CrossRoadsNews, March 4, 2017

MINISTRY

SCENE

Church ties into community

Historic night at the Oscars

The Rev. Dr. Emory Berry Jr. and Greenforest Community Baptist Church share a basic theological philosophy. 6

AfricanAmerican actors and filmmakers took home five Oscars on Feb. 26 – the most at one time in the awards ceremony’s history. 9

EAST ATLANTA • DECATUR • STONE MOUNTAIN • LITHONIA • AVONDALE ESTATES • CLARKSTON • ELLENWOOD • PINE LAKE • REDAN • SCOTTDALE • TUCKER

Copyright © 2017 CrossRoadsNews, Inc.

March 4, 2017

Volume 22, Number 45

www.crossroadsnews.com

ACA meeting stressed ways to defend Obamacare

By Terry Shropshire

The woman, who declined to give her name, said drug companies are making trillions of dollars and are stepping all over us.

“It seems that, for the seniors and children, they are making it hard for us to live,” she said.

Johnson, who was in Washington this week, did not attend the meeting, but he called in to advise senior citizens on how to keep their much-needed medical benefits.

Statewide, more than half a million Georgians have health coverage through the Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Marketplace, which the nonprofit Georgians for a

Dozens of DeKalb residents, worried about threats from President Donald Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act, aired their concerns at a town hall meeting hosted U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson’s office on March 1.

The mostly elderly crowd at the Lou Walker Center expressed fears that they would lose their health coverage because of high costs.

One woman summed it up this way: “It seems like to us that [the GOP and drug companies] are trying to make us a part of the meal,” she said.

Please see ACA, page 2

Nearly 100 seniors shared their concerns over threats to the Affordable Care Act at a March 1 ACA townhall meeting hosted by US Rep. Hank Johnson’s office.

Terry Shropshire / CrossRoadsNews

Budget includes water fixes, street sweepers $1.3 billion spending plan approved 5-2

By Jennifer Ffrench Parker and Terry Shropshire

Operation Clean Sweep

More than 137.5 miles of county roadways will be cleaned regularly.

Street Name Briarcliff Rd Chamblee Tucker Rd Church St Clifton Rd Cooledge Rd DeKalb Industrial Way East Ponce De Leon Ave East Ponce De Leon Ave Mountain Industrial Blvd North Deshon Rd North Druid Hills Rd North Hairston Rd Northcrest Rd Peachtree Rd Pleasantdale Rd Shallowford Rd Tucker Norcross Rd DeKalb Medical Pkwy Evans Mill Rd. Hillandale Dr. Klondike Rd. Old Covington Rd. Panola Rd. Redan Rd. S. Stn. Mtn. Lithonia Rd. Salem Rd. South Deshon Rd. Turner Hill Rd. Bouldercrest Rd Camp Rd Clifton Springs Rd Columbia Dr Constitution Rd Flakes Mill Rd Glenwood Rd Holcombe Rd Kensington Rd Panthersville Rd River Rd Snapfinger Rd South Hairston Rd Wesley Chapel Rd

From: To: Miles North Druid Hills Rd LaVista Rd 3.01 LaVista Rd 1-85 5.46 Lawrenceville Hwy City of Decatur 1.64 Briarcliff Rd N Decatur Rd 1.61 Lawrenceville Hwy US 78 0.91 Lawrenceville Hwy MARTA Property 1.79 Memorial Dr/Hwy 78 1-285 5.59 1-285 City of Decatur 4.81 North Hairston Lawrenceville Hwy 1.84 Rockbridge Gwinnett Co. Line 0.96 Lawrenceville Hwy Briarcliff Rd 3.79 Rockbridge Mt. Ind Blvd 3.43 Chamblee Tucker Rd 1-85 0.89 Peachtree Ind Blvd Peachtree Ind Blvd 2.78 Tucker Norcross Rd 1-85 1.97 Briarcliff Rd 1-285 2.3 Chamblee Tucker Rd Pleasantdale Rd 0.22 Beginning End 1.4 Browns Mill Rd. City of Lithonia 4.9 Fairington Rd. Bridge over I-20 Lithonia Ind. Blvd 1.1 County Line City of Lithonia 5.7 Turner Hill Rd. Rockdale County Line 1 Snapfinger Rd. S. Stn. Mtn. Lithonia Rd. 8 Covington Hwy. S. Stn. Mtn. Lithonia Rd. 6.2 City of Lithonia Rockbridge Rd. 6.4 Browns Mill Rd. Evans Mill Rd. 2.4 Gwinnett County Line Stephenson Rd. 2.1 Covington Hwy. Rockland Rd. 1.8 Henry County Line Fayetteville Rd 6.8 Entire length 0.5 Panthersville Rd Clifton Church Rd 1.9 Katie Kerr Dr Flat Shoals Pkwy 5.9 Fayetteville Rd Bouldercrest Rd 1.8 Flat Shoals Pkwy Henry County Line 4.1 Covington Hwy Interstate 20 6.3 Redan Rd Kensington Rd 0.2 Travis Trace/Holcombe Rd Covington Hwy 1.47 Flat Shoals Pkwy Bouldercrest Rd 3.4 Bouldercrest Rd Snapfinger Rd 9.9 Flat Shoals Pkwy Wesley Chapel Rd 1.8 Wesley Chapel Rd Rockbridge Rd 5.6 Flat Shoals Pkwy Covington Hwy 3.9

DeKalb’s water woes and its longstanding litter problems are among the fixes that will be made by the county’s 2017 budget approved Feb. 28 by the DeKalb Board of Commissioners.

The $1.3 billion budget includes $1.5 million to overhaul the county’s water billing system and $24.9 million to launch Operation Clean Sweep that will clean 137.6 miles of county roads regularly.

It includes the purchase Michael Thurmond of four street sweepers – the county’s first ever – and a front-loader dump truck, trailer and other equipment, and personnel and overtime costs.

The BOC voted 5-2 to approve the budget. Districts 1 and 2 Commissioners Nancy Jester and Jeff Rader opposed the budget.

The $1.5 million for water billing includes: n $350,000 for market and merit-based pay adjustments. n $325,000 for billing inserts, mailings and call-back functionality improvements. n $275,000 for an audit of the county’s water billing system to be completed by the new Office of Internal Audit. n $250,000 for contract customer assurance and field technicians to verify the current inventory of installed water meters. n $150,000 to pay for training of current and new staff.

DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond said that in the next 90 days, his administration will tackle the vexing water billing issues that “We will improve efficiencies in meter will be made in customer service training have plagued the county and water customers installation and data management billing,” and employee retention.” for the past two years. he said. “Greater emphasis and investments Commissioners initially wanted to table

“We will improve efficiencies in meter installation and data management billing. Greater emphasis and investments will be made in customer service training and employee retention.”

DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond

the water bill issue, but Thurmond convinced them the matter had to be handled with all deliberate speed.

“This problem didn’t begin overnight and it won’t be solved overnight,” he said.

“But for me and my staff, we have made this our No. 1 priority. … We are proposing to do something in the short term that will have immediate impact on the services and customer services.”

The Operation Clean Sweep initiative will be focused on litter removal, cutting grass in county rights-of-way, and removing debris from storm drains that contribute to chronic flooding.

Its $24.9 million will include: n $6.4 million for purchases and contracts n $5.4 million for personal services n $4.4 million for supplies n $3.9 million for interfunds/interdepartment Thurmond said he was surprised to learn that the county’s storm drains had not been cleaned in five years.

“We stopped doing the curb bumping to save money,” he said. “But unfortunately it has caused much greater damage at a greater cost and the creation of potholes that we could not fill.”

Thurmond pointed out that when storm drains are clogged, water stands longer on the roadways.

“Standing water often seeps into crevices and asphalt,” he said. “This destabilizes the soil underneath the pavement, eventually buckling the pavement, and is the prime reason for the creation of potholes.”

Operation Clean Sweep will target 41 county roads from Chamblee Tucker Road Please see BUDGET, page 2

CrossRoadsNews

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Community

March 4, 2017

“We’ve seen some of the earlier proposals to repeal the Affordable Care Act and that would lead to a lot of protections taken away.”

Vigil for veterans Residents urged to make voices heard in Congress ACA, 1 in memory of Healthy Future says has reduced the state’s Anthony Hill uninsured health rate to 15.9 percent from

Georgians for a Healthy Future’s Cindy Zeldin talks Obamacare with seniors at the Lou Walker Senior Center in Lithonia at a March 1 town hall meeting hosted by U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson.

from page

DeKalb veterans will be hosting a March 9 vigil for colleagues plagued by mental health issues at the “Flame of Freedom” in front of the DeKalb County Courthouse.

The vigil, hosted by Justice for Veterans, starts at 5 p.m.

Amos King, the group’s president, said the vigil is being held on the second anniversary of the death of Sgt. Anthony Hill, a mentally ill Air Force veteran who was killed by former DeKalb County Police Officer Robert Olsen on March 9, 2015, at his Chamblee apartment complex.

Olsen answered a call about a man naked running around the Heights at Chamblee apartments, 3028 Chamblee Dunwoody Road.

He shot and killed the unarmed Hill, who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Hill’s family says the veteran had a bad reaction to medication he was taking for post-traumatic stress.

