CrossRoadsNews, March 5, 2011

By Jennifer Ffrench Parker

After spending a year in New York caring for her ailing brother, Vera Penn of Decatur got used to recycling.

“It’s mandatory there,” she said. “You pay fines if you don’t separate your recyclables from your garbage.”

Back home in South DeKalb, Penn said it made sense to subscribe to DeKalb’s then 3-year-old voluntary Residential Curbside Recycling Program.

“It would be a waste to go backward,” she said Wednesday. “By then it was ingrained in me.”

As of February 2011, Penn is one of 2,408 South DeKalb residents who pay a one-time fee of $30 to subscribe to the county’s pro-gram, which had 30,665 residential subscrib-ers in four regions – North, South, Central and East.

Since its start in 2005, the program has diverted more than 69.3 million pounds of waste from the county-owned Seminole Landfill in Ellenwood.

Bil ly Malone, the county’s assistant direc-tor for public works and sanitation, said that when the program started in 2005, they were hoping to average 25 pounds of recyclables per household. In February, they were at 15.51 pounds.

South DeKalb ranks near the bottom for the number of residences subscribing to the recycling program.

Only the East region, with 1,556 subscrib-ers, has fewer.

Malone says he is not sure why more people in the southern end of the county – home to large families – do not recycle.

“Larger families are just trying to make supper and stuff like that,” he said. “They just might feel it’s so time-sensitive they are not doing it.”

www.crossroadsnews.comMarch 5, 2011Copyright © 2011 CrossRoadsNews, Inc.

COVER PAGESchool-

teacher Heath-er Kloer (left) is convinced saved her life when he foiled a carjacking and kidnap-ping in broad daylight. 5

A hero in every senseCOMMUNITY

After weeks of hearings and debate, the DeKalb School Board will vote on March 7 to close schools and realign districts to save money. 9

Schools’ fate to be sealedYOUTH

Volume 16, Number 45

South DeKalb lagS in RecyclingMore education, outreach needed, proponents say

Vera Penn of Decatur was sold on recycling after spending a year in New York, where it is mandatory. She is one of 2,408 South DeKalb subscribers.

DeKalb County’s voluntary Residential Curbside Recycling Program, with a one-time subscription fee of $30, diverts waste from the landfill.

Brutal rape at Stone Mountain church shocks community

Billy Malone

Please see RAPIST, page 5

Please see RECYCLING, page 4


A man who brutally beat, robbed and raped an employee at St. Timothy United Methodist Church in Stone Mountain was still on the loose at press time on Thursday.

DeKalb Police spokeswoman Mekka Par-ish said the suspect has not been identified and that they have no leads.

The female employee, who is in a leader-ship position at the Memorial Drive church, was working alone just before 4 p.m. on Feb.

26 when the man entered a church office and attacked her.

She was on her cell phone with another

church leader when the man entered the of-fice, and her cries of “Don’t hurt me” were heard on the other end of the call.

That person was able to call the police.The attacker is described as a black man

between 40 and 50 who is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs about 180 pounds.

Carlyle Bruce, a 15-year member and church leader, said the attack is a major shock and a big cause for concern, but that the church community is coping.

“The community is very strong and

tight,” he said Thursday.Bruce said the victim, who is not being

identified, was still hospitalized on March 3.

Even though her name has not been re-leased, Bruce said the church is asking people who may guess her identity not to contact her at this time.

“It is very important that she has her privacy at this time,” he said.

Gil Turman, president of the South DeKalb Neighborhoods Coalition, says it’s more than that.

“The education component hasn’t been to the point to get the attention for people to participate,” he said on March 3.

Turman said enough real education about recycling has not taken place.

“We don’t talk about the things that will occur if you don’t recycle,” he said. “People are just not as informed about it as they need to be. The county wants you to recycle, but some folk don’t understand that people have to be sold on the process if they are going participate.”

Even though Turman led the fight to close

the 195-acre Live Oak Landfill in December 2004, he is not recycling and neither is any-one in his South DeKalb subdivision.

“I am embarrassed to say all of this,” he said. “Someone needs to set me down and say, ‘This is what we need you to do.’ ”

In Brenda Jackson’s small subdivision off Wesley Chapel Road, no one recycles.

Jackson, who is also active in the com-munity and is the SDNC’s secretary, does not have a blue recycling bin to put out on Wednesdays and has never seen one in her subdivision.

“Recycling takes an extra effort,” she said. “When I throw my trash out, I have to sort it. That’s an extra effort. You have to change habit. So far I haven’t been willing to make that change.”

Both Turman and Jackson say that intel-lectually they understand that recycling is a good thing to do, but that the case hasn’t

Jennifer Ffrench Parker / CrossRoadsNews

“We have had enough. We need to address this. It’s

time to take back our neighborhood.”

State Rep. Michele Henson

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Find the ballot at www.crossroadsnews.com

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CrossRoadsNews March 5, 20112

3Community “I’m concen about the safety of the children as they go to school because of the narrow sidewalks and cars driving really fast in the area.”

Walking school bus has many lessons for kids Carla Parker / CrossRoadsNews

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When dozens of Indian Creek El-ementary students formed a “walking school bus” to get to class on March 2, being on foot was nothing new for them.

Every school day, nearly 800 stu-dents who speak more than 80 different languages, walk to the school, which is DeKalb’s most ethnically diverse elementary school.

What was different on Wednesday, was that on their walk along North Indian Creek Drive in Clarkston, they got help from City Councilman Dean

Moore, held onto yellow rope, walked in single file and were accompanied by DeKalb Board of Health’s Jackie Ingram holding a yellow diamond-shape “Yield to Pedestrians” sign.

The occasion was the second annual Georgia Walk to School Day, held across the state to promotes pedestrian safety and encourages children, including those with disabilities, to safely walk and bicycle to school.

Many of the children are from countries with no pedestrian safety measures, which place them at a greater

risk for accident.The area has had more than its fair

share of traffic accidents with more than 239 crashes since Jan. 1, 2008. Of those accidents, 11 of them involved pedestrians.

Moore, who was elected in 2008, said pedestrian safety is a top priority for Clarkston, which is home to large numbers of refugees.

