FREEPRESS
AVAILABLE ONLINE AT WWW.CHAMPIONNEWSPAPER.COM • FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010 • VOL. 13, NO. 25 • FREE
School
system hires
auditor to
help restore
credibility
Bowen: ‘Having him
sooner could have helped’
by Jonathan Cribbs
jonathan@dekalbchamp.com
Photo by Jonathan Cribbs
T
he DeKalb County
Board of Education
wanted an auditing di-
rector sooner. Two years
ago to be more specific. But tight
budgeting and salary freezes kept
the district from hiring one.
Now, there’s Gary Babst.
The school board recently
hired the former General Motors
auditor as the new director of au-
dit. It’s a key job hire approved
in the aftermath of numerous
school system scandals, includ-
ing the May indictments of for-
mer Superintendent Crawford
Lewis, Chief Operating Officer
Pat Reid and two others. Lewis
and Reid have been charged with
illegally profiting from school
district construction contracts
and face several racketeering
charges.
Babst said he took the job af-
ter considering his 30-year career
with General Motors, the only
job he’s had since he graduated
college in 1978.
“Sometimes you work in
that environment, and you think,
‘Can I be doing more?’” he said
sitting inside a school district
conference room recently.
Babst got the job and ap-
peared before the school board
earlier this month, telling mem-
bers the district must commit
itself to rigorous review of big-
money spending, such as con-
struction projects, and review
businesses practices to make
sure fraud and misspending is
as unlikely as possible. He also
announced the creation of a new
fraud hotline, which he said has
been proven to be one of the best
ways to prevent fraud.
“We need a sense of urgen-
cy,” he told the board. “We need
a strong tone at the top, and we
need the board (and administra-
tors) to lead by their actions. …
We need to build an internal con-
trol structure, and that’s going to
take some time.”
Intentionally or not, the ad-
dress went to the heart of the
school system’s problems, par-
ticularly county residents’ per-
ception of the district and their
assumption of corruption at the
system’s highest levels. In addi-
tion to the indictments of Lewis
and Reid, several administrators
were recently demoted or fired
after an internal investigation
revealed they had sold nearly
$100,000 worth of books they
authored to system schools.
School board Vice Chair Ze-
pora Roberts also found herself
answering questions about the
employment of two daughters
in the school system, and the
board publicly chastised her after
she threatened to assault a lo-
cal TV news reporter who asked
her questions about it. Board
member Jay Cunningham was
also criticized after local media
discovered his restaurants had
sold more than $20,000 worth of
food to the district since he was
elected.
• A PUBLICATION OF ACE III COMMUNICATIONS •
Babst said the school system
and board – to which he reports
directly – is focused on repairing
that image.
“It puts everybody in a
negative light, but every day I’m
more impressed with the quality
of people here,” he said about
the recent indictments. “What’s
really important is that we audit
the high-risk activities.”
That’s something the school
system hasn’t truly had before,
Babst and board Chair Thomas
Bowen said. Babst said before
his arrival there was an “au-
dit function” buried inside the
school system’s accounting pro-
cess, but it was mostly focused
on school-level expenditures.
That left the district’s larger
spending, including pricey con-
struction contracts exploited by
Lewis and Reid, to little over-
sight.
Board members told system
administrators two years ago
they wanted to hire a director
of audit, but the position was
never filled due to hiring freezes
and budgetary cutbacks, Bowen
said. Having someone like Babst
sooner may have prevented some
of the issues the school system
must recover from now.
“I do think that having this
position there sooner could have
helped with some of the issues,”
he said. “We can’t say having
him here would have done it,
but in terms of sending the right
message, that’s something that
See Auditor on Page 13A
Voice of a
generation
12-year-old spreading
her message of peace
by Robert Naddra
robert@dekalbchamp.com
Mary-Pat Hector sees herself
involved in politics 10 years from
now—after earning her degree
from UCLA.
The eighth-grader is on a
path that could see those dreams
come to fruition. She founded the
youth-led activist group Youth in
Action about a year ago. Since
then, through promotion on Face-
book, YIA has grown to 12 chap-
ters across Georgia.
Hector is in the process of
organizing a national conference
that will bring together youth
groups from across the county in
the early part of 2011. Hector said
she has been inspired and influ-
enced by several women in her
life, including her mother Kathie
Nesbitt, and Dr. Leslie Ashlock,
the founder of Stone Mountain’s
Solid Foundation school.
“The more I open my eyes and
see the things all these women are
doing, it motivates me,” Hector
said. “My mom owns several day
care centers and Dr. Ashlock owns
our school. The women I’m sur-
rounded with are independent and
strong.”
The 12-year-old has emerged
over the past year as a nationally
recognized advocate for youth.
Consider her portfolio:
•Participating earlier this year in
the “Reclaim the Dream” march
in Washington, D.C., led by Rev.
Al Sharpton, where more than
100,000 people participated.
•Appearing on Sharpton’s radio
show.
•Blogging on Russell Simmons’
hip hop Web site, www.global-
grind.com.
•Participating in a forum on a
CNN segment called “Fixing Our
Schools.”
•Speaking engagements, including
the National Black Power Con-
See Hector on Page 13A
A Section • Page 2A
Experts offer steps
to prevent stalking
by Nigel Roberts
Craig Armstead in-
stalled a camera in the
women’s restrooms of his
Doraville work-
place to video-
tape coworker
Keri Harris.
Ultimately, the
Tucker man
stabbed Harris to
death in 2008 at
the Cargill plant.
A DeKalb jury Armstead
found him guilty,
and on Aug. 27, Armstead
received a life sentence
plus 65 years. According to
prosecutors, Armstead had
been stalking Harris.
According to figures
reported in 2009 from the
U.S. Department of Jus-
tice’s Bureau of Justice
Statistics, 3.4 million adults
reported being a stalking
victim in 2008. Women
were at higher risk, but men
also accounted for a sig-
nificant number of victims.
Stalkers and victims knew
each other to some degree
about 75 percent of times
before the harassing behav-
ior began, according to the
statistics.
Records indicate that
roughly half of stalking of-
fenders committed identity
theft against their victim.
The most common act of
violence against victims
was to be hit, slapped or
knocked down.
Often overlooked is the
psychological affect on
victims. The most common
fear among victims was not
knowing what would hap-
pen next.
Stalking in most juris-
dictions includes a range of
repeated and unwanted acts
meant to harass or intimi-
date, such as following, sur-
veillance and contacting (in
person, phone or e-mail). A
stalker does not necessarily
have to make a direct threat
of physical harm to make
the target fear for their
safety.
Experts at the Women’s
Law Initiative said that
it’s important to report all
incidents and threats to the
police immediately. The or-
ganization advises stalking
targets to save evidence of
harassment, such as voice-
mails, text and e-mail mes-
sages sent by the stalker.
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010
Commissioners decide against
spending $36M on county projects
“Create a stalking log,
Federal bonds will be returned to state
recording the date and time by Jonathan Cribbs ment, had been considered any proposals seriously. The
of each incident as the inci- jonathan@dekalbchamp.com for a host of projects, includ- money had initially been pro-
dents occur, what the stalk- ing renovations to the county posed by CEO Burrell Ellis
er did or said, what actions, The DeKalb County recorder’s court building a to be used to help turn the
if any, you took and Board of Commissioners convention center in south GM plant into a massive live,
who was present,” it decided against diverting an DeKalb or upgrading the work and play development
recommends. estimated $36 million in fed- county’s water and sewer similar to Atlantic Station
The Women’s eral stimulus bonds to county system. near Georgia Tech.
Law Initiative, projects earlier this month Some residents over But that plan fell apart and
founded in Febru- after a plan to use that money several weeks pleaded with commissioners voted against
ary 2000 by a group to redevelop Doraville’s shut- commissioners to use the it last month, citing a lack of
of lawyers, educa- tered GM plant collapsed. money for county projects information. Ellis and county
tors and advocates, The loans, which would while reticent commission- departments scrambled to
launched Women- have been partially subsi- ers said there wasn’t enough
slaw.org in 2005 dized by the federal govern- time to adequately consider See Bonds on Page 3A
to provide legal advice,
information and resources
to those who cannot afford
legal help and specifically
to empower women dealing
with domestic violence.
Targets of stalkers
should stop all contact
and communication with
stalkers. “Responding to
the stalker’s actions may
reinforce and encourage the
behavior,” the organization
stated.
Avoid traveling alone
when possible and always
vary routes. “By changing
your daily routes, it could
make it more difficult for
someone to learn your rou-
tine,” they said. One should
also have a safe place to go
in an emergency. It’s not a
good idea to go home when
being followed. Instead, go
to a police station, a place
of worship or some public
place.
It’s better to tell friends,
neighbors, co-workers and
security staff about stalkers.
“Give them as much infor-
mation as you can about the
stalker, including a photo-
graph and a description of
any vehicles the stalker may
drive,” said Women’s Law.
“Ask them to notify you or
call the police if they see
the stalker at your house.”
Internet use, especially
how one uses social net-
working sites, such as Face-
book, could leave some vul-
nerable: “Be aware of how
much identifying informa-
tion you are posting on
the Internet through social
networking sites and online
purchases. You may want to
select the highest security
settings on any social net-
working accounts and think
carefully before giving out
your personal information
through online purchases,”
the organization advises.
 NEWS THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010 • PAGE 3A

Ceremony honored prisoners of war

by Robert Naddra
robert@dekalbchamp.com

George Vann will tell his

prisoner-of-war story to any-
one who will listen.
Vann, a World War II vet-
eran and former Army Corp
tail gunner, got the chance to
share his experiences at the
National POW/MIA Recogni-
tion Ceremony at the Atlanta
VA Medical Center in Decatur
on Sept. 17.
Vann spent seven months
as a prisoner of war after his
plane was shot down during
a bombing raid on Oct. 14,
1944. It was his eighth mis-
sion.
“All I need is one hour and
15 minutes to go from when I
went in to the time I left,” the
87-year-old Vann said. “When
I first got out, I never talked
about it. And I would have
these dreams every night of
barbed wire. But later I met
some other POWs and formed
an ex-POW chapter and we
started telling each other our
stories. Then the nightmares
began to stop.”
He swapped stories before
the ceremony began with Arnold Woodring, 91, (left), shares prisoner of war stories with 87-year-old George Vann at the National POW/MIA Recognition Ceremo-
91-year-old Arnold Wo- ny at the Atlanta VA Medical Center. Photo by Robert Naddra
odring, who spent 14 months
as a POW in World War II POW veterans as well as from Georgia have been of those who have protected garians who took him to the
after being captured by the those missing in action. captured in wars from the our freedom at such a great Germans.
Germans in Italy. Woodring There are 918 missing Revolutionary War through sacrifice,” Dunson said. “We “We ate ground charcoal
was an infantryman in the American soldiers who have the Gulf wars, according to honor the sacrifice and re- and slept on the ground,”
U.S. Army and had been a been identified from the Viet a proclamation from Gov. markable determination of Vann remembered. “We had
part of two invasions in Sicily Nam War and 1,727 Ameri- Sonny Perdue, which was those who were captured as a little bit of bread and some-
and two in Italy. can servicemen still missing read at the ceremony. Also, prisoners of war.” times we were given the Red
Vann and Woodring were from that war, said Orlando 2,630 have died in captivity Vann’s ordeal exemplified Cross food packets, which
among several former POWs Dunson, associate director and 1,400 are unaccounted the characteristics of which were some Spam and crack-
who attended the ceremony at of the Atlanta VA Medical for, according to the procla- Dunson spoke. Vann’s plane ers.”
the VA. The ceremony hon- Center. mation. was shot down over Austria,
ored and remembered former More than 18,800 soldiers “Let us never lose sight and he was found by Hun-

