Inside
Education Guide Winter 2013 PAGES 13 - 28
Hot stuff Three ongoing issues fire up residents COMMUNITY 3
Out the door?
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JAN. 11 — JAN. 24, 2013 • VOL. 4 — NO. 1
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Going to be a busy year
Petition circulating to remove school board COMMUNITY 4
Party on Synagogue celebrates 125th anniversary FAITH 6
Street feet Group brings warmth, love to homeless MAKING A DIFFERENCE 8
Warning shot Gun control discussion needed now COMMENTARY 11
Unplain Jane Literary society reveres novelist Austen COMMUNITY 32
Number one Police chief named ‘Citizen of the Year’ COMMUNITY 38
PHIL MOSIER
From left, Rep. Wendell Willard (R-Sandy Springs), Rep. Tom Taylor (R-Dunwoody) and Sen. Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody) discuss issues such as ethics reform, an independent school system for Dunwoody, and the state’s budget woes at a legislative forum at Dunwoody United Methodist Church on Jan. 6. More photos on page 31.
Legislators gearing up for return to Gold Dome
Court extends order halting Brook Run trail
BY MELISSA WEINMAN
BY TOM ODER
As state legislators head back to the Gold Dome in 2013, they have a lot to think about. One local issue the state’s lawmakers may be asked to confront is the controversy surrounding DeKalb County’s school board. The system was recently placed on accreditation probation by AdvancED, the accrediting agency. Sen. Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody), who chairs the Senate Education Committee, said at a recent forum that DeKalb County schools are his No. 1 priority. “I’m guardedly optimistic we can turn this thing around,” Millar said. A Jan. 17 hearing of the Georgia Board of Education is scheduled to consider suspending the DeKalb school board members. If
A court order halting construction of a controversial multi-use trail through Brook Run Park was extended after a boisterous Friday afternoon hearing in DeKalb County Superior Court attended by city officials and dozens of opponents of the city’s plan. Judge Tangela M. Barrie said her temporary restraining order against the trail will remain in effect until she holds a full hearing on the matter. Barrie said homeowners who oppose the city’s plan for the trail must convince her that its construction through the forest in Brook Run Park should be permanently stopped. Critics are upset the planned 12-foot-wide concrete trail will require removal of more than 300 trees. City officials say an equal number of trees will be replanted. The judge’s decision to extend her temporary order capped a two-hour hearing before a packed courtroom. Chairs were add-
SEE LEGISLATORS, PAGE 34
SEE BROOK RUN, PAGE 35
melissaweinman@reporternewspapers.net
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