MARCH 2 - 15, 2018 • VOL. 10 — NO. 5

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► Democratic candidates for governor stake out positions PAGE 4 ► Brookhaven Park is going to the dogs, residents complain PAGE 12

Coping with a Crisis: Opioid addiction in the suburbs EXCLUSIVE SERIES

Life after death: Families turn obituaries into protests against the stigma of addiction

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Builders challenge city on granite curbing, ‘sidewalks to nowhere’ BY DYANA BAGBY dyanabagby@reporternewspapers.net

Ronald Koenraad walked along Woodrow Way on a recent Saturday afternoon, pointing to the cracks and crumbling in the granite curbing that lines the road along a resident’s side yard. “You can see where it’s deteriorated,” the professional house-builder said. “They just don’t work.” At another stop, Koenraad showed where a large slab of granite curbing has tilted over into a ditch. It was another example of granite curbing failing in the city, he said. Walking with Koenraad was City Councilmember John Park. Park snapped a photo of the tilted granite curb with his phone and typed in information for Brookhaven Connect, the city’s mobile app that allows residents to report code violations, sidewalk problems or potholes. Koenraad, who lives in Brookhaven and has been building million-dollar homes in MAX BLAU

Larry and Peggy Lord display a childhood photo of their sons Ashby and Hunter. Ashby, at right, died of a heroin overdose last year.

BY MAX BLAU

O

n a Sunday afternoon last April, the moment Larry Lord had dreaded for roughly two decades finally happened. His wife, Peggy, found their 35-year-old son Ashby no longer breathing in the basement of their ranch home on Sandy Springs’ Mount Paran Road. She tried performing CPR and called 911. But nothing the paramedics did could revive Ashby after a heroin overdose. Larry was devastated. Like many family members after a death, he faced the task of writing an obituary so that newspapers and the funeral home could inform their loved ones. Larry, an architect, considered himself a problem-solver.

First of a 4-Part Series The combination of prescription painkillers, heroin and synthetic opioids is killing people around the nation, including within Reporter Newspapers communities. In this exclusive four-part series, we will look at how local families, nurses, prosecutors, recovering addicts and others are responding to a growing epidemic that already kills more people than cars, guns or breast cancer each year. To share your thoughts and stories, email editor@reporternewspapers.net

A doctor’s overview of the opioid crisis. See Commentary, page 10 ► Usually, he could sketch out new doors or windows to make design problems disappear. He’d written obituaries, too,

most recently for his first wife and Ashby’s mother, Shannon, after she died from complications of cancer. But the circumstances of Ashby’s life posed difficult questions in how to talk about his death. Euphemisms are a tradition of sorts for overdose victims. Their obituaries say that they left this world or entered eternal rest while glossing over how it happened. The reasons vary from not speaking ill of the dead to a fear that it might reflect poorly on the living. “For many years, you never saw the word ‘addiction’ in an obit,” says Dr. Frances Levin, a psychiatry professor at Columbia University Medical Center. “That’s because of the stigma related to Continued on page 8

See BUILDERS on page 14

City officials: SPLOST is flawed with no park funding allowed BY DYANA BAGBY dyanabagby@reporternewspapers.net

City leaders knew a new county tax was flawed and would end funding for parks improvements, but say they couldn’t do anything about it because it was destined for the ballot. “It is hard to make perfect legislation,” Councilmember Bates Mattison said in speaking of the 1 percent special local option sales tax overwhelmingly approved by DeKalb voters last year. “But it was going to See CITY on page 13

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The city’s Zoning Board of Appeals voted Feb. 21 to approve two variances for Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church and its school. The two variances allow the church to reduce its parking from 337 spaces to 274 spaces and to increase its lot coverage from 35 GOOGLE MAP IMAGE percent to 60 percent A Google map image of Our Lady of the as part of its school exAssumption Catholic Church and school. pansion and addition of a new rectory. police department in coming up with OLA, located at 1320 Hearst Drive, redifferent ways to alleviate the notorious ceived approval in December from the City congestion in the neighborhood. Council for three special land use permits Former mayor J. Max Davis, who also as part of its expansion, which will add 28 has children attending OLA, said two more students for a total of 608 students in years ago the City Council approved pre-K through eighth grade. funding for a sidewalk from Lanier Drive But traffic continues to remain an to St. Martin’s Episcopal School at 3110 issue for neighbors of the church and Ashford-Dunwoody Road. school, which have operated on Hearst “When the city finally builds that sideDrive for 66 years. walk you will see a transformation,” Davis Ben Fons has lived at 1347 Hearst said. More kids will be able to safely walk to Drive for 37 years and spoke out against school and will help reduce traffic, he said. the variances. Cars idling in the carpool lane in front of his house for about an ZBA DEFER S A C T IO N O N hour during drop-off and pick-up times A S HT O N WO O DS create pollution and exhaust fumes, he The city’s Zoning Board of Appeals votsaid. Because he suffers from severe meded to defer action until April 18 on variance ical conditions, the fumes make it harder requests from Ashton Woods on its townfor him to breathe, he said. home and single-family development at Carolyn Denise, also a Hearst Drive 1330 North Druid Hills Road, the site of the resident, also opposed the variances. As city’s former Boys & Girls Club. a member of a committee that is raisAshton Woods is seeking to: reduce the ing funds to dredge Silver Lake, she said front yard setback from 35 feet to 25 feet OLA has never contributed any money along all public street frontages; reduce the to the project over the years. rear yard setback from 60 feet to 30 feet; de“They have not contributed a dime to lete the transitional buffer zone; reduce the the lake. But they do contribute to the runfront yard setback from 30 feet to 10 feet for off into the lake,” she said. “And the traffic is single family detached lots; and reduce the so terrible. When does it ever end?” rear yard setback from 30 feet to 20 feet for Those speaking in favor of the variancsingle family detached lots. es were members of the church with chilCity staff recommended Ashton Woods dren attending the school, as well as OLA’s withdraw its request to reduce the rear yard communications director Ann Stevens. She setback from 60 feet to 30 feet for the townsaid the church and school actively partichome development and recommended the ipate in bettering the community through other variances with several conditions. food drives, blood drives, helping at homeNeighborhood activist Terrell less shelters and its Adopt-a-Cop program Carstens stated in an email to the ZBA with the Brookhaven Police Department. that Ashton Woods was well aware of the Stevens also said students at OLA who conditions in place when the council apare members of the Boys and Girls Scouts proved in December rezoning the propervolunteer by cleaning up trails around ty from R-75 (single-family residential) to Silver Creek. RM-100 (multifamily residential). Eric Johnson, a member of the church “The inability to comply is purely selfwith children attending OLA school, said imposed by design and the only hardship is a traffic task force was formed following clearly financial,” she said. the December council meeting. Council– Dyana Bagby member Linley Jones recommended OLA find a way to involve neighbors and the BK

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Community Briefs EAR L I ER PER M IT TI MES N O W AVA IL ABLE

The city started earlier permit window times for land disturbance permits, building permits, tree permits, trade permits and interior renovation permits following a 35-day moratorium on zoning and construction permits. The new window for these specific permits will be from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The new times began Feb. 28 after the City Council voted to lift the zoning moratorium at its Feb. 27 meeting. Other applications for non-construction activities, such as business and alcohol permits or zoning applications will continue to be accepted during normal operating hours, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The City Council voted to approve the zoning and construction moratorium at its Jan. 23 meeting. The moratorium was needed because when the city incorporated five years and approved the DeKalb County zoning code, the zoning code did not carry over conditions and variances, according to City Attorney Chris Balch.

CITY OF BROOKHAVEN

City Councilmember John Park, far left, Mayor John Ernst and Parks & Recreation Director Brian Borden at Ashford Forest Preserve in 2017.

CIT Y R EN A M ES 3 3-A C RE G REEN S PA C E A S A SH F ORD FO R E S T PR ESERVE

The City Council unanimously approved Feb. 27 renaming what has been known as the PDK airport green space as the Ashford Forest Preserve. The city purchased the 33 acres of land between Clairmont Road and Skyland Drive from DeKalb County last year for $5.7 million. The name Ashford Forest Preserve was requested by the North DeKalb Greenspace Alliance, a nonprofit formed by local residents who have been working since the 1990s to preserve the large tract of land as a public park. The organization incorporated in 2015. The alliance’s board of directors recently voted to recommend naming the park Ashford Forest Preserve, said City Councilmember John Park. “We are moving forward on the work to ensure that the property is safe for all residents to enjoy, and this begins with a BK

competitive bid process to perform the remediation and order signage,” said Mayor John Ernst. “It’s appropriate that we give this park its name first.” The 33 acres of land was originally designated as a “crash zone” for a now-decommissioned runway for DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, originally part of the World War I military training facility Camp Gordon. The property includes mature trees, a stream, wildlife and native plants. “We delivered on our promise to the dedicated citizens in this community who have been lobbying for years to have this land preserved,” said City Councilmember John Park. “Brookhaven is now solely responsible for the future of this priceless urban forest, and the real work is about to begin.” Ken Yates of Brookhaven and a member of the North DeKalb Greenspace Alliance, thanked the city for saving the forest “from certain destruction and development.” “The city has truly embraced that preservation is progress,” Yates said.