Bonds roundly rejected the propos-

Continued From Page 2A
suggest additional uses. The
board considered propos-
als up to four days before
it voted to reject the bonds
Sept. 14. Several proposals
were considered at a Sept.
10 retreat, including renova-
tions to the recorder’s court,
which is struggling to process
a backlog of tickets and fines
left from the court’s previous
administration.
Frustrated commissioners
als.
“There are a lot of open
questions here,” Commis-
sioner Jeff Rader said.
“What we’re getting is not
adequate to make a $36 mil-
lion decision in a week’s
time.”
Commissioner Elaine
Boyer was against using the
bond money, saying even if
the commissioners could get
their questions answered, the
public had not had an oppor-
tunity to thoroughly vet the
projects and give input.
But most of the time spent
on the bonds was connected
to the GM plant, a failed
project for Ellis and a major
piece of his pledge to spur job
growth in DeKalb County.
GM closed the plant in 2008,
and projects, including a new
arena for the Atlanta Falcons,
were lightly discussed. But
an Orlando developer, New
Broad Street, agreed to pur-
chase the property in Febru-
ary, setting in motion months
of negotiations between the
county, the developer and
the city of Doraville, which
also considered contributing
millions of tax dollars to the
project.
After a series of ups and
downs, the board of commis-
sioners voted to ax the project
late last month after com-
missioners said they weren’t
interested in partnering with
a developer on a $60 million
project that would cost the
county about $35 million in
federal stimulus bonds that
would have to be repaid.
That project’s collapse
left about a month before the
county had to decide what to
do with the federal stimulus
bonds before they had to be
returned to the state. The
bonds were made available to
the county last year.
As county officials came
forward with proposals, Com-
missioner Connie Stokes
said they didn’t have enough
support on the board.
“I don’t know that it’s
going to be fruitful to keep
bringing this up,” she said.
 OPINION THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010 • PAGE 4A

Let’s strengthen our safety net
One in seven Americans–a record high of 43.6 million people–was poor last year
by Karen Dolan
Most of us have friends, neigh-
bors or family members who have
lost jobs, income and even their
homes in this Great Recession. Or
we have our own personal stories
of increased hardship since the
economic meltdown began in 2008.
The census just released data
that illustrates the extent of the
devastation. Poverty spiked in
2009. One in seven Americans–a
record high of 43.6 million peo-
ple–was poor last year. Children,
single mothers, Blacks and Latinos
are being hit the hardest.
The number of Americans
lacking health insurance also
reached a record high last year of
51 million, yet Congress has cut
government subsidies to health
coverage (COBRA) for the 14
million of us who have lost our
jobs. Lawmakers slashed almost
$12 billion from the food stamp
program that helped feed the more
than one in five of our children
who go to bed hungry in America.
The House and Senate also failed
to extend state job subsidies,
which have put 250,000 low-
income Americans to work in jobs
Guest Opinions
that would not otherwise exist.
Meanwhile, an increasing
number of lawmakers are insisting
on retaining tax cuts for America’s
wealthiest families, those living
comfortably on more than a quar-
ter of a million dollars a year.
This is reckless. Their riches
won’t trickle down to the rest of
us. Economists have repeatedly
found that the wealthy save their
tax cut money instead of pump-
ing it back into the economy. Polls
show that most Americans oppose
extending the costly Bush tax
cuts to the wealthiest Americans.
But enough politicians on Capitol
Hill are hell-bent on it to stall our
chances at recovery.
Yes, most of the obstruction-
ists in Congress are Republicans,
but Senate Democrats haven’t
used their majority and leadership
status to keep effective, critical
safety-net supports from dying
on the Senate floor or in commit-
tee. These aren’t partisan issues,
and we can reverse this trend. Our
nation can embrace the values of
equality and decency.
Here’s how: We can demand
policies that create an economy
that works for all us, not just for
the very rich.
Most crucially, let’s get a ro-
bust public jobs program because
small and private businesses are
being too slow to hire. Public jobs
can be created quickly and directly
employ the unemployed and un-
deremployed. The Jobs for Amer-
ica Now Act in Congress provides
funds for states and localities.
We also need to extend the
emergency subsidized jobs pro-
gram for low-income workers. The
Temporary Assistance to Needy
Families Emergency Fund has put
250,000 people to work. If Con-
gress doesn’t extend this effective
temporary jobs program by the end
of September, these jobs and their
income disappear.
Reinstating and bolstering
emergency stimulus funds for food
stamps and COBRA, retaining
and extending the unemployment
benefits that kept 3.3 million more
people from sinking below the
poverty line in 2009 are also key,
along with foreclosure relief that
enables distressed homeowners to
rent their homes rather than lose
them, thereby averting the down-
ward spiral into poverty.
We have remnants of a safety
net originally designed to buffer
extreme hardship in hard economic
times such as these. But millions
of Americans are falling through
it. We can afford to reverse this
poverty tidal wave. Allowing the
Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest
Americans to simply expire as
they are slated to do would save
$43 billion per year. We can easily
place a very small financial trans-
actions tax–one penny on every
$4 traded in speculative financial
transactions–and raise almost $150
billion. We can end overseas tax
havens and save another $100 bil-
lion per year. And we can slash our
bloated military spending.
Realigning our budget priori-
ties would restore our nation to the
kind of country we all want to live
in, with a decent standard of living
for all. We all deserve well-paying
jobs, affordable health care and a
safety net in times of high unem-
ployment and economic hardship.
Karen Dolan, a fellow at the
Institute for Policy Studies, was a
co-author of the IPS report Bat-
tered by the Storm: How the Safety
Net Is Failing Americans and How
to Fix It. www.ips-dc.org

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 www.ChampionNewspaper.com THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010 •PAGE 5A

Guest Opinions

Health care is America’s cash cow

Human health is too important to allow such gamesmanship
America’s hallowed “market
democracy” has favored us with a
cornucopia of shimmering goods
and services. At least, if you can
afford them. Unfortunately, that
system doesn’t work so well for
health.
Here both the “market” and
the “democracy” have sputtered.
The “market” has succumbed to
a massive complexity that makes
customers throw up their hands in
despair when comparing products.
Even employers with their greater
resources feel trapped by the sur-
plus of detail, the deficit of compe-
tition, and the skyrocketing cost.
In such trying times, when eco-
nomic power gets too great, true
democracies are expected to step in
to look after their struggling citi-
zens. In all other advanced nations
this has happened. Not here. In the
United States all that economic
power has perniciously purchased
the political power. As a result,
“democracy” is now in corporate
hands and our new health reform
law looks first to the health of in-
surers and drug companies, and
only secondarily to the health of
citizens.
This outcome speaks on the one
hand to the avarice of both insur-
ers and medical providers and on
the other hand to the gullibility
of voters. The millions of dollars
spent on political and lobbying
campaigns, though bearing little
resemblance to real-life concerns,
generally win the day.
Consequently, the economical
and practical health systems that
operate in most other countries
barely exist in ours, with the notable
exception of Medicare. In those
other lands universal citizen par-
ticipation in some sort of Medicare/
Social Security-type arrangement
often bypasses private health insur-
ers altogether, or else those insurers
operate under tight federal control.
Even doctors are often salaried, thus
reducing their temptation to order
excessive MRIs, biopsies, CAT
scans and C-sections, which here
commonly add to a physician’s or a
hospital’s bottom line.
Inasmuch as our system is
so heavily based on money, it’s
no shock that the poor bear the
greatest burden of this mercenary
scheme. This sad truth only emerg-
es when sainted dentists combine
to hold a free clinic, or veterans
are offered a day of free care, or a
neighborhood health center opens
in a low-income community.
Then the floodgates open.
Where do all those sick people
come from? It turns out that the
public assistance programs we read
about are very complicated. It’s
easy to miss a date, or answer a
question wrong, or not understand,
or be unable to get to the office or
afford the medicine, or not find a
doctor who accepts Medicaid pa-
tients.
Ideally, human health is too
important to allow such games-
manship. If we were starting from
scratch, our founding principle
would be universal membership,
just like Medicare and Social Se-
curity. We would hire contractors
to actually run the system and con-
tract pharmaceutical companies to
make the drugs. Everyone would
be on salary, just as in education.
But we’re not starting from
scratch. We’re stuck with a seri-
ously broken arrangement that puts
profit above care. Even the new re-
forms will leave millions uncovered
because of cost or technicalities.
Unfortunately, the victims of such
harshness seem somehow irrelevant
in our political system. Maybe some
of those insensitive lawmakers
should be irrelevant too..
OtherWords columnist William
A. Collins is a former state repre-
sentative and a former mayor of
Norwalk, Connecticut.