The vigil also is in remembrance of Keisha Holmes, a Cobb County U.S. Marine veteran suffering from mental illness who suffocated her three children, ages 10, 4, and 10 months, and committed suicide in January 2015.

“Mental illness is not a crime,” said King, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel. “Vets are not getting the help they need. Over 8,000 vets commit suicide or are killed by law enforcement.”

The DeKalb Courthouse is at 556 N. McDonough St. in Decatur.

For more information, call King at 678698-8753.

Clothing drive for families served by refugee clinic

DeKalb residents are urged to “share what you don’t wear” with disadvantaged families by donating items to the DeKalb Board of Health’s ongoing clothing drive.

Gently used clothes and shoes are needed for the families being served in the Board of Health’s refugee clinic.

Seasonal items are always in demand – coats and sweaters for winter months and suitable apparel for warmer weather in spring and summer. The clinic is mostly in need of clothing and shoes for children and infants, especially for boys. Socks and unused undergarments are a bonus, and items should be washed/cleaned.

Sorting and labeling the items is appreciated as well as providing items with tags.

The items can be dropped off at the E.L. Richardson Health Center, 445 Winn Way in Decatur. To make arrangements for a large drop-off or for questions and more information, contact Erica M. Brooks at erica. brooks@dph.ga.gov or 404-297-3787.

For more information on the clinic, visit dekalbhealth.net/hs/refugee-health.

21.4 percent in three years.

During the meeting, members of Johnson’s staff, including District Director Kathy Register, tried to channel the seniors’ anger into what they can do if the GOP successfully repeals the law.

Register told the audience that even though Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal chose not to take the federal government’s $40 million to expand Medicaid, “we do have Obamacare here in the state of Georgia.”

She told the meeting that the Affordable Care Act extended the date of Medicare insolvency, which she said doesn’t mean that it will be completely wiped out.

“But in 2028, Medicare may not have the ability to pay for benefits the way it pays for benefits today,” she said. “That’s what’s being projected today.”

The Affordable Care Act, which was the key legislation of President Barack Obama’s administration, built a framework for health coverage that has resulted in the lowest uninsured rate ever recorded in U.S. history. It also established rights and protections for health care consumers and provided opportunities to advance health equity.

Tuesday’s crowd became visibly agitated when they learned that U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) proposes to privatize portions or most of the process in his replacement health care plan.

Another meeting participant wanted to know if the Democrats have a plan to fight for Obamacare.

She pointed out that the 2028 anticipated date for Medicare to run out is only 11 years away.

“Most of us hope to be around by then,” she said. “I’d like to know, if [any Democrat] is working on an alternative to Obamacare, like the Republicans are?

We know what works here. And we know there are problems with Obamacare. Is there anyone working to come up with alternative plans, ones that will save Medicare, instead of this constant bickering back and forth between these two parties?

Because just complaining about it is not going to solve the problem.”

ACA supporters say a repeal would bring significant changes to the American health system, threatening coverage for millions of Americans, and the progress

Terry Shropshire / CrossRoadsNews

made in the last half-century through the enactment of Medicaid, CHIP and the ACA. Cindy Zeldin, Georgians for a Healthy Future’s executive director, says that Georgians were already disadvantaged when Deal joined 19 states – mostly Southern – that refused to expand Medicaid.

Zeldin said because of ACA, 20 million more Americans now have health insurance.

“We’ve seen some of the earlier proposals to repeal the Affordable Care Act and that would lead to a lot of protections taken away,” she said. “It would be very devastating for Georgia.”

Zeldin said any changes to the law and Medicaid may leave hundreds of thousands of Georgians uninsured and one emergency away from financial ruin. She urged the seniors, a dependable and consistent voting bloc in America, to write and call Republican legislators on Capitol Hill and ask them not to repeal Obamacare, and to vote. Dr. Kathleen Conner, who is disabled, said that she has been dependent on Medicare since it began in 1966 and that we cannot afford

to lose something for which we have made contributions.

“My very survival is based around that I get Medicare now,” she said. “We made a social contract with Washington and all of our representatives that we would pay in, and they would pay out, when the time came. So we all made our contributions. So now we cannot let them take the ‘pay out’ from us when we can’t work anymore.”

Zeldin told the seniors and others on Obamacare to take three main actions to protect the program from its political enemies: n Share their stories – tell about pre-existing conditions, about being enrolled in health insurance through the marketplace, and that previously they could not afford health insurance. n Call Georgia Senators Johnny Isakson and David Perdue at 202-224-3121 and tell them to “protect the gains made under the Affordable Care Act.” They can also visit www. house.gov/representatives/find to find their representatives. n Sign up for action alerts at healthyfuturega. org.

County partnership to reduce youth unemployment BUDGET,

from page

1

to Bouldercrest Road.

Among them are 24 roads in South DeKalb, including trash-strewn corridors like Panola, Wesley Chapel, Flakes Mill, Glenwood, Kensington, Panthersville, Clifton Springs, River, Snapfinger, South Hairston, Turner Hill, Redan, and South

Deshon roads, Columbia and Hillandale Drive, and DeKalb Medical Parkway.

Thurmond told commissioners that blight did not appear overnight and will not be easily fixed.

“But I am convinced that a more focused, multi-departmental blight remediation strategy, in cooperation with civic groups, faith leaders and the private sector, will result in

improved quality of life for us all,” he said.

The budget also has $250,000 earmarked for Thurmond’s third main initiative – reducing mass unemployment among DeKalb youth.

The initiative, in partnership with DeKalb WorkSource Development, will provide work-based training opportunities for 155 eligible young people ages 14-24.

They will be placed with private and public employers for six weeks.

Thurmond said that the county’s young people face many obstacles on their journey into adulthood.

“I believe this subsidized employment opportunity will provide our young people with resources to buy basic needs such as food, clothes and school supplies,” Thurmond said.

“A job often means much more than a paycheck. It can also mean connection with a lifelong mentor, career path exploration, practical training and the development of soft skills.

“We must not allow the pimps and drug dealers to be the only employers in our community,” Thurmond added.

CrossRoadsNews

March 4, 2017

Community

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The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.

Former Emory prof gets six years in prison for child pornography Former Emory University professor Kevin M. Sullivan of Atlanta has been sentenced to six years and six months in prison for downloading thousands of images of child pornography from a server in Switzerland while using the university’s Wi-Fi. Sullivan, 61, who was a professor in Emory’s Epidemiology Department, Kevin Sullivan was convicted on Dec. 1 after pleading guilty.

He has been ordered to pay a $15,000 fine

and his prison sentence will be followed by seven years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney John Horn said Sullivan downloaded thousands of files depicting the sexual abuse of children.

“He attempted to cover his tracks by using his personal computer on the internet system at Emory to download the images,” Horn said in a March 1 statement. “As predators continue to try to develop new methods to feed and download child pornography, we will continue to find them and prosecute them.”

In October 2014, Swiss law enforce-

ment seized a server that was hosting child pornography. Login information from the server showed that someone at Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health was using its Wi-Fi to access child pornography. With cooperation from Emory’s IT Department, agents were able to determine that Sullivan was the person accessing child pornography from the Swiss website.

Agents obtained a search warrant for Sullivan’s office and executed it on June 15, 2015. Sullivan was present at the time but left before agents found child pornography on his personal laptop and external hard drive.

When agents went to his house later the same day to arrest him, they found Sullivan on his home computer. A search of that computer revealed titles suggestive of child pornography, although the files themselves had been deleted. A search of the laptop and hard drive from his Emory office showed that Sullivan had more than 8,000 files containing child pornography.

The case is part of Project Safe Childhood (www.projectsafechildhood.gov), a nationwide initiative launched in February 2006 designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse.

city of stonecrest election forums

March 6 meet-and-greet DeKalb NAACP hosting forum on March 7 The DeKalb NAACP is hosting a March 7 Candidate bard for District 3; Geraldine Champion, Jay Cunningat Lou Walker Center Forum for the 20 candidates running for mayor and five ham, Mary-Pat Hector, Jonathan Phillips and George Stonecrest voters can meet candidates in the March 21 election at a March 6 Get Out to Vote: Meet and Greet at the Lou Walker Senior Center in Lithonia.

The 6-to-8 p.m. event is hosted by the DeKalb Coalition for Voter Education and Mobilization.

It includes a brief presentation on the new city’s council districts.

Twenty candidates are seeking the offices for mayor and five council districts. Early voting is now underway through March 17 at the DeKalb Election Office, 4380 Memorial Drive in Decatur.

The polls are open weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The meet-and-greet host coalition is made up of the DecaturDeKalb Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Coalition of People’s Agenda, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc.Decatur Alumnae Chapter, and the Saint Philip AME Lay Organization Social Action Committee.

The center is at 2538 Panola Road. For more information, email Jewel Anderson at JewelNAnderson@gmail.com.

council seats in the new city of Stonecrest.

The forum takes place at 6:30 p.m. at Salem Bible Church, 5460 Hillandale Drive in Lithonia.

Three candidates, Douglas Favors, Charles Hill Jr., and Jason Lary, are seeking the office of mayor.

Seventeen men and women are seeking five council seats. They are Jimmy Clanton, Charles Ross, and Plez Joyner for District 1; Alexis Morris, Gretchen Tolbert and Rob Turner for District 2; Jazzmin Cobble and Eric Hub-

Turner for District 4; and Diane Adoma, Tammy Grimes, Lloyd Morrison and Richard Stone for District 5.