N URSES SU SPECTED IN DEATH O F WWII VETER AN AR R ESTED

Three women charged in the death of a Brookhaven nursing home resident in 2014 face many charges after a recent grand jury indictment, according to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office. A grand jury warrant for the arrests of Wanda Nuckles, 61, Loyce Pickquet Agyeman, 63, and Mable Turman, 62, was received by the sheriff’s office on Feb. 22. Nuckles, of Buford, Georgia, a former licensed practical nurse, surrendered to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 23. She is charged with depriving an elder person of essential services and with concealing the death of another. Nuckles remains in custody at the DeKalb County Jail. DeKalb County Sheriff’s Fugitive Unit investigators arrested Agyeman at her residence on Parkwood Road in Snellville on Feb. 23. She is charged with felony murder and neglect to a disabled adult. Agyeman, who is a licensed nurse practitioner, was released on $10,000 bond. Turman, of Sullivan Road in College Park, was also arrested Feb. 23 at a Jonesboro residence. Her charges include murder, abuse neglect, exploitation of a disabled or elder person, and concealing the death of another. Turman, a certified nurse assistant, is in custody at the DeKalb County Jail. According to the DeKalb District Attorney’s office, charges stemmed from the Feb. 27, 2014 death of 89-year-old James Dempsey, a World War II veteran, who was a patient where the three women worked at Northeast Atlanta Rehabilitation Center in Brookhaven. Video surveillance shows the patient suffering in respiratory distress and repeatedly calling out for help, DA spokesperson Yvette Jones said in a press release.

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Stacey Abrams, right, speaks while Stacey Evans listens at the Feb. 22 forum.

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The governor’s race came to Sandy Springs Feb. 22, as Democratic contenders Stacey Abrams and Stacey Evans appeared at a private candidates forum hosted by the Jewish Democrat-

ic Women’s Salon, a Facebook-based group with more than 1,000 members. The “two Staceys” are both former state representatives who hope to replace term-limited Republican incumbent Nathan Deal in this fall’s election. At the forum, held at Heritage Sandy Springs, they largely agreed on such

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issues as regional and statewide mass transit; expanding Medicaid and the HOPE Scholarship program for higher education; and supporting small businesses as well as the state currently incentivizes such big businesses as Amazon. Both Democrats would veto laws allowing firearms on college campuses. Evans added that while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been “bullied out of” studying gun violence by a federal funding restriction, she would order a state-level study as governor. The candidates also agreed that “religious liberty” legislation is intended as discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. To end it once and for all, however, Evans said moderate Republican lawmakers would keep it from a vote, while Abrams called for a forceful statement that LGBT Georgians will be protected by the state. Differences emerged on the tactics Democrats should use to break their statewide office losing streak, while also being able to work with Republicans in the legislature. Abrams called for motivating disengaged Democrats, saying that “we spend millions of dollars trying to convince Republican women in the suburbs that they really meant to be Democrats [and] they were just confused. That has not worked, not once.” Evans, by contrast, said, “You can’t be afraid to persuade,” while acknowledging that still won’t flip a Republican area at the ballot box but can move policy forward. Abrams and Evans also discussed their differing votes in 2016 on a state law banning large contracts with anyone who supports the controversial Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement, which seeks to pressure Israel into making various policy changes seen as favorable to Palestinians. Evans voted in the favor of the ban, saying it shows a pro-Israel position, while Abrams voted against it, saying she respects the civil right of boycotting, while finding this particular version to be “wrong” and “anti-Semitic.” Among the approximately 200 people attending the forum were state Sen. Jen Jordan, a Democrat who recently won the Buckhead-area District 6 seat; Sandy Springs City Councilmember Andy Bauman; Bobby Kaple, one of the Democrats seeking to challenge U.S. Rep. Karen Handel in 6th Congressional District this year; and Mike Wilensky, a Democrat seeking to replace Republican Tom Taylor in Dunwoody’s House District 79. The primary election is scheduled for May 22. Republican contenders currently campaigning include Casey Cagle, Hunter Hill, Brian Kemp, Clay Tippin, Marc Alan Urbach and Michael Williams.

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PERFORMANCES ATLANTA JEWISH MUSIC FESTIVAL Thursday, March 8 to Sunday, March 25

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Celebrate the Atlanta Science Festival [atlantasciencefestival. org] with the Blue Heron Nature Preserve by taking a naturalist-led family hike and scavenger hunt at the preserve’s Emma Wetlands. Free. 4055 Roswell Road, Buckhead. Info: bhnp.org.

Monday, March 12 to Saturday, March 17

The Sandy Springs Tennis Center, a public facility with 24 lighted courts, offers a week of free tennis activities for adults and kids in this second annual event. Tennis instruction, prizes, drawings and refreshments. 500 Abernathy Road, Sandy Springs. Info: sandyspringstennis.com.

Saturday, March 17, 2 to 3:30 p.m.

The festival returns for its ninth year with a diverse musical lineup of local, national and international musicians performing in locations throughout metro Atlanta including the Ahavath Achim Synagogue in Buckhead and the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta in Dunwoody. Highlights include Grammy winner Marc Cohn, Yemenite funk group Yemen Blues, and a special presentation of Billy Joel by ATL Collective. Tickets and other info: atlantajmf.org.

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ATLANTA CONCERT BAND Sunday, March 11, 4 p.m.

The Atlanta Concert Band presents “The British Folk Revival,” a concert featuring British composers. Free; donations accepted. Ahavath Achim Synagogue, 600 Peachtree Battle Ave. NW, Buckhead. Info: atlantaconcertband.org.

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LEARN SOMETHING NORTHSIDE HEALTH SCREENINGS Wednesday, March 7, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Free screenings for adults include tests for non-fasting cholesterol and glucose, coronary risk profile, osteoporosis, cancer risk and audiology. Advance registration requested. Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta at Zaban Park, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Info: 678-8124063 or atlantajcc.org/pldb-live/northside-health-screenings-37527.

SMALL SPACE GARDENING

Saturday, March 10, 11 a.m. Master Gardener Tielke Baker discusses planning, planting and harvesting maximum production from small space gardening in an event presented by Dunwoody Community Garden and Orchard. DCGO greenhouse complex, opposite the skate park at Brook Run Park. 4770 Georgia Way South, Dunwoody. Info: dcgo.org.

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ry Center’s Cherokee Garden Library, will speak about the state’s historic gardens at this month’s meeting of the Dunwoody Garden Club. The club meets monthly on second Wednesdays from September through May. Free. North DeKalb Cultural Center, Room 4, 5339 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road. Info: dunwoodygardenclub.com.

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FREE TAX FILING Ongoing through Saturday, April 14

The Community Assistance Center in Sandy Springs is offering free tax preparation assistance through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, which is an initiative of the IRS and United Way. Certified VITA tax prep volunteers will prepare and file tax returns for low- to moderate-income households earning up to $55,000 in 2017. Appointments required. CAC also offers training for VITA volunteers. 1130 Hightower Trail, Sandy Springs. Info: 770-552-4889, ext. 260 or email vita@ourcac.org.

Thursday, March 8, 7:30 to 9 p.m.

Emory scholar Dr. Jonathan Crane will discuss ethical concerns about self-driving cars at Temple Emanu-El as part of the synagogue’s TE Talks speaker series. A Q&A will follow his presentation. Crane is the Schinazi Scholar in Bioethics and Jewish Thought at Emory University’s Center for Ethics. Free, registration required. 1580 Spalding Drive, Sandy Springs. Registration: templeemanuelatlanta.org/calendar.

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HISTORIC GARDENS OF GEORGIA Wednesday, March 14, 9:30 a.m.