Offshoring America’s legal jobs

Lawyering has become the latest category of good jobs
disappearing from our Land of the Free
by Jim Hightower
Columnist
Maybe you’re one of the thou-
sands of young lawyers in America
working in some low-skill, part-
time job because law firms have cut
so many of the starting positions
you were educated to take. If so,
I have good news: Jobs for young
lawyers are now mushrooming in
companies that provide legal ser-
vices to U.S. corporations.
Unfortunately, you’ll have to
move to India to get one. And the
pay will be–how shall I put this?–
disappointing.
Lawyering has become the lat-
est category of good jobs disap-
pearing from our Land of the Free
as corporate chieftains continue to
offshore the American workplace.
Wall Street banks, insurance cor-
porations, mining giants and oth-
ers are shipping more and more of
their law business to Pangea3, CPA
Global, UnitedLex and other rapidly
expanding legal outsourcing outfits
in India.
In the past five years the number
of these upstart firms has more than
tripled, with each one offering from
a few dozen to hundreds of young
Indian law school graduates. These
eager legal beagles are hunkered
down in corporate cubicles, ready to
write contracts, review legal docu-
ments, and–increasingly–to handle
the more sophisticated chores of
case management and regulatory
filings that corporations have been
entrusting to more experienced
American lawyers.
Even though U.S. corpora-
tions have amassed record levels of
profits and cash reserves, they are
offshoring their legal work simply
because it puts even more money
in their pockets. They can pay In-
dian lawyers as little as a 10th of
what they’d pay young American
attorneys–and the 90-percent wage
difference goes to the corporation,
rather than being spread through our
economy as family incomes.
It’s another move by the corpo-
rate elite to separate their expand-
ing fortunes from the well-being of
America’s middle class–and from
the well being of America itself.
Jim Hightower is a radio com-
mentator, writer, and public speaker.
He’s also editor of the populist
newsletter, The Hightower Low-
down.
 A Section • Page 6A
Beck's civil rights delusion
You don't start an historic movement just by getting a
few clowns up on a stage and waving a flag
It seems to be the
season of rallies–tea
party rallies, 9/11 ral- by Donald Kaul
lies, 9/12 rallies, Glenn Columnist
Beck rallies. I’m all for
it; I love rallies.
Beck’s was the most
controversial and perhaps the biggest.
We’ll never know how big. Some esti-
mated it at fewer than 100,000 people;
Fox News, fair and balanced as always,
called it 500,000-plus. It was a bunch,
leave it at that.
Some worried that the rally, based
at the Lincoln Memorial, would be an
insult to the memory of Martin Lu-
ther King Jr., who gave his “I Have a
Dream” speech there 47 years earlier. It
wasn’t.
Neither was it the racially charged,
mean-spirited event that many had
feared.
Instead, it was a patriotic, come-to-
Jesus revival meeting of pious, well-
behaved citizens, about as threatening as
a church picnic.
More proof that the Constitution
works, if you let it.
Beck had a constitutional right to
stage his rally at the Lincoln Memorial,
just as…oh, I don’t know…Muslims
have a right to build a community and
prayer center two blocks from Ground
Zero.
Are some people affronted by either
of the acts? You betcha, but that doesn’t
matter to the Constitution. It’s not an in-
strument responsive to political hysteria.
Much has been made of the lack
of political rhetoric at Beck’s rally, as
though that was what made it all right.
That’s beside the point. Beck could have
announced his candidacy for president
for all I cared. He had a right to be there.
Period.
The First Amendment is a hard task-
master. It guarantees the right of people
to say what they want, out loud and in
public, even if saying it is obnoxious
to others. It’s an extraordinary concept,
counterintuitive in many ways, but at the
very core of our greatness as a nation.
That said, I have to tell you that I
don’t agree with much of what Mr. Beck
says, when I can understand it. For ex-
ample, at his rally he said:
“Make no mistake, the flame of free-
Printed on
100% post-consumer
recycled paper
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010
dom is dwindling. The shin-
ing city on the hill, the sun is
setting. If you don’t want it
to go out on our watch, then
you must stand in the blaze.
The fire of truth that does
not burn those who stand in
it, but consumes everything that is not.
Point others to the truth.”
Right.
What’s his first language, Bulgarian?
What in the world was he talking about?
More coherent but just as wrong-
headed was his claim that “this is the
moment that…we reclaim the civil
rights movement.”
No Glenn, that’s not the way to do it.
If you were serious about “reclaim-
ing” the movement, you should have
sicced police dogs on the crowd like
they did in Birmingham, Ala., back in
the day. Or you might have turned high-
powered fire hoses on the rally as they
did in Selma, making sure to drag some
of the demonstrators to filthy jails where
they could be beaten senseless by really
nasty cops.
This might have prompted an NRA
member or two in the crowd to defend
themselves with weapons, which would
have given you the opportunity to shoot
them, like they did Medgar Evers in
Mississippi.
Then you could have disappeared,
like Goodman, Schwerner and Chaney
did in Philadelphia, Miss., when they
tried to register Black people to vote.
Do all of that and you might have
ignited a real civil rights movement,
something you could sink your teeth into
(if you had any left after the police got
through with you).
Of course, you wouldn’t be there,
would you? You’d be buried in a levee
in Mississippi like Goodman, Schwerner
and Chaney were.
I hate to break it to you old buddy,
but you don’t start an historic move-
ment just by getting a few clowns up on
a stage and waving a flag. It takes more
than that–courage for one thing.
It takes more than you’ve got, frank-
ly. But you have every right to try.
OtherWords columnist Donald Kaul
lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. www.oth-
erwords.org
The following comments are pulled straight from our Web site and
are not edited for content or grammar.
Interim superintendent tells chamber audience that
school system must change public perception
The DeKalb Chamber of Commerce is to be thanked
for their concern over School matters in this County.
Interim Supertendant Ramona Tyson must be thanked
also and appears to be sincere in her attempts to right
this sinking ship.
Should SACS issue sanctions or even worse pull
DeKalbs accrediation for its students the Economic Im-
pact would be catastrophic and could last for years.
As Citizens we must ask ourselves, How did things
get so bad in the DeKalb County School System ?
Where was the DeKalb CEO ? Where were the Board
of Commissioners ? Did each have representatives at-
tending these School Board meetings ? Better yet does
the DeKalb CEO and Board of Commissioners have
their repersentatives at these School Board Meetings
NOW ?
In state wide comparisons DeKalb Schools get
grades in the 55-56 range while Gwinett County
Schools get grades in the 82-84 range.
For all of the money that the DeKalb County Board
of Education receives, almost 60% of DeKalbs Entire
Budget ~ The results are a dissaster!
The students of DeKalb County deserve better! The
parents of these children deserve better ! Every tax
paying citizen deserves better!
–Jerry Myer Jackson Jr. posted this on 9/16/10 at 12:04
p.m.
In outcry over sidewalk, Doraville officials urge
patience before judgment
wouldn’t the council have to approve the grant and
the contracts? sidewalks are good. duh!
–Common Sense posted this on 9/15/10 at 09:35 p.m.
Is this the same city that DeKalb Emperor Burrell El-
lis wants to build his Pyramid in ?
–Jerry Myer Jackson Jr. posted this on 9/15/10 at 04:19
p.m.
Bottom line - what Mr. Howe isn’t telling is that he
and the City ignored Council and what Council ap-
proved. And the wheels just keep spinning and spinning
and spinning with nothing gained.
–Get The True Facts posted this on 9/15/10 at 01:39
p.m.
www.ChampionNewspaper.com
News Briefs
Commissioners approve up to $500K in grant money
for new pool in Clarkston
by Jonathan Cribbs
jonathan@dekalbchamp.
com
The DeKalb County
Board of Commissioners
will give the City of
Clarkston up to $500,000
in grant money to build a
new swimming pool and
pool house in Milam Park.
The board approved
Dunwoody kicks off public LCI study meetings
by Matt Amato
The future of Dunwoody
is up for debate, and the
public is strongly encour-
aged to air their views
through a series of meetings
expected to shape the city
for the next 25 years.
Split into two processes
– one for the Georgetown/
Shallowford Road area, the
other for Dunwoody Village
– the plan “will seek to pro-
DeKalb jury clears Dunwoody woman of charges in
husband’s death
A 2½-year-old court
case was put to rest when a
Dunwoody woman was ac-
quitted Sept. 17 of charges
she killed her unarmed
husband.
A DeKalb County jury
found Lona Scott, 47, not
guilty of felony murder,
malice murder, voluntary
manslaughter and illegal
possession of a firearm
during the commission of
a crime. Scott testified that
she was defending herself
from violence at the hands
of her husband Ralph
Clifton Scott, 42, when
she shot him in March
2008. Their 5-year-old
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010
the contract Sept. 14.
The project, paid for
with federal Community
Development Block Grant
money, will replace the
park’s existing pool, which
has been closed since
2008, according to county
information. Construction
could finish in time to open
the pool next year, city
officials told the board.
vide a framework to guide
land use, transportation, and
open space improvements
in the future,” a press re-
lease said.
The first “kickoff” meet-
ing for the Georgetown
study was held on Sept. 15
and for Dunwoody Village
on Sept. 21. October dates
are already set for both.
Topics raised at the
Georgetown meeting
touched upon the possibility
daughter was in the house
at the time of the shooting.
Prosecutors argued
that the couple was go-
ing through a contentious
divorce and that Scott’s
motive in the shooting was
to gain access to her hus-
band’s $5 million estate.
“Whether the defendant
was the one who killed her
husband or not was never
in dispute. The defendant
admitted that she was the
shooter from the start. The
issue was always whether
she killed him in self-
defense. The evidence led
us to believe that it was not
self-defense and, therefore,
Milam Park sits on
nearly 8 acres and is
heavily used. The grant
money will go toward
architectural, engineering
and design services for the
pool. The park maintains
six pavilions, playground
equipment, two tennis
courts, one softball field
and one multi-use field.
of a new civic facility and
how to “enhance the area’s
appearance as a gateway to
the city.”
“At each meeting, par-
ticipants will have an op-
portunity to provide input
and work with the Project
Team in small groups. All
are encouraged to attend
and be part of these two ex-
citing planning processes,”
states the release.
we presented the case to
the jury for their determi-
nation. That is our job and
that is our duty. The jury
has spoken and the case
is now closed,” said Don
Geary, DeKalb County
chief assistant district at-
torney.
Scott had been tried
on the charges in Febru-
ary; however, the first jury
deadlocked, resulting in a
mistrial.
In an Associated Press
report, Ralph Scott’s fa-
ther, John Scott, called
the verdict a “great miscar-
riage of justice.”
A Section • Page 7A
Larry Foster
Champion of the Week
said. “They have
huge jets coming in
to refuel during the
