08-17-18 Brookhaven Reporter

AUGUST 17 - 30, 2018 • VOL. 10 — NO. 17

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Unitarian Universalist church proposes expansion as regional interest grows PAGE 4

► Exhibits mark 50 years of teaching art in Chastain Park PAGE 18

Greenway groundbreaking expected by year’s end

BY DYANA BAGBY dyanabagby@reporternewspapers.net

The long-awaited groundbreaking for the Peachtree Creek Greenway is slated to happen by the end of the year. Bids for the first “model mile” of the linear park and trail are expected to go out after Labor Day and the City Council could vote as soon as October on awarding a contract to begin construction.

Early talks of the Greenway estimated a groundbreaking would happen in early 2018, but the city has faced difficulty acquiring many of the private pieces of See GREENWAY on page 14 An illustration of a pedestrian bridge planned for the first section of the Peachtree Creek Greenway.

SPECIAL

EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATOR ESOL teacher wins award

OUT & ABOUT ‘HOT PURSUIT’ FOR CHRISTMAS GIFTS Page 16

I stay aware of my surroundings.

I also think social media makes the fear worse than it should be.

How are you changing your behavior because of fear of crime?

See page 6

See COMMENTARY, page 10

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State board to consider localized ambulance response

BY JOHN RUCH johnruch@reporternewspapers.net

Responding to the city of Dunwoody’s alarm over long ambulance response times, a state board Aug. 9 decided to quickly study the creation of new EMS zones to speed up arrival times in DeKalb County.

That could mean localized service there and in Brookhaven, too, where city officials have discussed creating a new ambulance See STATE on page 12

2 | Community

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Pink Pony seeks to stay open later during lawsuit

BY DYANA BAGBY dyanabagby@reporternewspapers.net

The Pink Pony wants to return to later hours and is willing to pay extra to do so pending the resolution of a federal lawsuit challenging the city’s new alcohol ordinance.

Aubrey Villines, attorney for the Pink Pony strip club, spoke to the City Council during public comment at its Aug. 14 meeting. He asked the council to return to its previous alcohol ordinance and hold off enforcing the regulations of the new ordinance that went into effect this year.

The Pink Pony’s request follows a federal judge’s recent ruling to allow a civil rights lawsuit filed by Josephine, XS Restaurant & Lounge and Medusa Restaurant & Lounge to move forward.

The three venues claim the city is discriminating against the black-owned clubs. Their argument in part states the new ordinance violates the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection clause because it allowed the white-owned Pink Pony to stay open until 4 a.m. seven days a week.

After that ruling, however, the city decided Aug. 1 it would enforce its 2 a.m. last call at the Pink Pony and only allow the strip club to serve alcohol on Sundays until midnight so that it is treated the same as other nightlife venues.

“If you look at the judge’s order it is very limited,” Villines said in an interview. “[The ruling] doesn’t say the Pink Pony’s hours have to come back. If the city goes back to the way it was before until this is straightened out, no one gets hurt.”

The city’s new regulations include the rolling back of hours to 2 a.m. and the creation of a new “entertainment venue” category requiring establishments with a DJ, dance floor or stage pay a $100,000 alcohol license fee and not sell alcohol on Sundays.

The Pink Pony was at first considered exempt from the new ordinance because of a settlement agreement it reached with the city in 2014. Under the terms of that agreement, which expires in 2019, the Pink Pony pays the city of Brookhaven $225,000 annually and could remain open until 4 a.m. and sell alcohol on Sundays.

Villines is hoping the council will seriously consider going back to the old alcohol ordinance because, he said, the Pink Pony is essentially being caught in the “backwash” of the federal lawsuit.

“If you took the Pink Pony out of out of Brookhaven, the equal protection argument still exists,” he said in an interview, of the Josephine and others lawsuit. He added the Pink Pony was asked

DYANA BAGBY

Aubrey Villines, attorney for the Pink Pony, asked the City Council at its Aug. 14 meeting to return to the rules of the former alcohol ordinance until a federal lawsuit is resolved.

to be a third party in a lawsuit against the city but declined because the club likes being in Brookhaven.

“We’re part of the team here,” he said.

“We were low-hanging fruit, to make an analogy,” Villines added. “The city, the residents, the council have decided the Pony can be here. How the city can address equal protection ... is to go back to the way it was and work on the alcohol code.”

Villines said the Pink Pony is also recommending the city levy a $50,000 alcohol license fee for extra serving hours. He said he wants the city to return to its former pouring times of Monday through Friday of 9 a.m. to 4 a.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. and Sunday from 12:30 p.m. to 3 a.m.

The extra money from the $50,000 fees could go specifically toward police services, he said.

“If we pay more so the equal protection argument is addressed, so be it.

We’ll do it,” he said.

He notes the first sentence of the federal lawsuit against the city of Brookhaven, filed by attorney Cary Wiggins, states, “This is a civil rights case.”

Eliminating the definition of an entertainment venue in the alcohol ordinance addresses one of the equal protection issues, he said. And eliminating the $100,000 alcohol license fee rather than the former $5,000 alcohol license fee also addresses the equal protection issue, he said.

“If the Pink Pony did not exist and we were taken out of the argument and the equation, the plaintiffs’ argument of equal protection regarding hours, make up of venues, clientele, fees and maximum license fees still exist,” he said.

BK

AUGUST 17 - 30, 2018

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Community | 3

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Federal court rules in favor of city on adult store lawsuit

The Stardust adult store on Buford Highway as seen in a Google Earth image.

BY DYANA BAGBY dyanabagby@reporternewspapers.net

The city scored a victory in its federal lawsuit against the Stardust business when a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion Aug. 10 that the business must comply with Brookhaven’s ordinance and stop selling sex toys.

The appeals court denied Stardust’s claims the city’s ordinance is unconstitutional and infringed on its First Amendment right to display sexual devices.

City Attorney Chris Balch praised the appeals court opinion.

“The city of Brookhaven is committed to having constitutionally sound and enforceable ordinances to protect the health, safety and welfare of our residents and guests,” he said in a prepared statement.

Cary Wiggins, attorney for Stardust, said he and his client are “exploring all options.”

The ruling is part of a legal battle that has ensued since the days of the city’s incorporation in 2012.

Weeks after the city was incorporated, the business began selling “sexual devices” which the city contends violated city ordinance. The city began code enforcement against Stardust for selling sex toys, which it deemed as illegal under its ordinances. In 2013, for example, Stardust was cited by code enforcement more than 500 times.

The city states Stardust cannot operate legally because of its close proximity to another sexually oriented business, the Pink Pony, and also because it did not clearly define what kind of business it was when it applied for a business license.

Representing the city in the Stardust lawsuit is Scott Bergthold, a Tennessee attorney who specializes in municipal laws cracking down on sexually oriented businesses. Bergthold represented Brookhaven in its lawsuit against the Pink Pony which resulted in a 2014 settlement in which the strip club agreed to close down in 2020 while also paying the city $225,000 a year to cover police costs.

U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross in 2016 ruled in favor of Brookhaven in the Stardust suit.

Stardust then appealed its case to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Judge Jill Pryor wrote the 11th Circuit opinion and said the city’s code can comply with the First Amendment if it leaves open alternate avenues for a display of sex products. The city has identified 73 other locations in the city limits where Stardust can operate legally, according to the opinion.

“When drafting the code the city relied on — and cited — dozens of studies and cases linking the operation of adult businesses to negative secondary effects. This evidence is sufficient to establish that the code, in general, advances the city’s legitimate interest in regulating those effects,” Pryor wrote.

She further wrote that, “Stardust has presented no evidence disputing the city’s rationale or factual findings. Instead, Stardust relies on rhetorical questions, asking, for example, ‘Who is harmed by a retail store advertising — inside its premises — sexual devices in a way that ‘gives special prominence to’ them?’ This kind of speculative reasoning is insufficient to survive summary judgment.”

“The appellate court specifically held that the city’s regulation of establishments like Stardust ‘furthers the city’s interest in avoiding the secondary effects of adult businesses,’ ” said Balch, the city attorney. “We look forward to seeing Stardust’s full compliance with the city’s ordinances and the permanent injunction entered against the store by the DeKalb County Superior Court.”

Fran Millar

Your Education Senator

Chairman, Higher Education Committee

The Leader in Pre-K Reforms

Senator Fran Millar led on some of the most aggressive education reforms in the state of Georgia. Sen. Millar authored career pathways including dual enrollment for college classes for students in high school, helping reducing future college debt. He also created the first statewide framework for low income students to get public scholarships for college.

Sen. Millar promoted FULLY funding K-12 education for the first time per Governor Deal. By fully funding K-12 programs, Georgia will now be able to hire additional teachers and provide better pay. Additional funding included $17 million for Gwinnett, $10 million for DeKalb, and $7 million for Fulton County.

Sen. Millar led the legislative effort with groups including Voices for Children to keep pre-K full day, and co-sponsored the legislation to provide more funding for Pre-K programs.

Led the Effort to Keep DeKalb County School Accreditation

ates t Culmin r o f f E s s s Tirele r licSycInhstituoteo, Mlay 3, 2018 o f g in d n in Full Fu Georgia Budget & Po

Bipartisan support for fran Millar “Today, more than ever, DeKalb needs the continued experienced collaborative leadership provided

by Senator Fran Millar.”

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“Fran Millar is a tireless advocate for his district. He puts his district before politics.“ --GOVERNOR NATHAN DEAL

“The $600 million transportation, police and fire safety improvements and property tax relief would not have happened without Senator Millar.

Bipartisanship is essential for our continued success in DeKalb County.”

--MIKE THURMOND, CEO OF DEKALB COUNTY

When our DeKalb County schools were threatened with loss of accreditation, the outlook was bleak.

Loss of accreditation would mean a drop in property values and loss of businesses.

Sen. Millar took the legislative lead to save our school’s accreditation and supported reforms to put the system on a better track.

www.SenatorFranMillar.com

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VOTE NOVEMBER 6!