“I’m concern about the safety of the children as they go to school because of the narrow sidewalks and cars driving really fast in the area,” he said.

Clarkston City Councilman Dean Moore leads a walking school bus at Indian Creek Elementary on March 2 to help teach kids about pedestrian safety.

DeKalb citizens can get legislative training at the March 8 “Citizens in the Halls” at the Community Achievement

Center in Decatur.State Reps. Rahn Mayo and Dee

Dawkins-Haigler are organizing the event. Advocacy specialist Nikema Williams will teach the 6:30 to 8 p.m. class.

Mayo says he is happy to do his part helping citizens become more engaged in the governmental process.

Williams’ interactive presentation will offer insights in how citizens can influence govern-ment decisions and impact the legislative process.

“Citizens have more power than they realize to influ-ence legislators and shape the agenda under the Gold Dome,” she said. The free event is co-hosted by the Deltas and Kappas. For more information, call Mayo’s office at 404-656-6372.

Training to speak to reps

Judge to talk of wills

Town hall on legislation

Rahn Mayo

Democratic Minority House Leader Stacey Abrams will hold a town hall meeting on March 12 at Oakhurst Presby-terian Church in Decatur. Abrams will discuss key pieces of legislation and issues impacting the community.

Oakhurst Presbyterian is at 118 Second Ave. For more information, contact Mo Cardenas at [email protected].

DeKalb Probate Court Judge Jeryl Rosh will discuss the importance of having a will at Commissioner Stan Watson’s monthly Legislative Breakfast Meeting on March 5 in Decatur.

The 9 to 11 a.m. meeting will also include a a pre-sentations by Keep DeKalb beautiful and Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America’s William Green.

The meeting will be at Chapel Hill Mid dle School, 3535 Dogwood Farms Road in Decatur. For more information, call 404-371-3681 or 404-371-2988.

CrossRoadsNewsMarch 5, 2011 3

4 Community

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“We do need to reach out to people with the message. It’s our responsibility to expand people’s horizons.”

CrossRoadsNews is pub-lished every Thursday by CrossRoads News, Inc.

We welcome articles on neighborhood issues and news of local happenings. The opinions expressed by writers and contributors are not necessarily those of the publisher, nor those of any advertisers.

The concep t , de -sign and content of CrossRoads News are copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner without the writ-ten permission of the publisher.

Advertisements are pub-lished upon the represen-tation that the advertiser is authorized to publish the submitted material. The advertiser agrees to indemnify and hold harm-less from and against any loss or expenses resulting from any disputes or legal claims based upon the contents or subject mat-ter of such advertisments, including claims of suits for libel, violation of privacy, plagiarism and copyright infringement.

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Editor / Publisher Jennifer Parker

General Manager Curtis Parker

Staff WriterCarla Parker

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LOCAL

SERVICES!LOCAL

GOODS!

Subscription program helps extend life of landfill

Jennifer Ffrench Parker / CrossRoadsNewsBilly Malone, DeKalb’s assistant director for public works and sanitation, looks over a map that shows participation in the subscription recycling program. “Because we haven’t done it all our lives doesn’t mean we are too old to learn.”

been made to make them and their neighborhoods do it.

“We closed a huge landfill based on air quality and health issues,” Turman said. “And when you think about it, we would not have had such a mess at the landfill if we had been recycling.”

District 6 Commissioner Kathy Gannon, who has championed county recycling and was instru-mental in getting the voluntary subscription program off the ground, admitted that the educa-tion component has been wanting. She said she also has fielded com-plaints about the $30 subscription fee and a clunky subscription process.

“We need to make it more ac-cessible to people and help them cut back on their waste,” she said.

She said it’s been easy to make people passionate about recycling.

“We had one Green Commis-sion meeting and talked about recycling and they were believers,” she said. “We do need to reach out to people with the message. With the economic and environmental impact, it becomes a no-brainer. It’s our responsibility to expand people’s horizons.”

The county is near to reach-ing its five-year goal of having 20 percent of the county’s 159,000 residences engaged in recycling.

Last year, it added 3,079 new subscribers, which helped it reach 19.3 percent of residences recycling in mid-February. But Malone said that making more percentage gains is going to get tougher.

“You are going to have a little bit more education,” he said. “You are going to have a little bit more involvement. You are going to have to make it very convenient for the homeowners.

“You have got to get some com-munity activists who are willing to go to homeowners associations to bring it up, go to churches and bring it up, and go to any type of community. That kind of advocacy will go a long way.”

‘County hasn’t engaged us’DeKalb CEO Burrell Ellis has

said he would like to see 50 percent of residences in the curbside recy-cling program.

Malone said it’s really hard to get more than that.

“Even an aggressive recycling city like Seattle doesn’t get more than 50 percent,” he said. “Some people just refuse to recycle. There are a hundred excuses that people come up with why they are not go-ing to recycle.”

Malone said the program’s goal is to take recyclable products and make something else out of them and not just send them to the landfill.

The program is subscription-based to ensure that the people who subscribe really want to recycle. “Otherwise, if you give people the boxes, they will use it for toys.”

In addition to saving landfill

space, Malone said recycling ex-tends the life of many products.

“Because we haven’t done it all our lives doesn’t mean we are too old to learn,” Malone said. “We have got to think about the next generation. This paper has a use-ful life. There is no reason just to bury it and discard it and cut down another tree. We should try to use this paper as many creative ways as possible before you have to cut down the next tree.”

Gannon said people who are educated about recycling are ready to do it, and the Board of Commis-sioners is prepared to provide the leadership to help them do it.

“We can cut back on one of the sanitation pickups and do more recycling,” she said Thursday. “The county is ready to make it more ac-cessible for people and to help them cut back on waste.”

She said that when we increase recycling, we can stretch the life of the Seminole Landfill, which at current usage rates is expected to reach capacity by 2068.

The county is facing the pros-

pect of increasing sanitation fees to cover the four pickups it does weekly – two for garbage, one for recyclables and one for bulky items.

Gannon said the county can reduce the number of pickups, hold the fees steady, and help people do more recycling.