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Coping with a Crisis: Opioid addiction in the suburbs

EXCLUSIVE SERIES

Life after death: Families turn obituaries into protests against the stigma of addiction

A young Ashby Lord on the beach in a family photo held by his father Larry. At right, Ashby’s obituary as it appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Continued from page 1 addictive disorders.” But with opioid deaths becoming increasingly common — roughly 50,000 people fatally overdosed in 2016 alone — more families are calling out addiction by its name to break the cycle of the stigma and shame associated with the disease. Like the well-worn tactic of holding a protest sign at a rally, the obituary has turned into a form of activism against the stigma of addiction. These obituaries include words of caution or advice. One for a 22-year-old Pennsylvania woman who died of a heroin overdose in 2016 reads: “The disease of addiction thrives in darkness and must be defeated in the light.” Another, written in 2015 for a 24-year-old Ohio man killed by heroin, offers: “They used to say it takes a community to raise a child. Today, we need to say that it takes a community to battle addiction. Someone you know is battling addiction; if your ‘gut instinct’ says something is wrong, it most likely is.” “I believe in honest expression,” Lar-

ry said in a recent interview at the family home. “You read about someone who died. You want to know. It never crossed my mind that I wouldn’t write about Ashby’s addiction.” Hours after Ashby died, Larry cleared off a space on his cluttered dining room table and started to write. He thought about how Ashby had grappled with the fear that myotonic dystrophy, an incurable genetic disease he’d inherited from his mother, might undercut his boldest ambitions. He started smoking pot as a student at the Galloway School in Buckhead, which later derailed his short-lived college soccer career, and spent his life cycling between using opioids and doing time in treatment. Larry wrote an opening line that went straight to the point: “Jonathan Ashby Lord, 35, died at home in Atlanta April 9, 2017, after a long struggle with myotonic dystrophy and drug addiction.” From there, Larry was faced with tougher decisions about the stark details. Do you mention the sight of Ashby’s cold, white lips on that fatal Sunday? Do you talk about the failed rehab

MAX BLAU

attempts? Do you gloss over the worst parts or mention it all to warn others? Larry’s wife, Peggy, urged him to be as candid as he felt comfortable doing. She remembered her sister’s response after learning how Ashby died: “Didn’t they go to church as children? Ashby wouldn’t have a drug problem if he’d come to church.” Peggy understood that talking about his disease as if it was a heart attack might have the power to demystify the nature of addiction. She felt the obituary might help others be more open — and if they were more open, perhaps they could work together to press for more research into the disease. Larry cranked out a first draft. He asked Peggy and his brother to give it a quick read. He’d gotten off to a good start, they told him. But what if he mentioned more about the good times to

capture Ashby’s full humanity? Larry agreed. Together, they added more details about how he loved playing with animals and talking to strangers. “Despite Ashby’s valiant struggle to overcome his drug addiction, the scourge of myotonic dystrophy coupled with addiction became a barrier to his creativity and athleticism,” Larry wrote. “Fortunately, this never interfered with Ashby’s love of animals, for which he had a special magnetism, or his particular talent for making friends with a wide variety of people.” From Brookhaven to Gainesville,

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other Georgia families have joined the Lords in acknowledging the role addiction played in a loved one’s death. Steve Ethridge hoped that writing about his younger brother’s death might lead to further research. On July 5, 2017, Timothy Ethridge was found dead in his Doraville residence. In the obituary, his family decided to write about how they had “watched in horror as his health declined” due to his alcohol and drug addiction. Steve, the author of the obituary, said the news should be out in “plain view” to show how bad addiction could get. “We decided to talk about it to help other people,” said his mother Edna, a resident of Brookhaven. “It ran in the [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]. I think it definitely helped others.” That was the hope of Kathy Fowler, a former DeKalb County elementary school teacher, after discovering that her 31-year-old son Joseph overdosed on heroin this past September. Joseph, a former student at Georgia State University’s Perimeter College in Dunwoody, had stayed clean for at eight months thanks to a recovery program. He’d found a job working as a cook in north Georgia. “Due to a heroin overdose, the light of a funny, intelligent, kind-hearted spirit was taken from our lives by a senseless and relentless drug,” Kathy wrote in the

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obituary. “Our family asks that you realize that no one is immune to the epidemic of opioid and heroin addiction that encumbers our culture.” When Larry finished Ashby’s obituary, he spoke with a minister to make sure the same sort of message would be conveyed at Ashby’s memorial service. Later that week, everyone from childhood friends to fellow former drug users in recovery traveled to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta to say one last goodbye to Ashby. They heard his story for better and worse. Some offered Larry condolences. Others thanked him for being honest. In talking about his son’s life, they said, he might somehow save the lives of other sons and daughters still in the throes of opioid addiction. Throughout that week, Larry says, several people had asked him, “What would you do differently?” “That’s the one that’s the hardest to answer,” he said. But one thing he wouldn’t change is those words in the obituary.

Max Blau is an Atlantabased journalist who has written about healthcare, drugs and addiction for such outlets as the Boston Globe and CNN.

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Commentary / The opioid epidemic: An American problem Editor’s Note: In this issue, Reporter Newspapers launches the special four-part series “Coping with a Crisis: Opioid Addiction in the Suburbs,” about local responses to an epidemic that is killing people nationwide and right here in our communities. Opioids are a class of addictive, often easily lethal drugs that include opium and morphine as well as substances with similar effects. Many opioids have legitimate medical uses for painkilling, but also can produce physical addiction and a sense of euphoria that attracts recreational drug users. National con-

troversy has raged over opioids available as prescription pills, such as oxycodone, while illegal varieties such as heroin and fentanyl now kill the most people through overdoses. Together, these opioids present complex problems to solve in both supply and demand. Hospital emergency rooms are a front line where opioids can be administered and where overdoses can be treated. The Reporter asked one local ER doctor to discuss the scope of the opioid crisis and what it brings through his doors every day.

A doctor’s overview of the opioid crisis

became requirements with ramifications An opioid epidemic is sweeping this for financial reimbursements to healthcountry. The National Institutes of Health’s care entities. This led to the near univer(NIH) Institute on Drug Abuse currently essal adoption of pain as the fifth vital sign timates that 115 Americans die daily from in U.S. hospitals. So, when you come to opioid overdose. The NIH reports that 25 the Emergency Department with bronpercent of “chronic pain patients” misuse chitis or to have an insect reopioids, and 10 percent of those moved from your ear canal, patients develop an “opioid use you will be asked, “What is disorder.” Five percent of those your Pain Score?” patients will eventually move This did not go unnoticed on to heroin. Eighty percent of by the pharmaceutical comheroin users misused prescrippanies. OxyContin, a longtion opioids first. acting narcotic, was first marThis is primarily an Ameriketed in 1996. Big Pharma can problem, with a staggering has benefitted significantly 80 percent of the global supply Dr. Alan A. from opioids, over-exaggeratof opioids being consumed in Farabaugh ing the benefits while downthe United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Preven- is an emergency medicine playing the addiction risks. physician at Emory This has currently prompted tion (CDC) estimated in 2013 that Saint Joseph’s Hospital New York City to file lawsuits the economic cost of the opioid in Sandy Springs. against the pharmaceutical epidemic in the U.S. approximatcompanies for the manufaced $78 billion dollars annually. turing and distribution of the opioids. The epidemic has taken a while to beHowever, today the majority of opicome this prevalent, and many believe the oids in this country are illegally obproblem dates back to the 1990s. That’s tained and distributed. The amount of when the American Pain Society began to narcotics being received from Emerput forth the idea that pain was being ungency Department prescriptions are in dertreated. This eventually led to the conthe minority. cept of pain being “the fifth vital sign.” ViOpioid overdoses and fatalities have, tal signs traditionally are objective pieces unfortunately, become commonplace. of data used in medicine. Pain, however, is They are seen in the Emergency Departa completely subjective piece of data. ment on a daily basis. The Emergency The regulatory agencies of healthDepartment providers get lied to by pacare, The Joint Commission, a healthcare tients every single day, as patients ataccreditation organization, and the Centempt to receive narcotics. Drug dealters for Medicare and Medicaid Services ers are known to pay patients to come to (CMS) latched onto the concept of the “unthe Emergency Departments with fake der-treatment” of pain. In 2001, the Joint illnesses to get prescriptions. The most Commission put standards in place reccommon methods employed are faking ommending that all patients in a healthkidney stones, back pain or abdominal care setting must have their pain aspain. These patients know to list their sessed, as well as a documented response allergies to aspirin, NSAIDs and Tylenol, to the pain assessment. These eventually

so as to ensure that narcotics are all that can be used to treat their “pain.” There are patients who actually inflict injuries upon themselves to receive prescriptions. Patients will go from Emory Saint Joseph’s Emergency Department directly across the street to Northside Hospital’s Emergency Department to try to receive another prescription, and vice versa. Patients are known to go from provider to provider, place to place, “doctor-shopping.” This has ramifications on the suffering patients that actually have pain. The Joint Commission, CMS, the CDC, NIH, and federal and state legislatures, along with healthcare providers, have all gotten together to try to remedy this situation. Emergency Department providers have been clamoring for years to get a centralized prescription drug monitoring system in place. Georgia and other states recently have provided this capability. The first patient I ever looked up in the Georgia prescription database had 28 prescriptions for narcotics from 21 different providers and 15 different pharmacies in a 12-month period! The effort may be starting to make a difference. Prescriptions for opiates have actually declined since 2013, although overdoses and fatalities have not. Most Emergency Departments now rarely prescribe “long-acting” narcotics. Most only prescribe narcotics for the shortest time period possible. Other non-narcotic means of pain relief are being recommended. These steps should help eventually as the volume of prescription opiates decline. However, pharmaceutical companies will need to be regulated and held accountable, and the illegal opioid market will need to be curtailed, if long-lasting change will ever have the hope of taking place.