4 | Faith

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Unitarian Universalist church proposes expansion as interest grows

BY EVELYN ANDREWS evelyn@reporternewspapers.net

The expansion of a Unitarian Universalist church in Sandy Springs is just part of the faith’s metro Atlanta growth at a time when some other religious congregations are struggling or shutting down.

The Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation, located at 1025 Mount Vernon Highway N.W., is part of a Boston-headquartered religion that teaches from all major world religions and allows members to read any religious text. The city Planning Commission recently recommended approval of the church’s request to expand its footprint by 2,400 square feet to expand the sanctuary and build a fellowship hall.

“One of our huge strengths is that we are welcoming to all people,” said Hannah Cowart, the church’s Board of Trustees president, about the growth of Unitarian Universalist congregations.

Other UU churches in metro Atlanta

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An illustration shows the plan for the church’s expansion, including a larger sanctuary and new fellowship hall.

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have grown as well. Unitarian Universalist Metro Atlanta North in Roswell recently moved to a larger building that was formerly a Baptist church, according to David Zinner, chair of the Sandy Springs congregation’s expansion steering committee.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, the faith’s mother church in metro Atlanta, voted to sell its property to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta for its massive Brookhaven campus in 2017. The church is currently renovating a new property on North Druid Hills Road for its new location, according to its website.

Some other local churches have shuttered or struggled in recent years with declining membership and the burden of expensive buildings. A Lutheran church and a Southern Baptist congregation were among those closing down over the past two years.

Zinner said the Sandy Springs UU church’s current sanctuary has a capacity of 165. In recent years, the church’s membership has grown to 200, and, although not everyone comes every Sunday, it means people have to squeeze in for big events, he said. The fellowship hall is planned to be built over the existing patio, Zinner said.

“We’re a church that, like most churches, fellowship is really important to us,” he said.

Rather than leave the church for a new, bigger location, the congregation voted to pay for a $700,000 expansion, not wanting to give up its home since 1971.

Constance Derricks, who spoke on behalf of the congregation at the planning meeting, said that, despite the expansion, the church is not looking to become a large congregation.

“A big part of our identity has always been that we are small,” Derricks said. “But

we are crowded, and uncomfortably so.”

Cowart said the church members are drawn to the rural feel of the church’s location. The building is surrounded by trees on its large lot, which is encircled by singlefamily homes.

“If you ask any of our members, they’ll call the church our home in the woods,” Cowart said. “Everyone kind of considers it a haven from the busy city.”

The church’s website notes they welcome people regardless of “religious background, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender expression, age or ability.”

It’s also part of the “Welcoming Congregation Program,” a 1990 Unitarian Universalist Association initiative that encouraged congregations to take steps to be more welcoming to the LGBTQ community.

“People come to us when they feel the religion they grew up with is not welcoming to them,” Zinner said.

The church supports other liberal policies, such as access to healthcare, living wages, family-oriented immigration policies and workplace equality, according to its website.

In 2012, the church was recognized by the Unitarian Universalist Association as an “Accredited Green Sanctuary,” in part because it installed solar panels on its roof, the website said.

Zinner said he believes people are drawn to the religion because it allows members to explore other religious beliefs and build their values based on a combination of different teachings. Many members were previously in other faiths and denominations and found their teachings too rigid, he said.

“It’s more about defining your own spirituality,” Zinner said. “That’s very appealing to an awful lot of people.”

AUGUST 17 - 30, 2018

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Public Safety | 5

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Private probation may end amid country club murder outrage an online petition that has garnered over 6,600 signatures, on the premise that releasing Myrick was wrong and led to Broder’s death.

The crime has fed into growing concern about an uptick in theft and burglary, especially in Buckhead. Ann Walsh, a Buckhead resident who led the Aug. 8 meeting, is a member of a large, private Facebook group that exchanges crime information and holds similar private meetings, attracting such officials as Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields. She said she is concerned, as one example, about increasingly brazen thefts at gas stations, where criminals will snatch purses from the front seat of a car during a fill-up.

The Aug. 8 meeting included two Fulton County prosecutors: Lauren McAuley, the deputy district attorney for the juvenile division, and Assistant District Attorney Brendan Daughtery, who prosecutes crimes in Buckhead.

Both said they could not talk about details of the Broder case. But they did speak about the juvenile and adult criminal systems in general, and in part spent the time debunking some audience assumptions about juvenile offenders returning to the streets.

McAuley said a much-criticized “catch and release” system, where a defendant can get out on bond quickly, does not apply in the juvenile JOHN RUCH system. And a “point system” used to assess juveniles before initial deFrom left, state Rep. Beth Beskin, organizer Ann Walsh and Fulton County Assistant tention has nothing to do with their sentencing, as is commonly misunDistrict Attorney Brendan Daughtery conclude the Aug. 8 meeting. derstood, she said.

“It’s not fun being a prosecutor and seeing the same kids come back

BY JOHN RUCH over and over,” said McAuley, describing a small group of chronic offenders as the johnruch@reporternewspapers.net main crime problem. Partly to blame is a 2014 juvenile law rewrite, she said, calling it “horribly rewritten because it contradicts itself on every single page.”

A private probation option for Fulton County juvenile offenders may end as one “On the flip side, the system actually does work” and often rehabilitates children, result of outrage over a July 13 murder and robbery at the Capital City country club.

McAuley added. “When they say it takes a village to raise a child, it really does.”

State Rep. Beth Beskin (R-Atlanta) said she’ll aim to end the system with legislation McAuley also said Downs’ sentence in the Myrick case was an “abnormality.” after hearing from about 100 residents at a private meeting with Fulton County pros“I think what Judge Downs has done has spoiled the perception of what the maecutors Aug. 8 at the Lodge at Buckhead’s Peachtree Presbyterian Church. One resijority of judges have done,” she said. dent called the private probation system “insane” amid comments it could be a danHowever, McAuley and Daughtery agreed that the system of allowing private orger to both the public and offenders themselves. ganizations to handle probation has serious flaws. Most county governments con“This crime hit me as much as it hit you,” Beskin told the crowd, adding that she tract with the state for probation services, but Fulton allows private nonprofits to “really heard feedback loud and clear today” that the system must change. do it. There is no list of approved contractors and no official vetting, the prosecutors However, that was one of the few solid and clear points of potential reforms as the said, beyond whatever questions judges choose to ask. prosecutors debunked some other alleged systemic factors in the murder.

The description of the system shocked many audience members.

The outrage follows the shooting of Christian Broder, 34, of Washington, D.C., dur“So they’ll privatize probation but not garbage pick-up?” asked one woman. ing an armed robbery outside the country club on the Brookhaven/Buckhead border.

“An unvetted agency could be abusing kids, could be starving kids?” asked anothBroder died several days after he was shot. Two suspects have been charged with feloer. “It’s insane … There’s more oversight in the restaurant business.” ny murder, robbery and related charges: Jayden Myrick, 17, and Torrus Fleetwood, 20.

One man suggested having a grand jury review the private probation system.

Myrick was previously convicted of armed robbery at age 14 and could have still Others didn’t like the idea of probation at all. “Do the crime, do the time,” one been in state prison under a plea deal, according to media reports. However, Fulton woman said, while a man suggested creating a north Georgia boot camp with “two Superior Court Judge Doris Downs chose to have him serve over two years in juvehours of forced education” and “hard labor … Let that word get out on the street.” nile detention, followed by probation supervised by a private organization called ViAs the meeting concluded, Beskin told the crowd that she had spoken at length sions Unlimited, on the hope that he would be rehabilitated. Myrick reportedly was that morning with Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard about the situareturned to detention for misbehavior, but then was to go back to Visions Unlimited. tion. She was reading the probation statute on her phone as she spoke and said she He did not show up again prior to his arrest in the Capital City crime. would seek legislation to change it.

Myrick has not been convicted in Broder’s killing. However, Broder’s family and “But it doesn’t bring Christian Broder’s life back,” she added. some Atlanta residents have called for Downs to resign or be recalled, including via

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6 | Education

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Mary Schmidt, Riverwood International Charter School I was going to do, and the last month before I was to graduate, the Peace Corps came to my university campus to recruit for the program. I signed up and told them I wanted to go to Africa. I believe it was meant to be because I graduated in June and in August I was in Sierra Leone, West Africa. I taught science and did teacher training while I was in Peace Corps. The experiences of Peace Corps led me to ESOL teaching.

Exceptional

Educator

Q: What was your response when you learned you won the award?

A: Astonished, dazed. I read the email five times out loud in my classroom — no one was present — crying and laughing, wondering how it happened.

Q: What do you want to see in your students?

A: I hope that their dreams and aspirations come true in their new country! I wish them all the happiness, contentment and success in their lives.

Q: What are you most proud of in your career?

A: My students who are not giving up on their dreams and having fun living them! I have

empowered them to have confidence in themselves and strive to find what makes them successful and happy even through the tough times!

All the ESOL students who came to this country, most of the time not by choice, learned English and were able to graduate from high school and went on being great people.

One ESOL student was told that she would not be able to go to university, but perhaps to go to a junior college. I explained to her to follow her dreams. She and I worked on her applying to many universities. She was accepted to UGA where [she] obtained her BA and MBA. She is now working for an accountant firm!

SPECIAL

Riverwood ESOL teacher Mary Schmidt accepts an award from the Georgia Department of Education alongside (left to right) Georgia State School Superintendent Richard Woods, Riverwood senior and ESOL student Anh Tran and Riverwood Principal Charles Gardner.

Mary Schmidt almost didn’t become a teacher.

After becoming “disillusioned” about teaching during her college student teaching, she considered changing career choices. But then the Peace Corps visited her college and after graduating, she left for Africa. Her experience in Africa led her to teach English as a second language, or ESOL. Now having taught for 20 years, she was recently recognized by the state for her achievements in teaching the subject.

Schmidt, who has been teaching at Riverwood International Charter School in Sandy Springs for 15 years, was recognized as a Georgia Department of Education STAR ESOL teacher in May. She was one of 10 teachers recognized statewide and was nominated by Riverwood senior Anh Tran, according to a press release.

She also started a program called Steam Camp that allows Lake Forest Elementary ESOL 5th graders to visit Riverwood on Saturdays to experience attending high school classes.

