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DeKalb County School District employee Antoinette Tuff was commended by members ofthe DeKalb County Board of Commissioners Aug. 27 for her efforts in diffusing a potentiallydeadly school shooting situation. Photo by Daniel Beauregard

WWW.CHAMPIONNEWSPAPER.COM FRIDAY, AUGUST 30, 2013 VOL. 16, NO. 23 FREE

A PUBLICATION OF ACE III COMMUNIC ATIONS

Serving East Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Clarkston, Decatur, Doraville, Dunwoody, Lithonia, Pine Lake, Tucker and Stone Mountain.

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FREEPRESS

See Hero on page 15A

Weeks shows one of the visual aides used inher classes.

The point systemby Travis [email protected]

Being a zeroand proud of itdoesnt mean one has self-esteemissues. When the number refers tothe points on a driving record itssomething to be pleased about.Many drivers are unaware of thenumber of points on their license,

and how many points it takes to losemy license.

People are not familiar withthe points system, said PamSlaughterWeeks who owns andoperates DeKalb DUI School inScottdale. She teaches an interactivePowerPoint-driven defensive driv-ing class. Most of the time peopledont find out about our classes un-til they get in trouble.

The state of Georgia assessespoints for each convictionaggres-sive driving, six points; recklessdriving, four points; operating avehicle while text messaging and

various other moving violations,one point. A driver with more than15 points in a 24-month period willhave his or her license suspended.The points required for license sus-pension for drivers younger than 21is four.

Weeks wants to create a safedriver certificate program, Im aZero, that recognizes those whohave no points on their license. Shesaid knowledge of the point systemwill lead to safer driving habits.

Some violators are new to thecountry and are unfamiliar with thedriving laws, Weeks said. My heartbreaks when I see people and they

do not understand whats happen-ing to themand its scary coming

from another country and not know-ing what the laws are. And peopleneed a car here.

Georgia residents may requestthat Department of Driver Ser-

vices (DDS) reduce the numberof points assessed against theirdrivers license up to seven pointsonce every five years. To qualify forpoint reduction, drivers must suc-

cessfully complete a certified driverimprovement course, also known asdefensive driving, and present theoriginal certificate of completion tothe DDS.

Drivers can take a defensivedriving class not only to reducepoints, but for insurance discountsand job requirements. Weeks willhost a state training session on Oct.21 and 22, for those interested inbecoming certified defensive driv-ing class instructors.

To check your points and formore information, visit www.dds.ga.gov.

Donna Turner contributed to thisarticle.

Driving record points affect insurance and license status

School bookkeepercalled national hero

Pamela Slaughter Weeks owns the DeKalb DUI School in Scottdale, where a driver can takea defensive driving class to have points reduced from his or her driving record. Photos byTravis Hudgons

MIRACLE ON SECOND AVENUE.BRIAN BOLDEN

by Andrew [email protected]

A DeKalb County school book-keeper is being called a nationalhero after she convinced a gunmano lay down his AK-47 assault rifle

and surrender to police gatheredoutside McNair Discovery LearningAcademy in Decatur.

Antoinette Tuffeven receiveda surprise call Aug. 22 from Presi-dent Barack Obama who thankedher for the courage she displayedwhile talking to a gunman who en-ered the school where she worksarlier this week, according to a

White House statement.Interim DeKalb school Superin-

endent Mike Thurmond describedTuff as the courageous, the he-oic lady who has really transfixed

America, who saved lives, whoedefined the word love and com-

passion.We are so proud of you, he

aid Aug. 24 at the DeKalb CountySchool Districts employee awardsbanquet where Tuff received twotanding ovations and a school hu-

manitarian award.On behalf of the DeKalb Coun-

y School District, heck, on behalfof the United States of America, wewould to give to you this very spe-ial token for really transforminghis nation and helping us under-tand the power of compassion andove, Thurmond said.

Its all about him, said Tuff,eferring to God. Thats what I

want all of us to remember as we goo school every day; its all about

him.In a statement, Congressman

Hank Johnson said, It is truly re-

markable that the cool, calm and fast-thinking of Ms. Tuff may very wellhave saved our community and thenation from yet another unspeakablenational tragedy involving innocent

SEE RELATED STORIES:

SCHOOL WORKER DESCRIBES

ENCOUNTER WITH GUNMAN, 2A

DISTRICT TO REVIEW SAFETY

AFTER SCHOOL SHOOTING, 2A

OPINION: MAN ARMED WITH

A GUN MEETS WOMAN ARMED

WITH GOD, 5A

POLICE: GUNMAN WAS

PLANNING HARM,15A

U. S. EDUCATION SECRETARY

PRAISES MCNAIR STAFF, 18A

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Th Champ F P, Fay, Agt 30, 2013 Pag 2AloCAl news

School worker describesencounter with gunman

School district to reviewsafety after school shooting

See Quillen on Page 16A See Shooting on Page 16A

by Gae Hrtn Gay

Starng nt the eyes f agnman snt what MalcolmQuillen expeted n a dayhat started nrmay. Btst befre 1 p.m. n, Q-en, ntrtn manager wthhe DeKab cnty Sh

Dstrt, reazed that f hervved, ths wd be a day

he wd never frget.

Qen waked nt theofce at Ronald E. McNairDsvery learnng Aad-emy n Deatr t hek hsmabx and sgn t s hed g t the ther shhe spprts and ntedbkkeeperAntoinette Tuffakng t a yng man. As

he verheard her teng hmhat smene was n the

way, Qen sad he ntedhat the man was arryng a

gn.later that afternn, the

aeged gnman wd be ncustody and identied by po-

e as 20-year-d MichaelBrandon Hill; and hdren,eahers and staff evaated

frm the bdng and fam-es rented wtht anyne

hrt r ked. Hwever Q-en ddnt knw that then.

As he pressed what washappenng n the shsmain ofce, he said the gun-manstandng three feet nfrnt f hmsad d as iay.

Tff sad, Mr. Qen,hs s nt a jke. Hes veryers.

The gunman red a shot

nto the oor near Quillensfeet and td hm t eave theofce, he said.

His life ashed before

me. i was thnkng abt mywfe and daghter.

The gnman td hm asend tme, i sad fr yt get t.

Qen dashed thrghthe dr, rnnng dwn theha teng the few teahershe enntered that therewas a gnman n the bd-

ng. N stdents were nthe haway, he reaed. Hemmedatey headed fr theafetera where wrkers wereeanng p, wrred that hsstaff was t n the pen.

i had n dea f the gn-man was rght behnd me,he sad.

Asked abt the mansdemeanr, Qen reped, iwd te y he was pset,nt angry. He sad the ss-

pet seemed frstrated.

Qen sed hs ephnet a the shs prnpa,wh was nt n the bdng,and then a 911.

He td sx -wrkersand ne teaher that theywere n kdwn and theyhd n a strerm wth thedr sed. He td every-ne t sene ther phneshe ddnt want a rngtne t

pssby aert the gnman,wh pe ater sad wasarryng apprxmatey 500rnds f ammntn. Therm was qet. He texted

hs wfe, Vanessa, teng herwhat was happenng and ttrn n the news n TV.

About ve minutes laterTffs ve ame ver thenterm annnng that agnman was n the bdng,Ths s nt a dr. D ntme t f yr assrm,Qen reaed her sayng.

The next thng Qenreas her sayng was astn-shng.

The gnman sad t tey a he desnt want thrt anybdy, she sad.

The snd f tw sets f

gunre rang out.We had n dea whatwas gng n,Qen sad,addng that he wndered fthe gnman was ramngthrght the sh.

They remaned n thestrerm fr abt 30 mn-tes nt pe arrved andgded them n extng the

bdng.in the end, the gnman

wd srrender t pe,thanks argey t Tffs per-sasve pwers.

She s a arng per-sn, sad Qen, wh has

wrked at the sh fr ap-proximately ve years. Shenterats we wth pepe.its nbeevabe hw she dd

The gunmanred a shotinto the floornear Quillensfeet and toldhim to leavethe ofce.

by Andrew [email protected]

The DeKab cntySh Dstrt sad ds-trict ofcials will reviewts sh safety prtsafter an Ag. 20 shtng atMNar Dsvery learnngAademy.

Athgh n ne was n-jred when a gnman enteredthe sh wth an assatrie and red shots inside the

bdng and at respndngpolice ofcers, interim Super-ntendent Mike Thurmondsad, Were kng at hwwe an d a better jb n theftre.

School ofcials will lookat every aspet, n terms fhw we respnded, what

wrked, what ddnt wrk,what, f anythng, we an d

better, Thrmnd sad. inthe ftre we w be even

better prepared f, n fat, astatn ke ths rs.

The gunman, identiedby pe as 20-year-dMichaelBrandonHill, re-

prtedy entered the sh,whh s say ked, be-hnd smene athrzed t

be there.The next ne f defense

was the pepe n the frntofce, Thurmond said.

The redndanywrked, Thrmnd sad.it was a team effrt. Theywere there. They snded theaarm. They knew exatywhat t d thrgh text mes-sages and t hep get the kdst f the bdng. it was t-eray a team effrt frm startto nish.

Thrmnd sad the dstrtw revew a aspets fsh serty.

We have t k at ev-erythng, Thrmnd sad.Were gng t k at tn a very deberatve way

and as rey n sertyexpertswh an hep s de-vep r at east mprve rsafety pans fr the dstrt.

one aspet t be n-sdered s the paement fschool security ofcers.

The dstrt has mre than60 security ofcers assignedt mdde and hgh shs aswe as sme rapd respnseofcers. Currently the schooldstrts 77 eementaryshs d nt have sertyofcers on duty, Thurmondsad.

Were gng t k atthat and see f ts sme way,even n tght bdgetary tmes,t extend the abty f a se-rty t at east patr theeementary shs as we,he sad.

The dstrt w as n-sder hw t an better setehngy, Thrmnd sad.

The ast ESPloSTa tax

approved by voters to benetthe sh dstrtndedfndng t pae meta dete-trs n a shs.

Were gng t k atspeedng p the mpementa-tn f that, Thrmnd sad.

Thrmnd warned thattehnga serty mea-sres are nt fprf.

its ke an aarm n yrhse, he sad. its a deter-rent bt n ne sad, lk,ths w prevent a brgary.its jst a deterrent. A thesethngs are jst deterrents.