Teresa Hardy, the NAACP’s president, says its nonpartisan candidate forums are designed to empower communities by increasing awareness and participation in the full political process.

“We encourage the participation of everyone and hope to educate and inspire greater voter participation,” she said.

Mayoral candidates to be on radio together The three men – Douglas Favors II, Charles Hill Jr., and Jason Lary – vying to be mayor of Stonecrest will take calls on March 17 from listeners of WYZE 1480-AM station on the Amos King Show.

Listeners can call that station at 404-622-4444 with

their questions from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

The candidates for mayor are among 20 men and women seeking seats on the new Stonecrest city council.

The other 17 are seeking five council seats. The election takes place March 21.

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Youth

2346 Candler Rd. Decatur, GA 30032 404-284-1888 Fax: 404-284-5007 www.crossroadsnews.com editor@crossroadsnews.com

Editor / Publisher Jennifer Parker General Manager Curtis Parker Assistant Editor Terry Shropshire Assistant Editor Brenda Yarbrough Staff Writers Jennifer Ffrench Parker Editorial Intern Rosie Manins Front Office Manager Catherine Guy Multimedia Editor Sharif Williams CrossRoadsNews is published every Saturday by CrossRoads­News, 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.

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CrossRoadsNews

March 4, 2017

“We are grateful that the jewelers and our local supporters are focused on helping our most vulnerable children.”

‘Suits With a Purpose’ outfits seniors for prom

By Terry Shropshire

Youth advocate Nichole Brown started a program called “Suits With a Purpose” in 2016 to help buy graduating high school s eniors suits for the prom, graduation and interviews for college.

Brown initiated the program last year because Nichole Brown she saw little assistance in helping young men properly prepare for the prom and college from a grooming and clothing standpoint.

“I went into the schools and I didn’t see anything for the boys,” Brown said. “I saw that they had so many things for the girls to help them for the prom. But no one was thinking about the boys.”

Brown, 50, a native of Wilmington, Del., is a graduate of Hampton University and understands the paramount importance of pristine presentation when interviewing for entry into elite schools.

The first suit event is March 4 and the second one is March 18.

Brown said she would love for male adult volunteers to show up to assist in the process.

Brown is a 19-year resident of Greater Atlanta who calls Gwinnett County her home. Her profession is working with the youth at JA of Georgia, so this program is just an extension of what she loves to do.

Brown has assisted kids from all over metro Atlanta with the Suits With a Purpose campaign. But she said DeKalb students have shown the most gratitude as beneficiaries of her program.

“A lot of them never had a suit before,” she said. “So they were very appreciative. They come from

Terry Shropshire / CrossRoadsNews

The program provided 56 metro students with suits for prom, graduation and college interviews in 2016.

the lower-performing schools, the schools in the low-income neighborhoods.”

One of her prized students is Quan Usher, a 4.8 GPA scholastic star who has been accepted into at least 10 major universities, including the University of Michigan, Georgia Tech, the University of Vanderbilt, and the HBCU powerhouses of Howard University and Tuskegee University.

Brown said she received divine inspiration to start the program.

“I was in church and a friend of mine had gotten a guy a suit, and I didn’t know he hadn’t had a suit before … just the way he was walk-

ing in the suit and everybody was stopping him and said, ‘You look really nice!’”

In the inaugural year, Brown helped 56 students through Suits With a Purpose. This year, she’s slightly cutting back and helping 45 students: 10 suits at McNair High, 10 suits at Columbia, and another 25 suits at Towers because of the special needs students.

Even though the suits will be new, helping youth is nothing new for Brown.

“I’ve been helping kids all my life. I wanted to help them like I did in the ’90s. I realize that this gives me an avenue into the schools, but

also to help young people, and that’s what I like to do. I don’t like, first, how young men dress. And I try to impart to them what a suit means,” Brown said.

“Just to see the parents excited and happy that they don’t have to spend the money. Last year, we just gave suits away when some of the kids didn’t show up. There were [random] parents in there scraping trying to buy a suit for their sons and we just gave them the suit.”

Brown’s Go Fund Me page is https://funds.gofundme.com/dashboard/suitsfortheprom. For more information, email suitswithapurpose@gmail.com.

Georgia constitutional officers offer scholarship contest Georgia high school seniors and college undergraduates can enter a scholarship contest offered by the Constitutional Officers Association of Georgia through April 1.

To be eligible for the three scholarships in the amounts of $1,500, $1,000 and $500, students must graduate from high school by spring 2017 or be enrolled in

an accredited Georgia college or university. They also must seek a degree in a field related to government/law enforcement, political science, accounting/finance or business, or pre-law.

To apply, students must submit a typed 1,000-word essay on a constitutional office in their county and describe the mandated duties

of that office and tell why the oath of office is important. They must provide a letter of acceptance or enrollment from an institution of higher education, a copy of a college application or transcript to provide verification of degree field, and the COAG scholarship application. All completed applications, documentation and essays should

be mailed flat in a 9x12 envelope no later than April 1 to: Suzanne Cross, COAG, P.O. Box 1644, Decatur, GA 30031.

Scholarships will be awarded May 1. For the application, visit www.coag.info/2016-2017-scholarships. For more information, email coagoffice@bellsouth.net or call 404-377-1364.

Jewelers grant to help DeKalb CASA recruit volunteers A $40,000 grant from Jewelers for Children will increase the number of DeKalb CASA volunteers representing the interests of abused and neglected minors under the protection of Juvenile Court.

The award to the DeKalb Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children Program is part of a $625,000 grant that JFC made to the National CASA Association.

David Rocha, executive director

Circulation Audited By

of Jewelers for Children, a charitable arm of the jewelry industry, said its board has always been focused on charities that primarily benefit disadvantaged children and the National CASA Association is a perfect fit for its support.

“CASA excels at helping the most vulnerable children during a very trying time in their young lives,” Rocha said in a Feb. 7 statement.

As of Aug. 31, 2016, 936 children were in the custody of the DeKalb Division of Family and Children Services. As of Sept. 30, 2016, 131 DeKalb CASA volunteers provided advocacy and support for 286 children.

The DeKalb CASA Program is always seeking new volunteers in its efforts to provide a voice to every abused and neglected child, said its executive director, Linda Banks.

“Funding from Jewelers for Children will help us recruit and train an additional 120 volunteers and serve 200 new children,” Banks said. “We are grateful that the jewelers and our local supporters are focused on helping our most vulnerable children.”

The DeKalb CASA Program was formed in 1990. Volunteer trainings are held six times annually. Visit dekalbcasa.org.

index to advertisers Blissful Travel Agency................................... 10 Committee to Elect Rob Turner.......................1 DeKalb County Board of Health...................... 7 DeKalb County Clerk of Superior Court......... 11 DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office....................... 11 Fabric Joint, LLC............................................ 10 Forever Pink Foundation................................ 3

Georgia Tax Source....................................... 10 Johnson Hopewell Coleman LLC................. 10 Macy’s............................................................12 Partnership For Community Action................ 3 Wright Vision Care.......................................... 7 Holistic Health Management Inc.............Inserts Rite Aid...................................................Inserts

Walgreens...............................................Inserts Walmart..................................................Inserts Committee to Elect Alexis Morris........... Online Committee to Elect Diane Adoma.......... Online Committee to Elect George Turner........ Online Committee to Elect Jason Lary............... Online Committee to Elect Jazzmin Cobble....... Online

Committee to Elect Jonathan Phillips..... Online Committee to Elect Plez Joyner............. Online Committee To Elect Richard Stone........ Online Committee to Elect Tammy Grimes....... Online Feld Entertainment, Inc......................... Online Greenforest Community Baptist Church.Online

CrossRoadsNews

March 4, 2017

Youth

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“This program is a wonderful opportunity to use literature to begin important conversations with our young people.”

35 unsafe fountains, sinks removed from service at 16 schools

By Rosie Manins

An additional 35 water fountains and sinks at 16 DeKalb schools with a combined student population of more than 11,700 have tested positive for unsafe levels of lead.

They have been removed from service by the DeKalb School District as it continues to test all water sources in its 150 school buildings.

As of Feb. 6, the School District had checked 1,832 water sources in 65 schools since testing began on Sept. 20, 2016.

Of those sources tested, 77, or 4.2 percent, tested at or above the Environmental Protection Agency’s lead action level of 15 parts per billion.

The American Society of Pediatrics says research shows that even low levels of lead in drinking water can cause a number of health issues for children – from a lower IQ to behavioral problems.

The latest results for testing at 24 schools were announced by the district between Dec. 1 and Feb. 6 and show 30 fountains and five sinks in 16 buildings had unsafe lead levels.

Where unsafe water sources must be cut off, DeKalb Schools is supplying bottled water or mobile potable water tanks, replacing problem piping and fixtures, reconfiguring plumbing to bypass lead sources, installing and maintaining filters, moving electrical wires grounded to water pipes, and installing automatic flushing systems.

It plans to finish its testing schedule in June this year.

The district says it is committed to removing unsafe water sources from service and undertaking remedial work to ensure students and staff have access to clean, safe drinking water. It approved a budget of $450,000 for the lead-testing program on Sept. 10.

