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C HA MP IO NN EW SPA PE R C HA MP IO NN EW S CHAMPIONNEWSPAPER CHAMPIONNEWS

thechampionnewspaper.com F REE P RESS FRIDaY, JaNUaRY 1, 2016 • Vol. 18, No. 39 • FREE

• A PUBLICATION OF ACE III COMMUNICATIONS • Serving East Atlanta, Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Chamblee, Clarkston, Decatur, Doraville, Dunwoody, Lithonia, Pine Lake, Tucker and Stone Mountain.

CHAMPION The

See Gifts on Page 13A

See Lithonia on Page 13A

$5K reward for info about shooting at deputy’s home

NEWCOMERS GUIDE INSIDE

by Andrew [email protected]

The DeKalb County Sheriff ’s Of-fice is offering a $5,000 rewardfor information leading to the

rrest of those involved in the recenthooting at a deputy’s Lithonia home.

On Dec. 15, a sheriff ’s deputy andis wife were the victims of a shoot-

ng at their home of “14 peace-filled

years,” said DeKalb County Sheriff Jef-frey L. Mann.

No one was injured when six bul-lets struck the deputy’s home and onehit the marked patrol vehicle, saidMann during a news conference an-nouncing the award while surroundedby other law enforcement officialsincluding interim DeKalb Police ChiefJames Conroy .

“The perpetrators are still at large,”

by Carla [email protected]

On Christmas morning, Stephanie Rockmore andher Blessings On Wheels team were not rushing to theChristmas tree to see what Santa brought.

They were in the streets surprising children andfamilies in need with toys and other gifts. The Grant-A-Wish for Christmas event is an annual tradition

Blessings On Wheels (B.O.W.) has done since 2009. “It has truly grown—just grown in numbers aswell as great spirits, and people coming aboard afterthey hear what Blessings On Wheels is doing,” saidRockmore.

Blessings On Wheels is a nonprofit organizationthat provides hot meals to the homeless and gives tothose in need throughout the year. Every Christmas,the organization finds families who have fallen ontough times and are unable to buy toys for children.

“Since our very first year we have helped morefamilies, our sponsorship has grown and it has justbeen God,” Rockmore said. “God has truly had hishand in it. We went from having it at [Malcolm Cun-ningham’s car dealership in Decatur] to having it atan event hall. This year, we’re truly blessed to go outand knock on the doors to surprise six families with

Families surprised with gifts for Christmas

From left, Stephanie Rockmore and Keischa Robinson of Blessings On Wheels shop for toys to give to children onChristmas day. Photos by Carla Parker

‘[We] are looking for you if you are guiltyof these crimes. And with the offeringof the reward, others will be looking foryou as well. You will be found and will beprosecuted.’

- Sheriff Jeffrey L. Mann

Left, DeKalb County interim Police Chief James Conroy talks about a shooting at a sheriff’s deputy’s home. Center, Sheriff Jeffrey Mann vows to crack down on gang-related crime. Right,Deputies stage a safety checkpoint in Lithonia in August. Photos by Andrew Cauthen

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AROUNDDeKalbAVONDALEESTATES

New commissioners to besworn in

Commissioners-electBrianFisher and Adela Yelton will besworn in to the Avondale EstatesBoard of Mayor and Commission-ers Jan. 4, 7:30 p.m. at city hall, 21North Avondale Plaza. For moreinformation, visit www.avondalees-tates.org.

BROOKHAVEN

City to swear in new mayor

Michael Jacobs will conduct theswearing-in ceremony of Mayor-elect John Ernst as well as Councilmembers Linley Jones and BatesMattison on Jan. 4, at 10:30 a.m.in City Council Chambers, 4362Peachtree Road. The public is invit-ed to attend, and light refreshmentswill be served. For more informa-

tion, visit www.brookhavenga.gov.

CHAMBLEE‘Bring One for the Chipper’

The city of Chamblee and KeepChamblee Beautiful invite residentsto “Bring One for the Chipper”on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016, from 9a.m. to 1 p.m. at Chamblee’s PublicWorks Facility, 3210 CumberlandDr., Chamblee.

This event offers a free, easy and

ecofriendly way for Chamblee resi-dents to dispose of Christmas trees.

Residents dropping off theirtrees in Chamblee will receive a freetree seedling, along with fruit andvegetable seeds for their spring gar-den. There also will be free dessertsand hot apple cider.

City makes changes to alcoholordinance

Chamblee recently approvedupdates to Chapter 6 of the Cham-blee Ordinance, which regulates

businesses that sell and serve alco-holic drinks. The mayor and citycouncil adopted language permit-ting craft breweries, art shops andperformance art facilities in certain

commercial zoning districts.Chamblee now allows craft

breweries, where beer is brewedand packaged for distribution. Artshops are businesses that provide artinstruction in painting or sculptureand enable patrons to bring theirown wine or beer to consume insidethe business. Chamblee also willpermit on-premise sale of alcoholat a performance art facility, whichis defined as a theater or venue thatoffers live music, plays, or otherdramatic arts. Chamblee’s new codeallows the sale of “growlers”–sani-tized reusable containers of to-gobeer–from certain businesses.

LITHONIA

City to hold inauguration andstate of city address

The inauguration of Lithonia’smayor and council members willbe held Jan. 4, 6:30 p.m. at LithoniaCity Hall, 6920 Main Street. Coun-cilmember-electFred Reynolds,re-elected mayor Deborah Jack-son and councilmember Shameka

Reynolds will be sworn in. After-wards, Jackson will give the state ofthe city address. For more informa-tion, call (770) 482-8136.

COUNTYWIDE

DeKalb Finance Departmentreceives award

The Government Finance Of-ficers Association (GFOA) recentlyawarded the DeKalb County Fi-nance Department with a certificateof achievement for excellence infinancial reporting for its 2014 com-prehensive annual financial report.

This is the 40th consecutive yearthat the DeKalb Finance Depart-ment has earned this distinction.

“The certificate of achievementis the highest form of recognitionin governmental accounting andfinancial reporting, and its attain-ment represents a significant ac-complishment by a governmentand its management,” said StephenGauthier, director of the GFOATechnical Services Center.

DeKalb’s Finance Department,led by interim Chief Financial Of-ficer Gwen Brown-Patterson, received the certificate, as well asan award of financial reporting

achievement.

Nonproft group hands out

$9,000 in grants

The Community Center ofSouth Decatur (CCSD) recentlyprovided $9,000 in local communitygrants Dec. 21. Grant funding wasgenerated by the organization’s Bar-becue Blues and Bluegrass Festivalheld each August.

The Community Center ofSouth Decatur grant recipients for2015 are Decatur Education Foun-dation, Woodland Gardens, DecaturPreservation Alliance/MLK Jr. Ser- vice Project, Global Growers, Na-tional Association on Mental Illness- DeKalb Chapter, and Our House.

Founded in 1979, the Commu-nity Center of South Decatur is anonprofit organization whose mis-sion is to preserve and maintain TheSolarium at Historic Scottish Rite asa sustainable community resourceto be used for the assistance, educa-tion and enjoyment of the Decaturcommunity.

Pictured in the photo are KateBaltzell of Woodland Gardens; Bar-becue Blues and Bluegrass Festivalchairman Michael Vajda of SynertiaPartners; Decatur Commissioner Brian Smith; Paul Mitchell, MLKservice project chairman; Cindy Weiss, Solarium executive director;and Scot Hollonbeck, CCSD boardchairman.

Holiday cheer spread bynonproft group

Members of the East MetroOrchids spread holiday cheer andpresented stockings filled with giftsto the residents of the Rising StarNursing Home in Stone Mountainon Dec. 22.

Each resident was given a San-

ta’s helper hat along with a stockingstuffed with gifts such as toiletryitems, peppermints, socks andfooties. Holiday songs and a prayeralso were a part of the event.

The East Metro Orchids,whose president is state Rep. DeeDawkins-Haigler, is a social/civic organization of professionalwomen living in DeKalb, Rockdale,Newton and Gwinnett counties.

Standing from left, East Metro Orchidsmembers Lois Keith, Iranetta Willis,ShaRonda McRae and Steen Miles joinsome of the residents of the Rising StarNursing Home in Stone Mountain. Photosprovided

East Metro Orchids member ShaRondaMcRae brought her sons, Terron, Devonand Brandson, who pitched in to helpspread holiday cheer and learn the impor-tance of sharing.

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The Champion FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, January 1, 2016 oPINIoN Page 4A

@AndrewChampNews

Andrew Cauthen

[email protected]

Managing Editor

Stuff of the Year 2015It’s been a really busy

news year in DeKalb. We werein the news for one investiga-tion or another many weeks in2015. State leaders are tired ofhearing the name of “DeKalbCounty.” And some fed-upbusinesses and residentscouldn’t take it anymore andsimply left the county.

Here my list of the 2015Stuff of the Year that peoplewere talking about.