Thats why redndantserty measres are mpr-tant, Thrmnd sad.

if ne fas, hpefy,the redndany w then stepn. Thats what happened,qte franky, ver at MNar.The ntrder was abe t getnt the bdng, bt thenMs. Tff was there n thefront ofce.

Sh bkkeeperAntoi-nette Tuffhas been redtedwth nvnng the gnmant srrender t pe.

Tranng s mprtant,Thrmnd sad. Beng pre-

pared s mprtant and hav-ng mpetent pepe n key

pstns s abstey nees-sary.

Malcolm Quillen, center, a DeKalb County School District nutrition manager, participates in a teleconferencewith the U.S. education secretary. Quillen came face-to-face with a school gunman Aug. 20. Photo by AndrewCauthen

Miracle on Second avenue.Brian Bolden

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Th Champ F P, Fay, Agt 30, 2013 Pag 3A

SPECIAL ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

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State zip codes determine who gets free Silver coins

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ENLARGED TO

SHOW DETAIL. YEAR

VARIES 1916-1947

P6463A OF17342R-1

Alabama35, 36

Alaska99

Arizona85, 86

Arkansas71, 72

CaliforniaN/A

Colorado80, 81

Connecticut06

Delaware19

Florida32, 33, 34

Georgia30, 31, 39

Hawaii96

Idaho83

Illinois60, 61, 62

Indiana46, 47

Iowa50, 51, 52

Kansas66, 67

Kentucky40, 41, 42

Louisiana70, 71

Maine03, 04

Maryland20, 21

Massachusetts01, 02, 05

Michigan48, 49

Minnesota55, 56

Mississippi38, 39

Missouri63, 64, 65

Montana59

Nebraska68, 69

Nevada88, 89

New Hampshire03

New Jersey07, 08

New Mexico87, 88

New York00, 10, 11, 12

13, 14

North Carolina27, 28

North Dakota58

Ohio41, 43,44, 45

Oklahoma73, 74

Oregon97

Pennsylvania15, 16, 17, 18, 19

Rhode Island02

South Carolina29

South Dakota57

Tennessee37, 38

Texas75, 76, 7778, 79, 88

Utah84

VermontN/A

Virginia20, 22, 23, 24

Washington98, 99

West Virginia24, 25, 26

Wisconsin53, 54

Wyoming82, 83

Washington DC20

STATE ZIP CODE DISTRIBUTION LIST

RESIDENTS CASH IN:Pictured above are the Overstuffed Money Bags containing 10 individual Vault Bags full of money that everyone is trying to get. Thats because

each Vault Bag is known to contain over 100 U.S. Govt issued coins some dating back to the early 1900s.

UNITEDSTATES

2013

DISTRIBUTION NOTICE:

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One Mans Opinion

It was the labor movement that

helped secure so much of what wetake for granted today. The 40-hourwork week, the minimum wage,family leave, health insurance,Social Security, Medicare, retire-ment plans. The cornerstones of themiddle-class security all wear theunion label.President BarackObama.

Among the many gifts of theNew Deal from President Frank-lin Delano Roosevelt was the FairLabor Standards and Practices Actof 1938, which established thefirst federal minimum wage at 25cents an hour, and which since hasbeen raised 22 times. There are 19states that have further establishedtheir own minimum wage, abovethe existing federal level. PresidentObamais currently advocating rais-ing the minimum wage from its cur-rent $7.25 to $9 an hour, in furthereffort to reduce poverty.

The minimum wage was intend-ed to set a floor, as well as end thepractice of sweatshops paying slavewages to primarily uneducated

women, and stop the use of childlabor. Since that time, organizedlabor has often used the minimumwage as a rallying cry, as well as a

marketing tool and tactic for mem-bership drives.With each of the last several in-

creases in the minimum wage, thenumber of working poor receiv-ing the wage has actually decreasedas the higher minimum caused moreemployers to wait longer to hire, fillopenings or invest in training newhelp. This lasting recession has alsoplayed a factor, but teen employ-ment and particularly unemploy-ment among Black male teens is atrecord levelsand the minimumwage is part of the reason for that.

In New York City, Detroit,Chicago and several other major

American cities, fast food industryemployees have staged daily sick-ins and not shown up for work,while on those same days picketing,protesting and calling for a mini-mum wage of $15 an hourmorethan double the current federalminimum.

If we can perhaps agree thatamong the greatest gifts of all isongoing gainful employment, per-haps we can begin to understandthat by continually raising the costsof creating that entry level first timejobyou in fact simply cause thecreation of fewer of those jobs.

A training wage of say, $4-$5 anhour, might reverse that, in a two-tier minimum wage system. Res-

taurants and other stalwarts of theminimum wage labor market couldhire more, spend less and obviouslykeep, incent and reward their higher

performing workers. Our currentsystem requires the expenditureof thousands of dollars in trainingexpenses, for employees who oftenwash out, quit or are fired for causeduring the first month.

Back in the day, millions ofAmericans learned their trade ofchoice as unpaid apprentices, orworking as medical interns do inhospitals now, for a year or moreat much lower pay grades until de-veloping the expertise and workingknowledge required for the variousmedical licenses, and professionalcertifications they are seeking.

The minimum wage offers no

such assurance as it relates to train-ing standards or the abilities of theworker. The employer risks not onlythe wage and any training expense,but additionally unemployment andworkers compensation premiumsand payroll taxesand placing his/her enterprise at least temporarily infresh and untrained hands. All riskis born by the employer, with mostall of the gain being accrued by theemployee. Is it any wonder this sys-tem creates friction and frustrationfor all parties involved?

A true minimum wage is zero,everything above that can and

should be simply negotiated be-tween the worker and the employermuch like you currently do with

your babysitter, lawn care provider,occasional project handy man, etc.

The market place, skill levelsand demand on that worker help es-

tablish their market price. A higherminimum wage does not raise thebar for minimum performance; itsimply creates additional costs andbarriers to market entry.

In multiple Third World coun-tries, employment is surging, inmany places where even that 1938minimum wage of 25 cents an hour,and $10 a week for 40 hours ofwork still sounds pretty good. Imnot suggesting that minimum wageor the current $7.25 can or will liftan individual out of poverty, butas we celebrate another Labor Dayweekend this year I am suggestinga cause for pause is understanding

the difference between doing some-thing that feels good and some-thing that causes and actually has apositive effect.

Bill Crane also serves as apolitical analyst and commentatorfor Channel 2s Action News, WSB-AM News/Talk 750 and now 95.5FM, as well as a columnist forTheChampion, Champion Free PressandGeorgia Trend. Crane is a

DeKalb native and business owner,living in Scottdale. You can reachhim or comment on a column [email protected].

Maximizing the minimum?

Page 4A The Champion Free Press, Friday, August 30, 2013OPINION

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Antoinette Tuffis tough enough.She shot holes in the gun lobbyslogan that bad guys with a gun can

only be stopped by good guys witha gun. Antoinette Tuff is a SHERO.By all accounts she saved dozensof lives by literally and figurativelydisarming Michael Brandon Hill,he alleged gunman who somehow

got past the security system at Mc-Nair Academy.

Hill was armed with an AK-47tyle assault rifle and had almost

500 rounds of ammunition, accord-ng to police. By his own statementso police, he was off his meds. Here

was another mentally ill, angry manaiming to commit mass murder atan elementary school.

Antoinette Tuff was armed onlywith her unflagging faith in God.She put her faith in action and lifeon the line, successfully convincing

Hill to lay down his weapon andsurrender to police. Tuff had the 911operator on the line the whole timeas she calmly shared with Hill herstories of disappointments, setbacksand personal tragedy. She let himknow that we all have them, but thatwe can all work through them.

Tuff single-handedly de-fused a highly volatile situation andkept a seriously deranged individualfrom spilling the blood of innocents.Instead she pleaded the blood of herLord Jesus in the situation allowedthe Holy Spirit to take full rein. Thepundits should not miss the time-honored message in all this. Lovedoes indeed conquer all. The out-comes at McNair could have beenvastly and tragically different. But,Gods love was at work through An-toinette Tuff.

Through the pain of her previ-ous experiences, she was able to dowhat no law enforcement negotia-

tor, no psychiatrist, and no one elseat that moment and time could do.She shared her heart and avertedtragedy. While Michael Brandon

Hills heart is obviously fracturedand in pain, Antoinette provided atemporary balm.

The pictures on television wereso starkly different than the im-ages we typically see of schoolinvasions. This was a school filledwith African-American children.I received a text from a nephewwondering what was going onin the town I live in. He said hethought crazed young White menonly attacked schools with Whitechildren. He dared to openly opinewhat many others were thinking. Ireminded my nephew that gun vio-lence and crime do not discriminate.Evil knows no race, color, gender orcreed.

During my days in the newsmedia when some horrific crimeoccurred, people were often heardto say that they didnt think theparticular type of crime could occurin their good neighborhood

meaning their upper income, wellmaintained environment was some-how immune to crime. Crime andviolence was something it was felt

were relegated to the poor ghettoes.Thankfully the good news is

that the power of love does not dis-criminate either. God can use all ofus however and whenever he seesfit to do his will if we are willing. Abookkeeper named Antoinette Tuffpacked some divine power at Mc-Nair Academy to save the lives ofall his children, including the gun-man. Michael Brandon Hill is sick.Antoinette Tuff happened to havehad just the right medicine, love.The gun lobbys prescription ofonly good guys with guns can stopbad guys with guns didnt work.Violence was no match for love.

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

Letter to the Editor

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

EDITORS NOTE: The opinions written by columnists and contributing edi-tors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editor or publishers.ThePublisher reserves the right to reject or cancel any advertisement at anytime. The Publisher is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts.

Publisher: John Hewitt

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FREEPRESS

STATEMENT FROM THE PUBLISHER

We sincerely appreciate the discussion surrounding this and anyissue of interest to DeKalb County. The Champion was founded in1991 expressly to provide a forum for discourse forallcommunityresidents onall sides of an issue. We have no desire to make thenews only to report news and opinions to effect a more educatedcitizenry that will ultimately move our community forward. We arehappy to present ideas for discussion; however, wemake everyeffort toavoid printing information submitted to usthat is known tobe false and/orassumptions penned as fact.

Bad man armed with a gun meets good woman armed with God

MARTA to reopen restrooms

The Newslady

Printed on 100%post-consumerrecycled paper

The Champion Free Press, Friday, August 23, 2013 Page 5AOPINION

When it comes to MARTAs restrooms, theressome good newsand some even better news.