Lead pipes were legally used in construction before 1986, and in DeKalb County, 106 of the district’s 150 buildings predate 1986.

DeKalb Superintendent Stephen Green said that while most of the schools tested so far have no lead, any contaminated source is too much.

Of the latest schools tested, the worst Stephen Green problems are at Panola Way and Eldridge L. Miller elementary schools, each with five unsafe water sources.

Lead-contaminated water found in 16 schools and centers Contaminated sources are immediately removed from service and remediation begun. Following remediation, the source will be retested before returning to service.

Year Enroll- Sources At or above Water School Location Built ment Tested action level* fountains Sinks n Panola Way ES Lithonia 1987 874 40 5 5 n Eldridge L. Miller ES Stone Mountain 1981 547 21 5 4 1 n Stone Mill ES Stone Mountain 1975 581 27 4 2 2 n Woodridge ES Stone Mountain 1975 558 22 4 4 n Sequoyah MS Doraville 1965 1,238 37 3 3 n Kingsley ES Dunwoody 1971 375 22 2 2 n Vanderlyn ES Dunwoody 1973 777 33 2 1 1 n Druid Hills HS Druid Hills 1927 1,459 49 2 2 n Rainbow ES Decatur 1969 472 27 1 1 n Cedar Grove ES Ellenwood 1975 590 34 1 1 n Druid Hills MS Decatur 1967 971 28 1 1 n Miller Grove MS Decatur 1985 954 23 1 1 n Hambrick ES Stone Mountain 1971 648 32 1 1 n McNair MS Decatur 1958 703 31 1 1 n Champion MS Stone Mountain 1961 831 20 1 1 n Old Rock Gym Stone Mountain 1936 n/a 4 1 1 Totals for table – Enrollment: 11,778 • Sources tested: 450 • Contaminated: 35 *EPA action level = 15 parts per billion (ppb)

There were five fountains removed from service at Panola Way in Lithonia, which was built in 1987 and has about 870 students, and four fountains and a sink were removed from service at Eldridge L. Miller in Stone Mountain, which has about 540 students and was built in 1981.

Stone Mill and Woodridge elementary schools, constructed in 1975, each had four dangerous water sources, and Sequoyah Middle School in Doraville, built in 1965, had three unsafe drinking fountains.

Other DeKalb schools recently found to have one or two unsafe water fountains or sinks are Rainbow, Kingsley, Vanderlyn, Cedar Grove, and Hambrick elementary schools; Druid Hills, Miller Grove, McNair, and Champion middle schools; and Druid Hills High – all built between 1927 and 1985.

The Old Rock Gym, which dates back to 1936, also had one water fountain with high lead levels.

DeKalb Schools’ testing program was launched in response to the lead in water crisis in Flint, Mich., and concern about high lead levels found in schools nationwide.

Across the country, public school systems like Atlanta, New York, and Chicago have tested their water in the past year. In Atlanta Public Schools, 25 of its 60 schools showed levels above the EPA standards in one or more water fountains or sinks.

DeKalb parents are notified of test results for their children’s schools, and the data are published on the district’s website – www.dekalbschoolsga.org/lead-testing – along with information about the testing program and schedule.

They also can call the district’s hotline at 678-676-1222.

Great Stories Club grant provides programming for at-risk teens

Local at-risk teens will benefit from a grant awarded to the DeKalb Public Library for a book club program.

The American Library Association grant is for the Great Stories Club, a reading and discussion program that will focus on teen violence and suicide.

The library received the grant in January and was among 75 recipients from across the country. The grantees represent 55 public libraries, 17 school libraries, one academic/ college library, and two prison libraries. The 2017 theme is “Structures of Suffering: Origins of Teen Violence and Suicide.”

The first program is scheduled for March 25 at the offices of the DeKalb Board of Health.

The library is partnering with the DeKalb Office of Youth Services to conduct the book club. Youth Services works to help at-risk children in DeKalb and has selected 25 teen girls for participation. The teens will read and discuss three books in which protagonists deal with teen violence, bullying and suicide.

Gina Jenkins, the library’s Youth Services coordinator, said the program presents an opportunity for meaningful dialogue.

“So many teens in our community struggle with issues of violence and suicide, and much of the time, adults are painfully unaware of what they’re going through,” Jenkins said in a Feb. 23 statement. “We think this program is a wonderful opportunity to use literature to begin important conversations with our young people about these problems and how to deal with them.”

Book titles for the program are “Thirteen Reasons Why” by Jay Asher, “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” by Ned Vizzini, and “Romeo and Juliet,” a graphic novel illustrated by Matt Weigle. Selected by library advisers and

humanities scholars, the books were chosen to resonate with reluctant readers who deal with complex issues such as violence, incarceration and poverty.

The Great Stories Club grant is administered by ALA’s Public Programs Office in partnership with the Association for Specialized and Cooperative Library Agencies, including the Library Services for Youth in Custody and Library Services to the Incarcerated and Detained interest groups. It is made possible by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Visit www. dekalblibrary.org and www.ala.org.

DECA student, teacher to visit Normandy for tribute to fallen hero DeKalb Early College Academy junior Sydnie Cobb and social studies professor Jason Butler will travel to France to tell the story of a fallen World War II hero.

They are among just 15 student-teacher teams nationwide selected to participate in the Normandy: Sacrifice for Freedom Albert H. Small Student and Teacher Institute.

Each team will research a person from their home region who gave his or her life in World War II during or after the Normandy landings of D-Day and is memorialized at the Normandy American Cemetery.

The first leg of the journey will begin in Washington in June, where the teams will complete their research with assistance from the National Archives, historians, and college professors.

Then they will visit Normandy to present eulogies at the grave or memorial of their research subject.

The DECA team first explored the opportunity when Butler learned of it through his work with the National History Program and shared it with Sydnie. They have not selected the person they will honor.

Sydnie said she was very excited when she

DeKalb Early College Academy junior Sydnie Cobb and social studies professor Jason Butler will visit the Normandy American Cemetery in France as part of a historic study into World War II.

first learned of the Normandy institute.

“I told my mom and she was excited about it,” Sydnie said. “I was still deciding if I was going to do it and I did, and it worked out for the better.”

Butler and Sydnie will spend the first half of the year delving into their chosen hero using readings, historical research, and primary sources such as war records, draft cards, or interviews with descendants.

Butler said he hopes to gain experiences that will benefit all of his students.

“One thing I’m really excited about is that Sydnie is going to become a historian. There’s a difference between learning history that other people have put together and doing your own history [research],” Butler said.

“This experience will allow her to do that and it’s something I’ve really enjoyed in my life and career because we’re going to be unearthing things that haven’t been discovered before and telling a story that hasn’t been told before.”

The institute is led by the National History Day organization. While in France, teams also will visit museums, historic sites, and churches that were used as field hospitals.

“To me, when I think about the type of life I want to lead, it’s where the personal kind of blends in with the professional. I‘m doing something I enjoy but it’s also serving and it’s also fulfilling,” Butler said.

“This checks all those boxes. It’s going to be fun.”

Overseas travel, courses, and room and board are all paid for by philanthropist Albert H. Small.

6

Ministry

CrossRoadsNews

March 4, 2017

“The congregation was clearly impressed with his speaking ability and bringing the unadulterated Gospel.”

Greenforest’s Berry believes in church linked to community

By Terry Shropshire

The Rev. Dr. Emory Berry Jr. and Greenforest Community Baptist Church seem to be a match made in heaven.

Berry’s theological philosophy blends well with the Decatur-based congregational mind-set and the church’s 94-acre campus.

Both Berry and Greenforest are a harmonious confluence of old school principles and 21st century sensibilities.

“My vision is, by 2020, making sure we are a community church,” says Berry, who is the church’s second pastor since the late Rev. George O. McCalep who built it into a community powerhouse in the 1990s.

“What I mean by that is … my mind-set is I don’t just pastor your church, I pastor the community.”

Berry arrived at Greenforest in October 2016 from the Fourth Street Baptist Church in Richmond, Va., where he perfected his brand of community churching.

“In Virginia, I was engaged in housing, transportation, schools, access to health care, all those things,” he said. “I was not just teaching spiritual principles, the Ten Commandments, but also I believe that the model of Jesus is that he spent more time outside the four walls than inside the four walls.”

Berry, 39, who grew up in Miami and Miramar, Fla., is often described as an innovative, daring, astute, compassionate, humble and inspiring pastor. Those are just some of the qualities that endeared him to the Greenforest pastor search committee.

James Garner, who chaired the church’s pastor search committee, highlighted other qualifications that Berry met.

“His ability to connect with his audience [and] he was able to give us his vision for the church,” Garner said. “And he also possessed some of the other qualities that we were looking for, including pastoring a church of some substantial size.”

The congregation also received Berry “very, very positively” the weekend when he visited to preach and teach before he was elected pastor, Garner said.

Robert Lee, current chair of the deaconship, said the congregation was clearly impressed with Berry’s speaking and his ability to bring the unadulterated Gospel.

“He presented himself as a man who

The Rev. Dr. Emory Berry Jr., the new senior pastor of Greenforest Community Baptist Church, brings a generational approach to the Decatur campus.