night almost as if it’s
an all-night gas sta-
tion at times.”
Eventually, he got
involved with PDK
Watch, a nonprofit
advocacy group
that’s fought against
expansion of the air-
port. He said he can
average 20 hours a
week drafting and
editing documents
Larry Foster said or press releases the
he first got concerned organization puts out.
Since he started with
about DeKalb-
Peachtree Airport the nonprofit, he said
he’s drafted at least
when he moved to a
nearby area of unin- 300 documents. He’s
corporated DeKalb now the communica-
County in 1986. He’d tions director.
done his due dili- “It’s like a full-time,
gence and checked unpaid job,” he said.
to make sure the “I could have prob-
local schools were ably written two good
academic books in
good. He also made
sure it was unlikely the time I’ve spent.”
any nearby roads Right now, the
would be widened, group is focused
creating more traffic. on trying to redirect
But those didn’t turn PDK’s air traffic over
out to be the only is- Buford Highway
sues. rather than surround-
“We hadn’t ing residential areas,
counted on the fact Foster said. The
group also wants to
of a major airport
two miles from our make sure the airport
doesn’t expand. It’s
house,” he said.
At that point, the already the second-
airport was expand- largest airport in
ing its runway from Georgia in terms of
5,000 feet to 6,000 the number of flights,
feet, Foster said, and he said.
he got interested. “People say we’re
He’s worked as an a bunch of crazies,”
American history Foster said. “But
professor at Georgia we’re hoping to pre-
Tech for more than serve some really
30 years, and he said nice residential ar-
he decided to put his eas. … Most people
writing and research probably wouldn’t
bother to do it, but
skills to use.
“We’re concerned I think it’s important
about, of course, the to make sure this is
noise and especially handled correctly.”
night noise,” Foster
If you would like to nominate
someone to be considered as a
future Champion of the Week,
please contact Kathy Mitchell at
kathy@dekalbchamp.com or at
404-373-7779, ext. 104.
A Section • Page 8A
Violent crime drops in DeKalb in ’09
County
decline
matches
nationwide
trend
by Jonathan Cribbs
jonathan@dekalbchamp.
com
Violent crime in
DeKalb County dropped
significantly in 2009, mir-
roring a nationwide trend
that’s puzzled crime ex-
perts across the country.
Countywide, 3,578
violent crimes were re-
ported last year, according
to recently released FBI
statistics. In 2008, 4,600
violent crimes were re-
ported in the county. The
23 percent drop returned
the county to a violent
crime level it hasn’t seen
since 2005. Violent crime
rose steadily from 2005 to
2008, the data show.
Local law enforcement
officials said they weren’t
entirely sure why the area
saw a significant decrease
in violent crime. The
county started a violent
crimes task force about
two years that connects
county detectives and of-
ficers with representatives
Violent crime in DeKalb County over the past five years
7,000
6,000
5,000
3,578
4,000 Violent
Crimes
3,000
2,000
1,000
2009
from the federal Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms, which also helps
county police acquire grant
money, said police spokes-
woman Mekka Parish.
But to say that partner-
ship is largely responsible
for the decrease likely
wouldn’t be true especially
with crime dropping simi-
larly across the country, she
said.
“There’s just no clear
indicator,” Parish said.
“There’s so many factors.”
Violent and property
crimes fell nationally for
the third consecutive year,
both by about 5 percent
below the previous year,
data show. It is estimated
that 429 violent crimes oc-
curred nationally for every
100,000 residents–or about
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010
4,454
4,600 4,644
2008 2007
1.3 million total.
The number of murders
in DeKalb County also
dropped from 102 in 2008
to 60 in 2009 – the lowest
number in five years. The
number of reported forcible
rapes dropped from 180
to 158, and the number of
robberies fell from 2,933
in 2008 to 2,178 in 2009.
The number of aggravated
assaults, property crimes,
burglaries, thefts, motor ve-
hicle thefts and arsons also
fell.
DeKalb County police
haven’t researched why
exactly crime dropped, said
spokesman Jason Gagnon.
He also pointed to the vio-
lent crimes unit, but some-
thing as simple as a shift in
population could have also
helped spur the drop.
3,518
2006 2005
The department’s budget
was also in better shape
last year, he said. The
county’s board of commis-
sioners recently voted to
allow departments to pay
employees working on the
four remaining holidays of
the year – as long as they
take the same number of
furlough days by the end of
the year.
“With the unpaid holi-
days, morale has taken a
hit,” Gagnon said.
The county’s crime rate
could increase as officers
take those furlough days,
removing them from the
streets, he said. Year to date
the number of county mur-
ders has already exceeded
the 2009 total of 60.
County to
receive more
than $5M for
foreclosure
purchases,
renovations
by Jonathan Cribbs
jonathan@dekalbchamp.com
DeKalb County will re-
ceive $5.2 million from the
federal government to buy
and renovate foreclosed
homes.
Exactly how that money
will be used still needs some
figuring out, however, said
Chris Morris, the county’s
director of community de-
velopment. County officials
await the specific guidelines
for how the money can be
used. Once they receive that,
Morris said her department
will make a recommendation
to CEO Burrell Ellis and the
board of commissioners.
The county still has ques-
tions about how to apply the
money to foreclosed rental
housing and whether the fo-
cus should be on single-fam-
ily rental homes or apartment
complexes. DeKalb County
has a high number of fore-
closed apartment complexes,
Morris said.
“We’re excited about this
grant because there’s lots of
need out there, and we know
it’s going to help a lot of
neighborhoods,” she said.
The money is part of a $1
billion nationwide program,
according to a statement from
Rep. Hank Johnson’s office.
The state and 15 municipali-
ties will receive $50 million
through the program, the third
round of the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Devel-
opment’s Neighborhood Sta-
bilization Program. Gwinnett
County will receive more than
$2 million.
In the first round, DeKalb
received $18.5 million, At-
lanta received $3.9 million,
Rockdale $2.7 million and
Gwinnett $3 million. The
state did not receive any mon-
ey in round two.
“This is a prime example
of putting Main Street before
Wall Street and helping strug-
gling communities get back
on their feet,” Johnson said
in a statement. “These are
the kinds of investments we
need to address the devastat-
ing impact of abandoned and
foreclosed homes in our com-
munity.”
www.ChampionNewspaper.com
Doraville considers
massage parlor ordinace
by Matt Amato
Massage parlors in
Doraville may be on the way
out if an ordinance tighten-
ing their regulation is passed
next month by the city coun-
cil.
If passed, anyone per-
forming massage services
must be licensed by the state
or face the possibility of
fines or business closure.
The council did not vote
on the issue at its Sept. 13
meeting but is expected to do
so next month.
The ordinance is designed
to crack down on exist-
ing massage parlors while
discouraging more opening
from in the future.
“All you have to do is
pick up a copy of Creative
Loafing, look at the ads in
the back and see how many
[massage parlors] are in
Doraville,” said Luke Howe,
Doraville’s assistant to the
mayor. “People have just
had enough. Doraville has a
bad name because of these
places.”
There are currently eight
massage parlors within the
city limits and more nearby
in unincorporated DeKalb
County. Doraville’s previ-
ous ordinance also required
licensing but was rarely
enforced by the city, said
Howe, thereby creating a
Murder investigation of 12-year-old
leads to unrelated charges
by Robert Naddra
robert@dekalbchamp.com
While in- is not considered a suspect
vestigating in the child’s death at this
the killing
of 12-year-
old Nicho-
las Alan
Aleman,
DeKalb
Jorge Mireles County
Police have
arrested the
ex-boyfriend of the child’s
mother on domestic violence
charges.
Jorge Mireles was ar-
rested on battery and kidnap-
ping charges Sept. 17 against
Nicholas’ mother and is in the
DeKalb County Jail, police
spokesman Jason Gagnon
said.
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010
safe haven.
The new ordinance tight-
ens pre-existing restrictions
and includes foot massage
businesses, not typically a
front for illegal prostitution.
One massage parlor em-
ployee not wishing to be
named said the ordinance is
racist and unfairly targets the
Asian community – a point
shared by others and one
that Howe admitted hearing
before.
In a blog earlier in this
year, Councilman Bob
Roche warned that targeting
massage parlors could create
“a mess.”
“I support limiting the
number of such establish-
ments in town, but we have
to be extremely careful about
trying to shut down existing
businesses,” he wrote. “Foot
massage establishments are
in a gray area. I’ve traveled
in Shanghai and foot mas-
sage is part of the Asian
culture. The vast majority
of establishments are on the
up and up, and we should be
closely monitoring them for
any illegal activity.”
Howe vehemently denied
the ordinance targeted the
Asian community.
“We want to showcase
the best of Asian culture, and
we’re proud of our Asian
community. The city has a
very inclusive culture,” he
“These charges are unre-
lated to the death of the little
boy,” Gagnon said. [Mireles]
time.”
The Sequoyah Middle
School sixth grader was
found dead on Sept. 14 in-
side a unit at the Highland
Knoll Apartments at 3699
A Section • Page 9A
said. “They’ve [massage
parlors] fought tooth and nail
against us and are trying to
play the race card.”
Some in the business
community have questioned
cracking down on any busi-
nesses at a time when up to
40 percent of Buford High-
way retail space is vacant.
However, the ordinance
has received strong backing
from resident associations,
which believe massage par-
lors have damaged the city’s
image.
“We would like to see the
development of more desir-
able businesses that people
can use and the containment
of undesirable businesses,”
said Susan Frasse, a 25-year
Doraville resident. “We want
to clean up the city.”
Frasse said she believes
Doraville’s current LCI
study, exploring ways to re-
generate the shuttered Gen-
eral Motors plant, has helped
raise awareness of local is-
sues. Massage parlors in Doraville, like this one on Buford Highway,
“Residents want to see could be facing tighter regulation. Photo by Matt Amato
more positive develop-
ments,” she said. “There
have always been concerns
about the decline of desirable
businesses in the city.
“If people doubt these
places have problems, go
online and see how they ad-
vertise.”
REMEMBER SERVICE CHANGES! SEPT 25, 2010
BE PREPARED FOR MARTA
Buford Highway in Doraville
SERVICE CHANGES 9/25/10:
by his mother. Nicholas’
death was ruled a homicide Detailed information explaining how to adjust your
last week as detectives deter- commute due to changes is available in various for-
mined the boy was strangled.
mats: • www.itsmarta.com for interactive links show-
ing bus route changes as well as text descriptions. • Printed booklets in RideStores or
mailed upon request through the website or by calling Customer Service at 404-848-
5000. • Route maps and descriptions posted in all bus bays • Call 404 848-5000 and
ask one of our Customer Service agents to help you plan your trip.
RAIL SERVICE CHANGES
• Weekday 6 A.M. – 7 P.M. 15 minutes all lines.
• Weeknights 7 P.M. – 1 A.M. 20 minutes all lines.
• Weekends 20 minutes all lines.
BREEZE CHANGES: OCT. 3, 2010
• Multi-Day Breeze passes go up in price.