First, lets talk about the good news.As MARTAs spokesman, Im pleased that Lee

Murphy, one of my colleagues who is a formerMARTA police officer (along with Champion col-umnist Bill Crane), has finally set me straight aboutthe history of MARTAs rail station restrooms. Ina recent story about the restrooms that appearedin The Champion, I mistakenly told news editorAndrew Cauthen that the restrooms, were neverdesigned as public restrooms with the exception ofFive Points.

The truth is that MARTAs rail station restrooms

were always available to customers from the veryfirst day the system opened in 1979 until most wereclosed three years ago for budgetary reasons. Isincerely apologize for the error and promise to im-prove my fact-checking, going forward.

Now, for the better news.Our transit system has recently launched the

MARTA Transformation Initiative, a top-to-bottomoverhaul of our operations that over the next severalyears will make the agency more cost-effective, fi-nancially sustainable and customer-focused.

As part of this new initiative, MARTA is prepar-ing to re-open some restrooms for public use soonerthan expected. Keith T. Parker, MARTAs gen-eral manager/CEO, and his management team areworking to accelerate the timeline for re-openingrestrooms initially planned for opening next year, asquickly as possible.

MARTA currently has nine restrooms avail-able to the public across 38 rail stations. While re-opening all the restrooms at once might be ideal,

MARTA must first identify the financial and staffresources necessary to ensure these customer ame-nities are safe, secure and well-maintained at alltimes. Since that process takes time, we appreciateyour continued patience and input.

Our action on this issue was prompted by numer-ous meetings with customers, community groupsand other MARTA stakeholders during which therestrooms consistently emerged as a priority. Wellbe sharing more details about which restrooms willbe reopened and when in the near future.

In the meantime, MARTA has even more goodnews in the works.

MARTAs Transformation Initiative will focus

on reducing the wait times at rail stations for alllines and improving bus service. Over the next year,MARTA will also be assessing the relative costs andbenefits of additional transit service improvementsfor customers riding on weekends, weekdays andevenings.

MARTA customers will also see a more robustpolice presence with officers patrolling stations,trains and platforms to help promote a greater senseof security, civility and mutual respect for all whouse our transit system.

MARTAs Transformation Initiative is just get-ting underway and still we have much to do. Whenwe make mistakes (as I did about the restrooms)well fix them as soon as possible. Most important,however, is that we pledge to continue working withthe community and our customers to make MARTAthe very best that it can be.

Lyle V. Harris,Media Relations Press Officer,MARTA

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Th Champ F P, Fay, Agt 30, 2013 Pag 6ACoMMuniTY

Champion of the Week

If you would like to nominate someone to be considered as a

future Champion of the Week, please contact Kathy Mitchell at

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

Sneiderman appeals;Neuman will request new trial

neiderman

euman

Bayyinah Shaheed

Bayyinah Shaheedsareer he was n-uenced by her interestn hepng pepe wthsbstane abse prb-ems. Bt her wrk wththe DeKab cmm-nty Serve Bard andwth the jvene rthas nt been engh tsatsfy her passn frhepng yng pepeavd prbems wthdrgs and ah.

over the years, theStne Mntan res-

dent has pt n nt-ess vnteer hrswrkng wth yngpepe and the adtswh spervse them thep them avd the tr-bng statns she hasseen n her wn famy.

i am ne f eghthdren, she sad, andfr f the eght f shave had sbstane abseprbems. My wn snwas n jvene rt sften i fet ke i vedthere.

Whe Shaheed sad

she has seen famymembers mprve, btntne t strgge, sheadded that shes deter-mned where pssbe tspare ther fames theheartahe she has beenpart f. in 1985, she at-

tended her rst NationalBak Ahsm andAddtns cn cn-ferene and has remanedatve n the rganzatnfr neary 30 years.

in 1996, Shaheedstarted her wn hartaberganzatn. Be Smart!Dnt Start! Be Smart!Qt in.

it tk me nt 2006to get ofcial nonprotstats, she sad, btwere nw a regnzednonprot organization.Bease f her wrkthrgh the rganza-tn, Shaheed reentyreeved an award frmthe cn n Ahand Drgs.

As the Be Smart!Dnt Start! name m-pes, the rganzatn f-ses n steerng yngpepe away frm drgand ah abse befrethey start. The emphass,she sad, s n edatnand preventn. Sha-heed gves semnars andwrkshps fr sh-ageyth as we as tranngthe adts wh wrk wththem.

Her phsphy s td whatever s nees-

sary t hep a famy ntrbe. She has fndhmeess fames paest ve, drven pepe tther meda appnt-ments, sered fdfr thse wh neededteven persnay pre-parng meas. She vstsyng pepe n deten-tn enters t try t re-dret ther behavr. iwant t keep them thnk-ng and pannng abt abrghter ftre, Shaheedsad.

i wd rge anyne

wh has sme expertsen ths area r wh hasexperened reverythemseves t vnteert hep thse wh areat rsk. The need s sgreat, she sad.

by Dane [email protected]

A day afterAndrea Snei-derman was sentened Ag.21 to spend ve years in pris-n fr yng nder ath herattorneys have led an appealfr a new tra.

The mther f tw wasnvted f yng t peand hnderng the nvestga-n nt her hsbands 2010htng death.

Snedermans frmer bssHemy Neuman was fndgty f kng Rusty Snei-derman and s servng fe nprsn wtht the pssbtyf pare.

Attrney Brian Steel sadhe has also led a motion fora bnd hearng n behaf fSnederman, pendng the ap-pea.

DeKab cnty Sperrcrt Jdge Gregory Adamsentened Snederman t

serve ve consecutive yearsn fr nts f perjry,three nts f makng fasestatements and ne nteah f hnderng the appre-hensn f a rmna, andneang matera fats.

Attrneys fr Neman re-portedly said they plan to lean appea wthn the next fewweeks as we, tng that hsnvtn was based, n part,n perjred testmny.

Prsetrs have aegedthat Snederman and Ne-man were havng an affarat the tme her hsband wassht. Snederman dened thatsh a reatnshp exstedand sad she shd have tdher hsband abt Nemansnwanted advanes andqt her jb.

Despte my state f mndfwng the mrder, i ddnthng t bstrt jste nany way, Snederman saddrng sentenng.

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Th Champ F P, Fay, Agt 30, 2013 Pag 7ACoMMuniTY

ATLANTAFernbank fundraiser to combinecience, stories of the night sky

Fernbank Sene center and theSthern order f Stryteers wabrate Satrday, Sept. 21 at 2

p.m. n Stres Amng the Stars, afndrasng event markng the a-mna eqnx.

As the star prjetr depts thenght sky n the panetarm dme,tryteers Mary Apps, Tersi Ben-

diburg, Sarah Beth Nelson andNancy Riggs w share taes f the

atmn nsteatns, ndng thetres f Demeter and Persephne,Andrmeda, the Mky Way, andMars. Brdgng the gap betweenfkre and sene, Fernbank S-ene center astrnmerApril Whittw ead a panetarm tr f theeasns brghtest stars, and answer

qestns abt the reasn fr theeasns.

DeKab cnty Sh DstrtsFernbank Sene center s atedat 156 Heatn Park Drve NE, At-anta. Parkng s mted. Tkets are

avaabe at the Fernbank webste.cst s $10 per persn.

Tickets available for Paul Simonectures at Emory

Tkets fr sngwrterPaul Si-mons 2013 Richard Ellmann Lec-res n Mdern lteratre at Emry

unversty Sept. 22-24 w be ava-abe t the genera pb begnnngat 10 a.m. Mnday, Sept. 9.

The etre seres, The insm-nas laby: Awake and Aware fhe Tme, w nde tw pbetres, a nversatn between

Smn and frmer u.S. Pet lare-ate Billy Collins, and a ms per-frmane. Tkets are free, bt aremted t tw tkets per persn,

per event. Tkets fr the prevsyheded events w nt be hnred

fr the new dates.Genera pb mpmentary

kets w be avaabe persn athe Arts at Emory Box Ofce in the

Shwartz center fr PerfrmngArts, 1700 N. Decatur Road., Suite251, r by phne at (404) 727-5050.Phne rders are sbjet t a $4 n-venene fee. Tket reservatns wnt be avaabe nne fr ths event.

Tkets rdered by phne w bemaed drety t the tkethder.A ther tkets mst be pked pn persn at the Arts at Emry Bx

Ofce during regular business hours

Mnday-Frday 10 a.m. 6 p.m.).There w be n w a r standbyeatng fr any Emann letres

event.

AVONDALE ESTATES

Avondale Arts Alliance to hostthird annual ArtsParty

The Avndae Arts Aane whst ts thrd anna ArtsParty nSept. 5, 6-9 p.m., at ltte Tree ArtStds ated at 2830 FranknStreet. The party marks the ofcialkkff fr the pmng Atmn-Fest Arts and Ms Festva, whhw be hed ot. 5-6 arss frmAvndae cty Ha. Attendees anmeet artsts and get a mpmentarysgned artwrk and hear abt the

new atvtes beng shwased thsyear, ndng the AtmnEats hefdem and mh mre. Ths event sfree and pen t the mmnty.

BROOKHAVEN

City searches for first parks andrecreation director

The ty f Brkhaven s n-dtng a natnwde searh fr thecitys rst parks and recreation di-retr.

Ardng t a news reease, thety has reeved 49 appatns sfar.

Brkhaven takes ntr f 11parks frm DeKab cnty n Sept.3 and pans t hre a dretr shrtyafter takng ver the parks.

The dretr w as be taskedwth mpementng a mprehensvemaster pan fr the parks, whhw tne ftre grwth and p-es fr the parks.

The tys hman resresdepartment s rrenty sreenngappatns and ndtng ntantervews bt s st aeptng re-smes.

Fr nfrmatn n hw t appy,vst http://www.brkhavenga.gv/jbs.htm.

DECATUR

43 DeKalb Medical physiciansmake magazines top doctor list

Frty-three DeKab Medaphysans were amng 322 pepewh madeAtlanta MagazinesTpDtr st fr Atanta dtrs.

The st s based n researh n-dted by caste cnny Med-a ltd., a heath are researh and

nfrmatn mpany. Physansare nmnated by ther physansn the Atanta area as dtrs whnt ny exe n aadem medneand researh, bt as n patent

are. Fna seetn s based pnthe dtrs edatna and prfes-sna experene.