“These students have many [hurdles] they must overcome, but to be inspired at an early age is important and memorable,” Schmidt said.

Q: Why did you decide to become a teacher?

A: I wanted to be a CBS reporter or a missionary to Germany, but my school counsel-

or said they did not have missionaries in Germany and only men were CBS reporters. I loved playing school and loved children, so I decided to be a teacher. I also had a great PE teacher in middle school who inspired me and a third grade teacher who said I could do anything I wanted if I wanted it. She is the one who taught me to read!

Q: What drew you to teach ESOL? A: After graduating in three years from university and having a less impressive student teaching experience, I was very disillusioned about teaching. I was not sure what

SPECIAL

Mary Schmidt, center, poses in a photo with ESOL students, from left, Maria Zavala, Maria Baron, Laura Gallegos, Anabel Sala-Valladares and Joceyln Romero.

Q: What do you hope students learn from you?

A: I hope through my modeling of “paying it forward” to others that it will become part of their behavior. It is important for me to teach them to be kind and help others. Thinking out of the box and being adventurous.

Also, at the beginning of each school year, I always say to my class that there are three rules in my classroom: there is no lying, stealing and cheating in my classroom and just be honest with me. I also hope that these ethical issues are learned by my students in developing their character!

Education | 7

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Education Briefs WEB ER L A UN C H ES DESI GN , TEC H N OLO GY ACAD EM Y

The Weber School in Sandy Springs has launched a new academy focused on technology and design.

The Zalik Academy, which launched this school year, will support “hands-on experimentation” in engineering, fashion, multimedia design, robotics, architecture and science research, according to a press release.

It will be housed in a new digital fabrication lab, dubbed the “Fab Lab,” that is expected to SPECIAL Ari Slomka, left, an 11th grader at The Weber School, open in August 2019. The acadeworks with Chris Chapman, a Fab Lab manager my is being funded by the Zalik and a program coordinator on a 3D model.

Foundation Fund, a local Jewish education philanthropy.

“Fab lab” is a term for a facility using computer-guided fabrication machines to create various products and objects. The fab lab concept started as a Massachusetts Institute of Technology class and is now a movement promoted and aided by the Bostonbased Fab Foundation.

There are about 1,000 fab labs in facilities in 78 countries, according to the foundation’s website, fabfoundation.org.

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1

O GL ETH ORP E UN IVERSI TY RECEIVES GR A N T TO IN C REA SE FA C ULTY D IVER SITY

Oglethorpe University was awarded a $500,000 grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to improve faculty diversity and bring it more in line with the diverse student body.

“Currently, our student body is substantially more diverse than our faculty, and we know that curricular offerings will be further enriched with a greater breadth of experiences and points of view in the classroom,” said school Provost Glenn Sharfman in the press release.

The grant will fund faculty member appointments during a four-year effort to increase diversity, the release said.

Of the Brookhaven university’s 1,250 students, 38 percent are Caucasian, 24 percent African American, and 11 percent Hispanic, with the remainder self-identifying as multiracial or not identifying, according to the release.

Of the faculty, 82 percent are Caucasian, 6 percent are African American, 8 percent Asian, and 3 percent Hispanic, the release said.

“Our enrollment composition makes Oglethorpe atypical among liberal arts colleges-and drives the need to diversify our faculty,” Sharfman said in the release. “Our goal is for our faculty to better reflect our students. This grant will help us move toward that goal significantly.”

Oglethorpe previously received a three-year Mellon grant in 2014 to support an initiative to revise the curriculum to better reflect the growing diversity of students, according to the release.

“This important initiative will build on our last grant from the Mellon Foundation,” Sharfman said.

BUC KH EA D SC H OOLS STA RT YEAR WI TH T R A UMA K ITS F ROM BUC K H EAD CO ALITIO N

Buckhead public schools started the school year with new trauma kits donated by the Buckhead Coalition at the end of the last school year.

Each kit contains gauze, a tourniquet, wound dressing and a pair of gloves.

The school packs, containing five kits each, are being offered free of charge to the principals of the eight public schools in Buckhead. The packs are designed to hang on the wall next to the standard first aid shelf.

The Buckhead Coalition, a nonprofit civic group, previously donated similar kits to the Atlanta Police Department.

“It was after learning of the inordinate number of public safety personnel dying from loss of blood when wounded in the line of duty that this nonprofit civic group arranged for front-line police to carry these kits specially designed for assistance in blood containment,” the coalition said in a press release.

Discount doesn't apply to member rate

8 | Special Section

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NOW Chamblee aims to remake historic downtown as ‘Town Center’ destination

BY DYANA BAGBY dyanabagby@reporternewspapers.net

A walkable “Town Center” with a wider variety of development and maybe even a signature bridge are ideas for a new master plan for Chamblee’s historic downtown.

The vision likely means City Hall and the police department would move.

In January, the city’s Downtown Development Authority hired Seven Oaks Company for $150,000 to create a master plan for the Town Center that will include public-private redevelopment of the area centered around Broad Street just off Peachtree Boulevard.

Considered the heart of the downtown area, where one-story retail businesses, an antique mall and City Hall and police department are now located, the historic district is ripe for bringing in retail and residential development as well as green space to create a destination location, according to the master plan.

Bob Voyles, principal with Seven Oaks, presented the master plan in July at a combined event of the Chamblee and Brookhaven chambers of commerce.

The plan includes creating a zoning overlay district for the downtown area. The plan was approved by the DDA in June and the mayor and City Council in July.

“City staff have been working on the recommendations and next steps that Seven Oaks provided in the plan, which include the creation of a sub-district for the downtown area and designing the streetscape along Broad Street,” city spokesperson Tisa Moore said.

“The next official action would be council approving the contract with whatever firm is selected to help with the rezoning this fall,” she added.

The city owns about 17 properties between Chamblee-Dunwoody Road and Ingersoll Rand Drive around the Broad Street area. The city is looking at acquiring or entering into ground leases for many more of the tracts in the area, Voyles explained.

Voyles said City Hall and the police de-

partment will likely have to be relocated from the area, although a precinct station would be located in the new district.

Chamblee is not new to redevelopment. Since 2000, the city has seen dramatic development that has “marched up” the split at Peachtree Boulevard and Old Peachtree Road, Voyles said, including the Peachtree Crossing shopping center anchored by Whole Foods.

A market study for the area shows a demand for 644 apartments in a transit-oriented development with structured parking, including a portion of these apartments targeted toward empty-nesters and those wanting to downsize from large single-family houses.

The market study also shows some demand for 60 attached townhomes and 47 single-family homes on the outskirts of the Town Center area.

A 120-room hotel including a lobby bar, meeting space and shuttle service can be supported in the Town Center project, according to the market study. And there is plenty of demand for neighborhood retail and a combination of fast-casual and fullservice restaurants with community gathering areas and a safe, accessible walking urban environment.

Parking is an issue that faces many small cities, Voyles said. In many cities with thriving downtown areas, such as Decatur, parking decks are “hidden” in pockets of development. There is also a movement toward paid parking, he said. The

city is also looking to start an autonomous shuttle service to provide connection to Doraville’s Assembly site.

A major challenge in developing the master plan is that Chamblee’s roads were created for large warehouses and industrial buildings as part of its railroad history. This means long roads with no blocks, Voyles explained, which are not conducive to creating a walkable community.

That means new roads will have to be built to break up the large blocks between Peachtree Boulevard and Peachtree Road, Voyles said. The new roads, combined with on-street parking to help slow traffic, are also intended to encourage pedestrian accessibility.

The master plan recommends development in phases. The first phase focuses on taking downtown Broad Street to incorporate existing buildings into a new pedes-

trian-oriented boulevard from Peachtree Road.

The second phase includes allowing for construction of a traffic circle on American Industrial Way (to be renamed American Way), as well as implementing streetscape improvements along that road and Broad Street.

The third phase will encourage private owners to take part in the overall master plan to transition the area from industrial use to office, residential and other retail or commercial uses.

Creating a gateway into the city is also a crucial part of the Town Center project, Voyles said, and the idea of an iron bridge at Peachtree Boulevard and the newly named American Way or Peachtree Road at the Chamblee-Dunwoody overpass are being considered.

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Community Survey / Reacting to crime fears With theft on the uptick in some local communities, concerns about crime have convinced some of us to change our ways.

Nearly half of the 200 respondents to a survey of residents of Reporter Newspapers communities reported they were doing something different in their daily lives because of their concerns about crime. About an equal number said they haven’t changed their behavior because of fear of crime.

Those who said they had made modifications to avoid becoming crime victims listed changes ranging from adding or expanding home security systems to being more careful about locking their cars, to just staying home at night.

“We don’t walk our dog when it’s dark anymore,” a 32-year-old Atlanta man reported.

“I always park under street lights now and refuse to look at my phone as I walk to my car a night,” a 24-year-old Atlanta man noted.

“Atlanta is a dangerous place,” a 70-year-old Atlanta woman commented. “I only go out during daylight hours.”

But not everyone is changing because of fears of crime. “We live in a densely populated urban neighborhood,” a 37-year-old Atlanta man wrote. “Making intelligent decisions solves most problems before they happen.”

“My behaviors have not changed,” a 28-year-old Dunwoody man said. “I take basic precautions (e.g., lock doors and windows).”

The survey was conducted by 1Q.com via cellphones to residents in Reporter Newspapers communities. The results are not scientific.

Although local police agencies say overall crime rates continue to decline, police in Buckhead and Dunwoody have reported seeing an uptick in property crime. Slightly more than half of the crime in the city of Atlanta revolved around cars, Atlanta Police Chief Erika Shields said in June.

Residents have noticed. “We have seen an increase in car break-ins/theft at night,” a 36-year-old Brookhaven woman noted. “We are now extra careful to not leave the car in the driveway and if we do, to ensure there are absolutely no items worth stealing!”

When asked their opinion on the best way to reduce crime in neighborhoods, respondents to the survey generally looked to more policing. Asked to choose among a half-dozen possible ways to address crime, more than a quarter (28 percent) of the respondents called for more police on neighborhood streets and nearly as many (23 percent) supported adding to the police department’s network of surveillance cameras.