Terry Shropshire / CrossRoadsNews

understood that even Christian people have difficulties,” Lee said. “And he was able to relate to them in a way that says, ‘I’m a person who cares about your spiritual life, but also the life that you live everyday.’”

Berry’s community involvement, including his prison ministries in Virginia, also made a huge impression on the selection committee.

“We are Greenforest Community Baptist Church,” Lee continued. “It was very important to understand that Greenforest is not just a Sunday church. The doors are open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., every day of the week, and that ministry doesn’t stop with preaching. It is a very large part of the package. But certainly being connected and understanding social justice, and the role that the church plays in speaking about social injustice.”

A self-described “child of God,” Berry says he is always seeking to do the Lord’s will – the Lord’s way.

“I always try to make sure that, energywise, that what I do and say can be scripturally supported, biblically supported,” he said

Feb. 20. “I try to be Christ-like, cutting-edge and creative. I’m going to make sure there’s a strong Scripture undergirding. But, man, what that looks like in a 21st century creative way – I see technology as a way of evangelizing. Social media allows you to reach a lot of people faster – and further. So it’s worked for me.”

Berry feels blessed that his congregations in Virginia and now at Greenforest want their pastor to be visible in the community, to be having conversations with local politicians and state officials about the welfare of the community, and to be socially involved.

“I didn’t have to create that culture,” he said. “It was already here. Greenforest was deliberate about that.”

Berry began developing his religious convictions as a 19-year-old student at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Then, he wanted to become an obstetrician-gynecologist but he says God steered him to Emory University’s Candler School of Theology.

From there he got a Doctorate of Ministry at Virginia Union University’s Samuel D.

Proctor School of Theology and did other postgraduate studies at Ivy League institutions like Harvard and Princeton.

When Berry arrived at Greenforest, it had less than 3,000 on the rolls, down from 4,000 when McCalep died in December 2006 after 27 years at the church. He was installed as Greenforest’s fourth senior pastor on Nov. 13.

In a letter to him printed in the installation program, Garner said Berry’s installation “begins a new era in God’s plan for his people here at the ‘Forest.’”

“We pray that our current spiritual foundation will be further strengthened by your leadership and the vision God has given you,” Garner wrote. “Greenforest is a church with a rich history of serving God and the South DeKalb community through missions and its many ministries. As our senior pastor, we celebrate the goodness of God sending you to help us build on that rich history.”

And with timing that can only be described as divinely inspired, since he just moved back to Atlanta a few months ago, Berry has been inducted into the prestigious Morehouse College Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers.

But for now, Berry says his mandate is to rebuild the congregation and help pump new energy into the campus on Rainbow Drive that includes the k-12 Greenforest McCalep Academy, a gymnasium, and the empty Early Learning Center that once housed a thriving center serving kids 6 weeks to 4 years old.

Right now the campus is reveling in the victories of the high school’s boys basketball team. The Eagles are currently ranked second in the state and 11th nationally.

Berry, who is author of “Marriage That Matters,” is married to Dr. Julie Berry, an educator.

They have a son, Emory III, 10, and a 4-year-old daughter, Jaiden Aniya.

He says he is rebuilding the congregation with a generational approach inspired by Gary McIntosh’s book, “One Church, Four Generations,” which examines the challenge facing today’s church to effectively minister to people of four widely divergent generations and offers a path to reach the bridgers, builders, busters, and boomers.

“I try to make sure that every aspect of ministry is reaching all four generations.”

If he is drawing analogies through music, Berry says he might quote the Temptations.

“But then I’m going to break it down to the ’80s and R. Kelly,” he said. “I’m going to quote all these academic theologians, but I might throw Drake in there. I’ll throw King and Drake into the same conversation. So I think that’s made it attractive from a preaching standpoint. So where Jesus says, ‘Feed my sheep,’ I try to make sure that everyone gets fed.”

March 4, 2017

Wellness

CrossRoadsNews

7

“The change to daylight saving time is a good opportunity to make sure your smoke detector has fresh batteries.”

Mentor for young mothers receives Servant’s Heart Award DeKalb Board of Health employee Kassie Bennett has received the Servant’s Heart Award from Georgia first lady Sandra Deal for her work as an advocate and mentor for young mothers and moms-to-be.

Bennett is a supervisor in DeKalb’s free M.O.R.E. program – Mothers Offering Resources and Education, which was created in 2005 in response to a very high number of infant deaths in DeKalb County. The death of a baby immediately after birth or before his or her first birthday is an infant death.

In the Board of Health’s 2005 Status of Health in DeKalb Report, McNair/Cedar Grove and Lithonia had the highest infant mortality rate of 13.5 deaths per 1,000 live births in its 13 assessment areas.

Communities with rates higher than the county average were concentrated in southeastern DeKalb: Avondale/Towers/ Columbia, Clarkston, Lithonia, McNair/ Cedar Grove, Stone Mountain/Stephenson, and Southwest DeKalb/MLK Jr. Dunwoody had the lowest rate at 2.6.

The M.O.R.E. program matches young mothers with trained resource moms who

Georgia first lady Sandra Deal presents DeKalb Board of Health’s Kassie Bennett with the Servant’s Heart Award for her work as an advocate for young moms.

help before, during and after pregnancy until the baby’s first birthday. Bennett is one of its original resource moms, women who were once teen moms and know firsthand about the challenges and opportunities.

“You have to first gain her trust,” Bennett told the Georgia Department of Public Health on Feb. 24. “You have to be a good listener so you can get to the heart of her

Check smoke alarms when setting clocks for daylight saving time It’s almost time to set clocks forward an hour for the beginning of daylight saving time on March 12, and DeKalb residents are being urged to check that their smoke alarms are in working order.

Clinton Raines of Georgia Arson Control and State Farm Insurance is asking homeowners and occupants to ensure their smoke alarms have working batteries for the coming season.

Clinton Raines “The change from standard time to daylight saving time is a good opportunity to make sure your smoke detector has fresh batteries and is functioning properly,” Raines said in a Feb. 17 statement.

He also recommends that DeKalb citizens replace batteries in flashlights, weather radios, and other safety devices used for household emergencies.

Daylight saving time starts at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 12, when clocks spring forward one hour. Raines said clocks should be set before bedtime on March 11.

Some South DeKalb residents are eligible to have free smoke alarms installed in their homes by DeKalb Fire Rescue, which has identified several high-risk suburbs in regard to house fires.

High-risk areas are census tracts with three or more house fires in a single year during the past three years.

On Feb. 3, Fire Rescue staff undertook a smoke alarm blitz in the Candler/McAfee area of Decatur, installing 39 detectors in over a dozen high-risk homes and leaving information packs at more than 140 nearby properties.

People wanting free smoke alarm installation, fire safety property checks, or more information about avoiding house fires can email dcfrpublicaffairs@dekalbcountyga.gov or call 678-406-7731.

KP Panola offers weight loss support Residents who are struggling to lose weight or seeking to maintain a healthy weight can attend free classes at Kaiser Permanente Georgia’s Panola Medical Center in Lithonia.

The next Weight Loss Support: Ask a Dietitian/Nutritionist class, which is open to the public, takes place 3 to 4 p.m. on March 20. Pre-registration is required for nonmembers – call 404-364-7117.

Being a healthy weight can lower the risk of health problems. Class participants will have free access to a registered dietitian/

nutritionist on their weight loss journey.

The dietitian will present a different topic each month and answer questions to help class members as they adopt a healthier diet and lifestyle. Monthly topics will vary based on participant interest and may include fad diets, nutrition myths, nutrition for exercise, the composition of beverages, eating out, and healthy snacking.

The medical center is at 5440 Hillandale Drive. For more information, visit https:// healthy.kaiserpermanente.org or call 404365-0966 or 1-800-611-1811.

story. She may come to M.O.R.E. requesting food for her baby, but she may also need housing and clothing. She may show up with the baby’s father, but you may learn that she is involved in sex trafficking and needs additional services.”

Bennett was chosen to receive the award because of her commitment and giving above and beyond the call of duty to serve others.

“This award is very important to me because it recognizes the importance of the program, the mothers and babies who have needed our services, and all of our collective hard work,” Bennett said.

Volunteerism, community involvement and outreach are the foundation of “With a Servant’s Heart,” the first lady’s platform.

Dr. S. Elizabeth Ford, DeKalb health director, said the Board of Health is proud of Bennett and the work of M.O.R.E. moms.

“We are grateful to Mrs. Deal for acknowledging Ms. Kassie’s tireless efforts in supporting maternal and child health in DeKalb County,” Ford said.

The program has helped more than 5,000 mothers and babies since its inception. More than 50 percent of the referrals are through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, or WIC. In the 2015 Status of Health in DeKalb Report, there were 394 infant deaths from 2008 through 2012. DeKalb’s average rate was 1.6 deaths per 1,000 live births – Georgia’s average was 1.2. The rate has dropped by 30 percent. Visit dekalbhealth.net/hs/m-o-r-e.

Puberty Rocks! targets adolescents Tweens, teens and their parents can attend DeKalb Medical’s Puberty Rocks! sessions on March 9 in Decatur and Lithonia.

Registration is free – sign up at 404501-WELL or visit www.dekalbmedical. org and click on Classes & Events.

The 6:30-to-8 p.m. session for girls 9 and up and their parents or guardians takes place at the DeKalb Medical Theatre, North Decatur campus, 2701 N. Decatur Road. It features Dr. Caryn Johnson.