Letter to the Editor Ban barbaric back yard b owhuntin g of de e r Thank you for your great report, “Bowhunting in the ’burbs: Backyard deer-stalking draws fans and foes” (Feb. 16). Hunting with bow and arrow is called a “sport”? Killing and wounding poor animals is a “sport” in America! When I came

to this country 59 years ago, I was horrified! Animals running around with an arrow in their bodies, how horrific! I’ve lived in Dunwoody for 38 years. I am an old lady that has seen it all. I do not want this in my back yard! You have to be heartless to do such so-called hunting. We invaded those animals’ territory. There is hardly room for them anymore, I understand. This

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should be done in a humane way. We have to ban bow-and-arrow “hunting.” This is a barbaric way to hunt. I would like for one of these so-called hunters to have an arrow stick in his body just for them to see how it feels! You can call me cruel! Caroline Jakob Dunwoody

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MARCH 2 - 15, 2018

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Commentary | 11

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My high school social studies teacher once led a class on types of government and explained a theory posed by someRobin Conte is a writer one (Aristotle? Machiavelli? Elton John?) that the potentially and mother of four who most perfect form of government, when corrupted, could belives in Dunwoody. She come the worst form. I’m fuzzy on the details, and I’m not getcan be contacted at ting political (step away from your keyboards!). I only want to robinjm@earthlink.net. say that this is exactly the way I feel about coffee. It’s the best of drinks and the worst of drinks. When it’s good, it’s very, very good, and when it’s bad, it’s awful. You get my drift. In the right hands, a fistful of roasted beans can become a most excellent beverage, a smooth and deep pool of refuge, especially when sipped from a solid mug on a chilly morning while watching the sunrise and hearing the birds sing. The mere fragrance of it has the power to lift you out of bed and coax you to begin another day. They don’t say “wake up and smell the coffee” for nothing. Yet this same beverage, when left to languish for hours on a dirty burner — say, in a gas station or in the galley of an airplane — turns into caffeinated radiator fluid, with the power to melt granite and an odor foul enough to cause pigs to cry. Bleh! Likewise, if the brew is so weak that you can see through it to the crumbs floating on the bottom of the cup, forget it. It is not fit to drink. Maybe you can use it to polish furniture, but for heaven’s sake, don’t drink it. And then there’s the temperature of the stuff. Just as beer is at its best when it’s properly chilled, coffee is best when it’s piping hot. If it cools down to tepid, I’d rather bathe in it than drink it. It’s got to be strong, but not rancidly strong, and hot, but not lawsuithot. And like fine chocolate, it must be smooth, not bitter. Give me some strong, hot sips, and eventually I’ll be able to form complete sentences. Now, I’m not one to toot my own horn, but let it be known that I do make a darn good cup of coffee. In fact, that’s the only thing that keeps my kids coming home from college. I don’t do their laundry, but every morning I will make a pot of coffee. I take heart in that, because when it comes to breakfast, a pot of coffee is about all I’m going to make. Sometimes I sprinkle some cinnamon over the grounds, but that’s the extent of my effort in the a.m. Pajama-clothed bodies will lumber in and out of our kitchen, lured by the aroma of morning, and through half-closed eyes I will point at a box of Cheerios and the French press as I take my hot sips, while visions of waffles dance through our heads. My kids have learned to respect the brew. And though I have failed in other areas of child-rearing and have not taught them what many people would call “the basics,” I have taught them what makes a good cup of coffee. Sewing on a button, making a pot roast, balancing a checkbook — those are particular life-skills that they will have to pick up on the streets. As for coffee: Start with good, dark coffee, because quality matters. Don’t skimp on the amount, because quantity matters. Add a dash of cinnamon if you want a nuance of flavor. Drink it hot and fresh, unless you move up to Boston one day and morph into someone (like your relatives) who enjoys drinking old coffee over ice. Make it strong, make it dark, drink it hot, drink it now, and maybe spice it up a bit. It may not be the secret to life (although there may be a life lesson hiding in there somewhere), and it has nothing to do with governing bodies, but it is the key to the perfect cup of coffee. I think it will take them far.

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Brookhaven Park is going to the dogs, residents complain BY DYANA BAGBY dyanabagby@reporternewspapers.net

Brookhaven Park on Peachtree Road has a reputation as an off-leash dog park, despite a leash law. But some city residents say dogs running loose endanger visitors and leave messes behind. “No one can enjoy the park,” said Erin Mosher, a member of the Brookhaven Park Conservancy, who lives on Kendrick Road. “It’s just dangerous ... and there are literally large piles of poop everywhere.” Parks and Recreation Director Brian Borden said the city plans to put up more signage in the park to let dog owners know their pets should be on a leash. The city is also installing more stations with bags dog owners can use to pick up after their pets at Brookhaven Park and the city’s other parks. “Most dog owners do pick up after their dogs, but there are a few who are causing problems,” Borden said. Although a few residents are complaining to the city, Borden said there is no serious danger created by the droppings. “It comes back to responsible pet owners cleaning up after their dogs,

because we want our parks to be enjoyable to everyone,” he said. Mosher disagrees, saying she won’t allow her small children to play at the park because she fears they might catch a disease. “At what point do people take more precedent over pets?” she asked. Thad Ellet, also a Brookhaven Park Conservancy member, has regularly played ultimate Frisbee at the park with friends since 2007. He said he’s noticed an increase in “unattended dog poo” in the last year. “The solution simply boils down to responsibility and accountability,” he said. “Unwelcomed dog interaction remains an issue for park users and would-be users such as pleasure walkers and young children.” Dog owners are generally good about segregating their dogs away from sports users, but there have been exceptions and athletic field users often must clean up the dog droppings, Ellet said. The city’s assistant parks director did have to conduct a walk-through of Brookhaven Park with a representative from the DeKalb County Board of Health in October prior to the popular Atlanta Chili Festival. Apparently,

someone complained to the health department, Borden said. “We work very hard to keep the park clean and they talked to us, but they understand we’re doing everything we can,” Borden said. “No one from any other festival at the park has complained before and there has never been an incident where a festival was going to be shut down.” Besides feces, the city’s lack of enforcement of the dog leash law is also problematic, Mosher said. “It’s a free-for-all for dogs,” she said. “The signs say dogs must be on a leash. But the dog people take over. It is not supposed to be an off-leash dog park.” Councilmember Bates Mattison, whose district includes Brookhaven Park, said he regularly visits the park with his children and his dog. “It’s always been an off-leash dog park,” he said, saying there is no enforcement of the leash rule. “It’s not good policy to ignore the problem,” he said. “But I haven’t seen anything where safety is an issue.” The best way to address problems is for the city to come up with a master plan for Brookhaven Park and implement it, Mattison said. A Brookhaven Park master plan was

in the works two years ago, but confusion at the time over ownership of the property between DeKalb County and the city resulted in that plan being pulled. In December 2016, the city paid the county $100 an acre for approximately 12 acres of the park, commonly referred to as the back portion of the park. The front portion of the park is where the DeKalb Services Center is located. Because the property is divided into two parcels, determining ownership has been a long and difficult process. Mattison said the city continues to work with the county’s legal department to resolve ownership. In anticipation of finally owning the park, the city last year allocated money for a fence to be used to segregate acreage in the park for dogs to run loose, Mattison said. Mattison said he is planning to meet with Brookhaven Park Conservancy members this month to finalize a master plan to bring to the City Council in the near future for approval. “We need to find a compromise,” he said.