But about as many (24 percent) backed the idea of improving diversion programs to steer young adults from gangs. Smaller groups backed better teaching of social responsibility in the schools (11 percent) and ending probation for repeat offenders (10 percent).

Some survey respondents said they were becoming more engaged in crime prevention. “I keep a more active eye on odd activity in the neighborhood and drivers around me when returning home,” a 50-year-old Atlanta man reported.

Others indicated they were taking matters into their own hands. Quite literally.

“I walk with my keys in my hands gripped hard,” a 30-year-old Sandy Springs woman noted.

“I bought a baseball bat,” a 25-year-old Buckhead man said.

What do you think would be the best way to reduce crime in your neighborhood?

4.5% 27.5%

24%

10%

11% 23%

Put more cops on neighborhood streets

Add more cameras to the police surveillance network

Teach social responsibility better in the schools

Improve programs to divert teens

and young adults from gangs End probation for repeat offenders Other BE COUNTED IN OUR NEXT READER SURVEY 1Q is an Atlanta-based startup that has developed a technology which sends questions and surveys to a cellphone via app or text message from businesses and organizations across the country. Respondents are paid 50 cents per answer, through PayPal, for sharing their opinions.

Payments may also be donated directly to charity. Sign up to be included in our local community polls at 1Q.com/reporter or by texting REPORTER to 86312.

Here’s what some other respondents had to say “I reinforced my front door after having it kicked in twice during the day. I also installed blinds. Sad, but true.”

— a 36-year-old Atlanta woman “I take pictures with my phone of suspicious cars and their license plates.”

— a 52-year-old Buckhead woman “I always lock my doors and am considering adding a security camera.”

— a 29-year-old Atlanta man “I have always been fairly diligent, but am even more so now. I recently had my car broken into and am very leery of parking garages.”

— a 43-year-old Brookhaven woman

“The crime rate is generally low. However, there are a lot of cat-callers, which makes me feel unsafe sometimes. Especially when they follow you. I have started wearing headphones when walking around so I can be left alone.”

— a 24-year-old Buckhead woman “I live in the city and don’t experience much crime. Although some basic precautions are necessary, like not keeping items visible in your car when parked on the street.”

— a 40-year-old Atlanta man

“We make sure to park in well-lit spots, walk in pairs at night, leave the back deck light on all night/motion sensor lights, etc.”

— a 29-year-old Atlanta woman “I am more cautious when walking by myself or driving. I usually am not outside at night alone by myself.”

— a 33-year-old Buckhead woman “Walking my dog or parking my car in a public area, I realize it is important to remain vigilant.”

— a 54-year-old Sandy Springs man

“I stay aware of my surroundings (but always have). I also think social media makes the fear worse than it should be.”

— a 38-year-old Buckhead woman BK

AUGUST 17 - 30, 2018

■

Following the social media crowd and liking it I’ve become my own carnival barker. I have a published #book, and now I am on social media, hawking it to anyone who will view a post.

I never was interested in social media. I never did Facebook. For me, joining Facebook would be like living in Disney World; I didn’t think I could handle the constant carnival. I dabbled in it just enough to stalk my children, but that’s as far as I allowed myself to go.

So instead, for my first foray into social media, I opted for LinkedIn, which is a fairly tame, buttoned-up professional network. It was perfect because I didn’t have to say a thing, and I could send out invitations for people to join my network each night while I was falling asleep. This was my kind of media!

Unfortunately, LinkedIn was not enough. When you’re #published, you have to put yourself out there, all over cyberspace. I had to pick another network, one with teeth. I could choose between Twitter (not me), Robin Conte lives with Facebook (already voted down) and Instagram, which won by deher husband in an fault. Plus, if I had to jump on the social network train, I figured I empty nest in Dun- might as well jump on the newest car in the station.

Instagram and I are pretty #happy together. For one thing, woody. To contact her it’s fairly streamlined. It’s basically pictures on an app on your or to buy her new colphone.

You take a picture and post a short caption and add few umn collection, “The #hashtags so that people all over the world can find you and like Best of the Nest,” see you and, hopefully, follow you. If you’re an advanced Instagramrobinconte.com. er, you can also create mini “stories.” I quickly learned the Insta-ropes, namely, how to bait strangers with hashtags (go #atlantaunited!) and photos of food.

I started an account at my first book signing with practically no millennial assistance at all. (OK, I took the pictures all by myself and the nice staff @davincidonuts showed me how to open the account.) But the thing about Instagram is that it’s somehow connected to Facebook, so that if you’re already on Facebook, your Facebook friends can flow seamlessly into your Instagram account. Since I wasn’t on Facebook, I started off #instapoor.

(Which rhymes with #rusticdecor.)

There’s nothing more humbling than having fewer followers than someone who doesn’t even have one post. No, there IS something more humbling, and that is when you’ve been scrounging for likes and followers for months, and then your son gets two times more likes on his first post than you have total followers … or when you see that someone’s pet has more followers than you do.

I managed to start off with six followers because I begged my family to follow me, and I discovered that somehow I had an old Instagram account that I started years ago, which allowed me to follow myself.

And to add to my humiliation, I got schooled by my youngest, who gently suggested that I check out the unwritten rules of Instagram (which are helpfully written all over the internet if you only know to look for them), and I learned to dial back my postings.

I also learned how to post in incomplete sentences. (Just for fun. Because … Instagram.)

Now I feel like I’m back in high school trying to get into the popular crowd. “Like me, and I’ll like you,” “Follow me, and I’ll follow you.” (Unwritten rule: you never post “follow me and I’ll follow you” — but believe me, you imply it.) And the irony is, I ended up starting a Facebook account after all.

Yes, it’s addictive, and yes, it’s great fun.

So here I am, @robincontewriter, barking to the cyberworld, but it’s all #instagood.

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BK

Commentary | 11

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State board to consider localized ambulance response Continued from page 1 station on Buford Highway.

“We are monitoring Dunwoody’s efforts and there may ultimately be a nexus in our efforts to improve response times in northern DeKalb County,” said Brookhaven City Manager Christian Sigman in a written statement.

Meanwhile, the county is rethinking its ambulance service model, with a consultant reviewing options for keeping it privatized, bringing it in-house, or a combination of the two.

All of the review comes amid complaints about private contractor American Medical Response, which officials say regularly fails to meet contractual response times and has left sick and injured Dunwoody residents waiting for 30 minutes or more. But a big question is whether anything can happen before AMR’s contract with DeKalb expires on Dec. 31 — and what happens then.

In May, Dunwoody declared an “EMS emergency” over poor ambulance response to such situations as an 18-monthold suffering seizures and a woman with a head injury who later died. Internal city emails show Brookhaven officials have followed the issue closely and have concerns about local response times as well.

An internal city memo obtained by the Reporter shows that Brookhaven had discussed a deal with DeKalb Fire Rescue and AMR to station ambulances at a QuikTrip gas station on Buford Highway that the city recently purchased for possible development. “This will be a year‐long pilot program to determine the impact on response times,” said City Manager Christian Sigman in the June 29 memo.

“There is no deal, but we are exploring that potential,” said Brookhaven city spokesperson Burke Brennan. “If it, or something like it, happens, it should help response times in north DeKalb.”

In a written statement, Sigman said Brookhaven is also in discussions with the county and AMR. “We are working closely with DeKalb Fire and AMR to develop solutions to improve response times in Brookhaven,” said

Sigman. “… I applaud AMR and DeKalb County in their active engagement in developing solutions to this basic public service.”

On Aug. 9, the Region 3 EMS Council, which advises the state Department of Public Health about setting ambulance contracts and zones, met at the notable location of Dunwoody City Hall to consider the city’s request for its own EMS service zone. The EMS Council approved forming an “ad hoc study committee” of its members to review possible new zones, essentially giving Dunwoody the consideration it asked for and the first step in possible city-provided EMS service or other countycreated alternative.

Dr. John Harvey, the EMS Council chairman, said that response times are a difficult issue in a busy urban area and metrics are “not as easy as getting a stopwatch and measuring how fast somebody can run to something.” But, he added, DeKalb and Dunwoody’s situation is a “serious issue.”

“It was a very successful meeting for us,” said Mayor Denis Shortal, who testified to the EMS Council, praising the EMS Council’s decision to speed the review along. The committee is to be formed and meeting within about two weeks.

Councilmember Terry Nall, who has driven the city’s protests about ambulance response times, was also among those testifying. He also praised the EMS Council’s decision after the meeting, though cautioning it was just “the first leg of a multi-leg race” and that the county could be “behind the eight ball” on the current contract’s year-end expiration. County officials did not have immediate comment on the contract expiration.

DeKalb Fire Rescue Chief Darnell Fullum is one of the EMS Council members.

He called the county’s contract with AMR “poorly crafted” and with “a lot of areas that are lacking.” He noted the contract went into effect in 2013, the year before he started the job.

Fullum said the county has hired the public safety consulting firm AP Triton to review the ambulance service, propose alternatives and work on a request for proposals for whatever the final service might

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Top, Dunwoody City Councilmember Terry Nall, at podium, speaks to the EMS Council during the Aug. 9 meeting.

be. The firm’s report is expected by the end of August.

However, Fullum said there are some clear ideas already for improvement, including developing a “tiered” system of prioritizing calls instead of treating them all as worthy of the same response. He described one possible public-private hybrid option as a system where in-house DeKalb ambulances respond to high-priority calls and private ambulances to lesser emergencies, or vice-versa. In the meantime, he said, the county may add still more ambulances to the fleet after a previous increase after Dunwoody’s May emergency declaration.

A big question going forward, Fullum said, is whether the county would pay “subsidies” for additional ambulances, as some other local cities do. Right now, the county doesn’t pay AMR at all; instead, the company gives the county money for every response. Dunwoody officials say that set-up is backward and creates the wrong incentives.

An AMR official attended the meeting, but did not testify and only briefly commented to the EMS Council that the company was reviewing its service. AMR has previously said that among its challenges are long paperwork times at hospital emergency rooms.