The session for boys 9 and up and their parents, which also begins at 6:30 p.m., takes place in the Community Room at DeKalb Medical at Hillandale, 2801 DeKalb Medical Parkway in Lithonia. It features Dr. Kenneth Harper.

Parents will learn how to help their adolescents navigate the tween and teen years.

The sessions will cover body changes, mood swings, peer pressure and other issues.

Parking is free. For more information, visit www.dekalbmedical.org.

8

Scene

CrossRoadsNews

March 4, 2017

A monadnock is a special type of mountain formed when a massive blob of lava hardens and creates a clump under the earth.

Monadnock Madness challenges hikers to take on three mountains Hikers can climb to the summit of three local monadnocks – Arabia Mountain, Panola Mountain and Stone Mountain – in one day during the popular Triple Hike Challenge for the fifth annual Monadnock Madness in March.

RSVPs are required at www.monadnockmadness.com, and all hikers will earn a commemorative souvenir.

Mera Cardenas, executive director of the nonprofit Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance, said there will be a variety of activities at each location.

“Whether you’re an outdoor enthusiast, nature lover, or looking for ways to kick off spring, Monadnock Madness offers an out-of-this-world adventure and activities for everyone,” Cardenas said.

The Triple Hike Challenge guided hike will take place on March 5, 12, 18, and 31. Triple Mountain Photography will be March 19 and 26, and the Monadnock Metric Bike Ride is March 25.

Junior Ranger Day is March 19.

Activities also include sunset yoga, ruins of Arabia tour, and a birding hike at the historic Vaughters’ farm. Participants can see the annual diamorpha with vibrant red leaves and white blooms, vernal pools and landscapes. Each park offers visitors the option to “hike when you like” and earn passport stamps – completed passports also qualify for a special souvenir.

A monadnock is a special type of mountain formed when a massive blob of lava hardens and creates a very hard clump under the earth. Over millions of year, the softer rock around the clump is eroded away, leaving a huge mountain that juts out of the flat landscape around it. This process is how Arabia, Panola and Stone mountains were all formed.

For more information about monthlong activities, ticketing and how to earn prizes, visit http:// Photo by Chad Belinfante arabiaalliance.org and www.monadnockmadness. The Triple Hike Challenge during Monadnock Madness includes a trek to the top of Stone Mountain as well as hikes and other activities at com.

Panola Mountain and Arabia Mountain.

March 4, 2017

Scene

CrossRoadsNews

9

It was the first time since the 2007 Academy Awards that more than one black actor won a competitive Oscar on the same night.

Five African Americans make history with four Oscar wins

By Terry Shropshire

Five African American actors and filmmakers won four Oscars on Feb. 26 – the most ever at one time since the Academy Awards began in 1929.

Viola Davis landed Oscar for best supporting actress for her role as Rose Maxson in “Fences”; Mahershala Ali won best supporting actor for his role in “Moonlight”; and director Barry Jenkins won best adapted screenplay for “Moonlight” along with cowriter Tarell Alvin McCraney. The movie is based on McCraney’s play, “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue.”

Director Ezra Edelman’s “O.J.: Made in America” won best documentary feature.

It was the first time since the 2007 Academy Awards that more than one black actor won a competitive Oscar on the same night.

The Oscars made history in 2002, when Denzel Washington and Halle Berry became the first black actors to win both of the academy’s top acting awards on the same evening.

It did it two more times – in 2005 when Jamie Foxx won best actor and Morgan Freeman best supporting actor and in 2007 when Forest Whitaker won best actor and Jennifer Hudson best supporting actress.

“Moonlight,” with its all-black cast, won best picture, the academy’s top award, for its producers, who were all white.

Four of the 2017 Oscar nominees for best picture were about characters of color – Theodore Melfi’s “Hidden Figures,” Jenkins’ “Moonlight,” Denzel Washington’s “Fences” and Garth Davis’ “Lion.”

The diverse 2017 Oscar nominees and winners follow the 2016 Academy Awards when no African Americans were nominated and the #oscarsowhite hashtag.

Barry Jenkins, top, with “Moonlight” cast and producers, accepting the best picture Oscar. From left, Mahershala Ali and Viola Davis won best supporting actor and actress Oscars, Tarell Alvin McCraney, best adapted screenplay, and Ezra Edelman, best documentary feature.

On Sunday, Davis became the first black woman to win an Oscar, Tony and Emmy award for acting.

The win catapults her into one of the most exclusive acting clubs in the world – winning all three of acting’s top honors.

She won the Oscar, and Tony in 2010, for playing Rose Maxon alongside Washington on film and onstage in the play written by

August Wilson. Washington adapted the play for the big screen and also directed it.

She won the Emmy in 2016 for her leading role as law professor Annalise Keating on ABC’s “How to Get Away With Murder.”

In an impassioned acceptance speech, Davis said, “People ask me all the time, what kind of stories she wants to tell.

“And I say, exhume those bodies. Exhume

those stories. The stories of the people who dreamed big and never saw those dreams to fruition. People who fell in love and lost,” she said. “I became an artist, and thank God I did, because we are the only profession that celebrates what it means to live a life. So here’s to August Wilson, who exhumed and exalted the ordinary people.”

Ali’s win makes him the first black Muslim actor to win an Oscar. He got the Oscar for playing a drug dealer who became a father figure and mentor to “Moonlight’s” main character.

Edelman received his award for the 7.5hour best documentary feature that was produced by Caroline Waterlow, who also received her own Oscar.

“O.J.: Made in America,” which explores the intersection of race and celebrity during the trial of O.J. Simpson for the slaying of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman, aired on ESPN. The documentary chronicles the rise and fall of the former football star who was acquitted in the slayings. It is the longest documentary to ever win the category.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs engineered an aggressive campaign to diversify the academy’s membership in January 2016.

As a result of the Isaacs team’s efforts, the academy invited a record number of new participants, extending offers to 683 film industry professionals from 59 countries.

Forty-six percent of invitees were female and 41 percent were people of color.

The 2017 Oscar nominees also included actresses Ruth Negga and Octavia Spencer, actors Denzel Washington and Dev Patel, cinematographer Bradford Young, and directors Raoul Peck and Washington for “Fences.”

‘Moonlight’ Oscar win for best picture flubbed in epic Oscar fiasco “Moonlight” shockingly won the 2017 Oscar for best picture, but only after producers committed the embarrassing mistake of handing the wrong card to presenters who announced “La La Land” as the winner.

There was some confusion from the outset as legend and award presenter Warren Beatty hesitated to read the card he was handed at the Feb. 26 Oscar ceremony. After a painful pregnant pause, Beatty’s co-presenter and fellow star in the classic “Bonnie & Clyde” movie, Faye Dunaway, read that “La La Land” was the winner, causing the Dolby Theater to explode with cheers.

Soon after “La La Land’s” cast made their speeches and thank-yous, there was commotion onstage. Then “La La Land” producer Jordan Horowitz shouted: “Wait, there is a mistake. ‘Moonlight,’ you guys won best picture.”

Another pregnant pause as everyone – onstage and in the audience, including the “Moonlight” cast – had confusion pasted on their faces.

“It is not a joke,” Horowitz said. “It’s not a joke. I’m afraid they read the wrong thing.

No, this is not a joke. ‘Moonlight’ has won best picture.”

Beatty then opens the envelope and Horowitz holds up the card and says, “‘Moonlight’ best picture.”

The card read: “‘Moonlight’; Adele Romanski, Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, producers; best picture.”

Mahershala Ali, who won best supporting actor for “Moonlight,” hugs Barry Jenkins on the floor.

People’s mouths are open in surprise.

Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel: “This is very unfortunate what happened. Personally, I blame Steve Harvey for this.”

Turning to Horowitz, “I would like to see you get an Oscar anyways. Why can’t we hand out a bunch of them?”

Horowitz: “I am going to be proud to hand this to my friends from ‘Moonlight.’”

Kimmel: “That’s very nice of you.”

Confusion reigned after a mix-up over the best picture winner at the Feb. 26 Oscar ceremony.

Beatty: “Can I say something? Hello.

Hello.”

Kimmel: “Warren, what did you do?” as he laughs.

Beatty turns to the audience to explain that the faux pas was not his fault.

“I want to tell you what happened. I opened the envelope and it said Emma Stone, ‘La La Land.’ That’s why I took such a long look at Faye, and at you. I wasn’t trying to be funny,” Beatty said as he released a nervous chuckle and was clearly blushing.

By this time, the “Moonlight” cast was on the stage.

Jenkins: “Very clearly, even in my dreams this could not be true. But to hell with dreams because this is true. Oh my goodness! I have to say this is true. It is not fake. We have been on the road with these guys for so long and that was so gracious of you. My love to ‘La La Land.’ My love to everybody.

“There was a time when I thought this movie was impossible because I couldn’t bring it to fruition. I couldn’t bring myself to tell another story. So everybody behind me on this stage said no that is not acceptable.

So I just want to thank everybody up here behind me. Everybody out there in that room because we didn’t do this. You guys chose us.

Thank you for the choice. I appreciate it.”

Viola Davis won best supporting actress for “Fences,” and Ezra Edelman won for best documentary feature for “O.J.: Made In America,” making four Oscars for African Americans out of seven nominations.