The tp dtrs at DeKabMeda ndes:

Wayne L. Ambroze Jr., Ste-phen M. Cohen and Raoul Mayer,n and reta srgery; ToddM.Antin, psyhatry; Bradford S.Bootstaylor and Richard D. Mo-lina; materna and feta medne;Gary R. Botstein, rhematgy;Joseph F. Boveri, Jeffrey F. Hines,Ira R. Horowitz and R. AllenLawhead, gyneg ngy;Robin H. Dretler, and Adam M.Bressler, nfets dsease; Dar-win L. Brown and David H. Ja-cobson, endrngy, dabetes andmetabsm; Pamela J. Brown andStuart J. Pancer, bstetrs andgynegy; Robert M. Campbell,pedatr ardgy; William H.Cleveland and Juan Luis Pimen-tel, nephrgy; Thomas P. DeMa-rini, pmnary dsease; NormanL. Elliott, gastrentergy; MarkW. Feeman, physa medne andrehabtatn; George R. Gottlieb,aergy and mmngy; David A.Holladay, Erich G. Randolph andGary B. Stillwagon, radatn n-gy; Michael S.Jacobson and

Scott I. Lampert, phthamgy;Robert E. Karsch, rthpaed sr-gery; PaulA. Kirschbaum, ard-vasar dsease; A. Keith Levin-son, rgy; Jefrey D. Lieberman,rhematgy; Daniel T. McDevitt,vasar srgery; Omar A. Najjar,famy medne; Cyril O.SpannJr., gyneg ngy; MarkA. Stern, gastrentergy; StevenO. Stewart, famy medgy;Jacqueline R. Sulton, pedatrs;Stephen Szabo, meda ngy;NeillVidelefsky, pedatr ard-gy; Joseph M. Woods IV, pastsrgery; and Mark L. Wulkan, pe-datr srgery.

DORAVILLE

Senior bingo to be at library

Area senrs are nvted frafternn bng at the Dravelbrary Thrsday,Sept. 12, 2-3p.m.Przes w be awarded. TheDrave lbrary s ated at 3748centra Ave., Drave. Fr mrenfrmatn, a (770) 936-3852.

LITHONIA

Church to celebrate twin islandsindependence

chrst or Hpe cath

chrh w be the ste f a masseebratng the 51st annversary fthe ndependene f the twn sandsf Trndad and Tbag. The eventw be Satrday, Ag. 31, at 5:30p.m. Pepe f a faths are nvted.chrst or Hpe cath chrhis located at 1786 Wellborn Road,lthna Fr mre nfrmatn, vstwww.hrstrhpeat.rg.

Hospital to hold blood drive

DeKab Meda at Handaes hdng a bd drve Thrsday,Sept. 19, nn-6 p.m. Vnteerswh gve bd drng ths eventreeve free parkng and nh.The drve w be hed n the cm-munity Room on DeKalb MedicalHandaes amps. DeKab Med-a at Handae s ated at 2801DeKab Meda Pkwy., lthna.Athgh pre-regstratn s nt re-qred, dnrs may a (404) 501-WEll fr mre nfrmatn.

Storyteller to bring folk tales tolife at library

Fk Taes, Fabes and Petrys the tte f the presentatnst-ryteer, athr and atress Josie

Bailey w brng t the Stne restlbrary Tesday, Sept.10, 6:30-7:30 p.m. Baey brngs the prntedwrd t fe thrgh her anmated,fn and nteratve stage presenta-tn, ardng t an annne-ment frm the brary. Fndng frthe event s prvded by the Frendsf the Stnerest lbrary. Stnerestlbrary s ated at 3123 KndkeRoad, Lithonia. For more informa-tn, a (770) 482-3828.

STONE MOUNTAIN

Plans for city-wide yard saleannounced

Ths ty f Stne Mntanevent w be hed n Satrday,Sept. 7, frm 8:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. nthe Frst Baptst chrh awn nthe enter f twn. Set p begnsat 7:30 a.m. n the day f the sae.Tabes w nt be prvded.A m-ted nmber f 10-by-10 spaes n-der the pavn are avaabe at $20each on a rst come, rst servedbass r 10-by-10 awn spaes anbe rented fr $10 eah.

Fr mre nfrmatn, ntatSusan Coletti at (404) 444-5607 r

ty ha at (770) 498-8984. N fdvendrs, n refnds and n randate.

AROUNDDEKALB

7/30/2019 Free Press - 8/3/13

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Lewis calls March on Washingtonone of this nations nest hours

See Lewis on Page 16A

by Kathy [email protected]

The speaker best remem-bered frm the Ag. 28,963, Marh n Washngtn

was Dr. MartinLutherKing Jr., wh gave hs

n i Have A Dreampeeh. Kng, hwever, was

nt the ny speaker n theteps f the lnn Mem-a that day; anther was

John Lewis.At the tme lews was a

tdent at Fsk unverstyn Nashve, Tenn., and the

natna harman f theStdent Nnvent cr-dnatng cmmttee. Henw s a u.S. ngressman,epresentng Gergas 5th

Dstrt, a prtn f whhs n DeKab cnty.

When the u.S. cngress

hed ts mmemratn fhe 50th annversary f the

Marh n Washngtn Jy31, lews was the keyntepeaker. lkng bak nhat day, he sad, i see t

as one of this nations n-est hrs. The Ameranpepe pshed and ped,hey strgged, sffered, andme even ded, t demn-trate ther desre t see a

farer, mre jst sety.He reaed, in 1963,

mns f Ameran t-zens d nt regster tvte smpy bease f ther f ther skn. lawyers,dtrs, ege prfes-

srs, hgh sh prnpas,mads, bters, sharerp-pers and tenant farmers

std n nmvabe nes aarss the Sth jst tryngt regster t vte.

intmdatn and fearsrrnded the demratpress. Pepe were afradf sng ther jbs, bengrn ff ther and, bengbeaten r even ked fr try-ng t regster t vte. Hwdd a sety, mmtted t

berty and jste, awthe dea t take hd that thedfferenes between s havesme bearng n the vaef hman fe?

Thse f s n themvement made a desnthat we had t d what wed, gve r very ves fneessary, t demnstratethat thse knds f deasare nt tre. The mrnngf the marh we met wthDemocratic and Republicaneaders rght here n captH n the Hse and Sen-ate sde, lews sad.

The pan was that wewd eave the Senate,wak dwn cnstttnAvene and ead pepet the steps f the lnnMemra. Bt when westepped t nt the streets,we saw hndreds and th-sands f pepe prng tf unn Statn, he n-tned. They were Bakand Whte, latn, Asanand Natve Ameran. Therewere members f everyfath, speakers f many df-ferent angages. Amerantzens, espeay thsevng n Erpe, ame frmabrad t partpate. ce-

by Gae Hrtn [email protected]

WASHiNGToN, D.c.The 50th annversary f the

1963 Marh n Washngtnattrated tens f thsandsf vstrs frm arss thentry fr a ray n the stewhere the Rev. Martin Lu-ther King Jr. devered hsfams i Have a Dreamspeeh.

The hrdes wh gatheredon Aug. 24 along the reect-ng p n frnt f the ln-n Memra heard frmv rghts ns as we aseaders f regs, vand a hst f ther rganza-tns. After that part f theray, the masses marhedt the Martn lther Kng

Natna Hstr Ste. u.S.Attrney Genera EricHolder, Kngs sn MartinLuther King III and Rep.John Lewis were amngthe speakers, many wh re-peated that wrk remans tbe done in the ght for civilrghts.

The sses representeddrng the ray and marhwere as dverse as the mxf thse partpatng. Sgns,banners, psters shwedthe brad range f nterests:jste, mmgratn, vtngrghts, marrage eqaty,vene and mre.

Keep dreamng, sadthe Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr.chse fe ver death.

Thousandsturn out forMarch onWashingtonanniversary

Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., speaks during the 50th anniversarycommemoration of the 1963 March on Washington at the LincolnMemorial. A month earlier he recalled the original march during aspeech before Congress. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Tens of thousands of people gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 24 to commemorate the Aug. 28, 1963 March on Washington at which Martin Luther King Jr.gave his famous I Have A Dream speech. Photos by Gale Horton Gay

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DeKalb County lets residents sneak into the library at night

Special report alleges years of corruption in DeKalb County

See Corruption on Page 16A


What ges n behnd the drs fyr a pb brary at nghtprbaby nthng rght? Bt what

f a the bks ame dwn ff theheves, ave, trnng the brary ntanther wrd?

Thats exaty what Nicole Livi-eratos and Phillip DePoy had nmnd when reatngHidden Away,he library at nighta new work of

movement theater.Wdnt t be s beng abe

sneak nt the brary at nght?lverats sad. Y an expet twander and experene a sense f ds-very.

lverats fnded GardenhseDane and nw wrks as an nde-pendent artst. Her wrk has beenpresented by The Hgh Msem f

Art, Fx Prjets, Emry unverstyDane Prgram, the Atanta cntem-prary Art center and mre.

The event s presented by artstdretrs frm The lky Penny n

partnershp wth the DeKab cntyPb lbrary n Deatr.

lverats sad the dea fr theevent began a pe f years ag.She and DePy were dsssng prj-ets they wanted t d and they bth

thght t wd be nterestng t re-engage pepe wth the brares.We jst vew t as a natna trea-

sre. Bth f s grew p nstantygng t the brary, lverats sad.

The event s free, and pn enter-ng, vstrs w be greeted wth avarety f dfferent perfrmanes andnstaatns. one nsde the brary,attendees are enraged t ramthrght and dsver thngs nther wn. lverats sad ths wgve eah persn a nqe experene.

There w be mtpe thngs g-ng n at the same tme, lveratssad. Thats the brary expereney knd f wander and get aght

n the way and see smethngwewant t enrage pepe t wanderand nnet t teray n that knd fway.

The brary w be t wth mre

than 100 readng amps and lvera-ts sad the perfrmanes, whh n-de theater, dane, ms and mre,w referene many dfferent bksthe brary has t ffer.

Addtnay, a pets w be

readng ther wrks and the DeatrSh f Baet w perfrm.We hpe that ths reates engh

nterest that we an expand t twardt ther brares, lverats sad.its as r hpe that pepe ren-vest and re-engage wth the brary.its an amazng resre and ts fnd-ng has been t reenty.

The Deatr premere fHiddenAway serves as a pt fr a bradernatna prgram n brares arssthe country. DePoy, who rst workedwth lverats nBeowulfat The-atrical Outt in 1993, said the eventmakes se f neary every knd f

perfrmane that exsts n Western

theater: ms, wrds, mvement,snd, ght, and, mre than anythng,an eement f srprse.

in addtn t hs wrk wthlverats, DePy s the athr f 14

nves and 37 prded pays. He haswrtten fr many theater mpanesn Atanta and rrenty wrks asthe dretr f the theatre prgram atcaytn State unversty.