“We could give people a choice,” she said. “We could let people choose higher fees and four pickups or go to recycling and not have an increase.”

Penn, the homeowner who has been a subscriber since 2008, says she recycles about 30 percent of her trash.

“It’s a very small effort but every bit helps,” she said.

Turman, the SDNC’s president, said that organizations like his can do a better job on recycling.

“The county hasn’t engaged us,” he said. “Homeowners and neigh-borhood associations haven’t been engaged. We have to engage the churches. We have to engage the educational system. We have got to better sell the program.”

RECYCLING, fRom paGE 1

In 2010, 30,665 DeKalb residents recycled 22.5 million pounds of paper, plastic, tin and glass. Here is the breakdown of who did what, by region of the county:

North Central South EastSubscribers 17,784 8,730 2,383 1,555Poundsrecycled 12.6 million 6.6 million 2.2 million 1.1 million

Source: DeKalb County Sanitation Department

Getting started with curbside recyclingn $30 to subscribe.n It gets you a blue recycling bin for life and 100 blue trash bags.n If the bin is damaged, the county will repair it.n Additional blue bags can be purchased for $15.n Paper, plastics, tin cans and bottles are recyclable.n Wednesday is recycling pickup day.n For more information, call 404-294-2900.

159,000residences in DeKalb County

30,665residences recycling

as of Feb. 2011

3,079subscribers who

signed up in 2010

19.3percent of residences

that recycle

15.51average pounds being recycled

Recycling by the Numbers

Who’sonboardwithrecycling?


5Community “This man was attacking her in broad daylight and people were just standing around looking.”

Mother, sons charged in teen’s slaying

Man who foiled carjacking hailed as hero

Decatur court worker charged with felony theft

PRISM meeting will focus crime on Memorial Drive

Carla Parker / CrossRoadsNewsStone Mountain teacher Heather Kloer leafs through a self-defense guide recommended by Rob Strickland, who rescued her from an attempted carjacking and kidnapping in January.

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Q. Why does one funeral home charge more than another for traditional services?

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A city of Decatur Municipal Court employee has been arrested on charges of felony theft within her capacity as a court clerk.

Sonequa L. James, 37, of Cony-ers has been suspended without pay and her termination is pending, said Andrea Arnold, assistant city man-ager for administrative services. An investigation under way may result Sonequa James

in additional charges. James was ar-rested Feb. 18.

“The city will not tolerate behavior that undermines the public’s trust in our government,” Arnold said in a press release. “We intend to prosecute Ms. James to the fullest extent possible under the law.”

James has worked for the Munici-pal Court since 2006. The salary range

for her position, court clerk assistant, is $25,792-$41,995.

Arnold said she could not comment on specific allegations because of the ongoing investigation. She said police were contacted after some of James’ co-workers noticed “some discrepancies.”

“Her co-workers did the right thing by immediately bringing it to my atten-tion,” Arnold said.

By Carla Parker

Rob Strickland doesn’t think he is a hero, but Stone Mountain elementary school-teacher Heather Kloer disagrees.

Kloer is happy to dub the Stone Moun-tain man a hero after he rescued her from a carjacking and kidnapping on Jan. 9 while others stood by and watched.

Kloer is convinced that Strickland saved her life.

“He is an incredible man and I will pray for him every night,” she said.

The incident occurred about 5:30 p.m. as Kloer was opening the door to her car in the parking lot at Office Depot on Memorial Drive in Stone Mountain.

Out of nowhere, a young man approached her and asked if she had a phone.

When she said no, he told her he had a knife and that he was going to kill her.

Before she could react, he had pushed her back in her car and was trying to get in on the driver’s side, where she was.

Kloer said she tried to escape through the front passenger door, screaming at the top of her lungs.

When she screamed, the man began punching her in the face.

Strickland was pulling into the Office Depot parking lot when he heard Kloer’s screams.

“This man was attacking her in broad daylight and people were just standing around looking,” Strickland said.

The owner of Strickland Security & Safety Solutions in Atlanta grabbed his fire-arm and rushed to Kloer’s car shouting at the assailant to stop.

When the attacker started backing away from Kloer’s car, he tripped on a curb and stumbled.

“That’s when I hit him in the chest and held him to the ground until the police came,” Strickland said.

The suspect, 20-year-old Alex Taylor, was arrested and charged with armed robbery and aggravated assault.

He is still in the DeKalb County Jail on a $50,000 bond.

Kloer said she was saddened to hear that there were people in the parking lot who did not come to her aid, but she is very thankful for Strickland.

Strickland said it’s hard to accept the fact

that he is a hero.“I just did the right thing at the right

time,” he said. After witnessing the attack, Strickland

said he will now educate the public, espe-cially women, on how to stay alive if ever assaulted.

He recommends that women read “Com-

mon Sense Self-Defense: A Woman’s Self-Defense Survival Guide,” written by Mark James, owner of a security firm in Atlanta.

Strickland is also an author. His book, “Know the Basics to Protect Your Business,” helps educate business owners.

Both books are available at Amazon .com.

“Common Sense Self-Defense: A Woman’s Self-Defense Survival Guide” offers three key principles women can employ to escape an attacker:n Disrupt the vision.n Disrupt the breathing.n Disrupt the balance.

Author Mark James says that you must be prepared to cause injury to your attacker. In the book, he teaches that injury helps negate mass.

“A woman who inflicts injury upon an attacker may give herself time to escape,” he says.

Bookofferskeyself-defenseprinciples

Since the attack, Bruce said that the church has tightened security and stepped up police patrols, and it is instituting a number of other security measures. He said the attack won’t stop the church from carrying out its work in the community.

“St. Timothy will continue its role in being a key resource for the community,” he said.

The church, which operates a school, hosts numerous community meetings and partners with two other Memorial Drive churches annually to host a Thanksgiving service and other communitywide services.

Its 20-year-old Halloween Pumpkin Patch, which raises funds for mission

projects, is a popular annual stop for area families.

Parish said police do not have an artist’s rendering of the suspect because the victim was so traumatized she could not provide a good description of her attacker.

After the incident, PRISM, which holds monthly community gatherings at the church, changed the topic for its March 10 meeting to focus on crime in the area.