Document of the Year:The so-called Mike Bow-ers report. In March, in-terim DeKalb County CEOLee May hired, at a cost of$850,000, Bowers, a formerstate attorney general, et al., toinvestigate the employees anddepartments of the CEO androot out government corrup-tion. The Bowers team tookno prisoners, wrote a lettercalling DeKalb “rotten to thecore” and a preliminary reportthat called for May to resign.

May remains in his position.Failed deal of the Year:

The Atlanta United soccer facility deal. It started off asa Memorial Drive economicdevelopment plan that wouldhave brought the headquar-

ters and practice field ofAtlanta United major leaguesoccer franchise to DeKalbCounty. It became a politicalsoccer match with three com-missioners pitted against four

commissioners and May. Itended with a mutual agree-ment that it would cost toomuch to get the former land-fill ready for construction.

Worst neighborhood of

the Year: Brannon Hill condo-minium complex. Conditionsare deplorable, sickening andembarrassing at this complexoff of Memorial Drive. Filledmostly with refugees and oth-er immigrants, building afterbuilding of the complex isburned out, in terrible disre-pair or boarded up. Commu-nity meetings, a governmenttask force and media attentionhave not yet fixed the decade-old problems there. Maybe2016 will bring change there.

School official of the Year: Mike Thurmond. When hetook over as interim schoolsuperintendent in 2013,the DeKalb County SchoolDistrict was a mess. Severalschool board members had

been suspended by the gov-ernor, the district’s financeswere screwed up, and its ac-creditation was threatened.Thurmond and his teamstabilized the district and gotit ready for a permanent su-perintendent. Now people arewondering what Thurmond,the state’s former labor com-missioner, will do next. Runfor county CEO?

Election of the Year: Dis-trict commission seat. Twoyears. That’s how long theDeKalb County District 5commission seat was vacant.That’s how long the residentsof that district complainedabout not being represented.The seat officially became vacant in May upon the resig-nation of then-CommissionerMay after he was appointedthe interim DeKalb CEO byGov. Nathan Deal, follow-ing the indictment and sus-pension of DeKalb County

CEO Burrell Ellis. AttorneyMereda Davis Johnson, wifeof Congressman Hank John-son, won the long-awaitedelection.

Cityhood movement of

the Year: Tucker. The city-hood movements of Briarcliff,Lakeside and Tucker foughtover the Promised Land of theNorthlake community. Bri-arcliff and Lakeside support-ers joined forces in the newproposed LaVista Hills city,but voters did not approve theproposed city.

The proposed cities ofGreenhaven, which would bethe second largest in the state,and Stonecrest haven’t made itto the voters yet.

Tucker, which manypeople already thought wasa city, was approved and willincorporate in 2016.

Happy New Year and Ilook forward to the stuff 2016brings us all.

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Let Us Know What You Think!

THE CHAMPION FREE PRESS encour-ages opinions from its readers. Pleasewrite to us and express your views. Lettersshould be brief, t ypewritten and containthe writer’s name, address and telephonenumber for verification. All letters will beconsidered for publication.

Send Letters To Editor, The Champion Free Press, P.O. Box 1347, Decatur, GA 30031-1347; Send email

to [email protected] • FAX To: (404)370-3903 Phone: (404) 373-7779 . Deadline for newsreleases and advertising: Thursday, one week priorto publication date.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions written by colum-nists and contributing editors do not necessarilyreect the opinions of the editor or publishers. ThePublisher reserves the right to reject or cancel anyadvertisement at any time. The Publisher is notresponsible for unsolicited manuscripts.

Publisher: John Hewitt Chief Financial Offi cer:Dr. Earl D. GlennManaging Editor:Andrew CauthenProduction Manager:Kemesha Hunt Photographer:Travis HudgonsStaff Reporters:Carla Parker, Ashley Oglesby

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F REE P RESS

STATEMENT FROM THE

PUBLISHERWe sincerely appreciate thediscussion surrounding this and anyissue of interest to DeKalb County.The Champion was founded in 1991expressly to provide a forum fordiscourse for all community residentson all sides of an issue. We have nodesire to make the news only toreport news and opinions to effect

a more educated citizenry that willultimately move our communityforward. We are happy to presentideas for discussion; however,we make every effort to avoidprinting information submitted tous that is known to be false and/orassumptions penned as fact.

Shake your sheriff’s hand

Bill Crane

[email protected]

Columnist

ONE MAN’S OPINION

Among many sources ofpride in being Southern iswitnessing the frequent grati-ude, courtesy and respect

paid here to our men andwomen in uniform. A recentun through Hartsfield-ackson Airport included a

warm, thoughtful and sincereaped message of thanks and

greetings to America’s mili-ary from Atlanta’s Mayor

Kasim Reed. And that is ast should be.

Yet I can also recall frommy childhood, the differentand less welcoming treat-ment given to our returningVietnam era veterans. Whilehose less-than-courteous

ecollections are now a bithazy for me, they remaincrystal clear for those whouffered that ill treatment.

Bill Huff , a retired Co-umbus, Ga. businessman

and decorated Vietnam Warvet, once painted a vividportrait for me of his returntateside following his sec-

ond tour of duty. Nearinghis second day of transit ona military cargo craft and hisast leg home on a domestic

commercial craft to Orlando,raveling in the same uni-

form, he described the familyharing his row on the flighturning their backs and notecognizing or speaking to

him. Welcome home, soldier.I am more recently sens-

ng some similar ill treat-

ment, also not warranted,gaining a head of steam to-ward another group of menand women in uniform, our

thousands of law enforce-ment personnel across thiscountry. Criminal justiceanalysts are starting to speakof a dual-edged “Fergusoneffect” causing police, depu-ties, troopers and correc-tion officers alike to secondguess themselves, at the sametime that angry crowds andpacks of mobile phones arebeginning to swarm eventhe most basic arrests andcrime scenes, impeding andsometimes blocking law en-forcement professionals fromdoing their job to serve and

protect.Since 2010, it has been

reported that in 184 instanc-es in Georgia, police shoot-ings have ended in fatalities,with a victim either unarmed

or shot in the back. I in noway belittle or wish to mini-mize those injuries or lossof life, and rogue cops needto be identified and weededout of the system. However,among Georgia’s more than500 law enforcement agen-cies, across that same five-year span, how many thou-sand criminals were correctlyapprehended, prosecuted andare now doing time?

Having witnessed morethan a few crime scenes, andeven a couple of mass mur-derers in flight (during myreporting years), I can clearlyattest that I never witnessedan assailant or suspect run-

ning toward law enforce-ment. In every attempt toescape or allude capture, theywere running away, withtheir backs towards the goodguys. When shots were fired,typically they were in the di-rection of a fleeing suspect’sback. Real bad guys prefersimply to get the hell out ofDodge. Only in the moviesdo the two sides face off, dia-logue and then exchange fire.

In a year’s time the num-ber of Georgia highway fatal-ities will number in the hun-dreds, most due to distracteddriving or impaired driving,and yet no one is protestingin the streets to end the useof smart phones, or to extendthe death penalty for DUIresulting in vehicular homi-

cide.Entry-level police and

corrections officers as wellas sheriff deputies makeless than Georgia’s schoolteachers, whom we almostuniversally consider under-paid. The job of a cop or adeputy comes at all hours,365 days a year and while thethreat of violence committedagainst those in uniform ismultiplying. From a routinetraffic stop to a domesticdispute gone violent, ourmen and women in brownand blue must at all timesbe prepared for situations torapidly deteriorate and headsouth, forcing life and death

decisions to be made in amatter of seconds.

Which brings me backto the good guys. They arefar from perfect, but likethe soldier, they deserveour thanks. Say hello, sa-lute, wave and smile at yourneighborhood beat cop.Shake your sheriff ’s or areadeputy’s hand and ask whatyou can do to help makeyour community safer.

Or instead, forget thatblue and brown lives alsomatter, presume that a uni-form simply means a betterdressed bully seeking his orher next opportunity for un- justified brutality, and thenwitness the declining pool ofrecruits signing up for PoliceAcademy. When that next

mass shooting, jail break,armed robbery or burglaryof your own home happens,who ya gonna call? GhostBusters? Saying thank you isfree, and never under-esti-mate the power of a smile.

Bill Crane also servesas a political analyst andcommentator for Channel2’s Action News, WSB-AM

News/Talk 750 and now 95.5FM, as well as a columnistfor The Champion, Cham-

pion Free Press and GeorgiaTrend . Crane is a DeKalbnative and business owner,living in Scottdale. You canreach him or comment on

a column at [email protected].

The Champion FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, January 1, 2016 oPINIoN Page 5A

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If you would like to nominate someone to be considered as a future Champion of the Week, please contact Andrew Cauthenat [email protected] or at (404) 373-7779, ext. 117.

Kathryn Wright

Atlanta Hawks renew community partnershipThe Atlanta Hawks made an appearance at

the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta(MJCCA) on Dec. 5 for an opening night kickoffevent for MJCCA’s Youth Basketball program.

