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Brookhaven Reporter
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NOV. 28 — DEC. 11, 2014 • VOL. 6 — NO. 23
PAGES 7-12
Faith 17
Brookhaven appears ready to accept annexation requests BY ANN MARIE QUILL
PHIL MOSIER
Relief on the way?
As long-awaited work on one of the city’s worst intersections starts, contractor Anthony Baggett (above and far left) installs street lights above Ashford Dunwoody and Johnson Ferry as part of a GDOT and city project to widen the road. Left, Brookhaven officers Trent Williams (far right) and Carlos Nino (center) are on hand to direct traffic during road construction.
Local police staff up for the holidays BY ELLEN ELDRIDGE
elleneldridge@reporternewspapers.net
Santa’s got reindeer watching his sleigh, but shoppers at the mall had best lock their cars and keep gifts out of plain sight, police say. With the arrival of Black Friday, the heralded start of the holiday shopping season, police in Brookhaven, Buckhead, Dunwoody and Sandy Springs are shifting officers’ assignments and adding patrols to make their presence felt in high-volume shopping areas. Police say they want to be visible throughout the holiday season.
Ralph Woolfolk, a spokesman for the Atlanta police, said the department offers officers overtime opportunities in a program called “Holiday Detail 2014.” That enables the department to keep more officers on the street. In Dunwoody and Brookhaven, police shift officer assignments as the need arises during the holidays. Police officers will also be out in uniform even when off duty, he said. “Chief [George] Turner requires all APD ofSEE POLICING, PAGE 24
annmariequill@reporternewspapers.net
The Brookhaven City Council on Nov. 24 again delayed a vote on annexing Children’s Healthcare and Executive Park. But the mayor and city council appear ready to welcome the developments into the city. Mayor J. Max Davis said he thinks the agreement will be “a good thing” for the city, but that an agreement on services still needs to be formalized. “We want to continue the process of making sure the annexation request is thoroughly vetted before making a final decision,” he said. The annexation request has drawn sharp criticism from residents looking to form a new city in DeKalb that would include the area. Representatives for the proposed new city, now being called LaVista Hills, asked the office developments to reconsider their annexation requests, saying the future city would be a better fit for them. Their annexation into Brookhaven would “have a tremendous impact on our proposed city,” Mary Kay Woodworth, chair of the LaVista Hills group, told the council on Nov. 18. But representatives for the properties have continued to say they want to be part of Brookhaven. “This was a real simple . . . process for us,” Ron Frieson, chief public policy officer for Children’s Healthcare, said at the Nov. 18 council meeting. He said he knew that with SEE BROOKHAVEN, PAGE 22
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