State Rep. Michele Henson, the group’s program chair, said that the attack was absolutely tragic and that she felt the need to immediately address crime on Memorial Drive.

“This was a most horrific situation,” she said. “This should happen to no one anywhere.”

In the past two weeks, Henson, who lives five blocks from the church, said there was a shooting near Rays Road and Memorial Drive and other incidents.

“We have had enough,” said Henson, who worships regularly at St. Timothy even though she is not member. “We need to ad-dress this. It’s time to take back our neigh-borhood.”

The group has invited DeKalb Police Chief William O’Brien and Tucker Precinct Maj. Steven Fore to tell them how they can achieve a safer neighborhood.

The PRISM meeting starts at 7 p.m. The church is at 5365 Memorial Drive in Stone Mountain. For more information, call state Rep. Michele Henson at 404-296-1442.

Carla Parker contributed to this story.

RapIST, fRom paGE 1

A Decatur mother and her three sons are facing murder and aggravated assault charges in the shooting death of a 13-year-old on McAfee Road on March 2.

Viola Goodman, 52, and sons Shon-tonious Hawkins, 25, and James Fanning, 20, were arrested at their Willa Way home on the night of March 2. They are in jail without bond.

Her 16-year-old son, who is not iden-tified because he is underage, is believed to be the shooter. He turned himself in to police on Thursday.

The four are accused in the slaying of Jernard Wheeler. The teen died after he was shot at 2717 McAfee Road, near Candler Road. A 16-year-old boy also was critically injured and is hospitalized.

DeKalb Police spokeswoman Mekka Parish said the shootings occurred around 2 p.m. after two groups of people walking in opposite directions on McAfee Road exchanged words and argued. Shots were fired from one group.

The three suspects made their first court appearance Thursday night.

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6DeKalb County, already the third most populous county

in the state, is projected to grow by 26 percent over the next 30 years, according to new forecasts from the Atlanta Re-gional Commission.

That surge will be reflected across the 20-county At-lanta region, according to the ARC, which predicts that the region will grow by 3 million people to a total of 8 million by 2040.

ARC Director Chick Krautler says that even in these tough economic times, the Atlanta region remains a place where people want to live and work.

“Our forecasts indicate continued strong population and employment growth for the next 30 years,” he said.

DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett and Cobb counties account for 60 percent of the region’s current population. The ARC says that of the 3 million more people expected in the region by 2040, nearly 800,000 of them will call either Fulton or Gwinnett home.

FinanCe “Our forecasts indicate continued strong population and employment growth for the next 30 years.”

Don’t shortchange moms: There’s no higher calling than motherhood

‘Revival’ takes on money managing

DeKalb expected to grow by 26 percent over next 30 years

Chick Krautler

Gregory Eason Sr.

Adults, teens and children can get help managing their money at the March 19 “Financial Revival” at Saint Philip AME in Atlanta, but they must register by March 10.

The theme of the 8:30 a.m. until noon seminar is taken from Luke 16:11: “Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the use of worldly wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?”

It includes a number of seminars on bud-geting, family debt reduction, and financial stewardship and a keynote address from the Rev. Gregory V. Eason Sr., who is senior pas-tor of Big Bethel AME in Atlanta.

A free children’s workshop for 5- to 17-year-olds also will be available.

Eason, who holds a Master of Divinity from the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta and a Master of Theology

from Columbia Theological Semi-nary in Decatur, has completed the popular 10-week Crown Biblical Financial Life Group Study.

Bernice Tanker, co-coordinator of the Saint Philip’s Crown Finan-cial Ministries, said a financial re-vival is timely in this economy.

“The revival will show how finances should be handled accord-

ing to God’s way, how God expects you to act as a Christian,” she said.

The event is co-hosted by the church’s Stewardship Ministry. At registration, par-ticipants may choose two workshops to at-tend. Tanker said materials for the seminars will be provided.

Saint Philip AME is at 240 Candler Road, at the intersection of Memorial Drive.

For more information, call Bernice Tanker at 770-817-8988.

PopulationChange 1980-2010 2010-2040Average 8,526 6,397Total change 255,776 191,900Percent change 53 percent 26 percent

1980 population .............................................. 483,0242010 estimated population .............................. 738,8002040 forecast population ................................930,700

Those two counties’ population will grow to more than 1 million people each.

But by 2040, Fulton and Gwinnett’s total population share will drop to roughly 52 percent.

Growth in some of the smaller counties will account for that population shift. Five counties – Coweta, Forsyth, Henry, Newton and Paulding – are expected to see their populations

double by 2040.The ARC also anticipates that there will be an additional

1.5 million jobs in the region by that time to support the influx of people.

DeKalb’s jobs are expected to grow from 289,700 today to 425,100 in 2040.

Similar to the population trend, DeKalb, Cobb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties account for the vast majority of all jobs in the region today, almost 72 percent. By 2040, those counties’ share of the region’s jobs is expected to drop to 66 percent.

These forecasts will form the basis for ARC’s new 30-year regional plan, Plan 2040, which will be adopted by the ARC board of directors this summer.

Plan 2040 is being developed on a platform of economic, environmental and social sustainability for the entire Atlanta region.

To see more details about the ARC’s forecasts, visit www .atlantaregional.com/info-center/arc-newsletters /regional-snapshots/regional-snapshots.

Call 404-284-1888 for Advertising Opportunities & Information

Dear Dave,I listen to you often and enjoy your radio

show, but why don’t you ever ask women to go to work? When a family is broke, and the woman is at home raising one child who is already in the fifth grade, why can’t the wife get a “second job?”

– George

Dear George,I think far too many ladies, in the name

of paying for stuff they don’t need, have left the household and the children for the work-place. Many of them didn’t even want to do this; they just felt obligated to do it by people like you. There are a lot of ladies who have sacrificed their ability to be full-time moms on the altar of the car payment.

Now, sometimes ladies have to go to work. There’s a time and a place for that kind of thing. But if there’s any way I can financially and budget-wise figure out how mom can be waiting at home with a big hug

and a plate full of cookies when that fifth-grader walks in the house – and if that’s what she wants to do – then you’re going to find me fighting for her opportunity to do that.