AMR has been controversial both nationally and locally for long ambulance response times. After similar complaints in south Fulton County cities, the state in May approved changing the EMS contract there to Grady. AMR caused further concern by saying it wanted to pull out of its lameduck contract there earlier than expected.

At the Aug. 9 EMS Council meeting, member Steve Moyers, a representative for Fulton County, reported that south Fulton is seeing a “smooth transition” to Grady EMS. Nall said that Dunwoody is not the only concerned city that might be helped by the DeKalb review. The city of Brookhaven previously said it is reviewing local ambulance response times and reported some longer than allowed under the county contract.

Nall said Brookhaven officials have “dissatisfication” with AMR but are letting Dunwoody take the lead.

Response time ‘emergency’

AMR’s contract treats all of DeKalb as

JOHN RUCH

a single response zone and the company promises that ambulances will arrive within 8 minutes, 59 seconds in at least 90 percent of the calls — an industry benchmark that varies widely in practice.

Top Dunwoody officials told the EMS Council that the contract is not working by either numbers or by a sense of safety.

Nall said the Dunwoody public is “very scared” and wondering whether they should even call 911 “versus stuffing an emergency patient in the car and hauling it to the hospital.”

City Manager Eric Linton said the contract was “designed for failure” with its lack of metrics and the lack of incentives with the company paying the county for calls.

Police Chief Billy Grogan reviewed a city-hired consultant’s statistics on AMR response times within the city, saying they were “unacceptable and putting lives at risk.” He said that in January through April of this year, 31.9 percent of ambulance response times were over the 8 minute, 59 second mark. The average was 10 minutes, 55 seconds; the “90th percentile” of worst response times averaged to 18 minutes, 38 seconds.

After the May emergency declaration and AMR putting more ambulances on call in the city, just over a quarter of responses were still longer than the benchmark, Grogan said.

On May 16 — days before the emergency declaration — police and firefighters called AMR for a pedestrian hit by a car on Tilly Mill Road, Grogan said. The call went out at 7:45 a.m. and the ambulance did not arrive until 8:48 a.m. — and no other ambulance was available in the entire county, Grogan said.

Dunwoody incorporated in 2008 to ensure more local control and independence from DeKalb government, and there has sometimes been ongoing political friction.

Shortal emphasized that such cases show the ambulance concerns are not from a “snap decision, whim or political motivation.”

Deputy Chief Joseph Lumpkin of DeKalb’s public safety office agreed with the reality, saying that “we recognize this is a flawed contract. This contract does not do what we want it to do.”

–Dyana Bagby contributed BK

AUGUST 17 - 30, 2018

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Community | 13

www.ReporterNewspapers.net

City approves compromise on 5-acre off-leash dog park

BY DYANA BAGBY dyanabagby@reporternewspapers.net

Dogs will soon run free in a fencedin section of Brookhaven Park after the City Council approved a deal that maintains what may be the region’s largest off-leash dog area while separating the animals from other park-goers.

The City Council on Aug. 14 approved spending up to $50,000 to install a fence around 5 acres of the 15acre Brookhaven Park to be used by off-leash dogs. The vote brings closure to a years-long and often contentious debate between dog owners and those opposed to off-leash dogs in the city’s namesake park, which were technically illegal.

“This is the compromise we have been looking for, for years,” Mayor John Ernst said during a council worksession discussion before the vote. “In the end, we have the largest off-leash dog park in the metro area and this allows us to have closure on this and allows us to move forward. This is a big win.”

A compromise on the fence line enclosing the dog area in the park, located at the corner of Osborne and Peachtree roads, was reached between the Brookhaven Park Conservancy and the newly formed Brookhaven Park Association just hours before the mayor and City Council’s 3:30 p.m. work session. A previous proposal for a straightline fence was scrapped.

Members of the Brookhaven Park Association cheered the final vote.

“This plan has a whole lot of something for everyone,” BPA member Kathy Veitch said during public comment before the vote. “I’m excited about the fenced-in area that will provide a sense of security for everyone. The fencing also helps define the area where people who don’t like dogs or don’t want to be around dogs know not to come in.”

Thad Ellet, president of the Brookhaven Park Conservancy, thanked the council following the vote for getting in the middle of a “dog fight,” alluding to the many contentious meetings it took to reach the final compromise.

“The only real sadness is that we have to put up fences to seal the deal,” he said. Making off-leash dogs legal in the park is also a “big deal,” he said. A city ordinance requires dogs to be onleash in the park, but it has not been enforced. Brookhaven Park, which was run by DeKalb County before the city’s 2012 incorporation, over many years became a de facto off-leash park for many living in the city and metro Atlanta.

The fenced-in area in the northwest BK

corner of the park will include an existing pavilion. A new pavilion and new playground will be built in the front part of the park as the Brookhaven Park master plan moves forward.

Installation of the fence will be delayed until a walking trail around the perimeter of the entire park is cleared.

Parks and Recreation Director Brian Borden said that should not take long and the fence could start going up in the next several weeks. The fence will be 5 feet high and made of chain link.

The city had previously budgeted $245,000 for a fence. Now up to $50,000 of that will go to the fence and the balance will go toward construction of the new pavilion, according to City Manager Christian Sigman.

Councilmember Bates Mattison, whose district includes Brookhaven Park, voted in favor of the contract with Marietta Fence Company despite his dissatisfaction with the compromise, saying it “split the baby.”

“The great downside is we have a huge fence chopping up our park,” he said.

He had hoped the city could continue working toward a more progressive compromise where there would be

DYANA BAGBY

Members of the Brookhaven Park Association, formed in June to fight for off-leash dog use at Brookhaven Park, showed up in force at the Aug. 14 City Council meeting.

certain hours of the day when the entire park could remain an off-leash dog park and keep the park as it has been for decades. But fellow council members did not support that option.

Mattison also asked the council to defer voting on the fence line until after a master plan was approved. But council members said they have re-

ceived enough public input to believe it was time to make a final decision.

Ernst praised the agreement, saying it creates the largest off-leash dog park in metro Atlanta. Nearby Dunwoody, which went through a similar battle over its dog park several years ago, has a 4-acre dog park at Brook Run Park.

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Greenway groundbreaking expected by year’s end

Top, and right, renderings of different views of the Peachtree Creek Greenway’s Salvation Army trailhead at Corporate Boulevard.

ALL RENDERINGS COURTESY OF CITY OF BROOKHAVEN

Continued from page 1 land along the multi-use path, including the use of eminent domain in several instances.

The first one-mile stretch of the Greenway is located between North Druid Hills Road and Briarwood Road. Total cost for that section is expected to be between $8 million to $10 million, Greenway project manager Moe Trebuchon told the mayor and City Council at its Aug. 14 meeting.

“The project continues to gain positive momentum,” Trebuchon told the council.

“Shortly after Labor Day we plan to go to bid for phase one and expect to have market pricing in October so we can determine the true cost and then make a recommendation to the council on to whom the contract is to be awarded.”

The $8 million to $10 million price tag is within the cost estimates made over the

past year for the first phase and is within the amount of up to approximately $12.4 million in revenue bonds the city is issuing for the Greenway with the backing of hotel-motel taxes.

Ed McBrayer, executive director of the PATH Foundation, who the city contracted with to design the linear park and multi-use trail, walked the council through the final 100 percent design of the first phase.

Several adjustments and tweaks have been made over the past several months as the city acquired new property and following the decision by the city to locate its new public safety building on the 19 acres of Briarwood Road where a trailhead is also to be located, he said.

For example, a trail head entrance is now being located on North Druid Hills after the city purchased an old sign shop

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building adjacent to the Salvation Army property. The entrance to the Greenway will be at the traffic light at West Druid Hills Drive just past the Salvation Army’s main entrance on North Druid Hills Road, he said.

With that former sign shop land, a parking lot area along with a plaza and steps leading to the Greenway trail next to Peachtree Creek will be constructed.

The two-lane driveway from North Druid Hills Road down to near the creek will be steep because the city cannot fill in where the floodplain exists on the site, McBrayer said. Steps will be built for access to the lower trail from the parking area.

Also in cooperation with the Salvation Army on some of its donated Corporate Boulevard property, another reconfigured parking area and trailhead will be located, McBrayer said. That will allow for a bike trail and an upper trail access from the parking area and a spur will be built to go to the lower trail, he said.

A third access point will be at Briarwood Road where more parking will be available as well as a plaza area and stairs leading down to the Greenway trail. That site will be where the new public safety building will be constructed, but due to public safety regulations, the trailhead parking and public safety building cannot share parking, McBrayer said. The new building will also have its own sep-

arate road off Briarwood Road, he said.

“You’ve got three nice access points – the parking lot at Briarwood, the parking lot off the Salvation Army property and parking and access at North Druid Hills,” McBrayer said. “A lot of people will arrive as pedestrians and cyclists, but you will have adequate access for cars.”

A “major bridge crossing” is also planned from Corporate Square to the north side of the creek to the Jackson Square townhome complex on Buford Highway. There is a small parcel of land where the bridge ends near the residential property that is proposed to become a green space area. The small lot was acquired by DeKalb County via FEMA Hazard Mitigation and the city continues to work with FEMA on getting approval for the property.

Public input is being sought until Aug. 24 on the proposed construction of the bridge as part of FEMA pre-disaster mitigation deed restrictions to provide input on what impact the bridge may have.

Emails can be sent to Moe.Trebuchon@ brookhavenga.gov.

There will be lighting overhead on the bridge as well as underneath to provide a glow as people walk and cycle across the bridge, McBrayer said. Design details of trash cans, benches, mileposts and signs have been decided.

BK

AUGUST 17 - 30, 2018

■

Community | 15

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Above, the red square shows where a trailhead and parking area off North Druid Hills Road will be located. Below, A close-up rendering shows what that area will look like once completed. The Greenway is expected to break ground by the end of this year.

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Councilmember Joe Gebbia asked where the zero-mile marker should be located. McBrayer said that is up to the council, but he suggested the point at which the Greenway is slated to meet PATH400 in Buckhead in future phases of the project. The city is also working with the Atlanta Regional Commission and the city of Atlanta to ensure connectivity to PATH400 and eventually to the Atlanta BeltLine.