Blake Beckham, -artst dre-

tr fr the lky Penny, sad theyjmped at the hane t be nvvedn the prjet bease t taps nt the

perfrmane grps fasnatn wthnnventna venes.

We admre these artststherntegrty and magnatn. Ther wrks the knd that eaves y sftened

by ts hnesty, grnnng frm tsharm and bzzng wth rsty,Bekham sad. i thnk adenes weave re-engaged wth the mag freadng and wth the vtaty f thebrary as a ste fr pwerf pbntersetn.

Perfrmanes w take pae n-sde the Deatr lbrary Ag. 31 and

Sept. 1, at 7 and 8:30 p.m., and Sept.5-7 perfrmanes w take pae at 7,8:30 and 9 p.m.

Fr mre nfrmatn vst www.dekabbrary.rg.

uana Farfn and Timothy A. Hand perform in Hidden Away, a performance created by Nicole Livieratos and Phillip DePoy. Photos by Jamie Hopper courtesy of The Lucky Penny


A jdge reeased a spe-a grand jry reprt Ag.21 that aeges wdespread

rrptn by hgh-rankngcounty ofcials spanningw dfferent admnstra-ns and mtpe nty

departments.After a ega batte be-

ween DeKab Dstrt At-rney Robert James f-

ce and suspended DeKalbcnty cEo Burell Ellis,he reprt has been made

avaabe t the pb.The 80-page reprt s the

est f a yearng nves-

tgatn nt aegatns frrptn n the ntyswatershed department,stemmng bak t the begn-nng f frmer cEo VernonJones admnstratn.

The spea nvestgatvegrand jry was mpaneedby Jdge Mark AnthonyScott n 2012 t nvestgateaegatns f rrptn,nmpetene and rnysmwthn the ntys water-shed department.

We have seen desnsnvvng mns f darsmade wth tte r n nfr-matn fr the mst venareasns, the reprt states.in ght f the hge amnt

f testmny heard andr revew f vmnsdments and rerds, thsspea prpse grand jrys ertan that nmers wt-nesses ed nder ath as t

matters reated t prre-ment and ntrat manpa-tn, kkbaks and abse.

The spea grand jryspecically accuses Ellisand Jnes f yng nderath and prvdng fasetestmny whe testfyngabt nty prjets andvendr prrement pr-esses.

in Jne, Es was ndt-ed n harges f extrtnand s ased f strng-

armng nty vendrs ntdnatng t hs ampagn.The spea grand jry re-prt tnes thse aega-tns n deta.

Addtnay, the reprt

ases Es f anengnty ntrats at the be-hest f hs frmer ampagnmanagerKevin Ross. Esaegedy aneed ntratswth tw nty vendrs tallow companies Ross re-prtedy wrked fr t bdfr the emergeny prpsasreated by the aneatns.

Jnes s ased f hav-ng smethng t hde nthe reprt. Spea grandjrrs ase Jnes f refs-

ng t prvde meanngftestmny and refsng tanswer qestns reatedt the appntment f n-qualied friends to high-rankng pstns and hs

reatnshp wth tsdevendrs, ndng bs-ness deveper JeffreyWalker, whse brther wasan ofcial in the watersheddepartment and whse ssterJoy Walker was appntedby Jnes as hef jdge fDeKalb County Recorderscrt.

inded n the reprt arethe spea prpse grandjrys remmendatns tfrther nvestgate aeged

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DeKalb Community Councildefers Fuqua rezoningrequests for DecaturCrossing

Decatur book festival offers attractions for all ages

See Rezoning on Page 11A

NOTICEOFPUBLICHEARINGTheMayorandCityCounciloftheCityofChamblee,Georgiawillholdapublichearingon

Thursday,September12,2013,attheChambleeCivicCenter,3540BroadStreet,Chamblee,GA

30341at6:00p.m.toreceivepubliccommentsregardingthefollowingmatters:

1) MacauleyandSchmitandJelcoBetaInvestmentCorporationproposetodevelopaparcelID#1830004001consistingof5.95acreslocatedat5193PeachtreeBoulevard.The

parceliszonedVillageCommercial(VC)andtheproposalisforamixedusedevelopment

consistingof

365

apartments

and

approximately

15,000

sq.

ft.

of

retail

commercial.

ApplicantisrequestingawaivertoDevelopmentRegulationsSection93.1(b)thatrequires

concreteandsteelframingformultifamilyresidentialbuildingsof3storiesormore.

ApplicantalsorequestsvariancestothefollowingsectionsoftheCityofChambleeZoning

Ordinance:Section407(a)requiringmixedusebuildingstohave20%oftheirfloorareain

commercialuses;Section905.E.thatregulatesdesignofresidentialusesatthesidewalk

level;Section907.Athatlimitsthegroundfloortoretailorofficeusesforbuildingsfacing

PeachtreeBoulevard,requiresaminimumfloortoceilingheightof18feetontheground

floor,andrequiresfenestrationforaminimumof65%ofthegroundfloorfacade;Section

908.Athatrequiresamaximumblocklengthof600ft.andinterparcelvehicularaccessto

adjacentparcels;Section909.A.thatrequiresupperportionofabuildingfaadetostep

backtenfeetforbuildingstallerthan50ft.;Sec.1006.A.thatrequiresaminimumfloor

areaof800sq.ft.foronebedroomapartments;Section1007.D.thatrequiresnon

residentialuses

on

the

ground

floor

in

the

VC

Zoning

District;

1007.E.

that

requires

a

minimumof80%oftheresidentialunitsinamultifamilydevelopmenttocontainatleast

1,000sq.ft.;andSection1208.D.thatrequireslandscapingontheupperlevelofcertain

parkingdecks.

EstateSaleTreasureChestEstateSalesSpecialist.

ESTATESaleofCaptainH.JohnSteffes,4782OldeVillageLane,Dunwoody,

GA30338.

Thur.,

Fri.,

Sat.,

Sept.

57;

9

am 5pm.Gotoestatesales.net toseepictures.Contactemail:

[email protected], cell(770)8468173.

y Dane [email protected]

Fr three days ver la-r Day weekend, dwn-wn Deatr s transfrmednt a pae that s a abtks: readng bks, by-ng bks, seng bks,

meetng athrs and mre.The eghth anna AJc

Deatr Bk FestvaDBF) w be hed Ag. 30-ept. 2, and featres hn-reds f athrs and events.

cnsdered the argestndependent bk festva nhe ntry and the frthargest n the wrd, theestva has a hst f events

hat ater t jst abt ev-ryne frm hdren thse nterested n nearyvery genre f bks.

Ths years events n-de many atvtes, smef whh arent entered n

bks. Bew are hghghtsf sme events.

cngressman and vrghts eaderJohn Lewisw dever the keynte ad-dress fr the festva Ag.30, at 8 p.m. at EmrysShwartz center fr Per-frmng Arts.

lews w kk ff thefestva and dsss hsreenty reeased graphnveMarch: Book One, therst in a trilogy aimed to en-gage the next generatn freaders n essns abt thev rghts mvement.

Ag. 31 at 7 p.m., lenzand the DBF w hst art/DBF After Dark, featrngperfrmanes by Atanta

Baets Wab Sab, The At-anta opera, Stab Dane,7 Stages and Serenbe Pay-

hse. Addtnay, theevent w featre a ghtprjetn nstaatn byMicah and Whitney Stan-sell, presented by Fx Prj-ets.

Thse nterested n k-ng mght want t see athrPeter Kaminsky at thecks Warehse StageAg. 31, frm 1-1:45 p.m.Kamnsky s the athr fBacon Nation, a kbkthat ndes 125 repes n-vvng ban.

Fr thse mre nterestedin pulp ction, mystery

and sspense athrs Al-lison Leotta and MarciaClarkw appear tgethert dsss ther transtns

frm prsetng t wrtngction. Leotta was a pros-etr fr 12 years n Wash-

ngtn, D.c., and cark wasa prsetr n ls Angeesdistrict attorneys ofcefr 14 years, 10 f them nthe Spea Tras unt andserved as ead prsetr nthe O. J. Simpson mrdertra.

AthrJames Dickey,mght snd famar t fansof lm and poetry. Dickey,the Gerga-brn pet andwrter, penned the nveDeliverance, whh wasater trned nt an award-wnnng mve starrngBurt Reynolds. Dkey was

as the pet areate f theunted States n 1966. Apane eebratng the reentreease f hs mpete v-

me f petry w be hedat the Deatr PresbyteranSantary Stage Sept. 1,

5-5:45 p.m.other athrs traks n-

de arts and phtgraphy,beah reads, bsness andmarketng, v and hmanrghts, graph teratre andmre.

Fr mre nfrmatn nthe festva vst www.dea-trbkfestva.m.

The DeKab cnty Ds-

rt 2 cmmnty cnvted nanmsy Ag.20 t defer tw f FqaDevepments reznngeqests and ts reqest fr a

Spea land use Permt tallow ve-story buildings.

Fqa Devepment, amxed-se and reta deve-per, has prpsed pans fra mxed-se reta enter athe ste f Stt Bevard

Baptst chrh n Deatr.The rgna prpsed prj-et at the ntersetn fStt Bevard and Nrth

Decatur Road covers 5.5ares. in addtn t reta,he prjet wd nde

200 apartment nts hsed

in a ve-story building and

wd featre a natra fdstre, whh w serve asthe anhr.

Bt Fqa Devepmentrepresentatves presentedatered pans at the meet-ng. Ther new pans d ntinclude the ve-story apart-ment bdng.

Gd Grwth DeKabc-charLouise Runyonsad Fqa atered ts pansat the ast mment n re-sponse to signicant com-mnty ppstn.

Residents of Blackmon

Drve, ne f the streets be-hnd the hrh, expressednerns abt the prpseddevepment whh threat-

very Labor Day weekend, thousands of book lovers descend on downtown Decatur for the Decatur Book Festival. Photos provided

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Rezoning Continued From Page 10A

Former state senator seeking U. S. Senate seatby Andrew [email protected]

Frmer state senatrSteen Miles nw has herghts n a u. S. Senate seat.