There’s no higher calling on the planet than motherhood. We’ve lost that in our culture, and we’re suffering dearly for it.

I’m no Neanderthal jerk. I don’t say every mother has to be at home or they’re a bad person. But these days we’ve got very few people who defend full-time, in-the-home motherhood. The inference you’re making is that she’s not helping, or worse, lazy. Why don’t you go take over her job for a week? I think you’ll find out in a hurry there’s not a lazy bone in her body!

– Dave

Newlyweds want to buy homeDear Dave,

I’m 24 years old, and just got married two months ago. We make $80,000 a year, have our emergency fund and no debt, plus we’ve saved up for a 15 percent down payment on a house. I know you suggest 20 percent, but is 15 percent OK?

– Tony

Dear Tony,I don’t have a lot of issues with 15 percent

instead of 20 percent. You’ll probably end up having to pay

private mortgage insurance, but it sounds like you guys are in good enough shape financially to handle things.

However, I generally recommend that couples wait until they’ve been married at least a year before buying a home. Buying a house is a huge decision. That’s why I think it’s smart to wait and get to know each other even better before making a decision of this magnitude. Plus, you need to figure out just how close you want to live to your mother-in-law!

Seriously, take your time and don’t rush things. There will still be great deals on the market in a year or so, and you’ll be able to save more money, too!

– DaveFor more financial help, visit daveramsey

.com.

I’m no Neanderthal jerk. I don’t say every mother has to be at

home or they’re a bad person. But these days we’ve got very few people who defend full-time, in-

the-home motherhood.

ARCpopulationforecastsforDeKalbCounty,2010-2040

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7Wellness “Hillandale is very, very busy. The hospital is thriving. We have great physicians and I have great expectations.”

Program honors slain mother, helps youth cope with domestic violence

Screenings, consultation can detect heart disease, pharmacists advise

Harris brings clinical, business background to Hillandale

The new vice president and administrator of the 100-bed DeKalb Medical at Hillandale has been with the medical system for 32 years.

Last year, heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States, contributed to more than a mil-lion Americans having new or recurrent heart attacks.

The 2010 numbers broke down into 785,000 having a new coronary attack, and about 470,000 had a recurrent attack.

The American Pharmacists Association is encouraging the public to talk to their pharmacists about available screening and consultative services that could prevent and detect health problems usually associ-ated with heart disease.

The Washington-based group, which represents more than 62,000 practicing pharmacists, says druggists work as a team with doctors and offer a number of “heart

healthy” services, including blood pressure, cholesterol and BMI screenings; blood glu-cose or “sugar” testing; tobacco cessation counseling; and diet, exercise and healthy lifestyle counseling.

APhA says that individuals can decrease their risk for developing coronary heart dis-ease by taking steps to prevent and control associated risk factors such as high choles-terol, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke.

Some heart attacks are sudden and in-tense. Most start slowly with mild pain or discomfort. Seek care immediately if you or someone you know experiences symptoms. APhA says patients should maintain regular visits with all of their health care providers.

By Brenda Camp Yarbrough

A son’s grief over his mother’s death at the hands of his stepfather is the catalyst for Beverly Cunningham Outreach in Lithonia, a program that helps youth cope with do-mestic violence.

It’s been 16 months, but the memories are still fresh for Roderick Cun-ningham and his brothers Quincy and Demetrius.

He and Demetrius were in their Decatur home on Oct. 27, 2009, when their mother, Bev-erly Cunningham Brown, was shot in the head while lying in bed.

Her husband of more than 10 years, Leroy Walker Brown, has been sentenced to life in prison in the slaying. Her son said she endured years of mental and verbal abuse before dying at the hands of her husband.

Beverly Cunningham Brown was the longtime owner and operator of Beverly’s Home Childcare and an evangelist with the Church of God in Christ.

She often provided free child care when parents lost their jobs.

The day care remains closed because it was family-based and the license was non-transferable. Cunningham says the family plans to reopen the center.

In July 2010, Cunningham founded Beverly Cunningham Outreach to honor his mother’s memory and celebrate her gener-ous spirit.

The group’s mission is to provide indi-vidual and group counseling and advocacy services to survivors of domestic violence and to offer an outlet for community youth who are at risk of becoming victims of vio-lence, substance abuse or who are impacted by health issues.

“My mother’s greatest legacy to me was her dedication to service,” he said. “For 55 years she strived to help and nurture others. When I am able to follow her legacy I feel like she is still here with me.”

In its first year, the nonprofit held several outings, including trips to NBA and NHL games, and the “Silent No More” inaugural fund-raising dinner featuring the award-winning author L.Y. Marlow in October for

victims and families of domestic violence. Cunningham said the group partnered with local businesses and Decatur city officials to provide fun and entertainment.

Supporters include the DeKalb-Child-care Association of Professional Providers

and Family Childcare in Georgia, Hi-Tek POS, Zoom Express Car Wash, Publix, Wal-Mart, and Pentecostal Temple.

Cunningham says the goal is to provide a facility that will allow the pro-gram to counsel, mentor and protect victims of

domestic violence. “Through the donations of our community, we will continue to strive to increase awareness and teach young people how to have healthy relationships.”

Since losing their mother, Cunningham says he and brothers Quincy and Demetrius Turner have been taking each day at a time. They were 35, 29, and 28, respectively, when their mother was killed. They have received encouragement from COGIC ministers and Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake.

“Their prayer and support during such a traumatic time in our lives was invaluable.”

Cunningham said they also are coping by holding awareness seminars featuring Marlow, who wrote “Color Me Butterfly,” a novel inspired by a true story of domestic abuse. It follows four generations of mothers and daughters as they discover the strength, hope and courage to survive. Cunningham said social outings let families know there is someone who cares.

The tragedy has strengthened his family. “I am blessed to have a beautiful wife and daughter [who hold] me up through prayer, and everyone that my mother’s life has touched surrounded me and my brothers with love. We have bonded together to see that my mother’s death not be in vain. ”He wants victims and families to end the silence and stop the vicious cycle.

“Don’t be afraid to seek out help. Don’t look at the behavior of others that is negative to be an example in your life.”

