandlerLibrary, the event isTuesday, Jan. 18, 11a.m. -1 p.m. at theScott Candler Library,2644 McAfee Road,Decatur. For more infor-mation, call (404) 286-6986.

Lbrary hw tylerPerry mve

The Flat Shoals Li-brary will show Why

Did I Get Married?Saturday, Jan. 22.Themovie stars tylerPerry, shar Lealand Jae Jack.The screening is 1 - 3p.m.at the Flat ShoalsLibrary, 4022 FlatShoals Pkwy., Decatur.For more information,call (404) 244-4370.

Lbrary hw lm

As part of its Fridaymovies series, theTocoHill-Avis G. WilliamsLibrary onJan. 21willscreenNight of theIguana, starring Rch-ard Br, Ava Gard-er and Debrah Kerr.The 1964 lm is ratedNR and runs for 117minutes. Every Fridayafternoon thelibrarypresents a mix of new

releases and old favor-ites.When available,movies are presentedwith closed caption-ing to assist those withhearing difculties. Thelms are shown 1:30-3:30 p.m.at the TocoHill-Avis G. Williams Li-brary, 1282 McConnellDr., Decatur. For moreinformation, call (404)679-4404.

Lbrary hw High

Noon

As part of its GoldenClassic Films series,especially designedfor those 55 and older,the Decatur Librarypresents High NoonTuesday, Jan. 18, at 10a.m. The moviestarsGaryCper, GraceKelly, Llyd Brdgeand Kay Jrad. TheDecatur Library is lo-cated at 215 Sycamore

St., Decatur. For moreinformation, call (404)370-3070.

freclre erve- wrkhp e

A foreclosure inter-vention workshop isscheduled for Jan 21,1-8 p.m. at Salem BibleChurch in Lithonia. Theworkshop is designedto help residents learnhow to handle face-to-face meetings withlenders. Also discussedat the workshop will besafe nancial optionsand lender solutions.Salem Bible Churchis at 5460 HillandaleChurch Road in Litho-nia. For more informa-tion, call (404) 607-0800.

nCnW hld

fder Day

The National Coun-cil of Negro WomenDeKalb will host aFounders Day programWednesday, Jan. 26, atthe Lou Walker SeniorCenter, 2538 PanolaRoad, Lithonia at 6:30p.m. The FoundersDay program, whichcelebrates 21 yearsof service to DeKalbCounty, will reflect on

the organizations ac-complishments, honora charter memberand extend member-ship to the community.All DeKalb Countyresidents are invitedto attend and considerbecoming members.NCNW DeKalb is acommunity serviceorganization that ad-vocates for women,children and familieswithin DeKalb County.

For more information,contact [email protected].

Am ppr grp mee

The Parent to Par-ent Support Groups arefor families who havechildren with specialneeds. One group fo-cuses on autism, whichis now described asan epidemic by theCDC. This is a parent-operated group witha mission to providesupport, education andresources for familieswith children who areautistic. Sponsoredby the Friends of theRedan-Trotti Library,the group will meetSaturday, Jan. 22, 2-4p.m. at the Redan-TrottiLibrary, 1569 WellbornRoad, Lithonia. Formore information, call(770) 482-3821.

scal ewrkgcla ered

Tucker-Reid H.Cofer Librarywill pres-ent Social NetworkingBasics: Facebook andTwitter on Thursday,Jan. 20. Area residentsare invited to comeand learn about the so-cial networking sitesFacebook and Twitter.Presenters will explainwhat they are, how theywork and help partici-pants get started usingthem. Participants musthave an active e-mailaccount before attend-ing this class. The pre-sentation is open to thefirst 12 participants; callor visit branch to reg-ister. The event will be10 a.m. noon at theTucker-Reid H. Cofer

Library, 5234 LaVistaRoad, Tucker. For moreinformation, call (770)270-8234.