• Breeze Tickets and Cards modified.
• Reloading at bus fareboxes made easier.
404 848-5000 TTY: 404 848-5665 www.itsmarta.com
 A Section • Page 10A
University chancellor makes annual visit to GPC
by Robert Naddra
robert@dekalbchamp.com
The possibility of capping no matter where they want to downturn, there has been an
the Dunwoody campus, the
college’s TAG program and
a statewide rise in adjunct
professors were among top-
ics discussed by University
System of Georgia Chancel-
lor Errol B. Davis during his those issues:
annual visit to Georgia Perim-
eter College.
Davis met with GPC
president Dr. Anthony Tri-
coli, the college’s executive
team, faculty and students
Sept. 20 at the college’s Dun- lators to decide.”
woody campus. Davis said he
visits three campuses every
month to learn the needs and
concerns of each school. The
USG oversees 35 colleges
and universities in the state.
Davis, who fielded ques-
tions from the media as part
of his visit, was asked about
the possibility of capping
enrollment on the GPC Dun-
woody campus.
“We want to be good com-
munity citizens,” Davis said
of the USG. “But you have to
be careful because the most
vocal [person] may not be the
voice of the community. Most
communities want our insti-
tutions and they want them
larger. They are economic
engines.”
Davis said that USG insti-
tutions bring in $12.5 billion
to the economy. The USG
employs 42,000 people and
there are 310,000 students in
the system, he said. The only
school in the USG that has
had its enrollment capped is
the Gainesville State College
Oconee campus, Davis said.
Davis said it was a pos-
sibility to add a campus in
Roswell or Alpharetta to take
the burden off the growing
Dunwoody campus.
“We have to make sure we
satisfy the needs of our stu-
dents,” Davis said.
Tricoli also attended the
session with the media and
addressed the school’s Trans-
fer Admission Guarantee
program. The TAG program
enables students to be guaran-
teed admission upon transfer-
ring to their first choice of a
four-year college or universi-
ty if they meet all the criteria
in the agreement.
GPC has TAG agreements
with 39 institutions, Tricoli
said.
“We’re in negotiations
with Syracuse University
and we’re trying to wrap up
about 50 in total,” he said.
“We were going to stay in
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010
state with TAG until we heard are entering their second
from our students. We want year without a pay increase.
to make the transfer seamless Because of the economic
go.” increase in adjunct profes-
Davis also answered sors): “They are concerned
questions concerning other about losing colleagues be-
education issues both locally cause departments depend
and statewide. Here are his on a collection of scholars. If
comments regarding some of that falls apart, it’s extremely
difficult to put it back togeth-
On the future of the HOPE er. There are fewer full-time
Scholarship: “If it doesn’t and tenured faculty and a lot
change it will go bankrupt. more adjunct professors. It’s a
If nothing changes it will go function of the economy and
broke in one or two years. I don’t see the economy turn- University System of Georgia chancellor Eroll B. Davis addressed
the media during his visit to the Georgia Perimeter College Dun-
How it changes is up to legis- ing around in the short-term.” woody campus. Photo by Bill Roa
On eliminating the Re-
On the rise in adjunct gents Test: “The Board of the Regents Test. Five have ber of access institutions that
professors across the state Regents has allowed institu- applied and five have been have applied for elimination
(Faculty at USG institutions tions to apply to eliminate approved. There are a num- of the test.”
DeKalb County Wants to Hear From You
Regarding the Proposed Franchise Agreement Renewal
with Comcast Cable Communications
Send your comments and/or concerns regarding Comcast’s current performance under
the current franchise agreement and/or the future cable-related needs and interests of
your community to cable@co.dekalb.ga.us.
The Champion Weather Sept. 23, 2010
Seven Day Forecast In-Depth Local Forecast Today's Regional Map Weather History
Today we will see sunny skies with a high Sept. 23, 1983 - A thunder-
THURSDAY
Sunny
temperature of 90º, humidity of 48% and storm caused a timber blow-
High: 90 Low: 68
an overnight low of 68º. The record high Dunwoody down in the Kaibab National
temperature for today is 94º set in 1931. Forest north of the Grand
Friday, skies will remain sunny with a Smyrna Doraville
88/67 Lilburn
Canyon. Two hundred acres
89/68
FRIDAY high temperature of 88º. 89/68 were completely destroyed and
89/68
Sunny
Decatur
Snellville scattered destruction occurred
High: 88 Low: 69 *Last Week’s Almanac 90/68 across another 3,300 acres.
Atlanta 90/68
Date Hi Lo Normals Precip
SATURDAY Tuesday 90 57 83/65 0.00"
90/68
Lithonia
Mostly Sunny Wednesday 90 62 83/65 0.00" College Park 91/68
Sept. 24, 1926 - The temperature
High: 90 Low: 68 Thursday 90 63 82/65 0.00" 91/68 Morrow
at Yellowstone Park dipped to
nine degrees below zero. It was
Friday 93 68 82/64 0.00" 91/68 the coldest reading of record in
SUNDAY Saturday 92 69 82/64 0.00" Union City
the United States during
91/68
Partly Cloudy Sunday 92 70 82/64 0.00"
September. Severe freezes were
Monday 95 65 81/63 0.00"
High: 85 Low: 61
Rainfall . . . . . . .0.00" Average temp . .78.3
Hampton widespread over the northwest-
MONDAY Normal rainfall . .0.98" Average normal 73.2
92/69 ern United States, causing great
Partly Cloudy Departure . . . . .-0.98" Departure . . . . .+5.1 crop destruction.
High: 82 Low: 60 *Data as reported from De Kalb-Peachtree Airport
Local Sun/Moon Chart This Week Tonight's Planets
TUESDAY Day Sunrise Sunset Moonrise Moonset
Rise Set
Mostly Sunny Full Thursday 7:26 a.m. 7:33 p.m. 7:25 p.m. 7:39 a.m. New
Mercury 6:05 a.m. 6:53 p.m.
High: 86 Low: 60 9/23 10/7
Friday 7:26 a.m. 7:31 p.m. 7:54 p.m. 8:35 a.m.
Venus 10:42 a.m. 8:53 p.m.
Saturday 7:27 a.m. 7:30 p.m. 8:26 p.m. 9:32 a.m.
WEDNESDAY Sunday 7:28 a.m. 7:29 p.m. 9:02 p.m. 10:30 a.m.
Mars 10:16 a.m. 9:06 p.m.
Partly Cloudy Last Monday 7:28 a.m. 7:27 p.m. 9:44 p.m. 11:29 a.m. First
Jupiter 7:25 p.m. 7:21 a.m.
Saturn 7:56 a.m. 7:56 p.m.
High: 85 Low: 64 9/30 Tuesday 7:29 a.m. 7:26 p.m. 10:32 p.m. 12:28 p.m. 10/14 Uranus 7:23 p.m. 7:23 a.m.
Wednesday 7:30 a.m. 7:25 p.m. 11:27 p.m. 1:25 p.m.
Local UV Index National Weather Summary This Week Weather Trivia
?
The Northeast will see isolated showers and thunderstorms today and Friday, mostly
clear to partly cloudy skies Saturday, with the highest temperature of 94º in Evansville,
What is the sunniest
0 - 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11+ Ind. The Southeast will see mostly clear to partly cloudy skies with scattered thunder-
place on Earth?
UV Index
storms today through Saturday, with the highest temperature of 94º in Tampa, Fla. The Northwest will Answer: In terms of annual average
0-2: Low, 3-5: Moderate, see isolated showers today, mostly clear to partly cloudy skies Friday and Saturday, with the highest sunshine, the sunniest recorded
6-7: High, 8-10: Very High temperature of 77º in Torrington, Wyo. The Southwest will see mostly clear skies today through place on Earth is Yuma, Arizona
11+: Extreme Exposure Saturday, with the highest temperature of 100º in Gila Bend, Ariz. with 4,300 hours per year.
StarWatch By Gary Becker - In Search of Libyan Desert Glass
During the past several weeks I have been researching meteorites, in preparation for a talk to the PA Earth Sciences Association. Not all space rocks come from outer space.
It is currently thought that many meteorites fragment and explode before hitting the Earth, sending a shower of smaller stones and an intense, hot shock front that melts the
rock at ground zero. Irgizite glass found in the Zhamanshin Crater in Kazakhstan and Libyan Desert glass may be prime examples of this process. It is the Libyan Desert
Glass that intrigues me the most. It is simply melted sand. So why is it priced normally at three dollar per gram? Boot up your computer and Google Egypt. Then go to the
SW corner of the country where Libyan Glass can be found. Yes, it comes from Egypt. It is at the intersection of Libya to the west, and the Sudan to the south. Look around for roads.
There are none. It is about as far away from civilization as you can possibly get. The closest roads on the Egyptian side, where the approach is made, are 600 miles away. That’s from the
Jersey Shore to western Ohio. When you go in search of Libyan Glass, there is no margin for error. No one will come and rescue you if you have a flat or get stuck in the sand or run out
of anything necessary to return back to humanity. The Land Rovers that make the trip carry 150 gallons of fuel, 150 gallons of water, and all of the spare parts necessary to fix the vehicle
if the unimaginable happens. All driving stops around noontime because shadows are so scarce that it is impossible to see if you’d be driving off a cliff. In the shifting dunes blown by the
endless, hot wind, Libyan Glass glints with an eerie greenish hue near sundown and sunup. You might be lucky and collect a hundred pounds or more on your trip, and then, you may return
empty-handed. I now feel a little guilty at having chewed down a dealer to two dollars a gram to acquire my sample. www.astronomy.org
 HEALTH
DeKalb County Board of Health
offers seasonal flu vaccine
The DeKalb County
Board of Health’s 2010-2011
seasonal flu vaccination pro-
gram is under way. The ear-
ly vaccination effort is part
of the national goal to reach
people now about the impor-
tance of protecting oneself
against the flu.
Last year, many Geor-
gians received both a sea-
sonal flu shot and the shot for
H1N1 flu, which was then
an emerging strain. This
year’s vaccination combines
H1N1 with two other circu-
lating viruses. People who
received the 2009 H1N1 in-
fluenza vaccine or had H1N1
flu should still get the new
2010-2011 seasonal flu vac-
cine, according to the board
of health.
“Our goal is to encourage
everyone from the age of 6
months and older to get vac-
cinated,” said S. Elizabeth
Ford, M.D., M.B.A., district
health director of the DeKalb
County Board of Health.
Ford added that there are
specific groups at high risk of
being hospitalized or dying
from flu complications. The
high-risk groups
are:
Children 6 months and older
adults 65 years of age and
older, pregnant women and
people who have medical
conditions including:
• Asthma (even if it’s con-
trolled or mild)
• Neurological and neuro-
developmental conditions,
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010 • PAGE 11A
PHYSICIAN
SEMINAR
beyond
PUSHING
including disorders of the those on chronic steroids); • Standard flu vaccination
brain, spinal cord, periph- • People younger than 19 for Vaccines for Children-
eral nerve and muscle, such years of age who are re- eligible children: $14.81.
as cerebral palsy, epilepsy ceiving long-term aspirin • FluMist for Vaccines for
(seizure disorders), stroke, therapy; Children-eligible children:
intellectual disability (men- • People with chronic ob- $14.81.
tal retardation), moderate structive pulmonary dis- • Fluzone High Dose: $40 Fit Feet
to severe developmental ease; (covered by Medicare).
delay, muscular dystrophy • People who are morbidly Thursday,
and spinal cord injury; obese (having a body mass Checks (on Georgia September 30, 2010
• Chronic lung disease, such index of 40 or greater). banks), cash, credit cards,
as chronic obstructive pul- Medicaid, Medicare (part B) 6:30 -7:30 p.m.
monary disease and cystic In addition to the stan- and PeachCare for Kids are
fibrosis; dard flu vaccine, two other accepted; cards must be pre- DeKalb Medical
• Heart disease, such as vaccines are available: Flu- sented. Theatre,
congenital heart disease, zone High-Dose, which The Vaccines for Chil-