The event featured a live streaming of theSEC Championship game with Florida Gators

and Alabama Crimson Tide, coaching clinics,cheerleaders and a raffle for Atlanta Hawks gametickets.

In addition to kicking off the youth bas-ketball program, the event marked a renewedpartnership between the MJCCA and the AtlantaHawks organization, which will run through2020.

“The MJCCA is thrilled to be partneringwith the Atlanta Hawks as the official sponsor ofyouth sports and camps for another five years,”MJCCA Chief Program Officer Jared Powerssaid.

Powers said, “The MJCCA and the AtlantaHawks have developed a partnership that en-hances the MJCCA’s existing youth sports pro-grams, and expands the reach for participants, to

enable us to build on programs that emphasizeife lessons and core values through sports.”

According to Jon Babul of the AtlantaHawks, “The fourth great year of our partnershipwith the MJCCA enables the Hawks to continueto impact the Atlanta community, both phil-anthropically and through innovative and edu-cational sports programs which benefit youth,coaches and parents.”

The organizations have scheduled several ac-tivities for youngsters, which started Dec. 30 andcontinues throughout the summer.

On Jan. 16, each player who registers for theMJCCA’s Youth Basketball program will receive aticket to the game as the Hawks play the Brook-yn Nets at Philips Arena.

Attendees also will have the opportunity toparticipate in experiences such as: a Fan Tunnel,Bench Kid or Anthem Buddy.

For additional information visit www.atlan-tajcc.org.

When Kathryn Wright moved to Stone Mountain in1971 from Ohio, she wantedto get to know the commu-nity and the people in the

community.“I was new to the South

and I felt the best way to re-ally get to know the peoplewas to join some of the orga-nizations,” Wright said.

She first joined the StoneMountain Women’s Club,which is now the GeneralFederation of Women’s ClubsStone Mountain Woman’sClub. Club members are involved in many communityprojects.

“I found them all verywelcoming,” Wright said.

Wright said the women’s

club developed a group calledFriends of Sue B. Kellogg Li-brary.

“So I became involvedwith that,” she said.

Then she became involved with the Stone Moun-tain Village Visitor Center.

“Through [the visitorcenter] I went—as a volun-teer—to the Stone MountainHistorical Society,” she said.“We were at that point of ob-taining one of the old housesin Stone Mountain. I was incharge of building it up. Thatwas exciting for me to dothat.”

She then became involved with the Stone Moun-tain Community Garden.

“I’m still involved with

all of those [organizations],which is kind of nice,” shesaid.

Wright is also a chartermember of Corpus Christi

Catholic Church in StoneMountain where she is an eu-charistic minister.

“We are allowed to giveout communion to the pa-rishioners during mass,” shesaid.

Wright said volunteeringwith different organizationshas helped her to get to knowpeople in the area.

“When you’re new to awhole state volunteering isthe best way to find out whothe people are and how reallyfriendly the Southern peopleare,” she said.

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RZachary Effenbein, manager of Sherry & Harry Maziar Sports Camps, with Justin Holiday of theAtlanta Hawks at MJCCA recreation center.

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See Club on Page 14A

Prior Years (June

30, 2014 or

earlier)

Current Fiscal

Year (July 1, 2014 -

June 30, 2015) Total

1. Lease-hold improvements for Rock Chapel ES, Princeton ES, andDunwoody ES (COPS 05/07)

$66,000,000.00 $73,189,758.29 $27,653,583.15 $4,322,629.37 $31,976,212.52 $0.00 Dec 2027

2. Renovations/expansion at SWD HS, Towers HS, Columbia HS, McNair

HS, and emergency HVAC $ 25 ,0 00 ,0 00 .0 0 $ 23 ,3 38 ,0 15 .3 5 $ 22 ,8 88 ,0 15 .3 5 $ 0.00 $ 22 ,8 88 ,0 15 .3 5 $ 0.00 Completed

3. Cross Keys HS Renovation and Career Tech $16,927,348.00 $18,078,925.00 $17,888,704.64 $21,145.00 $17,909,849.64 $0.00 Completed

4. Tucker HS replacement $ 66 ,3 30 ,0 16 .0 0 $ 60 ,3 59 ,5 93 .1 7 $ 60 ,3 59 ,5 93 .1 7 $ 0.00 $ 60 ,3 59 ,5 93 .1 7 $ 0.00 Completed

5. Roofing Portfolio #1 $ 9,67 7,16 8.00 $ 12 ,2 38 ,0 01 .2 3 $ 12 ,2 38 ,0 01 .2 3 $ 0.00 $ 12 ,2 38 ,0 01 .2 3 $ 0.00 Completed

6. HVAC Portfolio #1 $17,168,224.00 $12,064,044.20 $11,205,570.24 $341,650.65 $11,547,220.89 $0.00 Completed

7. ADA Code Requirements Portfolio #1 $4,730,336.00 $3,545,616.00 $2,504,544.50 $806,957.62 $3,311,502.12 $0.00 Completed

8. Local School Priority Requests (LSPR) $5,156,419.00 $7,655,608.16 $7,351,116.24 $48,486.65 $7,399,602.89 $0.00 Completed

9. Site improvements $13,417,986.00 $9,221,216.00 $6,050,188.05 $640,162.63 $6,690,350.68 $0.00 Completed

10. Druid Hills HS improvements $ 9,73 9,80 0.00 $ 18 ,0 17 ,2 54 .0 0 $ 17 ,9 15 ,3 98 .5 5 $ 0.00 $ 17 ,9 15 ,3 98 .5 5 $ 0.00 Completed

11. Renovation and expansion of relocated DeKalb School of the Arts $ 10 ,0 00 ,0 00 .0 0 $ 5,40 4,22 6.51 $ 5,40 4,22 6.51 $ 0.00 $ 5,40 4,22 6.51 $ 0 .0 0 Completed

12. Renovation and expansion of Mountain Industrial Center $29,836,296.00 $32,134,498.00 $31,417,047.83 $103,838.19 $31,520,886.02 $0.00 Completed

13. Purchase of land $3,000,000.00 $11,350.00 $11,350.00 $0.00 $11,350.00 $0.00 Completed

14. Additions to Chamblee HS, Clarkston HS, Druid Hills HS, Dunwoody

HS, Lakeside HS, and Redan HS $63,292,805.00 $53,303,929.00 $47,706,981.91 $3,282,493.12 $50,989,475.03 $0.00 Completed

15. Technology--Refresh cycle $19,418,581.00 $25,376,645.00 $24,319,433.42 $1,110,070.07 $25,429,503.49 $0.00 Completed

16. Lithonia HS addition and improvements $11,447,624.00 $25,488.00 $25,488.00 $0.00 $25,488.00 $0.00 Deemed Unnecessary17. MLK Jr HS addition and improvements $10,178,779.00 $15,932,814.00 $13,245,992.69 $422,087.40 $13,668,080.09 $0.00 Completed

18. Miller Grove HS addition and improvements $5,874,487.00 $5,041,122.00 $4,857,910.28 $285,000.90 $5,142,911.18 $0.00 Completed

19. Dunwoody HS addition and improvements $4,819,395.00 $19,723,637.00 $19,722,968.64 $4,512.00 $19,727,480.64 $0.00 Completed

20. Clarkston HS improvements $ 4,00 0,00 0.00 $ 11 ,7 59 ,9 87 .1 3 $ 11 ,7 59 ,9 87 .1 3 $ 0.00 $ 11 ,7 59 ,9 87 .1 3 $ 0.00 Completed

21. HVAC Portfolio #2 $10,716,737.00 $8,757,677.87 $7,456,217.25 $309,550.01 $7,765,767.26 $0.00 Completed

22. Roofing Portfolio #2 $ 10 ,6 81 ,4 71 .0 0 $ 4,12 4,51 3.16 $ 4,12 4,51 3.16 $ 0.00 $ 4,12 4,51 3.16 $ 0.00 Completed

23. ADA Code Requirements Portfolio #2 $2,052,729.00 $2,709,374.00 $852,234.84 $1,582,124.84 $2,434,359.68 $0.00 Completed

24. School buses $ 12 ,0 00 ,0 00 .0 0 $ 11 ,9 99 ,7 61 .1 2 $ 11 ,9 99 ,7 61 .1 2 $ 0.00 $ 11 ,9 99 ,7 61 .1 2 $ 0.00 Completed

25. Technology-Media Center upgrades $10,000,000.00 $9,975,100.00 $9,652,209.21 $206,241.05 $9,858,450.26 $0.00 Completed

26. HVAC Portfolio #3 $17,408,662.00 $9,188,768.00 $1,380,377.30 $4,701,470.34 $6,081,847.64 $0.00 Completed

27. Roofing Portfolio #3 $ 7,12 5,13 7.00 $ 2,92 6,16 6.09 $ 2,92 6,16 6.09 $ 0.00 $ 2,92 6,16 6.09 $ 0.00 Completed

28. Other improvements and supporting services4

$0.005 $68,911,566.02 $44,892,244.06 $487,498.45 $45,379,742.51 $0.00 Dec 2023

All Projects $466,000,000.00 $525,014,654.30 $427,809,824.56 $18,675,918.29 $446,485,742.85 $0.00

In compliance with O.C.G.A. 48-8-122

3 - Total expenditures as presented in this SPLOST report will differ from the annual financial audit report due to timing differences not included in this SPLOST expenditures report, relative to contracts

payable, retainage payable, and accounts payable.