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JUNE 2017 • Vol. 2 No. 6 | AtlantaSeniorLI FE.com

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Assistance League helps rebuild lives

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Lear ssning A Lifetime of Le is more page 12

By Donna Williams

Lewis

Methodist Dunwoody United Gil Yates, about to begin at for his classmate Coast Indians was making a beeline A class on Pacific strode into the room, Church when a man OK.” approached. “Shuffling’sbuddy, who would not front row, center. said, as the man his “No running!” Yates is a year older than all in good fun. Yates The teasing was age: 91. By Kathy Dean with Perimeter Adults but did share his spring this classes reveal his name, 175 students taking We hear it all The men are among most of whom the adults, time: senior (PALS). less is more. rings education especiallyfor Learning & Services start. The continuing true the from for year of providing membersolder adults whofor phrase empty nests been PALS is in its 25th and are the need are facing of Dunwoody, have care ready of takes to of and his wife, Dot, of their enjoy the second kind lives. and this are 60-plus. Yates Intown and north half to help other people, many comforta metro Atlanta friends.” “People our age want made lifelong ble options for offer them. on page 4 Yates said. “We have “Baby boomers fellowship,” Dot have spent Continued working and much of their building lives said Dawn Anderson their wealth for retiremen t,” , Realtor, Dorsey “As retiremen Alston Realtors. t becomes more of a reality, they plan their transition begin to to downsize. Ease and affordability of life, proximity are certainly the goals of most downsizing common boomers.” The trend of continues to grow, 55+ active adult commun ities Anderson said. well qualified “Baby boomers buyers and know are looking for.” exactly what they are Kim Isaacs, aged Avalon in Alpharet 58, said that her townhom e in ta gives her everything they and her husband want. “We had home in Johns lived in our previous Creek for 19 years. left for college, When our last we child and really didn’t decided that we wanted a change need a large house of us,” she said. for just the two

ACTIVE OLDER ADULTS

DOWNSIZE TO ENJOY LIFE

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If you own and reside in your home on January 1st, you may apply for a Homestead Exemption by April 2nd of this year. The home must be your primary and legal residence. Applications received after April 2nd will be processed for 2019.

Yoga to Fit Your Lifestyle

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

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Read our monthly publication for active seniors! Pick up a copy around town or read online at atlantaseniorlife.com

C O R R EC T IO N

The “Business Openings” notices in the Feb. 16 Perimeter Business section incorrectly reported the former location of Tootsies, which recently reopened in The Exchange at 3167 Peachtree Road, Buckhead. The store was formerly located in the Shops Around Lenox. BK

MARCH 2 - 15, 2018

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Community | 13

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City officials: SPLOST is flawed with no park funding allowed Continued from page 1 go on the ballot regardless of what objections Brookhaven may have had.” The SPLOST referendum was touted as a windfall of money into Brookhaven’s coffers to pay for transportation improvements, a new police station and even some to go toward maintenance of capital projects. But not one cent of the SPLOST can go toward covering costs for the city’s parks master plan due to restrictions put on the referendum by the state legislature. And that has irritated some city officials. Assistant City Manager Steve Chapman expressed his total dissatisfaction with the SPLOST referendum following a recent City Council meeting. He said the $47 million the city is expected to receive over the next six years from SPLOST funds should be spent the way the City Council wants, not how legislators in the General Assembly decided. And Mattison said the “unintended consequences” from SPLOST unfairly hurts Brookhaven residents by not funding the one area the city desperately needs money for — its parks master plan. “Now we have this extra money, but we can’t use it for what people really want us to, and that’s the parks master plan,” he said. The City Council voted unanimously Sept. 19 to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with DeKalb County to show support for the referendum on the SPLOST. There was never any discussion about concerns over park funding raised in public. Mattison said there was no real time to inform voters of the lack of parks funding because the bill, authored by state Sen. Fran Millar (R-Dunwoody) along with DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, moved rapidly through the General Assembly, Mattison said.

“It happened very quickly. It was very fast-moving,” he said. Mattison said he talked to Millar and Thurmond about the restrictions and his concerns, but the referendum was already headed to the ballot. “Hindsight is 20-20. I wish I would have made it apparent [about lack of park funding],” he said. With no revenue stream for funding the parks master plan — estimated at $28 million two years ago but now estimated at more than $67 million — the city is considering asking residents to vote on a parks bond, perhaps as soon as this November. The city formerly received about $2.5 million a year from the former homestead option sales tax for parks master plan funding. But HOST was eliminated with the SPLOST in favor of the new equalized homestead option sales tax (EHOST) that provides more property tax relief to DeKalb homeowners. HOST funding from the county also grew smaller each year for cities as more cities incorporate. There was no way the city could fund its parks master plan with the former HOST funds anyway unless residents want to wait 50 years to see the plans completed, Chapman has said. A parks bond could see the parks master plan completed in as little as three years. But the parks bond could come with a property tax increase for Brookhaven homeowners amounting to about $210 a year for a $300,000 home. So while the SPLOST provides more property tax relief at the county level, funding a park bond could mean a city property tax increase. “It’s an unintended consequence of trying to restrict governments,” Mattison said. Millar, who boasted about his working with Thurmond, a Democrat, on the SPLOST bill, said no other cities have com-

plained about the sales tax increase because the money goes toward needed transportation projects. And, he said, the state legislature approved Brookhaven’s request to raise its hotel/motel tax from 5 percent to 8 percent to fund the Peachtree Creek Greenway, a linear park that will run along Buford Highway within the city and is slated to eventually connect to the Atlanta BeltLine. “I don’t know the particular finances of the city of Brookhaven, but at the end of the day they are getting more money than they ever got before,” Millar said. “And now they are getting all that Greenway money they didn’t have before.” “[Brookhaven] is the only city I’m hearing there was an issue, and I’m not saying they are wrong,” Millar added. “All the cities signed off on SPLOST ... and that is the first time all the cities agreed on something.” Thurmond agreed with Millar that the SPLOST was a result of a collaborate process involving all of DeKalb’s cities. “The voters overwhelmingly approved this consensus decision which will provide critical funding for transportation and infrastructure projects as well as preserve 100 percent of EHOST proceeds for prop-

erty tax relief for all residents in DeKalb County,” Thurmond said in a statement. Mattison said the city has budgeted well to cover paving over the next several years as well as for other transportation projects such as sidewalks. “Now we have SPLOST and frankly I’m concerned if we have enough projects,” he said. Mattison noted that the city of Decatur, unlike Brookhaven, was allowed to pay for bond debt through SPLOST funds. That was because Decatur’s bonds were already approved and issued. Mattison said the county and state agreed to Decatur’s request to have its bond debt paid with SPLOST funding because it needed the city to be on board with agreeing to the sales tax increase. “But SPLOST excludes new debt,” Mattison said. “I argued that was not fair ... and our city is getting penalized because we did not issue debt in time.” Mattison added he believers overall the positives outweigh the negatives of the bill, especially because of the EHOST property tax relief it provides to Brookhaven residents. “It’s still an overall gain in our revenue stream,” he said.

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Builders challenge city on granite curbing, ‘sidewalks to nowhere’

Continued from page 1 the city since the 1980s, is one of several residential builders in the city unhappy with the city’s policy of mandating developers raise granite curbing to six inches above the road pavement whenever constructing a new home. The granite curbs have to be raised because layers of asphalt from road re-pavings over the years essentially bury large portions of the curbs. It’s not just granite curbs that have Koenraad and some other city home builders upset. The city requires new 5-foot sidewalks be constructed along with any new home build. This leads to “sidewalks to nowhere,” said Ken Warlick, a Lynwood Park resident and president of the DeKalb/Rockdale chapter of the Greater Atlanta Homebuilders Association. “Nobody is going to walk down a street with two houses that have sidewalks and

three houses that don’t,” he said. Warlick, Koenraad and several other home builders attended a City Council meeting in November to complain about the city’s policies and decry the enforcement in recent months of the policies after an apparent two-year unofficial enforcement moratorium. City Council members have discussed their appreciation for the history and aesthetics of granite curbs and noted a policy created in 2015 that ensures the protection of granite curbs in the city. On his walk with Park, Koenraad said rather than raising the granite curbing, he and other builders should be able to remove them and replace them with concrete curbs and gutters. It can cost up to $30 a foot to raise a granite curb plus labor costs, Koenraad said. Concrete curbs can cost about $10 a foot. And, he said, smooth concrete curbs

are much better for stormwater runoff as opposed to the jagged and separated granite blocks. But Brookhaven’s granite curbs are part of its history as well as its aesthetic and personal identity. Granite curbs dating back 50 years or more line many neighborhood streets and offer a distinct look. Some City Council members, including Park, are not yet convinced the city needs to completely do away with granite curbs. But the Community Development Department only provides developers instructions on how to install granite curbs based on a 1970 diagram, Koenraad said. There are no city directions on how to raise them, he said. When builders pull the curbs out from the foundation to raise them to be six inches above the road, they are pulled from their foundation — much like a tooth is pulled from a bone — creating a weakness at the foundation which eventually results in the curb wobbling and settling bent. In November, several residential builders, including Koenraad, showed up at a City Council meeting to complain about granite curbing and the city’s policy that also mandates new sidewalks be constructed along with new houses. Park said the City Council is reviewing but until then, builders will usthese onpolicies, Facebook be required to build sidewalks and raise