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THECHAMPION,THURSDAY,JANUARY14,2011PAGE19AbuSiNESS

Celebrating more than 70 Years

of Service

EVENTSJanuary 6th CEO State of the County

Address to the Business Community

CEO Burrell Ellis looks back at the

County's 2010 accomplishments and

lays out his vision for DeKalb in 2011.Hosted by: Council for Quality Growth &

The DeKalb Chamber. Location: The

Thalia N. Carlos Community Ctr., 2500

Clairmont Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30329.

R - :

For more information on DeKalb Chamber related

events or to receive email updates, call 404-378-

8000 or visit www.dekalbchamber.org

- :

Breakfast Meeting - 8:00 AM. Cost to

attend: $25.00 / Registration

Mandatory.

January 11th New Members Lunch

Reception Sponsored by Georgia State

University / Brookhaven Center Event

open to new and existing Chamber

members only. Time: 12:00 pm -1:00

pm. RSVP required. For information,

visit the Chambers website or call 404-

378-8000 (www.dekalbchamber.org.)

January 17th Martin L. King , Jr.

Holiday. The DeKalb Chamber office will

be closed in observance of this holiday.

We will reopen on Tuesday, January

18th

.

PUBLIC NOTICE

Pursuant to O.C.G.A. 21-2-131 (a)(1)(A), qualification fees for elected officials were setat the January 4, 2011 City Council meeting by the Mayor and Council of the City ofStone Mountain, Georgia. The qualifying fee for the office of Council Member will be$108.00. Such fee shall be three percent (3%) of the total gross salary of the office paid inthe preceding calendar year.

by Gale Horton [email protected]

Friday, Dec. 31, 2010 isa day that Wendy Changmight prefer not to remem-ber.

The last day of 2010 washe last day of operation

of Eurasia Bistro, a down-own Decatur Asian-fusionestaurant that Chang had

created, cultivated and, with

egret, was forced to shut-er.

Chang said despite adesire to remain at the loca-ion the eatery occupied on

E. Ponce de Leon Avenuefor the past 11 years, shecouldnt get the propertysowner to renew her con-ract. She explained that

more than a decade ago shewas lured to Decatur byoyal customers of anotherestaurant she and her hus-

band Donald Mui own inTucker called NorthlakeThai. In the interveningyears, Chang estimates thathe poured $650,000 intohe property with interior

design ourishes that she

End of an eraEurasia Bistro closesconceived and personallyselected.

Now she plans to addsome of the most populardishes from Eurasia to themenu of Northlake Thai,where Wendy Changs sis-terWenLing Chang is thechef. (The family has had along presence on DeKalbsdining scenetheir fatherran a restaurant at NorthlakeThais location for 40

years.)Cece Mui, WendyChangs sister-in-law whohas pitched in as a server,described the business asChangs baby and her ef-forts to produce somethingexceptionalboth in theenvironment and in the dish-esas labors of love. CeceMui recalled that one of thehigh points for Eurasia was

during its rst seven yearsof operation when it was sopopular that there was fre-quently a half hour wait fordinner.

The tough economy ofrecent years has affectedEurasia like most restau-rants. However, Changnoted that the catering sideof the business has remainedstrong and shes been tappedfor catering jobs with Asia

House, the Taiwanese Eco-nomic Cultural Ofce, Tai-wanese Trading Associationand DeKalb County govern-ment.

Although Wendy Changhas left Decatur with aheavy heart, she expressedgratitude to her customersincluding Decatur residents,city and county government,and civic leaders and mem-

bers of the business commu-nity for supporting her overthe years.

She said the sadness overclosing has been eclipsed bythe outpouring of customersand friends who stopped byfor a nal meal and to saygoodbye.

Its a very upsettingtime, said Wendy Chang,but I am very happy in myheart. She hasnt given

up on the idea of offeringDeKalb diners more thanone establishment with herfamilys signature style.Shes also scouting locationsfor a new restaurant and ishopeful that the saying willring true that when one doorcloses, another door opens.

Cece M ad Wedy Chag e heal day a Decar Eraa Br.Ph by Gale Hr Gay

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20 p. Free Press 1-14-11