congestive heart failure and creates a stronger immune dren program provides N. Decatur Campus
coronary artery disease; response in people 65 years low-cost flu vaccines for
• Blood disorders, such as and older than the standard uninsured and under-insured DeKalb Medical podiatrist
sickle cell disease; vaccine; and FluMist nasal children under age 19. To James L. Bouchard, D.P.M.,
• Endocrine disorders, such spray vaccine for healthy see if a child is eligible, call will discuss the medicine
as diabetes mellitus; children. a nearby Board of Health and surgery of the foot,
• Kidney disorders; The DeKalb County center. ankle and leg, including the
• Liver disorders; Board of Health’s fees for flu Individuals with health most common problems
• Metabolic disorders; vaccines are: insurance coverage through
• Weakened immune system • Standard flu vaccination: either United Health Care or experienced by people. Tips
due to disease or medica- $25 (covered by Medicaid, Cigna can bring their cards to on injury prevention and
tion (such as people with Medicare and PeachCare receive flu vaccination at any special information for people
HIV, AIDS or cancer and for Kids). Board of Health location. planning to participate in the
Susan B. Komen 3-Day Walk
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING and for people who walk for
For October 14, 2010 exercise will also be presented.
In accordance with Section 206, Chapter 94 of the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Chamblee, FREE SEMINAR
Georgia, the Mayor and City Council of the City of Chamblee, Georgia will hold a public hearing Appointments are required.
regarding an amendment to Appendix A of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Chamblee, the Call 404.501.WELL to reserve
Chamblee Zoning Ordinance, so as to substantially revise Article VII regarding Nonconforming your space in this FREE lecture.
Situations” to amend Section 301 (Definitions) so as to provide certain new and revised
definitions; to substantially revise Section 504 regarding application of Articles IX, XI, and XII to
redevelopment; to amend Sections 502, 506, 1202.E., 1205.H., 907.A.1, 617, 905.A., 803 and
904.A.3.
The hearing will be held on October 14, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. to receive citizen input on the proposed
variance. The public hearing will be held at the Chamblee Civic Center, 3540 Broad Street,
www.dekalbmedical.org
Chamblee, GA 30341
DM-163 Fit Feet_CFP.indd 1 9/16/10 3:09:55 PM
 A Section • Page 12A
AROUND
ATLANTA
Big band event comes to Northlake Mall
Northlake Mall is hosting its monthly big band
event. Visitors can listen to the sounds of Atlanta-
New York Connection on Sept. 28 in Northlake Mall’s
Food Garden. The event is held the last Tuesday
night of every month, 6-8 p.m. The event is free and
open to the public; participants are urged to come
early and have dinner before dancing. The address is
4800 Briarcliff Road, N.E., Atlanta.
Emory hosts Korean song and dance
The Chae Hyan Soon Dance Company brings
its visually striking “Dyamic Korea: Dance & Song”
to Emory University. Handed down from generation
to generation, the arresting movements of “Dynamic
Korea” reflect the essential rhythms of traditional
Korean dance with 12 Korean music and dance
numbers performed by 12 artists.
“Dynamic Korea: Dance & Song” will be performed
at Emory’s Performing Arts Studio, 1804 N. Decatur
Road, Atlanta, on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 4 p.m. This
performance is free and open to the public, but
registration is required. For more information or to
register for tickets, call (404) 727-6427, or visit www.
realc.emory.edu/korean.
CLARKSTON
English Country Dance Weekend upcoming
The folk band A Joyful Noise with Seth Tepfer
will perform at the Fandango English Country Dance
Weekend Sept. 24 at the Clarkston Community
Center. Admission is $9. The dance is sponsored
by the Chattahoochee Country Dancers. Call the
community center at (404) 508-1050 for more
information.
DECATUR
SWD alumni to hold community tailgate
SWD Alumni Organization is hosting its second
Annual Community Tailgate Event to foster a sense of
unity and support among the alumni, current students
and the surrounding community, while celebrating
pride in DeKalb County. The event will be held on
Saturday, Sept. 25, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the SWD High
School front parking lot, 2863 Kelley Chapel Road,
Decatur. To volunteer or make donations, visit www.
mbmlife.com/swdcommunitytailgate or call Gabriel
Maupin at (404) 408-7297.
Dinner to honor marrow donors
Jovita Moore, news anchor and reporter at WSBTV,
will host the Be The Match Foundation® 2010 Tribute
to Partnership Dinner on the Agnes Scott College
campus on Saturday, Sept. 25. The event, at which a
Georgia transplant recipient will meet her marrow do-
nor for the first time, will be in Letitia Pate Evans Hall,
Agnes Scott College, 141 East College Ave., Decatur.
The reception will be at 6 p.m. and the program will
be 7 -9 p.m. Individual tickets are $100. For more in-
formation, contact Be The Match Foundation - Geor-
gia Office, 315 West Ponce de Leon Avenue, Suite
344, Decatur at (404) 377-4430.
Church to hold fish fry
Great Faith Ministries is holding a Community
Fish Fry on Saturday, Sept. 25, noon - 4 p.m. Whit-
ing and tilapia plates with two sides, a roll and a drink
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010
DEKALB
are $10. There also will be homemade ice cream for
sale. Great Faith Ministries is located at 1600 Agape
Way, Decatur. For more information, call (770) 771-
3299.
Child Safety Day set
Area residents can learn how to keep children
safe in and around cars on Child Safety Day on Sat-
urday, Sept. 25, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. The
event will be at the Nalley Automotive Super Center,
1555 Church Street, Decatur, at the corner of Church
Street and North Decatur Road.
The fair will feature free car seat checks. In ad-
dition, demonstrations and displays will cover child
passenger safety and preventing driveway accidents
and heat-related illness and death.
By Georgia law, all children under age 6 must be
in approved, properly installed safety seats. After a
child reaches the weight or height limit of his car seat
at about age 4, he should be in a booster seat until
he is 4-foot, 9-inches tall and about age 8. Children
under age 13 are safest in the back seat, away from
the airbag, dashboard and windshield.
The sponsors of Child Safety Day are Safe Kids
of DeKalb, the Nalley Automotive Group, the DeKalb
County Board of Health and the Trial Lawyers Sec-
tion of the DeKalb Bar Association.
For more information, contact Janet Weisman,
injury prevention coordinator, DeKalb County Board
of Health, at (404) 294-3719 or jeweisman@dhr.
state.ga.us.
Volunteers needed for bicycle safety training
Decatur Active Living is teaming with City Schools
of Decatur and Safe Routes to School again this year
to provide bicycle safety training for fourth graders at
Glennwood Academy. Volunteers are needed to as-
sist with this training, which will be held at the school.
Dates for the training are Sept. 27 - 29. The morn-
ing shift is from 8-10:45 a.m., and afternoon 11 a.m.
until 2:15 p.m.
Date and times for volunteers are below:
Monday, Sept. 27
8 – 10:45 a.m • 11 a.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 28
8 – 10:45 a.m. • 11 a.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Wednesday, Sept. 29
8 – 10:45 a.m. • 11 a.m. – 2:15 p.m.
For additional information, call Cheryl Burnette at
(678) 553-6541 or Cheryl.burnette@decaturga.com
or Greg White (678) 553-6543.
Flea market, bake sale to benefit children’s home
The United Methodist Children’s Home is holding
a flea market and bake sale, Oct. 8 and 9, 9-4 p.m.
The Sandwich Shop will sell breakfast and lunch.
There will be a variety of baked desserts for sale.
The bake sale begins at 8:30 a.m.
Proceeds from the sale will help the children and
families served by the Children’s Home, which offers
residential, community-based and family preservation
services to more than 1,500 children and families an-
nually. The event will be held at the United Method-
ist Children’s Home located at 500 South Columbia
Drive, Decatur. For more information, call (404)327-
5820.
Flea market, bake sale to benefit children’s home
The United Methodist Children’s Home is holding
a flea market and bake sale, Oct. 8 and 9, 9-4 p.m.
The Sandwich Shop will sell breakfast and lunch.
There will be a variety of baked desserts for sale.
The bake sale begins at 8:30 a.m.
Proceeds from the sale will help the children and
families served by the Children’s Home, which offers
residential, community-based and family preservation
services to more than 1,500 children and families an-
nually. The event will be held at the United Method-
ist Children’s Home located at 500 South Columbia
Drive, Decatur. For more information, call (404)327-
5820.
DUNWOODY
Shopping event to benefit charity
Shoppers can save 15-20 percent on merchan-
dise Oct. 20 and Oct. 21 at Bloomingdale’s in Perim-
eter Mall by purchasing tickets from Odyssey Family
Counseling Center for $10, with 100 percent of the
tickets sales going to benefit Odyssey. The center,
which provides mental health services without regard
to clients’ ability to pay, serves clients in DeKalb Ful-
ton and Henry counties. The tickets also may be used
at the Lenox Square Bloomingdale’s. To purchase
tickets, call Sheila Kennedy at (404)768-1156, ext.
103 or visit www.odysseycounseling.org.
Operation Pill Drop set for Sept. 25
The Dunwoody Police Department, along with the
Drug Enforcement Agency and Safe Kids Georgia will
conduct Operation Pill Drop on Sept. 25, 10 a.m. to
2 p.m. Residents are invited to bring their unwanted
medication to the front lobby of the police depart-
ment at 41 Perimeter Center East, Suite 100. This is
a prescription drug take-back event where residents
can dispose of expired, unwanted or unused prescrip-
tion or over-the-counter drugs to keep them out of
the wrong hands. Not accepted are needles, ther-
mometers, IV bags, personal care products, empty
containers, inhalers, medical equipment or hydrogen
peroxide. For more information, call (678) 382-6907.
LITHONIA
Ventriloquist to come to Walker Center
Ventriloquist comedian Willie Brown, along with his
pal “Woody” and his new senior citizen companion
“Uncle Rufus” will appear at the Lou Walker Senior
Center on Friday, Sept. 24, at 6:30 p.m. Also featured
in the show is the LWSC Comedy Team. The $25
ticket price includes the show and a full-course din-
ner. The Lou Walker Senior Center is located at 2538
Panola Road, Lithonia. For more information, call
(770) 879-1027.
STONE MOUNTAIN
Citywide yard sale scheduled
The city of Stone Mountain will hold its annual
citywide yard sale on Saturday, Oct. 9, from 8:30
a.m. until 3 p.m. on the First Baptist Church lawn in
the center of town. Set up begins at 7:30 a.m. on the
day of the sale—tables will not be provided. A limited
number of 10-foot-by-10-foot spaces under the pa-
vilion are available at $20 each on a first come, first
served basis or 10-foot-by-10-foot lawn spaces can
be rented for $10 each. For a fee of $5 for city resi-
dents or $10 for local areas in close proximity to the
city limits, individuals or groups may have yard sales
scheduled for the same period and be listed on the
“Yard Sale Trail” map. A list of “Trail” participants will
be provided to shoppers who visit the pavilion and
church lawn on the day of the sale. For more infor-
mation, contact Susan Coletti at (404) 444-5607 or
Stone Mountain City Hall at (770) 498-8984.
 www.ChampionNewspaper.com THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010 A Section • PAGE 13A
Auditor
Continued From Page 1A