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granite curbing. Mayor John Ernst said new guidelines on granite curbing and sidewalks should be ready in April. As a tax-paying Brookhaven resident, he said the city’s confusing sidewalk policy will cost the city more money in the long run. The city doesn’t currently have a sidewalk master plan, doesn’t explain in its policies if sidewalks are supposed to be on both sides of the road, or what to do when an entire neighborhood does not want sidewalks. Warlick suggested the city look at putting sidewalks in high traffic areas and also to correspond with its bicycle and pedestrian plan rather than simply requiring new sidewalks for new home construction. Warlick pointed to neighboring Sandy Springs, where he has also built singlefamily homes. The city at one time also required developers to build sidewalks in front of new construction or where a home was undergoing major renovations. That policy created a patchwork of sidewalks throughout the city and builders and residents complained to the City Council. In 2016, Sandy Springs dropped that policy and now only requires a sidewalk be installed in front of a new single-family home that is adjacent to a road on the city’s Sidewalk Master Plan network. “Sandy Springs understood what was happening,” Warlick said. “Brookhaven can come up with a comprehensive plan instead of just a sidewalks to everywhere plan.” For builders who do not want to build a sidewalk, Brookhaven says they can pay into a “sidewalk fund.” To date, no

DYANA BAGBY

Above, City Councilmember John Park, left, and Ronald Koenraad look over deteriorating granite curbing hanging over a ditch in a neighborhood off Dresden Drive.

Top inset, crumbling granite curbing at Woodrow Way and Lanier Drive. Below, the city recently installed a stretch of sidewalk on Woodrow Way, but it ends at the corner. A resident in the background walks on the road where there is no sidewalk.

builder has paid into that fund, according to city officials. The cost to be paid to the city is $110 per linear foot of sidewalk, Warlick said. If the new house calls for a 75-foot sidewalk, that’s $8,250 that has to be paid to the city’s sidewalk fund. Warlick said it costs between $3,000 to $4,000 to put in a 50-foot sidewalk. “The reality is the builders will not pay into the fund because it’s so expensive and we’re just going to put the sidewalk in,” he said. BK

MARCH 2 - 15, 2018

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Keep your kids active all summer long during the LIFE TIME KIDS Summer Camp

ur o y r e t Regisers today.eeks! camp g themed w

azin 11 am

Camp Hours: 8am to 6pm hours, plus early drop-off at 7am

5580 Roswell Road

|

678-832-2318

www.mylt.life/clubs/ga/sandy-springs/programs/kids.html

SUMMER CAMP IN SANDY SPRINGS

Generation.Next

A Leadership Camp for Teens June 6-8, 2018 Limited Availability

CAMPS STARTING FROM $85 PER WEEK The City of Sandy Springs offers quality summer camps at affordable prices. Sports, Gymnastics, Art and Enrichment camps are available for preschoolers, children and teens. Learn more at registration.sandyspringsga.gov.

BK

Generation.Next is designed to prepare young people for the real world. It gives them the skills they need to reach their goals and live up to their full potential at school, home, and work. Skills that Last a Lifetime -Build Self Confidence -Teamwork and Leadership Skills -More Effective Communicators

(404) 634-8100

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Visit CAMPINVENTION.ORG by MARCH 23 to secure your spot and

SAVE $25 Promo Code: RegCamp25

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SUMMER SUMMER CAMP CAMP June 4–29

On top of Lookout Mountain on the banks of Little River...

Only 1.5 hours east of Huntsville and 2 hours from Atlanta, Nashville & Birmingham

ACTIVITIES Horseback Riding Swimming (Heated Pool) Ropes Course Climbing Tower Tennis Canoeing Golf Gymnastics Dance Cheerleading Flag Twirling Archery Arts and Cras Knitting Chorus and Drama Outdoor Living Skills Basketball Volleyball Soccer Riflery Trip Day River Water Blob Campfire every night Counselor-In-Training Christian Leadership

We l c o m e t o R i v e r v i e w C a m p f o r G i r l s ! Yo u r Aw a r d Wi n n i n g C a m p E x p e r i e n c e ! C o n fi d e n c e , C h a r a c t e r, Ad v e n tu r e , I n s p i r a t i o n ! When you attend our summer camp or our mother-daughter weekends, you will have an amazing time on a mountain top, sharing moments of fun, faith, and adventure! Recognized as one of the South’s favorite private summer camp for girls, Riverview’s exciting programs are appreciated by both campers and parents! Girls from the South and International campers as well, are among our camp families!

Dr. Larry and Susan Hooks, Owners/Directors For more information and a free DVD: www.riverviewcamp.com 800-882-0722

ATLANTA SPORTS CAMPS For Rising First through Sixth Graders

SPECIAL INTEREST CAMPS For Rising Pre-K through Sixth Graders Sign up for one week or for multi-week sessions!

Spring & Fall Mother-Daughter Weekend Also Available! Sign up online!

Register online at www.trinityatl.org/summercamp www.riverviewcamp.com

has an extensive Frequently Asked Questions section for first-time camper families and several enjoyable videos!

Trinity School | 4301 Northside Parkway, Atlanta | 404-231-8117

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Horse Lovers Summer Camp Chastain Horse Park - convenient Buckhead location! Boys and girls ages 4-8 – Mon-Fri 8am-1pm Many weeks to choose from during Summer 2018 Camp activities for our younger riders include horsemanship instruction (grooming, safety and more), riding lessons, crafts and games!

Summer Programs June 4 - July 27

Inspiring Early Learners through 12th grade

Contact us at (404) 252-4244 ext.1 or ponypals@chastainhorsepark.org. More information regarding summer schedule dates and registration form can be found at chastainhorsepark.org, select Riding Services, then select Summer Camp!

www.chastainhorsepark.org

404-252-4244 ext.1

SATELLITE CAMP LOCATIONS:

A GE S

3–5 GR A DE

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K–12

DeKalb School of the Arts First Presbyterian Church of Atlanta The Galloway School The Lovett School Mount Paran Christian School Oglethorpe University More information at alliancetheatre.org/satellitecamps

Registration now open at thewalkerschool.org/summer

Your summer. Your adventure.

BEYOND CAMP

SPRING BREAK & SUMMER

DRAMA CAMPS

ON SALE NOW! SPRING BREAK CAMPS APR 2 – 6 // SUMMER CAMPS BEGIN MAY 29

Register now!

404.733.4700 alliancetheatre.org/dramacamp

Customize your summer camp experience. Galloway’s g360 Summer Camp is open to all children ages 3 and up and is held on our campus in beautiful Chastain Park.

Register now at gallowayschool.org/camp

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SPRING CAMP April 2nd – 6th Now Registering Hurry before we fill up!!!

Josh Powell Camp has been getting kids active in the great outdoors every summer since 1972.

Great SUMMER activities: swimming, archery, canoeing, arts and crafts, fort building, gaga ball, and more!

Registration currently open for current K-2nd graders.

(Houston’s Rest.) from 8:10-8:25 am and drop-off at 3:00 pm

Weeks of May 29-June 1, June 4-8, June 11-15, June 18-22, June 25-29, July 9-13, July 16-20, July 23-27, and July 30-August 3. 5242 Wade Green Road, Acworth, GA 30312 (678) 369-0780 (call or text) Hey@JoshPowellCamp.com WWW.JOSHPOWELLCAMP.COM

2018

Summer Connection

Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School From June to August, Elite Studios is hosting summer camps for dancers of all ages! Our summer dancers get to explore all styles of dance—from contemporary to hip hop—as well as arts, crafts and dance-themed games.

Learn more at elitestudiosatl.com/summer-camp THE EXCHANGE AT HAMMOND 5962 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs, GA 30328 ELITESTUDIOSATL.COM 404.500.1738 © 2018 Elite Studios, LLC

An Endless Variety of Summer Camps: Athletics, Arts, Academics and More! Pre-School - Grade 12

www.hies.org/summerconnection | (404) 303-2150

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NOW ENROLLING 4 YEARS TO 12 YEARS ulum

ic Summer Curr

soccer

Voyagers 2018

arts & crafts

field trips

May 29th - August 3rd

It’s all about Fun! swimming

games

$225 per week Includes Most Field Trips ($100 Enrollment Fee)

(404) 843-8375 • children.stjohnatlanta.org 550 Mount Paran Rd NW, Sandy Springs, GA office@stjohnchildren.org

REGISTER

EXCITING SUMMER ADVENTURES

T O D AY !

ESA CAMP

June 4th–June 29th, 2018 Camp Adventures for 2-year-old to 8th grade • Before and After Care • Half and Full Days • Multi-Week Discount

JUNE 4 – JULY 20, 2018 AGES 5 – 17 Sports, Music Technology, Fun & Games, Community Service, Science Camp for Girls, Technology, Lego Animation, Robotics, SAT/ACT Prep, Website Design, more...