These Oscar wins by African Americans follow the 2016 ceremony when no person of color was nominated, leading to the now infamous #oscarsowhite hashtag.

In a statement Monday, accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, which has tabulated Oscar winners and handed out winning envelopes for 83 years, apologized to the two movies, Dunaway and Beatty, and Oscar viewers “for the error that was made during

the award announcement for best picture.”

It said the presenters were mistakenly given the wrong category envelope.

“When discovered, [it] was immediately corrected,” the firm said. “We are currently investigating how this could have happened, and deeply regret that this occurred. We appreciate the grace with which the nominees, the academy, ABC and Jimmy Kimmel handled the situation.”

On Wednesday, the academy said the PricewaterhouseCoopers partners behind the mix-up, Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz, will no longer tabulate votes and hand out envelopes containing winners’ names.

CrossRoadsNews

10

Finance

March 4, 2017

“Every time you donate a full bag or box of gently used goods to Goodwill, we are able to provide an hour of job training.”

Mixed-use project near Avondale MARTA station seeks rezoning

By Rosie Manins

A developer’s plan to rezone almost nine acres at East Ponce de Leon and North Arcadia avenues in Decatur to build a new housing and retail complex will be considered by the DeKalb Planning Commission at its March 8 meeting.

The county government has received a rezoning application from Alliance Realty Services for a mixed-use development comprising up to 270 apartments, a grocery store, and additional retail space near the Avondale MARTA station.

The Planning Commission will decide whether the land, currently zoned Light Industrial, should have a Neighborhood Center

zoning when it considers the application at its 6:30 p.m. meeting in the Manuel Maloof Auditorium at 1300 Commerce Drive in Decatur. The commission’s recommendation and the developer’s application will then be considered by the DeKalb Board of Commissioners on March 28.

The 8.9-acre parcel of land is on the north side of East Ponce de Leon Avenue and the east side of North Arcadia Avenue, along both sides of Grove Place, encompassing 11 properties – 153, 161, 165, and 173 Grove Place; 2700 Grove St.; and 2716, 2706, 2700, 2688, 2734, and 2748 E. Ponce de Leon Ave. Those properties have a combined total value of $2.9 million, as listed on the DeKalb

Tax Commissioner’s Office website.

The land has about 990 feet of frontage along North Arcadia Avenue, 726 feet fronting Grove Place, 250 feet fronting Grove Street, and 472 feet fronting East Ponce de Leon Avenue.

Fifty-five of the proposed apartments will be inside Decatur and the rest in unincorporated DeKalb.

The development’s 45,600-square-foot grocery store is rumored to be a Publix, although nothing has been officially announced.

Alliance Realty Services expects ground breaking to be at least two years from now.

Two other mixed-use developments are already being built near the Avondale

MARTA station.

Construction of a $42 million five-story complex with about 197 residential apartments and 8,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space began on the north side of East College Avenue – between Hillyer Street and Sams Crossing – in January when the project was officially signed off. That 3.17acre development is being driven by South City Partners.

A $120 million transit-oriented development on 7.7 acres on the south side of East College Avenue, opposite the rail station, broke ground on Nov. 28, 2016, and is expected to incorporate 378 apartments, 92 senior living units, and a plaza with 21,000 square feet of commercial space.

Career center moving temporarily Goodwill, Children’s Museum to Workforce Development space partner to promote local giving Unemployed workers and others seeking services at the Georgia Department of Labor’s North Metro Atlanta Career Center will have to visit its new temporary location at DeKalb Workforce Development in Decatur starting March 20.

The department is relocating the career center now in the Toco Hills Shopping Center at 2943 N. Druid Hills Road to temporary quarters with DeKalb Workforce Development. It will be in Building No. 4 at 774 Jordan Lane, effective March 20, and will be open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.

The relocation will begin at the close of business on March 16. On March 17, while the office equipment and staff are being moved to the new location, customers who may need employment-related services or assistance with unemployment insurance benefits can visit dol.georgia.gov.

A second GDOL office in the county, the DeKalb Career Center that had been on Covington Highway in Decatur for more than 20 years, was permanently closed in early 2015.

The North Metro relocation brings a career center closer to South DeKalb.

Customers also may visit other GDOL career centers, including South Metro, 263614 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in Atlanta; Gwinnett, 2211 Beaver Ruin Road, Suite 160, in Norcross; and Clayton, 1630 Phoenix Blvd., Suite 200, in College Park.

The North Metro center has been in space leased from EDENS LLC. The owner is not renewing the lease because the shopping center is being redeveloped and will not include government offices.

The career center will move into a permanent location once a site has been selected and the public will be notified.

The DeKalb Career Center at 3879 Covington Highway in the Pendley Hills Shopping Center, which served thousands of people a year, closed after a motorist crashed a vehicle into the side of the building on Feb. 28, 2015. A GDOL spokesman said the decision not to reopen the center would save the department about $400,000 a year.

Residents who donate goods to any Goodwill of North Georgia location through March 11 will receive a “buy one, get one free” coupon to the Children’s Museum of Atlanta to promote local giving.

The coupon is redeemable March 4-11 and aligns with the museum’s “From Here to There” exhibit, which explores the science of how things move by land, sea and air. The offer is good while supplies last.

Summer Dunham, Goodwill director of public relations, said donations directly support its mission to put people to work.

“Every time you donate a full bag or box of gently used goods to Goodwill, we are able to provide an hour of job training for job seekers here in our community,” Dunham said in a Feb. 15 statement.

Last year, the nonprofit placed 20,903 North Georgians into jobs.

Goodwill’s mission is made possible by revenue from the donated goods sold in its retail stores.

It operates 13 career centers that are free and open to the public Summer Dunham and also offers an online job search tool, Career Connector powered by Goodwill, that provides job seekers 24-hour access to employment resources and local job postings.

The organization gives job training and placement assistance to people with barriers to employment and to those seeking credentials in a skilled trade.

“Just in time for spring cleaning, this partnership with Children’s Museum of Atlanta will help make giving back even more enjoyable,” Dunham said. “Kids can make space in their closets, support the local community and have a little fun in return.”

For more information, visit http://goodwillng.org and http://childrensmuseumatlanta. org/exhibits/from-here-to-there.

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CrossRoadsNews

March 4, 2017

11 03/04, 03/11, 03/18, 03/25

Notice of Petition to CHANGE Name of ADULT in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Legal Notices 02/11, 02/18, 02/25, 03/04

Notice of Petition to CHANGE Name of ADULT in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM1526-2

By ORDER of the Court for service by publication dated Jan. 31, 2017, you are hereby notified that on Jan. 13, 2017, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for Name Change.

You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court and to service upon the plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: 2895 Alameda Trl., Decatur, GA 30084. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days Jan. 31, 2017.

Witness the Honorable Asha F. Jackson, Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 2nd day of Feb., 2017 02/11, 02/18, 02/25, 03/04

Notice of Petition to CHANGE Name of MINOR CHILD(REN) in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

DeKalb County Superior Court on Jan. 30, 2017 to change name from: Tanka Maya Dartee to Chunku Siwa. Any interested party has the right to appear In this case and file objections within 30 days after the Petition was filed.

Dated: Jan. 13, 2017 02/25, 03/04, 03/11, 03/18

Notice of Petition to CHANGE Name of MINOR CHILD(REN) in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM1283-4 Schaquita Morris filed a petition in the DeKalb County Superior Court on Dec. 30, 2016 to change name(s) following minor child(ren) from: Kateerah Monea Woods White to Kateerah Monea Woods-White. Any interested party has the right to appear In this case and file objections within the time prescribed in OCGA 19-12-1(f)(2) and (3).

Dated: Dec. 29, 2016 03/04, 03/11, 03/18, 03/25

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM1763-3 Antoinette Porter filed a petition in the DeKalb County Superior Court on Jan. 30, 2017 to change name(s) following minor child(ren) from: Kerriah Tuiana Denson to Kierra Tuiana Denson. Any interested party has the right to appear In this case and file objections within the time prescribed in OCGA 19-12-1(f) (2) and (3).

Dated: Jan. 10, 2017 02/11, 02/18, 02/25, 03/04

Notice of Petition to CHANGE Name of ADULT

Notice of Petition to CHANGE Name of ADULT in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM2121-7 Baby Green filed a petition in the DeKalb County Superior Court on Feb. 08, 2017 to change name from: Baby Green to Earl William Green. Any interested party has the right to appear In this case and file objections within 30 days after the Petition was filed.

Dated: Jan. 20, 2017 03/04, 03/11, 03/18, 3/25

Notice of Petition to CHANGE Name of MINOR CHILD(REN)

in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM1788-10 Tanka Maya Dartee filed a petition in the

in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM2089-7 Lisa Michelle Williams filed a petition in the DeKalb County Superior Court on Jan. 24, 2017 to change name(s) following minor child(ren) from: Sydney Milan Brown and Ava Elise Brown to Sydney Milan Williams and Ava Elise Williams.

Any interested party has the right to appear In this case and file objections within the time prescribed in OCGA 19-12-1(f)(2) and (3).