Mes, a mnst frThe Champion Newspaper,has annned that she wn as a Demrat fr the

u. S. Senate seat beng va-ated by Sen. Saxby Cham-bliss. Demrat MichelleNunn has as annnedhat she s rnnng fr the

ne seat hed by her father,Sam Nunn, frm 1987-995.

in my heart i knw thatGd has nqey preparedme fr ths mssn and thatmssn s t be the repre-entatve ve f wrkng

mdde ass wh are thepne f ths ntry, Mesad.

Mes sad she s enternghe Senate rae despte the

dantng pta reatesbeng that the party has a-eady annted the presmp-ve anddate.

Mes sad she wants thep hea s as a pepe nGerga and n the natn.

i ferventy beeve thatr nabty t get angwth eah ther and respetr nqe dfferenes n

he ntry, and rprategreed, are kng s, shead.

Mes sad she s nt a

member f the prveged 1perent and has nt ben-eted from being born intormstanes f prvegeand ny knws asver spn.

The majr-ty f s earnedthat staness steespn and thereare far t manythat dnt evenhave a pastfrk, Mes sad.

Mes sadshe s nernedabt farness andeqaty. She wants t wrktward makng ertan thatwe fy restre the VtngRights Act [and] that wemake ertan that a wmanshe s preserved.

That s between she, herfamy dtr and her Gd,Mes sad.

other aspet f Mesfarness and eqaty pat-frm nde prsn andmmgratn refrm; e-gazatn f same sexv nns; nreased vngwages; essatn f raaproling and improved ac-cess to veterans benets.

At n tme shd rveterans be deayed anddenied benets for physicaland psyhga treatment

after ayng ther ves n thene fr ths ntry, Messad.

When t mes t far-

ness and eqaty t s any-thng that deters, preventsy r me frm havng thef rghts that are garan-

teed by the creatrand n r cnst-ttn, she sad.

Mes, knwnas the Newsady,represented frGergas 43rdSenate Dstrt,whh ndedeast DeKab andRockdale counties,frm 2005-2007.She s a frmer

Gerga bradast edtr frunted Press internatnan Atanta and s a three-tme Emmy award-wnnngreprter/anhr fr WXiA-

TV 11Ave, frm whhshe retred n 1999 after 15years. Prr t her eetnt the Gerga Senate, Meswrked as the hef medarelations ofcer for MARTAfr three years. Mes at-tended Ba State unver-sty, s the mther f twadt daghters and has twgrandhdren.

Mes sad the enmy,edatn, envrnment, af-frdabe heathare and gnntr are majr nernsf hers.

i abstey beeve thatwe an make a dfferenen ths rae, Mes sad.im nt gded by pts.im gded by prnpe andheart. My feng exper-

ene has been ne f dver-sty, f farness, and mstmprtanty, my fath nder-grds.

My passn s pepe,she sad. And my mantra nths ampagn s Tgether,Gerga frward.

i dnt have the mney,the name r the rganza-tn f the presmptveanddate, Mes sad. Btwhat i d have s the exper-ene, the tme, the fs andthe passnthe hearttmake a dfferene fr af s, espeay beng thatve fr the veess andtryng t prvde hpe frthe hpeess. And thats ntjst a h; that s abs-tey frm my s.

ened t destry ther negh-brhd, she sad.

DeKab cnty cmm-nty cn vtes are re-mmendatns t the pan-nng mmssn, whhmakes remmendatns the DeKab cnty Bard

f cmmssners, whhmakes the nal decisions.The mmnty nvted n f-ye defer-ment of Fuquas rst twoequests, Runyon said.

Runyon said members ofhe mmnty n and

thers n the paked meetngm asked hard qes-ns f devepers n eah

agenda tem. other n-ested tems nded an ap-

patn by Green cmm-nty Devepment t bda 100-nt senr hsngdevepment at 2964 Br-

arcliff Road, multiplyinghe nmber f ars and

drveways twentyfd nhs trat f and n a majrhrghfare; a prpsa by

Peahand Hmes t bd27 twnhmes n 1.78 areson N. Druid Hills Road, alsoa majr thrghfare; andArrowhead R.E. Partnersllc and Aada Hmesseekng t repae 12 hmeswth a 65-nt twnhse

devepment n 8.13 aresat Nrth Drd Hs andMerry lane.

Nne f the reznngreqests made by devep-ers were aepted by then.

Communities are ght-ing back, Runyon said.A arnd DeKab, deve-pers are seekng t bdhgh densty prjets nsma pts f and n streetsthat are aready extremeytrafc-challenged. GoodGrwth DeKab sees thstype f prjet as pry

neved grwth and asfr r nty t have v-sn, fresght and reatvethnkng and t sten t thenerns f ts tzens.

Miles

7/30/2019 Free Press - 8/3/13

12/24


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DeKalb Convention & VisitorsBureaus Reunion Specialist willteach you everything you needto know to plan the perfectFamily Reunion in DeKalb County!

DoubleTree Hotel Atlanta/Northlake

4156 LaVista Road, Tucker, GA 30084

DeKalb Convention & Visitors Bureau

Call 770-492-5050 ext. 1181

Pre-registration is required

Saturday - September 21, 2013

FREE Family ReunionPlanning Workshop & Showcase

Host your Family Reunionin DeKalb County!

Workshop - 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Showcase - 12 p.m. to 2 p.m.

by cara Parker

[email protected]

The hsng market nDeKab cnty has seen aght mprvement n the

past year.Ardng t fresre

isting rm RealtyTrac Inc.,fresres n DeKabcnty were dwn 62 per-ent ths Jy mpared ty 2012. lenders reps-essed 113 hmes n DeKabast mnth, dwn 26 per-

ent frm ast Jy, and thenmber f hmes that wereatned ff ast mnth sdwn 35 perent frm asty.

The tta nmber f fre-sre ntes pbshedn the Jy 11 sse fThe

Champion Newspaper, theega rgan fr DeKab

cnty,was 886, dwn 60perent frm the nmber ffresres pbshed nhe Jy 12, 2012 sse.

The u.S. hsng mar-ket has eary shfted tevery mde ver the past8 mnths, wth hme pr-

es nsstenty rsng and

fresres fang ser tpre-hsng bbbe eves,RealtyTrac vice presidentDaren Blomquist sad.

The nmber f nvestrsbyng hmes befre theyg t atn may have n-rbted t the redtn, a-

rdng t Bmqst.

Realtors believe the dropn fresres s n ne

wth a hsng market thatntnes t mprve.

Ardng t the Ger-gia REALTORS monthlyhsng ndatrs reprtreeased n Jy, the hs-ng market has mprvedarss the state. The reprts derved frm data frmGerga Mtpe lstngServes (MlS), MlS nAtanta and Frst Mtpelstng Serve frm c-mbs, Savannah, Man

and Agsta.Medan saes pre s p

35 perent, average saespre s p 24 perent,perent f rgna prereeved s p 4 perent,pendng saes are p 5 per-ent, days n market nt

Inmate foundhanged in DeKalbCounty jail

DeKab cnty detentnofcers are currentlynvestgatng the deathf nmate Sylvania Ann

Brown, wh was fndAg. 24 hanged frm asprnker head n a wmansrestrm n the medaoor of the jail.

Ardng t the DeKabCounty Sheriffs ofce,Brwn sed a par f skst hang hersef.

letenant Kyle Jonessaid detention ofcers im-medatey remved Brwnfrm the sprnker head andbegan CPR when they foundher at apprxmatey 10:40a.m. Jnes sad the DeKabCounty Fire Rescue Depart-ment respnded and detet-ed vta sgns n Brwn.

Brwn was then trans-ferred t DeKab Meda,where she ater ded.

Ardng t a news re-ease, Brwn was arrestedAg. 24 fr famy vene/battery and bstrtn f anofcer, both misdemeanors.Brwn was esrted tthe medical oor after shenfrmed the ja staff shewas n pan de t a phys-a ateratn prr t herarrest and bease she waspregnant.

The ase f Brwnsdeath s rrenty beng n-vestgated by the DeKabcnty meda examner.

Foreclosure numbers down in DeKalbsae s dwn 16 perent,new stngs are dwn 4 per-ent and affrdabty ndex

s dwn 25 perent, ard-ing to the Georgia REAL-TORS report.

Georgia REALTORSrepresentatves sad thatathgh 100 perent f aatvty n the state s ntanted fr, the hsngndatrs gve an a-rate representatve sampef the hsng market atv-ty and trends thrghtthe state.

intwn Atanta reaestate has reay expdedver the past sx mnths,former Georgia REAL-TORS vice president SheilaBrower sad. Hmes aregng nder ntrat the

day that they are sted andsmetmes even befre theyare sted. As, t s nt n-mmn t reeve mtpeffers n a prperty.

Homes are going undercontract the day that theyare listed and sometimeseven before they are listed.

-Sheila Brower

7/30/2019 Free Press - 8/3/13

13/24

Th Champ F P, Fay, Agt 30, 2013 Pag 13Aweek in PiCTures

Searching for Our Sons and Daughters:

For a programming guide, visit www.yourdekalb.com/dctvNow showing on DCTV!

Finding DeKalb Countys Missing

Stories of our missing residents offer profoundinsights and hope for a positive reunion.

DCTV Your Emmy Award-winning news source of DeKalb County news. Available on Comcast Cable Channel 23.

This week in photos brought to you by DCTV

Aug. 22. Joshua Wilson of Decatur sports his Love On Purpose wristbands. He created the wristbands to spreadthe message of peace, unity and love. Photos by Carla Parker

Aug. 23. Tuckers paint crew honored Creekside High School Seminole Football player DeAntre Turman, whodied during a scrimmage game, by painting themselves with his jersey number. Photo by Travis Hudgons

Aug. 22, 7 a.m., parent Kesha McDougal assures third grade sonBrenden Clayborn that he will be safe returning to McNair Discoveryearning Academy. Photo by John Hewitt

Aug. 26. Hip & Historic! Finishing touches are now being made onDeKalb History Centers soon to open Mid Century Ranch House exhibit.t is believed to be the rst of its kind in the United States. Photo byohn Hewitt

Aug. 21. The Burundi Womens Farm, as its known, is a community farm site managed collectively by 15 families from East Africa. Photo byravis Hudgons

Aug. 22, predawn. One thing remains aconstant at the DeKalb County govern-ment complex in downtown Decatur-TheFlame of Freedom. Photo by John Hewitt

From left, Dunwoody Elementary rst-graders Jacob Brock, AbigailSchermer, Ashley Hill and Shelby Verlander enjoy books in the mediacenter during the rst week of school. Photo provided

7/30/2019 Free Press - 8/3/13

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Th Champ F P, Fay, Agt 30, 2013 Pag 14Alocal news

Judge grantsChambleesnjunction

request inCentury Center

awsuitby cara [email protected]

Members f the Brkhavencty cn annt vte t an-nex centry center r any pr-n f the chambee Annexa-n Area nt a frther rng

frm the rt, a DeKab cntydge rdered Ag. 16.