The Beverly Cunningham Outreach Program is at 5353 Fairington Road. For more information, visit www.beverlycunning hamoutreach.com or call 770-864-1664.


A registered nurse with an MBA is the top guy at DeKalb Medical at Hillandale.

After serving as in-terim administrator for two and a half months, DeKalb native Susan Har-ris was tapped by DeKalb Medical CEO Eric Nor-wood to run the 100-bed hospital.

Her appointment as vice president and admin-

istrator was effective Feb. 17.Harris, who lives in Lithonia, becomes the

hospital’s third administrator since it opened on July 18, 2005. She succeeds Clay Fowler, who left in late November after three years to start his own medical venture capital firm.

Harris joined DeKalb Medical in 1979, and over her 32 years with the medical sys-tem, she has served in a variety of positions, including operating room nurse, materials manager and educator, and Outpatient Sur-gery Center manager.

She was most recently director for surgi-cal, bariatric and endoscopy services.

Before offering her the administrator position permanently, Norwood polled three

dozen hospital staff on the type of person they would like to see in that role.

When Harris’ name kept coming up, he knew he was on to something.

Harris said her clinical and business

background helped her stand out.“It is not often that you find administra-

tors who come from both the clinical and business sides,” she said. “Knowing both makes a big difference.”

Harris said that background will allow the hospital to offer a better product to the community.

Plus, she is from South DeKalb and graduated from Gordon High School, which is now McNair.

“I am from here. These are my stomping grounds. I have been here. I am vested in the community.”

The hospital she takes over is thriving.Last year, Hillandale admitted 4,009 pa-

tients and saw 134,509 as outpatients. “Hillandale is very, very busy. The hospi-

tal is thriving. We have great physicians and I have great expectations.”

One of her first duties will be to oversee the expansion of the Emergency Department and Medical/Surgical Department.

Harris said they will be opening up the second floor that was closed in April 2009 when the Maternal and Infant Department was relocated to the system’s North DeKalb campus because of declining deliveries.

The plan is to open some of those beds for observations to relieve pressure on the busy Emergency Department.

The hospital also plans to expand its Medical/Surgical Department, now located only on the fifth floor, to 36 beds on the third floor.

Susan Harris

Beverly C. Brown R. Cunningham

Heart disease seminar in LithoniaSouth DeKalb residents can learn more

about heart disease at a free cardiovascular awareness seminar on March 5 at the Re-dan Recreation Center in Lithonia.

Free blood pressure screenings also will be available at the 10 a.m.-to-noon event, hosted by the Stone Mountain/

Lithonia Graduate Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

There will be information on treatment options for vascular disorders and diseases.The center is at 1839 Phillips Road. For more information, visit www.akataupiomega.com or call Aidra N. Martin at 678-525-6155.


8

Augustine Prepara-tory founders Robert and Vickie B. Turner created the Leaders in Our Neighborhood Awards to educate and inform local students and the community about heroes while rec-ognizing their accom-

plishments.The 7 p.m. ceremony, which is free to

the public, will be held at the H.F. Shep-herd Multiplex-Atrium on the campus of Greater Travelers Rest Baptist Church, 4650 Flat Shoals Parkway in Decatur.

For more information, call 404-212-7660.

CBS News national correspondent Byron Pitts, community leader Jackie Adams, and re-nowned praise and wor-ship leader Pastor Clariece Paulk will be honored March 11 at the Augustine Preparatory Academy’s second annual LION Awards ceremony in Decatur.

Pitts, a contributor to CBS’ “60 Minutes,” will receive the school’s Legends Award, Paulk will get the Legacy Award for more than 40 years of ministry in music and arts in the church community, and Adams will get the Lighthouse Award for tireless work in education and the elderly community.

Thirty-four scrapbooks of African-Americans dating to 1883 will be preserved with a matching Save America’s Treasures grant.

Historic Oakland Cemetery includes an African-American section and “Slave Square.”

Byron PittsClariece Paulk

Plethora of classes at arts center

Many to walk for the cure

LION Awards for standouts

Oakland’s phone tour offers narratives about famous blacks

Emory gets grant to preserve African-American scrapbooks

Scene“These scrapbooks give us a glimpse into how these artists and students and

former slaves thought about themselves, their families, their work.”

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South DeKalb residents can pick up a new skill, learn to dance or act, or lose weight at classes offered at the Porter Sanford III Per-forming Arts Center in Decatur.

New classes are forming or are under way and size and fees vary. Among them:n Chicago Style Stepping Classes with in-structor Steven Matthews. 7-9 p.m. Thurs-days. Contact 404-934-3093 or smsteppin [email protected] Premiere Actors’ Network Acting Classes with instructor Dwayne Boyd. 7:30-10:30 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Saturdays. Contact 770-873-8974 or [email protected]. n Les Miserables Acting Class with instructor Harry Saint-Cyr. 2-3 p.m. Saturdays. Contact 770-572-5618 or [email protected] Black Top Circus Afterschool Program with instructor Andrew Swift. 2:30-6:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Contact 404-285-3336, 678-768-9288 or [email protected]. n WOW Weight Loss Classes with in-structor Deborah Summerville/Won-derland Gardens. 6-8 p.m. Mondays and

Wednesdays. E-mail sfleming@wonderland gardens.org or call 404-680-1900. n Nutrition Class with instructor Deborah Summerville/Wonderland Gardens. 6-8 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday. Contact 404-286-6163, Ext. 5, or dsummerville@wonderland gardens.org.n Quilting Workshop with instructor Belin-da Predroso. 1-4 p.m. every fourth Saturday of each month. Contact 404-244-5474 or [email protected] Atlanta Young Singers - Callanwolde with instructor Ginny Thompson. 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday. Contact 404-873-3365 or [email protected] Middlebrooks World International Inc. Karate with instructor Michael Middle-brooks. 4-6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. Contact 404-447-7077 or [email protected].

The Porter Sanford III Performing Arts and Community Center is at 3181 Rainbow Drive. For more information, visit www.co.dekalb.ga.us/PorterSanford/index.html or call 404-286-7262.