New & Returning Favorites • Drone Camp • Circus Camp • Music Camp • Science Camp • Sports Camp • Preschool Camp and much more! Visit us online at epsteinatlanta.org/esa

20 |

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Climb to new heights. Traditional day, sports, and specialty camps for children 3-18 years Learn more at westminster.net/summer

SUMMER CAMP

Explore the great outdoors in the city.

May 30-Aug. 11 Ages 2-13 Half or Full Days EARLY DROP-OFF & LATE PICK-UP

SUMMER CAMPS at

WESTMINSTER Love. Challenge. Lead. Change.

Blue Heron Nature Preserve bhnp.org • 404-946-6394

1424 WEST PACES FERRY ROAD, NW | ATLANTA, GEORGIA 30327 404-609-6212 | WESTMINSTER.NET

A traditional summer camp for girls in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina.

SPORTS BROADCASTING CAMP is back for our 11th year in Atlanta

July 16-20, 2018

Boys and Girls 10-18 will have an opportunity to learn from the Pros Meet Sports Celebrities Make Sports Anchor Tapes

Nation’s #1 Sports Broadcasting Camp

Make Play-By-Play Tapes of the Super Bowl & NBA Finals Make Reporting Tapes from a Pro Stadium Participate in Sports Talk Radio and Pardon The Interruption (PTI) shows and much more

Offering 13-day and 6-day sessions.

For more information and to register, visit: www.hollymont.com

Day/Overnight options available. For more info: 800.319.0884 or www.playbyplaycamps.com facebook.com/sportsbroadcastingcamps • youtube.com/sportsbroadcastcamp

Center for Global Youth Leadership and Social Entrepreneurial Studies™

Summer Programs 2018 Brandon Hall School Featuring our Signature Program

Explore art, get messy, and have a blast!

Global Youth Leadership in Action ELL Global Village™ Earth Science Field Studies

June 17 - July 7, 2018; July 8 - July 28, 2018 (3-Week Sessions)

Customized Summer Programs available June through August 2018 Justine McDonald, Director of Summer Programs, jmcdonald@brandonhall.org

www.brandonhall.org/summer

REGISTER AT HIGH.ORG/CAMP

Like/Follow us on Facebook!

facebook.com/BHSGlobalYouth

Find Your Path. Lead The Way.™

Creative, Visual, Performing & Studio Arts Camps for ages 5g1g

MondaygFriday, g:ggamggpm Before & After Care, 8amg6pm

Small camps for kids age 2-18 www.holyspiritprep.org/summer

5ggg Chamblee Dunwoody Road Register Online at spruillarts.org ggggggggggggggg

School Break Camps offered in the Spring!

Education | 21

MARCH 2 - 15, 2018 ■ www.ReporterNewspapers.net

Education Briefs Come to CAMP CHATUGA for your best summer ever!

One, Two, Three and Four Week Sessions for Boys & Girls Ages 6 to 16 To receive a $50 DISCOUNT off your 2018 registration, email us at sherry@ campchatuga.com by May 1st and mention this Reporter Newspaper advertisement!

BMX (Bikes) • Horseback • Waterskiing • Crafts • Drama • Archery • Riflery Sports • Animal Care • Frisbee Golf • Outdoor Living Skills • Campfire Cooking Fitness (Yoga, Zumba®) • Canoeing • Guitar • Nature • Survivor • Diving Swim Games • Swing/Line Dancing • Cheerleading • Tubing • Creative Writing

Mountain Rest, SC (864) 638-3728 www.campchatuga.com

LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS PLAN FOR PROTESTS FOLLOWING FLORIDA SHOOTING Local public school systems are preparing for nationwide student demonstrations in response to a school shooting in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17 people and sparked a gun control debate. Organizers around the country are calling for a 17-minute school walkout on March 14, exactly one month after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, according to APS Superintendent Meria Carstarphen, who said that the district will support students that participate. Participation in the approved demonstrations is optional, but any students who participate in non-sanctioned demonstrations will be punished, Carstarphen wrote. DeKalb Superintendent R. Stephen Green said in a letter to parents that the district will support students who peacefully protest as long as they do not disrupt school operations or threaten the safety of students and staff. Fulton Schools said in a press release it will support student demonstrations as long as they do not occur during instructional time. None of the school districts have plans

for major security changes in the wake of the shooting, though APS says it will resume “active shooter” drills.

SANDY SPRINGS STUDENTS SHOWCASE STEAM PROJECTS

Sandy Springs students will view exhibits and demonstrate projects in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics at the Sandy Springs Education Force’s eighth annual STEAM Showcase at North Springs Charter High School on March 14. The evening portion of the event is free and open to the public, which is invited to learn more about STEAM initiatives in Sandy Springs’ 11 public schools. The public will also be able to try out robotics and learn about film photography, among other exhibits, according to SSEF. The event includes students from Fulton County Schools’ two high schools and two middle schools in Sandy Springs: North Springs and Riverwood International high schools and the Ridgeview and Sandy Springs middle schools. The showcase will run 6 to 8 p.m. at North Springs, 7447 Roswell Road. For more information, visit sandyspringseducationforce.org. —Evelyn Andrews

Ranked by U.S. Dept. of Education in

Top 20 Schools Nationwide for Tuition Value (in two-year private sector)

Where Science & Technology Connect!

An education you can afford for a future you can depend on!

Refer a friend & receive a

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toward your own camp registration. See our website for details!

SciKidz Where Sc ience & Te chnology Co nnect!

54 Camps to Choose From for 2018

Extreme Science • Veterinary Science • Chemistry • Medicine • Rocket Science • Paleontology • CSI • LEGO Robotics • Aerial Robotics-Drones

Engineering & Technology

www.ClubSciKidz.com Enroll Online!

Follow us on

Call today to schedule tour and complimentary lesson!

• Build Your Own Computer • Minecraft Camps • Stop Motion Animation • 3D RPG Video Game Design • Java and Scratch Computer Programming • 3D Printing • Droid Inventor

Complete registration online!

678-493-5651

23

V

support@clubscikidz.com

SUMMER CAMP 2018 MAY 30-AUGUST 3

Have a Blast! with us this summer. Our professional staff has prepared another exciting summer of fitness and educational fun. We will encourage each child to express his or her own creativity as well as explore and discover new activities.

Choose from 2 exciting and amazing camps!

SUMMER CAMP 2018

:: Sports Camp :: Tennis Camp Space is limited. Register today!!

• Financial Assistance • Certifications • Accredited Curriculum • Job Placement Assistance • Day & Night Classes • English as a Second Language Program • GED Preparation

Associate of Science Degrees & Short-term Diploma programs in Accounting, Medical Office Administration, Human Resource Management, HVAC, Information Technology, Business Management

5303 New Peachtree Road, Chamblee, GA 30341

770-216-2960

www.ict.edu | Campuses in Chamblee, Morrow and Gainesville

22 | Classifieds

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Reporter Classifieds

Personal & Professional Services Directory

REAL ESTATE

HELP WANTED

Affordable Senior Condo for Sale/Lease – Affordable Senior Living Condos. Purchase or Rent - Mount Vernon Village in Sandy Springs HOA includes: All Utilities, 1 Meal/Day, Housekeeping, Laundry, + lots more. Call today Kim at Dunwoody Brokers 404-414-8307 or kim@dunwoodybrokers.com

Drivers Wanted

SERVICES AVAILABLE Driveways & Walkways – Replaced or repaired. Masonry, grading, foundations repaired, waterproofing and retaining walls. Call Joe Sullivan 770-616-0576. Home Tending – Regular inspections of your unoccupied property…”0n market or just away”. Call Charles at 404-229-0490.

CEMETERY PLOT Arlington Memorial – 3 lots for sale in the Calvary Section located in lot 276D, spaces 2, 3 & 4. Asking $5,900 each or $17,000 for all. This section is almost sold out and prices through the cemetery would be $,6,900 each. Beautiful views and the most desirable section. Cemetery will assist in showing. Email: mrmccabe@hotmail.com

Senior Services North Fulton, a non-profit organization, has an opportunity for drivers in their transportation program. If you live in the Roswell, Alpharetta or Johns Creek area of north Fulton and would like to earn some extra money, set your own hours, like to drive, have a car, and like to be of service to seniors, please contact Mobility Manager at

Time for new headshots?

BUCKHEAD STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY www.thebuckheadstudio.com Peachtree Rd NE, Atl, GA 30326 • (404) 462-2385 We travel. Corporate, Group, Portrait, Environmental.