Sperr crt JdgeTangela Barrie entered an rdergrantng chambees reqestfr an njntn t prevent

Brkhaven frm annexng cen-ry center nt ts ty mts.

She as set a tra date fr ot.24 n the st between chambeeand Brkhaven and HghwdPrpertes.

The desn ame tw daysafter a rt hearng abtchambees njntn.

on Jne 21, HghwdsProperties led an applicationwth Brkhaven fr centrycenter t be annexed nt thenewy reated ty. The tyn was sheded t vten t n Jy bt DeKab cntySperr Jdge Courtney

L. Johnson ssed a temp-rary restranng rder aganstBrkhaven.

The ctzens fr chambeecmmttee and Dresden Eastcv Assatn set p a pe-tn aganst the annexatn

statng that chambee w benabe t prvde sme serves mre than 11,000 resdents f

centry center s annexed ntBrkhaven.

chambees awyer asarged that f Brkhaven s a-wed t annex centry centert w mpat the eetn andhe referendm.

Barre gave fr reasns frher rder: Brkhaven wdase rreparabe harm f t wentfrward wth the annexatn; thenjntn w nt harm the ty

f Brkhaven; there s sb-stanta kehd that cham-bee w tmatey preva nhe merts; and Pb nterest

favrs enjnng Brkhaven shat the annexatn vte an g

frward as ntempated by theGenera Assemby.

The rt shede fr theawst ndes a dsvery pe-

rd between Ag. 20 and Sept.20 and a motion ling periodbetween Sept. 27 and ot. 4

chambee resdents arndhe centry center area are

sheded t vte n the annexa-n nt chambee Nv. 5.

Interim CEO, commissioners vow to x county governmentby Andrew [email protected]

in a shw f nty, the DeKabcnty Bard f cmmssners andnterm cEo hed a jnt news n-ference Aug. 22 to address the nd-ngs f a spea grand jry nvestga-tn aegng gvernment rrptn.

interm DeKab cnty Lee Maysad he s gravey nerned abtsme f the asatns n there andts mpatns n r nty.

The 80-page reprt reeased Ag.21 depts years f wdespread r-ruption by county ofcials under twodfferent admnstratns and n sev-

era nty departments.The reprt made severa rem-

mendatns ndng emnatngthe cEo frm f gvernment; mak-ng nty mmssners f-tme;rerganzng the prhasng depart-ment; hrng an nterna adtr; andmakng eths refrm.

The rny f many f thse re-mmendatns s that many f thsesame sggestns have been brghtfrward by mmssners n thepast, May sad.

May sad he has dreted hefoperating ofcerZachary Williamst revew eah f the remmenda-

tns by the spea grand jry and treprt bak t May n 30 days.As a mmssner, May was an

tspken prpnent f hangngthe nty frm f gvernment frmbeng cEo-ed t a mmssn-manager frm.

cmmssnerElaine Boyer, whhas served wth three nty cEos,sad, i persnay beeve ths frmf gvernment des nt wrk.

There are aws in this formf gvernment, Byer sad. imhghy mmtted t hangng t.it desnt wrk. i have been herethrgh three dfferent persnates.its the frm f gvernment; ts nt

the pepe.Byer added, As a feng res-

dent f DeKab and as the ngest-servng mmssner, ne thng idke t say t the pb s im reay

srry. im reay srry that ths hashappened and were gng t mmtt make the gvernment better.

cmmssnerJeff Rader, whaed the grand jry reprt a greatwake-p a, sad the nty gv-ernment needs t frmaze ts pera-tns.

The nty des nt have an ad-eqate admnstratve strtre t beabe t ensre that pes, whateverthey may be, are fwed arefyand nfrmy arss the bard,Rader said. Our government, re-grettaby, s a very nfrmay rngvernment. it depends pn dsre-tnary desns by many appnted

ofcials who dont have responsibil-ty t the eetrate.

Rader said, Many of the actionsthat are rsng t a eve f prse-tn nder ths grand jry reprt arekey t be prseted nder therrrptn aws and nt bease theyddnt fw the ntys prhasngpes, bease there are n aws.We need t hange that mmed-atey.

one way t mprve the gvern-ment, Rader said, is to hire an inter-na adtr s that mmssnersand resdents an have a ear andbjetve nderstandng f exaty

hw the nty s fntnng, andhw t staks p aganst ts peers.The pstn has been athrzed

and fundedbut unlledfor threeyears.

Rader said once the countys or-ganzatna at has been revamped,we an k at whether r nt theCEO form of government is an ef-ent ne and ne that devers n tsmerts.

cmmssn-manager frms fgvernment have wdey varyng ev-es f sess, ntegrty and prfes-snasm, he sad.

changng the frm f gvern-ment s nt a sver bet r a mag

wand t wave ver DeKab cntygovernment, Rader added.

cmmssnerKathie Gannonsad she s nt neessary n favrf mmedatey hangng the frm f

gvernment.There are ver 700 ntesthrght the ntry that havesme type f cEo frm f gvern-ment, Gannn sad. Sme f thseare the mst sessf ntes nthe ntry.

Gannn sad the frm f gvern-ment s nt neessary the prbem.

We have eeted pepe t gv-ernment at a eves wh are mrenterested n takng are f them-seves and takng are f ther frendsthan they are n takng are f thetzens f DeKab cnty, Gannnsad. And we have t d better nthat regard. its mre abt pepe

than t s abt ttes.cmmssnerSharon Barnes

Sutton sad she wd spprt ahange n the frm f gvernment ran verha f the present frm st wrks prpery and we have theprper heks and baanes.

i am srprsed and enragedthat the spea grand jry s asremmendng many f the thngswe have aready remmended, n-dng hangng the frm f gvern-ment, Sttn sad.

May sad the N. 1 respnsbtyof elected government ofcials is tox this government once and for all.

or ntentn s t make res-dents f r nty prd, he sad.Thats what theyve eeted s tdo. We want to make people con-dent n r gvernment.

May sad there s nt a tre frrptn n DeKab cnty.

There have been aegatns re-ated t ndvdas, he sad. Wehave we ver 6,000 hardwrkngempyees that d the rght thng.They shw p eah and every day tdever the serves t r resdents.

We n DeKab cnty are ateam, May sad. My eages nthe Bard f cmmssners aredgent pb servants wh have

vwed t prtet the ntegrty andtranspareny f r nty gvern-ment.

From left, interim DeKalb CEO Lee May and commissioners Elaine Boyer and Sharon Barnes Sutton respond to a grand jury investigationalleging government corruption. Photo by Andrew Cauthen

7/30/2019 Free Press - 8/3/13

15/24

MIRACLE ON SECOND AVENUE.BRIAN BOLDEN

The Champion Free Press, Friday, August 30, 2013 Page 15ALOCAL NEWS

Hero Continued From Page 1Achildren. For her poise and compo-ure beyond the call of duty, I sayhank you to AntoinetteDeKalb

County thanks you, Georgia thanksyou and a grateful nation thanks

you.Tuffs coolness can be heard in

he released 911 recording duringhe event. She tells the 911 dis-

patcher that the gunman wants po-ice office to back off or he will

begin shooting.Do not let anybody in the

building, including no police. Donot let anybody in the building, in-cluding the police, Tuff said.

Moments later, several gunshotscan be heard on the recording.

At first, Tuff contemplates run-ning from the scene, but when sheees the gunman coming back, she

emains in the office.Im going to tell you some-hing babyIve never been socared in all the days in my life,he later admitted to the dispatcher.

Tuff talked with the gunman forapproximately an hour, at one pointelling him, Dont feel bad, baby,

my husband just left me after 33years. I tried to commit suicide lastyear after my husband left me. Butook at me now, Im still working

and everything is OK.As she was negotiating with

him to put down his gun, she said,Were not going to hate you, baby.ts a good thing that youre giving

up.Its going to be alright,

weetie, Tuff tells the gunman. Iust want you to know that I love

you, okay? And Im proud of you.Thats a good thing that youregiving up and down worry aboutt. We all go through something inife.

After convincing the gunman tourrender, Tuff tells the dispatcher,

Hes laying on the floor. Hesgot everything out of his pockets.There isnt anything. The onlyhing he has is his belt. Everythings out of his pockets. Everything is

itting here on the counter, so allwe need to do is they can just comen, and Ill buzz them in.

A Facebook page in Tuffs hon-or is pushing for to be awarded thePresidential Citizens Medal be-cause she as a citizen of the UnitedStates of America who performedexemplary deeds or services for hercountry, fellow citizens, and safetyof children.

Inita Nesmith, one of the2,300 people who have liked theFacebook paged, said, Thankyou for being such an inspirationo the world. I am convinced no

one could have done a better job

han you did with Michael Hill.He came to take your life and youurned around and saved his.

You are an angel.

by Carla [email protected]

A school shooting at McNairDiscovery Learning Academy endedpeacefully Aug. 20, but had the po-tential to be a tragedy, according topolice.

Michael Brandon Hill had ap-proximately 500 rounds, a coupleof magazines and an AK-47 typerifle when he entered the elementaryschool, said DeKalb County PoliceDetective Ray Davis, at an Aug. 21news conference.

We have to make a reasonable as-sumption that he was there to do harmto someone, DeKalb Police ChiefCedric Alexander saidabout Hill, 20,

who faces numerous charges, includ-ing aggravated assault on a policeofficer, terroristic threats and pos-session of a firearm by a felon. Hillwas scheduled to have his first courtappearance Aug. 21 but he waived hishearing.

Davis said the AK-47 was not reg-istered to Hill.

He obtained the weapon, we be-lieve, from an acquaintance, Davissaid. Were working to locate thatperson and then back to the personwho purchased it. We believe he ob-tained it from the house of an acquain-tance.

Davis also said there were no ex-plosives found in the car that Hill wasdriving, which also was not registeredto him.

Police said Hill has a slight crim-inal history background in DeKalb

and Henry counties.His criminal history consists of

threats, Davis said. He does have ajuvenile history and hes on currentprobation.