1 - $466 million is the projects approved by the Board of Education on November 17, 2006 (please see https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/Meetings/Attachment.aspx?S=4054&AID=83684&MID=4751).

2 - Current estimated revenues increase from $466.0 million to $525.0 million by: (1) re-estimation of SPLOST III revenues to $488.1 million, (2) the addition of $23.3 million from the Georgia DOE

reimbursements expected for SPLOST III projects, and (3) an addition of $13.6 m illion for local-funded projects (which are included).

4 - The current project estimate for "other improvements and supporting services" includes $20,050,000 for principal payments for the $300 million bond, approximately $13,237,011.30 for local-funded

capital projects, and other projects added during the mid-term assessment.

DeKalb County School District

Projects Constructed with SPLOST III Sales Tax Proceeds

Fiscal Year 2015 (July 1, 2014 - June 30, 2015)

2007 Sales Tax - Authorized Projects

FY 2007

Original Estimated

Cost1

FY 2015

Current Estimated

Cost2

Expenditures3

Excess

Proceeds

Not

Expended

Estimated Completion

Date

Club seeks to train graceful speakers, leadersby Andrew [email protected]

Before he joined a localToastmasters Club, StanleyYoung was a stutterer.

“I found myself in a posi-tion in corporate Americabeing afraid to really step outand take advantage of oppor-tunities because I was afraidto speak in public,” saidYoung, one of the foundingand charter members of theGrace Masters ToastmastersClub, which meets on thecampus of Emory University.

Toastmasters “increasedmy confidence,” Young said.“I can now speak in front of acrowd without any problem.I don’t have a lot of crutch

words unless I’m really notfocused.”

Young said he first heardabout Toastmasters at the

beginning of his career thathas spanned more than twodecades.

“I was too afraid to eventhink about Toastmasters,” hesaid. After working in corpo-rate America for 21 years asan information technologyprofessional, Young decidedto give Toastmasters a try.

He learned of a startupclub in 2010 and joined thegroup as an acting vice presi-dent of membership.

The Grace Masters clubwas started in April 2010after founders Tony Martinand Alan Ramsey first heldweekly public speaking class-es at a local church.

“After it was such a bigsuccess for the class, they

decided to try to make itpermanent,” said Young, whoserved as the organization’sthird president. “That’s how

Members of the Grace Masters Toastmasters Club learn leadership and public speaking skills. Photo provided

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Classes offered to families coping with serious mental health conditions

New homes to be built in Stone Mountainby Carla [email protected]

A contractor plans tobuild more than 30 homes inan undeveloped subdivisionin Stone Mountain.

David Ray of PinecrestCustom Homes andPinecrest Communities, andarchitect Robert Forro of 40Construction LLC, presentedtheir plans to the StoneMountain City Council Dec.21. The subdivision of 34lots, known as HearthstonePark, has been undevelopedfor years.

Ray told the city councilthat he believes the timing isright to start building in thesubdivision.

“We’re very wellequipped to look at and goin and drive a new market,”Ray told the council. “I knowit’s been there for a long timeand you guys have lookedat that PVC field for quite awhile.”

Ray said he found outabout the empty subdivisionthrough a broker.

“She put me in touchwith the investors who ownthe property currently,” he

said.Ray told the council “We

have a vision that’s a little bitdifferent from some of theprevious approved condi-tions.” “The one item thatwe really feel strongly aboutis the word craftsman stylehousing. That design or thatmodel of home is getting alittle bit dated in today’s mar-ket. But we want to do some-thing and provide somethingthat is very unique and cut-ting-edge in the market for a very diverse market.

“There are buyers whowould love to be in a new

home from the low $300,000to the low $400,000 if we canprovide that, and I believe wecan.”

Ray said he and Forroare looking at more of a farmhouse design style and arecurrently in the early stage ofthe 60-day due diligence toclose the contract.

“We may build a modelhome within the next 120days,” Ray said. “It’s really just getting our plans final-ized and determining wherewe want to start in the com-munity and getting all of thatwork done.”

City Councilman Rich-ard Mailman said he is ex-cited about the plans.

“I’ve lived on CloudStreet for 29 years and we’resuper excited, “he said. “Wedefinitely want to move for-ward on something like this.”

“Thank you and wel-come to Stone MountainVillage,” Mayor PatriciaWheeler said. “I think y’allare going to do wonderfulthings and help us get towhere we want to be.”

by Kathy Mitchell

“Mental health conditions, par-icularly the more severe challenges,an be difficult to understand. Lov-ng family members want to help, but

may have no idea how they can help,”aid Cynthia Moorer, co-president

of National Alliance on Mental Ill-ness (NAMI) DeKalb. That’s whyhe organization sponsors Family-o-Family, free classes for families of

persons diagnosed with serious men-al health conditions.

“We’ve been holding these classesince the mid-1980s and the feedback

has been incredible. People who saidhey didn’t know where to turn for

help were overjoyed to finally haveome answers,” said Moorer, whoeaches classes in addition to trainingeachers.

The teachers of the 12-weekourses have all had firsthand experi-nce in caring for family members

with mental health conditions suchas those addressed in the classes.The courses focus on schizophrenia,bipolar disorder, major depression,panic disorder, borderline personal-ty disorder, post-traumatic stress

disorder and obsessive-compulsive

disorder.NAMI is a mental health organi-

zation that provides advocacy, educa-tion, support and public awareness toraise the quality of life for individu-als and families affected by mentalhealth conditions.

Moorer said those who havetaken the courses report being able tocommunicate better with the familymember they are caring for as well asbeing an advocate for that person inthe community.

“The parent of a teen with a men-tal health condition may be baffledand frustrated by their child’s be-havior. For example, the parent maysay, ‘Take the trash out,’ but whatthe child hears is ‘you’re worthless;you’re no good.’ Once the parentsunderstand that what they are tryingto communicate is not what the childis receiving, they know they need totake a different approach,” Moorerexplained.

She quoted a person who hadbeen through the course as saying,“I now look more positively at theperson and less at the illness. I highlyrecommend this class.”

Another said, “I’ve learned totake time for myself and to stop judg-ing my loved one.”

Because of the demand for NA-

MI’s classes the organization is in-creasing the number of classes as well

as the number of teachers. “At onepoint we had just three teachers. Thisyear we trained 15 people to teach,”Moorer said.

Moorer said of a 12-week seriesof classes she will teach in Decaturstarting Feb. 11, 2016, “This course isa wonderful experience. It balancesbasic psycho-education and skill-training with emotional support,self-care and empowerment. Wehope families with relatives who havea serious mental illness will take advantage of this unique opportunity.”

The course is designed specifi-cally for parents, siblings, spouses,teenage and adult children and sig-nificant others of persons with severeand persistent mental illness. Thecourse is not appropriate for individ-uals who themselves suffer from oneof the major mental illnesses, Moorersaid.

The curriculum was written by amental health professional, accord-ing to NAMI DeKalb. The coursesprovide an in-depth understandingof such conditions and teach cop-ing skills such as handling crisis andrelapse. They also cover basic infor-mation about medications; listeningand communication techniques;

problem-solving skills; recovery andrehabilitation; and self-care around

worry and stress.The need for these classes has

greatly increased because more andmore individuals who in the pastmight have been treated in hospitalsare remaining at home. “Many men-tal hospitals are closing or operat-ing at a reduced capacity so patientsare either being returned home orturned out in the street. People wanttheir family members to be safe andcared for, but at the same time theywant to learn how they can live to-gether in a way that works for thefamily,” Moorer said.

“The fact that we do not chargefor our services really helps a lot apeople who can’t afford the help theyand their loved ones need,” she saidadding that a better understanding ofwhat the loved one is going throughreduces stress for everyone involved

The NAMI Family-to-Family Ed-ucation Course is free and registra-tion is required. Classes will be heldweekly, 5:45 -7:45 p.m. at a Decaturlocation that will be disclosed to reg-istered attendees. For more informa-tion or to register, call Janice Ross at (404) 625-6730 or contact her at [email protected].

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by Andrew [email protected]

She started working forthe county as an unpaid in-tern in the 1990s and willretire as DeKalb County’s topbudget person.

Gwendolyn Brown-Patterson, who has workedas the county’s interim chieffinancial officer since 2013,retires Dec. 31.

Brown-Patterson washired in January 1994 as afinancial management ana-lyst and moved up the ranksworking as a principal bud-get and management analyst,budget manager, and deputydirector of finance for budgetand grants, before becomingthe first woman to hold thetop finance department posi-tion for DeKalb County.