Adults and children will walk all over Glenwood Avenue on March 12 for the Greater Piney Grove 8th Annual Walk for a Cure for AIDS.

Registration for the 5K starts at 8 a.m. and walkers will hit the streets at 9.

Donna Tate, chairwoman for the church’s Embrace the Healthy Temple Ministry, which is sponsoring the event, says participants will walk to the East Lake Y and back to the church at 1879 Glenwood Ave. in Atlanta.

Last year 200 people participated, and Tate said they are expecting as many this year.

“We are working with Shy Temple CME Church in Atlanta and New Jerusalem Church

of God in Christ in Lithonia, and they have people participating too,” she said.

She said the Embrace the Healthy Temple Ministry promotes AIDS prevention with AIDS 101 training.

It also hosts blood drives; cancer walks; and obesity, diabetes and caregivers work-shops.

Registration for the walk is $10. Tate says all proceeds benefit community-based or-ganizations working with people with AIDS and their families.

Since it started, she said it has raised about $20,000.

For more information, call Donna Tate at 770-879-5850.

Emory’s collection of scrapbooks of African-Amer-ican artists, writers, students, vaudeville performers, preachers and former slaves is about to get new life.

A three-year $170,000 Save America’s Treasures grant will help the university preserve the aging collec-tion at Emory’s Manuscript, Archives and Rare Books Library.

The university will match the grant, awarded through the Department of Interior and the National Park Ser-vice in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Thirty-four scrapbooks dating from 1883 to 1975 have been selected for the project. Among them, scrap-books of author Alice Walker; vaudeville performers “Jolly” John Larkin and Johnny Hudgins; entertainer and playwright Flourney Miller; Spelman College graduate Virginia Hannon; and former slave and author W.S. Scarborough, who became a professor of classics at

History buffs can learn about the lives of black families and race relations at Atlanta’s Oakland Cemetery via an advanced, user-friendly cell phone walking tour.

“African American Voices,” the first cell phone tour for the cemetery, features 12 narrative presentations of families interred in the cemetery’s historic African-American section.

The narratives offer expert commentary that addresses the thematic significance of the individuals and their connection to local and national history.

The 25-minute cell phone tour, an-nounced March 1 by the city of Atlanta and the Historic Oakland Foundation, is offered weekdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and weekends from

9 a.m. to dusk.George Dusenbury, commissioner of

Atlanta’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs, said “African American Voices” is the park system’s first cell phone tour and that it enhances the cemetery’s visibility.

Along with the tour, the city has installed three story panels in the African-American section and the original “Slave Square.” They tell the story of African-Americans and race relations in Atlanta and America.

To take the tour, visitors dial 678-365-0232 on their cell phones and follow instruc-tions to hear historical information at each numbered stop. Normal cell phone charges will apply.

The 48-acre Victorian-style garden cem-etery is open year-round.

It was founded in 1850 and is one of Atlanta’s largest park spaces and significant cultural sites.

Among the 70,000 people interred there are “Gone With the Wind” author Marga-ret Mitchell and golf great Bobby Jones; a number of former Atlanta mayors, including Maynard Jackson; six former governors; the unmarked graves of paupers; Confederate and Union soldiers; and a Jewish section.

Historic Oakland Cemetery is at 248 Oakland Ave. S.E. in Atlanta. For more in-formation, call 404-688-2107 or visit www.atlantaga.gov or www.oaklandcemetery.com.

Wilberforce University and eventually its president.Randall K. Burkett, MARBL’s curator of African-

American collections, said scrapbooks have often been treated as the unwanted children or the neglected or-phans of archives.

“They are difficult to handle, they are often in fragile physical condition, and they are a mix of memorabilia of every description and taste,” he said. “These scrapbooks give us a glimpse into how these artists and students and former slaves thought about themselves, their families, their work.”

The grant, announced by Emory on March 2, will create digital surrogates to enhance access to the histori-cal materials.

Laura Carroll, manuscript archivist and principal investigator, said the project is urgent because the scrapbooks are deteriorating rapidly.

“We’re losing original information,” she said. “The clock is ticking.”

When You Miss CrossRoadsNews, You Miss News You Can Use!

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9District 5 board member Jay Cunningham looks over proposed school closings and redistricting at a DeKalb Legislative Community Cabinet meeting.

Youth “We realize that Avondale has gone down and we need to bring excellence back, but I don’t think the resolution is to close [it].”

DeKalb holds on to accreditation

School Board to vote on consolidation, redistricting plan

Office of School ImprovementPresents

A free half-day Title I Annual MeetingParental Involvement Conference

Together We Will Make a Difference

Saturday, March 19, 2011 • 8am to 1pmStone Mountain Middle School

4301 Sarr Parkway, Stone Mountain, GA 30083Light refreshments will be served at 8 a.m.

The general session will offer a panel discussion for parents. The theme for the panel discussion will be The Parents Role in Creating Successful Children. The parents in attendance will have an opportunity to ask the panelists questions which pertain to their field of expertise. The panel will consist of a psychologist, a parent, a principal, an author, PTA President and other community leaders.

There will be Gender-Based workshops for Middle and High School Students.

Language translators will be available for some workshops.Childcare for school age children will be provided. We will also have exhibits featuring the DeKalb County School System, various community agencies, and educational companies.

Door prizes will be awarded at the conclusion of the conference!For more information, call Jackie Marshall at 678-676-0376.

The focus of the spring conference is Test-taking Strategies. A variety of workshops focusing on test-taking strategies in both Mathematics and Reading for all grade levels, Special Education, and Early Childhood will be offered.The DeKalb School System will

hold on to its accreditation for now, but the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools said it needs to pay immediate attention to eight recommendations.

On the list: completing its redis-tricting and consolidation process, hiring a new permanent superin-tendent, fixing the administration of state standardized tests, and re-establishing its strategic planning process to guide the district’s future direction.

The SACS recommendations, which were presented to the DeKalb School Board on March 3, come after a special five-month review that followed a turbulent year that saw the indictment of three district employees,

including former Superinten-dent Crawford Lewis and Chief Operating Officer Pat Reid on racketeering and other charges in connection with the district’s billion-dollar construction pro-gram.