Councilmember Bates Mattison asked whether there would be police call boxes located along the trail to quell fears of crime. McBrayer played down the need for them and said crime is not a problem on public trails. Video cameras will be placed along the trail for security.

“Your trail will be lit. I’ve never heard that we need call boxes [on trails],” he said. “This trail will be so heavily used and by the right people you’re probably BK

going to forget you asked me that question.”

City Manager Christian Sigman pointed out the new public safety headquarters where the new police department will be located is also being built on trailhead property and said police will be patrolling the Greenway as well.

The Greenway is being built within a floodplain, but McBrayer said the trail will be built to withstand any potential future flooding.

The City Council at the Aug. 14 meeting also approved Right of Entry Agreements between the city and Government Properties Income Trust that has property in Corporate Square, Jackson Square Condominiums and the Jackson Square Condominium Homeowners Association to provide access for construction of the Peachtree Creek Greenway.

16 | Art & Entertainment

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WALK, WAG N’RUN

Saturday, Aug. 25, 7:30 a.m.

Ahimsa House, Georgia’s only nonprofit that helps human and animal victims of domestic violence, hosts its seventh annual 5K and Fun Run. The 5K starts at 7:30 a.m. Fun Run begins at 8:45 a.m. Funds support shelter, veterinary care and legal advocacy. The 5K is a Peachtree Road Race qualifier and runs through Lenox Park in Brookhaven. Dogs welcome. Free parking adjacent to the park at 1025 Lenox Park Blvd. N.E., Brookhaven. Register: ahimsahouse.org/walkwagnrun.

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SANDY SPRINGS

PERFORMANCES STEFAN DONNER ORGAN CONCERT

Wednesday, Aug. 22, 7-8 p.m.

Holy Innocents’ Episcopal Church presents organist Stefan Donner, of Vienna, Austria, playing works of Carl Czerny, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Felix Mendelssohn and Franz Schmidt. Free. 805 Mount Vernon Highway N.W., Sandy Springs. Info: holyinnocents.org/ music/friends-of-music.

Saturday, Aug. 25, 7:45 p.m.

Sponsored by the Brookhaven Police Department, this second annual event supports the “Shop with a Badge” program that helps provide Christmas gifts to underprivileged children. Events begin with a tot trot glow run at 7:45 p.m. The 5K starts at 8 p.m. and a 1.5M event starts at 8:10 p.m.

Murphey Candler Park, 1551 West Nancy Creek Drive N.E., Brookhaven. Register: raceroster.com/ events/2018/18054/2nd-annual-hot-pursuit-glow-run.

IGNITE MACCABI OFFICIAL LAUNCH PARTY

Sunday, Aug. 26, 3-6 p.m.

The Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta will hold an official launch party and torch lighting for the 2019 JCC Maccabi Games, an annual international Olympic-style event for Jewish teens. The games, to start next July, will be held in Atlanta for just the second time since they began in 1982. The launch party will feature music, sports and swimming pool activities, video game trucks and food trucks. All ages. Free. 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Dunwoody. Info: atlmaccabi2019.org.

SUNDAY COMMUNITY CYCLE Sunday, Sept. 2, 3-4 p.m.

Join Bike-Walk Dunwoody on the first Sunday of each month for a Community Bicycle Ride kicking off and ending at Village Burger on Dunwoody Village Parkway. After a pre-ride safety talk at 2:45 p.m., the group departs for a 4.5-mile loop around Dunwoody. Hang out after the ride for $1 custards, $1 discounts on beers, and post-ride socializing. All ages and abilities welcome. Helmets required. Free.

1426 Dunwoody Village Parkway, Dunwoody. Info: bikewalkdunwoody.org.

KIDS AND FAMILIES MOVIES BY MOONLIGHT SUNSET SIPS FEATURING NO SOLUTION

Thursday, Aug. 23, 6:30-9:30 p.m.

No Solution, an award-winning blues and rock band comprised of Atlanta high school students, performs at the Chattahoochee Nature Center. Picnics welcome, cash bar. Included with general admission. $10 adults, $7 ages 65+ and ages 13-18, $6 ages 3-12, ages 2 and under free. 9135 Willeo Road, Roswell. Info: chattnaturecenter.org.

GET ACTIVE DATE NIGHT RIVER CANOE TRIP

Friday, Aug. 24, 6 p.m.

Chattahoochee Nature Center canoe guides will lead this 2.5-hour adult-only evening paddle.

Learn all about the Chattahoochee River and look for wildlife with naturalists. When the trip is done, roast marshmallows over a campfire. Ages 21+. $35; $30 CNC members. 135 Willeo Road, Roswell. Info: chattnaturecenter.org.

Friday, Aug. 24, 6 p.m.

Leadership Sandy Springs opens its free outdoor movie series with the animated Disney film “Coco” and premovie activities celebrating Mexican culture as part of the inaugural season of the Performing Arts Center at City Springs. Children enrolled in Sandy Springs’ Los Ninos Primero dance program and the Mariachi Los Arrieros band of Atlanta are scheduled to perform. A fullsize Day of the Dead Altar will be on display. Games, food trucks, picnics welcome. City Springs Center Lawn, 1 Galambos Way, Sandy Springs. Info: leadershipsandysprings.org/events/movies-by-moonlight or 404-2569091.

COMIC BOOK MAGNETS

Tuesday, Aug. 26, 4-5 p.m.

Aug. 28 is Read Comics In Public Day. Comics lovers of all ages are invited to the Northside Branch Library to create magnets using comic art. Color copies will be made of comic art in the library’s collection or bring your own art. Free. 3295 Northside Parkway, N.W., Buckhead. Info: afpls.org/northside-branch.

AUGUST 17 - 30, 2018

Art & Entertainment | 17

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GET INTO THE COMMUNITY

CHORAL GUILD OF ATLANTA

Ongoing Choral Guild of Atlanta, a group of volunteer singers who connect with the community through music, invites singers of all voice parts to audition for the guild’s 79th season. To schedule an audition, send an email to info@cgatl.org or call 404-223-6362. Info: cgatl.org.

SUMMER SIPS WITH SANDY SPRINGS

Wednesday, Aug. 22, 6:30-9 p.m.

Join the Sandy Springs Perimeter Chamber’s Health and Well-Being Council and Sandy Springs businesses at the Aston City Springs Clubhouse for an evening of food from area restaurants, wine from Total Wine & More and giveaways. Learn about the services local businesses provide.

Free. 6400 Blue Stone Road, Sandy Springs. RSVP required. Info: business.sandyspringsperimeterchamber.com/events.

THE LIMELIGHT – HOTLANTA – OH MY!

Wednesday, Aug. 22, 7 p.m.

The Buckhead Heritage Society revisits the Limelight nightclub in a program featuring Guy D’Alema, house photographer for Limelight, which operated in Buckhead from 1980-87 and was often referred to as the “Studio 54 of the South.” D’Alema will project photos from his recent book, “LIMELIGHT … in a sixtieth of a second.” Disco duds welcome, with special recognition awarded to the best dressed individuals and couples. $10 members; $20 nonmembers. Sanctuary Nightclub, 3209 Paces Ferry Place, Buckhead. Register: buckheadheritage.com.

VOLUNTEER

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO WINNIE THE POOH

Sunday, Aug. 26, 10-11 a.m.

Explore the spiritual dimensions of A. A. Milne’s “Winnie the Pooh” series from a Christian perspective at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church.

Free. Register for a Winnie the Pooh Picnic at the church at 12:15 p.m. and for a 1:30 p.m. tour of the Winnie the Pooh exhibit at Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, with behind-the-scenes stories from docents. Children welcome. Nursery available during the forum. Picnic and tour are $15 each. 3180 Peachtree Road N.E., Buckhead. Info: prumc.org/events. Or Leslie Watkins at lesliew@prumc.org.

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Ongoing Hundreds of volunteers are needed for the 33rd annual Sandy Springs Festival, a Sept. 22-23 event presented by Heritage Sandy Springs. Individuals and groups (adult and youth) are needed Sept.

21-23 to set up, serve as greeters, sell beverages, register runners at the 10K/5K, and to fill other needs. Info: sandyspringsfestival.com. Email hglass@heritagesandysprings.org or call 404-8519111 x6.

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18 | Art & Entertainment

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Special exhibits mark 50 years of teaching art in Chastain Park

BY JUDITH SCHONBAK Fifty years ago, a former almshouse in Chastain Park transformed into a center where people of any age and skill level could learn how to make art.

Now the Chastain Arts Center and Gallery is celebrating its golden anniversary with special exhibits while continuing to teach painting, jewelry-making, potteryfiring and more. It’s Atlanta’s oldest community arts center, according to the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs.

“This place has a special atmosphere,” said Karen Lowe, the facility manager and curator at the 135 West Wieuca Road N.W. arts center since 2010. “Students come here to begin art and to continue their art. We have students who have been coming almost since it opened, and there are students who have become professional artists and who return regularly to sharpen their skills and to enjoy the camaraderie of other artists.”

The center has several longtime instructors, too. Dolores Kennedy is one of them.

A Brookhaven resident and graduate of the former Atlanta College of Art, she’s been teaching painting and related subjects at the center for 45 years.

Kennedy recalls signing up to teach at the center when the Buckhead area was a

PHOTOS BY PHIL MOSIER

Anu Sipp, 7, learns “Doodling as a Fine Art” from Meta Cooper, the center’s summer art instruction coordinator.

Call 404-497-1020 for an appointment.

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Top, Carol Santos, a Sandy Springs resident and artist, and daughter Marina, 10, join in an outdoor painting contest during the Chastain Art Center’s 50th anniversary celebration Aug. 11.

Left, a palette awaits a painter’s brush.

sleepy and remote bedroom community to Atlanta. She was one of only three instructors, and the only painter; the others were a potter and a weaver.

“It was up to me to suggest classes and I chose beginning watercolor and basic drawing,” she says.

In those days, the center had no air conditioning in the summer, and heat in the winter came from old steam radiators.

The lack of basic comforts were part of the building’s history as one of two racially segregated almshouses — county homes for seniors and people with disabilities who were poor — built near each other in

1901 to 1911, before Chastain Park existed.