“I have always consid-ered myself to be a publicservant and I believe thatas a public servant there’s

no higher calling,” Brown-Patterson said when she wasrecognized by county offi-cials during a Dec. 15 com-missioners’ meeting.

“When I came on boardas a new commissioner, wewere given these budgetswith no training,” said Com-missioner Kathie Gannon.“So I trumped on down andGwen sat down with me andwent over every line. Sheplowed right through andhas really worked her waythrough the ranks with dili-

gent attention to detail, andby detail, I mean numbersupon numbers upon num-bers.

“Thank you so verymuch for your service,” Gan-non said.

CommissionerSharonBarnes Sutton said prior tobecoming the interim direc-tor, Patterson was “the smartquiet one sitting in the back-ground that you never heard

from.“And then she took over

and it was like ‘wow,’” Suttonsaid. “She has so much wis-dom she’s willing to share,willing to work with you,wanting you to know howeverything worked and howyou needed it to work.”

Sutton said, “It’s beensuch a pleasure to get toknow her, to work with herand to know who she is andwhat’s she’s about–a wonder-ful woman who is multidi-mensional. We see her as the

budget person but gettingto know her as a real personoutside of that has been sucha pleasure.

“Thank you for stayingwith us for so long,” Suttonsaid to Patterson. “I knowyou could have left long ago,but we needed you and youstayed and took care of us.”

CommissionerJeff Rad-er praised the “ability and theintegrity that [Brown-Pat-terson] has served DeKalbCounty with, not only asinterim financial officer but

through her entire career.Rader said Brown-Pat-

terson’s job has been difficultduring the past few years.

“It is much easier to bal-

ance the budget when thetax digest is steadily increas-ing 6 to 10 percent a year,”Rader said. “It’s much harderwhen you see the [drop]that we have had in the pastfew years. I think that Ms.Brown-Patterson has servedably in that capacity, helpedus to understand where wecould help to balance thatbudget and...has shown greatintegrity.”

Zach Williams, thecounty’s chief operating of-ficer, said, “When you referto Ms. Gwen, you have to usethe word ‘class.’ I have beenin four different jurisdictionsand three different statesover the past 25 years and Iwould say without a doubtMs. Gwen is one of theclassiest people I have everhad the privilege of workingwith.

“Ms. Gwen may not beone for a lot of words, untilit’s time to say somethingimportant,” Williams said.“When Ms. Gwen speakseveryone knows [to be] quiet

County’s topmoney woman

to retire

[because] Ms. Gwen hassomething to say. Boy, willwe miss that. We will miss

the contribution you havegiven to DeKalb County.”

by Carla [email protected]

In a 3-1 vote, the Brookhaven City Coun-cil decided not to fund the $3.33 millionbond the Development Authority needed topurchase Skyland Center for the BrookhavenInnovation Academy (BIA).

The city council made the vote Dec. 23at a special called meeting. Council member

Linley Jones voted to approve the deal, whilecouncil members John Park and Joe Gebbia voted “no.”

Mayor Rebecca Chase Williams also hadto vote—voting “no”— to get the requiredminimum of three votes for a motion to passor fail. Councilman Bates Mattison recusedhimself from the meeting due to his positionas executive director of BIA.

The city council voted to support the$3.33 million bond at its Dec. 15 meeting.However, concerns of conflicts of interestand ethics were raised afterwards due to

Gebbia’s position on the BIA Board of Direc-tors. Gebbia voted in favor of the bond.

A statement by Gebbia was released

Brookhaven council rescinds vote onbond for Skyland building

See Brookhaven on Page 10A

Gwendolyn Brown-Patterson (at podium), DeKalb’s interim chief nancial ofcer since 2013, retires Dec. 31.

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BROOKHAVENContinued From Page 9A

School cafeteria worker givesback to students in needby Carla [email protected]

Every school morning Linda Har-ris sees the reality of child hunger.

Harris, who had been a food ser-vice assistant at Canby Lane Elemen-

tary School in unincorporated Deca-tur for three months, serves food tochildren whose only meals of the daymay be school breakfast and lunch.

“Children who stay in the extend-ed stay hotels don’t have a hot plate,microwaves and refrigerators for food,and that just touched me,” Harris said.

In the 2012-2013 school year, 92.7percent of Canby Lane students wereon free and reduced lunch assistance.According to the National Center forEducation Statistics, the state averageof 62.6 percent.

With children out for two weeksfor winter holiday break, Harris wor-ried that many students would nothave much to eat during that timeweeks. To avoid that, Harris, alongwith family members and membersof her church, gathered funds to buy

food, clothes, toys and other items for35 students and their families.

The families received the itemsDec. 19 at the school.

School Principal Dr. KeshierSmikle and the school counselor puttogether a list of students and their

Christmas wishes. Harris shared thelist with her family and church mem-bers.

“I took the names to my churchand before I could even get home myfamily said they would help,” Harrissaid. “My family and I bought every-thing they need, mostly clothes.”

Harris also prepared boxes withfood items for the students.

“Instead of buying hams and tur-keys and all of that—they don’t haveanywhere to prepare that—I boughthot dogs because they can cook thaton a hotplate,” Harris said. “I boughtsnacks, juices, [and] stuff they canput in the little refrigerators that theyhave, and candy.

“It’s not a lot but they’ll havesomething,” she said. “Some of thesekids come here in the morning and

they’re hungry. I know they’re goingto be out for two weeks and I know it’snot going to be enough for two weeksbut it is something.”

They also got shoes and booksfor the students and stuffed 35 stock-ings with candy canes. Harris’ church,

Bethel Christian Ministries in ForestPark, gave her a $500 donation to helppurchase items for the food boxes.

“We’re a small church but it justtouched everyone’s hearts hearingwhat these babies are going through,”she said.

One of the children wanted a bi-cycle and the principal was hesitantto add it to the list thinking it wastoo expensive. However, Harris’ sisterbought the bicycle for the child.

“My family and I were blessed,”she said. “My parents always had jobs;some people didn’t but they alwayshad a job. This just touched us. In-stead of just pulling names we’re tak-ing care of all of the children.

Dec. 22 announcing that onDec. 21 he submitted his let-ter of resignation as a memberof the BIA Board “in order toallow [city] council the oppor-tunity to revote on this issue

without any cloud of a conflictof interest.”

“I have served as a mem-ber of the Board of Directorsof BIA since its inception, andalthough proud of the work Ihave done, there remains whatour attorney has described asthe ‘appearance of a conflict.’With this in mind I asked our[City] Attorney [Chris Balch]if my resigning as a memberof the board of BIA would re-solve this issue. His responsewas, ‘If the substantial interestdisappears, because of resig-

nation or divestiture, there isno conflict under the [entire]code. Accordingly, if a second vote is taken and Mr. Gebbiais then not a member of theBIA board, the conflict wouldseem to be resolved.’”

Linley said the bond dealwas a good deal for the city.

“We should support ourdevelopment authority whenour development authorityproposes a good deal,” Linleysaid. “It’s a small bond…andit’s a good project that we canstart with for our developmentauthority to do its job. This

is not the city of Brookhavenacting; this is our develop-ment authority asking for ourapproval of their action.”

Williams, who has beenin favor of the deal and com-mended the developmentauthority for its work, said thecity should not be using its development authority to buildor renovate public facilities.

“We have to vote what wethink is in the best health, wel-fare and interest of our city,”Williams said. “I’m just notcompletely comfortable with

this mechanism.”Williams said she has hadconversations with Mayor-elect John Ernst, who in-formed her he was not in favorof the deal.

“If I don’t vote ‘no’ todayhe’s going to vote ‘no’ in Janu-ary,” she said. “In an effort tonot waste people’s time….wedon’t need to spend any moremoney on this.”

Williams said the DeKalbCounty School Board wouldlove to have the property.

“They have a terribleovercrowding situation in our

city—in the Cross Keys Clus-ter,” she said. “Maybe the bestuse is for DeKalb County totake its school back. I wouldbe OK with that.”

Boxes of food items and toiletries were given to families in need. Photos by Carla Parker

Canby Lane food service assistant Linda Harris (right) gives directionsto family members as they assist with the Christmas give away.

Nearly 35 families received boxes of food items and more from LindaHarris and her family.

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Photo brought t you by DCTV

DeKalb County begins one-day-a-week sanitation collection service July 6, 2015

Residential customers will have same-day garbage, recyclable materials and yard trimmings collection

For more info, call or visit:

(404) 294-2900

www.rollingforwardtoone.com

WEEKPICTURESIn

Workers try to drain a flooded area on North Decatur Road at DeKalb Industrial Way. Photo by Carla Parker

Two Glennwood Elementary School students read David Goes to School .City School of Decatur Superintendent David Dude talks with Glennwood book buddies about the book DavidGoes to School.

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13/20

The Champion FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, January 1, 2016 local Pge 13a

LITHONIA Continued From Page 1A

GIFTS Continued From Page 1A

said Mann, adding that the inci-dent is still under investigationby the DeKalb County Police De-partment.