would make me kind of regret

that we didn’t hire him sooner.”
Babst agreed that a director of
audit could have discovered those
problems. But he said he doesn’t
want to focus on the district’s
immediate past and is instead
interested in building a credible
system of checks and balances
inside the school system’s finan-
cial system. He said he intends
to study the practices of nearby
school districts and possibly rec-
ommend hiring additional per-
sonnel to oversee that system. He
said he’ll be under the day-to-day
direction of interim Superinten-
dent Ramona Tyson and her suc-
cessor, but he’ll answer entirely
to the school board – another way
to ensure independent audits of
district spending are protected
from influence.
“I’m going to let them know
what’s going on,” he said. “I’m
certainly going to look at them
for a lot of input, but I think
they’re giving me a lot of lati-
tude. … Everything I’m doing is
very transparent.” Mary-Pat Hector, 12, is the founder of the the youth-led activist group Youth in Action and has gained national attention through
Babst said he finished his her public appearances and blogs. Photo by Robert Naddra
master’s of business administra-
tion at Xavier University in Cin- Hector
cinnati in 1978 and was immedi- Continued From Page 1A
ately snapped up by GM. He has
worked there since as an auditor vention in Atlanta and a youth Ashlock. “The kids end up in our organized by Hector early next year–
or manager. When he was a part conference in Gwinnett County. court system. We need to bring fa- possibly around the Martin Luther
of GM’s corporate audit staff, he thers into the picture and encourage King, Jr. holiday or President’s Day,
directed fraud investigations and She is quick to point out that then to stay in their children’s life.” Hector said. The Hear Our Voices
managed company-wide audits of her organization goes beyond skin It is an issue that Hector deals Youth in Action youth conference
practices ranging from manufac- color. with regularly. has generated interest from youth
turing, engineering and finance to “Dr. King’s message was “All my friends don’t live with groups across the country, and Hec-
purchasing and construction. about peace, not race,” Hector said. their fathers,” Hector said. “When tor said Sharpton’s group—the Na-
Over the years, the American “That’s what I believe Youth in Ac- things like this happen to friends, I tional Action Network—may partner
automotive industry has become tion is about. That’s what I want either write or do something about it.” with YIA at the conference.
increasingly pressured as foreign people to see.”
imports squeezed American com- She organized the group’s first
panies’ market share and automo- big peace march last year. YIA
tive fuel prices increased. GM
declared bankruptcy in 2009 and
marched along Memorial Drive from
the county jail to the Tupac Center to
‘Her message is something that
is partially owned by the U.S.
Treasury. That contributed in part
to Babst’s decision to leave De-
protest gang violence in the area.
“A lot of our peers are dying
and there’s nothing to do for kids
should impact a generation and
troit, he said.
“You start to look around,” he
said. “You start to be concerned.”
in Stone Mountain except get into
trouble,” Hector said. “We wanted to
let people know that gang violence is
cause them to hear information to
So, Babst took the job. His
family still lives in Michigan, but
for the next six to eight months,
an issue.”
Her Facebook bio underscores change their environment.’
her mission. It reads, “I am the
he said, he’ll be alone in DeKalb founder and President of Youth in
County, focused on the school Action, a coalition of youth and – Darius Ashlock
system. young adults who are dedicated to Solid Foundation school administrator
“I will live and breathe this changing the world one project at
place,” he said. a time. I am 12 years old but still a
Bowen said he hopes so. revolutionary.” Nowadays Hector has plenty Hector’s mother estimates her
“If he does his job as I know After forming the group, Hector of help. Since YIA has grown, daughter attends a rally, speaking
he will, he’s going to identify started a Facebook page where she Solid Foundation has created a class engagement, conference or other
a number of areas that need to continually encourages others to start around the group. There are 57 Solid method to get the message out about
be fixed, a number of processes a YIA chapter in their area. Foundation students who are mem- once a week.
that are not being followed cor- Each YIA chapter has its own bers of YIA and a separate Stone “The most important thing is
rectly,” he said. “We haven’t had focus, Hector said. The Solid Foun- Mountain chapter has 62 members. helping people,” Hector said. “What
someone in his role questioning dation chapter focuses on fatherless “Her message is something that really makes me happy is when
all of these things. So I expect children and education, she said. The should impact a generation and people come up to me and listen to
him to find and correct a number group’s national focus is violence cause them to hear information to what I have to say—not because of
of items and put in practices and and childhood obesity. change their environment,” Ashlock how old I am, but because I have a
procedures to make sure (fraud “A lot of juvenile behavior is said. strong message. I get excited when
and mistakes) don’t happen based on being fatherless,” said Sol- The group will hold its first na- that happens.”
again.” id Foundation administrator Darius tional conference—which is being
 EDUCATION
Carter on New York mosque: Build it
Former president discusses Tea Party, ‘The Daily Show’ and more at Emory town hall
by Jonathan Cribbs
jonathan@dekalbchamp.
com
The question came
from the center of the gym,
causing a tense hush to fall
over the crowd.
What does the Jimmy
Carter, the 39th president
of the United States, think
about an Islamic group’s
controversial intentions to
build a mosque two blocks
from the World Trade Cen-
ter memorial site in New
York?
“Build it,” he said.
There was a slight pause,
and then applause from
several hundred Emory
University freshmen. “I
think it’s a completely con-
tradictory statement to say
they have a constitutional
right to do it and then say,
‘Don’t let them do it.’”
It was Carter’s response
to one question in a series
from the university’s fresh-
man class, a yearly event
at the school. Students
were asked to write ques-
tions on cards, which were
placed in a tumbler and
picked at random for the
former president. Carter
spoke about perceptions of
his presidency, memories
as a freshman in college,
his hope for the country’s
future and the expanding
influence of the conserva-
tive Tea Party movement
– a force he said he doesn’t
take lightly.
“I think the Tea Party
movement is going to be
a very important factor in
November in the mid-term
elections,” he said just one
day after Tea Party candi-
date Christine O’Donnell
defeated veteran Repub-
lican Sen. Mike Castle
in a nationally publicized
race in Delaware. “I think
they’re going to be very
successful.”
Carter said he believed
the movement is a re-
sponse to a widespread
dissatisfaction and skepti-
cism of the federal gov-
ernment and a national
political polarization not
seen since the Civil War.
Though he said he’s fearful
of some Tea Party views,
he said he’s largely sup-
portive.
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010 • PAGE 14A
movie if one was ever made
about him.
“Clark Gable is dead,”
he said. “And John Wayne
is no longer available. I
guess Jon Stewart.”
Former U.S. President Jimmy
Carter spoke before hundreds
of Emory University freshmen
Sept. 15. Carter takes questions
from each freshman class
at the beginning of the year.
Questions this year ranged
from perceptions of his
presidency to the construction
of a controversial mosque in
New York to The Daily Show
with Jon Stewart. Photo by
Jonathan Cribbs
“When it takes strength
away from the Republican
Party, I’m for it,” he said to
chuckles from the audience.
When asked what his
platform would be if he was
running for office now, Carter
said he would push to make
the country a champion of
worldwide peace, charity and
environmental stewardship.
He said he thought American
employers were overworking
a strained worker base, and
the country goes to war too
easily. He pointed to emerg-
ing nations like China and
Brazil as examples of power-
ful countries that limit their
involvement in foreign con-
flicts.
Carter reiterated his view
that the United States was
wrong to invade Iraq in 2003
and should have focused its
resources in Afghanistan. He
said if the United States spent
one-fifth of what it’s spent
in Iraq on the reconstruction
of Afghanistan, American
support would be more wide-
spread in that country, includ-
ing among the Taliban.
When asked how students
should keep abreast of cur-
rent affairs, Carter suggested
reading The New York Times
and watching The Daily Show
with Jon Stewart on Com-
edy Central. He also offered
a memory of his time as a
freshman at Georgia South-
western State University. He
later graduated from the U.S.
Naval Academy.
“I was obviously looking
around to see how many girls
I could, uh, date,” he said to a
roar of awkward laughter.
The last question of the
evening was who Carter
would want to play him in a
 BUSINESS
Postal clerk Gerry French said that she always greets customers with a smile.
Photos by John Hewitt
Post Office changes don’t involve a rate hike
by John Hewitt
JohnH@dekalbchamp.com
Typically when one hears
of changes at the local post
office the assumption is that
the change is
going to mean
an increase
in the cost
of mailing;
this is not the
case in sev-
eral DeKalb
County postal
facilities.
Decatur
Postmaster
Jenny Ben-
nett, who is
responsible
for the main
Decatur Post Bennett
Office as well
as the postal centers at North
DeKalb Mall, the Gallery
at South DeKalb Mall, the
carrier center on Memorial
Drive and the Wesley Cha-
pel Road location, has made
changes that put more em-
phasis on customer service.
From her desk Bennett
can view a monitor that pro-
vides a live feed of the clerk
counter and lobby area. She
said she used to look up at
the monitor and see long
lines of customers who did
not appear to be very happy
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010 • PAGE 15A
Decatur resident Tobias Grat is assisted with an international shipment by lobby director
Kimberly Wise.
and she knew changes were customers,” she said.
necessary. “If we don’t make The most obvious change
changes, we won’t be here is the presence of a lobby
tomorrow,” she told her em- director who greets custom-
ployees. ers while they wait in line
Basing her approach to and offers to assist in any
customer sat- possible way so that when
isfaction on customers approach the clerk
an initiative counter they can complete
that is being their transactions as quickly
implemented as possible. Kimberly Wise,
throughout who often acts as the lobby
the Southeast director, said she tries to
in the postal answer any questions a cus-
system, Ben-
nett estab-
tomer has before he or she
gets to the counter, tells the
lished new customers about various ser-
approaches to vices available such as flat
how customers rate boxes and offers advice
are served. on proper documentation
“Our wait that may be needed for inter-
time in line national mailings.
was an issue. Recently, Decatur resi-
Our organiza- dent and native of Germany
tion is changing due to the Tobias Grat got help from
economy and we have to Wise with a shipment of
change our business model books he was sending back
in order to improve service home to his native country.
and grow our business,” she Grat said he didn’t want to
said. complicate the process and
Bennett and a crew of said he was happy to receive
seven supervisors set about the assistance while waiting
training a total of 41 postal to pay the shipping cost for
clerks on how to better serve his packages.
their customers. While helping Grat secure
“Even though our organi- his packages, Wise explained
zation is changing, our mis- what customs forms he
sion remains the same and needed to complete and re-
that is to provide affordable
minded him of the additional
and efficient service to our products and services offered
by the post office, such as a
full range of Hallmark greet- come to work for them.”
ing cards, stamps and money
orders.
Postal clerk Gerry
French, a 22-year veteran
of the main Decatur post of-
fice, said the new approach
has not really changed the
way she interacts with her
customers.
“It’s important to meet
and greet the customer. I’ve
always greeted customers
with a smile and asked how
they are doing. It’s important
to get a feeling of how the
customer is. I try to give cus-
tomers the superior service
they deserve. Nobody wants
to wait in line,” French said.
Phyllis Walker, lead
sales associate of clerks,
said she met with each clerk
one-on-one prior to imple-
menting the changes and told
them ‘This is what we have
to do. Ask the questions and
say thank you.’”
Apparently, the new ap-
proach to service is a huge
hit. Walker said that she has
seen a definite reduction in
customer complaints.
“Everybody loves it. It
works,” she said.
French also said that
customers are much happier
now. “They notice the differ-
ence and we even have cus-
tomers trying to recruit us to
Celebrating more than 70 Years
of Service
EVENTS
September 23 – Business After-Hours –
rd
Holiday Inn Select . Some of the best
business opportunities happen when
professionals are in a relaxed and social
networking environment. Time: 5:30 pm
– 7:00 pm. Location – 130 Clairemont
Ave., Decatur, GA 30030 – 404-371-0204.
Register at www.dekalbchamber.org.
October 4 - First Monday Lunch – Join
th
us as we welcome Dr. Bernie Mullin, PhD
– Principal, The Aspire Group, LLC. as our
keynote for the October First Monday
Lunch. To attend, place your reservation
online at visit www.dekalbchamber.org or
contact the Chamber at 404-378-8000.
October 6th - Network DeKalb Leads
Group – Fourth Quarter . Take part in a
pure Networking Program. Lunch Served.
Location: Courtyard by Marriott. To
register, visit www.dekalbchamber.org.
COST: $10.00- Members (advance) /
$15.00 (door) /$20.00 Non-members.
For more information on DeKalb Chamber related
events or to receive email updates, call 404-378-
8000 or visit www.dekalbchamber.org
A Section • Page 16A
Customer service week
October 4 - 8, 2010
The art and execution of
performing excellent customer
service is often thought of as the
single most important thing that
separates one business owner
from its competitors.
Are you doing everything you
can to provide good customer
service to your clients and
stakeholders?
Five communication mistakes
you could be making right now
1. Assuming employees are
communicating effectively with
each other.
2. Neglecting to understand that
everyone and everything in
your company is involved in
marketing.
3. Using internal or industry-
specific jargon to communicate
to external audiences.
4. Assuming your customers are
satisfied with the service they
are receiving.
5. Thinking all employees
understand and value the
vision, mission and goals of
your organization.
Five communications mistakes
you could make in the future:
6. Making important internal
changes without input from
those involved.
7. Not communicating internal
change to employees properly
and effectively.
8. Embarking on new marketing
efforts without involving the
sales people.
9. Creating new marketing
materials without reviewing
existing materials.
10. Re-branding or re-positioning
the company without involving
key staff and customers.
Customer service facts
• Typically 25% of current
customers are dissatisfied.
• 75% of dissatisfied customers
stop purchasing products
or using services without
expressing their dissatisfaction.
With the 2011 year fast
approaching, there is no better
time than right now to develop
customer service plans and
incentives designed to show your
clients how much they are valued.
Get your staff’s input and keep
them involved in the process.
Save these important dates for Sept. and Oct.:
Sept. 23 – Business After-Hours – Holiday Inn
Select~Decatur
Oct. 4 – First Monday Lunch – Bernie Mullin
Oct. 6 – Network DeKalb Leads Group
Oct. 14 – Transportation, Highway Safety and
Consumer Programs – Honorable
David Strickland
News and events of the
DEKALB CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
100 Crescent Center Pkwy, Suite 680, Tucker, GA 30084 • 404.378.8000• www.dekalbchamberofcommerce.org
Message from the President
When one runs
for public office, the
elected official provides
public service. When
executives place their
employees before
themselves, we call
them servant leaders.
When companies pro-
vide the utmost care
coupled with respon-
siveness and compas-
sion, we call it customer
service. As we celebrate
customer service
month, those of us who
have clientele must
remember the impor-
tant facets of customer
service.
When I think of
customer service, I am
reminded of a simple
adage spoken
during my collegiate
sports days. It simply
says, “do the common
things uncommonly
well.” What does that
First Monday lunch - October 4
Bernie Mullin
The DeKalb Chamber of
Commerce welcomes Bernie
Mullin as its keynote speaker
for its October 4th First Mon-
day Lunch.
Oct. 14
Oct. 19
Oct. 25
Save the Date
Nov. 1
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010
mean in business?
Quite simply it
means focusing on the
small things that often
go overlooked. Cor-
porations and govern-
mental entities spend
significant dollars and
resources on customer
service training often fo-
cusing on the technical
components of servic-
ing the customer. While
our clients do want
proficiency and dem-
onstrated knowledge
of the subject matter,
they also want a pleas-
ant demeanor, rapid
response time, and
consistency. In sum,
they want to believe you
care.
In providing exem-
plary customer service,
here are five little things
that can give you the
edge.
Dr. Bernie Mullin is the
first non-American to hold
the position of President of
a US Major League profes-
sional team, and he ran two
of them at the same time, the
NBA’s Atlanta Hawks and the
NHL’s Atlanta Thrashers plus
managed world-class Philips
Arena, the 4th most profitable
arena in North America.
British-born, Mullin has
over 30 years of experience
in sports, entertainment and
higher education in senior
executive roles producing
outstanding results. In his
career, Mullin has specialized
in start-ups and turnaround
environments, where his
management teams have led
– Flu Shot Clinic
– Constant Contact Workshop
– 6th Annual Golf Tournament –
Smokerise
– First Monday Lunch – Clifford Oxford
1. Return ALL phone
calls (even the ones
you don’t want to);
2. Return all phone calls
within 24 hours, no
later than 48 hours;
3. If out of the office for
an extended period,
have your voicemail
reflect it. Don’t have a
message stating you
are “away from your
desk or on another
call” if you are out for
the week on vacation
or at a training;
4. Reply to e-mails
within 48 hours and
use the out of office
attendant sparingly.
If you have a job that
consistently requires
you to be out of the
office, leaving the out
of office attendant on
daily means nothing
to the recipient; and
5. If you can’t return a
cultural change producing
significant attendance and
revenue growth plus substan-
tive reduction of expenses
and thereby turning operating
losses into profits while in-
creasing asset value.
Currently, Mullin is a prin-
cipal of the Aspire Group,
a global management and
marketing consulting busi-
ness that partners with its
clients in implementing “Next-
Practices” to produce winning
brands and strong sales and
service cultures, while maxi-
mizing revenue enhancement
and return on investment.
Dr. Mullin holds a Ph.D
– Business; an MBA; and a
M.S. – Marketing from the
Brought to you in partnership with
call promptly, ac-
knowledge it and let
the receiver know
you will call them
back when you have
more time.
Little things mean a lot
and they separate the
good from the great.
Remember, customer
service is the outward
manifestation of your
organizations inward
values.
Leonardo McClarty
President, DeKalb
Chamber
University of Kansas. He
also earned a B.A. Business
Studies from Coventry Uni-
versity in England, where he
played football (soccer) semi-
professionally for Oxford City
FC. His best-selling textbook,
“Sport Marketing” is now in
its 3rd Edition, published in
10 languages with almost
50,000 copies sold.
To attend the October First
Monday Lunch, register online
at www.dekalbchamber.org or
contact the DeKalb Chamber
directly at 404-378-8000. The
event will be held at the Atlan-
ta Marriott Century Center –
2000 Century Boulevard, NE,
Atlanta, GA 30345 - Phone:
404-325-0000.
 Classifieds
www.ChampionNewspaper.com THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010 A Section • Page 17A