The other, far grander almshouse is now the Galloway School’s signature Gresham Building. Both Neo-Classical buildings were designed by Thomas Henry Morgan, an architect whose firm was behind many of Atlanta’s civic and educational buildings — including Agnes Scott College’s main building — and early skyscrapers, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia.

In 1968, the city of Atlanta bought the almshouse, shut it down and turned it into the arts center. Ten years later, a former caretaker’s outbuilding in the rear was turned into the gallery and connected to the main building.

Today, the center is busy with dozens

AUGUST 17 - 30, 2018

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Art & Entertainment | 19

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Perimeter North Medical Associates is proud to serve the families throughout the Atlanta area. Offering a full range of family medicine and endocrinology services, our experienced physicians offer attentive, compassionate care to keep you and your family happy and healthy at all stages of life. We accept most insurance plans and offer same-day appointments for sick visits.

Our Services Include: • Physical exams & wellness care for men, women & children • Care for chronic illness, including diabetes, hormone and thyroid disorders Top, the members of Hicks With Picks — from left, Mike Nugent, Jeff Pore and Mary Gowing — play on the Chastain Arts Center porch during its Aug. 11 50th anniversary celebration.

• Immunizations • Acute illness treatment for colds, fevers, flu & more

Right, anniversary mugs available at the center.

of courses. The fall schedule begins Sept.

4 with more than 60 classes in the visual arts. The majority are 10-week sessions for adults, and there are classes for children, pre-teens and teens. The classes range from beginning painting and drawing to advanced courses in painting and composition, as well as a full schedule of pottery classes, jewelry making, printmaking and others.

The center is celebrating its anniversary with several shows and events, including the two-part “Fifty-Fifty” exhibit, which showcases the works of the center’s instructors and students.

The first part, “Vessels,” features the work of past and present Chastain instructors in pottery and jewelry making and their interpretation of a vessel. On display in the gift shop area, the show ends Aug. 18.

The second part presents 50 works in a variety of mediums by current Chastain Arts Center students. The show, also in the gift shop space, opens Sept. 7 and runs until Nov. 8.

On Aug. 11, the center celebrated its official 50th birthday with public festivities on the grounds. The event included outdoor painting, food, live music — and plenty of art.

A major exhibit, “The Chastain Experiment,” was unveiled in the art gallery during the Aug. 11 event. It features the work of 10 of the center’s artist-instructors. The large-scale works — seven feet by eight feet — were created directly on the gallery walls. The art is on display through Sept.

8, then the works will be scrubbed off or painted over.

“Even though these are ephemeral paintings, every artist created a significant piece of art,” said Lowe.

And for those who would like to learn more about Chastain Arts Center itself, there’s plenty more of that on display, too.

Premiered at the celebration was a video about the center’s history, told through

more than 50 interviews with past and present instructors, students and employees. Shown on a large screen in the gift shop, it will run for several months.

For more information about the center, see ocaatlanta.com/chastain.

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20 |

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e’re honored that Reporter Newspapers has won 24 awards in its division in the Georgia Press Association’s 2018 and 2017 Better Newspaper Competitions, which are judged by newspaper professionals from around the country.

Photography /4 awards Lifestyle Column /5 awards Layout & Design /3 awards Local News Coverage / 3 awards Newspaper Website / 2 awards Business Writing / 2 awards

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The #1 preferred source for local news and information!* MAY 12 - 25, 2017• VOL. 8 — NO.

MAY 26 - JUNE 8, 2017 • VOL. 11— NO. 11

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► New law is a boost to local beer, whiskey crafters PAGE 4 ► Cuban sandwich shop mixes tastiness with tenacity PAGE 5

Dawn of a new church

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► Eyed for trails, pipeline routes are serious business

Current City Hall site City proposes targeted for redevelopment $106 million

Little-known vet memorials | 8

johnruch@reporternewspapers.net

The city is proposing a $106 million operating budget for fiscal year 2018, an increase of about a half-percent over the current year, officials said at a May 23

OUT & ABOUT Lantern Parade will light up the Hooch

Page 20 buys condos, displaces tenants

Page 16

johnruch@reporternewspapers.net

JAN PAUL

Chairperson, Georgia Public Broadcasting

See Commentary, Page 14

GRUBB PROPERTIES

OUT & ABOUT Storyteller ‘Rosie the Riveter’ comes to town Page 19

BY JOHN RUCH

From documentaries on diversity and inclusion to community partnerships on autism awareness, GPB is an educational lifeline to millions of Georgia students, teachers and residents.

TERNEWSPAPERS

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EWS

MARCH 3 -

on ► MARTA’s CEO speaks response to I-85 disaster PAGE 5

► ‘The good, the bad the ugly’ of 2017 legislative session

SPECIAL SECTION | P22-26

PAGE 14

City’s new medical center wants to grow

Mary Hall Freedom House, a nonprofit that helps women with homelessness and addiction issues, has bought 33 units of a Sandy Springs condominium complex for use as transitional housing and possible redevelopment into a larger facility or headquarters.

One of the two dozen tenants currently renting those condo units is complaining about the “irony” of losing her home to an organization that helps the homeless.

See HOMELESSNESS on page 22

I want to see a competition that celebrates our everyday Home Kitchen challenges. ...

The Chairman would be the Original Iron Chef’s Mother-in-Law. Prizes are a month’s supply of lasagna and a spa weekend. A chef wins if her kids eat her food.

Robin’s Nest, page 15

See CURRENT on page 22

DeKalb CEO: EMS response time improves

BY DYANA BAGBY

dyanabagby@reporternewspapers.net

Ambulance response times in the city are improving after changes were made by the private company contracted by DeKalb County to provide the emergency service, including hiring more staff, according to county officials.

The City Council in December raised serious concerns with the DeKalb Fire & Rescue chief and the regional director of American Medical Response over ambulance response times in the city, noting there were numerous instances of ambuSee DEKALB on page 13

PHOTOS BY PHIL MOSIER

on April 8 as part Corporate Boulevard page 19. of Peachtree Creek around For more photos, see a bank of the north fork “Sweep the Hooch” event.

Volunteers clean up Riverkeeper’s annual of the Chattahoochee

EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATOR Passing on her culinary passion Page 27

I believe [President Trump] is strong enough to force Congress to break through this nonsense and get something done.

DAVID PERDUE U. S. Senator

See PERDUE, page 21.

OUT & ABOUT Get grounded with Earth Day events Page 6

11 — NO. 5

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Glowing for a cause

BY DYANA BAGBY spapers.net dyanabagby@reporternew

A developer plans to build two residential towers and an office tower at Perimeter Center East, where Dunwoody City Hall now is located.

Representatives from North Carolina-based Grubb Properties described their proposal, which is still in the concept stage, to the board of the Dunwoody Homeowners Association on May 7. The company owns about 19.5 acres in Perimeter Center East, with three mid-rise office buildings, one of which serves as City Hall.

The property is behind the Ravinia complex off Ashford-Dunwoody Road.

The city is relocating to a new City Hall

16, 2017 • VOL.

Buckhead Reporter

and

BY DYANA BAGBY dyanabagby@reporternewspapers.n et

percent decline.

The police department would get a budget boost of more than 9 percent to about $22.8 million. Part of that is a salAbove, a a bird’s eye view of the proposed redevelopment in ary increase to remain competitive as Perimeter Center East includes, residential towers and a new office to the left, two new tower. In the State Patrol pay boost is attracting offiremain and have retail on the ground center are two current mid-rise office buildings that would floor. To the right are two new apartment Inset, an illustration of what the buildings. cers away from the department, city offistreetscape might look like in the development. cials said. The boost also includes hiring

EXCEPTIO 11 See CITY on pageNAL EDUCATOR ss literature Teaching Homelessne through life nonprofit

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Picking up at Peachtree Creek

BY JOHN RUCH

PHIL MOSIER

VOL. 9 — NO. 8

Brookhaven Reporter

PAGE 6

FY2018 budget

home of St. Joseph Maronite to the first Mass, held Sunday, May 14, at the new Rev. Dominique Hanna welcomes his congregation the former building of Apostles St. Joseph moved from an Atlanta location into Catholic Church at Glenridge and Hammond drives. attended St. Joseph’s debut. financial turmoil. More than 400 parishioners Church, a Lutheran congregation that closed amid

Pages 18-19

APRIL 14 - 27, 2017 •

► Buckhead company keeps ‘quirky’ old-school sodas fizzing

City Council meeting.

The budget will take effect July 1. The council will hold public hearings on the budget on June 6 and June 20.

The budget projects revenues of about $92 million, with money from a reserve fund balancing the expenditures. The revenue projection is about 1 percent higher than fiscal 2017. While most revenue sources are projected to increase, property taxes are expected to show a 2.2

EDUCATION Top of the Class

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► Historic locomotive makes tracks to Buckhead PAGE 4 SPECIAL SECTIO N | P22-27

Buckhead ma ster plan to allow more input on big ideas

Wearing glow necklaces and Garden Hills shirts with in the Garden Hills/Pe second annual Family reflective shoeprints, adults, Flashlight Fun achtree Park kids of all ages, Run, held Sunday Friends Group strollers and PHOTO BY volunteers, PHIL MOSIER dogs take benefits Childre evening, Feb. 26. The nearly 1-mile to the streets of n’s Healthcare race, organiz of Atlanta. More pictures, page ed by 18.►

BY DYANA BAGBY

apers.net

dyanabagby@reporternewsp

Classroom gam from math to es, Shakespeare

to the April 18 As the days tick down the open 6th Conspecial election to fill each of the 18 cangressional District seat, furiousPage are trying 28 didates in the large field from the pack. ly to separate themselves was at opportunity public The latest forum hosted by the April 9 candidate rs Association the Dunwoody Homeowne at Dunwoody High and Dunwoody Crier early voting in School. Voters are already seat that had been the election to fill the Tom Price, who reheld by Republican

See 6TH on page 18

reporternewspa pers.net

PAGE 5

of Atlanta is seekChildren’s Healthcare along the Northing to have 11.4 acres into the city of east Expressway annexed 8-story office Brookhaven for a proposed massive expansion of building as part of a at North Druid Hills its new 45-acre campus includes buyRoad and I-85. The expansion ing out a church. city officials say is It’s just part of what redevelopment commajor medical-related to the Execuing after years of anticipation tive Park area. request with annexation the filed CHOA is asking for a spethe city on April 5. It also for some of the propcial land-use permit the 8-story, 340,000erty in order to build on land currently square-foot building CHOA also wants zoned only for five stories. to build a parking deck.