“This type of random vio-ence…has plagued other resi-

dents of this area as well,” Mannsaid.

The shooting at the deputy’shome was one of approximately800 crimes committed this yearwithin a one-half mile radius ofthe intersection of Marbut andPhillips roads, Mann said. Thecrimes include 144 residentialburglaries, 103 assaults and bat-teries, 114 incidents of criminaldamage to property, 41 vehiclethefts and 49 incidents of enter-ng autos.

The crime in that communitys “an urgent concern for our

county,” Mann said.The problem is the “random

violence and threats of violence

by individuals unknown to uswho are more than likely associ-ated with gangs and gang activityand the disruption that they arecausing to the peaceful living inour communities,” Mann said.

In August 2015, 25 deputiesfrom the DeKalb Sheriff ’s FieldDivision conducted safety check-points in the Lithonia commu-nity where the crimes occurred.

During the operation, 34tickets were issued and warrantsed to three arrests for felonies

and 10 arrests for misdemeanors.Additionally deputies confiscated

two weapons and located “sus-pected illegal drugs,” Mann said.“Still the crime continues to

occur and there is little informa-tion on who is committing them

and why,” said Mann, adding thatlaw enforcement officials believemuch of the criminal activity isgang related.

“We also believe that thereis a rising erosion in people’srespect for their neighborhoodsand their neighbors, but mostimportantly, a rising disrespectfor law enforcement,” Mann said.

Mann said he received earlyin 2015 a “disturbing email” froma southeastern DeKalb businessowner who was “so distressedabout the crime in and aroundhis business and church.”

“Our citizens deserve more,”said Mann, who in August con- vened a task force to look at thecrime in the area. “Their con-fidence in our ability to rectifysituations [and] to improve themis extremely important to me assheriff.”

“When we conducted the

safety checkpoints back in Au-gust, I said we needed to show upin a more aggressive way to re-mind offenders that they will beapprehended if they continue tobreak the law,” Mann said.

“I want to say to those thatare committing these crimes inour communities that [we] arelooking for you if you are guiltyof these crimes,” Mann said. “Andwith the offering of the reward,others will be looking for you aswell. You will be found and willbe prosecuted.”

Anyone with informationabout the shooting at the dep-uty’s house is asked to contactCrime Stoppers at (404) 577-TIPS (8477).

toys on Christmas morning.”The toys and bicycles were do-

nated from volunteers and various

sponsors, including Kingdom LivingMinistries in Morrow and Cunning-ham’s dealership, which has been asponsor of Blessings on Wheels fromthe beginning.

“[Cunningham] is a huge spon-sor,” she said. “I do a lot of work herewith B.O.W. and he allows me to dothat.”

Darrell Lumpkin, owner of AceMovers in Lawrenceville, providedthree moving trucks to B.O.W., andLumpkin, along with his employees,assisted the group with delivering toysand bicycles to the families in Atlantaand Decatur.

“I just have a great amount of helpthis year and it is awesome,” she said.“It has been a blessing.”

Rockmore, along with B.O.W.project manager Keischa Robinson and Adriane King found out about

the six families through word ofmouth.

“Everyone has someone that they

know that is in need,” Rockmore said.“We had someone at a school tell usabout a family, Keischa reached out tosome teachers and asked them if theyknew of families in need. We foundout about a young man that was killedand had a daughter, a 2-year-old thatwas left behind. We have a young ladywho took in her sister’s kids after shewas incarcerated, and then she has herkids and her grandmother that shetakes care of.”

Rockmore said she is not worriedabout receiving gifts for Christmas.Her vision has always been to helpthose in need.

“I will not Christmas shop for my-self, I will shop for others,” she said. “Idon’t have to worry about myself be-cause once [the families] are satisfiedand once I see some smiles on somefaces I’ll be so happy.”

From left, Keischa Robinson and Stephanie Rockmore along with Blessings On Wheels staff andvolunteers traveled to six homes in Atlanta and Decatur to deliver gifts.

A DeKalb sheriff’s deputy checks licenses during a safety checkpoint in Lithonia inAugust. Photo by Andrew Cauthen

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Prior Years (June

30, 2014 or

earlier)

Current Fiscal Year

(July 1, 2014 -

June 30, 2015) Total

1. Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Improvements $2,342,500.00 $2,067,991.00 $0.00 $40,951.45 $40,951.45 $0.00 Jan 2017

2. Stadiums $9,557,400.00 $9,434,240.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Sep 2017

3. Capital Renewal Program $84,892,200.00 $86,504,503.08 $1,793,979.05 $6,401,999.85 $8,195,978.90 $0.00 Feb 2018

4. Code Requirements $2,342,500.00 $1,920,248.00 $0.00 $53,045.85 $53,045.85 $0.00 Feb 2017

5. Coralwood Diagnostic Center Addition $9,932,200.00 $9,804,210.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Dec 2018

6. Early Learning Center $2,717,300.00 $2,682,284.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Oct 2017

7. Arts School at former Avondale MS $4,029,100.00 $3,977,167.00 $27,500.00 $0.00 $27,500.00 $0.00 Sep 2017

8. Renovation of Southwest DeKalb HS4 and Stone

Mountain HS $11,056,600.00 $33,224,366.00 $15,245,681.80 $5,613,905.55 $20,859,587.35 $0.00 Apr 2017

9. Replacement of Austin ES, Fernbank ES, Gresham Park

ES, Pleasantdale ES, Peachcrest ES, Rockbridge ES, Smoke Rise

ES $135,021,700.00 $141,213,955.31 $2,324,976.79 $30,420,371.26 $32,745,348.05 $0.00 Nov 2018

10. Henderson MS Renovation/Addition $14,992,000.00 $17,280,446.91 $631,612.55 $487,285.93 $1,118,898.48 $0.00 Jan 2017

11. Redan HS Renovation/Addition $20,988,800.00 $21,018,330.00 $713,123.75 $4,246,323.87 $4,959,447.62 $0.00 Oct 2 016

12. Chamblee HS Replacement $55,001,900.00 $54,992,632.00 $5,617,860.27 $5,577,677.84 $11,195,538.11 $0.00 Jun 201913. McNair MS Replacement $35,043,800.00 $34,592,213.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Mar 2018

14. Local School Priority Requests $5,153,500.00 $3,202,479.00 $31,338.75 $3,105.00 $34,443.75 $0.00 Aug 2017

15. Demolition $2,342,500.00 $2,312,313.00 $263,201.80 $1,542,398.19 $1,805,599.99 $0.00 Aug 2017

16. Safety/Security Systems Upgrade $2,342,500.00 $2,312,313.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Jun 2016

17. Technology Equipment and Infrastructure Refresh $36,261,900.00 $34,244,407.00 $21,391,175.39 $6,105,202.03 $27,496,377.42 $0.00 Dec 2017

18. School Buses $9,463,700.00 $12,800,319.00 $2,713,992.61 $5,243,470.00 $7,957,462.61 $0.00 Jul 2016

19. Service Vehicles $1,592,900.00 $1,555,311.00 $1,478,549.33 $76,761.00 $1,555,310.33 $0.00 Jun 2016

20. Other capital improvements and supporting services

$29,925,000.00 $94,960,271.71 $7,229,833.87 $5,248,150.30 $12,477,984.17 $0.00 Oct 2017

All Projects $475,000,000.00 $570,100,000.00 $59,462,825.96 $71,060,648.12 $130,523,474.08 $0.00 Dec 2018

In compliance with O.C.G.A. 48-8-122

1 - $475 million is each of the f irst 19 projects minus the 6.3% taken off and the sum of the 6.3% dollars provided to Project #20, as described in the literature provided to the public prior to

the November 2011 SPLOST vote at http://www.dekalb.k12.ga.us/splost-iv/referendum.

2 - Current estimated revenues increase from $475 million to $570.1 million by the increase of $57.1 million from the Georgia DOE reimbursements expected plus the $38 million in bond

revenues for partial program financing.

3 - Total expenditures as presented in this SPLOST report will differ from the annual financial audit report due to timing differences not included in this SPLOST expenditures report, relative

to contracts payable, retainage payable, and accounts payable.

4 - The Board of Education moved the Southwest DeKalb HS project from SPLOST III to SPLOST IV, increasing its total project budget by $22.3 million, in accordance with the SPLOST

Corrective Action Plan approved on April 27, 2012. This Board action can be found at https://eboard.eboardsolutions.com/Meetings/ViewMeetingOrder.aspx?S=4054&MID=25181.

DeKalb County School District

Projects Constructed with SPLOST IV Sales Tax Proceeds

Fiscal Year 2015 (July 1, 2014 - June 30, 2015)

2012 Sales Tax - Authorized Projects

FY 2013

Original Estimated

Cost1

FY 2015

Current Estimated

Cost2

Expenditures3

Excess

Proceeds

Not

Expended

Estimated

Completion

Date

Toastmasters came in.”Young said Toastmas-

ters is for “any person thats looking to improve their

public speaking or theirspeaking in general...[and]wanting to be better posi-tioned for jobs and opportu-nities.”