Dated: Jan. 24, 2017 03/04, 03/11, 03/18, 03/25

Notice of PUBLICATION in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM2089-7 Lisa Michelle Williams PLAINTIFF VS Kennard Darius Brown DEFENDANT To:

By ORDER of the Court service for service by publication dated Feb. 13, 2017.

You are hereby notified that on Feb. 08, 2017, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for: Petition to change names of minor children, Sydney and Ava Brown. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Lisa Michelle Williams, 219 Buchanan Terrace, Dec., GA 30030.

Answer in writing within sixty (60) days of Feb. 13, 2017.

Witness the Honorable Daniel M. Coursey, Jr., Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 13th day of Feb., 2017 03/04, 03/11, 03/18, 03/25

Notice of PUBLICATION in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM1368-7 Destiny Upshaw

PLAINTIFF VS Alton Upshaw DEFENDANT To: 1716 Ellington St. Decatur, GA 30032

By ORDER of the Court service for service by publication dated Feb. 09, 2017.

You are hereby notified that on Jan. 17, 2017, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for Divorce. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Destiny Upshaw, 2454 Shiloh Dr., Decatur, GA 30034. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days of Feb. 09, 2017.

Witness the Honorable Daniel M. Coursey, Jr., Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 9th day of Feb., 2017

03/04, 03/11, 03/18, 03/25

Notice of Petition to CHANGE Name of ADULT in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM2593 Courtney Falcon Hardt filed a petition in the DeKalb County Superior Court to change name from: Courtney Falcon Hardt to Cleo Falcon Ledvina Hardt. Any interested party has the right to appear In this case and file objections within 30 days after the Petition was filed.

Dated: Jan. 04, 2017 03/04, 03/11, 03/18, 03/25

03/04, 03/11, 03/18, 03/25

Notice of Petition to CHANGE Name of ADULT

Notice of PUBLICATION in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM2348-1 Clifton Phillips, Jr., filed a petition in the DeKalb County Superior Court on Feb. 16, 2017 to change name from: Clifton Phillips, Jr., to Clifford Phillips. Any interested party has the right to appear In this case and file objections within 30 days after the Petition was filed.

Dated: Feb. 08, 2017

Civil Action Case Number: 16FM13201-7 Paola Mendoza PLAINTIFF VS Hector Rangel DEFENDANT To: Hector Rangel Unknown

By ORDER of the Court service for service by publication dated Jan. 05, 2017.

You are hereby notified that on Dec. 22, 2017, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for Divorce, fallen out of contact for more than 5 years.. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Paola Mendoza, 3602 Meadowglenn Village Ln., Apt. C, Atlanta, GA 30340.

Answer in writing within sixty (60) days of Jan. 05, 2017.

Witness the Honorable Daniel M. Coursey, Jr., Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 6th day of Feb., 2017

name(s) following minor child(ren) from: Marquez Davis to Marquez Reynoso Any interested party has the right to appear In this case and file objections within the time prescribed in OCGA 19-12-1(f)(2) and (3).

Dated: Nov. 22, 2016 03/04, 03/11, 03/18, 03/25

Notice of PUBLICATION in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 16FM11196-6 Tavish Liggons PLAINTIFF VS Sharika C. Stevenson DEFENDANT To: Sharika C. Stevenson

By ORDER of the Court service for service by publication dated Feb. 13, 2017. You are hereby notified that on Oct. 21, 2016, the above-named Plaintiff filed suit against you for Divorce. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon the Plaintiff’s attorney whose name and address is: Tavish Liggons #1001001150; Jenkins Correctional Center, 3404 Kent Farm Dr., Miller, GA 30442. Answer in writing within sixty (60) days of Feb. 09, 2017.

Witness the Honorable J.P. Boulee; Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 22nd day of Feb., 2017

03/04, 03/11, 03/18, 03/25

Notice of PUBLICATION

in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM2517-10 Shelia Largen, a/k/a Shelia Smith filed a petition in the DeKalb County Superior Court on Feb. 22, 2017 to change name from: Shelia Lois Largen to Shelia Lois Smith. Any interested party has the right to appear In this case and file objections within 30 days after the Petition was filed.

Dated: Feb. 09, 2017 03/04, 03/11, 03/18, 3/25

Notice of Petition to CHANGE Name of MINOR CHILD(REN) in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 16FM12298-3 Noelani Reynoso-Carrasoco filed a petition in the DeKalb County Superior Court on Nov. 23, 2016 to change

in the Superior Court of DeKalb County State of Georgia

Civil Action Case Number: 17FM2437-7 Julie Marie Brown PLAINTIFF VS Byron Brown DEFENDANT To: Byron Brown 1158 Applegate Lane Sandy Springs, GA 30350

By ORDER of the Court service for service by publication dated 24th day of 2017. You are hereby notified that on 17th day of Feb. 2017, the abovenamed Plaintiff filed suit against you for Abandonment. You are required to file with the Clerk of Superior Court, and to serve upon Plaintiff Julie Marie Brown-PRO-SE an Answer in writing within sixty (60) days of the first date of publication.

Witness the Honorable Daniel M. Coursey, Jr.; Judge of the DeKalb Superior Court.

This the 24th day of Feb., 2017

DeKalb County Sheriff Office

Jeffrey L. Mann, Sheriff 4415 Memorial Drive Decatur, GA 30032 Sex Offender

Sex Offender

Richard Adams 2600 Laurice Court Decatur, GA 30034 Charge of Sexual Battery Against Child Under 16 Convicted 1/9/2012

Sex Offender

David Alicea 7757 Providence Point Way Lithonia, GA 30058 Charge of Sexual Assault Carnal Abuse Convicted 6/4/2008

Sex Offender

Sex Offender

Sex Offender

Sex Offender

Sex Offender

Donald Campbell 3121 Topawa Place Lithonia, GA 30038 Charge of Rape 2nd degree Convicted 11/8/1993

James Duchesneau 1300 Briarcliff Road, NE Atlanta, GA 30306 Convicted of Sodomy 1st Degree Convicted 11/15/2001

Robbie Garrett 6966 Mahonia Place Lithonia, GA 30038 Charge of Sexual Assault Rape 1st Degree Convicted 4/29/1998

Damion Hindsman 3850 Memorial Drive, Apt. C15 Decatur, GA 30032 Charge of Child Molestation Convicted 1/17/2017

Anthony Perry 4095 Lindsey Drive Decatur, GA 30035 Charge of Aggravated Assault with intent to Rape Convicted 4/12/2005

Russell Stafford 3676 Daisy Drive Decatur, GA 30032 Charge of Child Molestation Convicted 10/22/1997

Sex Offender

Sex Offender

Sex Offender

Sex Offender

Sex Offender

Sex Offender

Sex Offender

Marvin Brooks 1212 Lake Point Lane Stone Mountain, GA 30088 Charge of Aggravated Sexual Battery Convicted 12/17/1992

Jeffrey Spencer Causey 700 Post Road Trace Stone Mountain, GA 30088 Charge of Statutory Rape Convicted 4/12/2011

Kevin Durden 3817 Brookside Pkwy Decatur, GA 30034 Charge of Child Molestation Convicted 1/9/2012

Steven Golden 4523 Houseworth Drive Lithonia, GA 30038 Charge of Statutory Rape Convicted 4/17/2006

Sex Offender

Sex Offender

Sex Offender

Jonathan Lay 2678 Rainbow Forest Drive Decatur, GA 30034 Charge of Lewd and Lascivious or Indecent Act Fondling Victim Convicted 1/5/1999

Preston Plummer 6554 Browns Mill Ferry Drive Lithonia, GA 30038 Charge of Sexual Battery Weapon or Force Convicted 1/17/1992

Juan Valerio 4422 Northeast Expressway, Room 232 Doraville, GA 30340 Charge of Aggravated Sexual Assault on a Child Convicted 10/20/2000

Sex Offender

Sex Offender

Sex Offender

Sex Offender

Deon Cain 3863 Memorial Drive, Apt. 1402 Decatur, GA 30032 Charge of Aggravated Child Molestation Convicted 10/1/1998

The DeKalb Sex Offenders List is published by the DeKalb County Sheriff Office. For more information call the Sex Offender Unit at 404-298-8130.

Fred Chatham 547 Church Street Decatur, GA 30030 Charge of Computer Pornography Convicted 11/2/2005

Ernest Fields 4333 Woodcrest Court Stone Mountain, GA 30083 Convicted of Sexual Assault 4/19/1991

William Harris 2937 Ashlyn Pointe Drive Doraville, GA 30340 Charge of Child Molestation Convicted 10/31/2002

Alonzo Midget aka Lonnie Midget 1343 Muirforest Way Stone Mountain, GA 30088 Charge of Rape Convicted 1/11/1996

Melvin Roberts 183 Eastwyck Circle Decatur, GA 30032 Charge of Child Molestation Convicted 7/2/2007

Neil Wormley 1887 Stockton Street Decatur, GA 30032 Charge of Aggravated Child Molestation Convicted 3/26/2001

CrossRoadsNews

12

March 4, 2017

ONE DAY

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OPEN A MACY’S ACCOUNT FOR EXTRA 20% SAVINGS THE FIRST 2 DAYS, UP TO $100, 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, selected licensed departments, gift cards, restaurants, gourmet food & wine. The new account savings are limited to a total of $100; application must qualify for immediate approval to receive extra savings; employees not eligible.

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