According to arrest records, Hillwas arrested March 13 and chargedwith terroristic threats and acts. Hillsolder brother, Timothy Hill, told po-lice last New Years Eve that threatsMichael made a day earlier made himfear for his life, according to re-ports.

Timothy Hill told police that heknew his brother had mental issuesand was under a doctors care. InMarch, Michael Hill turned himself inon the outstanding warrant for makingterroristic threats.

Davis said he could not confirmwhether Hill has a mental disorder.

I dont know everything in hisbackground on the mental history, hesaid. [Hill] indicated that he was onmedication and he had stopped takingit. Were still looking into that angle.

On the day of the shooting, Hillentered the building behind someonewho had proper access to the building,according to police. Davis said policedo not know why Hill went to thisparticular school.

He has possibly been up therebefore speaking with some people inthe administration or some type ofinteraction, he said. But nothingharmful.

Once inside the school he wentto the administration office where heencountered school bookkeeperAn-toinette Tuff. Davis said Hill fired a

round in the administration office atthe floor.

He did fire the weapon within theschool but he did not go back to theclassroom area, he said. He neverleft the administration area up front.But he did step out and there was gun-fire exchanged outside. One of our of-ficers did return fire.

Tuff was able to convince Hill todrop his weapon and police arrestedhim on the scene. Alexandersaid Tuffwas a key piece in bringing downHill.

She was in there, she was able totalk him down and put that weapondown, Alexander said. If that hadnot been the case this could have turnvery ugly very quickly. She is a real

hero in all of this. She just did a stel-lar job. She was cool; she was calm,very collected in all of this. She putherself in front of him to separate himfrom those children and the rest of thefaculty.

Police released the tape of Tuffs911 call and a photograph policefound on Hills cellphone that he tookof himself holding the possible AK-47he used in the shooting.

Davis said the investigation isongoing and the police department isworking with other agencies.

At this point were talking tofriends, family, acquaintances andthings like that to learn more abouthim ourselves, he said. Some peoplehave come forward too, as others.So were reaching out to them at thispoint and everyone involve with thisinvestigation has been corporative.

DeKalb police:School gunman was planning harm

DeKalb Police Chief Cedric Alexander holds up a selfie photo of alleged McNair school shooter Michael Brandon Hill at a Aug. 20 newsconference. Hill faces numerous charges, including aggravated assault on a police officer, terroristic threats and possession of a firearmby a felon. Photo by Carla Parker

Hill

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Th Champ F P, Fay, Agt 30, 2013 Pag 16Alocal news

Quillen Continued From Page 2AShootingContinued From Page 2A

Corruption Continued From Page 9A

what she dd.Qen sad he earned ater that Tff

had an pprtnty t esape when thegunman left the ofce and stepped out-side the school to re his weapon at lawenfrement athrtes.

She had the pprtnty t eave; shed have exted. its phenmena shedd what she dd, he sad.

Qen sad he never magned thatsh an ndent wd take pae at M-

Nar. He sad the sh has gd safetymeasres n pae, ndng a system bywhh vstrs are bzzed nt the bd-ng and an be vewed va a amera sys-tem. Theres speatn that the gnmanspped nt the sh behnd smenewh was eavng r enterng the bd-ng.

Qen sad the mprtane f f-wng predres t keep the sh se-re needs t be dred nt the heads f

parents, stdents and a vstrs. He sadn ths ase Sthern hsptaty pssbygt n the way f safety and serty.

Asked abt hs mpsre thrgh-t the rdea, Qen, a 14-year em-

pyee wth DeKab shs, reped: iwas horried. I was very nervous when Iwas n the phne, nt knwng f he wasgng t start mng thrgh that bd-ng.

Thrmnd sad shs are areadyeqpped wth emergeny a bttns.At McNair there are buttons in the ofceand meda enter. Shs as have se-rty ameras.

We were wathng [the gnman]from the district ofce, Thurmond said.We were atay bservng hm as t

nfded.Thrmnd sad the bggest ha-

enge fr shs thrght the ntrys weve been thrgh a very ean e-

nomic time. Resources are very limitedat the a and/r state eve. The gdnews s the enmy s begnnng tebnd bt were st deang wth ag

frm the enm reessn.Thrmnd aed the tme f the

MNar shtng a mrae.We dd a t f gd thngs rght,

bt at the end f the day, t was jst abessng frm Gd that hanged thetme, he sad. it d have beentay dfferent.

The gd news s bvsy twrked ths tme, bt were nt gng rest n r ares and assme weve

dne everythng we an and shd d,Thrmnd sad.

ebrtes were there, bt mstythere were ntess and name-ess thsands f rdnary pe-pe wth extrardnary vsnwh ame.

They wanted t bear wt-ness t the trth that we are nepepe, ne famy, the hmanfamy. We are ne pepe, nehse, the Ameran hse. We

were sppsed t be eadngthem, bt they were areadymarhng. At that mment, thepepe were eadng s and theyteray pshed s dwn cnst-ttn Avene p t the steps fthe lnn Memra.

Befre the marh, many hadfeared that t wd trn vent,bt lews desrbes partpantsn the marh as behavng kethey were n ther way t a re-gs serve, ke they weregng t a amp meetng.

As Mahalia Jackson sangHw We Gt over, she drewthsands f s tgether, and n

a strange sense t seemed kethe whe pae started rk-ng, he sad. Smehw andsme way, the phsphy fpeae, ve and nnvene

had been nsted n the verybeng f a the partpants.

We try beeved that nevery hman bengeven thsewh were vent tward sthere was a spark f the dvne,and n persn had the rght tsar r destry that spark. Wehad a rght t prtest fr whatwas rght, Dr. Kng wd say.

We had a rght t demandthat ths natn respet the dg-nty and the wrth f every h-man beng. Pepe were mvedand nspred by that vsn fjste and eqaty, and theywere wng t pt ther veryves n the ne fr a asegreater than themseves.

Presdent John Kennedy,ardng t many hstrans,was amng thse wh had beennerned abt the dretnthe marh wd take. lewsremembers that after the marhKennedy nvted the patfrmgests t the Whte Hse and

he was standng n the dr fthe Oval Ofce beaming. Heked ke a prd father. Heshk eah f r hands andsad, Y dd a gd jb.

Lewis Continued From Page 8A

criminal activity by Ellis, Jones, Ross, formerpb safety dretrWilliam Wiz Miller,frmer hef f staffJabari Simama and thers.

Mer s ased f nterferng n 2010 wthan ngng nvestgatn nt the ntys de-partment f watershed management. Ardng testmny heard by the spea grand jry,

Mer nstrted DeKab cnty Pe dete-ves t ease the nvestgatn wtht expana-n. in addtn, the detetves wh wrked nhe ases were separated.

it was apparent that hs atns were reated stppng an ngng, atve rmna nvest-

gatn nt the Department f Watershed Man-agement when t beame bvs that the nves-igation would involve current county ofcials,he reprt states.

The nvestgatn Mer aegedy hated waseated t a 2009 nvestgatn entered n n-rats nvvng the champn Tree Serve, par-ary aegatns f verbng by wnerPaul

Champion.At the time, county ofcials estimated the

verbng exeeded apprxmatey $3 mn.Two county ofcials, Nadine Maghsoudlou andHadi Haeri, were named n the nvestgatn fraegedy apprvng fradent nves.

Ardng t the spea grand jry reprt,Mtpe Department f Watershed Manage-ment nspetrs that were tasked wth versghtf Mr. champns wrk mpaned t Mr.John Walker (named abve) abt sses wthMr. champns wrk. Mr. Waker, hwever, ds-mssed these mpants.

The mpants nssted f aegatns fmade-p r exaggerated wrk.

The spea grand jrys reprt as sts ad-ditional companies, either ctitious front com-panes, r mpanes that dd tte r n wrkhat were apprved fr ratve nty ntrats

hrough Walkers ofce, at the behest of Magh-

sd and Haer.Es s ased f nmers nstanes f

strng-armng vendrs n the reprt. Hwever,ne nstane was f partar nterest t the spe-cial grand jurythat of the rst ONE DeKalbWrks sewer ntrat that was awarded sngfnds frm the ntys $1.35 bn water and

sewer verha.Ardng t the grand jry presentment, Es

pt the ntrat n hd nt the prnpa f the

mpany dnated $2,500 (the maxmm amntawed) t hs ampagn. The reprt tes a ntet reeved drng ts nvestgatn regardng amemrandm penned by Jeffrey Walker, whwrked fr the mpany that was awarded thentrat.

The memrandm s aegedy tted Thngst Knw and ndates Es s nvved n asheme t wthhd hs sgnatre n ntratsnt reevng a ampagn ntrbtn frmthe vendor, specically in regards to DesmearSystems, whh s the mpany awarded the

ntrat.

The tw ntrats Es s ased f ane-ing at the behest of Ross were the DeKalb Coun -ty Recorders Court probation services contractwth Jda crretn Serves (JcS) and thecare Ambane ntrat.

in regards t the ntrat wth JcS, Es re-prtedy had n athrty t egay ane the

ntrat and aegedy persnay threatened thejdge wh refsed t ane t wth termnatn.Ross reportedly was a consultant for a competi-tr f JcS.

Ross was also employed as a consultant withRural Metro Ambulance, which was awardedan emergeny ntrat n Jy 2010 after Estermnated the ntrat wth care Ambane.According to the special grand jury, the red de-partment ddnt agree wth the aneatn f thentrat bt Es dd t anyway wtht nfrm-ing its ofcials.

As named n the reprt s frmer watershedmanagement dretrRoy Barnes and severathers wh are ased f payng mnr res nthe bd-rggng press at the heart f the nves-tgatn.

The nsn f the reprt remmends thatthe fndamenta strtre f DeKab cntysgvernment nderg drast restrtrng, n-dng the remva f Es and the emnatnof the ofce of CEO.

The reprt as sggests makng nty m-mssners f-tme empyees wth n tes tany tsde nterests that d nterfere wthday-t-day peratns f the nty.

The rrent system, wth ts verreane nnty staff and departments [that] tmatey re-port to an elected ofcial, provides too many op-portunities for fraudulent inuences and fostersa tre that s very ptzed and n whhnapprprate bsness reatnshps are reated,the reprt ndes.

Ellis is accused of

numerous instances

of strong-arming

vendors in the report.

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Th Champ F P, Fay, Agt 30, 2013 Pag 17ABusiness

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Free Press - 8/3/13