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SPORTS

Character driven
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010 • PAGE 18A

Gayle develops into leader on and off field for SWD

by Robert Naddra
robert@dekalbchamp.com

On the softball field, Imani

Gayle may be a pitcher and a hit-
ter by definition.
But as one of seven seniors
on the Southwest DeKalb softball
team, Gayle is much more than
that. A starter since her freshman
year, Gayle has emerged as one
of the leaders for the Panthers on
and off the field.
Off the field, Gayle is in-
volved in a community service
group that has collected and sent
supplies to Haiti and New Or-
leans after natural disasters. She
is also an honor student. On the
field, Gayle has helped the Pan-
thers to an 11-1 start. Through
the first nine games, Gayle was
9-0 as a pitcher with an earned
run average of 1.17. She also is
one of the top hitters in the coun-
ty with a .654 batting average
and three home runs.
“She’s one of those kids who
strives for the best in everything
she does,” said Panthers coach
Bernice Foreman. “You can
give her instructions and you
don’t have to tell her two times.
She goes with it and leads the
whole team. They respect her be-
cause she follows the rules too.”
Gayle said she attributes her
values and dedication to her par-
ents, Carmela and Tony Gayle.
“If you’re in a position where
you have the necessary things
you need, sometimes things are
taken for granted,” Gayle said.
“If others don’t have what they
need, you’re obligated to give
back to them.”
That philosophy carries over
to the softball field for Gayle.
“I can see that definitely does
carry over to sports,” Gayle said.
“I do try to help people on my
team when they need it.”
The large senior class has
helped the Panthers come togeth-
er on and off the field.
“The junior varsity and var-
sity has been the closest team Southwest DeKalb senior Imani Gayle was batting .654 through the first nine games. Photo by Robert Naddra
since I’ve been here,” Gayle said.
“We’ve bonded much better than years. The Panthers are only She has taken on pitching Gayle is likely to be the benefi-
in previous years.” three wins away from tying the duties full time this season after ciary of a scholarship after this
Gayle has played a significant school record for the most wins pitching on occasion as a junior. season.
part in the success of the Pan- in a season at 14. Gayle has pitched every game “She plays softball because
thers’ softball program. South- “I feel like a lot of good for the Panthers, logging 42 she loves the game,” Foreman
west has qualified for the state players have come from South- innings through the first nine said. “She doesn’t have to go
tournament four years in a row west DeKalb over the years,” games with 41 strikeouts. to college on a softball scholar-
and appears to be headed for a Gayle said. “We have learned a The spike in the program’s ship. She can get an academic
fifth straight berth this season. lot recently, and I feel like I’m success has led to nine scholar- scholarship. Imani is a pretty
She has seen herself as well a better leader and all-around ships for Panther softball play- good package.”
as the team mature over the player this year.” ers over the past four seasons.
www.ChampionNewspaper.com
FOOTBALL
Marist 17, Southwest DeKalb
14: Junior Austin Hardin kicked
a 59-yard field goal with 3 seconds
remaining to give the War Eagles a
17-14 win in Region 6-AAAA. Gray
King ran for two touchdowns for
Marist (3-1, 3-1). Danny Homrich
led the defense with 10 tackles and
Keller Carlock added nine for the
War Eagles. Southwest scored on a
52-yard pass from Andre Wilson to
Nicholas Barnett and a 7-yard run
by Toran Davis.
Cross Keys 54, North Cobb Chris-
tian 18: Diego Gaytan accounted
for 412 yards of offense to help the
Indians win their first game on the
field since Sept. 8, 2006. Cross Keys
won a game by forfeit last season.
Gaytan rushed for 212 yards and two
touchdowns, and completed 18 of 29
passes for 200 yards and three touch-
downs. John Bradley had two touch-
down catches. Chartone Johnson
led the defense with 12 tackles and
caused two fumbles.
M.L. King 42, Westlake 28: Jon-
quel Dawson went over the 1,000-
yard mark passing for the season by
completing 13 of 28 passes for 301
yards and two touchdowns for the
Lions (2-1, 1-0 Region 2-AAAAA).
Demarco Robinson caught six pass-
es for 181 yards and two touchdowns
while Kevin Byard accounted for
203 yards total offense. Byard passed
for a touchdown and caught a touch-
down pass. On defense, he had eight
tackles, an interception and blocked a
punt for a safety. Patrick Callaway
led the Lions with 12 tackles.
Stone Mountain 23, Cedar Grove
20: Nathan Misidi kicked a 22-yard
field goal with 9 seconds remaining
to lift the Pirates (3-1, 1-0 Region
5-AAA) to the win. The Pirates led
20-0 after three quarters but Cedar
Grove (1-3, 0-1) rallied to tie the
game 20-20. Willie Parker rushed
for 175 yards and a touchdown for
the Pirates, and quarterback Jhyree
Harris completed 7 of 15 passes for
140 yards and a score.
Dunwoody 38, Lithonia 21: The
Wildcats (1-3, 1-3 Region 6-AAAA)
rolled up 431 yards total offense,
including 301 yards on the ground.
Dunwoody held on after grabbing a
31-7 lead. Dazell Claytor caught a
touchdown pass and had an intercep-
tion that led to a touchdown for the
Wildcats. Breon Issac also intercept-
ed a pass and returned it 45 yards for
a score. Also, halfback Tracey White
passed to DeWayne Brown for a 74-
yard touchdown for the Wildcats.
THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010
DeKalb Hig h School Sp or ts High lights
Photos by Travis Hudgons
Seven-yard touchdown run by South-
west DeKalb’s Toran Davis.
Tucker 68, Chamblee 0: Bashr
Coles rushed for 118 yards and three
touchdowns on seven carries for the
Tigers (4-0, 4-0 Region 6-AAAA).
The Tigers are tied with Mays atop
the region. The Tigers intercepted
four passes and recovered two Cham-
blee fumbles. James Vaughters
returned an interception for a touch-
down and Chris Sanders caught a
touchdown pass. Chamblee managed
only 76 yards total offense.
St. Pius 62, North Springs 0: The
Golden Lions (3-1, 1-0 Region
5-AAA) intercepted five passes, al-
lowed no first downs and held North
Springs to 2 yards total offense. Alex
The Champion chooses a male
and female high school Athlete of
the Week each week throughout
the school year. The choices
are based on performance and
nominations by coaches. Please
e-mail nominations to robert@
dekalbchamp.com by Monday at
noon.
Marist QB Andy Perez picks up some
rushing yards.
Avant returned the opening kickoff 97
yards for a touchdown and the Golden
Lions piled up 317 yards rushing.
Quarterback T.J. Holloman rushed
and passed for a total of 120 yards.
Columbia 28, McNair 21: The
Eagles (3-1, 1-0 Region 5-AAA)
have won three in a row after an
opening-week loss to Greater Atlanta
Christian. The Eagles broke a 7-7
halftime tie to take a 28-7 lead in the
second half. Keno Loyal rushed for
207 yards and three touchdowns on
20 carries for the Eagles. Loyal leads
the county with eight rushing touch-
downs. For McNair, Antonio Ham-
brick rushed for a touchdown and
passed for another.
MALE ATHLETE OF THE
WEEK
Diego Gayton, Cross Keys
(football): The quarterback
accounted for 412 yards of
offense in the Indians’ 54-18 win
over North Cobb Christian. He
rushed for two touchdowns and
threw three touchdown passes.
A Section • Page 19A
CROSS COUNTRY
DeKalb County Race 1, Sept. 14
Boys: Team results:
1. Tucker 44 , 2. Chamblee 50,
3. Arabia Mountain 95
Top 5 individuals: 1. Sean Purcell,
Tucker, 19:36.90; 2. Jordan Fish-
burne, Arabia Mountain, 20:66.25; 3.
Brandon Chen, Chamblee, 20:31.48;
4. Chaz Berry, Stephenson, 20:31.92;
5. Justin Borsh, Arabia Mountain,
20:38.27.
Girls: Team results: 1. Cedar Grove
22, 2. Chamblee 42,
3. Stephenson 109.
Top 5 individuals: 1. Kayla Pryor,
Cedar Grove, 23:38; 2. Charlotte
Williams, Southwest DeKalb, 23:50;
3. Christian Pryor, Cedar Grove
(n/a); 4. Rebecca Reid, Chamblee,
25:12; 5. Carolyn Wright, Cedar
Grove (n/a).
DeKalb County Race 2, Sept. 14
Boys: Team results: 1. Druid Hills 27,
2. Stone Mountain 56, 3. M.L. King
156.
Top 5 individuals: 1. Andrew
Whetten, Druid Hills, 18:26.61; 2.
Saul Samuel, Druid Hills, 18:27.22;
3. Ray Lamb, Druid Hills, 18:28.89;
4. Darius Dellaquila, Lithonia,
18:46.22; 5. Abel Abay, Stone Moun-
tain, 18:48.63.
Girls: Team results: 1. Druid Hills 15
(no other full teams)
Top 5 individuals: 1. Kelsey Sullivan,
Druid Hills, 24:12.71; 2. Melissa
Florkowski, Druid Hills, 24:16.22; 3.
Olivia Pool, Druid Hills, 25:03.17; 4.
Lucy Mena, Druid Hills, 25:13.40; 5.
Claire Lentz, Druid Hills, 26:21.23.
Altitude Running Invitational
Sept. 17, At Mercer University-
Atlanta
Boys: St. Pius had five runners finish
in the top nine to win the team stand-
ings and Dunwoody placed third.
Brendan Hoban of St. Pius won the
race in 16:35.92. St. Pius runners Aus-
tin Sprague was fourth (17:14.66),
Calvin Tirrell (17:56.82) was sixth
and Colin O’Leary (17:58.03) was
seventh. Dunwoody’s Kyle Sexton
placed eighth in 18:02.86.
Girls: Devon Dabney placed sec-
ond (21:08.57) to lead St. Pius to the
team championship. Dunwoody was
third and Druid Hills sixth in the team
standings. Other top finishers on coun-
ty teams were Maddy Wetterhall,
Chamblee (third, 21:11.32); Erin Os-
ment, St. Pius (fourth, 21:17.00); Sar-
ah Fristoe, St. Pius (fifth, 21:25.01);
Katie Martin, Dunwoody (sixth,
22:26.18); and Kenzie Johnson,
Dunwoody (seventh, 22:28.01).
FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE
WEEK
Devon Dabney, St. Pius (cross
country): Dabney finished second
overall with a time of 21:08.57
to help her team win the Altitude
Running Invitational at St. Pius.
She was the top finisher from a
DeKalb school.
A Section • Page 20A THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2010

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