“Essentially what youhave at your disposal is a lab-oratory for you to test yourskills out and actually havean audience,” Young said.

Young said the $72 an-nual club dues are a bargainconsidering the benefits.

“If you go through anytype of training course in aprofessional setting, you’regoing to definitely pay morethan $72,” he said. “And

you’re probably not goingto get more than a two- orthree-day seminar.”

Julian Leonard, GraceMasters’ current president,

said the purpose of the orga-nization is to create “an en-couraging and motivationalenvironment in order todevelop strong speakers andleaders.”

Each meeting featuresdifferent speakers, usuallyGrace Masters members ormembers from other Toast-masters clubs. Speakers areevaluated by a designatedevaluator and by the audi-ence.

Members rotate amongthe various meeting leader-ship roles.

One role is the “toast-master of the meeting” whoruns the meeting and en-sures that everything goesaccording to plan, Leonard

said. Additional meetingroles include a timer whotimes the speeches and themeeting and a grammarianwho makes sure speakers are

using the English languageproperly.

“Once you serve in allthose leadership roles, youget an overall understandingof not only how to speak, buthow to be a proper leader inany setting,” Leonard said.

“What everybody thinksabout Toastmasters is speak-ing, speaking, speaking,” hesaid. “But when you get intoit, there’s a lot that goes intobeing a leader. In Grace Mas-ters, we like to build leaders.In order to be a good leader,you need to be able to speakwell in front of a crowd, butyou need to have those lead-ership roles.”

The Toastmasters clubis called Grace Masters “be-

cause we feel like when youhave great leadership, you’regraceful. You have a gracefulimpact on people. And, notto mention, it was a creative

name at the time,” Leonardsaid.

The 20-member GraceMasters group is made ofpeople from various back-grounds, including phar-macy, psychology, politicsand law.

“My goal is to have thesepeople speak just to showthat we’re just like peoplewho are thinking about join-ing Toastmasters,” Leonardsaid. “There isn’t anybody ona high platform that you can’tbe. These people are just likeyou. They are human justlike you. They started from asimilar place just like you.”

Grace Masters, whichmeets every first, third andfifth Saturdays, has received

several honors. In 2014-2015 it was recognized bythe international Toastmas-ters as Distinguished Club.From 2010-2014 it was a

President’s DistinguishedClub, the top recognition fora Toastmasters’ club, and in2012-2013 it was a SmedlyAward-winning, Select Dis-tinguished ToastmastersClub.

Leonard, a membersince May 2014, joined thegroup because he wants tobe “a great leader and a greatspeaker.”

“My idol in my life is myuncle,” Leonard said. “He’san entertainment lawyer andhe speaks very, very well. I’m25 and since I was about 16in high school he has alwaystold me about this thingcalled Toastmasters. I reallydidn’t take him seriously atfirst until I got to college and

I realized...I needed to beable to articulate myself infront of a crowd, whether it’s10 people or it’s 100 people.”

CLUB Continued From Page 7A

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The Champion FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, January 1, 2016 BUSINESS Page 15A

New approach to sale of preowned cars popular in DeKalb

DeKalb Chamber of Commerce • Two Decatur Town Center, 125 Clairemont Ave., Suite, Decatur, GA 30030 • 404.378.8000 • www.dekalbchamber.org

GLOBALLY AWARE

by Kathy Mitchell

Some people looking tobuy a car dread the prospectof the spending hours at adealership or haggling witha salesman over price andfeatures. Carvana, a companyaunched in Atlanta in 2013,

offers an alternative wayto shop for an automobile.Carvana customers browsean inventory of certifiedpre-owned vehicles, selectpersonalized financing termsand coordinate delivery—allonline. The process, accord-ng to Carvana, can take asittle as 15 minutes.

“The traditional used carsales model came into beingabout 75 years ago,” notedCarvana CEO Ernie Garcia.“The model is replicated overthousands of dealershipsacross the country that arevery similar to each other. Ithasn’t changed much in 75years. Customers sit downwith a salesperson and dis-

cuss price—something thecustomer understands—along with a lot of thingsthe customer doesn’t under-stand,” he said.

“Because dealerships areso similar, each is typicallytrying to be successful bymaking as much money fromeach customer as possible.Car dealerships aren’t try-ng to give their customers

an unpleasant experience—that’s just the model thatevolved,” Garcia continued.

Garcia, one of threefounders of Carvana, saidhe and his partners startedby asking themselves why somany people found the car-buying process so uncom-fortable. “We didn’t start bysaying, ‘Let’s build an onlinecar business.’ As we talkedabout it, we realized thatmany features from 75 years

ago such as the huge physicalcar lot were necessary beforethe existence of the Internet,but they’re not necessarytoday. As we were reinvent-ing the used car business wesaid, ‘And let’s see if we canfind ways to save the custom-ers money at the same time.’

“Because the approachwas so new business was very slow at first. We had toovercome the legendary dis-trust of used car dealerships,”Garcia recalled. “We were

lucky to sell 10 cars a monthin our first few months, butonce word got out about us,we really took off. It alsohelped that Forbes named usthe fifth most promising newcompany in America.”

Since its launch, DeKalbCounty has been one ofCaravan’s strongest salesmarkets, establishing the

area’s large population as ear-ly adopters to the growingonline car buying trend, Car- vana reported.

Shoppers narrow the listof available cars by indicatingsuch factors as body style,mileage, age and price. Fromthe cars meeting their cri-teria, shoppers may inspectcars online using a patented360-degree photo processthat allows them to changethe angle, look closely at anydetail and virtually open

doors, the hood and thetrunk.

“I probably looked morecarefully at the car onlinethan I would have at a deal-ership,” said a retired DeKalbcustomer who used Carvanato buy her first preownedcar. “And I got to look it overin person before I drove itaway.”

The retiree needed thecar right away and choseto have it delivered to theAtlanta area “vending ma-chine,” a facility with officesand a three-car garage. ACarvana employee—theydon’t call themselves sales-people—helped her throughthe “paperwork”—most doc-uments were completed andsigned on a computer—andwithin minutes she droveaway in a low mileage, latemodel Ford Fusion.

Customers also have theoption of having the car de-livered to their homes. Eitherway, the customer has sevendays to decide whether tokeep the car, which comeswith a 100-day or 4,189 milebumper-to-bumper war-ranty.

Another DeKalb Countyresident, Erika Curtis, saidof her experience with Car- vana, “As a first-time carbuyer, I had a lot of anxietyabout going to a car lot forthe first time. I found Car- vana through Autotrader.com, and was so relieved thatit was an option.”

She added, “Carvana waseasy to use, their website is very open and up-front withany of the car’s flaws, andthey give you all the infor-mation you need to make aninformed decision. I foundthem to be a very trustwor-thy and accommodatingbusiness for a first-timebuyer. I’m not normally one

to rally behind a brand, butI’m a big fan of their businessmodel.”

Carvana states that be-cause an online shoppingplatform replaces the dealer-ship with technology, con-sumers receive an averagesavings of $1,681 comparedto Kelley Blue Book Sug-gested Retail Price. Onlineinformation about each carincludes its nonnegotiableprice and its Blue Book price.

Customers have the option of having their cars delivered to Carvana’s “vending machine.” The Atlanta facility has ofces and a three-car garage.

Cars selected online can be delivered to the customer’s home.

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The Champion FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, January 1, 2016 EDUCATION Page 17A

David Dude takes on Decatur school district

Peter Lyons, Georgia StateUniversity’s associate provost fornstitutional effectiveness and a pro-

fessor of social work in the AndrewYoung School of Policy Studies, will

become the first vice provost anddean of the new Perimeter Collegeafter the Board of Regents approvesthe consolidation of Georgia Stateand Georgia Perimeter College(GPC) in January.

“Peter brings a wealth of aca-demic and administrative experi-ence to this position,” Risa Palm,Georgia State provost and seniorvice president for academic affairs,said.

Lyons has spearheaded the uni-

versity’s move to a single authorita-tive data system, redesigned the aca-demic program review and admin-istrative unit review processes andled the university through various

accreditation-related initiatives. Hewas interim dean of the Byrdine F.Lewis School of Nursing and HealthProfessions and developed and co-ordinated the consolidation plan forGPC and Georgia State.

“Peter is passionate about Pe-rimeter’s mission and looks forwardto working with his colleagues tomake this consolidation a stunningsuccess,” President Mark Beckersaid.

Lyons joined the Georgia State

faculty in 1998 as an assistant pro-fessor in the School of Social Workand became a full professor in 2011.

He received his Ph.D. in so-cial work from SUNY Buffalo, and

earned his master’s degree in socialwork and advanced diploma in edu-cation at the University of Manches-ter in the United Kingdom.