REGISTER FOR SPRING 2018

(770) 993-1906 ext. 242

Management – Financial Services Business is Booming and I need help. Six figure potential! Complete training program, Flexible hours, No experience necessary. Please fax resume to 404-920-2702.

Certify to Teach all adult populations: Comprehensive mind/ body/spirit curriculum, Yoga Alliance, 200 hr. certification, CEUs

Naima Lewis Ph.D.,C-IAYT, E-RYT

www.HydyInc.org | info@hydyinc.com

Showroom, Design, Build

Spring Clean-up Special

Matthew’s Handy Services

• Window Cleaning • Gutter Cleaning • Pressure Washing • Family Owned • Licensed and Insured • Free Estimates

Shelves • Organizers • Carpentry Drywall • Painting • BBB rated

Small Jobs & Chores are My Specialties!

404-547-2079 Mwarren8328@gmail.com

www.WindowCleanAtl.com

“Serving Metro Atlanta Since 1998”

• PAINTING • WINDOWS • SIDING • GUTTERS

770-971-1577

www.paintingplus.com

The Handyman Can • Plumbing • Electrical • Sheetrock • Floors • Tile • Framing • Kitchens • Painting • Roofwork • Concrete • Stained Glass • Antique Door Restoration as well as many other issues...

John Salvesen • 404-453-3438 thehandymancanatlanta@gmail.com

• ROOFING

justTRASHit!

JUNK REMOVAL & RECYCLING

We Haul Away: We Clean Out: *Furniture *Appliances *Construction *Pianos *Hot tubs *Paint cans

*Basements *Garages *Attics *Offices *Storage units *Estate sales

(770) 314-9867 www.justTRASHit.com

SHOWROOM

IN HOME CONSULTATION

404-910-3969

www.RemodelingExpo.com

48 KING STREET ROSWELL, GA 30075

Belco Electric

Come Visit us in

Chamblee!

• Family Owned since 1972 • Fast, Dependable Service by Professional, Uniformed Electricians

770-455-4556

Check out our new website www.BelcoInc.com

404.355.1901

Personal & Professional Growth Opportunity in Atlanta, GA

To Advertise, call 404-917-2200 ext 110

Kitchen Bathroom Basement

since 1968

678-565-8800

Yoga Teacher Training

Course starts 2018 March 31st

Home Services Directory

Atlanta’s Premier

The Quick Shot Corporate Package (Reg. $175) $145 for the month of March, in-studio

With two professional in-house polishers, we can make your silver flatware, tea sets, bowls and trays more beautiful than ever before. Bring it by or call us for an estimate today!

and follow us on

WINDOWS

• Windows • Doors • Siding and more! • BBB A+ • Free Estimates • Family Business Established in 1980 3660 North Peachtree Road - Chamblee, GA 30341

770-939-5634 • www.quinnwindows.com

Appliance Repair ALL WORK GUARANTEED

Call Kevin 24/7 770.885.9210

• All Major Appliances & Brands FREE Service • Stoves, Ovens, Dishwashers • Refrigerators, Disposals Call with • Washers, Dryers Repair or $25 Service • 30 Years Experience Charge Servicing All of Metro Atlanta

.com

No Contracts Same Day Service

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FREE!

C ELEBRATING

45

YRS OF SERVING YOU WITH S ECURE , PROFESSIONAL QUALITY SERVICE

Tranquil Waters Lawn Care Aeration Leaf Blowing Power Washing Free Estimates . Senior/Veteran Discount No Contract Necessary . Commercial Residential

678-662-0767 Call Mike

MOVE-IN/ MOVE OUT

$25 OFF

QUICK FREE QUOTE

770-656-2726 FLAT RATES

BK

MARCH 2 - 15, 2018

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Public Safety | 23

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Police Blotter / Brookhaven From Brookhaven Police reports dated Feb. 18-25. The following information was pulled from Brookhaven’s Police-2-Citizen website.

T H E F T A N D B U R G L A RY „„2600 block of Buford Highway — On

Feb. 18, in the morning, a man was arrested and accused of theft of services. „„2000 block of North Druid Hills Road

and accused of simple battery. „„2600 block of Buford Highway — On

Feb. 19, at night, a man was arrested and accused of battery. „„2000 block of North Druid Hills Road

— On Feb. 19, at night, a man was arrested and accused of battery.

— On Feb. 19, in the early morning, a man was arrested and accused of theft by taking.

„„2600 block of Rivers Edge Drive — On

„„3000 block of Clairmont Road — On

„„4400 block of Peachtree Road — On

Feb. 20, in the evening, a battery incident was reported.

Feb. 20, a woman was arrested and accused of theft by receiving stolen property.

Feb. 24, at night, a man was arrested and accused of aggravated battery.

„„1100 block of Gables Drive — On Feb.

— On Feb. 25, in the early morning, a man was arrested and accused of family violence.

22, in the afternoon, a woman was arrested and accused of theft by receiving stolen property.

A S S AU LT „„2600 block of Buford Highway — On

Feb. 18, in the afternoon, a man was arrested and accused of battery. „„1600 block of Briarwood Road — On

Feb. 18, in the evening, a man was arrested and accused of battery and family violence. „„2600 block of Buford Highway — On

Feb. 19, in the evening, a man was arrested and accused of battery. „„1100 block of Gables Drive — On Feb.

19, in the evening, a woman was arrested and accused of battery and family violence. „„4000 block of Peachtree Road — On

Feb. 19, at night, a woman was arrested

„„2300 block of North Druid Hills Road

„„400 block of Lincoln Court Avenue —

On Feb. 25, in the morning, a man was arrested and accused of simple battery. Another person involved was arrested and accused of disorderly conduct.

ARRESTS „„2700 block of Buford Highway — On

Feb. 18, in the early morning, a man was arrested and accused of public drunkeness. „„1900 block of Dresden Drive — On

Feb. 18, in the early morning, a man was arrested and accused of marijuana possession.

READ MORE OF THE POLICE BLOTTER ONLINE AT

www.ReporterNewspapers.net

American Jewish Committee presents

Atlanta Unity Seder Tuesday, March 13, 2018 6:00 pm – Registration 6:30 pm – Seder Begins RSVP Required global.AJC.org/2018-unity-seder $36 per person / $18 for students/ young professionals For More Information call 404.233.5501 Includes Dinner and a personal Haggadah AKC Certified Kosher Celebrate Passover with Atlanta’s religious, ethnic and international leadership, through the retelling of the Passover story with modern day examples. The program will include Table

BREAKFAST MEETING Featuring Mayor John Ernst Thursday, March 15th 8:00-9:30am DoubleTree by Hilton 4386 Chamblee Dunwoody Road $20 members, $30 non members Register: www.brookhavencommerce.org GOLD SPONSORS:

BK

Discussions, musical performances and unique stories told by survivors of tragedies from around the world.

24 |

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CONGRATULATIONS To Our 2017 Top Sales Associates | Sandy Springs Office

TOP INDIVIDUAL & TEAM

DAVID CHANABERRY & ASSOCIATES

JILL HUITRON

#1 Individual Total Sales Volume & Closed Units

#1 Team Total Sales Volume & Closed Units

Jill.Huitron@HarryNorman.com

David.Chanaberry@HarryNorman.com

404-376-5114

770-265-9080

TOP INDIVIDUALS & TEAMS OVERALL PAM HUGHES

STACEY ADAMS

FRAN SHIVERS

BARBARA MALM

#2 Individual Total Sales Volume & Closed Units

#3 Individual Total Sales Volume & Closed Units

#2 Team Total Sales Volume & Closed Units

#3 Team Total Sales Volume & Closed Units

Pam.Hughes@HarryNorman.com

Stacey.Adams@HarryNorman.com

Fran.Shivers@HarryNorman.com

Barbara.Malm@HarryNorman.com

404-626-3604

404-271-9949

404-403-5555

404-310-5164

ADDITIONAL TOP PERFORMERS

GITTE CLAUD

404-316-1111

BONNIE WOLF

404-216-9296

CHERYL BRODNAX

404-277-1009

SUSAN ODER

404-308-6337

PHEBE ETHEREDGE

404-374-8458

MISS EMMIE

BRENDA REEVE

404-245-4130

BOBBI PENTECOST

770-656-8734

FRAN ALLEN

404-550-2651

HOWARD ROHAN

404-354-2444

BARBARA OLIVER

ROOKIE

AWARD OF EXCELLENCE

OF THE YEAR

BONNIE WOLF

LINDSEY BURROUGHS

404-216-9296

678-834-3940

404-667-4211

Harry Norman, REALTORS® | Sandy Springs Office | 5290 Roswell Road, Suite A | Atlanta, GA 30342 | HarryNorman.com BK