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AUGUST 2020 • VOL. 11 — NO. 8
Dunwoody Reporter COMMENTARY
Racial justice means talking and remembering
PERIMETER BUSINESS
►RESTAURANTS
TACKLE COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS HEAD FOR
►LOCAL LAB JOINS THE HILLS PANDEMIC FIGHT PAGE 7
P 21-29
Masked Marketing
‘Officer of the Year’ joins harassment complaints
P16
AROUND TOWN
BY JOHN RUCH
New leader of Conservancy helms park expansions
johnruch@reporternewspapers.net
P18
WORTH KNOWING
Helping cancer survivors in pandemic era P19 Check out our podcasts at ReporterNewspapers.net
PHIL MOSIER
Mask-clad local resident Laura Potts totes a plant and canine companion Chase July 25 at the Dunwoody Farmers Market, where much, but not all, of the crowd wore masks. July was a month of mask battles amid a COVID-19 surge, as Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms established a mask-wearing mandate for which Gov. Brian Kemp took her to court, alleging it violated his own less restrictive executive order. Dunwoody was among the other Georgia cities that also established a mask mandate, backing down after the Bottoms-Kemp clash, but DeKalb County instituted its own mandate.
Hospital faces pandemic safety complaints, says it follows rules BY JOHN RUCH
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Weekend getaways
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Peachford Hospital, a mental and behavorial health facility on Peachford Road, is facing complaints alleging a lack of COVID-19 safety precautions for staff and patients, which a private accrediting group
and the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration are investigating. The hospital has denied some of the specific complaints while generally saying it follows federal pandemic guidelines. Three Peachford employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity cited such
Dear Atlantans, Looking for extra pin money? Gather your broken chains, half pairs of earrings and come see us.
See HOSPITAL on page 11
TO DO: Sell Gold @ Lauderhills See page 10
The Dunwoody Police Department’s 2018 “Officer of the Year” has joined three other current and former employees in filing intent-to-sue notices alleging harassment by former Lt. Fidel Espinoza. Officer Bryan Castellanos alleges in a July 13 complaint letter that Espinoza sexually harassed him by sending and demanding sexual photos and videos, engaging in sexual chats with Castellano’s wife, and taking a photo of the officer while he was using a urinal. “To say the least, the carelessness of the Dunwoody Police Department in failing to address this issue and protect its officers has completely torn Mr. Castellanos’ life apart,” says the complaint. The “ante litem,” or intent-to-sue, notice was filed on Castellanos’s behalf by attorney Mande Moyer, who was not immediately available for comment. The notice says Castellanos is seeking compensation likely to exceed $500,000. Along with the other complaint filings, including one already filed lawsuit, the city is facing at least $2 million in compensation requests or demands. The city has hired an outside attorney to handle the previously filed harassment complaints. City spokesperson Jennifer Boettcher said the city received Castellanos’s ante litem notice around July 17. The notice will be submitted to the city’s liability insurer and “decisions regarding whether and how to respond to it will be made soon,” she said. See OFFICER on page 14
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