With the vote of the Board ofRegents in January 2016, PerimeterCollege will officially become anacademic unit within Georgia State.The Regents approved consolidationof the two institutions in January2015.

Georgia State names dean of Perimeter College

Peter Lyons

by Ashley Oglesby [email protected]

After a nearly five-monthsearch for a replacementschool superintendent, De-

catur’s school board selectedDavid Dude, former chiefoperating officer for the IowaCity Community SchoolDistrict in Iowa, to lead thedistrict.

City Schools of DecaturBoard Chairman GarrettGoebel said, “I am confidentthat we’ve found the rightleader for City Schools ofDecatur.”

Dude started work onNov. 2. He is the 10th super-intendent of the school dis-trict since 1902.

Dude will replace PhyllisEdwards, who announcedher resignation in March andwhose contract ends Dec. 31.

Edwards led the districtsince July 1, 2003. She’s tak-ing a job with the GeorgiaSchool Boards Association(GSBA), where she’ll workfor GSBA executive director

and former Decatur schoolboard member Valarie Wil-son.

Dude said, “During hertenure in the district, Dr.Phyllis Edwards did tremen-

dous work. With enrollmentnow projected to exceed6,000 students by 2020, weare facing unprecedentedgrowth. Furthermore, nodoubt influencing the dis-trict’s growth and success,most of the current five-yearstrategic plan has alreadybeen accomplished. RecentACT and SAT scores showCSD students scoring at thetop of the state and the na-tion.”

When Edwards becamesuperintendent, Decatur en-rollment was around 2,500,its lowest in at least 60 years.But during her tenure thesystem not only grew, but

also gained an excellent aca-demic reputation.

On the most recentGeorgia College and Career-Ready Performance Indexmeasure of schools and

districts, Decatur’s systemhad an overall score of 87.3,ranking it sixth in the state.Georgia’s overall score was72.

Dude said, “With achange in leadership comesopportunity, an opportunityto reflect on the past, itschallenges and its successes.It’s an opportunity to exam-ine our current potential andan opportunity to look to thefuture with a vision of all thedistrict can be.”

Dude comes from asystem with approximately

14,000 students compared toDecatur’s 4,658.

“Throughout my career

in education, excellencehas been achieved througha continuous focus on stu-dents, empowering all thosearound them with smart sys-tems, transparent leadership

and innovative solutions tochallenging problems, de-signed and implemented col-laboratively,” Dude said.

He added, “As I look tothe future, I envision CitySchools of Decatur continu-ing to excel, while boldlyaddressing the complexchallenges resulting fromsuccess and growth. We willcelebrate and build on themany skills and talents of ourpassionate students, faculty,and staff while nurturingthe district’s personalizedapproach to teaching and

learning without compro-mising Decatur’s distinctivespirit and identity.”

happy holidays

Dude

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The Champion FREE PRESS, FRIDAY, January 1, 2016 SPORTS Page 19A

MMA Continued From Page 18AHe did pretty well in one sea-

son, finishing seventh in the countyn 2006 with a 20-29 record in the

171-weight-class. He finished in fifthplace at the DeKalb County Wres-tling Championship, helping Redanwin the county title.

He gained the skills he neededto play college football and joinedthe football team at Fort Valley Statethe following year as a walk-on line-backer. He also joined the track teamto help with his speed. He partici-

pated in the 100- and 200-meter, the4x100-meter relay and the decathlon.Wilson ended up playing only

one season of football as a run-ning back. He said he left the teambecause of its lack of organization.However, he ran track all four yearsat Fort Valley, where he graduated in2010 with a degree in biology.

After college, he started doing.“I wanted to get back to doing

something like wrestling,” he said.“It’s not really a place you go towrestle, so I figured jiu jitsu was kindof close. So I got into jiu jitsu and itkind of went from there.”

He began participating in lo-cal jiu jitsu tournaments. He haswon two gold medals, a silver and abronze medal. Afterwards, he begantransitioning to MMA.

“I knew wrestling was really

important and I knew that I had awrestling style, so I feel like if I start-ed doing some striking I would bepretty good at it,” he added.” I joineda gym that has a MMA team abouta year and a half ago and it just wentfrom there.”

He joined X3 Sports gym in In-man Park. At the same time, he wasattending Mercer University in At-lanta studying to become a pharma-cist. He would later transfer to Gwin-nett Technical to study nursing.

Wilson said learning the MMAstyle of fighting was different.“You go in there thinking that it’s

easy to do [by] what you see on TV,but it’s really not,” he said. “You goin there for training and you reallyget tired. It’s so much more tiringthan it looks. To get your composurewhile you’re getting hit is different.The conditioning is a lot. Other thanthat, learning the new moves, thatcomes [with it]; and just putting it alltogether is something that you reallyhave to work at.

“Being able to put the wrestling,the jiu jitsu, the boxing and the kickboxing all together in one—you canbe good all of those things individu-ally and still suck at MMA becauseyou can’t put it together,” Wilsonadded. “You have to be able to put itall together, and I think that’s the big

thing about it. When I first started,the first time I trained with the teamI got hurt. I didn’t get beat up reallybad, but I was hurt. My body got beatup and I was dead tired.”

Wilson said it took him threeweeks to a month to get used toMMA fighting.

“Since then it has gotten easier,”he said. “At this point it’s playful, it’sfun. I know I can push when I needto push and lay back if I want to. I trynot to, but if I want to I can.”

MMA is one of the more violentsports because of the various styles offighting combined into one. Wilsonsaid channeling his violent side for afight is not hard for him.

“I think everyone is inherently violent,” he said. “I think everyone iscapable of extreme violence. I like it.It’s violence, but it’s a very cerebralpart to it.

“I’ve always liked being able toput together the physical attributesand the mental as well, and beingable to put them in a complete gameplan and beat somebody physicallyand mentally,” he said. “I don’t thinkit’s very hard to tap into being vio-lent—the aggression. I think thatcame with the rest. I feel like I’ve al-ways had aggression, but didn’t knowhow to channel it, and wrestlinghelped with that.”

Wilson, who fights in themiddleweight division (185-weight-class), had his first MMA fight inSeptember at National FightingChampionship (NFC) 77 in Atlanta.He defeated Harrison Aiken in oneminute and 18 seconds by a north-south choke.

“To win the way I did felt reallygood,” he said. “It really confirmedwhat I felt—I felt like I was good. Ifelt like I could go out there and doit. To go out there and do it the way

I did it was very gratifying. It reallybuilt my confidence up. It really justconfirmed what I thought wouldhappen because you think you’regood but you’ve never had a fight.You’ve never really went out thereand done anything. It helped con- vince me that I could really do this.”

Wilson’s next fight will take placeJan. 22 at NFC 81 in Kennesaw. Hewill take on Umidjon Batirov .

Wilson (1-0) said he wants to go10-0 on the NFC level and then gopro on the UFC level.

However, his current plan is tograduate in December 2016 with hisnursing degree and go into the nurs-ing field.

“If MMA takes off then I’ll dothat full time,” he said.

This was Derek Wilson’s rst ght and win. Photos by Jamie Wable

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BIKING Continued From Page 12A

To learn more about getting t or eating healthy

OR to get involved in DeKalb County Board of

Health initiatives to improve the overall health

and wellness of our community, go to

www.dekalbhealth.net

or contact Anika Norwood at

(404) 294-3896 [email protected]

NOW is the time to getfit and eat healthy!

Picture Yourselftraining they didn’t know ifthey could ride their bikes onthe street or on the trail only.”

He added, “That’s why wegive them advice and training.We want to keep them safeand help them ride safely in

the streets with cars and stayprotected.”Bikes can be purchased

for less than $30 throughCommunicycle. Wren said,“They may need a little work”but volunteers assist people indiagnosing problems, findingused for those that need to bereplaced.

“As both a low-incomecommunity and a communitywhere a lot of folks are com-ng from countries where bik-ng is really common, there

are a lot of people who cycle.It’s incredibly important forpeople to get access to safe bi-cycles and to learn how to ridethem safely,” Wren said.

Earlier this year, thecity of Clarkston and theClarkston Community Centerpartnered with The AtlantaBicycle Coalition to try anopen streets initiative, to giveresidents and supporters thechance to experience biking

and walking on streets wherethey might normally feel un-safe outside of a car.

Wren said, “We’ve beenreally trying to raise the mes-sage on how to ride bicyclessafely in the U.S.”

She added, “We were allpleased with the event andsee a lot of great potential inbuilding on what we havelearned and do it again some-time in 2016.”

Wren said the organiza-tion is seeking partnershipsand sponsors for the nextopen streets event.

The organization is alwayscollecting bike and helmetdonations.

Wren said, “Supportingcycling is good on so manylevels–environmentally, physi-cally, spiritually—you name it.Bicycling is an excellent thingto focus on and really whenyou donate to the programknow that it’s going to an in-credible cause.”

For additional informa-tion on how to donate, volun-teer or sponsor at Communi-cycle, email [email protected]. happy new year

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