SACS praised the leadership of interim Superintendent Ramona Tyson.

Tyson, a 22-year district employee, was tapped by the School Board to lead the dis-trict when Lewis was terminated.

“It is through the leadership and integrity of interim Superintendent Ramona Tyson that hope and trust [in the School System] is beginning to be restored in the DeKalb community,” the SACS report said.

Ramona Tyson

By Carla Parker

After nine weeks of debates and pub-lic hearings, DeKalb’s nine School Board members will vote March 7 to close and consolidate a number of schools and change attendance lines to maximize the school dis-trict’s funding from the state.

Interim School Superintendent Ramona Tyson had proposed closing eight schools, seven of which are in south DeKalb County, to compensate for shifting demographics and declining enrollment.

The district has more than 11,000 empty seats countywide that are costing it millions of state dollars for operational and capital funding.

The process began Jan. 3 with a proposal to close 14 schools from MGT Consultants of America. On Feb. 7, Tyson whittled down the list after listening to parents’ complaints and concerns.

She has recommended changing the at-tendance lines for 8,989 students and shut-tering the elementary schools – Atherton, Glen Haven and Peachcrest in Decatur and Gresham Park and Sky Haven in Atlanta.

Avondale Middle School and Avondale High School also will be closed, but under her plan, Avondale High will house the DeKalb School of Arts students.

Medlock Elementary in north Decatur also will close.

At heated meetings, parents have accused the district of not taking their concerns in account.

District 5 board member Jay Cunning-ham said he has been listening to parents and will take their input into consideration when he votes.

“I have been out to Bouie and Wads-worth,” he said Wednesday. “I have visited PTAs and I have been to community meet-ings on the weekend. I do hear the con-cerns.”

At a Feb. 25 town hall meeting in Avon-dale Estates, supporters of Avondale Middle and Avondale High pleaded with Districts 7 and 3 board members Donna Edler and Sar-ah Copelin-Wood to leave the schools open, while others said the high school should be closed because of its failing rate.

Some parents wanted to know why Avon-dale Middle – a school that is only 10 years old – and a historic school like Avondale High are closing.

Copelin-Wood said she too was baffled by the closures. “I can’t explain to you why Avondale Middle and Avondale High were put on the list,” she said. “I don’t know why this happened.”

Lisa Deutsch, who lives in Avondale Estates, said the high school should close because of its failure rate. Avondale High has not made Adequate Yearly Progress since 2004.

“More than half of the students are fail-ing the End-of-Course test,” Deutsch said. “There are just so many things going wrong

at this school.”Jada Henderson, the school’s senior class

president, said all is not lost at the school and there is hope for the school and students.

“We realize that Avondale has gone down and we do need to bring excellence back, but I don’t think the resolution is to close the school,” she said.

Copelin-Wood told the community to send e-mails to the other School Board members in support of the Avondale schools if they want the schools to stay open.

“Things can change if there is enough support for change,” she said.

Jill Forte, whose son attends Avondale High, said she feels the School Board mem-bers already have made up their minds.

“It seems as if they’re going to do what they want to do,” Forte said. “It doesn’t mat-ter what we say.”

Thomas Bowen, the board’s chairman, told parents at a March 1 public hearing at the School System’s headquarters that there will never be a perfect plan that will please everyone.

“I do think the district listens, but it will unequivocally never be perfect,” he said. “We spent so many hours incorporating so much feedback to get what we think right now is a good recommendation, not a perfect, but a good recommendation.”

Some parents and residents said the board is targeting South DeKalb with school closings because they didn’t speak out loudly against the first redistricting plan like the parents from North DeKalb did.

Former School Board member Zepora

Roberts, who spoke during the meeting, said the board is sending the message that they place more value on what some parents say and want than on others. “I’m concerned about the lack of consistency and fairness.”

Bowen said South DeKalb schools tar-geted for closing are on the list because of the low enrollment in the south.

“We have to close the schools that are

empty,” he said. District 9 School Board member Eugene

Walker said he doesn’t want to see any school in DeKalb close but said the district can’t keep buildings open that are unsustainable. “I am a supporter of ‘if it’s not broke, then don’t fix it,’ but that’s not the case here,” he said. “In this situation we have buildings un-der capacity and we have to take action.”

Jennifer Ffrench Parker / CrossRoadsNews


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ReadeR noticeAs a service to you – our valued readers – we offer the following information: This newspaper will never knowingly accept any advertisement that is illegal or considered fraudulent. If you have questions or doubts about any ads on these pages, we advise that before responding or sending money ahead of

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Also be advised that some phone numbers published in these ads may require an extra charge. In all cases of questionable value, such as promises or guaranteed income from work-at-home programs, money to loan, etc., if it

sounds too good to be true – it may in fact be exactly that. This newspaper cannot be held responsible for any negative consequences that occur as a result of you doing business with any advertisers. Thank you.

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Books child care

furniture

financialattorneys automotive

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Reach More of the People Who Matter Most – Local Customers!Call 404-284-1888 to Advertise in the CrossRoadsNews Marketplace

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11MaRKetplace Rates

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hoMe seRvicesAre you having electrical or plumbing problems? Hot water tank or heating system going out? Call Chris Today! 404-992-3663.

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Business services

events & seminars

financial

home services

health & Beauty

traveltransPortation

restaurants

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Real estateI buy houses. Any Condition/Any Area. 404-246-9975.

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12

OPEN A MACY’S ACCOUNT FOR EXTRA 20% SAVINGS THE FIRST 2 DAYS WITH MORE REWARDS TO COME. Macy’s credit card is available subject to credit approval; new account savings valid the day your account is opened and the next day; excludes services, select licensed departments, gift cards, restaurants, gourmet food and wine. On furniture, mattresses and rugs/floor coverings, the new account savings is limited to $100; application must qualify for immediate approval to receive extra savings; employees not eligible.

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FREE SHIPPING AT MACYS.COMwith $99 online purchase ($8 fl at-fee shipping with purchases under $99). No promo code needed; exclusions apply.

N1020033A.indd 1 2/18/11 3:43:41 PM


Documents

CrossRoadsNews, March 5, 2011