MARCH 16 - 29, 2018 • VOL. 10 — NO. 6
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Brookhaven Reporter
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► Community survey: Should teachers be armed? PAGE 12 ► Battling hunger, one backpack at a time PAGE 21
March 24-25 | See pages 16-18
Communities of Faith Pages 24-25
Model train enthusiast shares his love of tiny worlds
DYANA BAGBY
Riley O’Connor of Brookhaven uses digital controls to move trains along the tracks of his massive model train set in his basement. The set is 28-feet long and about 4-feet wide and has been an ongoing project since the mid-1990s. Read story page 30.►
Coping with a Crisis: Opioid addiction in the suburbs EXCLUSIVE SERIES
After eight O.D.s and a prison scare, a Dunwoody resident helps others on the road to getting clean BY MAX BLAU
C
hris Zollman’s road to recovery started with a swift act of mercy, continued through a treatment program in Sandy Springs, and ended with him quitting drugs. Now the Dunwoody resident devotes his life to helping others walk down the same path — a path that for many is often muddied by shady operators, controversial treatments, and pricey therapies. Six years ago, Zollman was consuming $100 worth of opioids a day and sold
even more to support his habit. He’d survived eight overdoses — the last time, paramedics found him passed out behind the wheel of his car near Bobby Dodd Stadium. The streak would soon be broken: His drug charges carried a maximum sentence of 75 years in prison. “I was either going to get clean or kill myself,” Zollman thought. But a Fulton County judge offered Zollman probation as a first-time offender. “You’re very lucky to be alive,” the judge said. It came with a condition: finish treat-
ment. He was sent up to a rehab center in north Georgia. That was followed by a stay at LifeLine Atlanta, a sober living residence founded by Trey Miller, a Sandy Springs resident who was also in active recovery. Zollman stayed there for six months as he strung together drug-free days earning minimum wage at a local Jimmy John’s. For two more years, Zollman worked at LifeLine, helping out with the new clients. Inspired by LifeLine’s mission, he started thinking about starting his own facility. See AFTER on page 26
Sandy Springs prepares to join hundreds of local governments in suing the opioid industry. See story, page 27 ►
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DeKalb CEO promises investigation into water main break BY DYANA BAGBY dyanabagby@reporternewspapers.net
DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond promised a “full-scale” investigation into a major water main break off Buford Highway early March 7 that resulted in school and government closings as well as many business closings throughout the county. “The DeKalb County government will initiate a full-scale investigation into the cause of [the] massive water main break. We will determine whether the break was the result of a systematic failure, improper maintenance, wear and tear or physical tampering,” Thurmond said in a statement. “I am committed to making sure our infrastructure is protected and maintained in a manner that will ensure quality service to the citizens of DeKalb County.” The 48-inch water main break added more headaches to the county’s watershed department that has struggled for years with similar breaks on smaller See DEKALB on page 19
Buford Highway group to compile residents’ stories BY DYANA BAGBY dyanabagby@reporternewspapers.net
We Love BuHi is beginning an oral history project to collect the stories of people living and working on Buford Highway as one way to preserve the history of the corridor that is known regionally for its diversity and international restaurants. Marian Liou of Brookhaven, founder and executive director of We Love BuHi, said her organization is teaming up with Georgia State University Library Special Collections and Archives and See BUFORD on page 15