SLUP requests are The annexation and up by the Planning expected to be taken Council in June.

Commission and City SLUP is approved “If the annexation and See CITY on page 20

6th District hopefuls squareEXCEPTIONAL EDUCATOR off in debate

EPORTER_NEWS

► New prog ressive attracts activ group ists

OUT & ABOUT

[Students need] A very special more ‘reallife’ education scenarios: finan es, investing, c- performance of budgeting. A lot of ‘The kids graduate Wizard of Oz’ and don’t know how to balan ce a checkbook, Page but know how 6 to do some math problem with only symbols.”

BY JOHN RUCH johnruch@rep orternewspape rs.net The Buckh ead master plan will keep on planning for a while.

A Feb. 27 community meeting for the “BUCKHEAD REdeFINED” scheduled to plan was be the last, but now input will continue into April to hash out some controversial ideas, said Eric Bosma lead consul n of tant Kimley -Horn. Those clude ideas inlarge and small for Buckhead’s commercial core, from a new terchange to Ga. 400 ina neighborhood trail loop.

A crowd of about 100 at the Atlant Internationa a l School receive ing, 90-min d a sprawlute presen tation that rowed some narearlier ideas, others, and elaborated introduced still more concepts, all new while mingli ng short- and long-term plans.

Several of its recommende steps” are alread d “first y underway, ing the PATH4 like finish00 trail along Ga. 400; some See BUCKHEAD on page 16

Massell: Buckhead getting bigger busier, wealth , ier

BY JOHN RUCH

johnruch@repo

rternewspapers.

Residents grad on preparing e schools students for careers and civic life See COMMUNITY SURVEY Page 14

*Source: independent reader survey

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net

Buckhead is big, busy and wealthy. And by 2020, it’ll be even bigger, wealthier. busier and So said Buckhe ad Coalition Sam Massel president l in his annual “State of the Community” address Feb. 23 at the City Club of Buckhe ad, hosted by the Buckhead Business Associa tion.

Massell listed branding points” several “bragging and projecting the the neighborhood booms in ’s population, real estate See MASSELL on page 17

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Judge denies resident’s challenge of Greenway bond

BY DYANA BAGBY dyanabagby@reporternewspapers.net

A DeKalb County Superior Court judge has ruled against a Brookhaven resident’s challenge of the city’s $12.4 million bond validation for the Peachtree Creek Greenway.

The July 31 ruling made way for the immediate sale of the bonds to be used for the construction of the linear park expected to break ground before the end of the year.

Terrell Carstens of Brookhaven Fields challenged the city’s bond validation last month as a private resident and with no attorney.

In her challenge, she claimed the intergovernmental agreement between the city and the newly formed Brookhaven Public Facilities Authority was actually a loan agreement and violated Georgia law because it did not provide a public service to the city. In an interview, Carstens said the city should have put the bond issue up to a public vote.

Judge Gregory Adams denied Carsten’s claim and said in his ruling that the state Supreme Court has ruled IGA contracts like that used in Brookhaven are valid.

One example was a Cobb County resident’s 2015 challenge of an IGA between the county and the Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority to issue bonds to finance the construction of a new Atlanta Braves stadium. The state Supreme Court ruled that the IGA was valid because the city and the authority are authorized to build, construct and operate municipal assets, including parks. The same laws apply to the Peachtree Creek Greenway, according to Adams.

The justices also ruled that the new baseball park was a project that was for the benefit of the public and fulfilled the IGA contract. Adams ruled that the Peachtree Creek Greenway will be open to all residents of Brookhaven, making it a public benefit.

Carstens also stated in oral argument before the judge that the bond issue for the Greenway is “financially unsound.” Judge Adams said she offered no testimony to support this claim.

He added the city was able to establish the project, the bonds and security are “sound, feasible and reasonable.”

The judge also noted in his ruling that Carstens had no standing because she did not testify under oath her right to intervene because she provided no proof she was a Georgia resident and Brookhaven resident, necessary in such a challenge.

The debt will be paid by revenue created from the city’s hotel-motel tax. Last year the General Assembly approved the city’s request to raise the hotel-motel tax from 5 percent to 8 percent specifically to create a revenue stream for funding the Greenway.

“It is an inherently American process for citizens to have their voices heard in the court system, and intervene if they believe necessary,” said City Manager Chris- CHRISTIAN SIGMAN tian Sigman in a prepared statement. “We CITY MANAGER are satisfied that the court took the time to weigh the considerations and decide accordingly in the city’s favor.”

Sigman noted that on July 24, both Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and Moody’s Investor Services (Moody’s) awarded triple A ratings to the city based on a review of its financial health, management and fiscal policies.

Carstens said in an email she had no regrets challenging the city.

“I was simply there to exercise my right to speak on concerns of mine and others and to bring them forward for Judge Adams to consider,” she said. “It was indeed unfamiliar territory for me, but I learned a lot about the process and our city. The outcome though, is disappointing.”

She said she still has reservations the city is being transparent and accountable to taxpayers.

“Until our government actually shows that what they say is also what they do, I will continue to ask questions, fight to protect our communities, and hold them accountable to all of the citizens of Brookhaven,” she said.

It is an inherently

American process for citizens to have their voices heard in the court system, and intervene if they believe necessary.

We are satisfied that the court took the time to weigh the considerations and decide accordingly in the city’s favor.

BK

AUGUST 17 - 30, 2018

■

Public Safety | 23

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Police Blotter / Brookhaven From Brookhaven Police reports dated Aug. 5 through Aug. 12. The following information was pulled from Brookhaven’s Police-2-Citizen website.

1000 block of Barone Avenue — On

4200 block of Peachtree Road — On

2600 block of Apple Valley Road — On

Aug. 6, at midnight, a man was arrested and accused of disorderly conduct.

Aug. 9, in the morning, a man was arrested and accused of driving with a suspended license.

Aug. 12, in the early morning, a man was arrested and accused of loitering and prowling.

4000 block of Ashford-Dunwoody

2800 block of Buford Highway Road

Road — On Aug. 10, in the early morning, a man was arrested and accused of excessive speeding.

— On Aug. 12, in the early morning, a man was arrested and accused of driving under the influence of alcohol.

3200 block of Buford Highway — On

3200 block of Buford Highway — On

Aug. 10, in the afternoon, a woman was arrested and accused of altering license plates.

Aug. 12, in the morning, a man was arrested and accused of driving unlicensed.

1700 block of Northeast Expressway

3400 block of Briarwood Road — On

— On Aug. 10, at night, a man was arrested and accused of driving unlicensed.

Aug. 12, in the evening, a man was arrested and accused of possessing a firearm during a crime.

2600 block of Buford Highway — On

3200 block of Buford Highway — On

Aug. 11, in the evening, a man was arrested and accused of violating probation.

Aug. 12, at night, a man was arrested and accused of driving unlicensed.

3300 block of Buford Highway — On

3400 block of Buford Highway — On

2600 block of Buford Highway — On

Aug. 6, in the early morning, a man was arrested and accused of reckless driving.

Aug. 12, after midnight, a man was arrested and accused of failing to follow headlight requirements.

Aug. 12, at night, a man was arrested and accused of driving with a suspended license.

T H E F T A N D B U R G L A RY 1700 block of Georgian Terrace — On

Aug. 5, in the early morning, a theft from a residential mailbox was reported.

2900 block of Clairmont Road — On

Aug. 5, in the early morning, items were taken from a car.

1400 block of Cortex Lane — On Aug.

5, in the morning, a non-forced-entry burglary at a residence was reported.

3900 block of Peachtree Road — On

Aug. 9, in the evening, a man was arrested and accused of shoplifting.

A S S AU LT 3500 block of Buford Highway — On

Aug. 5, in the morning, a verbal dispute was reported.

1700 block of Briarwood Road — On

Aug. 5, in the afternoon, a man was arrested and accused of family violence.

3300 block of Buford Highway — On

— On Aug. 6, in the evening, a woman was arrested and accused of following too closely.

Aug. 5, at night, an aggravated assault involving a gun was reported.

3900 block of Buford Highway — On

1000 block of Barone Avenue — On

Aug. 6, in the early morning, a woman was arrested and accused of family violence.

1500 block of

Harts Mill Road — On Aug. 6, in the afternoon, two women were arrested and accused of family violence.

1200 block of Sunderland Court — On

Aug. 10, in the evening, a woman was arrested and accused of simple assault.

ARRESTS 2900 block of Clairmont Road — On

Aug. 7, at midnight, a man was arrested and accused of driving unlicensed.

2000 block of Johnson Ferry Road —

On Aug. 7, in the early morning, a man was arrested and accused of failing to use headlights.

2000 block of Johnson Ferry Road — On Aug. 7, in the morning, a man was arrested and accused of forgery in the first degree.

2900 block of Buford Highway — On

Aug. 7, in the evening, a man was arrested and accused of driving without a license.

3800 block of Buford Highway — On

Aug. 7, at night, a man was arrested and accused of driving unlicensed.

3200 block of Buford Highway — On

Aug. 5, in the early morning, a man was arrested and accused of marijuana possession.

Aug. 8, in the early morning, a man was arrested and accused of driving under the influence of alcohol.

3300 block of Buford Highway — On

4200 block of Peachtree Road — On

Aug. 5, in the evening, a woman was arrested and accused of public intoxication and consumption.

Aug. 8, in the early morning, a man was arrested and accused of failing to use headlights.

3499 block of Buford Highway — On

3400 block of Buford Highway — On

Aug. 5, at night, two men were arrested and accused of public intoxication and consumption.

BK

2000 block of North Druid Hills Road

Aug. 9, in the early morning, a man was arrested and accused of obstruction and interference.

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